S2E8: Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson- Apt. 2B: The Mystery of Self Narrative

The mystery is afoot!
A shoe?
... A show!

This mystery is a show. Join RAC members Amy Rene Byrne and Aaron White and RAC Candidate Kimie Muroya as they discuss the delightful mysterious comedy that is BTE's upcoming show Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson-- Apt. 2B  by Kate Hamill.

Show runs March 27th-April 14th! Get your tickets today!

Recorded and Edited by: Amy Rene Byrne
Original Music by: Aaron White

Transcripts of all Season 2-4 episodes are available on our Buzzsprout website.

Check out our current season: http://www.bte.org
Ensemble Driven. Professional Theatre. Arts Education. Rural Pennsylvania. For Everyone. With Everyone.

Transcript

[Knock, knock]

[Door Creaking Open]

Aaron: Oh it's you. I didn't expect you, Amy Rene Byrne. Or you, Kimie Muroya.  

Kimie: I've been here the whole time. 

Amy: Literally, Aaron White, we were here before you. 

Aaron: Oh, how did I not notice both of you in a room, together?

Kimie: You don't have good powers of deduction and observation. 

Aaron: Oh, well, this is quite a cold open we found ourselves in.  Welcome to Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble Down Center! A podcast where we discover our company, our people, our art, and our town, front and down center. Some dumb mystery style intro. Confab with Aaron and Kimie.

Amy: Beautiful. You nailed that. 

Aaron: Thanks. 

Amy: So, we are obviously here to talk about our upcoming production of Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson-- Apt. 2B

Aaron: That's right. 

Kimie: That's right.

Amy: Are you, are you getting into character? 

Aaron: I am. I'm working on, 

Kimie: On the Cockney. 

Aaron: On the Cockney, on the RP, on the East Texas. 

Kimie: East Texas. Oh yeah, that's a good one. 

Aaron: Yeah, the East Texas, I worked at Kilgore Shakespeare or Texas Shakespeare's.I worked at Texas Shakespeare Festival. 

Amy: No, adding the Ses is an essential component. 

Aaron: Well, that's what they used to say. Are you one of them Shakespeare's? 

Amy: Mm hmm. 

Aaron: That's what they would say, yeah. And that's real East Texas. That's almost Louisiana. 

Kimie: Oh, I love that. 

Aaron: Yeah. 

Amy: Yeah. So, in case you hadn't gathered, there is some doubling, some, tripling, some quadrupling.

Kimie: There's, there's, there's, uh, multiple characters being played by single actors. 

Aaron: Yeah. 

Amy: Way to say that simply and specifically. That's why you're playing Sherlock. 

Kimie: Haha 

Aaron: Kimiee, you're playing Sherlock?

Kimie: I mean, I don't want to say I disagree with the casting. I will just say that I don't think I'm near smart enough to play Sherlock.So this is a very, very big leap for me. 

Aaron: That's why it's called acting. 

Kimie: Acting! 

Amy: Um, actually, I think you're the perfect person to play Sherlock. 

Kimie: Thank you so much. 

Amy: No, I can't wait. I was looking over some lines earlier and just giggling in my head, the matter of factness. It's so funny to me. 

Aaron: who are you playing? 

Amy: Me? I am playing Watson. 

Aaron: You're playing Watson-- 

Amy: I am. And in this story, Watson is American. So I get off the dialect train easy. 

Aaron: You don't have any dialects?

Kimie: New York. You have a New York dialect. 

Amy: Well, but. Watson lives in New York is an adult that is originally from Oklahoma. 

Kimie: That's true. That is true. 

Amy: So Midwest 

Kimie: Oklahoma. 

Amy: Yep. I'm just gonna sing. Yes whole time. 

Aaron: Kimiee. Are you working on your Benedict Cumberbatch? 

Kimie: I am debating on whether or not I want to go and watch some of the you know the BBC Sherlock's with Bandy Snatch Cucumber Patch or if I want to watch the, like, Robert Downey Jr. one, or if I want to go back and watch the Basil ones-- 

Aaron: mhmm 

Kimie: Cause this Sherlock is not your grandma's Sherlock. , she, first of all and. If I am the person inhabiting this Sherlock, then she's not going to be like any of those, so, yeah, that's, that's a struggle that I always have, though, when I'm approaching a part that, like, is existing, whether it's Shakespeare or any other contemporary play, like, I'm like, ah, do I want to go and watch other people do this? Or do I wanna come at this and, and not have any potential, IP theft 

Aaron: Sure. But I think the play itself is IP theft. Right? 

