CHRISTOPHER : Megan, the WHS is extremely excited to have you as a guest artist. As a multi-instrumentalist and performer, what is your creative process when it comes to preparing for a new role or performance?

MEGAN : I trained as a classical musician, so my preparation always begins with the musical notes and the text. I find I have to get the information off the page and into my body before I can really begin to play with it. The music and the words become like the bones of the piece for me, and once they are not only memorized, but alchemized in a way, I can begin to play with the landscape of the storytelling. I find my best tactic for memorization is to go for a walk and recite the lyrics and lines in time with my steps. It’s a trick I learned while studying Shakespeare at RADA in London. My director called it “plonking” since you plonk your steps along in time with the words. I find it really works!

CHRISTOPHER : What aspects of Warwick’s history fascinated you the most during your research for the show?

MEGAN : As I was reading and researching ghost stories for the piece, I was fascinated by the themes that emerged from the stories I was finding. Ghost stories came about as entertainment, sure, but also some of the stories seemed to serve as cautionary tales. Not merely through the lens of “beware the boogey man,” but in a way that seems more soulful than that. Universal themes seemed to emerge to me. Themes like greed, revenge, fear, rage, but also the inverse of those ideas like generosity, connection, courage, and love. It’s fun to see ourselves reflected in those ideas.