A Badass Playwright and Two Badass Actors Tell It Like It Is

Today I am joined by two amazing women: Margaret Upchurch and Naomi Love as they prepare for their upcoming performance of Aphra Behn’s The Rover. What’s it like to be the first professional female playwright? To have to make up a husband in order to have some kind of social standing? To kill off said fictional husband in the plague? Meet Aphra Behn. There are many mights and maybes surrounding the mythical Behn but the certainty is that, as Virginia Wolf said, “All women together ought to let flowers fall upon the tomb of Aphra Behn, which is, most scandalously but rather appropriately, in Westminster Abbey, for it was she who earned them the right to speak their minds.” And while I do suggest that pilgrimage, for those who would like to stay closer to home, there is no better way to pay your respects than to go support her work and the work of other women. What’s it like to be a woman in the theater industry? To face a shortage of substantive roles? To be cast not only on your performative abilities but your body type, your hair style, your height? Does this happen to men too? Of course, but today, as Aphra Behn dictates and I second, it is about the women. We talk about finding opportunity or, as Aphra Behn did, creating their own. We discuss the politics imbedded in academic institutions and the hard lessons these women have learned along their journey. We talk about taking on roles where that push them out of their typical roles and comfort zones. Support Aphra Behn’s work - ESPECIALLY if you have never heard of her - and support these two amazing women as they grace the OSP stage as the leading ladies, Hellena, the anti-nun, and Florinda, who none of us can believe doesn’t want to become a nun by the end of the play. OSP is hosting a performed reading of Aphra Behn’s The Rover with a limited showing April 10th-12th. It’s an intimate, indoor theater so get your tickets soon!The arts are under attack, and buying tickets and books is a great way to show your support and fight back. Buy Tickets for OSP’s: The RoverPLEASE SUBSCRIBE! ⁠www.theshakespeareanshrew.com⁠ https://www.youtube.com/@ShakespeareanShrew Please follow us on Instagram: @theshakespeareanshrewTikTok: @theshakespeareanshrewThe new season of shows for OSP is available ⁠here!⁠ Please donate to OSP: ⁠https://www.okshakes.org/donate⁠ Thank you for listening!Host/Shakespearean Shrew: Karen FeinerCo-Creator/Brew Shrew: Michelle CoffmanCover Art Creator/Artistic Shrew: Katie Kimberling ⁠⁠⁠www.halfmaverick.com⁠⁠⁠Intro/Outro Music: “Tangled”  by Nihilore: Creative Commons MusicThank you to our guests, Naomi Love and Margaret UpchurchNAOMI LOVE (Hellena) is excited to return to Oklahoma Shakespeare for her second performance! AT OSP: Jane Austen’s Christmas Cracker. OTHER THEATRE: A Sick Day for Amos McGee, Oklahoma Children's Theatre; Pillar of Fire, Theatre Crude Fringe Festival; Be Aggressive, Being Enough, Play in a Day, Oklahoma City University. FILM: 10 Weeks, Red Not Blue, The Ghost of Methodist Hall, Pace Yourself. ADDITIONAL CREDITS: Scare Actor, Dead Mans Crossing Haunted Attraction. Character Actor, Fairytale Balls 2024-26. She is a Junior Acting major at OCU, currently working towards a B.F.A. Follow Naomi’s acting on TikTok and IG @naomi.ie.loveMargaret Upchurch (Florinda) is looking forward to making her Oklahoma Shakespeare debut in The Rover! She is currently a Sophomore BFA Acting student at OCU. Previous work at OCU includes When We Were Young and Unafraid (Penny, Out of the Box) and The Children’s Hour (Karen/Mary Swing, Studio Series). She would like to thank her family and friends for their consistent support and love, and God for His guidance. She hopes you enjoy the show!