Meet the Cast of "The Fisherman and His Wife": Storyteller and the Kokken
October 02, 2014 12:00 AM
Haley Flanders
by Haley Flanders, dramaturgFisherman 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. You can also meet the Flounder and the Seahorse here. Today, we finish up our introductions with the Storyteller and the Kokken.
Name: Mariah Bowles
Character: Storyteller
If you could have a supernatural helper, what would you have? I would definitely want a fairy godmother. A genie in a lamp limits your number of wishes, and the last time I caught a magic flounder it took weeks to get that fish smell off my hands.
What would you wish for? I'd wish for an increased amount of love for others. A yacht wouldn't be bad either.
What is the overall message of this play? The person we become is determined by what we chose to set our hearts on. We all have the potential for goodness or evil, but who we become is a result of what we've sought to surround ourselves with.
What has this message taught you? It has taught me to be grateful for the things that I have, and to focus on those aspects of my life that are most important. It's also taught me that I have the potential to make the mistakes Isabel did. However, I can avoid that by choosing each day to go after what is right.
What was your favorite part of working on this show? Working with and learning from our fantastic director, cast, crew, and collaborators! I've grown a lot from the insights they've given me, not only as an actress, but as a person.
Name: Nicole Ganowsky Schofield
Character: Kokken #1
If you could have a supernatural helper what would it be? I'd have to say a genie in a lamp, but he'd have to be super cool like the one from Aladdin. We could do pretty sweet musical numbers together, play lots of fun games, and once I used up two of my wishes, I'd use the third to set him (or her) free! But we'd still be best friends for life!!
What would you wish for? I'd wish for my dream house; 5 bedroom, 3 bathrooms with an amazing kitchen, movie room, and a beautiful back yard with lots of grass! My second wish would be for my husband and I to die at about 90 years old, in our sleep, together (cue adorable sigh here).
What is the overall message of this play? "Be careful what you wish for." Sometimes wishes have a way of backfiring on you and your loved ones.
What has this message taught you? Before you can be happy with what you want, you must be happy with what you have. Learn to be content with where you are at in your life. If not, you will always find something wrong, something more you want, and nothing will ever be enough.
What was your favorite part of working on this show? Becoming friends with all the cast members and crew, and getting to know each of their lovely selves. I love you guys!
Name: Rachel Belt
Character: Kokken #2
If you could have a supernatural helper, what would you have? A Fairy Godmother.
What would you wish for? I would wish for my family and friends to be happy.
What is the overall message of this play? Greed is all-consuming and never brings true contentment.
What has this message taught you? It has taught me that I can be happy with the little things in life, and that if you allow yourself, you can be happier with little than with everything.
What was your favorite part of working on this show? The people and the collaborative experience. In some ways, it’s a little scary that things are so fluid and flexible, but it’s cool to be able to see all of our ideas melding into one to create one fun and meaningful show.
By Abram Yarbro and Holly Mancuso Microburst Theatre Festival opened last week, and it has been great to have an audience. As Lee Hall explained in an interview, "Whether you are a writer, or an actor, or a stage manager, you are trying to express the complications of life through a shared enterprise. That's what theatre was, always. And live performance shares that with an audience in a specific compact: the play is unfinished unless it has an audience, and they are as important as everyone else."
by Amelia Johnson, Dramaturg Creating a show is a process. Though the run of the show is over, there was a lot more that went into the show than what was seen in those few weeks. Months before the run, the production team began meetings. They discussed the director’s vision for the show and began planning designs. Everything was approved of and discussed before lights were set, sets, were built, and the costume and makeup designs were implemented. This year, the costume and makeup designers drew inspiration from the local artist, James Christensen. Having passed away earlier this year, director Dallyn Bayles thought it would be nice to pay tribute to him in this way. Costume designer Dennis Wright was thrilled to base his designs of Christensen's style. He said, “What I really love about Christensen’s work is the whimsy that he incorporates into his characters. His distinctive use of patterns, layers and silhouette is really fun and distinctive. I wanted to be sure to capture that in the costume designs for this production. “I love this show, and the concept and design choices our team has made. I am excited to share it with our audience. As a big James Christensen fan, my one regret is that I didn’t actually get to meet the artist in person. I just returned to Utah last year and sadly, missed my chance. I am very grateful to be able to pay tribute to him in this small way”. Makeup and hair designer Sarah Bult also shared some of her thoughts. “After reading the script I looked through as many James Christensen paintings as I could find. I picked out textures, colors, broke it all down and paired certain characters with those elements. His artwork influenced everything from the shape and colors of hair down to the detail on the bead work of the hairpins. I loved that I could draw my inspiration from his work and create something that really embodied his artwork." Bult continued, “One thing I didn’t expect to be a challenge was that not many Christensen pieces have hair showing. This created a very unique and fun challenge for me. I had to look many different paintings, combine textures and colors, and use my own design style to come up with fun fairy tale hair and makeup styles that were reminiscent of Christensen’s artwork. I am very excited to see how all of the elements come together”. Join us on the 4th Wall next time to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes!
Last week, A Midsummer Night’s Dream opened in the Nelke Theatre and it was a great success! Eric and I were pleased to be a part of the opening night and celebrate not only the opening night of the production, but also the 40th anniversary of the Brigham Young University Young Company. In order to set the tone of the evening, patrons were encouraged to check out the lobby display that Eric and I had created for the show. We chose to do a puppet making station, aptly named “The Mechanicals Puppet Making Station” where guests and participants could make their own puppet out of a sock or paper bag. Other craft supplies were provided for the participants—allowing them to use their imagination and create a unique puppet that they could take home. Creating such a lobby display, we hoped to provide patrons, and especially children, with an opportunity to use their imagination and create something special, as well as connect with the style of the production before seeing the show. The role of puppetry is crucial to this adaptation of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream—and we wanted to capture this and incorporate it whatever lobby display we chose. The actor’s hard work and rehearsal, as well as that of the production team, paid off—they did a marvelous job in telling the story of these loopy lovers and the adventures that take place in the magical forest. The puppetry skills and acting chops of the actors, the enchanting costumes, simple set design, and energy from the whole cast was thoroughly enjoyed by the very diverse and supportive audience. It was a packed house: if not sold out, very close. And this definitely contributed to the energetic feeling that pervaded the evening. Perhaps it was the presence of so many alumni from the Young Company that had come to support the production and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the formation of Young Company. Among the guests at the premier were Harold Oaks, founder of the BYU Young Company. Following the play, a presentation was made outlining and honoring the history and legacy of Young Company. Young Company has done an outstanding job for the last 40 years in providing quality theatre (adaptations and original works alike) for children that may not be exposed to the performing arts. A wonderful reception followed the presentation and was well enjoyed by cast and crew alike. A Midsummer Night’s Dream closes at BYU this Saturday, the 14th. Make sure to get your tickets soon and catch this unique production while you can! It will then go on tour throughout Northern Utah, presenting its whimsical and humorous message to elementary school children. Following are some images from the Opening Night Gala!
