#aea shows

[skimblyshanks]

The lack of regard for actors in general when it comes to labor rights within the arts is galling, actually.

[madmachaca]

¿Saben de que me da vibras la morra esta de la nueva caricatura de disney? (La que hizo su video de "Spanish is a conquistador language")

De whitexican.

Específicamente de los whitexican que se echaron encima a la comunidad gamer.

Exactamente las misma vibras.

Y ya no voy a hablar de esto. Nomás me acordé.

[cottagecore-moss-king]

Not so Artificial Intelligence Part 2

When Bruce finally managed to get the time to look at the file Danny had added to the bat computer, it was almost patrol, and the rest of the family was filling in to get ready to head out. Even Jason had shown up, but that was probably just because he was bribed by Alfred with leftovers from dinner. Bruce couldn’t really blame him, Alfred’s food was the best in the world, but he does wish that he would show up more often just to hang out with him and his siblings.

Bruce sat in the bat-chair, graciously labeled with a sticker from a recent prank by Stephanie. She had gone around and labeled everything in the bat cave, but added the bat suffix in front. It had taken forever to find most of them, but he allowed some of them to remain. 

Finding the new folder was easy, it was labeled FROM DANNY, and left in the middle of the screen. Clicking it open and sipping his fresh coffee he glanced at the first document. The folder was full of notes, pictures and videos, but all of the previews were white, green, or black. 

Bruce started to read through the document, and chocked on his coffee at the contents.

Hello Batman and family, I hope this reached you before they do. I didn’t bring this up just incase you knew and were supportive, but how you act and how contaminated you are I will assume you do not. There is a Government Law that declares any being that has come into contact with enough or creates ectoplasm as non-sentient and non-sapient, but at the same time malicious {Abbreviated the AEA}. We are to be turned over to the GIW to be experiment upon and exterminated. This is literal torture, and I have gathered as much evidence as me and my friends could without being caught. I beg you, please be careful if you decide to take these people down. From what is on here, I think that Lazarus Water is a form of corrupted ectoplasm. Also, anyone who has died and come back to life no matter what are counted, and anyone with godly blood within them. Please Please, save us. My parents are the leading “scientists” which is bullshit, and they’ve already tied me down once. I can’t go through that again. Please, Amity and the Infinite Realms need help. If you don’t help us, I’m scared we may be forced to go to war, and I don’t think you can win against the godly dead. 

Please, I’m begging you - Danny Fenton {King Phantom}

“You good B?” Nightwing asked strolling over casually. He didn’t know how to answer, how was he supposed to say ‘Oh yeah, just found out that the government calls us non-sentient\sapient, and we are to be experimented and slaughtered. Also if we don’t stop them our worlds probably going to fall and we’re all going to die a painful death.’ That’s a fun conversation to have.

Clearing his throat he finally spoke up. 

“Red Robin, Oracle, I need you to help me sort through these, Nightwing, get the Justice league ready for an emergency meeting, call the Dark too. Look at this.”

“Are we sure it’s real though? It could be a prank,” muttered Oracle, though even she doubted her words.

“Even so, the threat is there and we should certainly look through this, and that means the League needs to know.”

Batman carefully mourned the loss of a peaceful evening, and his coffee, he was going to need to leave that at the cave, he had an image to keep. 

Nightwing wasn’t smiling anymore, Robin looked concerned, and Red Hood was openly gawking at the screen.

“I’ve called the emergency meeting, you three sort these files out, I’m calling up the JLD now. Guess we should warn Constantine to bring a couple extra bottles huh.” His joke fell flat, but Bruce wonders if he should bring some alcohol and coffee with him, image be dammed. 

“Wait a second, godly blood included? They fuckn’ shittin’ on Diana!”

“That’s what your concerned about Todd? Not that the we both fall under these parameters, along with Father and the rest of the collection? I will go fetch Thomas from his chambers, he will need to suit up to follow us to the watchtower.”

“Good idea Damian, tell him to hurry up. Everyone else, in the Zeta Tube, Alfred, you can stay here if you want.” Bruce gathered his laptop and moved the file over, copying and sending it to Tims laptop as well. 

“Thank you master Bruce, I will wait for the younger masters then I will be up shortly. Run along now.” Alfred excused with a bow, but even his face was shadowed in worry and thinly veiled anger. 

