#Broadway Showcase

[sparkoflena]

SCREAMING. CRYING. THROWING UP.

[the-blossica-fan]

Hello hello! If nobody has asked yet, Fatutu and Barcarola Actor's AU!

Raises the Actor's AU flag

Hell yeah the kind of ask that's present in every patch 🔥🔥🔥

Barcarola is quite the prodigy in this AU. Her parents made sure she would exploit every opportunity she had in the acting and music department. To be honest, she's more of a musical actress than a drama actress.

She'd rather participate in musicals, so this could be considered the first time she's exploring different corners of acting.

Her paper originally wasn't meant to be Barcarola but a person from Cremona, like an extra, however, after seeing her potential they decided to change her to be one of the main characters of Last Evenings On Earth.

Fatutu was already on set by the time Barcarola was cast, so they already had their main characters covered, considering every other character has appeared before so casting for MCs wasn't as extensive as before.

Barcarola was really, really nervous. She could understand singing and having lines in between, but having full lines of dialogue was something she wasn't used to, so she messed up quite a lot. Thankfully, there were other members who had an equally bad memory for lines, such as Kamuta and Regulus from time to time.

Thankfully, the role of Barcarola wasn't that hard to follow. Her personality is a bit different, with Barcarola (actress) being more shy and less outspoken than her character counterpart, but it wasn't hard to get in character.

And no, her name is not Barcarola. It's a similar situation to Tooth Fairy, she simply adopted the name and now her real name is a mystery for most.

Fatutu has been a part of the crew for a while now, actually, she just never appeared as anything other than an extra. She wasn't trained to be an actress but she managed to befriend the crew enough to make them want to give her a chance, after some acting classes of course. It did take some time for her to finally get a leading role in the series, but she did.

Fatutu had some struggles at the beginning, but she's a quick learner, she had little troubles adjusting to the scripts and the emotional moments of her acting.

She's pretty different from her character in some aspects, but similar in others. She's not as stubborn or clearheaded, but she is a lot more hyperactive. Although they do share similar ways to cope with things and the same determination, otherwise she would have never gotten this far.

Kamuta Is not her actual brother, she does have one but he's not much older than her. Kamuta was hired to play the part, and well he was quite as messy as her before the classes. She found it hilarious but also wanted to help him get better at acting.

She didn't really get along with Teo due to their different personalities but Solene became a good friend of hers.

And Regulus too, although sometimes she wishes she could place tape on her mouth.

When it comes to Barcarola, even Fatutu thinks she has a lot of potential in other fields of acting, so she's her #1 hyper when it comes to that.

Maybe Fatutu may not take acting for a long time, this and a few advertisements on TV being all she has acted in her life, but she could try going for something different. Maybe scriptwriting, Noire does support the idea.

[slashingdisneypasta]

Professor Callahan x Fem!Student!Reader || Drabble

Plot: Callahan gets vicious, defending you in front of the whole damn class.

Inspired by Ezra using his power as a teacher in this scene of Pretty Little Liars for gross personal reasons with Aria. (Start at .57)

Warnings: Teacher/student affair themes. Fight, bad romance and sexual references.

You could not believe what you were hearing; Callahan was tearing into a student- which was not entirely out of the ordinary. But this wasn't him smug and mean, this was him pissed off. Because of you.

Half the class was watching in fear, afraid the professor was just in a bad mood and they could be next, but you felt like the other half were looking directly at you; at the back of your head. At the side of your face, searching for a reaction.

Knowing something is wrong here. Knowing what you've done.

You didn't know what to do. You were frozen in place; your knuckles white wrapped around eachother in your lap as you fight not to say anything.

All the guy did was oppose your opinion in a debate- like he was supposed to. It was a simple one, but the guy got personal; he got too heated and he called you a dumbass (You didn't care, you were getting heated, too- it was hard not to in a class like this, and you weren't a fan of his opinions. You could still feel the word 'idiot' at the tip of your own tongue.), and Cal immediately spoke before you could- his razer fast wit clicking into place faster then you could have de-escalated the argument. He went from sitting back half-on his desk, one calf folded casually over the other, to ram-rod straight, as close to the guy as he could get without wading in between the desks. Cal's eyes glued to him while he took the poor guy down 30-something pegs, humiliating the guy in front of the whole class until he had his head bowed pathetically and nothing to say.

It wasn't fair. Callahan was completely abusing his power and everyone in the room knew it.

Which wasn't entirely out of character- but you were afraid that they would see through him. Or you. And they'd see how bad this instance was, how gross. That he was abusing his power to defend the student he was currently fucking.

The interaction lasted less then a minute, but Callahan got his point across, and continued to stare down the guy for further torturous moments, while the rest of the room was crickets. You refused to even move, eyes on him hoping he would glance over and see you and come to his goddamn senses. But he didn't.

... The horrible scene ended when Callahan finally shifted and looked up at the clock, before rolling his shoulders of any stress and heading back to his desk like nothing at all happened. "Alright everyone, class's over, get out."

Everyone did as they were told as fast as possible, especially the guy- he barely stuck around to unplug his laptop before shooting out of the classroom. He certainly didn't wait around to ask questions about the homework. The classroom was empty in a minute.

