Saint Viator’s Fine Arts department has been putting in lots of time and effort into this year’s Spring musical, Big Fish. It is filled with emotional and heartfelt songs and stories that blend imagination with real life struggles. The main story of ‘Big Fish’ focuses on Edward Bloom, who tells magical stories about his life experiences which include seeing witches, giants, and mermaids during his job as a salesman. He tells these stories to his son, Will, as a child, but now that he is an adult, he seeks to discern what is actually true or just a figment of the imagination in his father’s stories.
Junior Anna Stuber, who plays a Mermaid and a Featured Dancer, said her favorite memory so far has been technique classs with Jenny, the dance instructor, because she learned how to carry herself and found it to be a great cast bonding experience.
Rehearsals are up to 2-3 hours every weekday leading up to the show. The cast and crew also come in during the weekends to finish the set or perfect their choreography.
“Being involved in theater has taught me to be a better time management and make sure to get my homework done so I can fully participate in all aspects of the show,” Stuber said. “People should come to Big Fish because the show is constantly keeping you on the edge of your seats throughout all of Edward’s magical stories!”
The tech crew has been spending long hours designing the unique set of the musical. Junior Ethan Boudreau said that his favorite memory was problem solving and working together to fix Masonite that had cracked and broken during a build session.
“The set looks great. We have done something I’ve never seen at Viator before for a show, but people will have to come to see it! We have builds once a week, and everyone is welcome.” Ethan also encourages all to come and watch the production.
“People should come see ‘Big Fish’ because there is so much story behind it, and we’ve put in such hard work.”
The pit band has also been involved with the music aspect of the production. Senior Frankie Demeter expressed her positive experience with the pit band. Practice occurs every Red day from 6:00pm to 9:00pm, which started the second week of January, and they will be on the same schedule as the cast and crew when tech week occurs. The pit band is led by Director Mr. Blendermann from Wheeling High School, who deeply cares about the music for the show. Frankie plays the clarinet, bass clarinet, tenor saxophone, and bari saxophone, which she also played in her sophomore year.
“I think the music for this show is amazing!” Demeter said. “It definitely leans more on the jazz side of things, so if you like jazz this is the show for you!”
All in all, let’s support the Fine Arts Department and see Big Fish on Feb. 5-8!