Mama’s Little Darling
An actress stands before the class on an empty stage. Milton stands next to her.
MILTON: Now, why are you doing this song and dance exercise?
ACTRESS: Because you suggested it to me.
MILTON: I always love that answer. But why do you think we’re doing it?
Milton tries to move her arms away from her torso—they’re stiff, not moving freely. He continues moving various parts of her body.
ACTRESS: Well, I have a feeling that I’m probably blocking somewhere and that I’m not free.
MILTON: But you’re not sure. This is more Milton’s trip. Relax the jaw.
ACTRESS: Well, I have a feeling that it’s going to be a real good thing for me.
MILTON: Right. You’ve got some secret. Tell me about it.
Milton tries to move the arms again, but they’re still pretty tightly held at the shoulder. He moves her right arm out at 90-degree angle to her body. It just stays there.
ACTRESS: Well. I think I probably am a little bit prim....
MILTON: A tight-ass?
ACTRESS: I wouldn’t say that....
Class laughter. Her arm is still hanging rigidly at a 90-degree angle.
MILTON: You mind letting this arm go for me?
Actress suddenly becomes aware—the arms drops relaxedly to her side.
MILTON: Okay, not a tight-ass. What was your word? Prim?
ACTRESS (Defensively): Yeah. What’s wrong with prim?
MILTON: Getting a little hostile there, are you? Okay. Let’s get to it. I’ve had a hard time reaching you. Today, you’re going to tell me your secret. Begin. Sing.
Actress sings her song, while Milton continues to check her arms, shoulders, neck, jaw, etc., for tension.
MILTON: What did you get out of that, just now, the singing?
ACTRESS: I felt some anger. And some fear.
MILTON: And some sexuality?
ACTRESS: I missed that.
Class laughter.
MILTON: You missed it?
ACTRESS: Oh, yeah.
MILTON: Were you trained in how to look by someone?
ACTRESS: Trained in how to look?
MILTON: In other words, “Little darling, we’re going to this dance, we’re going to this party. I want you to smile, and I want your face in a certain way.” Am I getting warm?
ACTRESS: I suppose so. My mom and grandmother—they are very proper.
MILTON: Yeah. But this is an exercise where you’re looking to release impulses, feelings, sensitivity. Without the mask. The mask has an attitude in it. Take off the mask, and the attitude that came with it. Okay? Begin. I’m going to take the blouse off, too.
ACTRESS: Oh, you wouldn’t. Would you?
Class laughs.
ACTRESS: I mean, it’s not...I don’t have....
MILTON: I’m kidding. Sing.
Actress sings.
MILTON: Don’t swallow. You’re swallowing the emotion. Did you feel that emotion? It isn’t going to come knocking on your door every day. Let it happen.
Actress sings, crying.
MILTON: Sing, come on. You’re doing beautifully.
Actress finishes song.
MILTON: The idea is to remain open, the body and the face relaxed. Stanislavski said that at the highest moment of emotion the actor should be the most relaxed. How can you act if you have a tense mask? A set attitude. This is what we pick up from granny and mom. Attitude. In this exercise you get conscious of it, and drop the mask. A simple, professional exercise. Nothing to do with Freud, Jung, Sam Spade, or anyone else. Do you want to smile now?
ACTRESS: Yeah.
MILTON: Then do. Okay? We’re going to do the second part. This is the part where the blouse really comes off. Kidding, kidding. I swear.
Laughter and smile from the actress.
MILTON: There you go. See the smile is different now. More free. It’s more genuine.
ACTRESS: God, this is hard.
MILTON: Let’s go into the physical part of the exercise. There’s still more to come about this secret you’ve got. Dance. (Actress starts moving) Disco, jazz in one place, feet on the ground, move the body. Sing out. Okay. Good. Stop for a second.
She stops.
MILTON: Now tell me about movement. Is there something about not being too sexy in dancing, and by all means don’t put your skirt up over your head?
ACTRESS: Well, my mom taught me dancing.
Class laughter.
MILTON: I knew I’d hear that some day. And, of course, the first thing your mom said was “Be wild and sexy, grind it out there,” right? “The priest is in the second row, turn him on.” That’s what she said, right?
ACTRESS: She was my P.E. teacher, my English teacher, my Spanish teacher and my coach in junior high school. She taught me dancing. We used to do the cha-cha.
MILTON: Tonight is your chance to cut loose from that old cha-cha. Now, my feeling is there’s a lot that you would like to do in dancing that you have never done. Are you prepared for that? No? We always have Spanish Fly in the office. Someone put a little bit of that in some water and she’ll be ready.
Class laughs.
MILTON: In other words, you’ve got to be ready to turn on the juice when they call you, without Spanish Fly. Do you understand? Hello?
ACTRESS: I know what it’s leading up to and....
MILTON: You’re afraid to do it?
ACTRESS: Yeah.
MILTON: Just sing. Now jump. Jump! Let go.
Actress jumps, sings, and discos.
MILTON: Just move the body, don’t worry about the singing. Keep going, tears come or whatever. If you die we’ll tell them all about it, don’t worry. Dance!
Suddenly the actress dances in a new way, free, sexy, alive, connected. A total change from the stilted dancing she had been doing up until this moment. The class responds and cheers.
MILTON: Now, you see what you can do. And you have a lot of courage. What you told us about your mother, nothing against mothers—but it’s very hard for a mother—no matter how well-meaning, to train the daughter. They don’t allow surgeons to operate on their own families, you know? So the mother trains her daughter to be a certain way: to avoid a certain sexuality, and to get closer to conventional, puritanical, beauty. Comprende?
ACTRESS: Si. But now what do I do?
MILTON: Just do your work. Do Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. That’ll help you bust out. Now, your secret. I told you I was going to find your secret.
ACTRESS: That my mom taught me how to dance?
MILTON: Yes, ma’am. That’s the secret. The cha-cha.