“See you in a bit Alf.” Dick replied, inputting directions to the watchtower in and doing a quick headcount. 

With a flash, the dark gloomy cave was replaced by fluorescent lights and the steel infrastructure of the watchtower. Hopping off the platform another flash of light appeared, and Aquaman stepped out. The group filled out as Aquaman politely greeted them. Making their way to the nearest meeting room, Batman and Red Robin began to set things up as the gathered heroes began to sit. 

“Hey Nightwing, what’s with the meeting, you never call for an emergency meeting, Blüd rarely has big threats.” Flash mentioned as he zoomed into the meeting room, last as always, and began to dig into his waffle plate. Where he got waffles from, Bruce didn’t want to know, they weren’t serving waffles in the cafeteria today, or yesterday from leftovers. 

“This isn’t just Blüdhaven, it’s all of the united States.” He worried, checking over one final time to make sure everyone was here. A collection of the main heroes from the Justice League, they’d need to figure out who counted as ecto-contaminated before throwing people around, and Constantine, Zatanna, and Deadman were gathered to represent Justice League Dark. At least he assumed Deadman was there, as a chair was pulled out and labeled for him. At least they wouldn’t have to race to find him, they could tell him just to stay up in the watchtower if things got bad. Finally, Robin and Signal rushed in, signal tiredly rubbing his eyes and his helmet in Agent A’s hands. 

“As some of you know, a person got stuck in the batcomputer a couple months ago. And was only recently released.” Murmurs and imputed questions rose around, and Nightwing promptly ignored them. 

“They left behind a file for us, and we were looking through it and discovered many hidden crimes from the US government. They have taken and labeled a whole species and group of people as non-sentient and non-sapient, and have been experimenting and committing genocide on them.” Again, a chorus of questions and yelling went up, and Nightwing had to take a moment to pause. A glance at Martian Manhunter reviled a stone cold face, quietly waiting for more information. 

“Oh god… what is this?” 

[chewingbatmanlikeasqueakytoy]

Why doesn't the justice league know about Amity Park?

Okay so it's been a bit sonce I watched the show but one of the things in DpxDC is the anti-ecto acts, which I love, but correct me if I'm wrong, I THINK ??? they only show up in reality trip? SO: What if Danny, when using the gauntlet to undo everything, also got rid of the Anti-Ecto acts? but this is babys first time editing reality so he uh Fucks Up A Lil'. As a result when Danny used the reality gauntlet to wipe the AEA from existence he accidentally wiped Amity Park from perception. A big 'nothing matters over here' jedi mind trick, and now no ones looking at Amity. So, the Justice League actually WERE looking into and monitoring the situation in Amity, but when the perception filter closed them off, all of that suddenly went ignored.

This is noticed when someone (Alfred, Dick, Tim, literally anyone) realises theres just. A BIG dusty pile of case files semi abandoned somewhere in the cave when going through a (time period)ly cave cleaning.

They put it down because it's Not Important.

They come back to finish the cleaning the next day and do the exact same thing, but there's nothing to actually distract them this time and it pings as weird. Because why would case files be not important? They are by definition important, because only things flagged as important go into case files.

They try to get someone else to read it, because as long as they don't read the information in the file, they don't put it down.

That person goes to read it, gets a line in and then says something like 'that isn't important' and goes to leave. Person A pushes it and person B ALSO catches on.

Que the Batfam trying to figure out hey, what the fuck actually?

Meanwhile, how is Amity fairing? Canon compliant everything's going alright? Or have knock on effects to No One Look Here started to show?

