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Omaha, Nebraska, at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Region V Conference. A massive conference, bigger than I ever knew in undergrad or grad school. Some 1500 students. A joy to find two of my favorite playwrights here, the thoughtful and awesome Kate Snodgrass and the endlessly imaginative Elaine Romero! Was honored that they both came to my performance of Love Arm'd, Aphra Behn & Her Pen. David Crespy keeps calling us all the "daughters of Aphra"! Lots of fun with this. Came down with the most terrible cold, wasn't sure I'd make it thru. Space huge, used lots of voice. Had to preserve energy at the tech. Surrounded with young women at end, very happy with how it went in spite of my illness. Tried to use the fact I was sick. After all, AB is sick in this play. Worked thru as well as I could, determined not to let people down.

Ocala, Florida. Just back from the show. Very happy with the performance. Large audience that laughed very hard. I was mugging terribly - it was fun! Taught two workshops today, had half the basketball team in the Voice and Verse. Tall! To be tall like those students are would be quite something! I think they enjoyed saying some of Shakespeare's verse and discussing Aphra Behn's poem about Cupid. Forgot my pictures at home for the Regency Workshop, had to have the CFCC Library and Dave Hartley supply them. Had some wonderful Gainborough for couples and the singles to work with. Want to try to find these pictures to work with more. Students seem fascinated with the idea of animating a painting and I get a lot of out watching them bring the characters to life.

Greetings from Ocala, FL! The weather is not as warm as I would like it but it is very beautiful!Spanish moss, palm trees and Jane Austen. I cannot think of a better combination. I had a high school matinee at CFCC this morning that I was a bit nervous over. As it turned out I had no reason to be because the students really got many more of the jokes and funny lines than I ever expected! Even my young man, though quite reluctant to dance with me, obliged me when I quietly said, "won't you come with me"! And naughty Lady Susan got whistled at and she wasn't at all mad about it - she rather secretly rejoiced in it and smiled voraciously at the young man. To still be whistled at at my age! My goodness, we had such fun! I'm always a wreck beforehand and always overjoyed after getting out there. There are palm trees and lots of visiting with locquacious head of department Dave Hartley - everyone here is so hospitable - true southern hospitality.

I am behind. Am trying to get off book for Innocent Diversions and every spare moment is spent at that. Had a magnificent time at Hanover College last Friday, over 250 people in the audience and had to hold long periods of time for laughs - a very silly time indeed! I will post pictures in the next two weeks.
Currently at Simpson College in Indianola, IA and the hosts here are also exquisite. First sign for the college is on a large green field with cows grazing around it! Theatre is three quarter thrust and a real challenge for Jane which is staged mostly proscenium style, much was running thru my head in the manner of reblocking last night at the tech in order to be seen and heard by alll the audience.

Wow! Reviews are out - and they are even better than I could have hoped for - in the Bath Chronicle yesterday morning. I will post on my website as soon as I return state side. The time here has been gratifying and exhausting. A brief run down. Three runs of Aphra on Monday, third tech was for a critic in order to get coverage of Love Arm'd in the paper on Thursday morning. Tuesday with Jane the same. Ran the show 3 times third time was opening in front of audience and critic. Wednesday Matinee of Aphra Behn for a college group at 1:30 pm and 7:30 show. Thursday 10 am Matinee of Jane Austen for Paragon School and 7:30 pm performance at night. Have today and tomorrow evening only. I can only say that it is amazing to perform these plays over here and have more than one chance at it. Lots of playing around, and fun with the audience too. Don't think this is very coherent but will sign on more upon our return. Pleasantly surprised by friend David Green and the Macy's. Ann Garner and Andrew Ellison of Next Stage Theatre Company are extraordinary and supportive - the Mission is an intimate, personal space for theatre.

Friday night's performance was also loads of fun. My roommate from graduate school, Jeanine, came to the show and I dedicated the performance to her. My professor, Jim Patterson, who has four books out now, also came and played James. He was terrific, throwing various ad libs out there just to see if he could throw me! Tim D. was also in the audience and gave me lots of encouraging (and infectious) laughter. Folks weren't quite so paralyzed with fear this evening and there were members of JASNA there as well! I am most grateful for the support I have received from the Jane Austen Society of North America. I am busy today running both shows and prepping the program for Bath!