Kimie: Sure. So so this is, 

Aaron: Ms. Holmes & Ms. Watson--Apt. 2B by Kate Hamill. It is not any of the original stories by Arthur Conan Doyle, although it gets to many of the plots of many of them, of the original ones. 

Amy: Its very 39 Steps in some ways.

Kimie: I also want to mention there's a fourth member of our cast who unfortunately is not able to be with us today for recording, and that is our Theatermaker Apprentice, Arianna Daniels, who will be playing a multitude of characters. And I'm very excited to see her dive into those. She plays a 60 year old woman at one point. 

Amy: And then a femme fatale. 

Kimie: And then a femme fatale. And it's very exciting. And I'm super excited to play with her in that way. 

Aaron: Absolutely. I, I think it's interesting talking about source material with this, it's very clear that Kate Hamill is aware of the source material.

Kimie: I mean, the tagline for this show is Cheerfully desecrating the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 

Aaron: So she's very aware of the source material and I think is hoping that others are also aware, and that's part of the fun of the play, for sure.

Amy: Yeah, it is a really humorous twist on Sherlock Holmes, which I think is very fun. I think it can attract new people to the story, but also if you have a love for it. For the source material, I think it also scratches an itch in a very interesting and satisfying way. 

Aaron: Yeah that was a big part of picking our, guest director who is coming up from Philly named Nora Gair.  Probably the first thing she said was, I love Sherlock Holmes. 

Kimie: Believe. I don't know if she told me this in confidence, but I believe when she was in high school, she wrote a Sherlock Holmes play.

Amy: Oh, I love that so much. 

Kimie: Yes. 

Aaron: So, being a fan of Sherlock can certainly be a way in, being a fan of funny plays, it is a comedy-- 

Kimie: Definitely a switch from the last show we just produced. 

Aaron: Yes, for sure. But also, if you know the stories and enjoy, Enola Holmes on Netflix, there's a whole series of, of, uh,

Kimie: Oh, Elementary, I forgot about that one too.

Amy: Oh, yeah. 

Aaron: There's also, 

Amy: That's my favorite Watson. 

Kimie: Yeah, I mean, yeah.. 

Aaron: I want to say, there's a whole book series, which I loved and I, it's on my audible and I was looking at, so I'm going to look that up and you guys keep talking. 

Kimie: Here's an audible plug, audible sponsor us. 

Aaron: Yeah, sorry. 

Amy: Give us money, give us money. 

Aaron: So, it wasn't on Audible. It was from the public library, Sherry Thomas is the author and it is the Lady Sherlock series. The title of this one is Miss Moriarty, I presume. 

Kimie: Oh, interesting. The whole thing is gender swap then. 

Aaron: Yeah, yeah. Really fun books if you enjoy those stories similar to Enola Holmes there's, an incredible intellect, but also, there's a recklessness too. 

Kimie: I mean, the first time I don't want to spoil anything, but the first time you see her, she bursts on stage with a fencing foil and starts attacking her landlady. So 

Amy: That's the kind of energy I want to enter every room with.

Kimie: I mean, that's in my heart I do, but in my actual life, I'm too tired.

Amy: Yeah, I'm also, I'm also too socially awkward and nervous, and so I enter spaces a lot smaller than I a m in my head. 

Kimie: So we just talked about how I'm not sure that I'm gonna go back and watch any of those Sherlock Holmes portrayals, but, how about you? You're, you're playing Watson. Sherlock's pretty famous, but I would say Watson's right up there with her. 

Amy: Yeah. I think I have. A similar conundrum to you and that I want to watch the material, but I don't think that I'm going to because I do think coming in as a blank slate and letting it build in the room is, the approach that I like to take most often because it really is so much more for me about. What's happening in the moment. And this Watson is unlike any other Watson anyway. Yeah. So, but at the same time, I do want to honor the source material, but I think that is inherent naturally in the Sherlock Watson relationship. I don't think we could divorce ourselves from that if we tried. 

Kimie: Right. 

Amy: Like Watson is the straight man and Sherlock is the wild card. Yeah. And That's true for this story too. 

Kimie: One thing I might do is go back and read some of the old original novellas. 

Amy: That would be a smart way to do it. 

Aaron: I got the whole collection for my birthday.