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 2A

Laura Linney (1964) "LAURA LINNEY (Diana) Broadway credits include My Name is Lucy Barton (Tony nom. dir. Richard Eyre): The Little Foxes (Tony nom.) Time Stands Still (Tony nom.) and Sight Unseen (Tony nom.) all directed by Daniel Sullivan at MTC. Other credits include Les Liaisons Dangereauses, The Crucible (Tony nom.), Uncle Vanya, Hedda Gabler, Honour, Holiday, The Seagull, Beggars in the House of Plenty, Six Degrees of Separation. Television credits: "Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City," "Ozark" (SAG, Emmy nom), "The Big C" (Emmy, Golden Globe Awards), "John Adams" (SAG, Golden Globe, Emmy Awards), "Frasier" (Emmy Award), "Wild Iris" (Emmy Award), "The Laramie Project," "Tales of the City" trilogy. Film: Falling, The Dinner, Nocturnal Animals, Sully, Sympathy for Delicious, Morning, The Details, The Savages (Oscar nom), Kinsey (Oscar nom), You Can Count on Me (Oscar nom), The Other Man, City of Your Final Destination, The Squid and the Whale, Jindabyne, Love Actually, Mystic River, The Nanny Diaries, Breach, Man of the Year, The Hottest State, Driving Lessons, The Exorcism of Emily Rose, P.S., The Life of David Gale, The Mothman Prophecies, Maze, The House of Mirth, The Truman Show, Absolute Power, Primal Fear, Congo, Lorenzo's Oil, Dave. Training: The Julliard School, Brown University. Member: AEA, SAG." - Playbill bio from Summer, 1976, June 2023.

Audra McDonald (1970) "AUDRA MCDONALD (Suzanne Alexander) is honored to take part in Adrienne Kennedy's historic and long overdue Broadway debut. A board member of Covenant House International and co-founder of Black Theatre United, McDonald is a singer, actor, and activist who lives in New York with her amazing husband and children." - Playbill bio from Ohio State Murders, December 2022.

NEW PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

"Do you ever think Laura Linney reads her playbill bio and cries? Does she dream of the day when she too will hold a Tony Award aloft in triumph, or has she resigned herself to being one of four actresses with the biggest fail rate and will one day hold the record outright? (Given that Estelle Parsons is in her nineties, Dana Ivey is in her eighties, and Jan Maxwell, my beloved, is dead?) Anyway, the point of this isn't to rub salt in the wound. Love you, Laura Linney."

"It's too mean to title this poll Biggest Tony Winner vs. Biggest Tony Loser but it's pretty damn accurate, and given the overwhelming whiteness of award shows overall, it's damn satisfying that the Black woman is the one with a record-breaking Tonys on her shelf and the white blonde woman is not (no matter how talented she is). Audra McDonald, my beloved, you're going to sweep this entire tournament."

[ashleywool]

Something like butterflies: the grief nobody wants to talk about

There have been many unique flavors of grief washing over me this past week.

The most unexpected one is the grief that comes with knowing that no matter what I do or where I go, even if I leave the business entirely and never see the inside of another theater…my life is never going to be the same as it was before.

I’ve done a lot of shows in my day, and there is always a deep sense of grief when they close—even when I know the closing date when the rehearsals begin. But the grief was different. The grief was rooted in the banality-yet-relief-yet-restlessness of everything going “back to normal.” In my community theatre days, I would close a show on Sunday, and then wake up at 4am on Monday to go sling espresso at Starbucks, flipping through Backstage (yes, the paper version) on my breaks. On my days off, I’d park (sometimes illegally) by the nearest Metro-North station and make the familiar trek to Grand Central, then to Ripley-Grier or Pearl or Nola (RIP) or the old AEA offices where non-members weren’t allowed to use the bathrooms (today’s kids will never understand) and scurry between holding rooms where my name was on the non-union list for three different EPAs.

In later years, when I had my Equity card and the ability to use the temperamental online signup portal to secure an appointment, I would drive down so I could warm up in the car and search for free (or cheaply metered) parking…and then put my name on two different alternate lists while I waited for my appointment time. The last time I did that was May 2023—mere weeks before we knew for sure that Ohio was going to Broadway.

I don’t need to do that anymore. “In fact,” my agent said, “we’d strongly prefer that you didn’t. You originated a principal role on Broadway. You’re on a different level now.”

Of all the feelings that come with that statement—you’re on a different level now—I never would have expected grief to be one of them. It's not that I actively miss those things, per se. It's just weird to know that the version of me who did those things is gone.

Something like butterflies.

When I was a kid, my sister and I had a little bug house, and we would carefully capture bugs, observe them for a while, and then set them free. One time, we supplied the bug house with milkweed and a climbing stick and captured a monarch caterpillar—and the next thing we knew, it was hanging from the climbing stick as a chrysalis. After a few impatient weeks of eager checking, cracks finally appeared in the cocoon. We gently removed the stick from the bug house, placed it in the sun, and watched in awe as our butterfly hatched.