What an evening! I was terrified before I went on but did calm down. The show was heaps of fun. For the first time that I've performed this play, I had much trouble getting "Tom Lefroy" to come up on stage with me for the dance section - he was glued to his seat - I had to tug and tug. It was hilarious! I was panicing because I was losing time in the music and then I heard Susan's voice in my head saying, don't worry about getting behind, it really doesn't matter, they are watching the guy! Susan, it was so true! He got a huge round of applause and I got to finish my dance while people were still clapping. The expressions of panic on people's faces when I came out as Miss Bates were absolutely priceless. My Caroline and Fanny were so sweet and cute and James was played by the head of the English Department here - he was quite debonair! I will have pics to publish when I'm home and can download. I forgot to mention that I saw a wolf on the streets here after dinner on Wednesday night. I've never seen a wolf in the wild - on city streets - it was breathtaking.

Greetings from Columbia, SC and the start of the Fall 2007 Tour of Jane Austen and Aphra Behn! It is fantastic to be back here. The weather is balmy, the palm trees gently blowing in the breeze. The air smells very sweet. I have forgotten, but there are still wonderful, gentle manners down here. The students will say "yes, ma'am" and "no, ma'am" and I'd forgotten how nice that really is. This gentility suits Jane very well. Technical rehearsal went quite well last night. I had some trouble moving the heavy dark read velvet chairs but we've worked it out that the young woman playing Maryann will move the chair when I need it! It should work out to be humorous! The Cottingham Theatre is huge with magnificent acoustics. I had forgotten how much energy it takes to fill such a theatre though and I was absolutely exhausted when I got out of there last night. Today, I met with Sara Nally's beginning acting class and they were so polite and sweet! I have an English class to visit at 3pm and my first show is tonight. I admit I have the jitters big time!

Dover, Delaware. Actually I'm just back. It was a tight schedule yesterday. Left home at 10 am and arrived in Dover at 1:30 pm. Set up the stage and started the tech at 3:45pm. Show at 7:00pm. This booking was incredible. We had front page coverage in the Dover Post Entertainment section with two color photos. Dover is an unassuming town. You pass through the requisite fast food places and Walmarts and then you are suddenly in the middle of this jaw-dropping old town with cobble streets and cute shops. I missed the theatre twice because a campus map showed it on another street. There is a historic large plaque in front about the Capital Theatre and then a small sign that says "Schwartz Center for the Arts". The Schwartz Center is a remarkably restored old vaudeville house with fantastic acoustics. (I was recovering from a bad cold and did not have to strain myself - even today I have a voice!) The Center was used for vaudeville and then as a movie theatre and then went derelict and only re-opened to the public five years ago. It is now a lush place to play with a star dressing room, lush gold seating, a huge mezanine, red velvet curtain with fringe - it was a treat as Jane Austen to peak out from that curtain at the top of the show. The audience was warm and friendly and many demanded autographs after the show. I always figure they are there for Jane or Aphra so I always sign those names first! Every time I do "Cheer from Chawton" now I have a stronger and stronger desire to do a run. We shall see how and where this might pan out. I am thrilled that I will go back to the Mission Theatre in Bath, England next fall. I will do a short run of Aphra and Jane there. There you have it. I've not even announced that on my website yet!

From Ames, Iowa. The Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival as always is an incredible experience. This is one of the largest in the country with 1,350 students in attendance, a number of productions, countless workshops. A theatre lovers dream! Yesterday taught a workshop in the Art of Solo Performing. Only had 1 hour and 15 minutes and needed to manage time better but many got to read and I got everyone started on a draft of a show. i will manage time better on Thursday. Last night judged the Irene Ryan finalists. A real trip for me as I was one myself (cough) years ago! won't say! won't give my age! Anyway it was a tough job and I was writing like crazy to make sure that I would remember everybody. This morning was the feedback session and I did the best to let everyone know how great they were and the fact they were performing in one of the hugest houses I have ever seen. The Stephens has won an archetectural award for the state of Iowa but for auditions I thought it was a tough space to compete in. Restoration workshop went gangbusters today, really had to book through it, tried to give everyone the chance to read. I had a lot of fun and am sorry that I won't get to teach that one again this conference. Onto the Caucasian Chalk Circle tonight. Brecht is not one of my favorite people but I'm going in with an open mind. Theatre of alienation, you know, last production I saw, I was REALLY alienated! Onward!