Kimie: Oh! 

Aaron: So I will bring it. Because my wife didn't know that I had the tome of the complete works. 

Kimie: Oh, interesting. 

Aaron: And so she was like, I knew this would be coming up. 

Kimie: Are you a real Sherlock head?

Aaron: I don't know about a real Sherlock. 

Amy: Is that what they're called? 

Kimie: I don't know.

Aaron: Yeah.  A locky,  a Sherlocky--

Amy: I'm gonna look up the Sherlocky fandom, 

Aaron: Maybe that was a gift at some point.

Amy: Sherlockians or Holmesians. 

Kimie: Holmesians. 

Aaron: Oh, there you go. 

Kimie: I love that. 

Aaron: I certainly love the BBC updated ones with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Frankel. 

Amy: I'm sorry, you said his name wrong.

Kimie: Bandiwick Cucumberbund. 

Aaron: That poor man. 

Kimie: I do remember liking the first two seasons of the BBC Sherlock. It got a little out of hand for me, but I definitely do remember enjoying those first couple seasons. 

Aaron: And I think just it brought the question, which this play also does. What is Sherlock in this time period? Right? So when you can text somebody or, you know, when, DNA forensic pathology and all sort of thing is part of that deduction, bringing it up and to a modern time, which is what this play does.

Kimie: Yeah, yeah. And so the, the way to get around that for this play is that Sherlock is an extreme Luddite, extremely averse to using technology, which is very fun. You'll hear her not understand what Googling or TikToks are. I'm looking forward that. Because I do not like a lot of modern social media and things like that. I'm also now starting to, you mentioned forensic pathology and stuff, I'm starting to think of like those TV shows that are like Sherlock twists, a little bit like House or Bones. I was a huge fan of Bones. Um, and she's a very Sherlock figure for me.

Amy: Yeah, and she has that matter of factness that is a little bit inherent in Sherlock. 

Kimie: Yeah. Yeah. 

Aaron: There are lots of ins that way. There's a lot of wish fulfillment, in Sherlock, you know, cause you--

Kimie: You want to be the smartest person in the room.

Aaron: Yeah. Yeah. There's something really pleasurable about seeing someone navigate that way. And it's also kind of a sexy play. 

Kimie: Yeah. Arianna and I were talking, we're like, this is the season where we get, paired up a lot.

Amy: You do! 

Kimie: We didn't get technically paired up in Christmas Story, but we built a, backstory for, Ms. Shields and the principal, that there was a fling there. 

Amy: Oh, first, I was trying to figure out how you were gonna connect Ms. Shields and, like, the delivery man. 

Kimie: Uh, I think that was an option too. Ms. Shields had a lot of different backstories. Every night she had a different thing going on for her. But, yeah, wild times. But, uh, Viola and Orsino, and now Sherlock, and I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say, but, a particular, Holmes, villain, Ms. Irene Adler appears.

Aaron: Yes, you've seen the movies. 

Kimie: Adler is such an interesting figure because she really only appears in one Sherlock story and she appears in a lot of Sherlock adaptations because she is that like kind of match for Sherlock, which is a lot of fun.  And what's really funny is the original story. She's like from New Jersey or something. 

Aaron: Yeah. 

Amy: Oh, I don't think I knew that. 

Kimie: Yeah. She's American and she's like from New Jersey and she's a little trashy, I think. Um, this one, places her as, British. I know Arrianna is also a Sherlock fan so it's very excited about. Getting to tackle some of these, these characters and themes. 

Amy: Do you think people latch on to the Irene Adler character so much because she is a strong female character? 

Kimie: It's possible. I mean, like, how many other like, femme ladies characters can you think of in the Sherlock canon, you know?

Aaron: I think that's true. I think there's also something pleasurable anytime when there's someone that can keep up with the protagonist or, the battle of wits, I think is something that I find attractive. I love when an exceptional person who you feel is untouchable runs into somebody else who equally matches them, [Yeah] I think that creates a fun narrative tension and regardless of gender, but I think it is something that's played very often across genders. 

Kimie: Yeah, I think in the, in the very like traditional, maybe a little misogynistic, version of the story its like, "Oh, a woman who is smart?" But here we have, two women who are both smart. And so like that is completely removed from this relationship, which is really fun to play with that. It's, not just a like, " I didn't expect you to be smart because you're a lady," but it's just like, oh, I didn't expect somebody who was on my level.

