MUSIC
I'm the Fine Arts Director. I oversee the production on the producer and the director
and I get to have all the fun of pretending like I do everything but I don't.
I'm the lead male character in the show. Now I'm kidding. I am the conductor of the orchestra.
Well, I am the Drama Director for Little Women and that basically means that I am in
charge of all the acting that takes place in the play which is a lot.
I am the accompanist but also I work with the directors and I'm the liaison
between the orchestra and the directors. I help a lot with the musical direction.
I help the students learn their notes and everything coming together from a musical standpoint.
I am the technical director for Little Women and I lead a group of students to do all of the sound,
lighting, special effects and basically make our cast look and sound as good as we possibly can.
Little Women is an amazing treasure. The music in this show is second to none.
It's really amazing. Amazing lyrics, amazing score, the orchestration is fabulous.
That in itself is just amazing. The story is one that I think everybody can relate to
and that it's a story about wanting to be something in this world and wanting to be remembered for
something that you do but then realizing that what really makes you astonishing is not what
you do but it's what God has made you and how you are inside and I think that's a lesson
all of us need tomorrow. It's a beautiful story based off of Louisa Mayalkat's very famous book
about this young girl who is just so chock full of passion and she just has so much inside of her
that she is just not going to stop until she shares with the world her stories and the relationship
that she has with her sisters and with her mother and with her friends just inspire her so much to
write these amazing, amazing books and it is just a beautiful, beautiful musical. I've never
read anything like it. I know that people's hearts will melt when they see this musical.
When I learned we were doing Little Women this year I was talking with the director about any
special effects that were needed since we had done so much with Fogg in the prior years and she
said no we don't need any Fogg but I do need you to go fly a kite and I'm sure you know she waited
a long time to be able to deliver that line but still in looking at flying a kite indoors it was
no little feat and so when I researched it and I looked gee what are other productions doing about
this I was finding very little very few productions were able to actually incorporate the kite and
in fact some professional productions didn't do it at all and so we said about that you know we
wanted an above average kite in our production just like every other piece of a book Christian Broadway
musical you have a group of overachieving Taipei adults that are just going to make it the best
possible experience for our students and our audience that we possibly can. The storyline
itself is a very real story and and and I again tout the tout the actresses and actors that are
on stage it's a fantastic show and little women wouldn't exist without the men in the show they're
just as big a part of the feature so I do make the joke that we have the little women and the big
men and and and it's a show that happens with the with the men in there too and it is a historical
show reflecting true history in America it has a lot of application of the things but not just
that the music's fantastic the the actors and actresses are fantastic this year and it's it's
going to be a top-end production it really will be. When I heard the play was going to be Little
Women I kind of didn't really know what to expect because I knew it was a famous book but I didn't
really know the storyline and the title Little Women I didn't really think there'd be much
opportunities for good guy roles but as as I heard the music from the play and and the storyline
I I really like it the music is fantastic the the characters and the player are just really
really nice. Little Women is a story about a family during the Civil War and it's just a good story
that teaches a lot of valuable lessons about forgiveness and love and family and true friends
and it just has a really a lot of Christian overtones and good lessons that we can learn from it. I
play the role of Jo March and she is a very determined different type of girl for her era
she really just has a lot of dreams and goals that are out of the ordinary for that time period
she's very stubborn she knows what she wants and she knows that she's going to get it and she's
just a very determined different fun person. I play Professor Barrie he's a German professor who
used to live in Germany and he moved to New York and he's he's really enjoying his his kind of
normal life it's not very exciting he does the same thing every day but then he's staying at a
boarding house and one day Jo March comes to the boarding house and she completely changes his life
he doesn't really realize it but he starts to fall in love with her. I'm Mrs. Kirk I own the
boarding house in New York City where Josephine March lives she came here a few weeks ago with
this dream to be an accomplished writer to be very published and very famous and earn barrels of
money is her phrase that she said and someone else who also lives in my boarding house is Professor
Fritz Bayer he is a professor at a university he's from Germany and he and Miss March have a very
peculiar relationship they are always quarreling no matter the rain or shine whether it's Tuesday or
Monday but I have to say that there is a bit of something underneath those arguments that I think
they need a third party to look in on themselves and I am happy to provide that service. I play the
part of John Brooke and he's a pretty interesting character he falls in love with Meg at kind
of in that first sight actually he sees her and he's kind of in a flustered mood and then he lets
his he sets his eyes on her and changes his frame of mind says so you're so you're Margaret and
that's when they really fall in love and he's a very interesting character he knows what he he
wants in life and he's very committed to his goals and he goes for things so he is the Civil
Wars going on and his friends are off in the war fighting and he feels the need that he has to go
and fight and immediately he goes in and lists but at the same time he's torn because he has his
love at Meg back home he wants both but he can't have both so he does his best to compromise and
that's what John Brooke's character is. In Little Women I play the character of Laurie who is basically
just a fun guy he's out to have a good time he can do a lot of random things like play the
piccolo sleep standing up hold his breath for a really long time and I can do none of those things
so that's why we have musicals. I play the character Marmee March she's the mother of the
four March girls she's a very loving character stern when needed but otherwise she loves her
girls to death and she couldn't bear to be apart them and goes through this whole you know story
of despair and such but she's a lovable character. I'm Aimee March I'm Beth March. My name is Margaret
was Joe in New York it's so quiet she's she's a loud one and she gets us all riled up and busy.
