Photo by Dave Beksinski,
The Applied Physics Lab Drama Club will be presenting “Scotland Road” by Jeffrey Hatcher at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory at the APL Parsons Auditorium, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel MD 20723 from Friday, April 5 until Saturday, April 13. All tickets are free but reservations are required to guarantee seating.
Tickets can be reserved by emailing dramaclubtix@gmail.com up until 3 hours before the show and picked up on a will-call basis before the show. Please be sure to include which performance you will be attending, how many tickets you will need and if you need accessible seating.
“Scotland Road” is an intriguing tale about a beautiful young woman in 19th-century clothing who is found floating on an iceberg in the 1990s. She says only one word, “Titanic.” A mysterious man named John and his assistant, Dr. Halbrech try to solve the puzzle. Scotland Road was originally presented at the 1992 Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and later produced by the Cincinnati Playhouse and in New York City by Primary Stages in 1998.
I had a chance to ask some questions to Anne Marcotte, a member of the APL Drama Club and the actor playing Dr. Halbrech.
Annie Marcotte loves the APL Drama Club and has been involved with every club production since she joined in 2010, whether it’s acting, attending, or helping to spread the word. Her favorite role of all time was that of Mrs. Paddy in The Curious Savage. By day, Annie works as a graphic designer, teaming up with scientists, engineers, and fellow communicators at APL to make anything from wall murals to websites. She is a proud Maryland native and unabashed cat lover. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, gardening, and reading both science non-fiction and fiction alike. Annie loves that she gets to work alongside her friends to bring the community great, free theatre!
What can you tell us about your role, Dr. Halbrech?
Dr. Halbrech is a no-nonsense professional who starts with a merely academic interest in her patient, the woman who was found at sea. However, as the play progresses and as identities unravel, Dr. Halbrech finds herself heavily wrapped up in the desire to discover the truth. This makes her a conflicted individual; she has to balance this desire with her duty to care for and protect the Woman.
Do you think of tie play, “Scotland Road,” is a mystery or a fantasy or both? Is it more “Twilight Zone” or “Murder She Wrote?” “Lost or “Law and Order?”
“Scotland Road” is definitely mystery with a dash of fantasy or perhaps a touch of surrealism thrown in. It has a lot of resemblance to “Twilight Zone” episodes, with a bit of a History Channel influence. I’ve also heard someone describe this play as a “psychodrama”, and that’s a very apt description. The mystery is very much in trying to figure out who these characters are and what’s going on in their minds.
Without revealing too much, why will people like the play?
A lot of people will like the play because it takes a heavily dissected historical topic—the Titanic disaster—and sheds new light on some of the more human aspects of it. Others will enjoy the game of figuring out whether or not the Woman is the “real deal.” Titanic buffs will enjoy trying to spot any historical inaccuracies in the script!
Why do you like performing with APL Drama Club? Is everyone welcome or do you have to have experience or training in theatre?
There are so many reasons I like performing with the APL Drama Club: I’ve gotten to meet people who I otherwise wouldn’t have met; I’ve been introduced to a lot of plays that I’d never heard of before; we have great, appreciative audiences…the list goes on. The Drama Club is how I met a lot of my closest friends! The club is open to all APL employees as well as their family and friends. You absolutely do not have to any kind of experience or proper training (Although, we are lucky to have a few folks with extensive community theatre experience). I’ve seen people discover a love of theatre after joining the club. We’ve had more than a few people whose first acting experience ever was with the APL Drama Club. To me, that’s pretty cool.
Have you performed outside the group? If not, would you want to do that? If yes, what other groups have you performed with?
Ages ago, I did plays in high school through my school’s drama club. I also acted in one or two student-written plays in college (I don’t remember the titles, or even the names of the characters I portrayed). Since then, I’ve only ever acted with the APL Drama Club, though I do enjoy attending local and community theatre productions now and then. If I had infinite time, I’d love to act in productions with outside groups—for now, I’m just thankful that I can practically walk to rehearsal after it’s time to close up shop for the day.
For further information about the play or for directions to the Parsons Auditorium visit http://www.apldrama.com/
The dates and times for Scotland Road are listed below:
- Friday, April 5 – 7:30 PM
- Saturday, April 6 – 7:30 PM
- Sunday, April 7 – 2:00 PM
- Friday, April 12 – 7:30 PM
- Saturday, April 13 – 7:30 PM
