Open auditions for the Homecoming musical in the fall, “Big Fish”, took place last week in Fulks Theatre in the Williams Performing Arts Center.
Any student or members from the Abilene community were welcome to audition. Those who auditioned were required to prepare a cut of a song in the style of “Big Fish” as well as a minute-long monologue.
There were two sets of callbacks for “Big Fish.” The first was a vocal callback Monday night during which students were asked to sing a portion of one of the songs from the show. The second was a dance call Tuesday night.
The directors selected several from those who auditioned to be called back for certain roles. Callbacks were Monday and Tuesday and began at 7 p.m.
“Big Fish” will be directed by Dawne Meeks, associate professor of acting and movement, alongside the vocal direction of Kari Hatfield, assistant professor of acting and theatre history.
“Dawne is a great director, she really knows how to convey what she is trying to accomplish as a whole with a show to her actors. I love her directing style and it’s something I look forward to working with,” said Joseph Burnam, a junior theatre education major from Dallas.
Meeks and Adam Hester, department chair and director, take turns each year directing the homecoming musical. Last year for “Les Misérables”, Meeks and Adam co-directed.
The cast list will be sent out to everyone involved in the show during the summer. Rehearsals will begin the week before school.
Performance dates for “Big Fish” are Oct. 10-12 at the Abilene Civic Center.
“There is definitely a lot of dancing,” Burnam said. “The year before last when we did ’42nd Street’, it was an all tap show, and it’s going to be more like that.”
This is the first time “Big Fish” will premiere in Abilene.
“It has very intense material about trust and betrayal, but it’s also just a play-on of what is real,” Burnam said.
“It’s a great contrast because ‘Les Mis’ is kind of a darker story and ‘Big Fish’ is going to be real family-friendly and a lot of fun,” said Caleb Pierce, junior musical theatre major from Coppell.
The Homecoming musical attracts more students, alumni and members from the community than any other productions.
“I do like the small intimate shows and it helps you in that specific area,” said Sara Williams, sophomore musical theatre major from Abilene. “But homecoming is like Sing Song in the sense that it’s so memorable; it’s huge.”
