By Loretta Fulton

Once Hannah Albin was cast as the lead role in a play at Hardin-Simmons University earlier this year, she started intensely researching the character, a person she had never heard of before.

The play, “The Ballad of Maria Marten,” was staged at HSU in February and is now bound for the stage at a massive theater festival in Scotland. The cast and director Victoria Spangler will leave for Edinburgh on July 30. They will present the play four times at the internationally acclaimed Edinburgh Festival Fringe, better known as The Fringe, on Aug. 3,4,5,6. 

“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to share this story across the world!” Hannah said. 

The play is based on a true story that happened in the summer of 1827 in the village of Polstead, Suffolk, England. Maria awaits her lover in a red barn. A year later her body is found under the floor of the barn in a grain sack. A manhunt ensues. 

Hannah Albin as Maria Marten in a play at HSU in February. Photos courtesy HSU and Hannah Albin

The play is much more than a murder mystery as it sheds light on the attitudes and values of the times. Preparing for the play was a learning experience for the entire cast, with students discussing the societal pressures that Maria endured. 

“This role has challenged me in an acting aspect and an emotional aspect because of the fragility of Maria towards the end of the play,” Hannah said.

As challenging as the role was, Hannah mastered it. Earlier this year, the play was presented at the Christian University Theater Festival at Howard Payne University. Hannah was cited for “Excellence in Performance” for her role.

Q&A With Hannah Albin

Q Had you ever heard of the “Ballad of Maria Marten” before it was selected to be performed?
A No, I had no clue about the Ballad of Maria Marten before our play

Q When you learned about it, did you immediately decide to try out for the lead role?
A No, I went into the audition with no particular role in mind since I did not know the show very well

Q How difficult was it to place yourself in the setting for the play, both the year it happened and the societal attitudes of the day?
A It was more difficult to place myself in the societal attitudes because of how poorly women were viewed in those times 

Q Did you research the real-life event that the play is based on?
A Once I found out that I was playing Maria, I did as much research as I could 

Q Did performing in the play force you to compare that setting to today’s societal attitudes?
A Yes, it reinforced my gratefulness towards the opportunities that I can have in society today 

Q Did you and the other actors have any conversations about what life must have been like for Maria? 
A Yes, we have had several conversations about how Maria must have felt throughout certain situations in her life 

Q You recently were cited “For Excellence in Performance” at the Christian University Theatre Festival at Howard Payne University. Did that boost your confidence for performing in Scotland?
A Yes, that boosted my confidence for Scotland and gave me more motivation to develop the character even more for Scotland 

Q How difficult was this role for you, both from a professional and a human aspect?
A This role has challenged me in an acting aspect and an emotional aspect because of the fragility of Maria towards the end of the play