Mrs. Hawking part II
VIVAT REGINA
by Phoebe Roberts and Bernie Gabin
1881, six months after the events of “Mrs. Hawking.” Mary Stone is doing her best learn the trade of her mistress’s work as a covert agent for women victimized by Victorian society. Mrs. Hawking’s nephew Nathaniel, too, struggles to find what contribution he can make to his aunt’s work, and neither one seems to be serving to their mentor’s satisfaction. But when a pair of mysterious ladies under false names comes to them with a next-to-impossible mission, Mrs. Hawking and her assistants must come together as a true team in order to see that justice is done.
Requires no knowledge of the previous show.
Content notes: themes of sexual assault
Presented by Arisia 2023
Sunday, January 15th at 8:30PM
in the Stone Room at the Boston Westin Seaport
From Breaking Light Productions
at the Manchester Community Theatre at NEMS
CAST
Cari Keebaugh as Mrs. Hawking
Coryn May as Mary Stone
Christian Krenek as Nathaniel Hawking
Jackie Freyman as Clara Hawking
Matthew Kamm as Arthur Swann
Kristen Heider as Mrs. Braun
Lindsay MacAuliffe as Emma Mason
Sara Dion as Frau Gerhard
Andrew Prentice as Herr Austerlitz
Michael McAfee, Kate Potter, and Pieter Wallace as Ensemble
CREW
Director, Production Designer – Phoebe Roberts
Editor, Technical Director – Bernie Gabin
Stage Manager – Naomi Ibasitas
Costume Designer – Jenn Benfield
Set Designer – Carolyn Daitch
Lighting Designer – David Silber
Sound Technicians – Jason Kuehl, Jacob LaRocca, Nick Silverman
Hair and Makeup Artist – Hope Prentice
Wardrobe Technican – Kate Potter
Fight Choreographer – Dan Prior
Technical Assistance – Jeremy Holstein
About Vivat Regina
It’s very rare to see any serialized storytelling put on stage. But Mrs. Hawking, with its inspiration taken from superheroes, detectives, and classic adventures, could only be told a case at a time. Despite the challenges it poses to production, it opens up so many opportunities. It’s a chance to build journeys, to show the characters we’ve come to love grow and develop over time, in a whole steampunk world of adventures to return to again and again.
We originally produced this piece in 2016, and in the time since then, we’ve learned and grown as artists. We learned more about how to tell stories that are compelling as well as deal responsibly with the issues depicted. In the original version, the character of Emma Mason was not actually present onstage. But in the intervening time, we realized it was better in all respects to have her there, to speak for herself, to act for herself. We can’t thank the members of Team Hawking enough for helping us to learn and grow in this way, as it is their contribution and feedback that drove it. We’re very lucky as artists to be able to push ourselves to make progress.
To that end, we bring you Vivat Regina, the next piece of the series. We’re so glad you’ve come to see our heroes take their next steps, as well as ours as artists. So thank you for joining us for this experiment in serial theater. Someday soon, we hope you’ll return for part three, Base Instruments, soon to be released by Breaking Light Productions.
Cast and Crew Bios
Sara Dion (Frau Gerhard) is 34 years old and lives with her cat, Snuggle, in Somerville. She has acted in projects with a variety of local groups, including the Post-Meridian Radio Players in Somerville and Theatre To Go in Melrose. She is an elementary school teacher in Arlington and also serves on the Somerville School Committee. Her hobbies besides acting include reading, arts and crafts, dance, travel, and board games.
Jackie Freyman (Clara) has been performing since the age of six and studied acting, singing, directing, and creative writing at Emerson College. She has lived in Boston and been active in the local theatre scene since 2005. Favorite roles include Clara Hawking in the Mrs. Hawking plays (Breaking Light Productions), Lottie Wilton in Enchanted April (Theatre To Go), the Ghost of Mrs. Ball in Mother Goose’s Grave (Theatre @ First), Tinker Bell in Peter Pan (Post Meridian Radio Players), and Suzanne de Tournay in The Scarlet Pimpernel(Post Meridian Radio Players). In addition to performing, Jackie enjoys traveling, reading, going to the movies (and quoting them), going to the theatre, dancing, and belting it out at karaoke. She is also thrilled to have had her own plays produced on stage for the first time in 2022 with Theatre Company of Saugus!
