breakinglight11: (Default)
While we saw a lot of fun stuff on our trip to London at the beginning of March, the biggest reason we went was to see a production of Much Ado About Nothing starring Hayley Atwell and Tom Hiddleston, and I am delighted to say it alone was worth the trip.



It was in the Royal Theatre Drury Lane in the West End, one of the oldest and most historic theaters in the area. It was a beautiful building, full of artifacts from past shows and paintings and sculptures of great theater artists and depictions of plays. There was a grand stair on each side, called the King’s Way and the Prince’s Way, a relic from when George III and the Prince Regent couldn’t stand each other, and wanted a way to attend on the same nights without having to run into each other. 😆

The show itself was, of course, very professionally done, not with particularly complicated staging or properties but executed to perfection. The only set was a few chairs and sometimes a table, along with a giant heart balloon lowered from the fly system. The stage floor was covered with pink ticker tape, which floated in light showers throughout, and poured down in a deluge at particular dramatic moments. The lighting was expertly designed, used to visually shorten and lengthen the rear of the stage depending on the scene, and beautifully bouncing off the smoke and ticker tape. While I love the scrappier, DIY-type fringe theater I see more often, it’s really nice to see high-budget, high-skill execution like this once in a while.



The script was cut down interestingly, in a way that basically worked. Dogberry and the citizen-police were cut entirely, but since they went with an overall silly take on all the action and the characters, I honestly didn’t really miss them. The only thing that felt a little off about it was that Don John end up kind of disappearing from the narrative in a way that felt like a dangling thread. Still, it made things tighter and move faster, and I was constantly laughing and not bored for a moment.

As I said, the overall vibe was very light, silly, and glitzy. They played up the ridiculousness of all the characters, even Beatrice and Benedick, and had lots of singing and dancing interludes. Many of the transitions between scenes were done by having the actor playing Margaret sing a pop song while the rest of the cast danced behind her. It was fun and energetic, and I enjoyed that it wasn’t taking itself very seriously, including by letting the dancing, while choreographed, have the vibe of people having fun at a wedding rather than like some intense musical theater style number.

The only bit that I thought was a little dumb I ended up forgiving because it made me laugh. There’s a bit in the script where it refers to the leads having pictures of each other… and the way they chose to represent those pictures was with life-size cardboard standees of Captain Carter and Loki. Definitely dumb, definitely fan service, definitely kind of an eye roller. But hell, I crossed an ocean because I wanted to see Loki and Peggy Carter in a play together, so I guess I can’t criticize.

The cast was great across the board, particularly the gender-non-conforming actor they had playing Margaret. But both Hiddleston and Atwell were as wonderful as I hoped they’d be. They both did an excellent job of balancing the general silliness of the piece with bringing real humanity to their roles. Their facility with Shakespeare was clear. Hiddleston is classically trained and I believe was primarily a stage actor before Marvel discovered him, and he makes the lines sound as natural as breathing. Atwell was a blast to watch, sassy, smart, tough, and vulnerable all at once. Her reading of “EAT HIS HEART IN THE MARKETPLACE” made me whoop. They were totally game for the intense and often ridiculous blocking, be it the dancing, mugging, or romance.

And I have to say, my OTP may pair Hayley with my boy Chris, but her and Tom did make for a very sexy couple. She is a gorgeous woman— interestingly leaner here than I remember from the Captain America films —with a fabulous voice and an athletic, energetic presence that just radiates personality. And I thought he was scorching hot; even as a longtime Marvel fan, it took me a little while to see his particular appeal, but I think if I hadn’t gotten there already his presence here would have sold me. He is so tall and lean, with a long-limbed precision of movement that went from comedic looseness to sharp sexiness with ease. And he is STILL in Marvel shape— he had a moment where he unbuttoned his shirt to show a set of pecs and abs that punched all the way to the balcony. (Yeah, there was probably some makeup involved, but still!) Plus that silky baritone voice is made for Shakespeare. It’s clear why Branagh wanted him for the first Thor movie.



