There was a quiet bustle as students took their seats at this week’s introductory meeting for City High’s spring musical, Big Fish. The meeting was led by director Troy Peters, who teaches English and acting classes at the school.

“I was really happy with the number of people that showed up,” Peters said. “We’ve got a great group of freshmen through seniors that seem to be interested.”

Joining Peters in direction is Flint Hawes, who will be leading the music component of the show. Hawes, who studied piano in college and is now the accompanist for the City High choirs, is excited to begin work on Big Fish.

“I’m looking forward to developing relationships with the musical students and passing down information that I’ve learned through my career to help shape the performance,” Hawes said.

Peters adds to this excitement, sharing how once practice begins, the process for preparing the performance can be intense. 

“I am really excited about listening to the music and getting the vocal rehearsals going,” Peters said. “It’s going to be quite a challenge — there are quite a few big songs. That’s what I’m most looking forward to.”

On top of the professional direction provided by City High staff, there are also student leaders who will take charge of certain aspects of the show. Drama Board dance captains Alice Boerner ‘22 and Whit Jury ‘23 will help lead the choreography of Big Fish. The dances themselves will be choreographed by City High alum Thomazin Jury. 

As part of the audition process, optional dance auditions will be conducted due to the heavy amount of choreography within the show. To prepare, the dance captains will hold a Dance Workshop after school on January 19 in order to help students feel more confident in their audition. 

“It is a tough [dance combination] for people to learn for the audition,” Jury said. “So with the dance workshop, we are hoping to help everyone see it is not quite as daunting as it may seem. It is not required, but it is definitely encouraged. It will help a lot.”

Singing auditions will be held on January 25 and 26 from 4:15-6:00. Students interested in participating should sign up for an audition time on one of these days, on a form which can be found in the music wing, then should fill out an audition information sheet and prepare a song for their audition. For those interested in tech crew or pit orchestra for the show, a tech interest meeting will be held after school on February 1.

Students can email Mr. Peters at [email protected] or visit the City High Drama website for more information.