All About Emma! Meet Blue-Eyed Hag Cast Member, Emma Oliver.

Getting to Know You Questions:

1) Where are you from? How did you end up here (or why did you stay)? I am from Traverse City. I came to Grand Rapids for college and stayed because I got the opportunity to be involved in Blue Eyed Hag!

2) Where did you study acting? I studied acting in college at Grand Valley 3) What theaters have you worked with? Describe a favorite role/production Other than the shows I did in college, I have worked in Traverse City with the Old Town Playhouse and Riverside Shakespeare. My favorite production there was probably Richard III. I really enjoyed the political intrigue of it, and it’s always fun to swing a broad sword. 4) What do you do in your free time? My hobbies include gardening, and I am in a book club. 5) Share three “fun facts” about yourself: - I did a study abroad program in the Galápagos Islands - My favorite color is green - I am an expert nap-taker Character Questions: 1) Tell the story of the play from your characters perspective: Githa would tell you that this is the story of the most stressful day at work she has ever had. 2) What was the last role you played (for Pigeon Creek or any other company)? Describe some key differences between that character and your current character: The last role that I played was the player in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. That was a very different character to Githa. I’m not sure where to start, but it think the biggest difference between them is that the player had absolute confidence that they knew everything. They knew what was going on, what would happen next, everything. Githa, on the other hand… not so much. She’s perpetually caught off guard. Process Questions :

1) How do you prepare differently for an ensemble directed production versus a production with a director? This was my first time being involved in an ensemble directed production, and it has been such a fantastic experience. It requires you to go more in depth, thinking about the story overall, rather than just your part of it, and figuring out our blocking ourselves rather than having it told to us definitely came as a shock to me. But I had to see how hands-on this feels. Although I do miss having one designated person to pester with all my questions! 2) What is your favorite "Original Practice" (audience contact, cross-gendered casting, live music and sound, etc.) and what exactly do you love about it? I really love the moments of audience contact that are a part of “Original Practice” Shakespeare performance, especially because it works so well in the kind of spaces that we are performing in, and because it is one of the things that I always hear people talking about after they have seen a show.