If you’ve ever seen a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, you know how awkward and vulnerable it is after it wrenches its new body and new unused modes of transportation out of the sack of goo that dissolved and then completely transformed its previous body. How must it feel? It's gotta be heckin' weird to unfurl those wet, wrinkled wings, realizing you can flap them, and eventually, when they are dry, realizing—holy poop, I can fly.

I don’t want to overly anthropomorphize a creature whose emotional capacity or long-term memory I can only guess at, but I would imagine that when a butterfly hatches from its cocoon, it probably doesn't miss being a caterpillar. By the same token, I doubt that butterflies look down disdainfully on the caterpillars whose time hasn't quite come yet, or whose time might never come. Perhaps they don’t even have an awareness that they were once caterpillars, or that they are now butterflies—they can’t even see their wings.

But what if they do know? What if they do remember? What if the butterfly remembers its caterpillar life, and recognizes its caterpillar friends, and tries to do all the things it used to do as a caterpillar, and then realizes that it’s never going to be able to relate to the other caterpillars the same way it did when it was one? I wonder if that feels lonely. Or if the butterfly is surprised that it feels lonely.

Unlike the butterfly, I don’t have an instinctual, automatic timeline for my life cycle that tells me when to mate, when to migrate, and when to die. Anything could happen next. I might book another Broadway show before the year is out, or I might not book anything else for years. I might get a different job in the industry, or I might get hired at a bakery as the night baker that nobody ever sees, or I might take my cats and go live in a little cottage off the grid, or I might get hit by a truck (which, come to think of it, does happen to butterflies too).

But no matter what I do or where I go, I’m never not going to be “Ashley Wool, one of Broadway’s original Faces of Autism™ in How to Dance in Ohio” again.

The caterpillar I was before this show came into my life no longer exists, no matter how hard I might try to fit back into the same caterpillar spaces. Like the last time I stayed over at my dad’s house and slept in the built-in twin bed that I claimed for myself at the age of three—before we’d even bought the house—situated romantically under a sloped ceiling that I once covered with stick-on glow-in-the-dark stars. I still love that bed; as long as my dad is alive and owns the house, it will still be there for me to sleep in if I need to. But I don’t quite fit in there anymore.

Of course, as an autistic person, I’m no stranger to not fitting in. But, like most people, I am a stranger to the unexpected grief that accompanies the realization of your wildest dreams. Our society is obsessed with celebrities, and the concept of becoming successful and well-known for doing what we love…and yet, when anyone who has ever been in the public eye doing exactly that, living what we think is our dream, dares to say “actually, this kind of sucks sometimes” we scoff at them.

When Britney Spears sang, "if there's nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night?" we didn't want a real answer. Even 23 years later, after watching the trauma of her conservatorship play out on a worldwide stage and then voraciously devouring her memoir, many of us still say, "yeah, but so what? She's so lucky. She's a star."

Did I sign up for this? Yes, I did. Did I cognitively understand that with success also comes a great influx of people who desperately want to see me fail, or want others to believe that I’ve failed, or find some excuse to discredit my success even if it means inventing one? Also yes. But knowing it and living it are two different things.

I am deeply, gushingly, eternally grateful to everything and everyone that How to Dance in Ohio brought to my life. For as long as I live, I will projectile vomit my gratitude and love for this production and the people attached to it all over the place. Most of all, I will never stop fighting for an industry in which productions and work environments like ours are the rule, and not the once-in-a-generation exception.

But I ask as humbly as I can to please be gentle with me as I figure out how to navigate a future that will forever be shaped by an experience and an identity that only six other people in the history of the world can truly relate to.

All of us are building the planes as we fly them through a dismal, anti-artist late-stage capitalism hellscape over thousands of people who still can’t quite believe that we exist—or don't want us to exist.

We are grateful. But also neurotic. And nervous, excited and anxious. But also alive.

But also butterflies.

[six-costume-refs]

Why do North American actors have to have the costume but not the same hairstyle?

Well, the same costume design can be fit to different actors’ bodies without any design change. Actors’ natural hair will always have a lot more variance. The same hairstyles can’t be altered to different hair as easily, the hair colors that are flattering or look natural on one person won’t look the same way on another, etc etc. It just introduces far more questions about what should/shouldn’t be standardized than costumes do. And actors have broad diversity in hair color/texture/type, which stands to be erased by standardizing hairstyles/wig design in a way that body diversity can’t be erased by costumes.

