Meet the Playwrights of Georgiana and Kitty

Lauren M. Gunderson and Margot Melcon seem to be a match made in heaven—especially in the hearts and minds of theatre-going Austen fans around the country. Since the birth of their first collaboration Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley premiered at MTC in the 2016 season, Lauren and Margot have been literally (and literarily) delighting audiences every holiday season. We spoke with Lauren and Margot a few weeks before launching into rehearsals for this next and final chapter of their Christmas at Pemberley trilogy.

Photo by Josh Edelson (courtesy of San Francisco Chronicle)

MTC: What was the genesis for writing a play inspired by Pride and Prejudice? And had you always intended to write a trilogy of plays?

Lauren: We wanted to create a theatre piece that touched on all the nostalgia and warmth of our favorite holiday plays, but add our own brand of sisterhood, comedy, and women-led romance. I’ve always loved Pride and Prejudice because it centered not one but a half dozen interesting and unique women all with their own wit, intelligence, and drive. It was Margot’s idea to combine the world of Pride and Prejudice with the needs of a holiday play, and the reaction of audiences around the country to our plays has proved that it was a good one. I certainly did not imagine writing a trilogy, but with so many sisters and such support for the plays nationwide, we kept coming up with new stories for these beloved characters.

MTC: How did the two of you come together to co-write the plays?

Margot: Lauren and I had known each other for nearly a decade when we came up with the idea for the first play. Until that point, our relationship had been playwrightdramaturg, with my supporting Lauren on her new plays, many of which were workshopped and/or premiered at Marin Theatre Company, so we had a great trust and shared language around how to make plays already. We came up with the idea for Miss Bennet together, and so it felt like a good fit to try to write it together.

MTC: And what is your writing process like; has it evolved throughout the trilogy?

Margot: Our process has remained pretty consistent throughout the trilogy—we decide early which of the core characters from the novel will be the focus of the story and then outline, scene by scene, what we think will happen to them, often at breakfast meetings over pancakes and coffee. Once we have an outline, we each pick a scene and dive into a shared google doc. We’ll go back and forth, editing and adding, cutting and trimming. We’re fortunate in that we have Jane Austen herself as a model for the overall tone and tempo of the stories, and then we’re able to bring contemporary ideas and textures in. MTC: Georgiana and Kitty will be the only play which will feature all five Bennet sisters on stage. What led to that choice—or better yet, how did you decide which characters to explore throughout the trilogy?

Lauren: After Miss Bennet premiered, every Austen fan asked us, “But where was Kitty?!” so we knew we wanted to write a story for her eventually. But with The Wickhams focusing on the downstairs world of Pemberley she didn’t quite fit into that play. When we decided to write a third play, Kitty’s story was a natural starting place and we wanted to pair Kitty with one of the other lesser-known Pride and Prejudice women, that of Mr. Darcy’s younger sister Georgiana. Both are the same age and given short shrift in the novel as far as character development. The two of them represent a core thematic element of this play: growth. These two are met with great change in their worlds at the end of Pride and Prejudice, with Kitty’s closest sister Lydia married as well as Jane, and of course Lizzy marrying Georgiana’s brother Mr. Darcy. Their world is changed and this must change them as well. They are young women and growing so much so quickly. We wanted to follow them on this growth and see who they really become.

Adam Magill as Arthur de Bourgh in MTC’s Miss Bennet in 2016, Set Design by Erik Flatmo, Costume Design by Callie Floor.

Photo by Kevin Berne

MTC: What are your thoughts/feelings as you prepare the last play of the Christmas at Pemberley trilogy for the stage? Will you miss the Bennet’s, the Darcy’s, the Bingley’s and the de Bourgh’s?

Margot: Of course we’ll miss them! But the thing about great novels is that you can visit your favorite characters anytime you want, just by opening a book. We hope the same will be true of our plays, that the Christmas at Pemberley trilogy will have a long life, and that we’ll be able to visit these lovely characters anytime someone does the plays. MTC: In both Miss Bennet and The Wickhams we felt as though we’d stepped out of Pride and Prejudice and into what might have been a natural turn of events: bookish Mary taking her place in the sisters’ matrimonial parade, ne’erdo-well Wickham in trouble again. How do you mean for Georgiana and Kitty to fit into the evolving universe of the Pride and Prejudice characters?

Lauren: We took a big leap with ‘G&K’ because we wanted to focus not just on the romance of youth, but also the romance of older characters who have matured into their personalities and desires.

