Franzina studies in Bremen. She has been on stage for the first time when she was 6 and her love for theatre has never since waned. Initially applying as a make-up artist, she also took up the role of Susan as well as becoming the dance choreographer for Arden of Feversham.

On Susan:
Susan is the sister of Mosbie and a servant at the Arden household. Her greatest quality seems to be her beauty, certainly not her intelligence. Still, she proves very helpful in causing mischief in order to get married.

On her role as make-up artist and dance choreographer:
Is this your first time working with MTT? What are your prior experiences with theatre?
Yes, it is my first time working with MTT. But I’ve been at the theatre all my life, at least since I was six. I actively took part in one theatre for at least 12 years and visited some other productions at the same time. Big theatre, small theatre, musical. When I was 14(?) I started to work as an make-up artist there. I always wanted to become an actress, but I guess I was too afraid to destroy my greatest passion by having to earn money with it. When I moved to Bremen, I discovered that I can study performance studies as a third subject, so I did. Currently we are working on a Chekhov-project at the “Theater der Versammlung”.

Why are you interested in what you do?
I loved theatre all my life, because it made me who I am: weird and confident. I am passionate about art in many ways. Dancing for example is the only sport I could ever motivate my lazy ass for in the long run, so I became a zumba instructor. That has many advantages like more control andawareness of your body, and a positive outlook in general. It’s fun as hell! My make-up passion came very early as well. I don’t even know if I had a time between playing with make-up as a child and doing “serious” make-up. I drew and painted pretty much at some points in my life and now I’m using faces as canvas. I’m vain, so I got a lot of practice. The best thing is to do all that within a tightly-knit theatre group for a shared purpose.

How do you go about your work?
I’m not much of a planner, actually I am quite messy with my artwork. There are so many different working techniques used in theatre productions that I like to observe and use. The organisation onstage and backstage differs a lot.

Are there any particular influences to your work?
Inspiration comes and goes, just like passion does. I’m kind of doing everything and nothing with art, because I never focus on something for a long time (except acting). But sometimes I just fall in love with ideas and get crazy. I feel like everything at any time is influencing me, and I try to put that into my art.

Is there anything in particular you want to achieve in this production?
I never intented to do something big with that production, I just wanted to be at a theatre again, even If I only got enough time to do the make-up. I saw the rehearsal call posted by our director and I’ve always been curious about her. That’s that, even If there is a limelight hog inside of me who would probably love to move an audience to bitter tears or something. But: I will use the great opportunity to improve and make use of my favourite hobbies.

What do you like about the play?
When we first read that play I never expected it to be that funny. And who knows if it is even *meant* to be funny? Whatever happens in that play, is up to interpretation. I am pretty sure that it wasn’t expected to become a 30’s musical when it was written, but some elements in that play are really surprising.

What do you like about this production?
I like to work with different people with different talents. Those talents can just breed perfectly in a small production like Arden. It’s interesting and confusing at the same time.

Do you think Elizabethan Drama is still relevant today?
Is literature relevant today? Or drama? Or art? Elizabethan Drama happened and is still fascinating as a part of history of the theatre and culture. So my answer is yes and no.

What does (good) theatre mean to you?
Theatre means different things to me, depending on whom I work with. Good theatre is also hard to define for me, but bad theatre is when it is done without creativity and/or passion.