From The Archives: 5.9.2016

An article rescued from the archives of my previous blog. Originally posted May 9, 2016.

For those of you who aren't local or weren't able to come see what I've been up to lately, I present here the first two plays in the Mrs Hawking series, Mrs. Hawking and Vivat Regina, written/directed/produced by Phoebe Roberts. I've just performed at Watch City in Waltham; this footage is from Arisia 2016, where they were kind enough to have us in the main ballroom and point a bunch of cameras at us. Credits should be in the video somewhere, but I'm the redhead in blue with the brass fireplace poker and accent of questionable provenance.

(Before any of the Brits complain at me: That's intentional. I inquired of the playwright, and Mary's family is originally from Yorkshire, but she herself is an Army brat, unusually literate for someone of her station, who grew up mainly with the other Army brats in India. So the accent is generic "Northern" with all its glorious Danish-Viking Øs, plus some very classist and mostly-unsuccessful attempts to make her stop sounding like that, plus the first time I tried full-on Yorkie in rehearsal, I was informed that nobody in the audience would understand a word I said unless I toned it down a lot.

The ballroom scenes are done in Mary's very best idea of "upper-class twit". I have been told that the sudden accent flip is both astonishing and hilarious. I've no idea; one of my biggest problems in comedy is remembering to stop for laughs, because I'm totally unaware of the audience when I'm on stage.

I am also responsible for the scattered bits of German in Vivat, although the actors' pronunciation of said German is entirely on them.]

The third play in the sequence is more or less complete now, and we hope to mount the production at Arisia 2017, for the entertainment of all.

Enjoy!

Mrs Hawking from sydweinstein on Vimeo.

Vitat Regina from sydweinstein on Vimeo.