"Jesuscamp" is chilling; it is terrifying that 25% of our country's population is a part of such a radical philosophy of indoctrination. Anyways. Check out this picture of a little girl from the film (this shot is while the leader of the camp is telling the children what an awful place the world is and how they must beg God to save the world and to rescue them from their evil ways):
This gives me a visual image of what Maria wants to reduce Malvolio to. Although sick and to me, very wrong, the sheer terror and helplessness of this little girl's eyes as she looked up to the roof above her head and just searched for some kind of help were so awful, so wretched. This is the point Maria wants to get Malvolio to. She wants to break him and brainwash him. Matt, your note about me needing to use wounding tactics on other actors is SO true; this is the perfect opportunity.
Other thoughts from the movie:
*there was an interesting quote at the beginning of the film, regarding fundamentalist, Evangelical Christians, which said there's "nothing gentle, nothing compassionate - nothing Christian about what they're doing." This helps with figuring out Maria. She may be a righteous Catholic, but you would never guess it by the way she treats Malvolio. She wants him to burn; there's a reason she got the nickname "Bloody Mary". Another quote to drive Maria - "There are two kinds of people in the world. People who love Jesus, and people who don't." Malvolio is the latter, because he loves himself.
*When Becky (the leader of the camp) is trying to get the children to "crack" and repent, she does not take her gaze off them. May start trying to incorporate this visual "cornering".
*Some home-schooled kids had to say a pledge of allegiance.. to a bible. I think maybe Maria brings a bible into the scene where she and Toby confront Malvolio about his madness. Does anyone have an older-looking book or bible I could use for this? (Also still looking for a nightgown, a robe, slippers; Goodwill didn't have anything that wasn't ex-sexy).
On to "Twelfth Night" (cue sigh of relief from disbelief). These were some things I noticed:
*Across the board, the stakes for all of the characters are soooo much higher, yet there are moments of such lightness to contrast this. I am hungry to incorporate this.
*Perhaps Maria works through the lips as articulators? At least when angry?
*Maria should not be afraid to point, or to call out. She does not have time for all this "let's be friends and use euphemisms" crap. She has too much other stuff to do, so let's get down to business, people!
*Does Maria want to object when Olivia asks her and Malvolio to "give us the place alone"? Wouldn't it be unusual for Olivia to ask to spend time alone with a man, especially while in such a drastic state of mourning?
*Something unrelated to the film, but which I happened to think of during the middle of it - I have to be on top of those consonants. If vowels represent emotion, and consonants represent willpower, Maria definitely exudes willpower and treats it as the superior of the pair.
*Does Maria have moments where she *doesn't* actually know everything that is going on, or why? For example, with the Welkin dance, maybe there is that moment where Maria is just so appalled at the sight before her that she cannot gather her wits to speak. Sure, she is quick-witted. But she is also a human being at the end of the day.
*Can Malvolio's approach before Olivia also be comical? The staging works perfectly for a blend, since I stand behind Olivia. Can I not try to keep a straight face, but find it increasingly difficult?
*Random, but interesting - Feste gives Viola her necklace back at the end of the play (which she had discarded when she took on her brother's appearance). I just found this so telling of how much Feste really knows is going on. Very interesting concept.
*Matt, you told me this when we talked this summer, but it only really sunk in after watching the film; this really is a play about growing up. These people go from being self-indulgent and trifling people who find out so much about their character and their needs by the end of the play. The way the characters deal with the Malvolio situation (his being helped after being "notoriously wronged") was very telling of how much they had grown up, Toby's ending the games which Olivia despises, etc.
On "Remains of the Day" (Emma Thompson character):
*For physicality, can work with more dainty, ladylike hands. Also, play with lifting the chin, as in ballet (I had already been doing a bit of this, but more from a haughty standpoint. How is Maria graceful? She is educated in the ways of being an Elizabethan lady, so this is definitely an element of her).
*Can I tilt the chin slightly to the side as I analyze others? (i.e., Sir Andrew)
*Emma Thompson seemed like "all business" at parts to me. This is useful in reinforcing how seriously Maria takes her position. Emotions are secondary (perhaps because they are difficult for Maria to express).
On Lady Catherine (Judy Dench) in "Pride and Prejudice":
*I can look over the entire body of whomever I disapprove of; it's like Maria is trying to find one stitch out of place so she can jump their ass about being a phony. She is ruthless if you are an idiot.
*Try literally "looking down your nose" at everyone.
*A GREAAAT way to shoot down a remark by someone else which they think will be funny is to not laugh or respond at all. I can still let the comment land, but I can make the choice to ignore it because of its sheer stupidity.
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