Greetings from the road! I just finished my booking in Jacksonville, Illinois and am now in Ames, Iowa. At Illinois College, I taught a workshop on Voice and Verse and performed "Cheer From Chawton". The workshop was aimed to address the needs of the students for a very large and very lovely theatre space that seats a couple hundred people. My performance was well attended and I had a wonderful time mugging insufferably and getting all sorts of "Jane Austen" laughs! The eyes are becoming very important in the show. I've learned all this from the fabulous comic actor Floyd King who is a great one for getting laughs with his eyes. Every time I go back to my roots at the Shakespeare Theatre in DC, I learn something from those actors. The students had just performed Pride and Predjudice and were eager to don their costumes again, sit in the audience and egg me on. We had a wonderful time. Dr. Nancy Taylor was an elegant facilitator. The guest housing on campus is in what looks like a secret location. You enter a building of classrooms, go upstairs, open a door and you enter a marvelous prairie-style sweet with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, bath. The bed had a beautiful blue and white quilt on it that was quite cozy in the cold evenings. Some of the campus buildings had gas fireplaces - I found them homey and inviting. I am in Ames, Iowa as of this writing and putting my schedule together. This KCACTF should be very exciting and I am thrilled to be here. More anon.

Greetings from Shepherdstown, West Virginia! I don't want to sound like a travel advertisement but this town is like a fine wine. It is the oldest town in West Virginia founded in the Eighteenth Century but some of the buildings look to date from the 1650s. A very appropriate place for Jane Austen and Aphra Behn. I was here a few years ago doing Love Arm'd and Dr. Shurbutt of the Shepherd English Department brought me back to do Jane. Last night, in her intro to the audience, Dr. S. compared me to Emma Thompson saying that I made Jane's words come to life in the same way that Emma Thompson did in "Sense & Sensibility"! Good Lord! It was hard to go on after an introduction like that! Had to use all my concentrative powers to focus on all the characters I had to play and not worry about whether I was good enough! In addition, Mr. Ed Herendeen of CATF was kind enough to come to the performance and I was honored to have him there and anxious to please him. I kept telling myself to stay focused on the characters, the mind can play funny tricks in performance, but I feel myself getting stronger with the text and more flexible about improvising within the context of what I've set up for myself. The first time you do it, you are paralyzed with fear that you might go down and forget Jane Austen's words and these are words people know! Not like Aphra where most people just meet her for the first time. But I ramble. I can't say enough about the bucolic nature of this area, peaceful, colored in brown, gold and yellow fall hues, the Shepherd Campus a magnificent combination of old and new buildings. The time here is too short and I return home today.

Reviews! Sue Hughes, the director of the Jane Austen Festival and the editor of Regency Magazine praised my show on BBC Radio Scotland as the hit of the festival! The link is http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/radioscotland/view/show.shtml?radiocafe .
Once you click this link you have to find Tuesday 26 September and the mention comes about 10 minutes into the program.
Another mention is on the Mission Theatre Website with 2 photos – one photo - not so good or maybe just silly! Here’s the link:
http://www.missiontheatre.co.uk/news.htm
involves some scrolling and clicking!

