Meet the Cast of "The Fisherman and His Wife": Fisherman and Isabel
September 30, 2014 12:00 AM
Haley Flanders
by Haley Flanders, dramaturg
Fisherman and His Wife is currently up and running on BYU's Nelke stage. To celebrate our production, we wanted to give you the chance to get to know the cast that is bringing this story to life. Check back over the next few days to meet the rest of these talented students.
Name: Brandon Luke Bringhurst
Character: The Fisherman
If you could have a supernatural helper, what would you have? I’ve always thought the Blue Fairy from Disney's Pinocchio would be awesome!
What would you wish for? The ability to be in several places at once.
What is the overall message of this play? True happiness doesn’t come from power or possession; it’s found in the home and the people we love.
What has this message taught you? We often want so many things, from our casual pleasures to our deepest desires. But I learned in this show that finding that happiness inside myself can become a rich treasure that neither money or magic can give.
What was your favorite part of working on this show? I learned so many techniques from our brilliant director (Nestor Bravo Goldsmith) that helped me develop this character and communicate emotion to the audience. That learning process was definitely my favorite part. Of course, none of it would be possible without this wonderful cast and production crew! I’ve really grown to love them so much!
Name: Lizzie Mickelsen
Character: Isabel (the fisherman's wife)
If you could have a supernatural helper, what would you have?A Fairy Godmother.
What would you wish for? A cure for cancer.
What is the overall message of this play? Be careful what you wish for.
What has this message taught you? Sometimes what we think will make us happy right now isn't what is best for us in the long run. Sometimes the things that will make us the most happy are the simple things we already have that we have forgotten to appreciate.
What was your favorite part of working on this show? This has been the hardest show I have ever been a part of; and I have loved every second of it! I can't pick just one favorite part! I have loved getting to know my castmates and being able to work with them. Building this show as a team with Nestor as our guide has truly been an incredible experience. This show has pushed me farther out of my comfort zone than I thought possible and I am so grateful for that. I will remember this show for the rest of my life.
The creative team began working on this production a little more than a year ago. In my role as production dramaturg, I was happy to create a website of resources first for the creative team, and then when we went into rehearsals, for the cast. And now that we are opening the show, the resources offer valuable perspectives to our audiences as well.
After months of rehearsing on a taped cement floor with acting blocks in place of benches and frames in place of doors, the company finally moves to the theatre space, to a stage with levels and furniture, working doors and chairs out in the audience. The beloved cherry orchard feels so much more real now.
Near the end of his life, Anton Chekhov who had suffered from tuberculosis and depression throughout his life, decided to move to the seaside town of Yalta in order to heal. On January 18, 1904, he wrote to his wife, the actress Olga Knipper, “I’m writing The Cherry Orchard very slowly. Sometimes I feel it’s a success, sometimes a failure…It’s all very ordinary, but that’s how things are, unfortunately.”