Aaron: Mhmm 

Kimie: And I think it does take Sherlock aback a little bit. She gets taken aback and then she just hops right back into it. There's this beautifully delightful section where we are speaking in literary illusions. And, it's very tasty. I don't want to talk too much more about it, but it's very tasty.

Amy: There are a lot of really tasty bits in this script. 

Aaron: Yeah. I'm so excited for people to see this one. 

Amy: And there's a lot of really fun physical comedy, and a lot of

Kimie: Blood. 

Amy: A lot of blood. I'm really excited about the blood. 

Kimie: Amy's gonna get stuck underneath a dead body at one point in a bathtub. I can't wait. It's so fun. No spoilers. No 

Aaron: I also look forward to the converse of the Adler, character, but to play Lestrade. There's something fun about. Someone who's dense. I'm excited to play that.

Kimie: Yeah. 

Aaron: Oh, really? 

Kimie: Yeah. Not, not the smartest. But thinks he is. 

Aaron: Yeah. That hubris. Yeah. I know what's going on. We got it all on hand. Yeah. Yeah. 

Kimie: And then, Elliott Monk is your American tech genius, tech genius character. 

Aaron: Yep. 

Kimie: I'm interested to see you, fool around with that too, because there's, there's something a little delicious in his nastiness.

Aaron: I think that's what's I find most exciting about this is there's not a person that's supporting or dull. Like they're all there to support the plot. You come in, its like 0 to 60 and, everything's juicy, you know? Yeah. So I'm excited about that. and I mean, nothing wrong with Old Man and Mom, , in A Christmas Story, but yeah, we're supporting the narrative.

Amy: Yeah. It's really about that kid and his Red Rider BB Gun. 

Aaron: That's right. And this one is, not a time when anyone's off the plot track. Yeah. It's really going. 

Kimie: Pretty tight. 

Aaron: Yeah. 

Amy: Yeah. I. Get to do something in this play that I really love, which is just let the play happen to me as a character. I find that so satisfying because Watson is just experiencing all of this and is along for the ride, sometimes unwillingly.

Kimie: Yeah. I do love a show where I get to sit down and watch a lot of things happen around me. 

Amy: Mm-Hmm. . 

Kimie: Unfortunately, Sherlock doesn't get to do too much of that in this one. As I said earlier, I'm a lazy person. . I love sitting. I love acting and sitting. I love choosing how my character sits. That's a huge portion. I'm like, yeah, how does this person sit? 

Aaron: A major portion of your process? 

Kimie: But I don't know that Sherlock actually sits. I think Sherlock may lie down, but I don't know that Sherlock sits. 

Amy: Yeah. I think Sherlock might do necessary pauses so Sherlock doesn't die. 

Kimie: Yeah. 

Aaron: Yeah. Pace yourself. Yeah. Sadly, there is no cocaine allowed. 

Kimie: No. 

Amy: And this one doesn't really reference cocaine.

Kimie: Several of the modern ones don't reference cocaine that much. I know the BBC Sherlock one, he was using a nicotine patch, which was very funny. There is some smoking in this, but not, of cigarettes. 

Amy: It doesn't specici, pesicify? This is why I'm not playing Sherlock. It doesn't pesecify. It doesn't say exactly what the illicit substance is, does it? Just that it's not tobacco.

Kimie: It's something to smoke, but it is not tobacco. I'm nervous because I've never smoked anything, so. You'll watch me up there hacking along out cause I'll be like, I don't know how to handle this.

Amy: We will teach you how to not inhale. 

Kimie: Great. 

Amy: Acting. 

Aaron: Acting. Well, yeah, that's the imperative. I certainly haven't seen you do this kind of role. 

Kimie: Yeah. 

Aaron: It's it's gonna be very different hat. Yeah. And I think that for both Arrianna and I, we get to stretch in a way that folks maybe haven't seen. Um. Before. Certainly. how about you? 

Amy: I think the closest to Watson that I've done here at BTE honestly would maybe be Cannibal Queen. 

Kimie: Hmm. 

 Amy: Just in terms of little goth, a little dark. Watson is going through some stuff in this one. And has left their profession as a doctor proclaims to not be a doctor at all, which, of course, Sherlock can see through immediately. That's sort of the first mystery that Sherlock solves in this play-- 

Kimie: Or not even solves. But, I think that's what intrigues Sherlock in this play about Watson. The huge thing is, okay, I will solve you. that is a driving force, for, Sherlock in this one.

