Guest post by our Miranda, Tessa Markle!

Hi, my name is Tessa and I’m so excited to be performing Shakespeare this fall! I’ve been a theatre geek since I was pretty young, so getting to perform a classic is something I’m really looking forward to! I remember reading a few Shakespeare plays in high school (i.e. Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar) and being a lot more into it than most of my classmates. Then, in college, being that I was a theatre (and psychology) major, I read a lot more Shakespeare and took a “Shakespeare for Everyone” class too.

I wouldn’t say I’m obsessed with Shakespeare — I have to admit, I’m more of a fan of plays in modern English, but I’m proud to say I can at least understand what is being said! — but I do have a few favorites, especially Romeo and Juliet and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. I’d even put The Tempest up there in the top five, which is another reason I’m excited to be playing Miranda. When I was cast for the part, I was very pleased. I haven’t had much formal classical training, nor have I seen Shakespeare performed live very many times, but I’m more than ready to accept the challenge.

Miranda is an interesting character as well. She falls in love so quickly and for no more than love at first sight, really. (Even if it’s not really her choice, considering Ariel fetched Ferdinand for her.) Although she is relatively passive, she does speak up for herself, such as when she proposes to Ferdinand and says that if he will not have her as his wife, she will die as his maid. I think it will be interesting to play a heroine that at first seems rather passive and straightforward, but we find later is a little more complicated than that.

Complicated characters are, in fact, my favorite to play. I love really dark or deep shows with a lot of character development. One of my favorite shows that I was in is A Streetcar Named Desire. I played Stella, but I’d love to explore the character of Blanche someday. I’m also a big fan of musicals (I know, pretty much the opposite direction in content, but how can you resist them?). Someday I’d love to get the chance to be in a Broadway musical, even just as a chorus member. However, my plan for the near future is to move to LA to explore the possibility of film/television/commercial acting for a few years. Eventually, though, I would like to move to NYC and do more stage acting before I decide to settle down.

Advertisement