{"id":95034,"date":"2020-11-04T19:51:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T23:51:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=95034"},"modified":"2022-11-02T09:17:36","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T13:17:36","slug":"muse-maria-decotis","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2020\/muse-maria-decotis\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning a Press Briefing Into a Hit Video"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin magazine-block-editorial-leadin is-style-text-over-image has-media has-box has-media-focus-center-middle has-text-position-x-center\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1300\" height=\"503\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2021\/01\/Muse-update.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"CFA magazine DeCotis Muse\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/01\/Muse-update.jpg 1300w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/01\/Muse-update-636x246.jpg 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/01\/Muse-update-1024x396.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2021\/01\/Muse-update-768x297.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1300px) 100vw, 1300px\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin-caption wp-prepress-component-caption\">Photos courtesy of Maria DeCotis<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">CFA Alumni<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/maria-decotis-muse\">Turning a press briefing into a hit video<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Maria DeCotis on finding the muse and turning dry Coronavirus press briefings into a viral video series<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar magazine-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">November 4, 2020<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/authors\/taylor-mendoza\/\">Taylor Mendoza<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">When comedian and actor&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.mariadecotis.com\/\">Maria DeCotis<\/a>&nbsp;watched New York Governor Andrew Cuomo\u2019s April 19 coronavirus press briefing, she knew she was witnessing the perfect fodder for her next routine. After discussing hospitalizations, nursing homes, and testing, Cuomo switched from covering the state\u2019s COVID-19 response to talking about his daughter Mariah\u2019s boyfriend, who would be joining the governor\u2019s family for dinner later that night. \u201cHe went on this long tangent. It was so mesmerizing. He just kept going and going, and I was like, \u2018When is he going to stop?\u2019\u201d says DeCotis (\u201915). \u201cHe said, \u2018I like the boyfriend,\u2019 so many times, and I thought, \u2018There is no way he likes the boyfriend.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DeCotis decided to make a parody video of the press briefing, inspired by political lip-sync videos on TikTok that were popularized by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/5874990\/sarah-cooper-tiktok-trump\/\">Sarah Cooper\u2019s spoofs<\/a>&nbsp;of Donald Trump. Using clothes and makeup she already had, DeCotis set up a tripod in her New York City apartment and filmed herself lip-syncing to the press briefing audio, then edited it all together. In the video, she plays three roles: Cuomo, his daughter, and \u201cthe boyfriend.\u201d As Cuomo, DeCotis gets increasingly frazzled, taking an exaggerated swig from a bottle of wine and, eventually, waving around a knife while continuing to discuss \u201cthe boyfriend.\u201d Interspersed throughout are reaction shots of DeCotis as an embarrassed Mariah Kennedy Cuomo and the nonplussed boyfriend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt was basically a one-woman production company,\u201d DeCotis says. \u201cI played [the press briefing] over and over again, and I broke it up into parts to get the timing just right. I didn\u2019t write it out. I figured it would be easier just to listen to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DeCotis started experimenting with comedy as a member of the School of Theatre\u2019s improv group, Spontaneous Combustion, and while studying abroad in Italy, where she took classes on commedia dell\u2019arte. She\u2019s since opened for Mike Birbiglia\u2019s one-man show,&nbsp;<em>The New One<\/em>, on Broadway, and performed in off-Broadway productions and commercials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"responsive-video responsive-youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Governor Andrew Cuomo talks about his daughter&#039;s boyfriend\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PM-dwTBDTE0?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption>Watch DeCotis\u2019 hit parody video of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo\u2019s April 19, 2020 coronavirus press briefing. Video courtesy of Maria DeCotis.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>But the Cuomo parody has helped her reach a much broader audience. After she posted her video to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MariaDeCotis\">Twitter<\/a>&nbsp;on May 1, it quickly went viral, racking up more than one million views. She was interviewed by&nbsp;<em>Rolling Stone<\/em>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<em>Today<\/em>. The video\u2019s success inspired her to make other Cuomo spoofs, which she posted to her YouTube channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAlec Baldwin has retweeted a few of my videos, Chrissy Teigen retweeted a couple, Lin-Manuel Miranda\u2014which is mind-blowing\u2014Padma Lakshmi, and Stephen Colbert retweeted a few of mine. It\u2019s pretty exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In mid-June, Cuomo announced he was ending his daily briefings, and DeCotis\u2019 fans questioned what she would do next. They\u2019ll have to wait and see, DeCotis says. \u201cI can go with whatever\u2019s happening in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<section class=\"wp-block-editorial-collection-billboard magazine-block-editorial-collection-billboard\">\n\n\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-intro-title\">This Series<\/h3>\n\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-article\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"collection-billboard-media\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"collection-navigation-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1024\" height=\"658\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/Max-Bard-1024x658.jpeg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/Max-Bard-1024x658.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/Max-Bard-636x409.jpeg 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/Max-Bard-768x494.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2022\/11\/Max-Bard.jpeg 1173w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-media-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2020\/turning-our-junk-into-art\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-media-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>Turning Our Junk Into Art<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"collection-billboard-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-small-title\">Also in<\/h4>\n\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/collections\/muse\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>Muse<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"collection-billboard-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">August 9, 2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2023\/muse-eldad-tsabary-sound-design\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Finding a Home in Electroacoustic Music<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">May 24, 2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2023\/anthony-r-green-social-justice-artist\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Social Justice Music<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">October 11, 2022<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2022\/julian-shapiro-barnum-recess-therapy\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Heading to the Playground for Some Recess Therapy<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/collections\/muse\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>Series home<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/article>\n\n\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When comedian and actor&nbsp;Maria DeCotis&nbsp;watched New York Governor Andrew Cuomo\u2019s April 19 coronavirus press briefing, she knew she was witnessing the perfect fodder for her next routine. After discussing hospitalizations, nursing homes, and testing, Cuomo switched from covering the state\u2019s COVID-19 response to talking about his daughter Mariah\u2019s boyfriend, who would be joining the governor\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6310,"featured_media":76489,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[],"bu-publication":[191],"magazine-article-category":[372,378],"magazine-topic":[365],"news-article-category":[],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[384],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/95034"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95034"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/95034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95080,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/95034\/revisions\/95080"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95034"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=95034"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-article-category?post=95034"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-topic?post=95034"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=95034"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=95034"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=95034"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=95034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}