Then it was just the two of you. He knew you were there, but he didn't look around or acknowledge you, the dick; just peacefully flipped through a book on his desk as if he wasn't an insane person. Didnt he think him coming to your defence like that was going to cause suspicions?? If not, then he's not nearly as smart as you thought.

...

You cant stay quiet. "What the hell was that??" You finally ask, slamming your books down on your desk as you get up out of your seat.

"... the hell are you talking about?" He asks, playing dumb which you absolutely don't care for. No.

You round the desk so he can see how pissed off you are, and you can see his face too. See how nonchalant he really is- which is not at all. He looks pent up and frustrated. "What the hell is wrong with you??"

"Oh, so I guess you liked the way he was talking to you??" He smirks, shrugging. "My bad. Next time I'll encourage that." He sneers, sarcasm dripping off his sharp tongue.

Narrowing your eyes, you fight not to leave right that moment. Leave, transfer classes, and never see him again. This isn't worth the risk, whatever this is isn't worth your education. How could you have been so dumb?? "Ugh, you're being impossible. You know that was dumb. What if people are suspicious now?? What if someone tells- I dunno, another faculty member?? Someone with more power then you?? You could be fired for fraternising with a student."

"Thanks for the tip. I had no idea." Still, with the nasty quippy sarcasm. You roll your eyes, and move away from the desk with the intent to gather your things and leave.

"I'm out of here."

Before you can even reach your things though, Callahan turns around and grabs you by the wrist. "Oh no you're not." He drags you back, right into his body this time. "If you ask me, you're at fault here- you're the one who couldn't handle herself in a simple debate."

NOW you're pissed. "What!?" You were holding your own! Its not your fault the guy went out of line and Callahan felt the need to jump in- you didn't ask him to do that! He wouldn't have, for anyone else in that class.

"If you could handle that, if you could control your emotions in the classroom, I wouldn't have noticed your distress and felt the need to defend you- be a grown up and not a silly girl, and this wont happen again."

Instead of engaging him in that ridiculous line of accusation (Suddenly you're a child?? You weren't too young to have been in his bed, last night, were you?), you stop everything. You make yourself calm. Then you lean into him, and v e r y c a l m l y say "You're an asshole." Then wrench yourself free of his hold and storm to your desk. Furiously you stuff everything into your bag and throw it over your shoulder, turning to stride out of the old classroom when Callahan follows you and corners you against the door before you can open it. "Fuck!- " You curse, glaring hard at him. "Let me out!"

When he grabs your jaw and pulls you suddenly into a deep heated kiss, you're shocked and outraged; you drop your bag heavily to the floor. Let him force you between the door and his body. When he pulls back, you glare even more harshly at him. "... was that supposed to do something??" You ask breathlessly. "I'm still just as pissed off at you."

"Yeah, well I don't care. Get on your knees." He tells you gruffly, breathing heavily from the fight.

You gape, stunned. "You get on your knees!" You snap back, beyond pissed off that he would dare-

That he has the balls to- To try, and-

Right now!???

You're furious with him!

But your heart falls in utter surprise that almost takes all the fight right out of you, when he shrugs his shoulders in that perfectly tailored blazer, a spiteful-shitty-smug look on his face, and goes down. Eyes wide, you stare at him (This old man) down there on his knees fully prepared to eat you out amidst being pissed off, in shock and... a little bit of desire. Sometimes you hate this man-- but he looks so good on his knees. Even with that narcissistic smirk on his face.

"... fuck you."

"Thats the idea."

[maraudersarecanon]

I still cannot believe that they cast JONATHAN GROFF in Frozen and then the only song they gave him to sing was a stupid lullaby about reindeers

[howtonerdoutovereverything]

Lindsay Mendez looked me in the eyes and answered my question with some advice I needed to hear so badly I am going to scream

[gardenof-eda]

You ever just remember things? I loved this band in high school, they were local but making it big especially when they toured and partnered with Johnny Craig.

I had a boyfriend who gave me his sweater with the bands logo all over. What do you think I did? I wore that thing until it became a rag. I was as infatuated with the meager gift as I was the boy who gave it to me. I wore it to school one day and much to my dismay, the bassist and his girlfriend attended the school. They saw me in the sweater and I believe the words “Nice Sweater” weren’t meant as a compliment that day. It could have been my anxious adolescent ears hearing a tone that wasn’t there but it is how I remembered it. I was horrified for whatever reason like their opinions would ever make any difference in the things I liked or how much I loved my little hoodie.

Oh to be a silly high school girl.

I am so fond of those memories now, the boy, the sweater, the band. They’re all memories that visit from time to time and are always more than welcome to stay.

[biggoldbelt]

Disney Entertainment Showcases Unrivaled Storytelling Power on Opening Night of D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event

THE UNMATCHED POWER OF DISNEY STORYTELLING ON DISPLAYFROM DISNEY ENTERTAINMENT ON NIGHT ONE OFD23: THE ULTIMATE DISNEY FAN EVENT Exclusive First Looks from Highly Anticipated Releases, Major Casting and Title Announcements, and Star-Studded Performances Electrify Sold-Out Arena Earlier at the Anaheim Convention Center, Guests were Dazzled by Panels, Presentations and Immersive Experiences from…

[tfbsafeageappropriatedance]

Can’t we appreciate THE BIG FACT that this was danced in 100% character shoes?

