Hi everyone 
I'm a drama student who has the very challenging, yet very exciting task of creating a solo performance based around "the life and legend of Anastasia Romanova".
It is extremely important to me that I characterise her as best as possible.
In a nutshell...I need to become Anastasia...without seeming like another imposter hehe!
Watching some of the Anastasia inspired movies has given me a few ideas, but still to me, there seems to be something missing in these portrayals.
I have spent the last couple of weeks researching this amazing young woman. I've sifted through countless inaccurate websites (claiming to be biographies) to find a few rare treasures (like this forum!) and have read a couple of books on the Romanov family. Every new piece of knowledge I learn makes me want to know more about the impish little Nastya!
So just a few questions...
How did Anastasia speak? I've been studying Russian accents, but it occurred to me that Russian royals might have spoken differently to the middle and lower classes. I've noticed that most of the actors portraying Anastasia completely drop the Russian accents and speak in refined english accents instead. What do you think would be more convincing?
What is something that characterizes her? A cheeky sparkle in her eye, a mischievous smile...or is there more to the young woman than the entertaining prankster?
What piece of clothing would best represent her character? I'm thinking costume wise
If Anastasia could come back to tell us something, what would it be? What would be her message to the people of the twenty-first century?
Thanks,
BecomingAna
I see people have gotten a little off topic here.....so I'll direct things back to your post.
As for costumes, Nastasya used to wear a white lawn dress most of the time, which was very popular in Edwardian times.
She also wore tennis sneakers, resembling Keds, sandals, or the traditional Edwardian button-up boots.
However, she also had beautiful traditional Russian costumes, such as her court dress or dresses she would wear in formal pictures. These were strung with many real jewels and pearls.
As to be historically correct, her dresses should be from high-calf length when she's younger, about 11 or 12, to ankle length when she's 17. This doesn't seem like a big deal, but it makes a BIG difference in those times!!
Often times in Tobolsk, or Ekatrinburg, or even on chilly days in the Alexander Palace, Nastya would wear wool clothing described by the villagers as "drab". These outfits would be thick and warm, often consisting of an ankle length grey skirt, oversized knitted sweater and a hat (but please be aware she didn't really wear these clothes until she was about 16...)
For the expression, the overall word I would use to explain the way she held her face is "pleasant." She didn't look angry or disgruntled, like Tatiana sometimes did, but she didn't look awfully regal, like Olga, and she didn't have the "angel face" like Maria.
She would smile very very lightly, so you could hardly even tell, but she looked very friendly in her photos. If you're doing something outside, she would often squint because of the sun in her face.
This photo from 1914 describes the smile I was talking about:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Grand_Duchess_Anastasia_Nikolaevna.jpgAnd sometimes it was even more noticeable.
Hope this helps!