So I had a wonderful time. It was one of the more fun theatrical experiences I’ve had, funny and exciting and not dull for a moment. Even if we hadn’t enjoyed anything else on our London trip (which we definitely did) this show would have made it worth it for me.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes
3. GRWM with Arthur Swann
4. TV Tropes
5. Giveaway
6. Heroes
7. GRWM with Clara Hawking
8. Historical Fiction
9. Scone Recipe
10. Heroes
11. GRWM with Cedric Brockton
12. Stage Combat
13. GRWM with Mrs. Hawking



What does Naomi think about right before a scene? What are the ensemble *really* saying? And why are there plastic babydolls everywhere?!? Join the cast as we share some secrets from the set of Mrs. Hawking!

Did any of these secrets surprise you? Let us know in the comments!

In advance of Mrs Hawking's live show FALLEN WOMEN at 5pm on Saturday 1/13 at Arisia, 2024. “London, 1888— Mrs. Hawking’s great rival may have been vanquished, but the struggle has left rifts in the once-close bond between our heroes. They find themselves alienated and in pain even as they must swing into action to take on the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper. Where once they were always there for one another, a new life path opening up for Mary, Nathaniel’s lingering trauma, and Mrs. Hawking’s pulling away from her chosen family threaten to shatter the team forever. CN: gunshots, mention of spousal violence, violence against sex workers.”

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #theater #arisia #victorian #technicaltheater #superhero #superheros #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes

Video by Cari Keebaugh.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes
3. GRWM with Arthur Swann
4. TV Tropes
5. Giveaway
6. Heroes
7. GRWM with Clara Hawking
8. Historical Fiction
9. Scone Recipe
10. Heroes
11. GRWM with Cedric Brockton
12. Stage Combat



Getting ready to take on London’s criminal element is a multi-stage process. Join actor Cari Keebaugh (Mrs. Hawking) as she prepares for a day of stalking evil in the night, including getting into makeup, hair, and costume!

If you could ask Mrs. Hawking a question, what would it be? Let us know in the comments!

In advance of Mrs Hawking's live show FALLEN WOMEN at 5pm on Saturday 1/13 at Arisia, 2024. “London, 1888— Mrs. Hawking’s great rival may have been vanquished, but the struggle has left rifts in the once-close bond between our heroes. They find themselves alienated and in pain even as they must swing into action to take on the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper. Where once they were always there for one another, a new life path opening up for Mary, Nathaniel’s lingering trauma, and Mrs. Hawking’s pulling away from her chosen family threaten to shatter the team forever. CN: gunshots, mention of spousal violence, violence against sex workers.”

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #theater #arisia #victorian #technicaltheater #superhero #superheros #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes #grwm #wigs #lacewigs #makeuptutorial

Video by Cari Keebaugh.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes
3. GRWM with Arthur Swann
4. TV Tropes
5. Giveaway
6. Heroes
7. GRWM with Clara Hawking
8. Historical Fiction
9. Scone Recipe
10. Heroes
11. GRWM with Cedric Brockton



Pow! Biff! Slash! In this episode of Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea, fight choreographer Dan Prior gives us an inside look at punches, stabs, and kicks in the Mrs. Hawking shows! You’ll even catch a sneak peak of our fight with Jack the Ripper…then, watch Fallen Women at Arisia and see if you can catch the choreography you saw here!

Do you enjoy watching (or performing) stage combat? Let us know in the comments!

In advance of Mrs Hawking's live show FALLEN WOMEN at 5pm on Saturday 1/13 at Arisia, 2024. “London, 1888— Mrs. Hawking’s great rival may have been vanquished, but the struggle has left rifts in the once-close bond between our heroes. They find themselves alienated and in pain even as they must swing into action to take on the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper. Where once they were always there for one another, a new life path opening up for Mary, Nathaniel’s lingering trauma, and Mrs. Hawking’s pulling away from her chosen family threaten to shatter the team forever. CN: gunshots, mention of spousal violence, violence against sex workers.”

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #theater #arisia #victorian #technicaltheater #superhero #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes #stagecombat #choreographedviolence #fightscene #actorsafety #stuntwork #actortraining #combativeartsforstageandscreen #jacktheripper

Video by Cari Keebaugh. Featuring Melissa Bergstrom, Naomi Ibasitas, Cari Keebaugh, Christian Krenek, Dan Prior, and Andrew Prentice.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes
3. GRWM with Arthur Swann
4. TV Tropes
5. Giveaway
6. Heroes
7. GRWM with Clara Hawking
8. Historical Fiction
9. Scone Recipe
10. Heroes



It takes a lot of energy and prepwork to exploit innocent Victorians - and look fabulous while doing it! Actor LilyDean Della Quercia (Lord Brockton) shows us what it takes to get in the mindset of London’s most notorious blackmailer.