As a classic jazz dance and dance history buff, this rendition to Michael Buble’s cover of “Feeling Good�� from The Roar of the Greasepaint - the Smell of the Crowd is PERFECTION!

And I don’t have to mention that to my brain, many dance competition renditions remind me of those FOLLOWING GIFs:

[lostcatinthedark]

THIS OMG 💯 Jimin's theatrical nature is one of my favorite things ever.

Jimin as a Method Actor

As a nerd, when I write a think-piece or analysis, I have to define my terms and goals for this piece to start out. My post is about how I think, while not trained in the Method, Jimin really embodies method acting in music videos and on stage.

Method Acting: Common to popular misconception, Method acting is not about being “in character” throughout the course of an acting project. Instead, an actor who uses “the Method” draws upon either past emotional memories or a deep analysis of a character’s motivations to embody the truths of the role that they are playing.

The Jimin quote that gave me this impression was when he told WeVerse Magazine in the interview dated 7/31/2021, “I never noticed before but the songs do sound different depending on what I’m wearing. Sometimes I danced all excitedly when I wore casual clothes, but when I wore a suit, something about the song sounded sexy. There’s a different vibe when I dance alone versus when I dance as part of a group, so I visualize how I should dress to make my dancing look cooler every time.” This response tells me that he uses costuming to get into character on stage, and it’s always a slightly different character that still fits with the theme of the story. There are several videos on YouTube comparing how he changes the vibe of GoGo, Boy With Love, and Dynamite among others depending on the styling. It’s a sort of “obvious in hindsight” thing that made me watch a lot of Jimin fancams and really look at the subtle differences he incorporates.

The whole interview is really interesting, especially coming from the puff-piece prone in-house magazine, because Jimin is very open about his process. He mentions earlier in the interview that he had to modify his process for the English trilogy, and that it was more difficult for him to dance to concept-less songs.

I’m paraphrasing, but he described the Butter dance as difficult to execute at first before he had to find the groove through amalgamating the approaches of other members to the song. The way he contrasted the two song groupings was interesting: previous songs and albums were “a concept” where he “wanted to show off something about myself in that context”; the English trilogy was based in “following the feeling of conveying the feelings I want to share with others”. In short, he struggled without enough storytelling in the dance to develop a character to embody on stage. In my book, that’s Method acting.

You even see it in RunBTS episodes. I think the production team of that show is aware of it, because he’s way more prone to acting whiny/silly and doing aegyo when he’s been styled really young or cutesy, and much more adult in his playfulness/mischief when dressed his age. It’s all in the way he holds himself, in my opinion. It also makes him a great model, because he can sell any outfit concept.

I think it’s also why his parts are generally the most-replayed in Music Videos, despite not being one of the two fandom-designated actors. Every time you see him in a music video, even if it’s a short part, he is firmly in character, defined by the song concept, album concept and the outfit in that scene. Look at LY:Her for example. There’s a clear difference between the Intro: Serendipity Jimin and the DNA Jimin, despite them being on the same album and sharing a common theme of idealistic, naive love. Serendipity is about the dreaminess of first love, expressed through the character of the Little Prince. In DNA his character is still dreamy at times, but overall resolving to convince a partner of your commitment and he is much more naturalistic (by which I mean less ethereal) in his portrayal of the DNA character.

He stars in Intro:Serendipity, playing a character that apparently Koreans compared to the Little Prince. It’s a French science fantasy novella (I read it as a pre-teen) about a child prince who learned life lessons as he travels across planets, eventually ending up on Earth and sharing his experiences with the narrator. The whole music video seems to be based upon that character and novella, and Jimin does a really good job of portraying a dreamy, slightly otherworldly feeling in that performance, including staying composed and calm while doing stunt work. Instead of relying on dance and costuming, here he is actually acting wordlessly as he lip-syncs to the camera, and he made an iconic piece of art. I love this music video.

In DNA he is one of the seven member cast, with four outfit changes and choreography to set the tone for the performance. He is almost entirely a supporting character in this music video, so I’m judging the four character variants purely on split-second vibes. Anyone reading this has seen the music video, so I’m calling the outfits sparkly jacket, white sweater with red stripe, yellow jacket, and navy heart shirt. In the sparkly jacket he has a slightly untouchable, suave vibe, in the white sweater he smirks a little, in the yellow jacket he’s dancing playfully and is a little bro-y in the non dancing couch scene, and in the heart shirt he’s back to a dreamy character like Serendipity but with an extra edge. I don’t even know if the differences are intentional or subconscious, but it’s deeply impressive and makes him a phenomenal dancer to watch on screen. I’m a ballet fan, so wordless character embodiment is a favorite medium of acting to watch.

If you go through all their music videos and focus on Jimin, he’s always doing this. He’s got an idea in his head about what his character is, how it relates to himself (see the above quote about how he approaches concepts), how his character interacts and plays off of the other members, and how the styling influences the character’s presentation. Even more impressively, it’s all in micro expressions, not overacted or very noticeable at first glance. In other words, he quietly plays his character in the background when not in focus, but takes over the scene when it’s his part.

