Activity #1: Story Time

 

What I learned from watching this movie, was that sometimes people make things seem so much better than they actually are, after Edward told his stories to everyone, he became his stories. That’s how he knew people would remember him. The catch was that he had lived these adventures, but not to the full extent he had said. The amazing stories he told was how people like his family and friends and grandchildren will remember him. He overemphasized his stories so that’s how people thought his life was. Many people he told the stories to never found out what the truth was.

My favorite scene in this movie was when Edward saw Sandra for the first time. I like mushy stuff like that. I always liked the metaphor people used when they said “time stops” when they look at someone they love, and in this movie, that metaphor was brought to life.  Everything in the circus stopped when he saw Sandra, and I loved that. I found it funny how time had sped up way more afterwards again.

I found this movie similar to Forrest Gump, Edward was similar because of all the adventures he had lived out through his life. It was also similar because he was remembered for his stories just like Forrest was. Forrest Gump is my favorite movie, and that why it gets me excited to be a part of this musical. Because it’s a similar plot line.

Something significant about Big Fish is that when the witch told Edward how he was going to die, he was no longer afraid. This is what led him to make reckless decisions and get the most he could out of life. Because he knew how he was going to die, and the things he was doing were more enjoyable because there was no fear. I think that builds into the moral of the story. Edward spent his life doing amazing things, as he told his son. But at the end when you see everything was true, just slightly less amazing, we see that Edward exaggerated to make it into bigger stories. I believe he did this to make people believe that the world was much brighter. I think the moral of the story was to have as much fun as you can and realize the life you have is precious, make memories to share with your kids someday, which is exactly what Edward did.

Understanding the story line is very important for anyone in the musical, even for the people who don’t have larger parts, such as myself. It’s important to know so that we do know what types of facial expressions to use, and how to act based on what’s actually happening.

Activity #3: Singing Time

Listening to the entire soundtrack of Big Fish the Musical gave me more of an understanding of the plot and how the characters feel throughout the story. I found this very helpful in getting me prepared to practice and preform.

After listening to the soundtrack, I would have to say my favorite song on the track is Closer to Her. I feel that this song really shows Edwards desire and willingness to give everything he's got in every situation. In this case, it's to find Sandra and marry her. Even throughout the song, when we see how little information Amos is giving to him every month, Edward is still so determined and he knows he will get there. He's prepared to work hard for years to find this girl. I imagine this number on stage similar to how it was brought up in the movie. The circus in the background while Edward is cleaning and helping around. I imagine Edward working very hard and every time Amos comes to give him a clue, he puts his hand over his heart and smiles, because he knows one more thing about the love of his life, even if it’s a small clue. This is what that lets us know how in love and how happy he is to learn about her. Edward will be cleaning elephants, feeding animals, cleaning up around the circus. And the day that Amos tells him what her name is he runs off, Amos will realize what he's done and look angry, because he’s lost a free worker. I think in the background in this number is would be cool to have someone with hula hoops, maybe someone on stilts, etc. I believe it will be an easy thing to achieve, since stilts are easy burrowed from the gym and we can get hula hoops and such. This song fits into the context of the play because it is where Edward meets Sandra. And what he does to learn about her so he can see her again. I think this is important because it's where all of the stories come in and they had Will together. This is where most of the stories come to an end because he finally meets the woman he'll marry, this is one of the stories Edward tells his son, Will. So it fits into the story.

 I would have to say my least favorite track was Two Men in my Life. I find it slightly slow and not very exciting. This song is sung by Sandra explaining that she could never choose between Edward and Will because she loves them both and wishes that they would get along.  Throughout the song she tries to explain to Will that he should listen and learn to love his dad. It fits into the story because Edward is always "making up" stories which is what the musical is about, and Will doesn't care enough to listen. To make this song more engaging for the audience, I think we could have Sandra singing to both of them, Will and Edward on stage and maybe Sandra goes back and forth between them and dances with them or something. Goes back and forth making it clear that she loves them both and doesn't enjoy it when they fight and tries to bring them together during the song.

 In conclusion, I really enjoyed listening to the soundtrack, it was interesting how it was telling a story from start to finish. It gets me very excited to be able to learn these songs. And I’m very excited for this year’s musical!