Preparing For Big Fish

It is the time of year where Drama 4 prepares for its showcase. This year, the show is the musical Big Fish. Big Fish tells the story of Edward Bloom, a larger-than-life tale of a man who has kissed mermaids, met witches, and joined a circus. He tells his story as bedtime stories for his son Will, who does not believe his tales. As Edward grows old and his health declines, Will visits his father a final time to discover the truth behind his childhood bedtime stories. Their relationship strains, and Will must make an important decision on whether or not to believe his father’s life story.

While preparing for this colorful, flamboyant show, the rehearsals all take place during class. Senior Mikay Shaffer, who plays Josephine Bloom, Will’s pregnant wife, says that “Doing a show all in class has a lot of ups and downs. It’s nice to not have afterschool rehearsals but we usually end up feeling unprepared and scrambling when the show starts to approach.” Although she feels the stress of approaching the showcase date, she is “confident the show is going to be great.” Another senior, Cole Hendrickx, thinks that it will “be a good show to come watch” since the cast has put in “a lot of work.” Hendrick plays Dr. Bennett, who is the Bloom family’s doctor, and helps Edward as he gets sicker throughout the show.

 These students have put months of hard work into this show, and their work will definitely pay off since it always does. Shaffer is excited about opening night and hopes people come to see it. She describes why she enjoys doing this show, saying, “Big Fish is really fun, with lots of big musical dance numbers, and I’ve enjoyed doing it with my classmates.” When the cast has fun, the audience has fun, so while the cast is up on stage singing and dancing in their gorgeous costumes, the audience will get to enjoy seeing how happy they are doing what they love. While preparing for Big Fish may have had some lows, the highs have made it worth it.