Courtesy of STAGES St. Louis.
Copy of BIG Promo (Facebook Post (Landscape)) (Facebook Cover) - 1
It’s going to be a big weekend for both kids and kids at heart at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. The STAGES Performing Arts Academy is heading to KPAC’s Ross Family Theatre for the first time to bring Big to the stage December 15–17. The musical is based on the 1988 Tom Hanks film of the same name, and audiences can look forward to all the iconic moments—the giant piano, the joy of a classic toy store—brought to life by the young artists.
Ahead of the premiere, we caught up with Crissy Nordin, director of education and outreach for STAGES, to talk about the work of the Performing Arts Academy and getting Big ready for KPAC.
Can you start by telling us about your role at STAGES?
I'm the director of education and outreach at STAGES St. Louis, and that overlooks all of our in-person classes at the Performing Arts Academy. STAGES has a physical building, and then we also have classes within that in studios and a large rehearsal black-box space, where students can come five days a week and take classes and participate in several programs. The other side of that coin is our outreach program. We have 20+ outreach programs throughout the year at various schools. Some of those schools hire us to come in, and none of them really have a performing arts department. A lot of our outreach program is funded through STAGES, and we completely fund performing arts programs at schools throughout St. Louis.
What’s the role of the STAGES Performing Arts Academy within the organization?
At STAGES, we kind of say that there's two sides of the coin. One is our professional side, but the other one is really focused on education and development. That came with the creation of the education department over a decade ago now. The education program primarily serves students in pre-K through high school, but we also have several programs and classes for adults. Then we have a very large program called Access the Arts, and that is solely for students living with disabilities. That's a year-round program as well.
The academy in the midst of getting Big ready for the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. What drew STAGES to that show in particular?
We wanted a show that was going to be great around the holidays, but also something that's not typically done a lot. This was a really great opportunity. Since I came into the role almost two years ago now, a big goal of mine was to get the students at the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center. STAGES raised a lot of the capital for the theater, and we've just been waiting for a perfect opportunity for the academy to get to perform on that stage. We wanted to do something, quite literally, big. Something iconic…and also something that was going to feature a lot of different students and a lot of different ages of students. This show is really focused on both childhood and adulthood, so that allows us to cover a lot of age ranges. We're just really fortunate to have some incredible young actors in the production. We wanted something that would feature as many of them as possible. So that's kind of why we went that route. Big covers all the bases.
How has it been working with these youth actors on this story so far?
They're really enjoying it. It's just such a fun show. It gets to kind of stretch their skills. It's very heartwarming and funny, but it also has huge dance numbers and really high-energy scenes. Just allowing the students that opportunity…they really shine , and they seem to be really enjoying themselves.
What’s it been like working with both the Performing Arts Academy and the professional side on this production?
It's rare that the two sides come together for a singular production. This is not only the first time that the academy is going to be in the Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, but every production element, from audio and lighting to the sets and the costumes and the props—that's all done by the professional side of the theater. We in the education world are very much used to building everything ourselves. It's really wonderful to be able to finally add this extra element that I think makes STAGES really unique. The actors on stage are the academy students, but everything you're seeing on stage that they're wearing, any visual or audio that you're hearing, is all done by professional theater technicians.
Why is it so important to give these students the opportunity to perform in a space like KPAC?
Our number one goal is to really provide a safe space for students to grow and to learn. The other part of that is also providing a space that is really preparing them for the next step. A lot of the time that means performing arts as a career, but that's also just giving them tools they can really apply anywhere in life. It’s important to bring them into this really large theater because they’re going to be working at a faster pace, the expectations are a little bit higher—and they’re absolutely meeting those—and then to have that professional side backing them up, they're getting a huge insight as to what it’s like to work at that level and with those people. This is the same production team that helped with The Karate Kid, a pre-Broadway premiere, over the summer. It's really incredible that the students are able to showcase their talents and be supported by a really talented group of professionals.
You have a large cast that includes young children all the way up to 18-year-olds. What’s the dynamic like with that range within the group?
There's definitely challenges with it, especially when you have older actors who are wanting to work at a certain level, but then you have the kids, who are such an important element of the show. It's all about just finding that right pace and that right tempo for the kids to go at. It has been challenging, but it's also been phenomenal. They're incredible. Even the very youngest is incredible.
What would you most like audiences to know about this production?
I think the level that these students are working at is going to really blow people away. And the production value is going to be really wonderful. A lot of the show is centered around a toy company and a toy store. What I love about this is that we’re going to have kids coming to the show that have never been to just a toy store. A lot of them have no concept of that and the joy that it brings. How cool that’s going to look on stage is going to be great. But then this is really a show where adults and kids can come together and find something for themselves. Because that's what it's all about. It's about enjoying your youth and your innocence, but then also knowing what that means when you become an adult. I think what's really great about this show is a kind of common understanding for one another that sometimes can get lost in generational differences.
I hadn’t considered that, but most kids these days probably haven’t ever been to a really big, kind of magical toy store, have they?
Yeah! It's life-changing that kids don't have that, you know? They're used to putting things on their Amazon wishlist now. Even Toys”R”Us only has those pop-up kiosks in Macy's now. The store itself is gone. So I think it's going to be really cool. Our props guy did an awesome job getting some really cool toys to put in that scene, so I'm excited to see how that comes together.
What a cool opportunity to show some of your audience that magic.
For the pre-show, we're kind of limited on space, but we also wanted to do some partnerships. And one of the things we're doing is bringing in The Minifig Shop. They'll be set up in the lobby and they’ll have all the Legos and things so kids can make a bag of Legos or build a figure/ So we'll actually have that before the show to kind of give them that toy experience.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with folks about STAGES and the Performing Arts Academy?
I think just the continued sense of community we're trying to create at STAGES and at the academy. Really, for us, the foundation of theater is that it's collaborative. So we're really excited to bring that element into this culminating production and invite the rest of the community to come. This is going to be a much bigger audience than we typically are able to house at the academy. We're going from like a hundred to over 500 seats in KPAC. To just bring this sense of community to the area is what I think we're really excited for for the project.