In advance of Mrs Hawking's live show FALLEN WOMEN at 5pm on Saturday 1/13 at Arisia, 2024.

“London, 1888— Mrs. Hawking’s great rival may have been vanquished, but the struggle has left rifts in the once-close bond between our heroes. They find themselves alienated and in pain even as they must swing into action to take on the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper. Where once they were always there for one another, a new life path opening up for Mary, Nathaniel’s lingering trauma, and Mrs. Hawking’s pulling away from her chosen family threaten to shatter the team forever. CN: gunshots, mention of spousal violence, violence against sex workers.”

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #theater #arisia #victorian #technicaltheater #superhero #superheros #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes #villains #villain #grwm

Video by Cari Keebaugh and LilyDean Della Quercia.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes
3. GRWM with Arthur Swann
4. TV Tropes
5. Giveaway
6. Heroes
7. GRWM with Clara Hawking
8. Historical Fiction
9. Scone Recipe



It’s good to be bad on this episode of Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea! We’ll get personal with the actors responsible for bringing the villains of the Mrs. Hawking stories to life.

Are you Team Hero or Team Villain? Let us know in the comments below!

Catch our live FALLEN WOMEN at 5pm 1/13 at Arisia 2024:

“London, 1888— Mrs. Hawking’s great rival may have been vanquished, but the struggle has left rifts in the once-close bond between our heroes. They find themselves alienated and in pain even as they must swing into action to take on the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper. Where once they were always there for one another, a new life path opening up for Mary, Nathaniel’s lingering trauma, and Mrs. Hawking’s pulling away from her chosen family threaten to shatter the team forever. CN: gunshots, mention of spousal violence, violence against sex workers.”

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #theater #theatercostumes #costumes #arisia #victorian #victoriancostume #costuming #costumedesign #technicaltheater #superhero #superheros #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes #villains #villain #jacktheripper #patriarchy

Video by Cari Keebaugh. Featuring Arielle Kaplan, Andrew Winson, Lilydean della Quercia, and Pieter Wallace.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes
3. GRWM with Arthur Swann
4. TV Tropes
5. Giveaway
6. Heroes
7. GRWM with Clara Hawking
8. Historical Fiction



Teatime was an integral part of daily life in Victorian society. So of course, we often need tea and scones onstage for scenes that take place in tearooms and during teatime.

Join us on a very special episode of Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea as co-writer and Technical Director Bernie Gabin shows us how to bake the perfect Victorian scone! Yum!

Do you like scones? If so, what’s your favorite kind? Let us know in the comments!

Catch our live FALLEN WOMEN at 5pm 1/13 at Arisia 2024:

“London, 1888— Mrs. Hawking’s great rival may have been vanquished, but the struggle has left rifts in the once-close bond between our heroes. They find themselves alienated and in pain even as they must swing into action to take on the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper. Where once they were always there for one another, a new life path opening up for Mary, Nathaniel’s lingering trauma, and Mrs. Hawking’s pulling away from her chosen family threaten to shatter the team forever. CN: gunshots, mention of spousal violence, violence against sex workers.”

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #theater #arisia #victorian #technicaltheater #superhero #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes #scones #baking #homemade #food #dessert #foodie #foodporn #yummy #instafood #delicious #baker #sweet #teatime #bake #love #foodstagram #desserts #bakersofinstagram #tasty #recipe

Video by Cari Keebaugh.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes
3. GRWM with Arthur Swann
4. TV Tropes
5. Giveaway
6. Heroes
7. GRWM with Clara Hawking



Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea - Episode 8 - Historical Fiction

The Mrs. Hawking shows, while fictional, are set in a time period that was very real and very fascinating! In this episode of Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea, the cast talk about some of the interesting things we’ve learned about life in Victorian London while working on the shows.

What do you find fascinating about Victorian life? Let us know in the comments!

Catch our live FALLEN WOMEN at 5pm 1/13 at Arisia 2024:

“London, 1888— Mrs. Hawking’s great rival may have been vanquished, but the struggle has left rifts in the once-close bond between our heroes. They find themselves alienated and in pain even as they must swing into action to take on the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper. Where once they were always there for one another, a new life path opening up for Mary, Nathaniel’s lingering trauma, and Mrs. Hawking’s pulling away from her chosen family threaten to shatter the team forever. CN: gunshots, mention of spousal violence, violence against sex workers.”

