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Courtesy Harding Academy Theater

Harding Academy Students Perform Disney's Finding Nemo KIDS

Local High-Five: Students Find Their Voice, Friendship, and Community — Oh, and Nemo

Celebrating remarkable achievements of youth across the Mid-South.

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I learned that disobeying your parents is wrong and that we should all listen to our parents," says Max Smiley (Nemo). "Even though Nemo had an adventure and met new friends, it wasn’t worth the pain that he put his dad through. I also learned that working with a team is a good idea..."

As the saying goes...it takes a village! For parenting, at least. Raising children is by far one of the greatest responsibilities to mankind. One of the hardest challenges parents sometimes face is helping their children discover their purpose and navigating how it fits within society. Harding Academy strives to be part of that parenting village by building a society for students to love others, think creatively, learn with open minds, and to live courageously, as God has purposed them.   

Which brings us to the Harding Academy Theater's recent production of Disney's Finding Nemo KIDS, a musical adaptation of the beloved Pixar movie Finding Nemo, based on Marlin, an over-protective clownfish who lives in the Great Barrier Reef with his son, Nemo, who longs to explore the world beyond their anemone home. But when Nemo is captured and taken away, Marlin faces his fears and sets off on an epic adventure across the ocean to find him. With the help of new-found friends — under and above of the ocean — Marlin and Nemo both overcome challenges on their journey to find each other and themselves...ultimately creating a village to last a lifetime.

The Harding Academy Theater wants students to explore telling stories of truth through their gifts of performance, design, and technical skills. Under the leadership of Andrea Campbell, director of vocal performance and shows at Harding Academy, lower and upper school students are enlisted to help bring those powerful stories to life.  

"When the production team sat down for our summer meeting to discuss ideas for shows for this upcoming season, our goal for this season was to celebrate our school community as well as highlight the gifts and talents of our incredible students," says Campbell. "Finding Nemo KIDS is a story about family, friendship, working together, challenges and overcoming obstacles, growth, and finding purpose. This exciting tale of an adventure clownfish, a devoted father, and their new forgetful friend has touched the hearts of many over the years. We felt that this show would not only showcase the talents of our students but would also be a lesson for them on these important themes and hopefully spark something in them to be involved in the fine arts for years to come."

The lower school Finding Nemo KIDS musical featured 86 students with the help of 30 middle- and high-schoolers who decorated the set, and additionally worked backstage and the production booth. The all-hands-on-deck apporach took much effort to successfully cross the finish line, and wouldn’t have been possible without the village of supporters from school administration to volunteer parents, production trainers, costume designers, and more.

Eighty-six students across first through fifth grade signed up to take part in the eight-week-long process.

"Rehearsals took place four days a week, and students worked hard to learn blocking, music, and choreography," says Campbell. In just two short months, we watched students transform on stage. It was remarkable to watch students really dive into their roles, take ownership for their learning throughout the process, and come to every rehearsal prepared and ready for the next task. You could feel the excitement backstage on opening night. Students were thrilled to put on a show that they’ve come to love for their family and friends. I couldn’t be more proud of them."

Moreover, Campbell shared thoughts about the impact of the Finding Nemo KIDS story:

"As a director, it brings me great joy to watch students make new friends, operate in their gifting, and having the opportunity to grow and shine in something that they are passionate about. One of my favorite quotes from one of our students after the show was from a first grader. Finding Nemo KIDS was the first show that he was old enough to participate in. A few days after the show closed, the student came up to me and said: 'Miss Andrea, I’m going to be in every show from now on.' That’s why we do this. That’s why we put in the long hours to work with students — so that a seed can be planted in the hearts of students in hopes to challenge them to pursue their purpose from a young age. For some students, Finding Nemo KIDS was their last elementary production before they move on to the upper school production. For others, this show was their first introduction to theatre. It is my hope that each and every student involved in the show, whether onstage or backstage, is inspired to discover and pursue whatever their purpose is in life and that they encourage their peers to do the same."

Here are some heartfelt (and funny) responses from Harding students who shared their take-aways as leading cast members (acquired by Harding Academy Theater): 

Why did you decide to audition for Finding Nemo KIDS? What about the show excites you?

"I was new to Harding and wanted to meet people my age," says Thomas Saurenman (Marlin). "I loved the movie and thought it would be fun to be in the play."

How did you feel when you learned that you earned your role?

"I was super shocked because I originally wanted Marlin but I was super happy when I got Nemo," says Max Smiley (Nemo). "I was excited to be the lead role, I mean it’s called 'Finding Nemo' so to get that part was very exciting."

"I was ecstatic!," says Ava Norflett (Dory). "I went around telling all of my friends and family, 'Hey! I GOT DORY!' Every one kept telling me that the role fit me so well and I could only agree — well, just not the amnesia part (LOL)."

What is your favorite memory from working on Finding Nemo KIDS?

"When I got to see all the set parts and the costumes," says Max Smiley (Nemo). "The costumes were my favorite part. I also liked the tech rehearsals because I got to practice with my microphone and hear my voice on the loud speakers. I also liked the pizza nights."

What is a lesson that you learned from the story of Finding Nemo KIDS?

“Don’t go to school — Haha!," says Thomas Saurenman (Marlin). A lesson I learned was to relax and enjoy — not to always be so uptight.”

"I learned that disobeying your parents is wrong and that we should all listen to our parents," says Max Smiley (Nemo). "Even though Nemo had an adventure and met new friends, it wasn’t worth the pain that he put his dad through. I also learned that working with a team is a good idea. Nemo worked with the tank gang to escape, and Marlin and Dory worked together to Find Nemo."

"I learned that kindness can help you get through almost anything, especially when you have a friend like Dory who can cheer you up when you’re feeling down," says Ava Norflett (Dory). "When you’re stuck, the caring people around you can help you keep going — or like Dory would say, to just keep swimming." 

As for future shows, "We are already in the early stages of planning shows for next year," says Campbell. "For every show, our goal is to bring our entire school community together, showcase the many gifts and talents of our students, and tell stories that challenge our school community to be a light everywhere they go."

To see more photos from the Finding Nemo KIDS production, or to learn more about theater and programming at Harding Academy, visit hardingacademymemphis.org/arts/theatre/.