The Harding University Department of Theater\u2019s Homecoming production of \u201cBig Fish\u201dand the people behind it are attempting to capture its larger-than-life quality on a scale that they have never attempted before.<\/p>\n
Ben Jones, assistant professor of theater and technical director of Big Fish, <\/em>said that while the theatre department has used projections in musicals before, they have never done \u201canything on this scale.\u201d<\/p>\n The musical will utilize several large-scale projectors to display images and backgrounds for the play. By using projectors, the theatre department will be able to move away from static backgrounds and use moving scenes to display sets. Jones said the idea to use projectors for this production was a \u201ccollaborative decision\u201d between himself and Britt Lynn, associate professor of theatre and the set designer for the production.<\/p>\n Compared to the typical work hours required for a traditional set, Jones said this production required more man hours for fewer people, explaining that with a normal set, many students can get together to paint backdrops, whereas this was not the case with\u201cBig Fish\u201d.Each projected image needs to be manually adjusted on a computer in order to be projected on a large scale in the George S. Benson Auditorium.<\/p>\n Junior Sarah Arbuckle, a theatre design and production major said she started working with the theatre department on making artistic choices for the musical over the summer. Arbuckle said the artistic goal for this production of \u201cBig Fish\u201d was to figure out how to mix the realism with the fantasy. According to Arbuckle the fantasy aspect of the musical would be achieved through the projections, which required the production crew to design the set in such a way that it is composed both of set pieces that are beautiful on their own and also able to have images projected onto them.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s technically and emotionally very different from any show we have attempted before, and I think that it\u2019s going to surprise the audience in a very positive way,\u201d Arbuckle said.<\/p>\n \u201cBig Fish\u201dis also quite different in tone than other plays that Harding has produced before.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is different about this show is that it takes on the very serious message and the very serious world surrounding this father and son relationship,\u201d Jones said. \u201cIt has a very serious tone to it, and in the midst of all that it has this very classical, american music stage musical feel of \u2018let\u2019s do a song and dance number.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n