He definitely leaned into this tendency in his solo work. He kept the sets and abrupt scene changes fairly minimal in his four solo music videos, with 3/4 having one set and Like Crazy having 5 interrelated sets (dreamy blue intro, house, club, bathroom, black set with couple) that tell a story. The reason I think so many of his fans, especially the ones who got into BTS pre-English trilogy, love his music videos so much is because of the deeply well-thought out storylines that influence the sets, costuming, and scene changes. I’ll probably follow this post up with a Like Crazy storyline MV analysis of my own, through the lens of what his character is portraying as opposed to declaring what he’s trying to say, but this is a long enough ramble as it is. But overall, I think that Jimin’s method acting ability is a important contributor to his IT factor that many fans overlook when trying to explain his stage presence.

[chaaistained]

hi chaai! do you have any ideas on where to shift to?

ideas on where to shift .*+

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we’ll get the obvious out of the way, there are many different locations you can shift to anon !! and i personally don’t know what your interests and hyperfixations are :( but ! i still want to help in any way i can ≈ so here are a list of general ideas and suggestions and maybe some inspo into different realities to which you (any of you!) can shift !! and ofcs you can tweak it all to your liking xx

sink into self indulgence …

—» shifting at its core is self indulgent and the first example i can think of is your favourite childhood books, movies and shows — the kind of self indulgence where you go back to what made your life sparkle as a child, what made you believe in the impossible, what made you wish the impossible was real, whether it’s fairies, dragons, mermaids, or monsters going to high school, you should take a trip down memory lane and figure out what had you rushing to finish your meal to go watch the latest episode, or work hard at your homework so you could buy the next edition of the game. there’s also the media consumed in your teenage years, the kinds of media that helps you feel like you were escaping and yet at the same time like you were understood

examples include : hogwarts , narnia , my little pony , monster high , ever after high , how to train your dragon , percy jackson and the olympians , h2o , pixie hollow , barbie fairytopia/mermaidia , hilda , bridge to terabithia , wizards of waverley place , minecraft , power rangers , tmnt , disney princesses , little women , gilmore girls , studio ghibli , etc.

—» there are also the realities where you play a part in the bigger picture, you are a significant piece in a vast and intricate puzzle, you stand among your peers, your friends, as someone to be recognised, maybe you’re looking for some thrill? some excitement? some sort of battle or mystery or revolution where you can fight for the underdog or reclaim some form of power — be careful if you do choose to explore these places, but i’m sure you’ll handle it just fine

examples include : marvel/mcu/the avengers/spiderverse , dc/justice league/the arrowverse/smallville , the hunger games , the walking dead , arcane , supernatural , teen wolf , the maze runner , the vampire diaries , pretty little liars , gossip girl , mean girls , outer banks , criminal minds , brooklyn nine nine , the rookie , dune , star wars , avatar: the last airbender , james cameron’s avatar , jurassic park/world , pirates of the caribbean , twilight , etc.

—» conversely, your dr doesn’t even need to be fantastical, sometimes, the things that bring us comfort are in fact the most relaxing, they slow our lives down for whatever time we spend engaging in them, they let us unwind and unravel any burden we’ve unknowingly put on ourselves, the dr doesn’t even need to be based on some form of media, it could be your dream life and/or career

examples include : better cr (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) , cafe/barista , librarian , farmer , florist , artist , museum curator , boarding school , summer camp , bookstore owner , writer , painter , photographer , chef , designer , animator , game developer , director , etc.

—» but maybe you would like a career in the spotlight, where you can finally show the world what you’re capable of, the talent and skills that you know are innate to your being and you just need the opportunity to showcase it

examples include : actor , pop star , band member , kpop idol , youtuber , broadway singer , talk show host , dancer , professional athlete , model , travel vlogger , socialite , royalty , etc.

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when all is said and done, shifting is inherently a form of self love, you’re picking yourself and you’re choosing to shift and experience a reality that will fulfil you in some way !! the ideas in this post are not the limit, there is no limit, [cue mean girls’ “the limit does not exist” scene] so let your creativity take control and let yourself indulge in what makes you happy

cuppa queries; order in — ask responses

2025 © chaaistained

[hotvintagepoll]

Do you have any opinions on modern (post-1970s) movies that you feel capture the essence (in a good way) of Old Movies?

No, unfortunately. That doesn't mean I don't like modern movies or that modern movies aren't good, but modern movies—and here I'm really using modern to mean post-2010, so contemporary movies—have different standards for pacing, characterization, budget, and production that make it harder (or impossible) to capture some of the magic of old movies. Even when modern movies clearly try to emulate that old-movie feeling—I'm thinking of La La Land, The Artist, The Shape of Water, In the Heights—they play the homage too broadly, or they ignore crucial components that make the original films work.

There's kind of too much to go into here without writing a full essay, but essentially, the Old Hollywood system—ugly, failed beast as she was—made some movies simply more accessible to make, due to the ongoing storage of props, sets, master craftsmen, crew, and onscreen talent that could move from one movie to the next without pause. If you needed a dancer, he was already on staff. If you needed a fancy bed, it was already in the warehouse. That kind of longterm storage is invaluable if you want to crank out movies quickly and cheaply because it saves so much time on individual negotiation and sourcing. Modern production companies have to work out individual contracts for every actor on every film; crew members have to negotiate rental contracts and source pieces from scratch; if you need someone with specialist skills, you have to contract them specially at a high rate, which a lot of small companies can't (or won't) budget to do. There's sand in the wheels where there needn't be any. It's wasteful, and costly, but that's the system modern movies are made with.