22 and 23 September, Friday and Saturday, last full days in London. After writing my blog we toured the Theatre Museum which has an overwhelming collection of costumes, papers and memorabilia. The exhibit on the Redgraves was mind-blowing and exciting to see. I have always referred to the Redgraves as Theatre Royalty and when you uncover their lineage this is an understatement! I'm a fan. Besides the special exhibits, the Theatre Museum has an actual copy of the Patent given to Killigrew for the Kings Company of Players by Charles II. The sad thing is, and everyone ought to know this, the Theatre Museum is closing in January and the facility is being taken over by the Opera. The Museum itself is relocating but if you have a chance to visit it before January, I would say run don't walk! That night, we had a celebratory dinner at a lovely restaurant called Mon Plaisir near the museum. Saturday held two highlights; the play "A Voyage Round My Father" by John Mortimer with Sir Derek Jacobi and eating at Rules, the oldest restaurant in London - 1798! Another Donmar Warehouse production, this team can do no wrong. The show is a journey, a young man's relationship with his eccentric, blind, barrister father. The minutia of the garden became the universal - this was a story everyone who has had a father could relate to. Besides riveting performances by Sir Derek and Joanna David as the mother, Dominic Rowan delivered a most compelling, heartfelt turn as the son. Dinner that night at Rules - we had grouse, cabbage, potatoes, toffee pudding. The grouse - the feet were still there and they had feathers on them! I felt I was having my complete 18th century experience. The meat is very smoky and unlike anything I've ever tasted. Dame Diana Rigg came into the restaurant with a gentleman holding a huge bouquet of white roses and all went up to a private room. I felt like throwing myself at her feet and telling her that her performance as Media changed my life and we love all her Avengers episodes as well! But no such luck in sighting her on our way out! Sunday morning found us hurrying to the Victoria Station and the Gatewick Express.

Forgive me! I know it's been a couple of days. Wednesday was very full with no time to get to the internet cafe. Attended a wonderful lecture on Art and Character at the Holbourne Museum and then it was off to the Jane Austen Centre to obtain not just a shirt but an entire costume for my stage manager extraordinaire David G. At the Centre, Ms. Glenys Hale was absolutely lovely to us, I think she thought David quite handsome and she gave him this beautiful blue coat, cravat, vest, knickers and so forth to wear for the performance - he looked exquisite. The show, the show, the show! First the tech went very smoothly, though I had forgotten my book and candle, Ann G. at the Mission Theatre was so accomodating, the Mission provided me with the items. Breath, Karen, breath! My young ladies came, Rebecca and Chris, and dressed in full costume and then the Gainors came looking fabulous as well. I prepped everyone, I drank some tea and some ice water and we were off! I was incredibly nervous and intimidated but I made my goal to hit my characters and have fun in each role and the audience laughed hard and applauded and the picture taking session at the end of the show went on and on - all wanted pictures of me and my company as the various characters - so struck many poses! Kudos go to my directors, Amy and Susan - the direction was complimented, the dialect was complimented. More soon on all this. The costume was also admired and so thank you to Marie Natali for the lovely dress and cap. Marie also provided me with a marvelous lace hanky to match. The topper for all this is that I have been invited back! And not just to Bath but to Chawton Cottage and the Great House. Not just for Jane Austen but for Aphra Behn as well. Thanks to Cary Bush at the Windsor Hotel and the exquisite Gainors, yesterday we did the "Jane Austen Cradle to Grave" tour dubbed so by Dr. Gainor. First off to Steventon. Walked in the church where Jane's Father and Brother preached. Then found the actual site of the house - the pump is still there. On to Chawton Cottage - unbelievable - Jane's real topaz cross on view - real samples of her writing, her actual writing desk, a quilt she and Cassandra sewed with their mother, so many artifacts - just awesome. Chawton Great House - a lovely lady let us in to see the great Hall where I have set the play and the dining room - unbelievable, breathtaking. Up the walk to the great house - a meadow of sheep on one side and on the other, chocolate brown horses grazing patiently. Onto Winchester, the 900 year Cathedral built on water, the crypts flood each winter, the south wall starting to bow, the brook that squirts out from underneath with lily pads, Janes' stone in the Cathedral, the brass plaque and family window and finally the place where she breathed her last in Cassandra's arms, a private home near the Cathedral with a plaque above the door. Another amazing day. Arrived in London last night, I can "feel my morals declining"! Today tooling around and will report more tomorrow!

