MS. HOLMES AND MS. WATSON APT. 2B
Playing Watson in
MS. HOLMES AND MS. WATSON APT. 2B Playing Watson in
Page Under Construction. Check back later!
Show Summary
Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson Apt. 2b by Kate Hamill
An irreverent, darkly comic, modern take on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous sleuth and sidekick. This fast-paced romp re-examines the world’s most famous detective story with a bold new feminist lens. In this highly theatrical, small-cast escapade, oddball female roommates Sherlock Holmes & Joan Watson join forces to emerge from pandemic fog as a deeply codependent, quasi-dysfunctional Odd Couple adventure duo—solving mysteries and kicking butts, until they come face to face with a villain who seems to have all of the answers.
Playing Watson
Balancing Heavy Subjects and Comedy
I was cast as Amy! I was so excited to get to play someone who struggles with anxiety and is still such a loving person. Also, singing Getting Married Today was so exciting.
Characterization-
Some of the first choices I made were in relation to her physical and vocal life. Things like, the only thing that moves faster than her brain is her mouth. She talks with a nasally voice and has a head lead that goes a little backwards and she hinges at the knees not the hips.
As I went, I found more and more things that made me love her.
Her and Paul’s story and the love that they have for each other. Through the good times, and the days where Amy is breaking down or Paul isn’t admitting he needs support.
The last piece that fell into place was Amy’s anxiety and the connection to her self-loathing. Amy goes into anxiety spirals a lot. In the show, we see her worst one as her thoughts are sung aloud during Getting Married Today. This happens because she thinks she is going to ruin Paul if she marries him.
The lovely thing about this show is that we find out that she has what it takes to support Paul. As someone who has struggled with anxiety, I love getting to show that you can be deeply affected by anxiety and still care for others. So often, anxiety is shown as a character flaw. Amy shows you can still be working on managing your anxiety while being in a happy and supportive relationship on both sides.
Tackling Getting Married Today-
Figuring out who Amy is wasn’t a challenge; she is someone who is very near and dear to me. The challenge was doing her justice through her song.
If you don’t know anything about the song Getting Married Today here is a quick run down.
It is FAST, like 6.5 words per second fast.
It is a manifestation of all her anxiety about getting married. Like ruining the wonderful Paul because she thinks that she isn’t equipped to do the things a wife should do.
The first thing to do was to figure out the diction and the breath support.
For diction, I started working the song slowly with a metronome and built up speed over time. Once I was up to speed, I focused on the ending consonants and hitting important words.
For breath support, I started running the song while doing cardio. Over time, it allowed me to do longer and longer sections without needing a breath.
With 25 hours of work, the song was finally where it needed to be so that people could understand it.
Then I added the acting, figuring adding Amy’s fear and need to escape into the song.
Performance-
With the hours of work done, I finally got to perform it in front of an audience. Here is a short clip.
Meet the Cast!
-
![]()
Ms. Sherlock Holmes- Emma Mathews
female-identifying. A once-in-a-generation genius. Eccentric. Focused, to a fault. Can be less-than-sensitive. Always playing psychological 3-D chess; operating on a totally different level than civilians. Like many geniuses, has a megalomaniac streak. Gets bored easily; likes applause; sometimes accused of being unfeeling. LOVES costumes and drama.
-
![Close-up of a smiling young woman with light brown hair and blue eyes, wearing a white collared shirt and a red and yellow argyle sweater vest, against a pink background.]()
Dr. Joan Watson- Rae G. Watkins
female-identifying. American. Formerly type-A high-achiever. Recently divorced; struggling to find herself, feels broken. Reflexively defensive. Once had great bedside manner. Sometimes accused of being a loser; is not a loser. Wry. Smart.
-
![A close up on a man with glasses smiling]()
Moriarty/Lestrade/Elliot Monk- Jack DiDomenic
Moriarty: male-identifying. A criminal so great you’ve never heard of him. A master blackmailer; knows just when to play his cards. Always playing psychological 3-D chess; operating on a different level than civilians. Wears many masks. A professional. Amoral, but you’d like him.
Lestrade: male-identifying. An inspector new to his position at Scotland Yard. Not very imaginative. Often says the wrong thing.
Elliot Monk: male-identifying. An amoral tech billionaire from Texas. -
![Woman with dark wavy hair and purple highlights, wearing a red leather dress, smiling and gesturing with her arms out to the sides.]()
Irene Adler/Mr. Drebber- Nina Dolan
Irene Adler: female-identifying. A whip-smart, super-charming sex worker finding success at the highest levels. Always playing psychological 3-D chess; operating on a totally different level than civilians. Has incredible charm, confidence, and wit, and she knows it—uses it without mercy. You may want to be Irene, or you may want to be with Irene; but you can’t ignore her.
-
![Ensemble- Ryan Adams (Sorrow/US Harry)]()
Mrs. Hudson/Mrs. Drebber- Autumn Perry
Mrs. Hudson: Holmes & Watson’s long-suffering landlady.
Mrs. Drebber: Seemingly an ordinary housewife. Somebody you would be very wise not to underestimate.