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #theater #theatercostumes #costumes #arisia #victorian #victoriancostume #costuming #costumedesign #technicaltheater #superhero #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes #history #historicalfiction #victorianlife #jacktheripper #maryjanekelly

Video by Cari Keebaugh.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes
3. GRWM with Arthur Swann
4. TV Tropes
5. Giveaway
6. Heroes



Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea - Episode 7 - GRWM with Jackie Freyman as Clara Hawking

“Let’s get ready to be Victorian!” Join actor Jackie Freyman (Clara Hawking) as she shows us how to do the perfect Gibson Girl hairstyle - a necessity for any true Victorian lady!

If you could ask Clara a question, what would it be? Let us know in the comments!

Catch the live FALLEN WOMEN at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday 1/13. “London, 1888— Mrs. Hawking’s great rival may have been vanquished, but the struggle has left rifts in the once-close bond between our heroes. They find themselves alienated and in pain even as they must swing into action to take on the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper. Where once they were always there for one another, a new life path opening up for Mary, Nathaniel’s lingering trauma, and Mrs. Hawking’s pulling away from her chosen family threaten to shatter the team forever. CN: gunshots, mention of spousal violence, violence against sex workers.”

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #theater #theatercostumes #costumes #arisia #victorian #victoriancostume #costuming #costumedesign #technicaltheater #superhero #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes #GRWM #victorianhair #gibsongirl #gibsongirlhair

Video by Cari Keebaugh and Jackie Freyman.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes
3. GRWM with Arthur Swann
4. TV Tropes
5. Giveaway



Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea - Episode 6 - Heroes

They’re heroes, not saints! On this episode of Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea, the cast share some of the things we enjoy most about playing the heroes of the Mrs. Hawking universe.

Which hero is your favorite? Let us know in the comments!

Catch the LIVE Fallen Women performance at 5pm Saturday 1/13 at Arisia 2024. “London, 1888— Mrs. Hawking’s great rival may have been vanquished, but the struggle has left rifts in the once-close bond between our heroes. They find themselves alienated and in pain even as they must swing into action to take on the infamous murderer Jack the Ripper. Where once they were always there for one another, a new life path opening up for Mary, Nathaniel’s lingering trauma, and Mrs. Hawking’s pulling away from her chosen family threaten to shatter the team forever. CN: gunshots, mention of spousal violence, violence against sex workers.”

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #theater #theatercostumes #costumes #arisia #victorian #victoriancostume #costuming #costumedesign #technicaltheater #superhero #superheros #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes

Video by Cari Keebaugh. Featuring Coryn May, Christian Krenek, Jackie Freyman, Naomi Ibasitas, Matthew Oak Kamm, Phil Pierre-Louis, and Phoebe Roberts.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes
3. GRWM with Arthur Swann
4. TV Tropes



Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea - Episode 5 - Membership giveaway to Arisia ‘24

We’re so excited to see you at Arisia 2024 that we’re giving away a weekend pass to the con! Details are in the video, and the fine print is below!

(And just for fun, the end of this episode is a special treat - what might our rehearsals look like if they were in a Wes Anderson film?)

Want to enter to win our giveaway? Comment “I’m entering!” on this post for your first entry!

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #GRWM #theater #theatercostumes #costumes #arisia #victorian #victoriancostume #costuming #costumedesign #technicaltheater #superhero #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes #giveaway #wesandersonstyle #accidentallywesanderson #wesandersontrend

The fine print is available here: https://tinyurl.com/Mrs-Hawking

Video by Cari Keebaugh. Featuring Jackie Freyman, Phil Pierre-Louis, Naomi Ibasitas, Christian Krenek, Andrew Prentice, Pieter Wallace, and Coryn May.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes
3. GRWM with Arthur Swann



Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea - Episode 4 - Mrs. Hawking on TVTropes

Tropes are tricks of the trade that authors use to tell stories - by subverting, inverting, and reinventing tropes, authors can create unique stories that feel both new and familiar. In this episode, join us as the cast of Mrs. Hawking share our favorite tropes and how they help tell the stories of the Mrs. Hawking universe!

