The Two Noble Women of The Two Noble Kinsmen

We had to take a moment and talk to the ladies of the show.  By the way, there are seven women performing in this production!  Check out this interview with Amee Vyas and Katherine Lawson!

Who are you and what are your characters?
AV: Amee Vyas and I play the Jailer’s Daughter. It’s really listed as Daughter in the dramatis personae and in the script. It’s in the stage directions, we get “Jailer’s” Daughter, so for consistency we say Jailer’s Daughter.
KLKathryn Lawson playing Princess Emelia



How long have you been working at the Shakespeare Tavern Playhouse?
AV: I plead the fifth! Actually, this is my 14^th year with ASC and I’ve performed in at least one play here every year except for the 2012-13 season when I moved out of Atlanta for a brief year.
KL: Since 2010

What did you enjoy most about the previous production of The Two Noble Kinsmen when it was produced five years ago?
AV: The freedom of not having a predecessor or another popular production of the play to be compared to. Also, I believe we took that freedom and ran with it. We created some really lovely bits of staging (and that Troy specifically re-created in this production) because we were all willing to try anything; since, we’d never seen the play performed we didn’t think “well, that’s not how Branagh did it!” or “you know, I hate it when actors make Hamlet so mopey, so I’m going to do it differently!” We really allowed the text to dictate what we did, which resulted in one particularly uber-theatrical staging: the building of a human ship – which one of the actors suggested as a literal interpretation of the brief text in the scene.
KL: The wonderful cast and meeting new people in Atlanta theatre. 

What do you like that is different about this production?
AV: The cast is great. Each new cast brings something fun and exciting (if the gods are smiling at you and with this cast they are!). I don’t remember laughing as hard backstage the last time. Then again, we were all a little unsure of the play and how it would be received. This time around we knew that it is a magical play and with Daniel and Matt as the title characters, we were set for success!
KL: I love our wonderful new cast and getting to play pretend with my very dear friends.

What is one of your favorite moments in this show? When do you feel most connected to the show?
AV: Ahh, there are so many! This is unfair!  I’d like to say the last moment of the opening song, when Sarah Beth goes for the Soprano line and Rivka beats the last four notes on the drum, there’s a harmony of sounds that is just beautiful; but then, I think, my personal favorite is one of my character’s last scenes in the play, I’m drunk (which Shakespeare never gives to a female character!) and I’m talking about the afterlife. Instead of staging it where I am interacting with the 3 other characters who are talking about how crazy I am, Troy continues my character’s arc of being alone with the audience and I play the entire scene in the ditch and on the edge of the thrust. There isn’t a more perfect example of audience interaction and since I’m drunk and seeing a different world I’m also tapping into my craft; so it becomes a perfect intersection of preparation, craft, and being in the room – and it’s just fun to do.

KL: There's a big confrontation scene after intermission that I feel like is super dynamic, the two Noble Kinsmen have their sword fight interrupted by the royal hunting party: Theseus & Emelia have their bows drawn and ready, Hippolyta & Pirithous have their mitts out, everybody's ready to throw down.  For me, it's the little moments of audible response that echoes how I'm thinking and feeling in a particular moment. We've just finished uproariously laughing at our own bad jokes and Matt/Arcite does this snap stare of mega intensity and the audience sees this budding connection between us and responds.  Kevin/Theseus says "Make choice then." And there is a groan of sympathy for Emelia's predicament of having to choose between two handsome awesome lovable guys knowing that whichever one she doesn't choose dies.  I love being able to use our style of original practice to directly address the audience and actually ask two different audience members which Kinsmen I should choose!  I never know what they are going to say.


Who should see this show and why?
AV: Everyone! First, it’s rarely produced, so if you are a theater- or Shakespeare- or Classic Literature-geek, you need to see it. Second, it’s a beautiful production with music, and fights, and a human ship. Lastly, #shamelessplug, I’m in it!

KL: Can you relate to love in the extreme? Or love that is non-traditional and multifaceted? Have you ever stalked an ex? Have you ever dated more than one person at the same time and didn't know which one you liked best? Do you like music? If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, no judgement but you should see Two Noble Kinsmen!


Amanda Lindsey McDonald
Social Media Specialist