What is your role in Blue Stockings? I play Lloyd, one of the male students at Cambridge. Lloyd comes from a position of privilege and has spent his whole life in elite circles. The presence of women at Cambridge unsettle him, especially when he learns they are attempting to gain the right to graduate. He’s got tight control over his peers and his academic life; anything that upsets his control is a threat to be dealt with.
What is your background in theatre? At Walterdale? I’ve been a fan of theatre since I was very young, and considered myself a drama kid in high school. After entering post-secondary education, my opportunities to act became limited. I am very thankful for the Walterdale for being an excellent environment for an amateur actor to work, find a community, and be a part of telling meaningful stories.
What brought you out for this show? Feminism and women’s rights is a subject I feel passionate about, and I think it’s important to discuss the history of these movements. Blue Stockings is set a century ago, but the topics involved are fresh and connect to our modern social climate. The fact that it’s a relatively fresh script is also very exciting.
What has been the most fun thing about working on the show? The biggest challenge? The cast and crew have been a lot of fun to work with. Laura (as director) lets her actors play around with their performances and is always asking, “Why do you think your character does this? What do you think is best in this scene?” I think the hardest part has been playing the role of Lloyd, whom I find utterly despicable. Connecting to the character has gotten me to ask a lot of tough questions of myself.
What do you think audiences will take away from the show? Why should they come and see it? Hopefully the audience will have fun at the show, but I’d really be happy if we got people thinking about how these issues have changed and, in many cases, not changed over the past hundred years.
This show is about the advancement of women in history… who is a woman from the past (or present) that has inspired you? Why? Mary Wollstonecraft wrote the Vindication of the Rights of Women during the late 18th century, which was pretty much a direct “take that!” to all the Enlightenment male’s movements during the same time. She is one of the founding scholars of feminist theory and her personal life is crazy interesting.
What is your role in Blue Stockings? I play Lloyd, one of the male students at Cambridge. Lloyd comes from a position of privilege and has spent his whole life in elite circles. The presence of women at Cambridge unsettle him, especially when he learns they are attempting to gain the right to graduate. He’s got tight control over his peers and his academic life; anything that upsets his control is a threat to be dealt with.