Stagecraft: Nottingham's Legacy: Mai

Monday, July 13, 2020

Nottingham's Legacy: Mai

Mai is the third Dark Horse in Nottingham's Legacy.

And

Love

Her

Much!!!

Ok, if I'm being really honest, Mai was a total surprise. One of those characters that pops into the story and flatly refuses to leave and then you figure out it won't work without her.

Yeah. Mai to a T. And "Nottingham's Legacy" isn't the only part of the Sherwood Cycle she's in(but that's for later).

She's also connected to Declan, and she and Enzo help make up the trio that I like to call the Scorpion's Nest(again, more on that later).

Mei is stubborn and feisty(yes, I know, like most of my female characters), but she's got a stronger moral compass than either Enzo or Declan...which makes things interesting, especially when it comes to keeping and telling secrets.

In other words, the perfect balance between Enzo and Declan.

Being part of the Scorpion's Nest means that one of her parallels is a scorpion, but, like Enzo, Mai has two parallels. Her other animal is a dolphin.

Dolphins have a slew of symbolic meanings: peace, harmony, protection, playfulness, joy, resurrection, inner strength, and cooperation. They trust their gut more than anything else, and create a balance with those they are around.

Which suites Mai perfectly.

Mei's model has been dancing in the back of my head for a while. I saw the trailer for "Ocean's 8"(haven't seen it though) and one particular actress caught my eye. I saw her again in "Crazy Rich Asians" and then "The Farewell"(jaw, meet floor); and she lent her voice to "The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance" before doing "Jumanji: The Next Level"(saw it twice in the same day and pre-ordered it as soon as that was possible) and it was that and "The Farewell" that sealed the deal for me:

Awkwafina