1. Historical Facts, as far I can remember them:
Queen Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Henry had divorced his first wife, Katherine of Aragon, so that he could marry Anne.
Despite a multitude of pregnancies, the only surviving child of the King's with Katherine had been a girl, Mary. Mary would not do as an heir, and Henry hoped that Anne would provide him with the boy-child he so desperately wanted. So, when it was discovered that Annie was preggie by Harry, the King finally broke with the Roman Catholic Church, established the protestant Church of England, divorced Katherine, declared Mary a bastard and married Anne.
The future Queen Elizabeth was born a few months after Anne and Henry married. Anne became pregnant a couple of times after Elizabeth was born, but each ended unsuccessfully. By this time, Henry had begun to tire of Anne. She is reputed to have had a temper and was most liberal in giving voice to her complaints and dissatisfactions with the King, a big no-no. After Anne gave birth to a still-born son, her fate was sealed. She was executed on trumped-up charges of adultery and the princess Elizabeth was declared a bastard. Lizzie was not yet three years old.
The now-demoted to "Lady" Elizabeth's fortunes would vary during her childhood depending on Henry's mood and the interest each of his subsequent four wives took in her well-being. During those variable times, Elizabeth and her sister Mary are reported to have found some solace in each other, both having lost their mothers due to the direct consequences of their father's behaviour. It is likely they regarded him as an imposing, all-powerful and frightening figure.
After disposing of Anne, Henry went on to marry Jane Seymour, who died giving him the male heir he wanted, the future Edward VI. Then followed a political marriage to Anne of Cleaves, which was annulled--or did he divorce her? I don't remember--either way, she escaped unscathed by the King's love after Henry found her so unappealing that he couldn't even bear the thought of trying for another heir with her. After "Annie the Ugly" wife #5 became the barely-out-of-adolescence Katherine Howard, a cousin of Lizzie's late mom, who also lost her head after a short reign for dissing the King in the worse way...
Elizabeth was eight when she witnessed Katherine being arrested. She saw how the Queen was taken screaming and pleading to the tower, while Henry refused to see her. She was executed after it was discovered that she had (truly) been unfaithful to the King's bed. Katherine is said to have been kind to the young Elizabeth and to have witnessed yet another wife being discarded off-hand (though Henry was deeply crushed by the discovery of her infidelity) is believed to have scarred the young Elizabeth's attitude towards matrimony. She is reported to have stated "I will never marry" to her friend, the young Robert Dudley, not long afterwards.
After "Kathy the Floozie" came Katherine Parr, a more sober choice of wife for the aging King. This Katherine outlived Henry, though she remarried (scandalously quickly) after his death, and died not long afterwards in childbed.
Henry's nine-year-old son Edward became King upon his father's death. Eddie wasn't a robust person, and he died of tuberculosis six years into his reign, without--SURPRISE!--leaving a male heir.
At Edward's death, the line of succession was supposed to go to Henry's daughters, per the old King's will. However, political interests and ambitions ensured that a scramble for the throne ensued. However, the coup was averted, the hapless Jane Grey was executed, and Mary, being the oldest of the two sisters, became Queen.
Mary I was Catholic, and she had deeply resented Henry's treatment of her mother, so she declared herself legitimate, changed the country's religion back to the Roman Catholic Church, married herself to the Ultra-Catholic Philip of Spain, proceeded to persecute her Protestant subjects, and generally alienated herself from her people, all the time keeping a wary eye on her sister Elizabeth.
The sisters' relationship had cooled as they grew older, and even though Elizabeth affected the rituals of Catholicism to preserve her neck, she remained Protestant at heart, and the English people knew it.
The years after "Bloody Mary's" ascension to the throne were marked by plots and conspiracies to get Elizabeth on the throne by her Protestant subjects. Elizabeth vehemently denied involvement in these plots, yet she was imprisoned in the tower and came very close to being executed on charges of treason.
Yet, through her own wit and the assistance of others, Philip of Spain among them, Elizabeth was able to navigate these turbulent and treacherous times and survived to be declared Queen upon Mary's death. She reigned for more than four decades, and died at 69 years of age. True to the word of an eight-year old girl, she never married.
2. Some thoughts about my portrayal of this Queen:
From a psychological perspective, I could probably argue that Elizabeth suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and possibly features of Borderline Personality Disorder. (This is purely my thinking, although I wouldn't be surprised if there is a book written somewhere that examines her psyche in more depth than I will do here.)
These diagnoses (look them up here) would explain some of her seemingly irrational behaviours and quick temper, though she certainly was "high functioning" in that she would use her changeable mood to confuse others, prevaricate and stall. These tactics served her well throughout her reign.
The "Queen" Elizabeth was a master of wit and the politics of the times. She used her sex as a weapon to avoid conflicts with other nations that would have waged war on a lone Queen in a heartbeat. While foreign Kings were busy courting her for themselves or their relations, they would not risk alienating her by making war. Make love, not war...but Lizzie was no Hippie.
The "Woman" Elizabeth was materialistic, charming, temperamental, patient, niggardly, generous, predictably unpredictable, flirtatious, vain and full of herself. Yet she was endlessly selfless when it came to the good of her people. She always put her subject's needs first and believed her life to have been spared by God in order that she would become Queen. She was not about to squander that gift. Nor would she tolerate anyone else presuming to the spotlight that God had chosen for her. She was a master of her own stage-management and did not suffer upstaging kindly.
The "Actor" Elizabeth (me, if you've been paying attention) needs to negotiate both the historical facts, and also be aware of the sensitivities of our modern faire-going audience. It would be very different if I were preparing for a movie or play about Lizzie. I could then give free reign (pun intended, yuk-yuk-yuk) to all the nuances of her character.
However, at faire, the patrons come to have fun. They don't want to have their ears boxed for presuming to dress better than the monarch or be clapped in irons for failing to bow or show proper respect to their sovereign mistress. They need to be educated-gently-into the manners of the times so that they return the next year wanting more.
As such, in portraying Queen Lizzie, I have endeavored to be faithful to those qualities which endeared the real Elizabeth to her subjects, while "sugar-coating" the less-likely-to-go-over-well realities of her historical persona.
For example, the Queen was sometimes criticized for being over-familiar with the common folk that would gather on the streets to see her, for she would smile and wave and call out to them as she rode by. She is said to have responded to their cries of "God save the Queen!" with "And may God save you, good people!" And she ALWAYS told her subjects how much love she had for them. It worked for Elizabeth, therefore, I do the same.
In short (since I could keep going), in hiring me to be your Queen Elizabeth, you get a well-rounded historically sensitive modern interpretation of this beloved monarch.
If you're a festival starting out, I have contacts with various performing arts groups that have absolutely beautiful pavilions, accessories, and of course, the acting talent to round out any Royal Court.
If you already have the requisite backdrop and infrastructure for a Royal Court and are simply looking for a suitable person to "plop" into the role, I'm your woman.
I'm a (gads!) 25-year veteran of the stage and festival lanes (see my resume here). I come highly recommended and have invariably developed a "following" of patrons in the various roles I've played throughout the years.
As a person (I flatter myself) I am easy to work with, know how to play well, and come with my own costumes and accessories, which I design and make myself (see dress diary here). I have never yet failed to be invited back to a festival where I've performed. I know you won't be disappointed, so Contact Me and let's get talking!
3. Forget the intellectual gibberish! Show me the pictures!
