Blog - Pride & Prejudice Productions

Flirty From Afar

Hey Pride & Prejudice People! I hope you, dear Reader, had a restful holiday season! New Years Eve (and our Opening night on New Year’s Day) is right around the corner, but all of these holidays are challenging to celebrate while keeping each other safe and obeying social distance protocols.

We at Pride & Prejudice have found a whole lot of connection with our cast and Artistic team while rehearsing this play, and we invite you to share in our joy during the live shows Jan 1st and 2nd. I’ll be honest, what started off as “well, I guess we will try Zoom theatre” has transformed into a powerful way to experience live art! Social distance doesn’t keep away that unmistakable chemistry that happens with live performances. Live theatre is closer than ever; and before, I could only ever afford back row balcony seats.

I bet our beloved Austen characters would have had no problem with the social distance. They wouldn’t dream of getting close, because gossip is everything and young people were always supervised. The only gateway to any physical activity was marriage – which is INSANE to think about. Marriage is so… final! It’s a capital-C Commitment. I have trouble committing to dinner plans – I can’t imagine having to marry someone just to find out they’re a bad kisser!

So, what’s the deal, 1800s? Why so prohibitive about physical contact among single people? Back then, women were viewed as emotional, “the fairer sex”, and needed this restraint to remain pure and virginal in the praise of the Church (was this Anglican or Catholic? Ugh, I can never get this right…). Logistically, this mattered because men expected potential wives to keep these virtues while they were courting.

With all of this in mind, Jane Austen and her characters had to flirt in less conspicuous ways. It’s downright devious how suggestive and provocative they can be with a simple gesture or phrase. One time in rehearsal, our Darcy, Dan Lin, whispered the word “Wordsworth” and flushed gasps were heard backstage. It’s always the most innocent and unassuming lines that cause our director, Lavina, to type “HOT” in the chat and she’s not wrong, folks. There is some STEAM in this play and we are here for it!

Now that we are heading into our final week of rehearsals, more than the drama is starting to heat up. Costumes are coming into play; memorized actors are putting down their scripts, picking up cues and the energy is palpable as it all comes together. We will be rehearsing feverishly in the days ahead, but we can’t wait to bring this to you in less than a week!

I’ll write again soon, dear Reader!

Pride & Prejudice Productions

First Impressions

It seems only fitting that our first blog post for Pride and Prejudice Productions be about first impressions. FUN FACT: Jane Austen actually titled the book “First Impressions” before landing on “Pride and Prejudice”, which if she HAD gone with the old title, half the world would never have learned what prejudice means!

Welcome to our blog page, y’all! This page is reserved for fun musings and updates on the production. Relax and enjoy our thoughts on theatre, this show, and anything else we wanna share.

2020 is a strange time to be starting a theatre company (and a blog), but the need for entertainment and our desire to connect has never been stronger. After spending eight months with the same few loved ones, we all crave interaction and fresh folks in our lives. We, too, here at P&P wondered what we could do to keep theatre alive and connect with our community. We were watching our industry go dark and our friends and peers all be out of work, and we wanted to fix that. Stepping up and building something from scratch is scary, but it has been so rewarding providing an outlet to our cast and crew, and to be able to offer a fantastic show to our audience. We are just getting started, and we cannot wait to make our first impression with Pride and Prejudice.

All of our shows are going to be about people: actors, directors, playwrights, designers. While we may not have lavish sets and rotating floors (but we loved it in Hamilton!), we will prioritize people over stuff. This first play, Pride and Prejudice is all about people. Specifically, single people mingling and, of course, nailing that first impression.

I can certainly remember when I have NOT made a good first impression. I once got kicked out of a personal trainer workout for vomiting. It didn’t help that I passed out in front of a full row of treadmills…

THE POINT IS…whether I say the wrong thing, or what I DO say comes off the wrong way – I can relate to Mr. Darcy being perceived as such a stiff at a first glance. He cares WAY too much about status and money, but honestly, he is #loaded and we never talk about all of the people who are constantly looking to use him for his money. It makes sense that he needs to be on guard and cautious around new people. But still, he does have a bit of a stick up his butt, and Lizzy does NOT appreciate his sophisticated airs one bit.

Mr. Collins also makes a…umm… let’s say “memorable” first impression. He arrives at the Bennet house to wed a Bennet (Ding Dong! Oh good, someone’s Husband is here…), and turns off every daughter except Mary with his gross over-indulgence of society. See, you have to know how much is enough. If Darcy was too stiff and stoic, Collins is WAY too eager. Just like with online dating, you can’t be too coy or too responsive. Take note, folks – Jane Austen is giving you a note about balance here!

Let’s switch to George Wickham, who OMG nails the first impression. He has manners ON LOCK, he is humble and down to earth, and even has time to brush his hair! What a dreamboat – we can all see why 3 out of 5 Bennet sisters fall for him right away. Too bad that he is all mask and no material (good for COVID, bad for true love). However, Jane Austen provides zero description about this guy, and keeps us in the dark until Darcy reveals him for the snake he is. What’s the lesson here? If you meet someone and their first impression is perfect, you still have to do your homework. Dang, Jane, I see what you did there.

Well, enough second-rate dating advice from me (as if I had any credibility to start…); Our cast got to make their own first impressions this past week at our first rehearsal! I’ve never seen so many pets on Zoom. I’m biased of course, but our cast is so smart and this play is already coming to life. Even though we are staging on zoom instead of in a theatre, there is no less magic happening in rehearsal. The romantic sparks are FLYING even though some actors are in completely different time zones. We are so lucky to have our adaptor, Mel Leilani Larson at every rehearsal to assist the brilliant staging Lavina Jadhwani is building. The first rehearsal was electric, and so was the rest of the first week.

We’re on to Week 2! I’ll send you another letter soon.

Pride & Prejudice Productions

Flirty From Afar

First Impressions

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