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December 2000 Table of Contents
Petite Praisers
A Fish Tales
For Kathie Hill’s newest musical Fish Tales, we thought it would be best to have her interviewed by someone likely to perform her new musical… not a children’s choir leader, but a children’s choir member! The Communicator is proud to introduce the newest (and youngest) member of our guest editorial staff, Sarah Musgrave. Sarah is a fourth grader in Kathie’s choir at Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Sarah sat down with Kathie recently to find out more about her latest children’s creation.
SM: There are lots of interesting stories in the Bible, but why did you pick stories about fish?
KH: I started out wanting to write a musical just about Easter, but since the events that lead up to Easter are so sad, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to create a story that kids would enjoy. So my co-writer, Melody Morris, suggested that we start at the end of the story where Jesus appeared to the disciples. You know, where Jesus ate fish that night to prove He was really alive. That made me start thinking about fish throughout Jesus’ ministry. So, I added the feeding of the five thousand and the calling of the “fishers of men,” two tales that are great for storytelling. These three stories make up the three parts of Fish Tales. Kids can perform them all together, or as three separate mini-musicals emphasizing Thanksgiving, Easter and missions.
SM: Thanksgiving and Easter are important holidays, but why should kids sing about being “fishers of men?”
KH: Sarah, God calls all of us to be “fishers of men.” When I was researching The MK Christmas Special, my heart was touched and my respect really grew for people who serve as missionaries around the world. But, I realized that it’s not just the people that we call “missionaries” who are doing God’s work. I’m a writer, and when I write musicals, I try to write them so that God’s love shines through to every child who participates and to every adult who listens. All it takes to be a missionary is to take the gifts God gave you and use them so that others see God’s love coming from you. After all, God’s love is the best “bait” for anyone who wants to be a “fisher of men!”
SM: I thought “fish tales” weren’t true stories. Did the “Fish Tales” in your musical really happen?
KH: Oh yes! It’s very important that you kids understand that everything in the Bible is true. The fish tales in my musical are “stories that seem too good to be true.” That’s a great way to think about a miracle – the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand . . . the miracle of Jesus’ resurrection . . . the miracle of the great catch . . . that’s why in the theme song we sing that “fish tales aren’t fishy when they come from God’s word.”
SM: What’s the music like in Fish Tales?
KH: The songs in Fish Tales are kind of like the songs in a musical I wrote a long, long time ago called Back at the Creekbank; they’re simple and sing-able. A lot of them are “story songs” that really move the musical along and teach important lessons. Several combine new songs with hymns or choruses you already know like “He’s Not Here! with Lord, I Lift Your Name on High” and “Come to Jesus with The Savior is Waiting.”
SM: How does Fish Tales start?
KH: With a song, of course! “Fish tales… fish tales… fish tales are stories that seem… too good to be true…”
SM: No, no, no… I mean how will we start Fish Tales at our church? You always have something fun for the kick-off party!
KH: Ah! The first Sunday afternoon that we start Fish Tales, we’ll have our own fishing tournament. The directors will dress up in fishing outfits, the kids will play fishing games and really get excited about the musical. I’ll bet some of the kids who show up would never have come to choir if they didn’t have a chance to compete to be a “Master Caster” or a “Fish Finder” or a “Greater Baiter!” And, ours will be the first of many churches to do a kick-off just like this … ‘cause all of the details are in the “Director’s Aide and Video” for Fish Tales.
SM: What’s the best song in Fish Tales?
KH: Well, they’re all pretty special… it’s hard to pick a favorite! “Fish Sandwiches” is fun to sing and makes it easy to remember the story of the feeding of the five thousand. The kids who sang on the recording liked “The Sign of Christ,” a song that explains the meaning of the fish symbol. Everybody that I’ve played the musical for gets a laugh out of the country song “Love is the Bait.” One really important song was the hardest song to write; “A Good Day on a Bad Day.” It does a great job of explaining to kids what was “good” about Good Friday.
SM: I really liked Promise U and The MK Christmas Special when we did them at my church. Is Fish Tales different?
KH: Fish Tales is easier to prepare and perform than Promise U and MK. It only has five speaking parts and music that younger choirs can learn quickly. Plus, when you perform the musical as three separate stories, they’re short enough for a six or seven year-old attention span. I know that at our church, we lost our 6th graders to the youth group on promotion Sunday this year. So, with Fish Tales, I can have all of our children’s choirs participate, from first grade on up.
SM: Do we really get to go fishing?
KH: Well, everyone will have a fishing pole or rod and reel, but we don’t want to be tripping over each other’s lines! We’ll have imaginary fishing lines and very imaginary hooks and bait, with which we’ll pretend to cast and fish. We can make the props and learn the choreography from the video that’s included in the Director’s Aide, some of which involves our fishing poles!
SM: It sounds like a fun way to learn more about God.
KH: That’s exactly what I hope will happen. Not every child is as musical as you are, Sarah. So sometimes children’s choir is like “Singing Sunday School.” That’s why we do special activities as well as the musical activities from the Director’s Aide and Video. And, if we can learn more about Jesus through the songs in Fish Tales, then every effort we make toward the production of the musical will be worth it.
SM: You think so?
KH: “It sure will, ‘blue gill!’”
Kathie Hill is the Dove award-winning creator of over twenty children’s musicals including Promise U. and Dr. Newheart’s Neck-up Check-up. She has directed children’s choir for twenty-four years (and counting!)
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