There are some stage roles that stick with you throughout your career. For Elizabeth MacDougald, one of these was the part of the villain Evanna Keil in The Invisible Scarlet O’Neil, by Barbara Lhota, produced by Babes With Blades Theatre Company in 2017 at the Factory Theater.
Playwright Barbara Lhota adapted The Invisible Scarlet O’Neil from the 1940–56 comic strip of the same name, by Russell Stamm. Scarlet O’Neil, among the first superpowered heroines in comic history, could turn invisible by tapping a vein in her wrist. In the play, Evanna Keil is Scarlet’s father’s former lab assistant, who attempts to perfect a mind-controlling red lipstick (which she plans on giving to the KGB), and it’s up to Scarlet to stop her. The production embraced the comic strip aesthetics, creating a background of moving panels with changing images so that the production looked like a comic book in three dimensions. As a comic strip villain, Evanna Keil granted Elizabeth the freedom to play broadly, “mustache-twirl,” and chew the scenery. After an enjoyable run with good audiences and favorable reviews, Elizabeth was sad to retire the character.
The Return of Evanna Keil
In April 2020, as the pandemic lockdown darkened the world’s stages, theatre companies took to live readings of plays over Zoom, and Elizabeth had her chance to play the dastardly villain once again.
Evanna’s reprisal via Zoom took place around Elizabeth’s birthday last April, so we put together a fun birthday week photo session to commemorate the occasion. We tried a variety of looks and effects. On set, we used red filters and grids on the background; we did some backlighting to create striking silhouettes. In post-processing, we added effects to various images, using some old film effects, replacing backgrounds, and adding textures. All in all, it was a fun, fast session.
Here’s what Elizabeth had to say about playing the character:
“Evanna, on the surface, was your typical comic book villain. But as we dug deeper during rehearsals we found layers and nuances and depth, and of course the perfect evil laugh. The production overall was one of the most unique, imaginative, and creative I have ever been a part of. You try fighting an invisible opponent!
“Like all good villains, Evanna’s final lines promised a return and vengeance on those who had thwarted her plans for world domination. When I was ‘dragged’ offstage on closing night, I was more than a little sad that I was saying goodbye to a wonderful, wicked, scenery-chewing character, and I thought I would never get to see her again…
And then the Pandemic hit. I was THRILLED when I found out that ‘Scarlet’ would be one of the shows we would be remounting. Evanna was returning, and I wanted to do something to promote the stream, and to celebrate. Fortunately, I have a very talented husband to photograph her for me.”
—Elizabeth MacDougald
Curses, Foiled Again!
The Evanna Keil costume and lipstick may have gone back into storage, but there’s no telling when she may strike again. Perhaps sooner than later: Elizabeth is part of most Distant Era sessions, and if she’s not in front of the camera, she’s often behind a light stand or pressing buttons to make our various contraptions work. When does she get a photo shoot? Pretty much whenever she wants one. We’ve done a few birthday sessions for various friends, and they’ve all been special: an opportunity to treat oneself and celebrate who you are, who you’ve been, or who you’d like to be for a day. In this case, a scheming comic strip villain. Happy Birthday, Elizabeth MacDougald!
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