Theater students call her 鈥渢he queen.鈥�
The royal in question is Katalin Vecsey, senior lecturer in theater, and because she鈥檚 the queen, she naturally has a framed oil portrait of herself looking very queenly hanging in her second-floor office above Schaeffer Theatre.
Painted by Singha Hon 鈥�14, a double major in theater and art and visual culture, the portrait was a surprise birthday gift from the Robinson Players, the student theater troupe that Vecsey advises, which threw in a second present: a sign that reads, 鈥淚t ain鈥檛 easy being queen.鈥�
Vecsey, who is also the vocal director for 乐播传媒 theatrical productions, stashed the painting at home but a friend recently suggested that she frame it and hang it in her office for others to enjoy. That made practical sense. But another sense 鈥� modesty 鈥� prompted Vecsey to place the artwork behind her office door 鈥渟o it鈥檚 not so obvious to everyone who comes in that I think of myself as a queen.鈥�
The painting includes a fur stole 鈥� 鈥淚 don鈥檛 wear fur, but I guess a queen has to鈥� 鈥� and a signature Vecsey necklace made of surgical steel, representative of her taste in 鈥渃razy鈥� jewelry.
鈥淓very time I look at it, I smile and think of how much I enjoy the work that I do with the Robinson Players,鈥� Vecsey says, noting Hon鈥檚 artistic skill to make sure that 鈥渢he crown doesn鈥檛 look like it came from Burger King.鈥�
The admiration is mutual. The acknowledgments in a Robinson Players鈥� program always include 鈥渁 very special thanks to Kati Vecsey, our unbelievably dedicated faculty adviser for her unending commitment.鈥�
Each year, the Robinson Players votes in a faculty adviser, and each year the organization鈥檚 board of directors and members choose Vecsey. At some point, she says, they changed the ballot to read 鈥淨ueen of the Robinson Players.鈥� Like any good monarch, Vecsey figures that 鈥淚鈥檓 going to die out instead of passing it to somebody else.鈥�
Why do they call her the Queen? Perhaps because she sounds the part, with a distinctive Hungarian accent that, thanks to old Hollywood films, tells us she should belong to the aristocracy.
Vecsey鈥檚 is a benevolent, yet activist monarchy. She advises the troupe on its play choices, and they turn to her for advice during dress rehearsals. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very honorable position. The students trust me with my criticism, with my reviews of the play,鈥� she says. 鈥淧eople feel very vulnerable showing their art, and I feel very privileged that they choose me every year to be that special person who provides critical feedback.鈥�
In the end, Vecsey鈥檚 portrait occupies very little real estate in the curio shop that is her office, which is filled with books, papers, and objects from years of theater, scholarship, and teaching.
But with a collector鈥檚 passion, she concludes, 鈥淚 come into my office, I look at lots of stuff that I鈥檝e done, and it makes me feel good.鈥� What more could a queen ask for?
