This is the first episode out of ten from The Story of The Einstein Girl written, narrated and performed by Annemarie Hagenaars. Inspired by Philip Sington’s novel The Einstein Girl. Music by Andrew Huang
Almost 10 years ago I wrote a one woman show inspired by Philip Sington‘ s novel The Einstein Girl. The novel was a gift from a friend when I graduated from Utrecht University in the field of Foundations of Physics. I performed my show The Story of The Einstein Girl from 2011 till 2015 all over The Netherlands at theater festivals (such as Amsterdam Fringe Festival), secondary schools, universities and conferences. At schools and universities I combined the show with a lecture about the basics of Quantum Mechanics and Relativity Theory. It was a typical STEM show, or STEAM even.
I’ve not performed my one woman show since I moved to New York City in 2016. Other projects occupied my mind. However this last month, I’ve played with the idea to audio record the script and present it as a series of 10 episodes. I’ve included a few pictures from the theater shows I did at the time to give you an idea of what it was like performing it on stage. The script has 10 scenes in total. Here’s the first scene, the prologue. I hope you enjoy the first episode of The Story of The Einstein Girl written, narrated and performed by yours truly. Music by Andrew Huang.
A few screenshots from our live @zoom performance of #collectedstories with this beautiful lady Judy Rosenblatt playing Ruth Steiner. So proud to be sharing the virtual stage with her.
Directed by the award winning director Austin Pendleton
Judy Rosenblatt & Annemarie Hagenaars star in Donald Margulies’
COLLECTED STORIES
virtually at the 2020 KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival
I hope you are doing well, and that you and your family have been staying safe and healthy during these crazy challenging Covid-19 times. I would love to invite you to see my performance as LISA in the play COLLECTED STORIES live on Zoom.
Hailing from NYC and the Netherlands, Judy Rosenblatt and I met over Zoom. Attracted and delighted by what we saw of each other’s work and encouraged by the iconic director Austin Pendleton, we began to work on this engaging and multi-dimensional play. Over a period of 5 months, we delved into the depths of the two fabulously layered characters we portrayed. We delightfully researched the real life poet Delmore Schwartz, the secret love in Ruth Steiner’s life, and explored the Beat Greenwich Village scene of the 1950s. At the zero hour, we applied and got accepted to perform at the Fabulous KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival.
I would be thrilled and honored if you could make it to our virtual performance.
Thank you!
Ruth Steiner, an aging established short story writer and professor, mentors Lisa Morisson, an ambitious 26-year-old graduate student. Over the course of six years, their relationship blossoms, changes and survives incidents that threaten to destroy it. But when Ruth shares her long kept secret about a love affair with the real-life poet Delmore Schwartz and when Lisa uses this story in her first novel, the young author and the revered mentor get confronted with a complex dilemma: when is it permissible to write about another person’s life without their consent?
Words from the director Austin Pendleton: “I have seen many renditions of COLLECTED STORIES and never seen one that hasn’t been very exciting. This rendition by Judy and Annemarie is right up there with the best of them. I would love to see them render the whole play. I think a lot of other people would too.”
The 2020 KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival, will host performances via ZOOM on: Tuesday, 9/15 5:30pm; Saturday 9/19 5:30pm; Monday 9/21 6:30pm; Thursday 9/24 7:30pm. $5 tickets now on sale at: www.rochesterfringe.com
My drawing of dinosaur Nr. 2. Introducing Paulo’s favorite dino: Triceratops. This impressive herbivore dinosaur lived 68 million years ago in the same time and place as T-Rex and was probably one of its prey.
During self-isolation: my second drawing of a dinosaur. Triceratops
I could go on talking about Triceratops and the fascinating facts about “Three-horned-face”, but instead I’d like to give a big shout out to my man for making my time in self-isolation so fun and comfortable.
I’m sure that all couples in quarantine discover new aspects about their significant others right now, how they deal with the #stayhome policy and whether they drive each other crazy… or not.
It is quite something what has happened in these past weeks. Two weeks ago, was my last day in New York City. I had a job interview in the morning (for which I got hired the next day, but then of course everything stopped…), I went to the last reading of the EST/Sloan First Light Festival series in the afternoon, had dinner with my long time acting coach Alan Gordon and went to a late night rehearsal for The Fifth Dentist, only to find out at the start of the rehearsal that the Pit Loft had decided to close its theater for the rest of the month and had canceled our shows.