Amy: Yeah. When it opens, Sherlock is kind of in a place where there are no interesting mysteries to solve. 

Kimie: Yeah. It's just robbery, assault, murder, robbery, assault, murder. What? Nobody does anything interesting anymore. 

Amy: Right. But then Watson comes along and is a little bit of a conundrum. 

Aaron: Yeah. I do think that that's become a big thrust in a lot of the adaptations is that Watson's dealing with like in the modern when it was PTSD in the Jude law version. There was dealing with separating from Holmes like that's a large portion of the dynamic of their relationship is that Watson, I guess in the original, because he's the narrator, right? He's the one writing the things. 

Kimie: What's funny here is that, in the same vein, Watson here is, is a bit of a blogger. And so that's, where that narration kind of aspect comes back in a little bit. Which is very fun. 

Amy: Yeah, I like that a lot. I mean, it's set modern day. There's a lot of modern twists that have been incorporated in I think really fun ways. You already talked a little bit about how Sherlock is a Luddite. So that's where, you know, we get around a lot of stuff. But then you have my character Watson just being like, "What do you mean you don't know about WHAT, like, who are you?" 

Kimie: Yeah. That mystery gets returned. Yeah. And Sherlock is also a mystery for Watson to solve. Yeah. 

Aaron: That's fun. 

Amy: We talked a little bit about some people's individual experiences with Sherlock. So, we know Aaron has the complete tome. 

Aaron: I love, mysteries in general. So anything Agatha Christie, or I love Poirot ro--

Kimie: Ms. Marple 

Aaron: Ms. Marple, Miss Scarlet and the Duke PBS. That has a very similar, lady detective making space for herself in Victorian London, I enjoy the, the form of, the sort of digestible mysteries that you can get in, in two hours. I like that format. Yeah. So for me, 

Kimie: Crafting mysteries is hard. 

Aaron: Yeah. Well, and I'm, I generally do figure them out. Nina gets so mad at me. My wife gets so mad at me. 

Kimie: I'll figure some things out. I don't watch too many of those, but I, I mentioned Bones earlier. My mom and I used to watch Bones all the time. And, sometimes I'd figure I'd be like, Oh, that's the killer. But that was mostly because I'm like, Oh, they're lingering too long on this person-- 

Amy: Yeah I can pick out based on the way that they are telling the story. I'm like, they're not giving this person very much attention. 

Kimie: My mom and I always have this joke where we're like, we do this when we watch bones, when we watch Star Trek, things like that. We're like, oh, yeah, you know, I was gonna say it's because the phalanges didn't fit in the correct slot there. You know, I was just about to say that. 

Amy: Right on the tip of my tongue. 

Kimie: That's our little joke. 

Amy: I found that when it comes to solving mysteries, I completely miss the simple and easy ones. , But for some reason am better at solving the more complex ones. Mm hmm. I don't know why that is. I don't know what that means about me as a human being. 

Aaron: That's actually something the very first lines speak in the prologue asks , why we enjoy watching mysteries, right? That, particularly in this one, there, there's something solvable, right? And that's, what's satisfying , that there will be an answer at the end of the story. 

Amy: Yes. 

Kimie: Yeah. 

Aaron: You know. 

Amy: I feel like in order for me to really enjoy it, it has to be one of those mysteries where all of the puzzle pieces have been presented to you. I get really angry when there's some sort of like, Twist in the solution. And it's like this person that you've not even been introduced to did the thing. And it's like, wait, this is that's such a cop out. 

Kimie: I have an issue sometimes with like some of the I don't know if this is existing in the like original Sherlock texts, some of the like more modern adaptations have this thing where Sherlock will just bust out the solution and be like, I noticed all these things, but you didn't, but also we didn't show them to you.  I think with this script, there's some beautiful, explanations of, of how conclusions are, gotten, which is, fun for me. It's like, Oh, I, I could have seen this. 

Aaron: Yeah. I just realized that, enjoying mysteries actually began in college. There was a, detective fiction class that I took my Lawrence Roth, Dr. Larry Roth. and we read everything from Victorian Gothic mysteries, all the way to sort of techno mystery things. And we probably read like 10 different novels and love that. 

Amy: My love for mysteries came about when I was much younger. I was an Encyclopedia Brown fan, and, I didn't read as much like Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, but for some reason Encyclopedia Brown is where it was at for me.

