Hi everyone! "Ragnarok" opening is drawing near and we are busy working to make the show a huge success! Have you grabbed your tickets yet? This week's blog is brought to you by the beautiful Soroya Rowley- Company Member and featured Actress in "Ragnarok". Here she chats a bit about her experiences thus far:
"A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art. Her ability to entrance and hypnotize her victim with a spell was in the earliest stories seen as being literally supernatural; hence, the femme fatale today is still often described as having a power akin to an enchantress, vampire, witch, or demon.” (wikipedia.org)
In CCdd’s new original play 'Ragnarok', I play Lilly: an average young lady just out of highschool, trying to find her place in the world. But in the magical, fantasy world of LARPing she is Ravenna, a powerful sorceress and seductress. Ravenna is indeed a Femme Fatale in every sense of the word. She uses her womanly charms to manipulate the men in the Kingdom and gain power.
But it isn’t just in the fantastical world of LARPing that Lilly manipulates the hearts and minds of her cohorts. Her powers extent into the everyday world, causing mischief in and around the borders of the park were the Unit meets every weekend.
As a feminist I first found the prospect of playing the Femme Fatale to be a little distasteful. To me she is an archetype built from centuries of oppression. Women with power must be evil witches or demons like the ones you see in Disney movies.
But there really have been women through history that really did use their beauty and seductive powers to gain status and wealth. The famous Mata Hari is a great example of this. She was a dancer and courtesan who was executed for being a German Spy after WWI.
Like all stereotypes, this one is based on truth. Of course people with low status (like women through most of history) would use every tool at their disposal to better their lives. It doesn’t make them evil, it makes them human. And that is what I have found while delving into the psyche of Lilly. She may not be an abused wife struggling to survive on her own during the turn of the century (as Mata Hari was) but she does feel insecure and powerless in her everyday life. The LARP word gives Lily a chance to gain some control of her world, even if it is an imaginary one. The world may be imaginary but the power is real, the power of the femme fatale.
Thanks Soroya! We are really excited to see you steam up the stage in this production.
"Ragnarok" opens November 23rd and runs until December 10th!