Which all means that even if the modern movie system wanted to make a classic movie musical just like the old ones, they couldn't, because the talent isn't already there—it hasn't been trained up enough, and there's not that breadth of knowledge you can only get from people who have been allowed to work in the same department in the same place for decades. Movies like La La Land fail, for me, because they present themselves as descendants of Fred Astaire or Busby Berkley movies, while missing the bit where Fred Astaire was a master of his craft. When you watch Fred Astaire dance—or Moira Shearer, or the Nicholas Brothers, or Ann Miller—you are watching a true artist at work, purposely showcased by the studios because they already have them on contract. Modern movies, on the other hand, tend to take people who already have star talent (as actors) and try to convert them into dancers/singers—or they pull dancers/singers off of Broadway, but then they don't have the star power built in. You end up with lackluster musicals where no one truly knows what they're doing, or they do but they're not built up enough by the studios to sell. And that's me discussing just on-screen talent for musicals—there is a huge loss behind the scenes, as well, for all kinds of movies, where roles that would have been filled by union crew who moved continuously from one job to the next have been swapped for freelance labor who live with immense turnover, financial insecurity, and knowledge loss. You could hand me the budget and I could try to make an old movie, but the industry itself has changed so much it's impossible to recapture that charm of steady, niche talent, the amazing possibilities of bonkers set design, and the ability to take a risk on a smaller movie because the other films being produced by the same studio can help balance the budget.

I've talked way, way too much about all of this! Sorry, I just have a lot of thoughts—and the one above is just one of them; the talent loss and storage issues are only facets of a much bigger problem that extends to how we watch movies today, how we market them, what we expect of them, and what's allowed in them. It's a crying shame because the talent is still there, but times change and so does the industry, for better or for worse. (And, just again to clarify, I don't think modern movies are bad—they're just missing a lot of the juice old movies got to play with, even if there's more talent available than ever before.)

[averagecygnet-blog]

one thing I absolutely adore about tgwdlm is how completely and irrevocably a stage musical it is. it HAS to be a stage musical - the medium is so deeply baked into the story that it truly would not translate to another medium.

some reasons why:

the musical style is old-fashioned in a way that screams classic broadway. you can't get away from it, especially in songs like "lah dee dah dah day" and "show stoppin number". and it's not just the music, it's the dancing too - have you ever seen a kickline in a movie musical, once, ever? or jazz hands? gimme a break

along similar lines - all the broadway references! hamilton of course, but also wicked and mamma mia and jekyll & hyde

all the attention deliberately brought to the lighting and set! the performers in "la dee dah dah day" loudly saying "lights down!" when it's over; ted, paul, and emma striking the stage after "show stoppin number"; the lighting panels used as sirens, TVs, showcasing hudgins' alexa, and more; ted wheeling the big meteor prop off the stage after "let it out". they don't let you forget that we're in a theater.

all the hokey ass miming and special effects???? charlotte and hudgins having their guts ripped out is flashy and fun onstage because of the intestine props. emma and ted having blood capsules in their mouths. paul, emma, and zoey violently shaking when pantomiming being in a helicopter. ted running in place, moving forward or back to suggest movement across the road. it's all so fun and consistently reminds you that this is a stage

double-casting as intentional obstruction of the truth. we're used to seeing one actor play several roles in a musical, so when a familiar face shows up in a new costume we assume it's a new character. but it was zoey flying the helicopter to clivesdale, and I think it was zoey in the hospital at the end as well. you couldn't pull that shit in a movie because movies don't double-cast.

the role of the audience, the laughter and gasps and reactions and applause, especially the applause at the end when emma is begging the audience members to let her use their phone and demanding to know why they're clapping; sure movies have audiences too but the presence of the audience as part of the story makes a point about societal ideals as something we all have a part in that a movie just couldn't make in the same way

on a related note - emma's sudden awareness of the stage and the audience as the horror trope where the person realizes they're trapped and will imminently die. she knows she can't escape because it's just a fuckin loop. she knows no one will save her because they're all clapping. you couldn't do that in a movie because in a movie there is a fourth wall, whereas on a stage there's nowhere for the characters to run away. on a stage the characters can look you, the audience, directly in the eye, with no camera or screen between you

I will literally never shut up about that curtain call

god damn what I wouldn't give to watch this show performed live

[citizenscreen]

NBC broadcasted a live production of the Broadway musical "Peter Pan," starring Mary Martin, on March 7, 1955, as part of the "Producers' Showcase" anthology series. A record 65 million viewers tuned in.

[islandoforder]

ricky putting protection from good and evil against the fae on misty during the broadway brawl is SUCH a good showcase of how clutch this spell can be when used well

