DESIGN
TRIDENT Purchase Triton’s trident at a costume shop or build your own using PVC tubing and a mold for the tines, which can be spray-painted a glittery silver. Be sure to measure the trident so that it is approximately the same height as the performer playing King Triton – it should be light enough to handle easily but have enough weight to signify its power. You can also consider adding LED lights, which can be used when the trident’s “magic” is activated, like in the grotto destruction scene and in Ursula’s lair.
MAGICAL SHELL This prop may be hard to locate, but you can start at a craft store, home décor shop, or even a pool or beach store (an inflatable pool toy could be painted to look real). If need be, any round, clear acrylic container can be modified to look like a shell with some papiermâché and hot glue. Also consider wrapping bubble wrap or cellophane around a wooden or cardboard frame holding “magical” LED lights inside. This prop is the source of Ursula’s power, so the shell should be large enough to convey the weight of its power, but still easy enough for one performer to handle.
PIPE
King Triton prepares to destroy Ariel’s Grotto. Green Valley High School; Henderson, NV
Ariel makes a deal with the Sea Witch. Marian High School; Omaha, NE
Look for an old-fashioned, wooden tobacco pipe with a large bowl. A black or toy pipe can also be painted to look wooden. Alternatively, make your own pipe with papier-mâché, a soda bottle, and some vinyl tubing. Ideally, you’ll want your pipe to have a hole in both ends to blow through. To create an ash effect when Ariel blows into it, place a bit of powdered makeup into the bowl. Grimsby’s pipe can double as Scuttle’s “snarfblatt.” Simply attach strips of coiled green fabric to the inside of the bowl, which will unravel and pop out when blown through. Ariel plays the snarfblatt. Flower Mound High School; Flower Mound, TX
26
Disney’s The Little Mermaid Production Handbook