Honk
Director’s Notes
The story of the Ugly Duckling resonates with all of us in some ways. We have or will face adversity
in life and yet each of us is created in the image of Almighty God and as such have gifts that we are
called to discover and develop. So it is for Ugly – the little cygnet who discovers that he’s not an ugly
duckling, but actually has the gift of being a swan and he uses his experience of adversity to bless
others by remaining on the lake next to the duckyard. And so it is for all involved in HONK this year.
We all came unsure, at least to some extent, of whether we could do this – can we sing? Act?
Dance? Stand up in front of others? We feel inadequate at times and need courage to push through,
to meet the challenge. We learn that it takes hard work, repetition, listening to advice,
encouragement and resilience to get the job done. But now we can stand, heads held high, and bless
all who come to share this experience with us. HONK is written as an amusing ‘animals as humans’
story. While there are some lyrics and dialogue that are clearly representative of the ‘animals’, I have
emphasized the human aspects in this production. After all, no fable or fairy tale is really about
animals or fairies. They are about us. They’re about human foibles, feats and fulfilments. And so it is
with HONK. Perhaps you will even recognize something of yourself or someone you know. Cast – you
can be proud of your achievement in this production. I hope you have enjoyed the opportunity,
especially those in lead roles that would normally have been filled by senior students.