[ghostlypawn]

i can understand why someone may look at the material of great comet and decide that a modern direction is the way to go, i mean, the anachronisms are literally written into the score. even in the original broadway production the modern elements are visually present. so to set great comet in a modern seedy club isnt completely dissonant. the difference to me, however, is that those anachronistic elements have thematic purpose and by changing them you ultimately dull a lot of moments. having a modern set could be utilised as moscow being a modern unknown world that natasha has yet to explore, its a world anatole is familiar with which is reflective in his gaudy electronic musical motifs whilst natasha's sweeter classical motifs clash with the visuals of a gritty stage. in a similar way, this is also true of pierre who feels distant from moscow society. what i think changes about this though is that, for natasha, it makes moscow seem like a bigger spectacle than anatole (and i think its important for natasha's motives that anatole is the bigger spectacle). natasha goes to moscow and lives with her older traditional aunt. she goes and visits her traditional fiancés family. its only when she sees anatole for the first time does she experience the excitement of something new, something shes never experienced before. its only at anatoles arrival do the modern electronic beats fuse with the traditional/classical sounds we've grown used to, a refreshing excitement for both the audience and natasha. and so imo it makes sense for the set to reflect that disruption of tradition with anatoles entrance rather than have the traditional elegance be absent from the beginning. in the original production i think this was actually showcased with the lighting; the show had a candlelit feel with chandeliers and table lamps only for the audience to get flashbanged with LED lights as anatole makes his entrance and for the audience to get overwhelmed with flashing rave lights as we follow his character in the next scene, it's the same weirdly intoxicating feeling natasha felt, you try to look away but you cant stop looking. its also why i prefer the comet to circle back to that traditional lighting, as anatole leaves moscow he takes his electronic aura with him and the chandelier glows as if a natural order has been restored.

thats not to say i dont think a modern set would never work or couldnt be thematically interesting. if i were to take a modernist approach i would evoke the feeling described above through costumes instead. having natashas costumes start very traditional/period-accurate and slowly fusing with modern clothing would echo anatoles corruption of her and how natasha forces herself to be what he wants. similar to most of their scenes, anatole/dolokhov/balaga/helene lend themselves to modern visuals. i think by making all the costumes glaringly modern you lose the contrast of natashas two worlds, the contrast of andrei and anatole. (in the original production its really the ensemble who wear the modern elements which i think plays into that idea of moscow feeling overworldly and unusual to natasha.)

i think the people who really suffer with modern costuming are pierre/sonya/marya. sonya/marya exist as a reminder of who natasha was before anatole and eventually their role is to try to ground natasha back into the real world they live. the modern elements are almost fantastical in nature, theyre a dream natasha's lost in. traditional costume is realistic and thus brings natasha back into the real world. pierre, to me, can exist somewhere in the between. andrei is the past, anatole is the present, pierre is the future. he is also the person who connects andrei and anatole, he is a perfect middle ground and i think his costume could reflect this. it makes sense for him to dress more traditional as he doesnt fit in with the kuragins/moscow society. i could see some modern elements being incorporated into his costume to suggest that he has a place in that world more than he believes. but i dont think it works if he's entirely modern because to an extent, he's right, he doesnt fit in with that world musically at all and he's the one to rid moscow of its electronic sound (by banishing anatole). he's the one who restores the balance because he has experience with both worlds. the bolkonskys also suffer with modern costuming re: andrei being the past and his family need to reflect that old stuffy dusty feeling natasha has become dulled by. because of all this, if a production has a modernised set AND costumes, i think the first 20 minutes (until the opera) can feel a bit discordant and almost confusing.

alls to say, i dont think a production of great comet having a minimalist set is inherently abysmal and harrowing. i mean take a look at the australian production, there were very few qualms about that. (they did however stick with semi-traditional costuming as some characters had clear 1800s inspired dress or russian-feeling elements to their costumes.) im interested to see if i can find a visual story with the all-modern clothes in the west end production and at the end of the day i would watch a bunch of strangers in jeans perform this show in a parking lot and still have good time so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ we live to love another day

[mrs-stans]

Sebastian Stan on How ‘The Apprentice’ and ‘A Different Man’ Tackle Comfort, Curiosity, and Confronting Our Fears

By Brandon Lewis

It’s an embarrassment of riches to have two transformative, awards-worthy roles in one career. But what does it mean when you have two in the same season?

Sebastian Stan finds himself this year in rarified company, including the likes of Kate Winslet, Sigourney Weaver, and Jamie Foxx, with two acclaimed lead performances in The Apprentice and A Different Man. Both films have been received warmly so far: Stan just received Best Actor nominations for both films at the Golden Globes, winning for A Different Man, while The Apprentice landed on the BAFTAs longlist in six categories, including Best Film. The industry reception is remarkable, given both films’ uphill climb with their production and distribution. A Different Man was shot in 24 days in New York at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and was delayed because of last year’s Hollywood strikes. Meanwhile, the Apprentice struggled to secure U.S. distribution after its buzzy Cannes premiere due to legal threats from Donald Trump and general hesitancy about how it tackled his early days. With all the hurdles, it would stand to reason that there is some vindication in seeing the fruits of labor pay off.

“It’s surreal,” Stan told me about winning the Golden Globe and his films’ positive overall reception. “You never really know the outcomes of any film when you go and make it. You’re always just hoping it’s going to turn out well. When you get into this wild time, that is the fall, when you’ve got so many films coming out and major studios contending, you just don’t know if your movie will even cut through. So, getting to the Globes, you can’t help but feel grateful because this is the win. It’s an amazing moment getting both of them seen.”

The Apprentice and A Different Man aren’t just linked by their complex but rewarding awards season journeys. Stan found key similarities between the 45th president of the United States and Edward Lemuel, a fledgling actor with neurofibromatosis who undergoes an experimental treatment to reverse his condition, only to find himself playing a fictionalized version of himself in an off-Broadway play.

