Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Fall 2015 | Page 14

Visual and
a student at Thornton. He served on the tech crew for
coffeehouses and was a part of the performances for The
Canterville Ghost and Crazy For You.

Magic? Flying?
All in a day’s
work for
Bobby Wilcox ’05

When Bobby Wilcox comes to town he makes people fly
(no fairy dust needed). For the past three years he has
been working full-time for a national company called
Flying By Foy, which is the leader in theatrical flying
services.
Bobby learned about the position while studying theater at
the University of Southern Maine. One of his professors,
Perry Fertig, is a Technical Director at USM, as well
as a Flying Director for Flying By Foy. Perry installed
aerial silks and lyra hoops at Garland Auditorium for the
musical Pippin; for Thornton’s 2015 spring musical, Bobby
drove up from Philadelphia, where he is based, to help
bring magic to the Mary Poppins production.
Bobby said, “it’s a whirlwind” and “it’s fun to watch kids’
reactions.” He has traveled extensively throughout the U.S.
and as far away as Taiwan to set up performances of Peter
Pan and Mary Poppins. He worked on the NBC Peter Pan
Live version, which starred Allison Williams, Christopher
Walken, and Minnie Driver. It aired in December 2014.
He has also helped with sets on Saturday Night Live
featuring Andy Samberg and Melissa McCarthy, among
others. Bobby first developed an interest in theater as

14

With global headquarters in Las Vegas, and locations in the
Eastern United States and the United Kingdom, Flying By
Foy provides flying effects, Aereography® and state-of-theart automation for Broadway shows, London’s West End,
professional and not-for-profit theaters, ballet and opera
companies, high school and university theater programs,
churches, theme parks, cruise ships, concert tours,
industrial events, feature films, and television productions
worldwide.
Bobby’s job requires long and irregular hours with lots of
travel, but gives him an opportunity to perfect his process.
In addition to physically setting up the equipment onsite
for flying, he does a lot of prep work, including inspections
and maintenance. He also takes care of the logistical
aspects of scheduling and customer service relations. His
favorite part, though, is getting out of the office and onto a
stage. “I’m a bit of a monkey,” he admitted, adding that it’s
pretty cool to “get paid to climb on things.”

Top left: Bobby Wilcox ’05; Bottom right: Aja Sobus ’16 (Mary Poppins).