What’s your favorite trope? Let us know in the comments!

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #theater #theatercostumes #costumes #arisia #victorian #victoriancostume #costuming #costumedesign #technicaltheater #superhero #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes #tropes #tvtropes

Video by Cari Keebaugh. Featuring Coryn May, Christian Krenek, Pieter Wallace, Matthew Oak Kamm, Kate Potter, and Phoebe Roberts.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro
2. Costumes



Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea - Episode 3 - GRWM with Arthur Swann

What does it take to be one of London's finest peelers (or police, for those not up on their Victorian slang)? Actor Matt Kamm takes us behind the scenes as he gets into costume to play Arthur Swann in the Mrs. Hawking shows!

#MrsHawkingSpillsTheTea #MrsHawking #setlife #backstage #actor #makingof #film #actorlife #GRWM #theater #theatercostumes #costumes #arisia #victorian #victoriancostume #costuming #costumedesign #technicaltheater #superhero #femalesuperhero #newplay #arisia2024 #behindthescenes

Video by Cari Keebaugh. Featuring Matthew Kamm.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.

Previous episodes:
1. Intro



Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea - Episode 2 - Costuming the world of Mrs. Hawking

Good costuming can help immerse audiences (and actors!) into the world of the show. In this episode of Mrs. Hawking Spills the Tea, we talk about some of our favorite costumes and how we use colors to help tell the characters’ stories.

Video by Cari Keebaugh. With interviews with Naomi Floro, Kate Potter, Christian Krenek, Coryn May, Jackie Freyman, Arielle Kaplan, and Phoebe Roberts.

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
MRS. HAWKING SPILLS THE TEA! A collection of behind-the-scenes looks at the making of the Mrs. Hawking shows, in the lead up to our live and filmed performances at Arisia 2024.



Episode 1 - Intro! Cari Keebaugh, the actress who plays our lead Mrs. Hawking, welcomes you to our glimpse behind the scenes to see what it takes to make a serialized, historical adventure stage show!

Mrs. Hawking Part 6: FALLEN WOMEN will be performed at Arisia 2024 at 5pm on Saturday, January 13th at the Boston Westin Seaport. Register for the con to see our show: Arisia.org.
breakinglight11: (Default)
Despite having some depression flare ups, I’ve been making good use of my time spent mostly alone in my house. I’ve been making a point of working out, reading, and drawing every day. And I’ve been doing a lot of writing, making good progress on a lot of projects. I’ve taken on an ambitious slate, but it’s worth it to me to make the most of this time.

I’ve been turning to staged readings of scripts over Zoom to have both some performance going on, as well as a fun social outlet. My new project geared specifically for this has been Dream Machine, a half-hour sitcom about the team making a TV show of which I’ve already done two episodes. I’m currently close to having the script for episode three done, and I find knowing I’ve got the reading on the books is motivating and helps me stay positive.

I also wrote a new TV pilot in hopes of shopping it around to literary managers. The title is currently “From Dust” and it uses the legend of the golem to tell a story about artificial intelligence, with two detectives solving a murder mystery as they deal with issues of control and autonomy in their personal lives. While I was unfortunately not able to cook a large meal for the people kind enough to read it and give me feedback, those lovely folks were willing to get on Zoom to go over it, for which I’m incredibly grateful. It came out pretty good, though it still needs a little fixing up before we’ll be sending it along. Still, it wasn’t bad for a serious project we got together in basically six weeks.

In the collaboration department, I am working with Jeremy Holstein on an audio adaptation of a Jeeves and Wooster story, Pearls Mean Tears. I'm a big Wodehouse fan and I've always wanted to do something with Jeeves and Wooster, so I'm very excited he invited me. I love the way they talk in those stories, so I'm looking forward to capturing it. 

And of course, since it is summer, that means it’s time to work on the next Mrs. Hawking project. Usually we rehearse the new Hawking show through the fall to perform in the winter at Arisia, but with coronavirus in person theater may be put off for a long time yet. Still, I don’t want to be caught unprepared if it does turn out to be possible— and even if not, I don’t want to let Mrs. Hawking fade from consciousness by not having any kind of presentation. To that end, we’re trying to plan the most polished way to do a socially distanced performance, and to have a script ready to do that with.

