With the success of Little Shop in my hands, the rolling of the year into Spring brought another musical opportunity. This time the show was West Side Story, and it was the biggest challenge musically and artistically...not just for myself, but for the rest of the 65 person cast and both the musical and drama directors. It was a huge challenge musically for the principal roles, and I knew I could handle the role of Tony vocally, but it was still a huge surprise when the music director literally handed me the role...giving ME the lead in the biggest show they'd done to date.
The only condition that I received once I landed the role of Tony was "BULK UP!" At 15 I was still kinda scrawny, and had almost no muscle tone. I actually failed in completing my mission, as a mildly dislocated right collarbone prematurely ended my twice-weekly stints to the local gym. "Screw that," I thought, "I'm not permanently injuring myself just to look good!" How naive I was...
    So I never really got any bulkier for the role, however my stage presence, voice and onstage chemistry with the girl who played Maria more than covered for my less-than-impressive physique. The show itself was an *enormous* success, and many audience member were left openly weeping during the final moments of the show. Being dead onstage prevented me from *seeing* the stage action, and it wasn't until I saw the tape that I was brought to tears myself by the moving soliloquy presented by Maria.
    An interesting sidenote, our school band and performing arts class ventured stateside in April 1994 to Disneyland as a class trip, less than one month away from opening the show. It was an honour bestowed upon me when my music director asked me if I would be interested in singing one of my solo songs from the show on the Disneyland MainStage. I believe my reply was "HELL YEA!" I know it might not sound like a big deal to most people, but to me, at 15, it was one of the greatest moments of my life that I'll never ever forget.
After West Side Story ended, I was not allowed to continue getting involved in any performing through the school or elsewhere until I got my grades up to a respectable level. That being said, it wasn't until 1996 that I was included as part of the ensemble cast of 70 students as we prepared to put on "Fiddler On The Roof". Taking part in Fiddler was like taking a trip down Memory Lane for me, as it brought back thoughts of the only other Jewish-based play I had ever done - The Village of Idiots. Unlike the last time we had produced a Jewish play, we were fortunate enough at this time to have on the school faculty a born-and-bred Jewish teacher, Mr Cohen, who was brought in as a consult so we could be properly trained in classic Jewish customs. Our drama director, Roger Carr,  did *not* want 70 students acting like stereotypical New Yorker Jews... he wanted the real deal, and that's exactly what he got. However, because of my "unwilling-
ness" to get in shape for the role of Tony from '94s West Side, and my failure to commit myself to my grades in 1995, I was delegated to the "back row of the chorus", something I had thought I'd left behind me after being so succesful in Little Shop and West Side. I learned very quickly that it is dedication and not necessarily talent that drives you up the ladder of success in the theatre world. I was granted a small vocally challenging part in the tavern scene during the song "To Life", where I stood on top of a table dressed as a Russian (see similarities between this show and "Village"?) and held a high G for an extended period of time. That was my only time to shine in the entire show, and it sucked. Don't get me wrong; the show was fantastic and the acting portrayed by my friend Isaac in the lead role of Tevye the milkman (who in '93 played Seymour...and he'd come a long way since then) was spine-tingling in its authenticity. I made a vow after that... reclaim my status as a legitimate talent. I think I accomplished that in the early summer of 1997...
Queen Victoria's Garden Party
I was awakened by a phone call from my mother early one Sunday morning because she had seen a very teeny weeny advert in the bottom corner of the front page of the Victoria Times Colonist for auditions for a dinner theatre show scheduled for the summer of 1997. "You should audition!" she exclaimed into the phone, "it's a comedy and it's perfect for you!" My mom, the agent...(she'd be proud of that label...lol) So I went and talked to my vocal coach about what I should sing for the audition. The choice was dead easy: "Buddy's Blues" by Stephen Sondheim, a frenetic, fast-paced, breathless number that demanded 150% energy level from the performer. Perfect. The piece was so complex I even asked my vocal coach's personal accompanist, Janet, if she would come to the audition with me and play for me. I waited a week before getting a phone call from the director, Steve Ivings, to inform me that I was officially in the cast! YAY! And there was a big difference between school productions and this particular show. This show was my first paying gig!  That's right! I couldn't believe that I was going to get paid for doing what I loved doing! It was unbelievable... and it was a helluva lot of fun. Portraying multiple characters such as Prince Charles, Jose Carerras of The Three Tenors, an African King (since time began), among others... only downside was the Producer ran off with all the money that we made from the show after only three weeks of performing. David Bleakney, it's still not too late to send my money, swine! But it proved to me that I am a marketable talent in the industry.
It is now 2006. It's been several years since I did anything involving me on a stage. I have begun writing my own songs, and find that I enjoy that just about as much as anything I did in acting. Life throws you interesting curves along the way, and I just hope that I can come out on the other side a wiser, more intuitive Fishie. But, the following quote still holds meaning for me after all these years:

"You are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it come true. You may have to work for it, however."

That's my wish....

May you be granted the courage to always stand up for what you believe in, and to follow your dreams no matter who tries to discourage you or impede your path.

Happy Traveling!

~Fish