A tale of two housemaids with a cruel mistress, the OU Helmerich School of Drama's student-directed production of “The Maids” opens Wednesday in the Old Science Hall Studio Theatre.
“The Maids” was written in 1947 by French playwright and political activist Jean Genet. The story follows two sisters, Claire and Solange, who fantasize through a game of role play about murdering their wealthy and abusive mistress, Madame.
Genet loosely based the play on sisters Christine and Léa Papin, two maids who murdered their mistress and her daughter in Le Mans, France, in 1933.
Hannah Haddad and Lexy Babler during "The Maids" rehearsal on Nov. 20.
Every year, two students in the OU School of Drama get the opportunity to direct a show. Acting senior and director Cassie Pierce said she applied with “The Maids” after reading the script in class and becoming enamored with it.
“I was really taken with the beautiful language and the political messaging of femininity and intersectionality with capital and femininity,” Pierce said. “And what it means to be a woman in a capitalist state.”
As a student director, Pierce makes decisions about the show on her own. Having never been the oldest or most experienced person in the room, Pierce said directing has been a new dynamic for her and that she enjoys sharing knowledge within the cast.
“It’s this wonderful exchange of work because everyone's bringing their hard work and their passion and their talent to the table,” Pierce said.
The show thematically centers class inequality and power struggles. Specifically, what it’s like to be a woman dealing with those issues while trying to meet the standard of womanhood.
“It asks the question: To be a woman, is there a necessity to feel beautiful in order to feel like a woman?” Pierce said. “And can that beauty be reached without money or is there a necessity of money to feel beautiful, therefore to feel like a woman?”
Lydia Bloomfield during "The Maids" rehearsal on Nov. 20.
Acting and computer science senior Lydia Bloomfield plays the role of Madame. Bloomfield said she’s used to playing realistic roles, ones which are driven by the conflict of a play’s plot. However, “The Maids” is an absurdist work and draws its story from digging into the characters themselves, which Bloomfield said has been exciting to approach.
“The way I've found Madame has just been through guidance from Cassie, but then it’s also kind of playing into that fantasy that everyone has about being in all the finery in the aspects of life,” Bloomfield said.
The maids cope with the class struggle through their fantastical imaginations and by trying to get back at Madame. Bloomfield said Madame has been kept safe from this type of disparity, so when the maids force her to face it by trying to mess with her and her husband, it’s a new experience.
“Madame is just exaggerated in every way,” Bloomfield said.
Acting freshman Hannah Haddad plays the maid, Claire, an idealistic girl who is stuck in her class position and yearning for more. For Haddad, the play is about womanhood, specifically what it’s like to be a woman in a lower social position.
Hannah Haddad and Lexy Babler during "The Maids" rehearsal on Nov. 20.
“I think a lot of it rings true of what it is to be a girl that has all of this (class struggle) surrounding her and has all these things feeding into her,” Haddad said. “She can’t help but want more."
Haddad said she sees the class struggles displayed in “The Maids” as universal truth. She said that whether people feel stuck in a position with their job, family, or where they’re living, they can relate to the play.
The show has a straightforward plot, but complex underlying concepts.
“I hope they take apart the seemingly simple plot and find the underbelly of discourse,” Pierce said.
“The Maids” opens at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Studio Theatre of Old Science Hall. The show will also be performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door.
This story was edited by Emma Blakley. Natalie Armour and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