We’re not very far in the process, which means we’re a bit late. But it occurred to us that instead of going straight to Mrs. Hawking part 7, continuing our main storyline, perhaps the likely unusual presentation circumstances mean it would be a better idea to do a spinoff idea. Specifically, this might be the time to break out the light, funny idea we have for a romantic door-slamming comedy starring Justin Hawking. I’ve missed that character for a long time. It would matter less if it were not done onstage, and its comedic nature might be welcome at this kind of dark and dour point. We’ve got to decide fast, so we can get on it.

It’s a lot. But the creativity is helping keep me together. And making these things means a lot to me.
breakinglight11: (Default)
We came to Arisia 2020, we saw, and we conquered. Mrs. Hawking VI: FALLEN WOMEN was a success. I burst with pride at how we have yet again managed to top ourselves. I feel like the feedback this year was not only positive, but extremely enthusiastic. I was never before stopped in the hallways so many times as this by people who wanted to tell me how much they liked it.

Now I am slowly putting myself back together after the Hawking Arisia shows. My life always kind of falls to the wayside during tech week and performance weekend, but I’m pulling it back together bit by bit.

I am cleaning my house. There are so many things to put away from the show, and I can’t stand when my space is crowded by stuff. It’s an undertaking, but mostly everything is now back in its place. I even managed to get all the costumes back into the costume closet after cleaning, despite there being ten more from this round of production than the previous. The whole place requires a good scrubbing, from the surfaces to the floors, since I’ve neglected it since the show down to the wire. But I can’t really dig into that until all the properties are out of the way.

I am also getting back to my schedule. My workouts, my reading, my drawing. Carrying set piece filled in nicely for working out, but now I’m back to my typical exercise at the gym. I wrote recently about how I’ve gotten myself back into books by making myself read at least ten minutes a day by setting a timer, and found that worked very well for me. I’ve also started listening to audio books as I go about my day, and I’ve torn through quite a few classic British mysteries— Hercule Poirot, Lord Peter Wimsey —that way already. And I’ve drawn my daily portrait. I think even losing as few as ten days of practices kind of set me back, but I have seen general improvement over the sixty or so I’ve done since I started. That pleases me immensely.

Work has started back up. I had a ten-or-so-day period where the show was over and my classes were just getting going where I had little responsibility, and it was nice, but that’s ended now. I only have two classes this semester because the other two were yet again cancelled due to low enrollment, which means I have to return to tutoring. I’m very grateful that’s still an option, thanks to my very wonderful boss there Bill, but I’d prefer just to be teaching classes. That suits me better and puts me in a better financial position, but it’s so tough to make happen for the spring semesters. I guess at least I won’t have as much to grade.

And I’ve got to get back to writing. After an INSANELY productive period, maybe the most prolific of my life, from May 2018 to August 2019, I lost all that steam and barely wrote anything from that time up to now. I have noodled on some things and scribbled down some ideas, but very little actual generation. It’s not the end of the world, as I was busy with work and producing the newest Mrs. Hawking show. But it’s time to get back into the swing of things. Bernie and I want to give some thought to the next Hawking while we’re riding high from the success of part six— especially since this is the first time in a long time we didn’t know exactly where we wanted to go. I have to editing work to do on my pilots. And I really need to dig into editing my novel, which in its current form is embarrassingly bad, but I got some recent feedback from Nuance and Mark I want to try to do something with.

I’m hoping to take this recent positivity and carry it forward.
breakinglight11: (Default)
Here is the script I submitted for this weekend's twenty-four hour charity play festival hosted by Theatre@First! It went really well; I actually think it was overall the strongest program Giving@First has done yet, scripts, acting, and directing.



For previous festivals I wrote about monsters, with "Love Is Dead" about a necromancer trying to online date, and "The Creature From the Backlot Lagoon" about a real-life movie monster. I even joked to my cast when we were paired up, "Knowing me, I will write about either monsters or Victorians."

What I ended up doing wasn't exactly Victorian... but God knows I already am drowning in the costuming, so that's the aesthetic we went with. I pulled an old scene fragment I did in 31 Plays in 31 Days 2016, cut the opening scenario out of it, and improved and expanded it into a ten-or-so-minute sketch. I've been describing it to people as "basically if Noel Coward did Weekend at Bernie's."