Stan explained, “[Donald and Edward] are two different forms of narcissism, of extreme narcissism. When I think of narcissism, I think of denying and suppressing who we really are and inventing another person. When the distance between your true self and this other invented version grows because you’re suppressing and lying about yourself, you have to create a bigger and bigger lie. It starts to have consequences that affect you and everyone around you. I always saw both films as a denial of reality and a loss of humanity.”

In The Apprentice, Stan plays a younger version of Trump, reared by infamous lawyer Roy Cohn (played by Golden Globe and SAG nominee Jeremy Strong) to become one of the dominant cultural forces of 1970s and 1980s New York. The film, directed by Ali Abbassi, showcases Trump at his most timid and insecure, a far cry from the bloviating tabloid fixture who would upend domestic and global politics thirty years later. Under Cohn’s tutelage, Trump would evolve into an overwhelming force that no one, not Cohn, his wife Ivana (Maria Bakalova), or the financial and political realities of the 80s, could contain, let alone control.

Stan describes the story of Donald Trump as an abandonment of empathy and morals in pursuit of transactional goals and the proliferation of the lie at the center of one’s narcissism. But what is Trump’s lie? “What I see in Trump is a very broken, pained, paranoid, insecure little boy,” Stan answered. “And I don’t say that to simply go, ‘He’s human, and you should feel bad for him.’ I say that to highlight the flaws that might get in the way of this person having power or moral authority. I don’t know if that’s a person I would necessarily trust.”

When it came to playing Trump, Stan drew inspiration from multiple sources, including scores of footage that helped him understand the mannerisms and visual markers that have shaped people’s perception of Trump as a businessman and a politician. He also drew inspiration from his childhood, split between Eastern Europe and the United States. He was born in Constanța, Romania, in 1982, back when the country was a socialist state, part of the Eastern Bloc. Following the Revolutions of 1989, when most communist and socialist governments fell to a wave of liberal democracy, he and his mother, Georgeta Orlovschi, moved to Vienna, where she worked as a pianist. They moved to New York when he was 12 to pursue the American Dream.

For Stan, playing Trump allowed him to unpack what pursuing the American Dream meant. “When I came to America, my mom said to me, ‘We’re here now, and I’ve sacrificed my life, and you’ve got to make something of yourself because you have this opportunity that so many kids are not going to have.’ I hear that, and it drives me, but I also feel this burden of responsibility and pressure of ‘What if I fail?’ I find with many people…you see them accumulating more things, and it’s never enough. There’s always something else. To me, The Apprentice is part of this ideology and the American Dream. When is it enough, and what does it do to a person? I think my journey through Vienna and coming here and trying to understand what it means to be an American influenced me 100% with that part and probably what drove me to do it.”

The key challenge of playing Donald Trump, of course, is playing a man who has subsumed every section of culture, especially in the last decade. He has been caricatured, parodied, and defied countless times, not to mention the nonfictional portrayals of him that are a constant presence on cable news, broadcast networks, and social media platforms. It should be an insurmountable task, but Stan succeeds in bringing this titanic figure back to Earth, teasing out subtle nuances and traits that break through the overwhelming idea of Trump and focusing on the man himself, warts and all.

“I really wanted to try and find out who this person was,” Stan said. “Going back in time and looking at some of the early footage, I saw a vulnerability and insecurity there that I didn’t know existed, that seemed buried deep underneath this bravado. I wanted to know more about that and how he became what he became. What scared me the most was, knowing that he’s so well known and in our faces everywhere, that it would be near-impossible to get anyone to even spend two hours trying to figure out who this guy was.”

Knowing that his performance would be measured against caricatures and impressions, Stan lasered in on elevating the earliest elements of the Trump persona. “What helped was that, in his earlier years, he was less,” Stan explained. “There was a lot less of what you see now, these things that have built over time. His voice didn’t sound like it does now; his mannerisms weren’t as specific. The challenge and the fear was knowing that if I did a little too much too soon, I would lose everybody, and I would just be thrown in there as another kind of impression.”

Stan’s embrace of Trump’s vulnerability and insecurity is most acutely realized in one of the film’s standout scenes: Trump grieving the loss of his brother, Fred Jr., in his bathroom. In a prior interview with Maria Bakalova, she revealed that the scene was shorter on the page. However, Abbassi kept the camera on them and let Stan and Bakalova continue in the bedroom, improvising the rest of the scene.

“In the script, the moment was him alone in the bathroom and breaking down, and then Maria walks in and finds him, and he quickly cleans himself up and says, ‘Nothing happened.’,” Stan explained. “We shot it a couple of times, and there was this take where, in the moment, I froze, and that was the truth of the scene. She walked in, and I knew we were not shooting the scene we were supposed to. But we stayed in it and explored what happened and, fortunately, Abbassi kept rolling, and it carried us into the bedroom, and we got in bed, and she put her hand on my hand, and [all that emotion] started to happen in the moment.”

Stan continued, “That was an experience that’s so reflective of my process. You can go home at night and do all this preparation and envision things going a certain way, but nine times out of ten, they don’t go that way. You surrender to the director, the other actors, and the moment. The beauty of acting and what I love about it is that, if you stay open, there’s a way it can go where you didn’t see it that ends up being closer to the truth, and want it always to be as close to the truth as possible.”