I finally get attention. It was really hard to be a character that was an adult I wouldn't call
myself immature but I mean it's hard to imagine you had four kids and try to be that stern parent
that when needed needs to yell Aimee, Joe, Beth, Meg you know when they're getting a bit
rambunctious. Yes I do. We get along. I think me and Meg get along. Me and Joe get along too and I get along with everybody. Now if you ask Aimee she might give you a different response. I don't like Joe usually. Well I mean she loves her but she doesn't like her.
Okay well my favorite scene is my favorite song perhaps is. The boys are nice. There's a new boy named Lori. He was across the street from us. He's really nice. He's staying with his grandfather.
And his tutor is really cute too. My favorite scene we probably have to be five forever and it's just a fun song. All the sisters get to put on like a mini play within their own home and they kind of adopt the character of Lori as their brother and he has the opportunity to do it with them so it's just kind of where the audience sees Lori's interaction with the sisters and his initial connection with them.
My favorite is the attic all the time. That's our favorite thing to do and still is. When Joe comes back we'll do lots more plays than the attic. I always paint the backdrops. I usually do the costumes. I usually die. That's true. She's usually the character that dies. I play the pretty one.
One year there's March Girls. They put on one of Josephine's stories. It was called The Operatic Tragedy and for all of Massachusetts, all of Concord they decided that they were going to go out and put on this grand production. I wouldn't call it grand. It was more of a big musical phenomena that got in the way honestly of all those girls.
I mean they started messing with their heads. They all wanted to become talented and musical and all of these things and I really don't think that they should have but they put on this operatic tragedy with all of these phenomenal characters that Joe had created.
Everyone in Concord thought that they loved it. I didn't rave about it at all. I don't think they should have put it on at all.
My overall favorite scene is the volcano press and I like it because you see a lot of people working together and there's two different parts of it. There's on one hand Joe and Professor Bear having a talk about what happened with the publisher and in the background you see her story as she's reading it out loud. You see them performing in the background.
I am Rodrigo. I want to kill Braxton.
I play the part of Clarissa and she's this very energetic but deity, governess, wealthy type girl.
Why do I want to kill Braxton? You're asking why I want to kill Braxton?
Clarissa starts off very vain. She starts off not knowing these principles very well as we look at what's happening to me and then she goes through all these trials in the weekly volcano press where she meets the hag.
Can I tell you it is so awkward growing up as a hag because like my family, they aren't hags. So I am the only hag. Can you imagine living in like a normal neighborhood with nice little Susie's and Johnny's, right?
There's me. I am a hag. That is my given name. I don't have a last name. I don't even have a middle name. I am just hag. The hag. It's really awkward.
Well back when we were in elementary school, he took my grants. He took them from me. Ten years he hasn't given them back.
And she has to know her destiny by giving up her clip which is like her bandy and all her wildest possessions is her necklace, her shawl.
As hags, it's like in our blood to kind of move in that fashion. I mean it does take some theatricalness to do it because like especially when people like that random little girl that ran through my forest a couple months ago, I took her comb. It's really nice, right?
