On the morning of Oct. 3, over 400 elementary school students gathered in Jarman Auditorium at Longwood University to watch Illyria Theatre Company (ITC) put on a performance of Claudia Haas' adaption of the Brothers Grimm story, "The Fisherman and His Wife."
Teachers, students and parents from the Longwood, Farmville and surrounding communities gathered to immerse themselves in the theatrical production. Schools including Appomattox Elementary School, Eureka Elementary School and Fuqua School brought bus-loads of kids which, for many, are being introduced to theatre for the first time.
ITC Artistic Director and co-founder Chris Klinger said the theater wanted "to create magic" with the introduction of children's theater.
"Luckily, a child's imagination is infinite in possibility, so we try to invite them into the experience and show them nothing but possibility," said Klinger.
The play follows a fisherman named Jonner, who meets an enchanted fish, Scatfish L’adore (Scat), while trying to get food for him and his wife Maura. When Maura learns of the enchanted fish, she grows greedy and entices Jonner to ask Scat for numerous requests, such as a bigger house, jewels, servants and, eventually, power. Scat tries to teach Jonner the repercussions of greediness through the humorous and interactive children’s play.
While the stage only held a table, two chairs and trees, the minimal set didn’t take away from the story. The actors created a strong narrative by changing up the furniture arrangement and using the aisles in between seating which kept the crowd of young students and their teachers engaged and laughing.
The children's show was directed by ITC Artistic Director and co-founder Lacy Klinger and featured a cast comprised completely of Longwood students.
Scat was played by senior Miriam Loya, who brought the crowd in from the beginning of the show with her energetic attitude and funny banter with the audience. Though Loya wasn’t technically the main character, she definitely stole the show with her energetic performance.
The Fisherman, Jonner, was played by sophomore Mason Patrick, and his wife Maura was played by sophomore Brianna LaFratta. Patrick and LaFratta both depicted their characters as husband and wife exceptionally well.
Patrick played the perfect husband who simply wanted to build a happy life for his wife. His character was the perfect blend of funny and meager as he always had to be the one asking the enchanted fish for wishes for his wife, who also brought humor to an already funny character.
With these being the only three characters in the show, each of the actors needed to bring a lot to the table. This was successfully achieved by the performers, who consistently interacted with the children for "advice" in the tale, even leading up to a vote on two possible endings for the play.
Although the show was set in a fairy tale-like medieval period, Klinger and the cast brought a modern tone to it using comedic audience interaction and lively music and sound effects throughout the scenes.
The hour-long show ended up being the perfect blend of funny and humbling. The story had a great message for all the children watching but kept the audience engaged and laughing throughout the entire performance.
ITC hoped to do more children's theatrical productions in the future, with one a year. Their next production will be a holiday show of "It's A Wonderful Life, A Live Radio Play" set to premiere Dec. 7-9, also in Jarman Auditorium.
For more information on ITC and their upcoming events, visit their website.