A spectacular day filled with sunshine. First, a morning run-thru at the Bath Windsor Hotel and then dressed in costume. The owner of the lovely hotel was kind enough to let us take photos in the "chair" he had out front. Much silliness followed with photos of Mrs. Bennet, Lady Susan, Miss Bates, Lady Harcourt, etc. Dressed and off to the Jane Austen Centre to inquire about a costume for David Green and then checked out a costume shop calling Farthingale's which was closed - but a place to rent regency costumes. Then up to the Royal Crescent and toured Number 1 Royal Crescent - a spectacular house. I did not realize the floor boards were unvarnished during that period. It made the rooms very light. Enormous amounts of prints and paintings covering the wall. Drawing room of spectacular green silk damask with curtains to match. Shutters fully restored in every room, a special shade of blue wall color in the gentleman's smoking room. The kitchen featured a spit that had a wheel which, at one time, a dog would run in to keep the spit turning continously - poor pooch! Walked thru Victorian Gardens, saw some kind of little painted amphitheatre, then on to tea at the assembly rooms. Classical music and pasta salad, better beverages than the states - a cranberry with lime sparkler for me. A short walk to the The Building of Bath Museum - had actual paint pigments used in Georgian times, archetectural tools from the 18th century, columns, in a chapel, huge model of Bath.

This morning I had the chance to do a full run-thru of the show in the hotel room with David Green holding book. I remembered most of it! Not so bad after a weekend off! Next it was off to the Jane Austen Centre and I asked if anybody there knew Rebecca Hemmings. The young lady speaking to me said she was Rebecca - she is to play my niece Fanny - I heard her give one of the intro talks at the Centre and she was fantastic - animated - she will be wonderful! We toured the centre which featured costume exhibits, some history from the period - how Bath was a medical mecca and the waters were supposed to cure everything from obesity to low spirits. It's interesting that many fashionable people of the court went to Bath during Aphra Behn's time - especially to cure syphilis. Enough said there! Next it was upstairs for Tea. We actually had the "Tea with Mr. Darcy" which featured raisin and plan scones, clotted cream, strawberry preserves, cucumber sandwiches, cheese sandwhiches and a piece of cake! We also had the Jane Austen Blend Tea. Now it's we're off to see one of the homes Jane stayed in while living here. We keep meeting many people from the states.

We have been to the Mission Theatre to check out the space. It is a fantastic theatre space for plays like "Cheer from Chawton". The Mission was was once a church - very intimate - over 200 years old, spectacular wood floors, acoustics. Everyone at the Jane Austen Centre is lovely, accomodating! We cast our Caroline today. A lovely young lady, very beautiful, named Chris, she works at the Centre. She has an exquisite Regency dress, jacket and bonnet - looks very smart! Walking the streets of Bath at night is something everyone should do. The city is alive and exquisitely lit, the bridges, the water, the restaurants full of candlelight, people, the smell of delicious food in the air. David Green has arrived from the south of France, I am thrilled he can be here to help stage manage the show - it will make my nerves easier! I sound like Mrs. Bennet! I forgot to tell Paula Hoza that the gorgeous bookmarks she designed arrived the day we left and I am leaving them all over Bath!

We have arrived in Bath. The trip was uneventful except for some lightening and turbulence coming out of Newark. One of the stewards on the flight was a real gem - I think he was French. He made everyone laugh. It's hard not to be crabby in coach but he really took everyone to another laughing level. He kept dropping plastic cups on my head! I think it might be lucky! The sky is here in Bath is overcast rendering the city somehow more intimate. Have been at the Jane Austen Centre and cast my James and Mary! As we walked into the Centre, a tall gentleman dressed as Captain Wentworth strode boldly into the gift shop making every girl there giggle by requesting a tape of Darcy's bathing scene from P &P. I don't remember a bathing scene?! Captain Wentworth turned out to be from Columbia, MO, Dr. Gainor and his lovely wife. There are many Austenites here already walking the streets in costume. Very exciting, stimulating, inspiring! I prefer to remain a bit "incognito" today as the dark circles betray a bit of jet lag.