by Haley Flanders, dramaturg
On October 11, The Fisherman and His Wife completed their final performance at BYU (don’t worry – they will continue to perform at libraries and elementary schools throughout the semester). I was in attendance at this show, and was excited to see an almost sold-out crowd! The audience was enthusiastic and loved taking part in the narrative through sound and action.
Since the play contains fun elements of audience participation, I decided to make a lobby display that also encouraged the audience to interact with the story. The display had a table with markers and notepads shaped like fish. On the ground was a small pool, which I called “Waves of Wishes.” The poem on the poster gave further instructions…
“Choose your most desired wish. Then write it on an enchanted fish.
Place it in this magical sea. Will your wish come true?
Just wait and see!”
The lobby display remained outside the Nelke Theatre for the entire run of the show, and received HUNDREDS of fish wishes from students during the day, and audience members of all ages at each performance!
Here are some of the wishes I found:
- To time travel.
- To get a job that I love.
- A dinosaur as a pet.
- To earn my pilot’s license.
- To own a unicorn.
- To be a Jedi.
- To be a superhero.
- To be brave, no matter what is in my way.
Below is a picture of the “Fish Song” Poster, which stood behind the pool. This song is performed by the Flounder Prince (Ross Wilcox) each time he grants a wish for the Fisherman.
Fun Fact: The show originally had no music, yet the director, Néstor Bravo Goldsmith, wanted to add music to make the show more magical. All music, including the Fish Song, was composed by the actor playing the Fisherman, Brandon Bringhurst. The music was one of my FAVORITE parts of the show!
While the lobby display has been taken down, the question remains: what would you wish for?
