This is Madame Olga. (Photo by Jenny Brown) She's reading cards for unsuspecting bystanders. She looks surprisingly like me, but more embarrassing:
This is my cat reading cards. (Photo by me) It has nothing to do with this post. I just think it's adorable.
When Jason and I first started envisioning this story, we knew that we had to weave together a number of different elements, such as: two magic shops that happen to be remarkably near each other, Reuben sandwiches, and Olga. I'm still not sure how I agreed to this, but I did -- and Aunt Olga was born. (And yes, despite these story ingredients, I still maintain that we are not writing a comedy.)
Madame Olga and Aunt Olga are completely different characters. Madame Olga is someone who appears on an annual basis and gives horrible tarot readings to people at the retreat center where Jason and I met during a leadership training intensive. There's one night that is devoted to this sort of silliness. I get all gussied up, grab a deck of cards, and insult people in a poor excuse for a Slavic accent. I sort-of-kind-of speak passable Russian, have a very Slavic family, and have traveled extensively through Eastern Europe, so for the untrained ear - I can pull it off. And we've worked in a reason why she might not sound quite Russian, in order to avoid comments from the purists out there. But you'll have to listen to the show to find out what I mean.
Aunt Olga is a distant cousin of Madame Olga. However, there are some striking similarities: she speaks in a poor excuse for a Slavic accent and she insults people. Namely Jason. I mean... Alex, whose voice is provided by Jason. But that's about where the similarities end. In our story, she lives in the magic shop, likes her vodka, doesn't get out much, plays the ponies, and swears a lot.
On second thought, maybe they are the same.
They do dress differently though... and Aunt Olga actually looks like she's in her 80s. Not a woman in her mid-30s who appears to have lost her mind... or at least her self-respect.
I'm actually looking forward to playing Olga -- and not just because she gets to insult Jason... I mean, Alex. (Sheesh! I keep doing that!) Olga speaks to the part of me that loves to make a fool out of herself and have a blast doing it. And really, that's what this whole project is about for me... having a blast while feeding my need for a creative outlet. It's not necessary, it's not going to help the world, it's not even going to make money... but damn, I am enjoying the process.
I'm looking forward to introducing you all to Aunt Olga. Please excuse her for being rude. She's had a rough century.
