Lincoln Square actress balances accents, tradition and sisterhood in latest role

Actress Holly Robison is very much at home with period dramas, Shakespearean verse and English accents, but for her latest role she finds herself in less familiar territory – the Deep South circa 2015.

The Lincoln Square resident plays one of three sisters in Strangeloop Theatre’s production, Mitera, which premieres in April at the North Mansion at Berger Park in Edgewater. And while the Southern accent wouldn’t normally be a problem for Robison, her character Nitsa also tosses in a few Greek words for good measure.

“Doing a Southern accent is fine,” Robison said. “But it's throwing in the Greek – essentially switching the accent for a word or two, then right back into another accent and neither are my own – that has been my biggest challenge.”

Set amongst a small Greek community in the American Deep South during the months preceding the Supreme Court's landmark decision in the gay marriage case Obergefell v. Hodges, Mitera tells the story of the Sheridan sisters who discover their mother, upon her death, has left their entire inheritance contingent on the youngest sister marrying within a year. If she fails to do so everything goes to their oldest male cousin in Greece. But the youngest sister is an unattached romantic who believes in marrying for love. Mitera pokes and prods the boundaries of family loyalty and examines the idea that sometimes the people we’ve known our entire lives are the people we know the least.

“What I like most about this play is how it examines what seems to be the struggle for a lot of young, modern people whose parents are immigrants and very tied to a traditional culture,” Robison said. “My parents are not immigrants, but those relationships and stories have always fascinated me. And even if it's not that relationship with another culture or immigrant parents, I know I and many people can very much relate to family who hold 'traditional' views that conflict with our own views.

“I think there is a universality to the ups and downs of dealing with family, and people will enjoy that,” she continued, adding, “and the play is funny.”

Robison can also be seen around town as part of Improvised Jane Austen and will be doing Shakespeare in Winnemac Park - Midsummer Mayhem with Shakespeare's Motley Crew this summer. When not on stage, Robison enjoys reading, dancing, napping and watching British costume dramas, and she loves living in Lincoln Square.

“I like that I'm living in a big city, but my neighborhood still feels like a quiet, little relaxed corner of the city,” she said.

See Robison on stage in Strangeloop Theatre’s production of Mitera, running on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. April 7 through May 25 at The North Mansion at Berger Park. More information is available at strangelooptheatre.org.