First I'll be needin' yer full name, honey. It's for my confidential records. Lord knows none o' the girls actually uses 'em.
Maria Isabella Francesca Belmonte. ‘Course, no one ever called me that. Mami always called me Izzy and Papi called me Bella. Only the teachers called me Maria.
So what do people actually call ya? An' why?
Stage. Because I’m an actress, and when I’m not selling, I’m almost always on stage at The Laughing Butler. The girls came up with it after I’d been here for a couple of months and they decided that Izzy wasn’t interesting enough.
Age an' birthday? Just estimate if ya ain't sure, hon.
I’m fifteen years old. I was born November 3rd, 1884.
Now you's gonna give me a physical description. Height, build, hair, eyes, the clothes ya wears--everythin' down to the last freckle, ya hear? *gives you a sober look* If one o' my goils goes missin'...well, it pays to be prepared, I always say.
I guess I’m about 5’ or so and I think I’m done growing… I haven’t outgrown any clothes in the past couple of years, anyway. I’m real skinny but I’ve got some curves, from my mami. She was half black and half Spanish and my papi was Italian, fresh off the boat when he met my mami, so I’m kinda a muddle. My papi always said my skin color was mocha, a real deep tan. I’ve got my papi’s hair, all black and shiny and curly. It’s down to my waist and I never cut it. I’ve got to tame it into a braid or two every day, though. If I don’t, it just goes everywhere. My eyes are a real dark brown that I got from Mami. I guess I’m pretty enough. I’ve got an upturned nose and full lips. My eyes are real wide and round. I’ve got a heart-shaped face.
I usually wear a skirt that falls to mid-calf. It’s a bit shorter than proper, but at least it won’t drag in the mud and I can run if I need to. I have two skirts, one is dark blue, the other is a dark red. Then I usually wear a white blouse, sometimes with a black wool coat if it’s cold, more often with a shawl if it’s nicer. I wear black boots and black stockings. And a hat, of course. I usually wear a gray newsboy cap cause I think they look neat.
I know you'll be sellin' papes, but are ya doin' any odder kinda work? If so, I gotta know about it. *gives you a sharp look* Yes, even that.
Oh, no, I don’t do that! My papi would roll over in his grave if I was doin’ that. I act in some of the shows at The Laughing Butler, usually in the Shakespeare plays but since I’m a fair singer, I do some of the musicals too. It’s good work; I get a few extra dollars a week and it’s real fun.
What's yer personality like, dearie? Sweet, grumpy, shy, outgoin', overly fond o' the boys? *smiles* It's all perfectly fine here in Greenwich Village.
I’m always cheerful, or I try to be, anyway. I always love meetin’ new people and I love makin’ people smile and laugh. Papi always said I was a people pleaser, I’d do anythin’ to make people like me. I’m usually real sweet unless someone gets on my bad side. –laughs, waving her hand in dismissal- But that hardly ever happens. I can get along with anybody. I do like flirtin’, though, and that can get me in trouble if I flirt with the wrong boy. But I always apologize, so it’s all good!
Now, most o' the Village is real keen on the arts. Got any special talents I should know about? If ya sing, dance, act, draw, paint, write, or sweep a stage, I guarantee the goils'll find ya some extra work. *winks* You can tell me about any non-artistic talents while you's at it.
I act! I love actin’, Shakespeare my favorite cause I can play all the ingénues, like Juliet and Ophelia. And I can sing and dance well enough to get ensemble roles in the musicals that The Laughing Butler does. I’ve also got a fair hand at drawing, but I really like designing costumes and such for the shows more than drawin’ a pretty picture. I’m not really talented in anythin’ else, but I will tell ya that I should not be allowed in the kitchen. I’ll set the table, I’ll wash dishes, but I won’t cook. Mami tried to teach me to cook once. We started with just steamin’ some okra and I nearly set the stove on fire. –giggles- Course, that was nearly five years ago, but I’d rather not take the chance of burnin’ down the house. ‘Sides, I don’t like fire much. You understand….
Any ghosts hauntin' ya that I should know about? I don't mean the kind that supposedly haunts the attic--I mean the bad things that follow ya from yer past, or the bad habits ya just can't seem to shake.
I don’t really think there’s anything… I don’t drink, I don’t smoke. There’s no one after me. I’ve never been in The Refuge. –shrugs- I’ve got no ghosts I know about.
Who ya know in the area, hon? Friend or foe, I wanna hear about it. An' have ya got any fam'ly left?
Well, I know all the girls here in the lodging house. And I know a few of the boys over at Duane Street. And, of course, the other actors at The Laughing Butler. They’re all friends. I don’t really have any foes… Well, I guess there are a few girls who don’t like me much, cause I may have flirted with their boys…. But they aren’t dangerous. I’ve got some family over in Little Italy, mainly aunts and uncles and cousins, and Mami had a brother up in Maine. But I don’t like Papi’s family and I’ve never met my uncle.
Seein' anyone special, dear? *smiles slyly*
Nah, I flirt too much for anythin’ serious to happen. I don’t really want a serious relationship, life’s too much fun to try and stay committed.
Now, last of all, baby, I need ya to tell me why you's here. Where'd ya come from, an' what kinda life did ya have before?
Well, I guess I’ll start with my mami and papi. Mami was born here in New York, the daughter of a Spaniard and a former slave. Papi came over from Italy in the summer of 1883 with most of his brothers and sisters. They met in one of the black and tan bars here in the Village and got married that November. I was born a year later. So I’ve lived in the Village my whole life, with Mami and Papi in our apartment. Papi worked in my uncle’s restaurant over in Little Italy and Mami was a seamstress. Papi’s family didn’t really like me or Mami, cause we were part black. But it was okay, ‘cause we had the apartment and money and I could go to school. And even back then, I was always hangin’ around the theatre and getting small roles in shows, cause our neighbor was an actress there and I spent my afternoons with her while Mami and Papi were working.
Sorry, I’m rambling a bit. Anyway, life was good until I was eleven. One day, Mami and Papi told me I was gonna be a big sister and I was so excited I didn’t wanna go to school but Mami made me go. She always thought getting an education was the most important thing. So I went off to school, and then I was comin’ home around three and I got to our street and there was this awful burned smell. So I started runnin’ and I got to where our apartment building was and…. –shakes her head- There was nothing there. The whole building had burnt down. The area was all roped off and someone told me that the fire had started around eight thirty, after I had gone to school but before Mami and Papi left for work. I knew that if Mami and Papi had survived, they would be waiting for me there, or they would have met me at school or something. Our apartment was on the fifth floor and the window to the fire escape didn’t open too good. Probably by the time they realized the building was on fire, they wouldn’t have been able to get out.
-swallows and quickly drags her sleeve over her eyes- I’m fine. I just miss Mami and Papi sometimes, ya know? Anyway, I couldn’t go to Papi’s family in Little Italy cause they hated me, and I’ve never met Mami’s brother before. So I went to the theatre and sat on the steps and cried until someone found me. It was one of the older actors, and he listened to me blabbering and crying and once I stopped talking, he brought me here. And I’ve been living here and selling papers ever since.
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Profile By: Peep Shakespeare
E-mail Address: melgre2@aol.com
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