The epic adventures of an overly protective clownfish and his wanderlust-filled son will unfold at the Arts Center Theatre in a production “Finding Nemo KIDS.”
A 30-minute-long musical adaptation of the ever-popular 2003 Pixar animated movie “Finding Nemo,” the play will be performed by youths from Marco Island Center of the Arts’ 2024 children’s summer program. The director and set designer is Chris Dayett, who leads Marco Island Academy’s performing arts department. The sole performance will take place at 6:00 PM on July 20, with doors opening at 5:30 PM.
“Finding Nemo,” the film, was the highest-grossing animated film when it was released in 2003. The movie won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2004. The plot centers on Marlin, a cautious father concerned about his son Nemo, who’s determined to experience what lies beyond their Great Barrier Reef home. But when Nemo is captured by a diver, Marlin sets off across the ocean to rescue him. Along the way he encounters a series of lovable characters, such as Dory the blue tang fish, laid-back sea turtle Crush and the supportive Tank Gang, and Bloat the Puffer Fish.
The Walt Disney Co., owner of Pixar, later turned the story into a live puppet musical stage show for its Theater in the Wild at Walt Disney World in Orlando. At 30 minutes long, “Finding Nemo KIDS” is an abridged version of that stage show.
Dayett said “Finding Nemo KIDS” is a show he’s wanted to do since he began going to Disney World about 15 years ago.
“It's my go-to show when I'm there,” he said. “When we were looking for something fun to follow up “A Year with Frog and Toad” (the 2023 summer production), I suggested “Finding Nemo Kids” because everybody loves Nemo. I love the music from the show, and I've been waiting for the right time to do it, and I felt like this was the right year.”
Work began on the play two weeks ago. In that time, Dayett and the cast, ranging from seven to 14 years old, read and analyzed the script, designed and built sets, and made important decisions, such as foregoing the puppets used in Disney production.
“I make puppets, but it's a lot to do in two weeks,” Dayett said. “So, we came up with the idea to do t-shirts, and then I asked the kids, ‘Do we want to embellish the t-shirts?’ The answer was, ‘Yes.’ So, we got paint, and they're adding on what they feel their character would look like based off of real images of the sea creatures from the Disney Pixar movie.”
The set was designed around a new feature at the theater - animated digital backdrops. This will be the first production to use the system.
“When the audience comes, they'll be able to see part of the set projected to make them feel like they're actually in the water with the waves,” explained Dayett. “The water moves, the light shines through the water. It's really cool.”
Center for the Arts executive director Hyla Crane described watching young people experience the magic of live theater as one of her greatest joys.
“This is especially true when they work together on a production,” she added. “Not only is the cast of “Finding Nemo KIDS” extremely talented, they are learning valuable skills, such as cooperation, teamwork, respect for others, and perseverance while having a marvelous time.”
Arts Center Theatre is located at 1089 N. Collier Boulevard #432, in the Marco Island Town Center. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit marcoislandart.org/arts-center-theatre/.
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