I have it at home. So my hags are very scary around her, right? But it does take some training, some practice. We like from two to four.
But now, oh now, I'm going to turn Braxton into a sharpener. And she realizes that she can be a woman with backbone and she can be not vain and she can give what she has and be in a sense like a good person.
It shows like the new morals that are instilled and she ends up going back and fighting for what she believes in.
I'm going to get to him big time. Unhand that woman.
When I heard what Clarissa did, I immediately got so excited because Clarissa gets to sword fight and that was yes bonus. I get to run around in a dress and sword fight. Awesome.
When you think middle school is rough, normally try being the only hideous one with a wart on the end of your nose when you're like 12, okay? That is rough. That is hard.
But you know what? It made me stronger. So it helped me find who I am, like my inner hags. It went well so I think I turned out okay.
My favorite scene is the fire within me, just because it's the whole turning point of the musical. It's when Joe realizes that she can't accomplish her goals and her dreams just by herself.
She needs to take and pull from what is within her, which is her sisters and just the experiences she's had with them.
And she realizes in this scene that that's the only way she can achieve her dreams, as if she just takes from what her past is and her sisters.
Unbiasedly, I have to say, days of plenty just because you really see Marmee's weakness almost because every other part she's a strong, powerful person and she breaks down in her own way where she's trying to teach Joe a lesson.
It's really difficult knowing she lost Beth and you just really see her break down. It's just a really fun scene and I think it speaks to people.
What I love about the Spring Musical is it just brings all the students together. It's a bonding agent that happens within the students of our school and in the Fine Arts Department.
And I think I've seen over this period of time that I've been privileged to be in this position just how that bond just carries over into so many other parts of our school and other aspects.
So it's a great time for not just our Fine Arts Department, but for the school.
What I love about our Spring Musical is that it is an opportunity for students to grow musically, spiritually, emotionally, relationally, and being involved in the musical allows me to have the opportunity to see all that growth happen.
I've seen students come into their own in the Fine Arts and just seeing kids that normally wouldn't be plugged in get to be able to do something like this. I think it's just as big a deal as seeing the stars and the really gifted ones that you know are gifted get on stage and lead from there,
but to see other kids get involved that wouldn't be involved otherwise.
I started being in the plays at Boca Cristina when I started as a freshman. I was a stagehand before that. And those four years of being on the stage that has really taught me so much and taught me how to teach them.
And also, you know, the biggest teacher that I had was, and I was very fortunate to have was my mother, who was the drama director before me, and she taught me more than I could have ever, ever learned on my own.
So with the combination of her teaching me and just the experience that I had as a student, it's really helped me to relate to them and relate to the students now and to teach, to tell them how to do things because I've been there, because I understand.
Every single year, there's always one or two students who just go from, you know, someone who's just, I've seen in class or in choir, you know, they have a really strong audition and so we put them in a role that we think maybe is a little bigger for them, and then they just blossom.
And then from then on, it's like lead roles, hands down, they want to be musical theater majors. I mean, it happens. Every single year, we just see the Lord take this opportunity and work in the lives of these students.
And that is what makes me so thrilled, because that's what happened to me. You know, when I was in high school, involved in Broadway musicals, those things were life-changing experiences and completely character-transforming experiences for me.
A few years ago, we did Music Man, and there's this scene where Harold Hill has the whole town imagining what this marching band is going to be like.
And as I was watching it, I saw this short, pudgy kid with round glasses come strutting out into the front, pretending that he was playing a trombone.
And he had all the moves down, and he totally captured my imagination, which is exactly what Harold Hill was doing.
Just a few weeks ago, for the tryouts at Little Women, I sat in the back of the room, and I watched the same young man, all grown up, young, strapping, muscular, smart, handsome, walk up to the piano.
And he was asked to sing a song that is sung in Little Women by the character John Brooks, and it's basically a proposal of marriage to one of the March girls.
Well, the pianist started playing, and this young man started singing this beautiful love song, and his tenor voice just wafted and echoed throughout the room.
And I looked, and every single girl in that room watching this performance was Gaga.
It was just an amazing thing to watch. It was the same kid that came running out and captured my imagination, Allah, Harold Hill.
What he will do in this room during Little Women, I think, will be amazing.
