“When someone tells my story / and I hope somebody does / remember me as something bigger than I was.”
Have you ever read a good book that you couldn’t get enough of? The moments when you are called to another pursuit are agony as you must replace your marker and leave the span of a beautiful story, unable to discover just yet what comes next. Why is this so difficult? Because there’s more! You know there is. It comes with every turned page. This is a yearning that is built into the very fabric of our being. We inherently know that there is a bigger experience to be had, amore beautiful life to live even when everyday life can be monotonous and repetitive – not uninteresting, but at times unsatisfying. But what would you do if you knew the exact span of years and the precise number of pages in your story? Edward Bloom, who finds himself in this rather unique position, fills his days with as much experience and relationship as he can, embellishing and magnifying the stories he’s collected every time they are retold. He gives himself wholeheartedly to the pursuit of the greater and the bigger, fearless in the face of all opposition because he knows how it all ends. However, even with this confidence and the pursuit of a worthy goal, Edward loses connection with the very things that make his simple life bigger – the dedication to his wife and son. There is no doubt he loves them, but his downfall as that he also wants too much to inspire them. Edward is no monster, but he is no perfect man either, and his condition is one we can all identify with. His desire to be remembered is the cry of every honest human heart - the desire of the person in the seat next to you as well as the person in your own. How are we to approach a life that, by its very definition, is meant to be a reflection of something greater, without falling to self-conceit and egocentrism? How can we want to be remembered, without being concerned that we are only remembered well? How do we come to the end of a story knowing that the owning of both our triumphs and our mistakes, though not something to glory in, is an essential part of the path that led us to our story’s end? How do we learn to dream bigger, but realize that the bigger dream is found not in our aspirations but in our connections? I’d give you the answer, but it’s quite a big fish story.
-Ben Toler
Welcome to Artios Academies of Sugar Hill's production of Big Fish!
You're about to see a very meaningful story. A story about the importance of believing the best about each-other, about loving those closest to us. in spite of our shortcomings. Personally, as a parent of two young girls, this show is incredibly meaningful to me. My girls look to their dad to provide, train, love, and most importantly, display Christ to them. In all these things, I am woefully inadequate. I stumble. I cut them short. I prioritize other things above them. My prayer for my girls is that they see through my faults, see my fallen heart, and ultimately see Christ's work within my life.
This must be the hope of every Father. It is my hope; but, apart from the grace of God, I hope in vain. God takes our brokenness, and redeems it.
Over the past 17 Months, Artios has lost two dear family members, Daniel Thompson and Dana Perry. Two broken people who told big stories, had big hearts, and strived to live for Christ. Daniel and Dana poured all their broken selves into others, and those of us who knew them, know it was God's grace that allowed them to point all of us towards Christ.
Through this show, it is my hope that we see our own brokenness and remember that it is Christ who redeems it.
-John Lane
