Looking into
Big Fish
Spring 2016
McGowan’s Journalism
Volume 2
Big Fish The talents of over 150 Maine South students are on display in this year’s musical.
W
ith nine fewer rehearsals due to this year’s schedule change, the cast, crew and musicians were faced with a very serious challenge. But, as they say in the business, the show must go on. They worked on Saturdays and through Spring Break to tell this story.
Why Big Fish?
Although she has been directing for 15 years, this will be Mrs. Saurer’s first musical at Maine South. “For me, Big Fish is the perfect musical. It has the elements of musical theatre that we expect and love - big musical numbers with exciting choreography and beautiful, catchy music. The show is largely told through fantasy, so you also have really cool technical elements,” said Saurer. “But Big Fish is different than many musicals because of the story that lies at the core of the production. It is a story about family and the intrinsic challenges that result from feeling disconnected from the very people that we love most. Big Fish is a story that every audience member will relate to, in some way. We are all children, to someone, and many of us are parents as well. Family brings us the highest highs of our lives, but also potentially the lowest lows. Family relationships are the most fulfilling and also the most challenging. This musical has song and dance and giants and mermaids and witches, but it is about real life.”
Repeat Director
Bonnie Millener was named the student director for the second year in a row. “I thought it was a mistake; it just doesn’t happen,” said Millener. “I had actually got called back for the witch character and then they decided to select me. To get to work with this cast on this show is an indescribable feeling. I am just so lucky.” Bonnie had applied for the director position and her essays convinced the fine arts faculty. One of the essays asked ‘Why Big Fish?’ and a recent, very sad, event shaped her response. “My father died on December 31 this year and he was similar to the Edward character in many ways. I felt this extreme connection to the show and I felt I had an insight that a lot of people don’t have at this age.”
Unbelievable Set
Capturing the feel of the world of imagination and story-telling was a delicate job for all involved. Assistant technical director Sarah Biggins said, “My vision was always for it to be big and magical. I didn’t want anything too childish or cartoony because we had already done two shows last year that required a childish style. Our whole team, led by Marisa Wilkens, were all of the same mindset as me and I think we delivered on that vision.” Millener agrees. “The set is professional. It’s show-stopping. In some scenes, it actually steals the show.”
A Jack of all Trades Jack Cahill-Lemme’s character is on stage for nearly the entire show. “I don’t get a minute of rest during this show. And any time I have off stage is spent quick changing into other costumes. There’s no using the bathroom and I have to keep a bottle of water hidden in my costume at all times to keep my voice up with all the singing. I have to be at the top of my game for two and a half straight hours.”
Noteworthy Unfamiliar score becomes familiar with the help of Hutter’s rehearsals and Lippa’s video.
“Whether it’s a current musical or a standard, a great story is a great story and Big Fish fits this requirement. It’s personal, magical and emotional.” Mr. David Hutter
Pit Orchestra Conductor
If you were to watch any film, play, or TV show, there is always music to drive the emotion of that particular production. It certainly wouldn’t be much of a musical without the pit orchestra, but faculty conductor Mr. Hutter has been impressed by the level of musicianship of this group. Despite the score being relatively unknown, the group was drawn to its contemporary styling. There are 20 musicians in the pit along with a hired professional pianist and all rehearsals are held outside of school. Because the pit is composed of students in different level bands, orchestras, and the guitar classes, there is no way to meet during the school day. The student pit had only 17 rehearsals that lasted for an hour and half each before finally getting to see the action that linked to the music. After rehearsing separately from each other, it wasn’t until nine days before opening night that the acting and music groups came together. “My favorite day of the musical process has always been the Sitz Probe where the actors finally sing through the show with the pit orchestra,” said Student Director Bonnie Millener. “It’s the first glimpse we get of what the finished product will sound like, and after working with just a piano for so long, it’s a magical transformation.” In rehearsal, all the musicians try to make the transitions as seamless as pos-
sible so when they combine with the actors it’s a quick run and it becomes a completely uniform performance. The hardest part about combining with the actors is figuring out vamps. “Within our score there are certain measures that have an unlimited repeat as necessary,” said Katie Daehler. “We vamp some measures over 30 times. This is because often in the middle of songs there’s dialogue, so this allows us to wait.” Musicians have found the score to be very clever. “There are certain melodies and intervals that pop up again and again, in different places where the emotion is different,” said Daehler. “For example, when Edward sings the song ‘Daffodils’ to Sandra, a huge part of the theme of the song is built on a certain interval. That theme comes back in a bunch of other songs, too, most notably at the end of the song ‘How it Ends’. Just a little something cool. It really adds emotion to the music when you recognize the patterns and connections.” Mr. Hutter’s direction was supplemented by a 25 minute YouTube video that the composer, Andrew Lippa, created where he works through the music. “That was cool because it helped us really understand the little things we probably wouldn’t have otherwise noticed,” said Daehler. Interested? Check out the video at:
http://tinyurl.com/hsr49fp
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Actors you should know
Their paths were different, but all have found a home on stage in the PA wing.
