Splashing, Swimming, Sailing: the premiere of "Water Sings Blue"
August 05, 2015 12:00 AM
Spencer Duncan
by Spencer Duncan, dramaturg
[caption id="attachment_3801" align="aligncenter" width="480"] The original book by Kate Coombs, illustrated by Meilo So. (Photo credit: amazon.com)[/caption]
Hi, I'm Spencer Duncan, the dramaturg for the new children’s show, Water Sings Blue, adapted by Teresa Dayley Love.
A highly interactive show, Water Sings Blue follows a handful of colorful characters on their day at the beach. Reminiscent of the carefree childhood of the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, the show is staged in the visual comedy style of French comedian Jacques Tati (think Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean).
As families and audience members play along, they will get to watch our actors transform from lovable human characters into a myriad of marine animals. Some lucky audience members will get to transform into sea creatures themselves!
This charming play would be nothing without the poetry of Kate Coombs. Based on her same-named picture book, Coombs’ poems ebb in and out, navigating the action, and breaking through like waves in an otherwise wordless production. That’s not to say the sounds of the ocean won’t be present. But what could be better to describe the ocean than poetry?
Water Sings Blue will sail to elementary schools throughout Utah, performing at BYU’s Margetts Theatre starting 25 September.
Discover the wonder, the laughter, and the love we find at the sea; stay tune for more posts. You won’t want to miss learning about our devising process!
Click to preview the show's poems on amazon.com.
Ever since the beginning of the rehearsal process, director Kris Peterson really wanted the cast to get their hands in the dirt. Like the events of the musical, the earth has a power to connect us to each other, and she recognized that. One way that Charlotte and I thought to do this was to provide a small number of seeds to each cast member and invite them to grow their own plants over the summer. This was also a way to encourage the cast members to stay mentally connected to the show even when they were physically distant from the rehearsal space.
The power of healing and growth is a topic not unknown to students at BYU. Educators and learners alike were asked to stretch their capacity to hold both powers in one hand as they were transplanted from their on-campus home in the Harris Fine Arts Center, to the new West Campus building, formerly known as the old Provo High School. The college of fine arts and communication, which includes Theatre, Media, film, Art, and Design departments, had to establish new communities, while major construction projects prevented them from being as close to the rest of campus as they might like to be.
