Mary

I read an article in "Time" from March this morning and realized I've been neglecting a certain character from "All Grace." Mary. The article talked about the Protestant church reinvestigating Mary's place in the Church and her role as Jesus' mother, the first disciple, and what should be done with her. As a man who grew up Catholic (Mexican-American Catholic no less), Mary holds a giant place in the Church. She is the doorway to Jesus and, therefore, to God. I was once told to pray to Mary since she is the "Mediatrix" and that if whatever we ask Mary to do for us, she'll ask Jesus, and how can Jesus say "No" to his mother? Guaranteed answered prayer, sounds great!

But I haven't really looked into how I can use Mary for the benefit of the play. Leger's mural depicts the Litany of the Virgin, but I'm not sure of what that entirely entails. I've been so entwined with research about the artists that I'd forgotten to investigate Mary as a CHARACTER and see how she can help inform the play. For example, how does the "Annunciation" play into things? How is Lipchitz' calling similar to Mary's? This is a small example of a different approach to the material.

The play is starting to take a very free form. The scenes skip through time and accentuate certain moments of the artists' lives. Now that I'm thinking about it, can I skip through time with Mary's life as well? What would it be like to move from her calling with the angel Gabriel to the subway to see Lipchitz inspired? It's a crazy idea, yes, but I think I like it!

In writing the opening monologue for Couturier, I've stated that this is a "ritual." The play should feel like a freeform ritual with music and prayer. I've already put Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" in the play, I would like to add Russian folk songs(though I don't know any), what about the "Magnificat?" Prayers to Mary? Are there more prayers in this? Couturier's rant (which needs some beefing up), is followed by a scene in which Lipchitz encounters a homeless, Jewish woman called "Yenta the Crazy" praying in front of a Catholic Church. What is Yenta praying? How does this continue throughout the play?