And that's just one of many amazing musical and performing moments that you will experience in Little Women.
Booker Christian Fine Arts really means a lot to me, because it takes kids that normally may not be the most active kids, and forces them to step out of their comfort zones.
And they get up on stage, and they do a great job doing what they love, and it's neat to see people doing that.
And it's a lot of fun, too. I mean, I love being up on stage, singing and enacting. It's what I like to do, and it's fun to be around my friends doing it.
Well, music and drama are both very, very important to people in general, because everyone has to express themselves somehow, and there's all different kinds of ways.
But without music and drama, or even poetry, all different kinds of ways of expression, life would be boring, and people wouldn't be able to express themselves.
And music is a great way to bring in rhythm and melody to saying a story, or telling a story, or telling a lesson, and sometimes it helps people understand or connect with something better.
And it's just really important in life to express yourself in more ways than one.
Booker Christian Fine Arts Department has really affected me, because when I came to the school, I honestly didn't know much about music.
I knew I wanted to sing, but at that part, I was just kind of singing pop, believe it or not.
I've gone through every genre, and Mrs. Poole and Ms. Weirson, everyone has encouraged me to become confident in my abilities.
And classically, I mean, who would have thought I would have ended up, you know, singing opera.
But, I mean, it's such a fantastic program and all these opportunities to put on practically a Broadway production.
Playing Joe has really affected me as a person, because for a long time, I've felt just self-conscious, because if I'm different in any way from anyone else.
But playing this role has helped me to realize that it's okay to be different.
And when you are different, and when you're true to yourself and who God has made you to be, you really, that's when you really shine.
And she's really helped me to remember to be myself, no matter what.
You need to come to little women, if nothing else, to see the sword fights and the kite.
You've got to come just to see the kite being flown in the chapel. That's amazing.
You know, every year, there's always one, sometimes two students that just, you know, skyrocket to high levels of performance.
But this year is different. It's truly stunning to sit back and watch a large number of students all achieving at these high levels of performance.
Now, when you combine that with a score and a script of such high quality as little women, and that dozen or so type A overachieving adults,
you have what I believe will go down in history as a real benchmark in Bokeh Christian fine arts.
This production is one you want to make sure you go to.
You know, we're a small school, but we are so blessed, and God has just gifted us with so many talented kids.
It's unbelievable how he's so faithful every year to supply us with the kids that we need, and they are just magnificent.
I have never known a group of students, particularly this group, to be so dedicated and to work so hard and to want to get everything so right.
And it has just shown throughout every single rehearsal, through every line, every movement, every block,
they have just, they have just done an incredible job, and it's only going to get better,
and I cannot wait to see them do it live in front of an audience. It is just going to be magnificent.
I love it when an audience is so surprised at how talented these students are, particularly students that they know,
and they see how being involved in a Broadway musical really brings out the best in them, and I love how surprised in Florida everyone is when they come and see the show.
To see a school our size put on a production at the level that it does every year is more and more impressive to me to show what a group of kids can do.
Even in a small school, we have a small school every year, and we manage these incredible shows with incredible teams,
and God's blessed us not just with people who have led the show in terms of adults, but in terms of these students that step forward,
and you get to see talent come from places you never thought existed.
I think it's crucial. Musical theater is such a part of our art world that is constantly being debated about and argued about,
and is it important, is it not important, but when you see a show done really well, it answers the question,
and I'm really excited to see this show come together this year. I'm really pumped about it.
Well, I've been Fine Arts Director here at Bugha Christian for ten years, and it has been my great honor and privilege to work with some of the most extraordinary students ever.
And so many of the students have gone on to do so many amazing things. They're in ministry of music.
They're using their talents to mentor other students. They're leading worship in churches. They're wanting to be on Broadway.
They're going into opera, just a myriad of different talents.
And just to know that God has used me in some small minute way to play a part in that is just overwhelmingly wonderful.
And I'm going to miss it. I'm going to miss it. This is my last year as Fine Arts Director, and it makes me sad to even think about it.
But I know that God has a new person to bring in that's going to be amazing, and the tradition will carry on.
And so it's a changing of the guard, and I'm excited to see what's going to continue on with our Fine Arts Department.
But I just want all of you guys to know I love you with all my heart, and I wish God's very, very, very best for you. Love you.