Elena Sasso
Eamon Hurd
Joe MccarRick
Her desire to audition in high school was born as a middle school audience member of many shows at South. “My first audition was horrible. I was so nervous and had to start the song over three times.” Her favorite lead was Cunegonde in Candide. During this play they made her ugly and sunburnt to make her look as close to the character as possible. With time and experience, she was able to overcome stage fright. “I have noticed I’m less nervous to audition for things, and all of that rehearsal time really makes you feel confident that you can go out on stage and put on a great performance each night.”
After years of improv training at Second City, Eamon’s acting career at South got off to a rocky start. “I actually didn’t audition freshaman year; I missed the audition day.” Eamon auditioned sophomore year because he wanted to be a part of Spamalot and he loves Monty Python, but his favorite lead was Donkey from Shrek. “It was so much fun just to go on stage and be silly,” said Hurd. Eamon didn’t anticipate doing theater at all. “I am so glad I decided to try it out because it has become my passion.” Fear is still part of the game, though.“I get so nervous right before every performance; I feel like throwing up and then it all goes away when I walk out there.”
Being part of the Maine South Band and being around performers drew Joe into wanting to audition. “I had an idea of how awesome the people in the PA Wing were, and I wanted to graduate knowing I had been a part of at least one of their spectacular performances.” As an inexperienced performer, Joe had to overcome the fear of failing. “I had no experience. I had never sung with effort in front of anyone before. The audition was terrifying, but I enjoyed the comedy behind facing a completely new challenge. To survive here means being able to understand that not every moment is going to go perfectly.; it’s a process of working through fear and insecurities.”
Tonight’s Role: Plays Josephine, Will’s wife. She acts as the bridge between Edward and Will.
Tonight’s Role: Plays Will Bloom who is trying to understand his relationship with his father.
Tonight’s Role: Circus worker who helps in any way needed at the circus.
Giant Shoes to Fill It isn’t the lead, but Daniel Morales snagged the biggest role in the production.
How did you get into acting? When did you realize that this was for you? I always wanted to act since second grade when I was in the chorus in “The King and I” at my school. The first musical I was a character in was “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” in eighth grade, where I was The Cowardly Lion. I always wanted to do more, but freshman year I was too nervous to do it. Sophomore year I did the musical and I loved it, and since then I have done the fall play this year, and now Big Fish! How tall are you in real life? With the stilts? In real life I am 5’10”, but with the stilts I am about 7’5”. When you looked at the cast list, how did you react? When I first saw my role, I got very excited because this is the best role I’ve had in any production. After some time I started getting nervous, though, because I was not sure how difficult the stilts would be. How difficult was it to learn to act on stilts? I first got the stilts a few weeks into rehearsal. The first couple times trying them out were rough. I constantly needed someone next to me to make sure I didn’t fall. After about a week of using them, they felt perfectly fine and I could walk without any help. Thankfully there was only one fall; I tried to sit in a chair which was too low for me and ended up falling. It took about 6 people to help me back up. Playing a giant is definitely a big role. Does your personality match the giant’s? The challenges of being a giant have definitely been making the character real and giant-like. Giants don’t move the same or act the same as regular humans. They are bigger and slower. Luckily I have somewhat of a deep voice already, so that was helpful for the character. I believe that there is a little bit of giant in me. He is big, friendly, and smart, even though he may not seem like it at first. What aspect of your character do you think is the most important? The giant’s friendliness to everyone. He is misunderstood at first, but once he is known he loves everyone and everyone loves him. Do you feel pressure to try to mimic the character as portrayed in the film version? How are you making sure that it is “your own”? I do somewhat try to be like the character in the movie, particularly his bigness and slowness. Making this my own character is not that difficult because the character from the movie is, although similar, definitely different. Do you have a plan in case you fall during a performance? Haven’t really thought about that.
Faculty Drector Mrs. Saurer works through a scene with Skylar Golbeck and Michael Wzorek.
