Students have been hard at work on and off stage bringing the Victorian world of Miss Holmes to life. With a gender-bending take on the iconic character, Miss Holmes takes the audience on an exciting journey that highlights the obstacles Holmes and Watson would have encountered if they were women. There’s suspense, there’s laughter, and there’s a mystery that will keep audiences guessing the entire time.
In the interview below, costumer Nora McBride ’26, actor Jamie Hagerty ’27, and technician Sam Singer ’28 share their insights into the show.
Tell me about “Miss Holmes”!
Nora McBride: Miss Holmes is really unique because it’s in a time period we don’t often explore, the Victorian era. For costume design, it’s been really fun to do research and figure out how we can represent that time.
Sam Singer: It’s a very powerful production because it reimagines a very popular franchise to show the struggle of women.
Jamie Hagerty: It’s during a time period where there is a lot to reference, like the women’s suffrage movement. Like Sam said, taking a popular title that is well-known gives us a great opportunity to put a twist on it in a powerful way.
What’s been your favorite part of the production so far?
Nora McBride: It’s been so nice working with Ms. Eddy and learning new sewing techniques. I had the opportunity to make surgical caps that look like how they did in the Victorian times. They’re my new favorite thing to make. I also got to experiment with fake blood because we had to make aprons with blood splotches on them. It was an interesting opportunity to work with sewing, paint, and new hair techniques as well.
Sam Singer: As a technician, I think there is a lot of power in not only what we do in the show, but also the skills it gives us. I’ve realized that tech has given me a lot of agency in many ways. As an example, there was a hole in the drywall of my house and I knew how to get spackling and I knew how to cover it. I know how to stain wood.
Sometimes technical theater seems like a supporting role, but the way a set is created and depicted has a lot to do with the setting and choices of a show. For this show, we are doing everything in tones of grey and black, which was a conscious decision, as it makes the lighting from lamps on stage stand out; it creates the exact feeling we were going for. We also have a variety of textures that we use to show changes in scenery.
Jamie Hagerty: I have loved working with the cast; I’ve gotten to know a lot of people through this production. I’ve known for a long time that I love the community aspect of theater but this show has had a lot of bonding. Being in that community is so special to me.
What’s one thing you’ve learned through this show?
Nora McBride: One thing I’ve learned is the importance of showing the time period through the costume pieces. We have to make sure each piece goes with the time period, otherwise it doesn’t make sense. We worked on long dresses with beige colors and bike pants, which women would wear so they could sit on a bike. We had to be very careful with what we designed so that it would be era appropriate.
Sam Singer: It was difficult portraying such rapid and frequent changes in location and have it conveyed to the audience, which is one of the things in tech we have to interpret and create. In doing that, we realized we could communicate things not only through set changes, but also projection, such as projecting timestamps and locations onto a screen.
Jamie Hagerty: I actually had to learn how to speak with a German accent for this show. A German accent is not something I’ve ever experimented with, so I didn’t feel confident and was avoiding it at first. But giving yourself a chance to improve on something is so important.
Why should people come see Miss Holmes?
Nora McBride: People should come see Miss Holmes because everyone–whether it’s actors, technicians, or costumers–put a lot of work into it.
Sam Singer: This show is a large collection of efforts from all departments. This play is all-encompassing in the sense that you can enjoy the theatrical elements but also enjoy the literary elements; there’s even an English class that is giving free admission to this play because they are studying crime literature. Whether you are interested in theater or interested in literature, you should come!
Jamie Hagerty: It’s so powerful. It’s emotionally packed so I would call it a drama, but it also has some great comedic moments. I love mysteries, it’s my favorite genre. If you pay close attention to the plot, you will hear and pick up on little things that all pay off in the ending.
Miss Holmes debuts in Bradley Hall on Thursday, November 6 at 7:00 p.m., with additional showings on Friday, November 7 and Saturday, November 8. You can purchase tickets for the show here.
