New Stage Players production provides outlet for kids [Video]

On a recent Thursday night, Chuck Prior taught nearly 50 clownfish, tang fish and a giant sea turtle how to swim.

Was Prior a marine biologist located off of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef? No, he is the codirector (along with his wife Andi Prior) of a live theatrical production based on the 2003 Pixar Animation Studio movie “Finding Nemo.”

And the sea creature wannabes lined up on the stage at Briar Cliff University? They are the artists and mentors who will be performing in this New Stage Players-produced show for the Penguin Project.

Created nationally by developmental pediatrician Andrew Morgan, the Penguin Project gives young people with developmental disabilities/special needs the opportunity to develop creative and social skills while participating in a fully-realized musical production.

This is the fourth time that the South Sioux City-based New Stage Players has partnered with the Penguin Project. The cast for “Finding Nemo” is …