...there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart...I'll always be with you.
~Winnie the Pooh
Name: Fiona Catherine Breckenridge, née Heather
Nicknames: Fee
Age: 29
Birthday: 13 July
Where from: Leeds, United Kingdom
Job: Imagineer {second choice: costume department}
School: BA Engineering, University of Cambridge; MFA Design for Theater and Entertainment Media, UCLA
Likes: painting and drawing, reading, storytime with her children, architecture, art history, organization, gardening, science fiction, twizzlers, National Geographic, Leeds United
Dislikes: haggis, inclement weather, clutter, mess, dirt, ect, cooking, Manchester United
Appearance: about 5’5”, ginger, killer curves, incredibly pale skin that sunburns very easily
Style: practical, bright colors, jumpers, paint-stained overalls and rompers, high-waisted trousers and shorts, nice dresses for office days, fantastic hats, converse
Relationships: married for almost six years to Gilroy Breckenridge; mother of his children, four-year-old twins, Finley and Maura
Words that describe you: loyal, stubborn, responsible, clever, fussy, hardworking
Life goals: raising her children, saving her husband from himself and his crazier schemes, building a better mousetrap (pun partially intended)
Bio: Fiona Heather got her start with Disney when she was hired as a scenic painter and general technician for the international tour of “Beauty and the Beast”. Impressed by the fresh young Cambridge graduate’s artistic sensibilities and nigh-obsessive work ethic, Fiona was recommended to Gilroy Breckenridge, a Scotsman and the chief technical director for Disneyland shows, to fill a recently opened scenography position. As it turns out, Gil was also a Cambridge alum, who had spent a semester student-teaching Miss Heather in a drafting and design class. Academically, the pair had not gotten along in a particularly stellar manner, as Gil’s unorthodox teaching methods were relaxed at best and not at all suited to Fiona’s slightly neurotic tendencies, but this did not stop them from having a madly passionate fling after hours. Brought together once more by the fabled magic of Disney, their love-hate relationship blossomed into a brilliant intellectual affair, and ultimately a devoted, blissful marriage. The couple now has two children, ginger twins with frighteningly extensive mental capabilities and annoying lilting accents, just like their parents.
Model: Catherine Tate {second choice: Billie Piper}
Collection: On its way!
Favorite foods: tea, pastries, toast, jam, breakfast foods, anything that isn’t haggis
Favorite movies/tv shows: Doctor Who, Torchwood, Firefly, the Twilight Zone, Sesame Street, Reading Rainbow, Young Sherlock Holmes, Winnie the Pooh, anything Pixar (Brave is the family favorite at the moment…Maura and Finley were given a special preview for their recent fourth birthday)
Favorite bands/artists: Kate Bush, Kate Nash, Laura Marling, Anais Mitchell, Tori Amos
Favorite Disney characters: Roger & Anita, 101 Dalmatians
Icon: Ada Lovelace
Audition Questions:
-Tell us a little about yourself. What you do every day, your past, things you do for fun, etc.
My name is Fiona Breckenridge, and I’d shake your hand, but there’s paint on my fingers. I am happily employed as a scenic designer for the incredible Disney Company, alongside my husband, Gilroy. My days are split between “office work”, time spent in my studio planning and sketching out designs for shows, rides, restaurants, and much more, and “hands-on work”, implementing those designs with the help of my ducklings, which is to say, the bright young interns who follow me about with dripping paint brushes and eager smiles. I don’t think I’ve ever met a cast member who isn’t delighted to be employed by the most magical place on Earth. It’s a wonderful place to work, and to raise a family.
-What brings you to Anaheim, California?
Seven years ago, I was hired specifically to paint sets for Disneyland, and so I packed up my little life and journeyed to the States.
-Why do you want to work for Disney?
Since my initial employment, I’ve risen in the ranks, gotten married, gained an MFA, and had babies. I don’t intend on budging an inch from where I am, though I could do without all this blazing sunlight. None of us were meant to dwell so far from our ancestral gloom and fog…I think we spend more yearly on sunscreen than food. And that’s saying something, with two toddlers and a husband to keep fed and watered. Speaking of which, it is nearly teatime, and the little ones will soon be clamoring for biscuits…I must take my leave of you.