Margot: With each of the plays in the trilogy, we hope that people will feel like they are a continuation of the novel, but also that we explore and surface other ideas that didn’t make it into Jane Austen’s work: the idea that marriage is not the only way to find happiness, that true, deep friendship can sustain a person through a lifetime of trials and challenges, that family is complicated, but does not define you. And I’m not sure I’d agree that the two earlier plays were a natural or obvious continuation of the novel—Mary could have just as easily remained home with her parents, and Lydia and Wickham divorcing was not a foregone conclusion. We made strong choices for what we wanted for these characters. Not everyone agreed that we made the right choices, but that’s the beauty of storytelling and imagination.

MTC: What has crafting the first two plays in the trilogy taught you, that you bring to Georgiana and Kitty?

Margot: Working from existing material is wonderful, but also comes with challenges. We always want to be true to the world that Jane Austen created, but also want to bring our own sensibility into the stories. There is such a thing as being too wedded to the source material, and there is also the danger of going so far that it no longer captures what is so beloved about Austen’s work. The first two plays taught us how to navigate that line, but it is something we continue to be mindful of.

MTC: Music is such an important part of the story—and the audience experience—in Georgiana and Kitty. What inspired you to explore that?

Lauren: Austen herself was a dedicated pianist and played at home for her family. She writes Georgiana as the same in Pride and Prejudice, and we wanted to honor both Austen’s characters and herself. When I visited Austen’s home in Chawton, England a few years ago, the first room you enter had a small pianoforte, and a woman was playing it as I stepped into that hallowed literary space. I got to see her writing desk, the bed she shared with her sister Cassandra, and wander around the house in which she lived while writing so many of her masterpieces, including Pride and Prejudice. All while hearing the sound of a piano downstairs. I will never forget it.

MTC: How did you choose the composer Jenny Giering for this piece?

Lauren: Jenny and I had worked together on the production Meredith McDonough directed of my play Silent Sky at TheatreWorks a few years back. Jenny is an incredible talent and her work on that production was absolutely unforgettable. I knew she could help us uncover the beauty and emotion and power of the music for this story. She’s also a marvelous chef and appreciates good wine, so I will take any excuse to create with Jenny nearby!

MTC: Director Meredith McDonough is among the returning artists who worked on other plays in the trilogy, namely actors Adam Magill, Laura Odeh, Lauren Spencer, Madeline Rouverol, and lighting designer Wen-Ling Liao. Meredith directed the first play Miss Bennet. Is there something in particular you are looking forward to in completing the trilogy with Meredith back at the helm?

Lauren: Meredith is one of the most talented directors in the American theatre. She is smart, inventive, caring and fun. I trust her taste and always know she can find and steer the comedy, the heart, and the bright joy of these plays while never losing the intelligence and passion of the characters. She too is a great chef and wine connoisseur, so I guess I’m just writing plays to drink and eat with my talented friends :)

Margot: The gorgeous thing about Meredith, and all of the actors returning to this world, is that they are so adept at capturing this era while also finding humor, heart and texture that makes the world come alive, so that audiences today can relate to and connect with the characters as people. Meredith ensures it is not a museum piece, bringing wit and humor and fun. And she is such a joy to collaborate with.

MTC: For modern readers and theatre audiences, the restrictions placed upon women in the early 19th century are shocking—yet like Jane Austen, you have made your female leads manyfaceted, strong, independent women. How did you create strong, independent characters in a world where a single woman’s brother might be considered her master?

Margot: This is something Jane Austen was incredibly adept at, pointing out societal restrictions and showing how women are still able to be complete, complicated people. Women have always been strong, independent, and many-faceted, and they still are. Women have also always had restrictions placed on them, their opportunities, their choices, and they still do. How women navigate these restrictions is universal and frustratingly familiar. All women learn from each other, take lessons from history, and try to pave the way for those who come after to be able to live fully and with agency.

MTC: For MTC and many other theatres, the Christmas at Pemberley series of plays has become a holiday tradition, longed for and welcomed by presenters and audiences. What’s your holiday wish for the audiences who see these shows, this season and beyond?

Margot: Knowing that the holidays can be a stressful time for many people and that so much of traditional holiday fare is quite dark (A Christmas Carol? Terrifying!) we wanted to create something that would bring families together for a moment of joy and delight. This holiday season in particular, after a very challenging couple of years, we could all use a little joy and delight, don’t you think?

Cindy Im as Lizzy, Adam Magill as Arthur de Bourgh, and Lauren Spencer as Jane Bingley in MTC’s Miss Bennet in 2016, Set Designer Erik Flatmo, Costume Designer Callie Floor.