About a week before we opened The Oldest Profession, one of our cast members became very ill and it became clear that she could not open the show. We were heartbroken that our wonderful Mae, Geraldine Vilar, was not well. But, we still had a show to put on.
So, there we were. We had a bunch of reservations, show advertised and promoted, emails sent to our patrons, and we may not have a Madame.
Director Cricket Hall and some of the cast members began searching for a last minute replacement. We won’t say they were in a panic, but they were in a panic.
Then they got in touch with Nicki Davis.
And get this— she’s appearing as the Angel Islington in Neverwhere with M.T. Pockets Theatre next week. That’s right folks—she’s rehearsing another play in Morgantown while doing The Oldest Profession in Clarksburg. And she managed to nail the role and learn all the lines in a matter of days!
How did she approach the role of Mae in such a short time frame?
“She’s a combination of my Grandma, Dixie Carter and Olympia Dukakis’ character in Steel Magnolias. In the text she is like a wolf, loyal, protective, calm, steady and proud, but she’s on the decline and she’s at risk of being booted out by a more dominant presence, and she’s scared but she’s still ready to fight for her place in the world. And she’s much more maternal than she let’s on. It’s difficult for me to relate to someone losing their faculties, except for brief instances of lost keys and such, but I know in those moments when I’m confused, I’m angry, so that really comes to bear in the second scene.”
Nicki Davis began her theatrical career, as a Dodo bird at the Monongalia Art Center in 1994. Over the last 22 years she has worked as an actor, director, writer, designer and producer from West Virginia to Wyoming and back. Her most memorable roles include Dev in Stupid F’ing Bird last fall, The Woman Who Liked to Make Vaginas Happy in The Vagina Monologues, Sybil in Private Lives. Her proudest directorial moments include Hair, On Golden Pond and No Exit which played in Morgantown earlier this year.
She will continue playing the role of Mae through our second weekend of performances October 20-23.
Thank you, Nicki! We literally couldn’t have done it without you!