Acting Notes
Rehearsals -- and an outside reading assignment -- bring the script to life. With auditions over and the Winter Play still occupying the theater, there was a unique time period to prep away from the stage. “Mrs. Saurer recommended that all the leads read the novel version to get some insights into the characters and that really informed how we looked at our characters,” said Eamon Hurd. “There is just so much subtext to the characters that you just don’t get from the musical script,” said Student Director Bonnie Millener. “We never sat around in a circle and discussed the book, but we referenced it in rehearsals as we developed scenes and how we thought the characters should be portrayed in those instances. It transformed performances.” The actors certainly appreciate Bonnie’s notes and feedback. “She is
very organized and has great attention to detail. When looking at scenes, if someone messes up a line or part of a song, she’ll mark it down to look back at it later. She picks out things that most people wouldn’t see or notice,” said Hurd. “From the outside looking in, it might seem very critical, but we all want the performance to be the absolute best it can be so nobody takes it personally.” Millener conservatively estimated 140 hours of rehearsal time at school, but the preparation doesn’t end after the actors go home, though. “If my parents didn’t know I was interested in drama they would think I was insane,” said Hurd. “I am constantly running through my lines, mumbling them to myself when I am at home.”
Jack Cahill-Lemme, Megan Wilcox, and Mason Patt review some blocking during a rehearsal.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
JACK CAHILL-LEMME Eamon Hurd
SKYLAR GOLBECK
“When this show first appeared on Broadway, my sophomore year, I was so taken with it and I followed its entire run. I remember staying up till midnight waiting for the soundtrack to come out and I listened to it all night. I always hoped the licensing for the show would come out by the time I was in college so I would get a chance to do it; having it come out so early, and having it be my senior show is absolutely surreal.”
Millener said, “Skylar has been on a journey with this role. She has worked so hard to develop the accent and the movements. She has shaped this character into just what we envisioned it to be because she is so good at taking direction and experimenting with things in rehearsal.”
Millener said, “The roles in musicals that Eamon is known for have been comedic ones. Here, he is in a completely different role and he demonstrates his versatility as an actor. I think this performance is going to open a lot of people’s eyes about the talent that he has goes far beyond just being funny.”
ELENA SASSO
GRACE GOBLE
MEGAN WILCOX
“The first time you see my character I’m getting married. The costume crew made me a gorgeous wedding dress and I feel like a princess in it! The next time you see my character I have a baby bump and I’m getting an ultrasound done. But, what makes this role very special to me is my 4 year old cousin is playing my son. I would have never thought we would EVER do a show together, but doing this show with him is something so magical.”
Elena Sasso said, “A real challenge for a lot of actors is going from young to old. The show starts off and Grace plays a beautiful high school cheerleader and by the end of the show it’s present day and she is an old woman. It’s very difficult to mentally and physically switch from old to young within a few scenes, but Grace does it flawlessly. She is so believable and so convincing; I believe every word coming out of that girls mouth on stage.”
Eamon Hurd said, “Megan has a demanding, dramatic role as a wife who’s dealing with her husband having cancer and also finds herself in the middle of a fight between her husband and her son. That sort of highly emotional role can easily slip into melodrama, but she is so talented and handles it so well it is truly spectacular.”
Make-up artist Vivi O’Shea applies a base layer to Rachel Maramba.
F
rom giants to witches, Big Fish is filled with imagination, and bringing these characters to life is truly an art form in itself. Each character’s make-up look is created by the make up heads, Kate Papciak and Natalie Reczek, and then approved by Ms. Saurer, while the hair head, Ann Kapustiak, works with Mrs.Hoeg to design the hairstyles and wigs. Papciak liked the new challenge this show provided. “Unlike last year’s musical Shrek, this show focuses more on the realism of characters and doesn’t incorporate many mystical creatures,” said Papciak. “The mermaid, which I am designing, is probably the most mystical
Living
Masterpieces
creature we have in the show. I plan on incorporating colors like Aqua, green, and lavender and there is no doubt that she will be covered in glitter.” Another challenging look to capture, according to Papciak, was the witch. They wanted to create a look that revealed power and dominance. When actors play more than one role, creating the looks becomes even more challenging. Papciak said, “For dancers, this is because we need to create a look that not only satisfies the director and complements their costumes, but is appropriate for each character the actor portrays later during the show as that make-up will remain. Designing the make up for major characters who stay in their character throughout the show is easy, but ensemble members who bounce from role to role is quite challenging.” Papciak and make-up artists Katherine Heyde and Alys Dobbins explain the intricate process the artists take to create their living masterpieces as they walk us through the before and after images of four distinct looks from the show.
