M

Song Dossier Name: Cecelia Sanchez Song: Maybe I Like It This Way

Show: The Wild Party (Andrew Lippa)

Music: Andrew Lippa

Lyrics: Andrew Lippa

I. Character a. Character Name: Queenie

Age: 20(ish)

b. Assets: Confident, passionate, beautiful, quick-witted c. Flaws: Lascivious, vengeful, stubborn d. Complexes: Fear of being alone and/or unloved e. Occupation: Vaudeville dancer f. Education/Social Standing: Probably didn’t finish her education. Part of the lower class but likes to maintain a lavish exterior. g. Private Life: Currently living with Burrs and maintaining a long, toxic relationship with him. She doesn’t have many close friends, if she has any at all. h. Public Life: Known as a hard partier. i.

Political/Philosophical Views: Very Hedonistic. Probably doesn’t pay attention to politics but aligns herself with a liberal viewpoint because she’s essentially a flapper.

j.

Sexual Life/Moral Views: Very loose morals. She is currently dating Burrs, but has had a very active sexual history and has no qualms about having an affair (if it benefits her).

k. Secrets: Burrs is abusive towards her and she hides the abuse. l.

Choose four or five adjectives that most accurately describe your character and list them in order of importance:  Passionate – She has very strong emotions and is driven by her heart rather than her head.  Seductive – Sexy is Queenie’s brand.  Irreverent – She does what she wants to do and doesn’t care what people think about it.  Dependent – She needs to have someone adore her in order to be happy.

II. Place When and where does the song take place? Be Specific The roaring 20’s. A hot summers night. A secluded area of Queenie and Burrs’ apartment while a party happens around them.

Song Dossier III. Structure of Song/Scene a. The Moment Before: What happened to motivate the song? Mr. Black asks Queenie why she stays with Burrs after he witnesses Burrs’ abusive behavior towards her. b. What is the song about/essence/basis for “as if”? The song is Queenie’s defense for her relationship, but over the course of the song she realizes that she doesn’t want to stay with Burrs, that she’s gotten used to his abuse, and that she’s horrified by that fact but helpless to change it. IV. Objective a. What do you want? What are you trying to do? Explain to Mr. Black (and herself) why she tolerates Burrs’ treatment of her. V. Urgency a. Why do you do what you do? The need? What are the stakes? She needs to share everything she’s kept secret about Burrs’ abuse because she’s not sure how much longer she can survive it. VI. Obstacle a. What is preventing you from accomplishing your objective? She can’t rationally justify Burs’ abuse. She herself doesn’t know why she stays with him other than the length/possessive nature of their relationship. VII. Relationship a. To whom are you talking? Mr. Black VIII. The Final Moment a. Have you reached your objective? Yes b. What has the song accomplished, how are you different from when you began? Queenie has fully realized she wants to leave Burrs. IX. Lyric Analysis a. Define any words or phrases that are unfamiliar: N/A b. Note any interesting and/or internal rhymes: “Maybe I like it this way” is always preceded by a rhyming phrase (i.e. “and yet I play”; “and I obey”; “Why do I stay?”) which emphases the title line.

Song Dossier X. Preparation: “…that device which permits you to start your scene in a condition of emotional aliveness.” – Sanford Meisner What are you doing in the “moment before” which gets you emotionally prepared for the start of the song? What is the “as if” that you are using from your own life from experience or from your imagination? 1. Emotional Preparation: Thinking of all the stuff I’ve never been able to tell other people to create that sense of anxiety/apprehensive excitement. 2. “As If” When I was in recovery for my eating disorder, my therapist had me personify my ED as “Ana.” In the early stages of recovery, I knew that listening to her was destructive to myself, but I still didn’t want to let her go. I’m using that “relationship” to get an understanding of Queenie’s situation because I’ve never been in an abusive relationship. XI. Putting it Together a. Indicate some choices you tried and discarded, and why. 1) Sitting on the floor the entire time In the musical, Queenie and Burrs are sitting on the floor this entire scene, but when I tried it, I felt very awkward and static. 2) Sitting in a chair the whole song I also felt this was too static for how dramatic the song is. 3) Moving away from ‘Mr. Black’ at the climax of the song and then sitting next to him again I kept the part about moving away, but it seemed anti-climactic to sit back down again. 4) ‘Talking’ to Mr. Black a lot during the song This didn’t work because it kept me profile for too long.