Choosing a character for her One Person Show was a last minute decision for Emma Hobday. It was not until the last possible moment when she decided on portraying the character Spock from the television series Star Trek.

“It was like, okay, decide now or you fail,” said Hobday. She was considering doing Tony Stark, or Iron Man, from the Marvel Universe, but Hobday ultimately felt that she needed to choose a character with whom she identified more.

“The first and most important thing is that you can understand your character, and even more importantly, [that] they have a story that really resonates with you,” said Hobday on the process of choosing her character. “I have both logic and passion in me and so my show is all about incorporating logic and passion to make one greater thing.”

Hobday highlights the balance that Spock has to strike between his overly-rational Vulcan side and his emotional human side. For example, she incorporated several scenes in which Spock is talking to someone and forgets his social graces. He says something which they take a lot of offence to, and he never realizes his mistake.

“I certainly relate to that and I think a lot of other people can relate too,” said Hobday. “The shows that they come up with really represent who they are as a person.  One Person Shows are really an accumulation of everything that you do as a Theater Four student.”

To get into Spock’s personality, Hobday tried to copy his physicality before and during the show.

“When I’m standing behind the screen as people file into the room, I like to stand in the stance I’m going to be standing in for my performance,” said Hobday. This involves her standing straight and with her hands clasped behind her back. She also tried to think as much like her character as she could.