Salpointe Drama Directors produce "Big Fish"

Arizona Daily Star and The Daily Wildcat
Dana Milne directed "Big Fish" which was choreographed by Simone Jolivet-Manuel '99 and vocally directed by AJ Lepore '06.
Arts Express, a performing arts education organization in Southern Arizona, works with students ages 14-24 in Tucson looking to further their acting experiences, meet new friends and produce a theater show at the end of the month-long Arts America Summer Stock program — a program filled with rehearsals, learnings sessions and group activities.  

Arts Express has been in service for over 30 years, and this summer the youth program ends with the production of the Broadway musical “Big Fish.”

Big Fish was described by a stage agent as "a heartfelt, powerful, and truly magical musical about fathers, sons, and the stories that we use to define our identities. With spine-tinglingly beautiful music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, and a funny, heartwarming book by John August, Big Fish is a magnificent “big fish” of a tale, itself -- spectacular, fantastical, and overflowing with love." The cast included high school and college students from across the city (including two Salpointe alumni!). They performed for two weekends at the University of Arizona Stevie Eller Theatre. 

More than 30 young people took the stage — with about 30 more volunteers, crew and musicians working behind the scenes — for the nonprofit’s musical production of “Big Fish,” based on Daniel Wallace’s novel, “Big Fish: A Novel of Mythical Proportions.”
 
The story of an estranged son who tries to find the truth behind his father’s “big fish” stories was adapted for the 2003 film and for Broadway by John August, with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa. The musical, which will be presented for the first time in Southern Arizona, has been compared to “The Wizard of Oz” and “Music Man.”
 
Director Dana Milne believes the production will resonate with audiences on multiple levels.
 
“This is a beautiful story about a man facing his mortality and a son trying to discover who his father was before he passes. On another level, it is about, ‘How do we tell our stories so that our children are inspired to live wonderful lives?’” said Milne. “That is important today because we need to have children who are willing to listen. We need to understand that delicate balance between father and son or parent and child and realize that how we talk to our children changes the way they listen — not just to us, but to the world — and we want our children to be open to perceiving with their minds and hearts.”
 
Milne said Arts Express helps to facilitate that perception through several annual productions and various programs in community theater and arts education.
 
“Theater teaches empathy: We learn more about the human experience through watching theater and participating in theater. We get to see onstage things that we couldn’t otherwise participate in or understand and I think that helps us to perceive the feelings of others in a more genuine way,” said Milne, who also teaches drama at Salpointe Catholic High School.
 
Milne emphasized that theater also promotes human connections and communication at a time when people can become emotionally disconnected due to technology.
 
“We spend so much time on social media and in front of computers, videos or phones without having an understanding of context and we need to learn to communicate interpersonally without technology.
 
“Watching live theater, where emotions are expressed 15 feet from you in a way that you haven’t — or maybe you have —felt or seen before but maybe you haven’t known how to express, helps us to stay connected to ourselves and our fellow man,” Milne said.
 
Milne believes the fantastic story, in combination with lively music, will draw in people of all ages.
 
“My vision as the director is that there is magic in the memory. As we grow and share things, those shared memories create our legacy ... we live on in the memories that we instill in our children,” she said.
 
University of Arizona students Luke Gaff and Matt Milne, 2016 Salpointe alum, are excited for their growth as actors in the production. Gaff will play the role of Edward Bloom and Matt Milne the role of Will Bloom, the son in the story. Luke Gaff, the 19-year-old who plays Edward Bloom, the father in the story, said the musical is filled with heart.
 
“It has a big heart but addresses real life. At the center of the story is a misunderstanding between a father and son ... it really touches base on family — not just the pretty stuff, but the arguments and disagreements and what those situations look like and how people deal with them. It is a fantastical telling of these events but doesn’t seem unrealistic; it is something that everyone can relate to,” said Gaff.
 
Gaff is grateful that organizations such as Arts Express offer opportunities for young people — and the entire community — to experience the magic of singing, dancing and musical theatre.
 
“It is sometimes easy for kids to get caught up in the “cut and paste” feeling of going to school, graduating, going on to college and getting a job without discovering their true passions. It is very important to put opportunities out for people to try something new that they might enjoy, and that was my own experience.
 
“I found something that I never knew I had a love for: It is not so much converting people to the arts, but giving them the opportunity so they can open the door to find something they truly love,” said Gaff, who began acting during his junior year at Desert Christian High School and is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in fine arts at the UA.
 
“I have grown so much, gaining experience with using different vocal ranges,” said Matt Milne, a junior majoring in Arts and Theater Arts. “The songs are in my upper register and the amazing directing staff makes the experience. 
 
Matt Milne also says that his character goes through ranges of emotion, especially in his song “Stranger.”
 
In preparation for the show, Gaff says that “there is room for individual expression, you can take each role in a variety of ways. The musical has a total of 15 roles and a handful of extras.”

“There are a lot of different interpretations and, in studying for the role, I looked at a lot of other productions and saw how they portrayed their characters in collaboration with the show,” Matt Milne said. 

The directing staff of Dana Milne, AJ Lepore, and Simone Jolivet-Manuel is pleased to be collaborating together in the upcoming production. 
AJ Lepore, vocal director of the production, began his teaching of musical theater back in 2012, in the production of “Guys and Dolls” with Dana Milne and Simone Jolivet-Manuel who are working with him in this upcoming musical. 

Lepore said that Dana Milne and Jolivet-Manuel, are “some of the best at what they do which makes it fun to work with them.”

“AJ Lepore, Simone Jolivet-Manuel, and Dana Milne make you great,” said Matt Milne as he looks forward to continuing to work with each for the production. 

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