I came home very late that night not knowing it had been my last day in the city for a long time. I’ve not been in the city since that day and in hindsight it is a good, safe and healthy decision with my beloved New York being the epicenter of the pandemic in the States.
These two weeks also showed me that Paulo and I are having a real good time together at home. If the weather permits, we go for walks in the morning in the most desolated areas we can find, he cooks the most delicious food and makes sure I stay healthy and fed. And he makes me laugh. The most important thing. He makes me laugh a lot. When this sad feeling of what’s happening in the world comes over me and I think about the people in my home country in Europe, my family working in healthcare being exposed to the virus every day, my dear artist friends who are suffering with no income in the most expensive city in the world, I feel uncomfortable and unhappy. A feeling of grief comes over me and can’t get myself to being productive. I can’t put down my phone and leave the news for what it is for just one moment.
And that’s when Paulo is there to cheer me up. He just always finds a way to make me laugh one way or another. I am so grateful I get to spend these weeks in social isolation with my best friend and my love. I realize I am a lucky girl.
I am curious about your experiences with your hubbies, wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, best friends and lovers during the #couplesquarantine. Let me know what you notice about your significant other that you appreciate especially in a time like this. Thank you! Stay safe and healthy out there. #stayhome
I loved my T-Rex when I was a kid. Other girls my age played with Barbies and My Little Ponies. But when I was a 9-year-old girl, I loved to learn about the universe, planets, geology and especially dinosaurs. I played with dinosaurs. I had a whole collection. Different species with different shapes, colors and sizes. I was fascinated. I had this one particular dinosaur that I adored. He wasn’t fluffy or beautiful. He was made out of hard plastic and he was ugly, but he would be on my nightstand in my bedroom. He looked very scary, but that didn’t matter to me. To me he was a gorgeous creature, a miracle of evolution, and that was the most important thing.
My first sketch of T-Rex since a long time. Things to do and discover when staying home in self isolation.
This past week I have been thinking a lot about my T-Rex. He is home to me; he represents being taken care of when I’m sick. He brings me back to those memories of what it feels like to be sick and stay in bed all day and have someone to take care of you, to bring you broth, soup, tea and fruit when you’re not feeling well. Someone who takes your temperature every few hours to monitor whether your fever goes up or down.
When I was a child and I was sick and had to stay in bed for two whole weeks, my T-Rex was by my bedside watching over me. Lying down I listened to music and when the doctor allowed me to sit up straight for a little while I played with my dinosaurs. The soft bedsheets were the grasslands, the dark heavy blanket was the forest. Herbivores, such as my triceratops, stegosaurus, diplodocus and brachiosaurus were on the grasslands. My T-rex and the allosaurus hid in the woods until they would come out and chase the herbivores. Some of them got eaten, others escaped. Sometimes the allosaurus and the T-Rex would run after each other and start fighting. Life was tough in my imaginary dinoworld. In the real world the allosaurus who lived during the late Jurassic Period would have never encountered a T-Rex who lived during the upper Cretaceous Period. Allosaurus was long gone before T-Rex evolved. But in my world, they all met and they each had their individual stories. And when T-Rex got hurt, I would bind his wounds, and I would take care of him like he took care of me.
I still have my T-Rex. He is in the Netherlands safely tucked away in my old room. One day I will come and get him and bring him to the United States, back to the continent where he was originally from: North America.
I hope you are doing well. I’m very excited to announce that I booked a lead role in the Off Broadway show Girl Gone: Or Before A League of Their Own.
Girl Gone is set in 1945. Before there was A League Of Their Own, a group of girls were placed together to see if such a league could work. Two weeks before this team was to make its exhibition, the coach is mysteriously found dead leaving the girls to face this big event alone. Lies, and deceit come to light as this powerful drama unveils. And I’m playing the role of All American baseball coach Gloria Reid.
When? Every Saturday afternoon at 3pm starting February 8th.
Where? Actors Temple Theatre, 339 West 47th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenue
If you’d like to come and see the show, tickets are available here. I hope to see you soon in the theatre. Thank you!
More shows coming up soon! Stay tuned! 