Kimie: Encyclopedia. Encyclopedia Brown is referenced in the script. 

Amy: Oh, it is. You are right. 

Kimie: As, as is, uh, Harriet Spy, I think. Mm-Hmm. . 

Amy: Yes. Yes. I remember one in particular that made me so mad because I never, I didn't get it. And the clue that you were supposed to pick up on is that this person like answers the door in a bathrobe and supposedly has just gotten out of the shower, then she stands there and proceeds to file her nails.

Kimie: Oh, but your nails would be too wet. 

Amy: Exactly. 

Kimie: You can't file them. 

Amy: I never picked that up. I never tried to file my nails when they were wet. I didn't know. Cutting your nails when they're wet is better for me. I mean, that's when I cut my nails. 

Aaron: Protein is softer. 

Kimie: Yeah. Yeah. 

Amy: But I mean, I have paper thin fingernails, so I don't think it would matter either way. I was so mad. I was like, how am I supposed to know that? 

Kimie: Well, I feel good that I caught it right away. you started that sentence and I was like, Oh wait, this is like legally blonde when Chutney, got a perm 

Aaron: I never would have pulled in legally blonde. And it is like the mystery solving, you know. 

 Amy: Happy people don't kill people, Aaron. 

Kimie: Happy, you know, exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy, and happy people just don't kill their husbands. 

Amy: Flawless. 

Aaron: Yes. Yes. 

Amy: When, when did your interest in mysteries begin?

Kimie: I don't think I've ever been as big into mysteries as, as I know some people are like, that's their, genre. We have some, mutual friends that, are really big into like Agatha Christie and Incidental Murders and things like that. But, I don't think I, like, ever, like, was hooked on any of those.  I did read some Nancy Drew when I was younger. I had a couple of Nancy Drew computer games, point and click computer games. Although I don't think I ever solved one. I feel like I'm smarter now, but I definitely was not a smart child.  I was definitely the black sheep in my family when it comes to intellect. my whole family are academics and polyglots and I was over here going like, uh, I don't know. I don't know. 

Aaron: The fact that you whipped out polyglots? 

Amy: Yeah, I'm gonna call baloney on not being smart.

Kimie: I mean, I, I think I'm smarter now. 

Amy: think that's interesting. I feel like I was really smart when I was young and now I'm very dumb.

Kimie: I used to think I was smart, but I think I was just really good at retaining. I never had to study for tests and things like that. But as soon as I left academia. My brain, was like, great, we don't need any of that anymore. 

Amy: Oh, no, I definitely experienced mental burnout in my mid twenties and now I don't retain anything. 

Kimie: Yeah, yeah, but, part of the problem was we moved around so much when I was a kid So I would finish one school being in like the smart class I'd moved to the next school and they'd be like, well, we don't know what your previous school standards were So they put me in the dumb class and I'd have to work my way back up and that was that was really frustrating thing 

Aaron: it's interesting. It has something to do with the play too. The narrative of either what we tell ourselves or how people respond to us frames how we think about our own, acuity. 

Kimie: Yeah. 

Aaron: And I think Holmes... people are always agog like, wow, you know, how did you know that? And I think that there's a hit, there's a dopamine hit when, when you can, when you can make that jump and people go, well, huh, you know, so that being right frames Sherlock's understanding of, you know, so-- 

Kimie: Right. that's probably a huge, downer than whenever like technology is brought up and Holmes doesn't know how to deal with that.

Aaron: It kicks the legs out from under her. 

Kimie: If I can't do something really well when I first try it, I'm not going to keep going on it. I'm not going to keep trying it. And there's very few things where I've been like, okay, well, I'm bad now, but if I keep practicing, then I'll I'll get better. I think probably that happens for Sherlock too, she just happens to be good at a lot of things, but one thing she's not is technology, and I think there's a little bit of a psychological block there, of not enjoying feeling stupid. She's not. I think Sherlock has a lot of those, like, inadequacy insecurities, both with the technology and then also with just, human relationships.

Amy: Yeah. I think that's one of the reasons that this gender switch is interesting, because one of the things that it introduces in a way that it doesn't get introduced in other Sherlock adaptations is the notion of empathy, and I think that there are so many different intelligences. That people can possess, and we have a tendency to think just about, you know, textbook smarts or an ability to do math or whatever. And that is a measure of your intelligence. But, you know, emotional intelligence, spatial awareness, like kinesthetic intelligence, all of those things are very viable measures of intelligence. And we don't really talk about them in that way. 

