I am playing the mother from Nineteen Thirty Seven. She is very headstrong, and has gone through a lot of hardship. This scene begins with her escape through the bloody waters of Massacre River, while her own mother is killed behind her. At that point, she has already experienced an oppressive regime and all she knows is being powerless. When she emerges, she is covered in blood and Haitians fear her “wings of fire.” In this land, just across the river, she has power that the government fears. I am really looking forward to showing that moment, when she becomes powerful.
I think she escapes at around 20, and her daughter is an older teenager, probably 18. Therefore, the mother is probably around 40. In modern US, this isn’t old at all, but life expectancy in Haiti in 1937 was close, if not younger, than her age.
She was not the kind of powerful that abuses her power or hurts people with it. She understands what it feels like when the powerful oppress, so she is very humble. She is also selfless, and will do anything to help someone in need. When she walks into a room, you probably wouldn’t notice her. Especially as she ages, she probably walks with a slight hunch in her back.
Her motivation is to bring women together through voodoo. She organizes secret meetings and creates a call and response game. Perhaps one day, she wants to support a revolution. For now, she does everything she can to help those in need. One of her major obstacles is the stigma of being a voodoo priestess. People believe they kill children and do horrible things. Another obstacle is the oppressive government. These two things come together in the very end, when the police arrest her because they think she killed a baby, when she was in fact helping the mother.
The hardest part of this scene will be balancing humbleness and power. I will need to work on a walk and costume that shows both those traits. Also, when writing the script, I need to make sure that every line aligns with her motivation.
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