Gallery • 26 Photos

photo or infographic by Blaine Eckert

Witches, a giant, circus folk, jumping fishes and a very clingy bearded lady. The musical Big Fish brought laughs and tears to the stage of the Performing Arts Center. The event took the stage Jan. 26 and 27 for three performances.

After long nights of practice consisting of hard work and dedication that the cast, crew and stage managers put into the show, the theater students performed three shows of the musical. Over the months that were put into the making of the show, many great memories were made.

“I would say getting to know the people that were part of the cast was my favorite part,” sophomore Zisel Braza said. “They are really great people.”

The favorite moments differ for everyone, from moments that happened off the stage to the times performing in the spotlight.

“My favorite part was definitely performing and the feeling you get right before you walk on the stage.”  senior Saoirse Gallagher said.

The students spent many hours practicing to perfect their scenes, but unexpected changes came up.

“There were a lot of changes made to the show during rehearsals. Like one time, we had to change an entire section of a dance before a performance,” senior Brody McNew said.

Even though they faced unforeseen events and did not have a plan for the scene, they proved that they could handle the pressure.

“We didn’t have choreography for the witch scene until two days before so it was improv every single night. If you went to all three shows you saw that it was different every time,” Gallagher said.

Preparing for the musical took hard work, but the students pushed through it, knowing that the outcome would make everything worth it.

“Knowing that it will finally turn out well, because honestly, it was very rough learning everything and working with some of the directors, but honestly, it turned out well in the end,” junior Aiden Hamilton said.

Through the demanding labor and time spent giving their all to the musical, the students bonded and grew to rely on each other.

“A few days before the show, our stage manager, Kolby Sebastian, made a little paper to stick onto the wall with drawings of all of the tech crew,” McNew said. “We called it our family portrait because we really did depend on each other and became very close over the long time working on the show.”