McGill’s Rising Star: Katie Scharf

Last week, we featured New Yorker Katie Scharf in Spotted at McGill for her eye-catching fashion sense. Well, little did we know, but Katie is a rising star in the McGill theatre scene! So, this week, Her Campus sat down with her and asked her about her upcoming role in McGill English Department’s The Alchemist.
 
Giselle: Can you give us a short synopsis of the play?
Katie: The play is about three con artists who pull ridiculous capers to con extremely wealthy (and gullible) people out of their money. One of them, Jeremy Face, is butler to a man who has entrusted care of his house to Face when he leaves due to an outbreak of plague. So, Face takes up with two con artists from around the town and they concoct ridiculous schemes to get rich people’s money. For instance, the other male con artist, Subtle, pretends to be an alchemist who is creating the philosopher’s stone, and Doll, the third con artist, pretends that she is a rich lady who goes insane, among other things. Towards the end, hilarity ensues with Face’s master returns earlier than they all had expected…
 
G: Who was the play’s author?
K: The author was Ben Jonson, a contemporary of Shakespeare’s. In fact, sometimes he is known as the “Vernacular Shakespeare”, due to the fact that he wrote shows that appealed more to the masses (usually comedies) more than the royalty who supported Shakespeare, for example.
 
G: Which is your part in the play?
K: I play Doll Common, a prostitute and con artist. She is the peacekeeper between the three con artists because Face and Subtle argue all of the time. She has a few funny scenes, but she is mostly a foil throughout the play who is used to calm things down when they begin to get out of hand.
 
G: What is your favorite part about the role?
K: All the different people I get to play when Face, Doll and Subtle pull their pranks—it’s like having three roles in one.
 
G: And what is one thing you would like to tell the McGill audience so that they come out and see the show?
K: I fly. It’s awesome.

 
The Alchemist, March 24th – 26th and March 31st – April 2nd, 2011
Moyse Hall Theatre – McGill University Campus, Arts Building 853 Sherbrooke St. West
Thursday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m. 
$5.00 students/seniors, $10.00 general admission
Ticket Hotline: 514-398-6070