Veteran architect moves to theater management

“After 35 years in architecture, to go to general manager position is quite a leap, but it will be fun,” Fish said. “I had the opportunity to be a part of the leadership of Sight & Sound, and it’s a career change that is something I felt very good about.”

Fish, who is 61, said part of his reasoning for the career change was personal.

“I wanted to be a part of a ministry that will reach millions of people,” he said. “It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. It’s a blessing to be a part of this organization.”

Sight & Sound Theatres, a live theater company performing Bible stories, is based in Strasburg, Pa., where it operates two theatres. The $42 million, 339,000-square-foot Branson theater going up at 1001 Shepherd of the Hills Expressway will be the company’s first outside of Pennsylvania.

Geoffrey Butler, a partner in the Springfield architectural firm, echoed Fish’s sentiments about leaving the field.

“For him, it’s a whole new career change,” he said. “We’re going to miss him … you just don’t replace Tom.”

Butler said Fish was part of a team that worked on the six-story theater. “Bruce Adib-Yazdi, our studio leader, has taken back over,” Butler added. “As a principal in the firm, he was over all that anyway. Tom reported to him.”

Prior to working for BRP, Fish was employed by Herschend Family Entertainment Corp. and ran his own firm, Fish Architecture and Consulting in Branson.

Fish and Sight & Sound corporate recruiters will hire up to 300 employees for the theater. He said job openings – for positions such as lead animal caretaker and electronics/animatronics design technician – are posted on the theater’s Web site, www.sight-sound.com.

The Branson theater is scheduled to open spring 2008, and Fish said CDI Contractors of Little Rock, Ark., are set to complete the first phase’s set shops and an animal handling area by May 14.

The 2,000-seat Branson facility, a duplicate of Sight & Sound’s flagship Millennium Theatre, is designed as a Middle Eastern temple and includes a 300-foot wraparound stage.

Now in its 31st year, Sight & Sound attracts about 800,000 patrons each year. The company’s live stage productions include professional casts of up to 50 actors, dozens of animals ranging from camels to dogs to birds, hundreds of costumes, sets up to 40 feet high, special effects and state-of-the-art sound and lighting.

The theater company’s signature show, “Noah,” will be the first show presented at the Branson theater next year.