Summer Assignment

Activity 1: Story Time

 

    From watching the movie "Big Fish", I learned that understanding in the family is very important. In the movie, Will didn't understand his father at first. He thought that his father made up all the stories and he was tired of hearing them. But he wanted to understand his father, he wanted to know who he his. At last, when Edward wa slying in the hospital, Will came to realize that the stories weren't all fake, they were just exaggerated and full of inmagination. Will finished Edward's life story for him and told him how he goes. That's when Will really understood his father, even though it was a bit late already.
    There are two scenes that really stood out to me. One of them is when Edward goes to Auburn University to find Sandra. Don appears and punches and kicks Edward but he doesn't fight back. Sandra chooses Edward over Don and they kiss in the field of daffodils. I like this scene because it is very romantic. Edward's effort to find Sandra payed off and he finally got his true love. Another one was at the end of the movie when Will tells the story of how his father goes. He told him how they would get out of the hospital and how they rush to the riverside. Everyone in Edward's stories were there to greet him. That was the most touching part of the whole movie for me and I think that's when Will figures out who his father really is. It is a happy ending in the sadness of Edward's death.
    I think the moral lesson is that you need to believe the people who love you. Even though Edward's stories about himself were not all facts, but he is making a normal life more exciting. This is what he dreams a life should be, which is full of adventures and ups and downs. A person who loves you will never harm you or put you in danger. It's the same with Edward. He just has his own ways of talking about his life.
    The movie used a metaphor and I think Edward is that "big fish". At the beginning of the movie, he talked about how he used a golden ring to catch a really big fish. In Edward's stories, he also talks about how he is a big fish in a small pond and he wants to see the world. When Edward met the giant, he said it's not because you're too big, it's because the town is too small that it won't fit you. This kind of brings out the metaphor again. A fish is also free to swim in the water and I think it is what Edward looks forward to, a life without boredom and full of fantasy.
    I guess when I understand the storyline, I will know the feelings of the characters in different parts of the show and what the scenes are trying to tell the audience. Then I will be able to get into the mood of the scene. I will know what expression I should have on my face and what kind of gestures I should make. I will also understand in which way I need to say my lines (even though I only have a few) or the way I need to sing the words in. When I understand the storyline, I understand the characteristics at the same time.

Activity 2: Stage Time

 

    My favourite scene is Act 1 Scene 13. I see it as a very romantic and grand scene. I think the screen should show a big university building with daffodils in front of it. People from the university are walking around. Edward stands up from where he lands and looks around for Sandra. He finally finds her after looking at the wrong people and everyone else leaves the stage. Sandra tells Edward that she is engaged and shows him the ring. Edward takes her hand and continues singing. As they talk, Don and his buddies enter the stage and punches and kicks Edward (not for real, just acting). Sandra makes them stop and hands her ring back to Don. She helps Edward up as Don and his buddies leave the stage. As Edward starts singing, people bring daffodils on to the stage and put them in a circle around Edward and Sandra. They finish the song and kiss. That will be the end of the scene.

    We must let the crowd see clearly that Edward doesn't fight back because this shows that Edward truly loves Sandra and is a man of his word. The crowd will feel that how they meet is like a fantasy. At the end of the scene, we must make it seem really romantic so the crowd will feel this is a perfect love story.

    I think this scene will work pretty well with acting and choreography. The most difficult part is to make thefake fighting look realistic and creating a romantic atmosphere. Also, I think we can use some dancing after Don leaves the stage. The people carrying daffodils could dance on to the stage and Edward and Sandra could start dancing until just before they start singing together. That will make it more romantic.

    I think we can pull it off on our stage because we don't need a lot of techniques for this scene. The hardest part will be how to make Edward look like he just fell from the sky, which probably is unlikely to actually happen. But we have to make the audience understand this concept.

    As for the budget, it might be a bit tight because we need a lot of daffodils for the affect of the stage. But I don't think we need to cover the whoe stage with daffodils, we only need to make a circle of daffodils. That way the scene still looks great and not a lot of the budget will be used towards the daffodils.