Kristen Heider (Mrs. Braun) is a theatrical Jill-of-all-trades. She attended the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland. Favorite stage roles in the Boston area include Jeannie in Fat Pig (Flat Earth Theatre), Romaine in Witness for the Prosecution (Arlington Friends of the Drama), and T-1-5-23 “Rex” in Citizens of the Empire (Boston Public Works). Favorite voice acting roles include Irene Adler in A Scandal in Bohemia, Marguerite Saint Just in The Scarlet Pimpernel, Mina Murray in Dracula, Dr. Jane Weathers in Fine-Tuned Universe, and Joelle Manton in Lovecraft’s Unnamable Tales. Listen for her in the new science fiction podcast The Outpost in late 2023. Kristen is a company member of Flat Earth Theatre, an egalitarian company based in Watertown, MA. She is grateful to Phoebe for the chance to safely stretch her acting wings after a long pandemic-induced hiatus.
Cari Keebaugh’s (Mrs. Hawking) favorite activity is stalking the night in Victorian London as Mrs. Hawking! But when daylight crests the skyline, she can often be found doing funny voices behind a mic for PMRP. She lives on the North Shore with her own Prince Charming, and she is a big fan of tea and glitter. You can follow her adventures on her website, http://www.VeryCari.com!
Matthew Kamm (Arthur) is honored and touched to be spending another year with Team Hawking, and hopes that you enjoy the staged performances as much as we all enjoyed making them for you. You may also have seen him as Arthur Swann in Gilded Cages and Mrs. Frost, and as the hapless Theo Pryce, Lord Cornin in Gentlemen Never Tell. When not being clobbered by ruffians or subjecting the unlucky to his questionable Brummie accent, he works as the Conservation Outreach Coordinator for Zoo New England, where he helps protect native wildlife. He lives in Somerville with his wife and adorable baby.
Michael McAfee (Ensemble, Stage Crew) has been active in fandom since the late 1980s, and has done a little of everything. After seeing the premieres of “Mrs. Hawking” and “Vivat Regina”, he volunteered immediately after Phoebe sent out a call for backstage help; his first show as crew was Arisia 2017, with the reprise of “Vivat” and the premiere of “Base Instruments”. This video of “Mrs. Hawking” marks his first time acting onstage for this series. He has co-written an audio theater adaptation of “Metropolis”, which the Post Meridian Radio Players will be performing in Spring of 2023. He is also trying to get his first full-length theatrical script produced. He is an extrovert, and so will gladly talk at length about projects with you.
Kate Potter (Ensemble, Wardrobe Technician) When not being a Victorian maidservant both onstage and behind the scenes, Kate Potter can generally be found making things, reading nonfiction, or talking about history. She has contributed the largest number of fics to the Mrs. Hawking tag on AO3.
Andrew Prentice (Herr Austerlitz) is one of the longest running members on team Hawking. He has enjoyed watching this whole ‘experiment in episodic theatre’ grow into an amazing series as the skills of everyone, and the tools at our disposal, have grown and advanced in the last decade-ish. As a stalwart friend of Phoebe’s, and chief morale booster of the team (via insufferable dad jokes, mostly) he is pleased to present you with these most recent fruits of our work, with assurances that there is still more to come as we continue out-doing ourselves. Thank you for coming, and enjoy the show!
Phoebe Roberts (Playwright, Director) is a writer and theater artist from the Boston area who is one half of the creator team behind Mrs. Hawking, in seven installments currently being produced by Breaking Light Productions. Her other work includes the comedy series Dream Machine and Texts from Avengers Tower. By day she teaches writing and English at Lesley University.
Special Thanks
The Manchester Community Theater Players at NEMS
Alan D. Kaplan
Follow the story of Mrs. Hawking
On the web: www.mrshawking.com
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/ladyschampionoflondon
On Instagram: @mrshawkingweb
On TV Tropes: Mrs Hawking (Theatre)
This has been a Breaking Light Production
