Father and Son Relationship Journey in Big Fish

When Sydney Youth Musical Theatre’s (SYMT) latest production Big Fish opens in January 2023, it will transport audiences into a magical world filled with giants, witches, circus-folk, and mermaids.  However, at the heart of this uplifting show is the fragile relationship between a father, Edward Bloom, who has lived a full and very colourful life, and his pragmatic adult son Will. Having spent his entire life listening to his father’s stories, Will is tired of Edward always portraying himself as the hero. When he discovers that he and his wife are having a son of their own and that his father’s health is declining, Will decides he needs to discover the truth behind Edward’s stories before it is too late.

Playing the lead roles in the production are Felix Staas, 18, and Max Kendrick, 19, surprisingly close in age in real life to be portraying the father-son relationship.

Big Fish will be Felix Staas’ third production with SYMT, having previously been in The Addams Family and Into the Woods, both earlier in 2022. He is currently completing his first year at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, studying a Bachelor of Music (Music Theatre) in the course’s inaugural year. His other credits include Sam Carmichael in Mamma Mia! (PLC 2022), Goody King in Fame (PLC 2020), and Carlos/Ensemble in Legally Blonde (Barker 2019).

“I have only quite recently developed an interest in musical theatre, but I’m so glad that I have,” said Felix.

“I initially had individual passions for acting, dance, and music, and it wasn’t until my first show in 2019 that I realised I could combine all these things in the wonderful form of musical theatre.

“That was the show that made me realise what I wanted to do with my life, along with some wonderful teachers at Barker College who fostered my love for my craft.”

Felix was keen to audition for the SYMT production of Big Fish and had his eye on the role of Edward Bloom from the start.

“I was incredibly excited by the prospect of working with the production team behind SYMT’s Big Fish, and that is what first made me want to audition for the show.

“As I started to familiarise myself with the material, I really loved the music and the story that it told. I found Edward to be a fascinating character and I was keen to pull the role apart to understand his motivations and character arc through the show. It’s a big role, the biggest I’ve had, and I wanted to challenge myself,” he said.

Felix is loving the experience of working with the Big Fish production team who he describes as “a dream to work with.”

“I’ve worked with the wonderful musical director Matt Herne before, and it’s been great to learn from his genius in a one-on-one capacity.

“Our fantastic director Dylan Hayley Rosenthal has been incredibly supportive throughout the process and continues to push me and stretch my abilities as a storyteller.

“I love Cameron Boxall’s dynamic choreography; it always has such a great sense of story and character through the movement, and it’s been fantastic to hone my dancing under his guidance.

“The wonderful Fiorella Bamba and Becky Savage have been great to work with as well,” Felix said.

He is enjoying the challenge of playing someone much older than himself.

“It has been really interesting to explore this role for many reasons, but a big one is the development of Edward’s character as he ages. The plot is not linear, it explores different time periods of his life, so it’s been a real challenge to highlight the difference in age through physicality and demeanour in my performance,” he said.

Also a challenge, is playing the role of a father – to a son who in real life is a similar age, but actually older than Felix.

“It's a really bizarre experience to pretend that I'm a good twenty years older than Max, especially as he's my elder in real life, but to do so I've tried to establish a relationship in my head with Will the character, rather than with Max the actor who plays him,” said Felix.

“The biggest thing I try and work into my acting practice is to have the thoughts of the character filtering through my brain as I'm performing, to help me embody the character, inform the way I deliver lines and respond to my fellow performers. This has really helped me think in the brain of my character and step out of my own brain to authentically portray Edward Bloom on stage,” said Felix.

Max Kendrick who plays Will, is also finding it interesting developing the relationship and working with a ‘father’ who in real life is younger than him.

“It was a bit jarring at first,” said Max, “especially in the more intense emotional scenes, but Felix's portrayal of Edward has made it extremely easy to get past. Really he does most of the work making the age gap believable.

“We definitely have fun with it, I tease him a bit calling him things like ‘dad’ and ‘old man’.”

Originally from Bathurst and the second oldest of seven children, Max now lives in Kensington in Sydney. He is currently working as a bartender but hopes to study musical theatre in the future.

“I love theatre for the sense of family I've found, especially since moving away from home, as well as the rush of performing live.

“The show that got me hooked was Wicked which my singing teacher encouraged me to audition for with Carillon Theatrical Society (Bathurst) in 2018. I've been involved in at least one production a year ever since.”

Recent highlights include playing Jack in Into the Woods (SYMT) and Pepper in Mamma Mia! (Willoughby Theatre Company). 

Max can pinpoint the exact moment he fell in love with performing in musical theatre.

“The closing night of Wicked, I looked out into the audience and around at my cast mates and knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life,” he said.

He auditioned for the role of Will straight after Into the Woods, mainly because friends were also auditioning.

“Since getting the role I have developed a connection to Will, his arc really boils down to trying to discover who he is, and I feel like I'm still working that out for myself.

“I will be excited to see what Will has to teach me, right up until we hit the stage in January.”

Max is also loving working with the production team.

“Working with Dylan and Matt has been an absolute dream, workshopping the characters and finding purpose in every line in the script and score. Some rehearsals have been extremely challenging trying to really get into the more emotional moments in the show, but they have given us so much support to really get into those moments.”

He is yet to work much with choreographer Cameron Boxall but is excited to start.

Max is also loving working with fellow cast members.

“This cast is something special, everyone is so lovely and beyond talented. I can't wait for audiences to see what we've been working on.”

Both Felix and Max believe audiences will be extremely moved by Big Fish.

“The show’s message is about the concept of legacy and what we leave behind after our life has run its course,” said Felix.

“It’s a beautiful tale of a strained relationship between a father and son, and how they work to see through each other’s perspectives and understand the worldview of the other.

“It’s a story that I think many people will be able to relate to some part of, I know I have,” said Felix.

“Big Fish is a really beautiful story, told in beautiful synthesis with the music composed by Andrew Lippa which bolsters the emotion of the story,” he continued.

“I think it’s a story that’s really going to move people, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to tell my part of it.”

“Audiences can expect a show with an incredible script, brought to life by a phenomenal cast and creative team,” said Max.

“I think a lot of people will walk away from the show with a new appreciation for family and the people they love, and they should definitely bring tissues!”

Big Fish , presented by Sydney Youth Musical Theatre, runs from 13 to 21 January 2023 at Hornsby RSL Club. Tickets are on sale at https://www.iwannaticket.com.au/event/big-fish-MjczMzU

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