Meet the Cast of "The Fisherman and His Wife": Flounder and Seahorse

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. You can meet the Fisherman and his wife, Isabel, here. Check back tomorrow for the rest of the cast!

Name: Ross Wilcox

Character: Flounder

If you could have a supernatural helper, what would you have? After learning from this show that you have to be careful what you wish for, I would be hesitant to have a supernatural helper that offered me any wishes. I think I would rather have some kind of fairy godmother or wise mentor that appears and tells me exactly what to do with my life every time I’m faced with a difficult decision, because so far I still don’t have a clue.

What would you wish for? To be able to do whatever I want in life (support a family, work, take on hobbies and projects), without ever having to worry about money. Not that I want a lot of money; I would just have it not be such a stressful part of life.

What is the overall message of this play? Be grateful for what you have. Happiness comes from the people, not the things, in our lives. Alternately, be careful what you wish for, because it just might come true.

What has this message taught you? This play has taught me that wishes, without work, only lead to dissatisfaction. It’s not bad to have desires and aspirations, but unlimited gratification can never satisfy the soul’s need for honest achievement.

What was your favorite part of working on this show? I love how playful the show is. As an actor, I felt like I was able to grow tremendously, taking risks and using techniques I’ve never used before. I also loved the ensemble feel of the show. We all got to know each other very well, and every rehearsal felt like coming home.

Name: Emma Truax
Character: Prince’s Assistant (Seahorse)
If you could have a supernatural helper, what would you have? I would want a fairy godmother because you could have her help whenever you truly need it, and I feel like my fairy godmother would be awesome!
What would you wish for? To be able to go to Harry Potter world in Florida with all my friends and family, and have the whole park to myself for a week.
What is the overall message of this play? Focusing on material things and worldly accomplishments won’t make you happy. Focusing on friends, and family and those you love is what makes you happy.
What has this message taught you? Serving others and loving others is what truly brings me happiness. If I am focused on myself or things that I need, I am never going to be satisfied and so I therefore won’t be happy.
What was your favorite part of working on this show? I loved what I have been able to learn and accomplish physically in this show. The physical aspect of this show is SO cool and I have loved learning the different techniques that Nestor has shared with the cast.

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Fisherman and His Wife

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Simple is Best [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Indeed.[/caption] by Adam White, dramaturg I write this blog post on the day of final dress rehearsal, on the eve of opening night! Everyone involved in this production of A Man for All Seasons has done marvelous work; the set and costuming and make up are all beautiful, and the cast is eager to put their performance in front of a live audience. I guess one could wonder if a dramaturg would give anything but a glowing report of their play that's about to go up, but quite truthfully: I'm eager for you to see this play! On the subject of wanting you to see our production of A Man For All Seasons, I want to relay to you an interesting experience I had just two day ago. Every BYUarts theatre production gets a promotional video, and I was asked by the video makers in charge of the promotional video to be interviewed for the piece on A Man for All Seasons. I accepted, and when I was in the interview, they had two questions for me: 1.) What is A Man for All Seasons about? 2.) Why should people go see A Man for All Seasons? As a dramaturg, I had a great answer for number one. Summarizing the events of this play in an interesting way was no problem. But that second question? That question gave me the hardest time! In the interview moment I was so flustered by my lack of an a concise answer. I quickly babbled out some gibberish to the camera man, after which I apologized and told him if he needed something more intelligible he shouldn't hesitate to call me back. Needless to say I was pretty embarrassed after the experience. Here's the thing: I'm the dramaturgy for this show. I should have some insight as to why people should go see this play (and I do). As I've thought about this experience and about my work as a dramaturg, I've come to the realize that in this situation what I needed was simplicity. Simple is best. See, during that brief interview with the promotional video guys, I was trying to make up a reason for people to see this show that sounded meaningful, or at least scholarly. That wasn't the right attitude for me at all because it meant that I was reaching beyond the play, maybe for selfish reasons, to lend what I deemed to be credibility to a piece of art that, maybe, doesn't need to be legitimized at all. I was being long-winded and downright silly. What the play really needed was for me to speak its simple 'truth.' To redeem myself a little bit and to put my new motto for dramaturgy into practice, I will tell you why I think people should see A Man for All Seasons. I firmly believe, in the words of Oscar Wilde, that "Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life." This play, this conflict between Thomas More, his family, and King Henry VIII, informs our understanding of what it means to have a conscience. Bolt challenges us to explore what it means to have an integrity and what having integrity means in our most intimate relationships. Also revealed in this play is the corrupting influence of political power. I think that every person grapples with these themes, experiences, and issues.A Man for All Seasons is an important play for people to see. The promotional video guys didn't end up using my interview for the promotional video. Frankly, I feel so relieved; it was awful. May you forego the trappings of intelligent-sounding language the next time you are in an interview. Enjoy the show!

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Meet the Cast of "The Fisherman and His Wife": Flounder and Seahorse

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