Seeking the truth is equally central to A Different Man, which premiered at Sundance last January and has steadily built acclaim throughout the year, including the Silver Bear for Stan for Best Leading Performance at the Berlin Film Festival. The first half sees Stan as Edward, wearing prosthetic makeup designed by Mike Marino to approximate neurofibromatosis. As Edward, Stan assumes a physicality that appears to be in constant apology for taking up space in the world and making others around him uncomfortable. The psychological block behind that physicality keeps him isolated, even as he forms a friendship with Ingrid (Renate Reinsve), his next-door neighbor and budding playwright. While Edward is cured of the neurofibromatosis and assumes the identity of Guy, Stan retains subtle, detailed whispers of that ungainly, apologetic physicality, cluing audiences into what Edward hasn’t gained from his transformation: self-esteem and self-acceptance.

“Our muscles hold memory,” Stan explained. “There are certain things, like trauma, that will always be there. Edward changes his physical appearance, but he’s never confronted any of the things about himself that he feels most in pain about on an internal level.” Stan accessed the emotions to conceive and convey that pain by wearing the prosthetic makeup out in New York City during breaks in shooting. “When I was walking around, I noticed that everything in me was so self-conscious. I felt people walk by me, and some would look, some would ignore me, but everything in my body was telling me to go into myself and just get through the street and to my destination as quickly as possible. So, as a result, I was walking a certain way, and I felt powerlessness, and I realized that was not going away for Edward. When he’s not conscious of it, he’s falling back right back into who he was because there was no growth there for him. I think, as Guy, he ends up going down this path that he thinks will supply him with all these things that he’s watched other people have for years, but it’s actually made his life quite boring.”

A Different Man confronts that dissonance head-on with the arrival of Adam Pearson’s Oswald. Oswald similarly has neurofibromatosis but lacks Edward’s (now Guy’s) self-hatred. He has a dazzling personality that is more than enough to capture everyone’s attention, including Ingrid (Edward’s lover and director). One day, they go to a karaoke bar, and after casually flirting with a server, Oswald gets on stage to perform. Edward watches in a potent mixture of shock, fascination, and rank devastation as the audience is enraptured, not by Oswald’s condition but by his warmth and confidence. Stan doesn’t say a word but conveys a lifetime of crippling heartbreak and self-disgust that sets Edward on the path of self-destruction that defines the gonzo final act. It is one of the year’s most affecting scenes.

Recalling the karaoke scene, Stan shared insight into Edward’s headspace in that gripping moment. “I think it’s the first time that Edward is confronted with this reality and denial of self in a very real way. I think he’s fascinated, curious, and looking for validation. He’s hoping that other people will judge Osward the way he’s judging Oswald in that moment because, by judging Oswald, it helps keep his lie alive. I think it’s fear and fascination and that he’s no longer able to run from what he’s been denying, which is that, ‘Oh, this could’ve been me. I could’ve owned myself, and I would’ve been fine.’ He’s dealing with that, and from that point on, it starts to grow until the end of the movie.”

Stan’s partnership with Pearson was key to realizing Edward’s journey. “I felt that whatever I was going to do was always going to be, or would have to be in lockstep with Adam. I was really in service to him and Aaron.” The two quickly got on the same page about what they hoped to accomplish with the film, with Pearson as a “lighthouse” to understand what it’s like living with a disability. “There was a lot of conversation around how he grew up, his childhood, his experiences, even what he encounters daily online. [There’s been such a] loss of humanity, sensitivity, and empathy online, how we attack other people and do it anonymously. The fact that Adam can go out there every day and outwit these people and has had to do that for so much of his life is inspiring and brave. I wanted to understand how someone gets to that.”

Edward and Donald Trump are the latest additions to a collection of roles that Stan has curated in his career that explore the darkness that resides in people, ranging from TJ Hammond in the TV series Political Animals to Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. According to Stan, it’s been by design. “I think I’ve been curious about gravitating to things that feel complex or I don’t understand right away. I think sometimes, when we have discomfort with certain films, that can translate into ignoring something altogether. And one of those things, to me, is that we are not perfect people. We’re all susceptible to going in very different ways. We all walk around with some version of an angel and devil on each shoulder. Every day is a decision we make to go out in the world and either hurt somebody or help somebody.”

Stan continued, “I think what I’m supposed to do as an actor is keep exploring humanity and how diverse it is. So I love when there are roles that feel closer to the truth that it’s not always just black and white, or a good guy and a bad guy. It’s complex. What’s interesting to me is just how big that scope is in terms of being a human.”

In that vein, The Apprentice and A Different Man collectively serve as the thesis statement of Stan’s career thus far, shining a bright light on the messy complexities of man, told through wildly opposite but uniquely linked perspectives. What ultimately links them is what audiences are willing and unwilling to confront about their interactions with the world around them, whether political ideology or social stigmas. Stan hopes that people watching either or both films come to understand their limitations, whatever they are, and embrace curiosity and empathy.

“I still feel like there is a discomfort around these subject matters that I think confront us on a level that we’re afraid to go to,” Stan said. “I think that sometimes people are curious but are afraid of being curious, and, as a result, they’d rather look the other way and not confront anything. I was lucky enough to be in two complicated films that are confronting people in certain ways. Some people got it, and others are not ready for that yet, but I’d rather be on that side than on the safe side. I hope that, with these two films, people don’t turn the other way.”

A Different Man and The Apprentice are both available VOD on Amazon and other platforms.