Miss Barbara Hird, Actor/Singer
Miss Barbara Hird, a native of Yorkshire, England, studied and performed at the Bradford Playhouse and Film Theater before coming to America. Her work in Elizabeth R has brought her high critical acclaim, honorary citizenships, and the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian honor from the state of North Carolina.

While she has performed in theatrical productions in several states and in numerous film and television roles, she is best known in North Carolina for her interpretations of English monarchs: Queen Anne Boleyn in Anne of the Thousand Days, Elinor of Aquitaine in The Lion in Winter, Queen Elizabeth in Paul Green's The Lost Colony, The Virgin Queen in Bloody Mary and the Virgin Queen, Queen Elizabeth I in Shepherd of the Ocean and the title role in lebame houston's Elizabeth R.

Miss Hird's particular blend of talent, technique, and intelligence and her commitment to authenticity in the interpretation of the character of Queen Elizabeth inspired lebame houston to write and produce Elizabeth R specifically for her. According to critics and scholars alike, in Elizabeth R, Miss Hird hits close to the mark of re-creating Queen Elizabeth's charisma, persona, and style.

Ever the consummate professional, in her off-stage hours, she and lebame houston co-edited the book, Roanoke Revisited, the story of Roanoke Island's lost colony. The text consists of a modernized version of original documents associated with the Roanoke voyages and colonies. By standardizing 16th-century spelling and adjusting awkward sentence structures and paragraphing, Miss Hird and ms. houston have created an easily readable book that brings the real story of the only Elizabethan colony in the "New World" to the attention of the American public.

lebame houston, Author/Director
lebame houston is a highly acclaimed stage director in the professional and educational theatre circuits, and a noted Elizabethan scholar. She has directed more than eighty plays that range from American musicals to Greek dramas. The line of history which holds Elizabeth R together is a result of her original research, and the innovative script is an example of one of her techniques of theatricalizing history. A recognized scholar whose expertise centers on Elizabethan England, ms. houston has written several publications on the subject. She is also a designer of innovative educational programs for secondary and collegiate levels, a former associate of the National Humanities Faculty, and a former educational theatre specialist for the NC Department of Public Instruction.

As a stage director in the educational and professional theatre circuits, primarily in Los Angeles, Metropolitan Washington, DC, and for the US Air Force, she has directed some 80 productions including, Julius Caesar, The Colony That Was Lost, The Sound of Music, Camelot, Funny Girl, Canterbury Tales, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Antigone, Mourning Becomes Electra, St. Joan, Anastasia, The Miracle Worker, Ashes, Gloria, and The American Way, among others.

Ms. houston is also the author/director of numerous video productions for educational and commercial use. Her film and TV involvement includes research and standards at NBC Burbank and Squaring the Circle in the Square in New York; sets/props with Design Setters and Lorimar in Los Angeles, and research and development with Eldridge Productions in Los Angeles.

She is also the author/director of the one-woman show Elizabeth R and of Shepherd of the Ocean--a whimsical comedy about the tumultuous relationship between Queen Elizabeth I and Sir Walter Ralegh. ms. houston directs, and also edited and Americanized the script for Bloody Mary & the Virgin Queen--an outrageous musical comedy about Queen Elizabeth I and her half-sister, Queen Mary I. She currently serves on the Roanoke Island Historical Association's board of directors, holding the office of Historian.