Make-up artist Katherine Heyde applies eye liner to Mark Biedke an hour before the curtain rises at Tuesday’s dress rehearsal.
&
before after BOLD BRUSHSTROKES To have any character’s make-up noticeable on stage and not be washed out by the bright lights, the brush strokes have to be bold and wide and the colors ultra vibrant. The current trend of eye make-up is pretty bold, but what we do makes those looks look pretty minimalistic.
SHIMMER and SCALES By using shades of purple, blue, and green, it gives her face a ‘scaly’ texture. Those same hues are repeated in the hair and on the costume, too, so the colors pop on stage.
GIANT DREADS As with everything designed for the Giant, the motto is go big or go home. The wig was no exception as we felt that the volume of the hair had to work to mask the fact that Daniel’s (the actor) head is normal human size which would look comically tiny in the show. The huge frizzy wig helps create a believable look.
AGING GRACEFULLY By highlighting and contouring the natural crevices of the actors’ faces, it makes them look 30-50 years older. This technique takes a pretty long time by comparison and it takes a lot of practice to make it look natural.
SET the Stage
s
tage crew workers are similar to linemen in football. They do all of the inglorious dirty work that nobody wants to do but needs to be done in order for the team to succeed. Though it requires a lot of time and effort in relative anonymity, the crew members wouldn’t have it any other way. “Crew is an all-inclusive activity, we don’t turn people away. But it’s not for everybody,” said Sarah Biggins. “It takes a certain type of person to really understand and want to be involved with us and be backstage working until 11pm to get shows done.” While some high school theater programs struggle to cobble together a small crew staff for shows, the number of students involved in crew at Maine South continues to grow. For this show, Marissa Wilkens is the set designer
and, for the first time ever, there are three assistant technical directors, Sarah Biggins, Hannah Henley and Kiara Irizarry. These roles have helped forge many skills. “Backstage I have become more of a leader, more creative and it’s where I’ve been most proud of something I’ve made,” said Wilkens. “But it’s also the place where I’ve been the most frustrated.” To create the fantasy aspect of the show, the crew turned to technology to help set the stage. Using a huge screen and projected images and videos created by crew members, the vision of a dream-like fantasy land present in the tales comes to life. “Jack Hoeg spent so much time creating the visuals and they are spectacular. These will make up many of the ‘wow’ moments for the audience,” Wilkens said. Crew isn’t all work, though.
There is plenty of time for silliness. “In the spirit of the show, I’ve started some wild rumors about the tools we use,” said Alyssa Bulatek. “We have a gold pair of fabric scissors that work really well and I think some of the freshmen on crew are still convinced that they are real gold and/or magical.” Crew is often seen from outsiders as being almost like a cult. Members are so dedicated to each other and the show. Biggins sees this as not only accurate, but also as a compliment. “I see these people a whole lot more than I see my blood family so crew inevitably became my family. Crew never sees me for my faults, they only see me for my strengths. We are the island of misfit toys. We understand each other, we trust each other, we love each other... even if we don’t always like each other.”
Set Designer Marisa Wilkens explains
Four Key Pieces THE YELLOW HOUSE
This is theatrical recycling at its finest. This house was featured in the winter play Diviners and painted yellow for this show. The porch was altered and the siding was finished off as well. “It was very difficult to figure out how we were going to move it off stage during the show, but those are the types of problems that crew has to figure out all the time.”
FISH SCULPTURE This piece is sculpted out of foam and then spray painted gray to look like stone. “This piece took about 7 hours to complete as, believe it or not, I had no prior experience of carving fish out of foam. We decided to do this because we thought the town needed a focal point in the center. What better choice than a huge fish statue?”
THE DOCK It is impossible to tell exactly how many hours this design feature took because it was done in so many different parts on different days by different people. “We couldn’t just use real stained wood for two reasons. First, it would be far too expensive. Second, real wood does not show detail from a distance. By painting it, just like the actor’s make-up, the details can be exaggerated so they pop when viewed by the audience sitting at least thirty feet away.”
CIRCUS TENT Because a permanent and fixed set can’t be created for each scene, the crew came up with the draping of the yellow and red fabric from a central point to create the look of being in a circus tent. “So much of the action in this scene takes place on the stairs -- which took too much time to even comprehend -- so this visual element makes the scene feel much grander as it draws the eye upward as well. The stairs are cool, though, because there are a couple of times where they move during a scene where crew members are not seen.””