Aaron: Yeah. It's just really interesting, cause I was listening to both of you measure how smart you feel and I wonder if that is, how often it is reflected back at you or how often we find ourselves in juxtaposition to other people that, impacts our own self perception 

Kimie: Oh, absolutely. I am going through that right now as a candidate. Just seeing the amount of tasks that you and Amy and Elizabeth are, are able to take on and just pick up and go and do and, and I just feel absolutely at sea with that. And Uh, great. So that's some fodder that I'll use for Sherlock. Good. Good. Good. Good. Taking note of this.  Um, but like, I just want to make sure that like, everybody knows the resident acting company at Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble does not just act. You guys do a lot. 

Amy: Right now. I feel like acting is on the bottom of the list of what my jobs currently are.

Kimie: Yeah, you know, there's a lot of hats that y'all wear that I just feel absolutely inadequate and unmeasurable to. 

Amy: We don't see you as inadequate or unmeasurable. I think that you are far more intelligent than you give yourself credit for. And you are a go getter who also possesses the "I may not know how to do this, but I'm gonna try."

Kimie: I disagree with that. 

Amy: You may disagree with that, but I have to say the external product says otherwise.

Aaron: Yeah, that's not how I perceive you at all. I do think so much of it is a narrative that we tell ourselves and we can get caught in the narrative to or where it becomes an obstruction it's self sabotaging to a certain degree.  But I do think that it's, it's curious when we're talking about the mystery of Watson, right? And the mystery of both of the people is such a central part of the story and there's something delightful about how it is resolved because it is partly the narrative that they're telling each other, but also recognizing that gap, that I don't have the thing that that person has. 

Kimie: That's what makes them a good team in the end. 

Aaron: Yeah, yeah. And and, in the same way there are a bunch of intelligences. I think there's a bunch of values or what makes us valuable to each other and is imperative for any community. If everyone is math smart and no one is emotional smart, right? Then that community never benefits from the knowledge that everybody has, you know?  And so finding folks that you interweave with that fill in the gaps that you aren't strong at. I mean, that's something that I value so much that I am incredibly flexible when it comes to things. Right. I'll ebb and flow. And I think both of you are, are a bit more rigid when you see a spade, you call it a spade and aren't really willing to waver from the fact that no, that's a spade. And that's, And I need that its an essential thing.

Amy: That's interesting. I do think. I have seen places where you are less flexible, and ironically, those are the areas where I am more flexible. 

Aaron: Yeah, and so we fill, we fill in, we fill in the 

Amy: Please say we fill in each other's holes.

Aaron: I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. 

Amy: Well, this has ended up being so much more wholesome than I anticipated it being, 

but it's lovely. 

Aaron: The mystery of self narrative. 

Kimie: Yeah. 

Amy: Yeah. 

Kimie: Ego. 

Aaron: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Absolutely. But I think it's a big part of the play, along with all the fun mystery bits.

Kimie: It's a fun romp for the people who want a fun romp. And if you, want to delve deeper, you can look at the psychological aspects of the show. And yeah, but don't be scared off if you think that this was a too esoteric conversation. 

Amy: It is at heart a physical Three Stoogesque type story. 

Aaron: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. I'm excited for folks to see it.

Kimie: All right. Kimie's first outro. Here we go. This has been Bloomsburg Theater Ensemble Down Center. Ensemble Driven. Professional Theater. Arts Education. Rural Pennsylvania. For Everyone. With Everyone.

We would like to thank the Foundation of the Columbia Montour Chamber of Commerce for the use of equipment that makes recording this podcast possible. Ms. Holmes and Ms. Watson, Apartment 2B opens on March 30th. Our opening performance and our two preview performances on March 28th and 29th are Pay What You Decide. So come, see the show, and then decide what you want to pay for it. Not impressed? Pay a little. Dazzled by our ingenuity and wit? Pay a lot. Check out our website, bte. org, for show information and to purchase tickets. Know what's elementary, my dear Watson? Becoming a subscriber for only $12 a month. You can see everything BTE does as many times as you want. Also follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get the most up to date information about what's happening at B T E. 

Amy: Well done. 

Aaron: That was mighty fine, Kimie Muroya I want you to outro all the time. 

Kimie: Oh, cold read.