Big Fish Film Analysis

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On March 2nd, 2018, I attended the production of Big fish directed by Mary Leonard and put on by the University of Wisconsin La Crosse Department of Theatre Arts. This production was put on in the toland theater on a proscenium style stage in front of approximately 430 people, a full house. Big fish wowed the audience with the many talents they were able to share. This production clearly shares the message through the father Edward Bloom and his relationship with his son. The message being, no life is dull and the greatest gifts we can give one another is love and friendship. Throughout the production the actors, directors and music did a great job making sure the play was portrayed by the audience as intended. Although the actors, directors…show more content…
This quote to me says that costumes are what make the stories come alive. In the production, Big Fish the costumes were an essential part in both the audience’s clarity and the actor’s ability to fall into character. Though all the costumes were a vital part of the show there were a few that stood out more than the others. One being the costumes worn by the witches, a dark purple, black color drape of cloth. I think these costumes really portrayed the witch as the mysterious, powerful character they were meant to be. I think they had the costume lay loosely on their body's so when they moved/danced it would give off the supernatural affect. Another costume that helped the audience understand the visual style of the production is the wardrobe worn by Willie Pearson who played Karl the giant. This costume consisted of a dark brown raggedy looking drape. I think this was an important detail to the characters image because it showed in the beginning that he lived in the cave. The brown color was supposed to represent either clothes that were worn out or clothes made out of nature. His hair was obviously a big part of his costume in the fact that it was long and all knotted up. This showed that…show more content…
The three that I think are most crucial to a productions overall success are costumes, lighting and scenery. How would a plays meaning differ if the lighting stayed consistent throughout the whole performance? How about if the backdrop was just a black sheet? If people dressed as they do every day? The audience clearly understood the message, no life is dull and the greatest gifts we can give one another is love and friendship. This was not because of the actors alone but because of the directors, designers, managers, especially scenic, costume and lighting. Next time you attend any type of production, look past only the physical and first things you see but try to look beyond that, look at how the lighting darkens or the costume choices. If you do this, you will have an even bigger respect for the amount of effort put into theater, I know I

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