Playing Dress Up
While many students lounged on Florida beaches or explored Chicago as part of a Spring Break Staycation, the halls outside of the theater were whirring with the sound of five sewing machines, three serger machines and the sleep-deprived laughter of the costume crew. Under the direction of costume crew heads Alyssa Bulatek, the team of 12 designers helped create 150 costumes for the show in less than two months. Most audience members take for granted or simply don’t realize how much time and work goes into making costumes. “Originally, as crew head, I stayed until six after school, but as it gets closer to the show, it starts getting later and later. It’s three hours a day, five days a week, and sometimes we come in on Saturdays and over Spring Break to work in a more peaceful environment,” said Bulatek. A week and a half before opening night, the hours set in even longer. “On costume parade and tech nights, we have been here until around eleven at night. If you’re on running
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crew, you must show up two hours before the curtain goes up on each night there’s a show.” But, even when the show begins, the work doesn’t end for the costume crew. “We do quick changes, which is when we help the actors change from one scene to another backstage when they don’t have enough time to go back to the orchestra room and change,” said senior Kara Holder. The quickest change is 15 seconds and involves Will Bloom. Costume crew this year has been a particular challenge as a result of the schedule change that occurred to have finals before winter break. As a result of this schedule change, they had two full weeks of rehearsal and crew cut out from the typical schedule. Despite the hard work and huge time commitment, the students who do costume crew love it. “This is my last show. I know that my favorite experience of high school will be done in just a few short weeks. It’s a bitter-sweet experience. I’ve made a lot of new friends,” said Holder.
fabulous costumes explained by Alyssa Bulatek.
Karl
Jocks
The costume for Karl the Giant has proven to be a real challenge. “They don’t really make clothes for people on stilts, so Mrs. M has been figuring out how to get the stilts to work with the pants.” Since Karl is so tall, they also cleverly used a long overcoat as Karl’s suit jacket once he comes out of the wilderness.
There are eight jocks in total, consisting of two football players and six cheerleaders. “They have these green sort of 50s sweaters that say Ashton and their number on them. They have football pants and they have cleats and stuff; they look very 50s. Cheerleaders have the same sort of sweater look and panelled skirts.”
Mermaid
Witch
“The Mermaid’s costume is like a conservative, bedazzled bikini top. We also have a hand operated tail that matches her top. She’s not really an Ariel; she’s more fish than human.”
“The costume is very dark and Gothic, but inspired by nature. There’s a lot of gold in there and brown to create a visual contrast. She is very elegant and flowy, unlike the movie.”
Big Fish or big flop? The Movie:
Released on Dec 4, 2003, the movie was a critical success. It earned $31.81 million in its opening weekend and grossed $66.81 million. 77% of critics positively reviewed it and the movie received 4 Golden Globe nominations.
The Musical:
The musical however was not as successful. After a onemonth pre-Broadway run in Chicago, it opened on Broadway on Oct 6, 2013 and closed on Dec 29, 2013 after a three month run..
“When Big Fish closed on Broadway, hundreds of audience members that had seen the show and fell in love with it, returned for the final performance. The show almost has a cult following. It’s beloved by so many, and I am one of them.” Mrs. Carrie Saurer
Faculty Director
# 5700 ’s
Big Fish by the 25
Number of make-up quick changes.
6
Average number of costume changes per ensemble cast member.
$8500 Cost to license the script and music for five performances.
90
Light fixtures used to illuminate the set.
52 Hats worn on stage.
160
Number of bobby pins used each show.
1
Secret squirrel hidden in the set. A tradition for the crew members.
139
353
Hours of rehearsal.
Sheets of music Mr. Hutter has to direct.
Students involved.
25
Gallons of paint used on the set.
“Looking into Big Fish” Created by Mr. Jim McGowan’s Journalism Class. Writing, editing and design by Tyler Bartley, Lexi Basso, Thomas Corlett, Edgar Cuevas, Amanda Dragovic, Jana Duerkop, David Fleita, Michael Greco, Hannah Henley, Kayla Kaufmann, Alexander Kostiv, Travis Madden, Stephen Moderhock, Bridgid Mulvany, Madison Muno, Paulina Nakonieczna, Kaitlyn Nedza, Erin Radermacher, Ruby Rodriguez, Madeline Rupick, Nicholas Schnaufer, Madison Willoughby, Kara Wolinski, Abigail Wolters, and Kyle Zajdel. Photos by: Alyssa Bulatek, Jana Duerkop, Hannah Henley, Stephen Moderhock, and Patricia Smyrski.