By Ren Daute and Mia Herdeman, Current Staff
There’s some tension brewing under the sea this February.
On Saturday, the West Bend High Schools’ theater department will perform “The Little Mermaid” at 7 p.m., featuring the talents of a variety of students in the Silver Lining Arts Center. However, on the same night the school’s 20th annual charity dance has been scheduled from 7:30-10:30 p.m. in the WBHS south gym, causing an overlap between two major student events.
The unusual scheduling clash has resulted in frustration for many students, especially those who are part of the “Little Mermaid” cast or pit and will miss a portion of the dance due to the show.
“I think it’s a frustrating situation that people can’t do both,” said Ethan Buss, East senior and pit musician. “It’s unfortunate that I can’t go out and have dinner with my friends like I normally would.”
A few of the older cast members, especially the seniors, are particularly upset about the conflict. Many feel as though they are missing out on one of their final school dances due to events no longer in their control.
“As a senior, I’m very upset that I won’t be able to attend the whole dance,” said Zach Church, a West senior who plays the role of Prince Eric. “Luckily I can still attend prom, but still, missing a dance in my last year of high school is less than ideal.”
While the show is only expected to run for a few hours on Saturday, the cast has calculated that with the time required to wrap up the show and get out of costume, they will have less than an hour of the dance remaining if they decide to attend afterwards. With an exhausting day ahead of them, a few cast members have already decided that they will not be attending.
“February 17th is the day where we have two shows, and we’re going to be at the high school already for 10 hours,” said Finn Falk, a West senior who plays Grimsby. “I’m not personally planning on going (to the dance) because I know I’m going to be way too tired.”
When the WBHS student council started planning the dance over summer break, the advisers, including East science teacher Skip Clark, were unaware at the time that the musical was going to be taking place the same weekend.
“In the summertime, we (STUCO) got together like we do every summer,” Clark said. “We looked at the calendar and said ‘where does it look like we have nothing on the calendar?’ So, we looked at the school calendar and there was nothing this week.”
The proximity to Valentine’s Day appealed to STUCO, and the week also happened to be Random Acts of Kindness Week. This matched their mission of Charity Week by giving back and expecting nothing in return. Clark says that it’s the perfect week to ask someone on a date and enjoy a dance.
Not only did STUCO attempt to find a week with nothing planned, when the musical conflict was brought to their attention, there was discussion about rescheduling the charity dance.
“I wish I could change it, we had talked about it,” Clark said. “I brought it up right after Christmas when I found out it was this weekend. We have a whole team that’s doing the pep assembly that’s tied into charity week, we had already talked to our corporate sponsors and they were already on board for donating money, and we had already booked the DJ back in September.”
Darci Ketter, one of the musical’s adult choreographers, confirms that the musical dates are the same every year. They are set one year in advance due to the heavy usage of the auditorium. However, she feels this year’s scheduling conflict will not impact the show.
“I’m sure that many of the cast and crew are disappointed to miss the dance, but they also have made a huge commitment to the preparation of the production and are fully invested in its success,” Ketter said. “I don’t see it taking away attendance for the show, as it runs for two evenings and two matinees this year.”
Ketter also acknowledged that high school schedules will always have overlapping events. She hopes that students and families will find a way to partake in both events with a bit of planning.
Clark and the rest of STUCO are aware of how much work is put into the musical, and they empathize with the cast members who are frustrated with the overlap.
“I know the hundreds of hours that they put into this musical, and now we’re kind of stealing the thunder from one of their shows,” Clark said. “I get it, and that would upset me, too. It wasn’t intentional.”
A few years back, a similar clash happened between the dance and track conferences, resulting in all four East and West track teams missing the dance.
“There’s never a good time to have a school dance,” Clark said.
In another twist, several members of the musical’s cast appeared on the charity court ballot that was released to students earlier this month, including Ethan Buss, Zach Church, Noah Becker, Lorna Bonertz, Add Bock and Owen Damkot. They will be unable to accept their crowns should they win.
“Currently I’m not planning to attend,” said Church, who is among the nominees. “However, depending on how charity court nominations go, I might try and make an appearance.”
“The Little Mermaid” opens with a 7 p.m. show today in the Silver Lining Arts Center. Other shows include Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door. The 20th annual charity dance is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the WBHS south gym. Students can purchase tickets at the bookkeeper or at the door.
(Top image: The cast of “The Little Mermaid” rehearse the song “Kiss the Girl” in the Silver Lining Arts Center. Photo courtesy of Ryann Woods-Sweeney.)
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