Mary's lecture at Transy U
I just got back to the hotel after MM's lecture. It was utterly fascinating, and Mary looked fab. She really is tiny in person! There were no pictures or videos allowed, and I didn't have anything to take notes with, so this is just from my admittedly hazy memory. Right now I'm still kind of processing it all. I'll make another post with some of the details of her lecture soon. Hopefully someone will be able to transcribe her talk, because I felt that as a lecturer on Feminism she was right up there with the best, all fangirling aside.
She talked about her projects. The one seems to be the one that has something to do with the UN possibly. She said it's about a women who changes professions and does something that connects her to the world and other people in a different way. Mary's going to be an Executive Producer and will star in it. The other one she talked about is a project about Mary Lincoln. She said she thinks she's too old to play the role, but she wants to direct and possibly write?? I can't remember if she said anything about writing. I was very excited about the directing part of it. ;) Both things sound awesome.
She said she didn't love power all that much when someone asked her if she was interested in politics, especially watching the road Clinton has been on. Mary doesn't want to do the same thing, but she had a lot of great things to say about Clinton, and how great of a role model she is. If Mary changes her mind I'm so voting for her. Frak yeah, Mary McDonnell for President.
The first thing that struck me was how calm her energy was. Not that she was dull: far from it. I should say that it was calming. I was pretty nervous about seeing her for the first time but when she came out with the President of the college and the student who introduced her all my nervous inner squeeing stopped. ;) She has great stage presence.
She talked about opening her heart from the inside out, and how it relates to her characters and herself as an actor. The way she talked about acting; I got chills. She talked a great deal about Stands, about her characters from Three Sisters and Matewan, about Alma, Virginia Dixon (during the q&a afterwards), and Laura. (She actually did a little "yay" when she got asked a question about Virginia at the end. :D ). With each of these women there seemed to be a kind of fear or something else that they struggled with; women struggling within themselves during these times was a part of her theme. Her story about Three Sisters was so funny and touching. Stands and the reaction Mary had when Stands spoke her first word in her native tongue (she said it was "Bird") was so moving.
I got the impression she wanted to talk for a lot longer, but there was a reception afterward and the President was letting her know how much time she had left.
I didn't see any Mary fans from lj, although I'm sure some others were there! There was some fangirly cheering in the back when Mary was saying something like, "I think I look pretty good, right?" LOL! And she did look good! She's so much prettier in person, which I didn't really think was possible. :o
At the end she read a poem. I got choked up. I found it online, in case anyone is interested. Next post I'll try to remember what she was saying about Laura and everything! She did an imitation of EJO that was so adorable too. ;)
The poem:
The Journey
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.
-Mary Oliver
She talked about her projects. The one seems to be the one that has something to do with the UN possibly. She said it's about a women who changes professions and does something that connects her to the world and other people in a different way. Mary's going to be an Executive Producer and will star in it. The other one she talked about is a project about Mary Lincoln. She said she thinks she's too old to play the role, but she wants to direct and possibly write?? I can't remember if she said anything about writing. I was very excited about the directing part of it. ;) Both things sound awesome.
She said she didn't love power all that much when someone asked her if she was interested in politics, especially watching the road Clinton has been on. Mary doesn't want to do the same thing, but she had a lot of great things to say about Clinton, and how great of a role model she is. If Mary changes her mind I'm so voting for her. Frak yeah, Mary McDonnell for President.
The first thing that struck me was how calm her energy was. Not that she was dull: far from it. I should say that it was calming. I was pretty nervous about seeing her for the first time but when she came out with the President of the college and the student who introduced her all my nervous inner squeeing stopped. ;) She has great stage presence.
She talked about opening her heart from the inside out, and how it relates to her characters and herself as an actor. The way she talked about acting; I got chills. She talked a great deal about Stands, about her characters from Three Sisters and Matewan, about Alma, Virginia Dixon (during the q&a afterwards), and Laura. (She actually did a little "yay" when she got asked a question about Virginia at the end. :D ). With each of these women there seemed to be a kind of fear or something else that they struggled with; women struggling within themselves during these times was a part of her theme. Her story about Three Sisters was so funny and touching. Stands and the reaction Mary had when Stands spoke her first word in her native tongue (she said it was "Bird") was so moving.
I got the impression she wanted to talk for a lot longer, but there was a reception afterward and the President was letting her know how much time she had left.
I didn't see any Mary fans from lj, although I'm sure some others were there! There was some fangirly cheering in the back when Mary was saying something like, "I think I look pretty good, right?" LOL! And she did look good! She's so much prettier in person, which I didn't really think was possible. :o
At the end she read a poem. I got choked up. I found it online, in case anyone is interested. Next post I'll try to remember what she was saying about Laura and everything! She did an imitation of EJO that was so adorable too. ;)
The poem:
The Journey
One day you finally knew
what you had to do, and began,
though the voices around you
kept shouting
their bad advice--
though the whole house
began to tremble
and you felt the old tug
at your ankles.
"Mend my life!"
each voice cried.
But you didn't stop.
You knew what you had to do,
though the wind pried
with its stiff fingers
at the very foundations,
though their melancholy
was terrible.
It was already late
enough, and a wild night,
and the road full of fallen
branches and stones.
But little by little,
as you left their voices behind,
the stars began to burn
through the sheets of clouds,
and there was a new voice
which you slowly
recognized as your own,
that kept you company
as you strode deeper and deeper
into the world,
determined to do
the only thing you could do--
determined to save
the only life you could save.
-Mary Oliver