I've had an idea for a while for a full length comedy of manners version of that premise called, appropriately enough, "The Body." For me the humor comes primarily not necessarily from the characters trying to conceal the corpse, but from the meta-level of having a full-length play where an actor playing a dead body is onstage THE WHOLE TIME. I love the idea of the audience being like, "Oh, my God. He's just... dead there. He's just going to be dead there and flop around for the entire time." And him laying onstage inert until curtain call, upon which time he rises to take the final bow. So it was fun to do a small test of the idea in this setting.

I had a great cast too! I've worked with Sara before in the Hawking shows and she's always great. Kat was new to me, but demonstrated that she was very talented. I've seen Jason Merrill and Andrew Harrington work before, so I was excited to get to work with them. I was a little sheepish to cast Jason as the corpse, but his physical humor was SO GREAT and was a huge source of comedy for the show. And Maggie French, the director, was thoughtful and amazing; I'm really lucky we got paired up. She brought in the great idea that the con artists were the ones ultimately being conned.

So I'm pleased with how it went! As always, it's very wordy like my first drafts tend to be, and some of the lines are tricky to say because of the weird diction I was going for. But the cast managed to pull it off. The script is behind the cut, if you're curious.

Don't Panic - Giving@First February 2019 )
breakinglight11: (Default)


This weekend I'm going to be writing for Theatre@First's next charity 24-hour play marathon, Giving@First to benefit Team Fox in its Parkinson's research.

I've written for it both previous times as well, in October and April 2018. The first time I wrote LOVE IS DEAD: Or, You Can't Spell "Necromancer" Without "Romance" about a zombie who resented his necromancer's attempts at online dating. The second time I wrote The Creature From the Backlot Lagoon, which involved a film actor finding out that movie monsters weren't just CGI or rubber suits. They both came out witty and funny, particularly LOVE IS DEAD, and I was proud of them because they were an exercise in doing humor of a different sort than the dry, mannered, Wildean style that I usually do because of Mrs. Hawking. And apparently I like to write about ridiculous monsters when the pressure is on.

I'm trying to do a little advance brainstorming for this Friday. Not to bend the rules too hard, but I'm not really a night person and the event doesn't even kick off until 9pm. It's tricky for me to come up with everything late at night, so I'd like to already have an idea to write once things get going, something flexible enough to fit whatever secret ingredients we receive.

I guess ideally I'll do something funny. In these slapdash festival situations, I know the humorous pieces tend to go over best with the audiences. But I wonder if it would be inappropriate to do something serious, or even dark. At the moment the only ideas springing to mind are more on that side. I don't want to kill the vibe, or throw something in that doesn't fit the context. I should probably do my best not to kill my streak, and do something funny about monsters again, seeing as those went over so well last time. But my brain is going to more dramatic, even dark, scenarios only right now.

Or else, Hawking related stuff. That's what's mostly on my creative radar right now; I've even got ideas for funny scenes. But that might even be more inappropriate, maybe? Would it be hijacking the event to promote my own show? Would the audience who wasn't familiar with it think it was out of place? It's just it's the easiest thing for me to put together well in a short amount of time. And I notice that there are even a few actors who've been in the shows— Eric Cheung, Jackie Freyman, for example —and if I happen to get paired with them, I could write something for their characters. But I don't want to contribute anything that's wrong for the venue, and I'm not sure what the limits here are.

Oh, well. More brainstorming to do.
breakinglight11: (Default)
New photo gallery on Mrshawking.com!

Photography by Annushka Munch
Costume design by Jennifer Benfield
Makeup design by Jessicalee Skary
Set design by Bernie Gabin
Production design by Phoebe Roberts

Base Instruments 2018-56

Arisia 2018

Base Instruments - ACT I


Featuring Cari Keebaugh as Mrs. Hawking, Circe Rowan as Mary, Jeremiah O'Sullivan as Nathaniel, Matthew Kamm as Arthur, Sara Smith as Clara, Christian Krenek as Justin, Jackie Freyman as Miss Zakharova, Andrew Prentice as Lord Seacourse, Lucas Commons-Miller as Chernovsky, Jennifer Benfield as Miss Sherba, and Sara Dion and Travis Ellis as Ensemble.

Check out the gallery today!

Profile

breakinglight11: (Default)
breakinglight11

May 2025

S M T W T F S
    123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Syndicate

RSS Atom

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated May. 22nd, 2025 09:27 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios