Hello,
We did
Big Fish a couple of years ago. It is a very emotional show and one of my favorites, so I would definitely recommend it.
From my experience though, it is not a show with as big a name recognition as some shows, at least not in my area, and some students were leery about doing it at first. Also, I don't think our community was that familiar with it, so our audiences were a little smaller than expected, but they seemed to enjoy the show.
On the technical side, if you are going to use stilts for the giant, I would recommend getting them as soon as possible so that the actor can practice and become comfortable. We used painter's stilts and had some difficulty obtaining them. Some rental places would not rent them to us because of safety concerns. We actually had a painter finally donate a pair to us. It will take your actor some time to get used to them and balance himself, but once he does, the end result will be worth it.
Also, we are a small school, so we did not have the ability for projection which I think most productions use for the fish and daffodil scenes. For the fish, we ordered rubber fish and stuffed them to fill them out. Then using paper that looked like water, we created a river on the floor in front of the stage and had stagehands hidden in the river actually throw the fish onto the stage during that scene. The scene with daffodils would probably look better if you can project them so that the stage looks covered in flowers, but again we were unable to do that, so we again we had stagehands behind the university sign hold up and throw out as many daffodils as possible.
Big Fish has a lot of opportunities to expand the ensemble as well with townspeople, circus performers, and western characters, so you can get a good number of kids involved.
My favorite aspect of the show is the music. It is a show where the songs really are a part of the storyline.
Yes, there are challenges, but you really won't regret doing the show. Break a leg!
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Kenneth Robinson
Drama Club Sponsor
Wapahani High School
Selma IN
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Original Message:
Sent: 05-14-2018 08:33
From: Jacquelyn Stevens
Subject: Big Fish
Anyone have any experience either pro or con regarding BIG FISH, THE MUSICAL?
Thanks in advance for your feedback.
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Jacquelyn Stevens
Drama Coach
Conrad IA
jstevens@bcluw.org
641.366.2001
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