Interview: Karin Trachtenberg, My Mother Had Two Faces

11 Jun

Ahead of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2024 we’re chatting with a range of creatives who will be heading to the city over August to find out more about their shows. Today we’re chatting with Karin Trachtenberg about their piece My Mother Had Two Faces - Reflections on Beauty, Aging and Acceptance.

Can you tell us a bit about you and your career so far.

As a young American actor, I attended drama school in London and later in my career trained extensively with legendary voice and Shakespeare coach Patsy Rodenburg, receiving teaching accreditation as a Patsy Rodenburg Associate. A great love for the classics, particularly ancient Greek drama led me to study and perform in Greece performing the titular role in Euripides’ Phaedra. Now in my “third act of life” I am focused on creating opportunities for women-centered storytelling that fosters healthy dialogue about difficult issues.

What is your show about?

My Mother Had Two Faces takes a deep look into my conflicted relationship with my Swiss mother and her fixation with beauty and perfection. A journey of self-reflection that moves from examining outward appearances and coming to terms with my mother’s imperfections to exposing my own vulnerabilities as a daughter, a woman and a parent. Presented in a pseudo-fairy tale style with mixed media, it asks the question “What is revealed when we strip away the mask?”

What was the inspiration for My Mother Had Two Faces and what’s the development process been to get to this stage?

After my mother passed away from Alzheimer’s in 2020, I found her diaries dating back to the 1950’s. It took two years to muster up the courage to read these very personal journals and what I discovered was both disturbing and enlightening. As I started to write about my early childhood experiences, what emerged was the good mother/bad mother archetype. Given my passion for Greek theatre, creating masks for these “two faces of Mommy” enhanced the dramatic impact of the play. Working on the script with director Jessica Lynn Johnson, she encouraged me to use video to dialogue with my own mirrored reflection, a theatrical device that drives the story forward in a humorous and honest way.

**What made you want to take My Mother Had Two Faces to the Fringe?**

I am always looking to challenge myself and at my age there is no putting things off to tomorrow. After appearing in such major cities as Los Angeles, Boston and New York, taking the show to Edinburgh, the largest fringe festival in the world, seemed like the top of the mountain. I believe it would make my mother proud and as a special bonus, my son is traveling with me to run the tech for the show.

**Apart from seeing My Mother Had Two Faces what’s your top tip for anybody heading for Edinburgh this summer?**

Considering that this will be my first time in Scotland and at Edinburgh fringe, I don’t have any tips. My own goal is to have fun, meet lots of people and stay healthy and strong as a performer. And maybe I’ll be brave enough to try haggis.

**Why should people book My Mother Had Two Faces?**

Ultimately, the show is a love letter to all our mothers. I have been pleasantly surprised at how much my story has touched audiences. The play resonates with both men and women as they reflect on their relationship with their own mothers. It is a testament to the healing power of self-examination and how even a difficult parental relationship can be transformed posthumously.