The Big Fish musical is an upcoming performance being put on by the Chorus and Drama departments. Though the event isn’t until mid-February, students began practicing months beforehand.
Actors and actresses from a wide range of age groups gather in the auditorium after school for a group rehearsal. Although they rehearse often after school, practice starts off-campus, several months prior. “We would do lots of choreography practice at home”, says featured dancer, Bela Gonzalez. “Also, looking and listening to music really helps with the memorization.'' At home, practice improves performance in rehearsal and eventually the final performance.
Big Fish is “the story of a son trying to get to know his father, and his father trying to make sure that his memory lives on in the way that he wants,” describes the lead director of the performance, Mrs. Garrett. “It shows heartbreak, but is also comedic and fun.” Lead actor AJ King describes the performance as “exciting, especially with all the Covid stuff happening, we finally get to bring back live music, a truly live performance with live singing, and a larger audience.” It’s been so long since there has been a live, in-person musical, and performers are ecstatic to be back on stage once again.
This will be Middle Creek High School’s first musical in almost a year, with the last musical being The Sound of Music. According to actress Hope Byrd, “We are hoping to make a comeback, we haven’t had an in-person musical since 2020, so we’re hoping we’ll have that same type of crowd come out.” A loud, energetic crowd makes performing that much more enjoyable and fun to watch for both spectators and performers, so a large crowd would be the ideal turnout.
Though there is much more practice and preparation needed before the final performance, students are on the right track to beautifully showcase their production. With a few more weeks of hard work, they will be ready to give the performance of a lifetime.