Once On This Island is among my favorite shows of all time not only to see, but I absolutely loved producing it with my students. It was one of the strongest shows we have ever done and probably the most well received non-"typical high school show" we have done as well.
The students were psyched to do it, and we do not repeat shows in our program but it is among one of the most requested to do again. I would in a heartbeat otherwise do it over and over again. I think the kids partly loved it because myself and the other director in our program at the time both loved it so much. I can tear up just explaining the plot.
What are your thoughts and experiences with this show?
As you can tell from above I loved it. It was great for the students to study Haitian culture and history, which is almost completely left out of their history courses, and most kids couldn't point to it on a map before we did the show. Great learning opportunity, and the music and story plot moves quickly and is interesting and unexpected. It's also very ensemble heavy with many major roles and soloist opportunities spread out, but still plenty of room to add any size ensemble mixed in as much or as little as you desire. Very flexible cast size, and large core ensemble makes it perfect for high school in my opinion.
Pros? See above
Cons? Not everyone is familiar with it, so play up the thematic elements like the island feel and empowerment plot points, it's relationship with The Little Mermaid, that it's based on a book. Most of all, tell the story to the kids who you want to recruit to audition. Have them listen to the music a bit. Get excited about it and they will because it's truly an amazing story with really beautiful music.
Things to consider? It's a little heavy and slightly scary at points for little guys; however, it's in general no scarier than a Disney film and it plays in a similar way. Consider a heavy push to a younger audience and maybe even casting a young person for young Ti Moune to draw in school groups if you can.
Does it work with a predominantly white cast?
My school is predominately white and so was our cast for the show when we did it. We happened at the time to have a student who was the best person for Ti Moune who was black (she's now a BFA Musical Theatre Student at Howard) which made for a great contrast between her and both sides of the island as the character is somewhat an outcast everywhere. It worked well, but I'm sure could work with any students. It's truly a story about the story and not about skin color, but still take the time to reach out to students at your school who might not usually audition as you might attract new students who previously thought there wasn't a place for them with you.
Does it need advanced singers?
A few of your students do need to help carry the weight of the vocal needs; however, many characters can use character voices, and a lot of the strong vocals come in choral work. It's VERY much an ensemble show. At the time we were flush wish students who were either very strong vocalists or very strong character actors so we used those items to our advantage in casting. Papa Ge can be played either way, ours was a strong vocalist and we gave him a familiar to move in creepy ways to add to the character. Our Agwe was female and had a good alto voice, but wasn't a super trained singer, it worked out fine and "Rain" was one of our best numbers. Our Asaka had killer chops and she helped other cast members through vocal challenges and did support vocals on everything plus killed her song. Our Erzulie had a sweet voice but wasn't necessarily a show stopping singer, but her soft voice worked perfectly for her solo work (the easiest of the four to sing in my opinion, but the prettiest song). Ti Moune needs some strength in her vocals, but other than that, everyone else can be done with moderate to strong singers mixed throughout. We pulled specific singers and dancers for certain ensemble song support so not everyone was in every ensemble song and giving us flexibility among the ensemble.
Would you tackle it with a younger, less experienced/talented cast?
I say go for it. There is room to grow into the roles, and if someone isn't as strong, they aren't trying to carry the whole show on their back, when their song is over the show moves on, so it works well in my opinion for a broad cast with various abilities.
Is it a show that elementary aged kids get and enjoy as audience members?
Yes, see above. Consider the scarier moments as a point to tone down, such as going simple with "pray" and keeping the death played very cleanly and more about becoming a tree than anything else.
What was the community response?
They loved it!
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Kathleen McNulty Mann
mcnulkl@bay.k12.fl.usProgram Director
Arnold High School Theatre
Thespian Troupe 6371
Panama City Beach, FL
District 10 Chair & State Logistics
Florida State Junior Thespians
Board Member
Membership Committee Chair
Florida Association for Theatre Education
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-27-2018 13:34
From: Brett Buffum
Subject: Once On This Island - Thoughts?
I have seen it once a long while ago. I don't remember loving it, BUT I know I hear positives, and I have a production staff person that is LOUDLY advocating for it.
So I thought I'd throw it out to the amazing folks here for your experiences and feedback.
What are your thoughts and experiences with this show?
Pros?
Cons?
Things to consider?
Does it work with a predominantly white cast?
Does it need advanced singers?
Would you tackle it with a younger, less experienced/talented cast?
Is it a show that elementary aged kids get and enjoy as audience members?
What was the community response?
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for any and all thoughts!!
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Brett Buffum
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