Differences in costumes are also going to be more noticeable than differences in wigs/hair design, on average. Think about Laura Dawn Pyatt vs Ellie Jane Grant’s Boleyn costume - that difference is noticeable even to someone who has only ever seen marketing for the show. Meanwhile on Broadway Hailee Kaleem Wright and Kristina Leopold have very different wig designs for Aragon, but that’s not going to be noticeable to the average audience member (+ each design feels natural and flattering on them)

Ultimately it just comes to the core intent of that costume rule: not wanting understudies to be treated as “lesser than” any of the principals. Historically, shows haven't always treated their understudies equally, sometimes giving them noticeably significantly lower quality costumes or not even giving them costumes of their own (instead having them share with principals or other understudies). The whole intent of that rule is to require that shows can’t take those shortcuts and instead treat their understudies fairly. In Six’s alt costume system, the alts do get very cool costumes so fair treatment isn’t really the concern, but it’s still a general rule that has to be fairly applied equally across all Broadway shows.

But ultimately that concept of fair treatment doesn’t really apply to wig design. Historically (and even now) many shows have standardized wigs, in style/color/texture. But most of the time that intent hasn’t been about fairness; it’s been about making the differences in appearance between principal and understudy as subtle as possible so that the audience won’t realize an understudy is performing. As Broadway is learning to embrace both their understudies + more diversity in race/ethnicity/appearance more broadly, there’s less focus on making understudies conform to a standardized look (and wigs as a big part of this). Hamilton is really a gold standard example of this: they’ve embraced giving all their principals and understudies wigs that generally match their natural color/texture and even some individualized styles and design. North American Six is also slowly learning to do this, with the newer Cleves and Parr looks and Leandra Ellis-Gaston’s Boleyn braids. Ultimately most of these shows are still following some general guidelines on shape/style for different roles, but ultimately there’s still focus being put on giving each actor a wig that’s individually suited to them even within those guidelines.

Note: all of this is AEA rules (US) and rule specifics only apply to certain tiers of productions.

[covenofthearticulate]

have you ever written about Armand as theatre manager? I need to know everything from your very informed point of view!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🍿

omg WELL i don't know how very informed my pov is because truly the world of theatre production is not my forte!! i'm on the admin staff which basically means I sit at a desk behind a computer all day and get to be a cheerleader for all the folks doing the actual work onstage LMAO

however! i stage managed a show when i was in college and when i tell you it was legitimately the HARDEST thing i have ever done!!!!! stage management is fucking grueling work and I think Armand would absolutely thrive in that environment!! Here are some jumbled headcanons/explanations of what I think Armand would look like as a stage manager and why he'd be good at it:

every day during rehearsal and production, stage management sends around a daily "rehearsal/production report" to EVERYONE. this daily report is basically a summary of the day. what happened, who was called when, outstanding notes for tomorrow. Armand ABSOLUTELY uses these to throw shade. The department notes section is always something like "Costumes: Blue embroidered top coat missing button because Lestat refused to take it off during the break and subsequently broke it."

during the rehearsal process, it's the stage manager that runs the room, NOT the director! Armand is the time keeper which means he calls the breaks and he also cracks down when things need to move along. He is a stickler for the many, many rules. (No, you cannot go to the bathroom unless you can magically make it back in one minute and nineteen seconds before we block your entrance for the the fight scene. No, we cannot run that sequence one more time unless you'd like to pay the fine for not giving the union actors their mandatory five-minute break for 55 minutes of work, per AEA standards.)

(stage managers are actually covered under the same actor's equity union which I think would piss Armand off tremendously. He does NOT want to be associated with Lestat or any of his fellow actors.)

He runs this motherfucking theatre like a GOD during tech week. no joke, usually the sm gets this thing called a "god mic" meaning it's connected to the house speakers so that they don't have to yell from the back of the house to give directions to the actors on stage, but they literally sound like the booming voice of god LOL. Armand very much abuses his god mic privileges and will speak into the mic to answer folks who are standing right in front of him

Whatever you're doing in the theatre, Armand sees you. He just does. He's everywhere and knows everything. He's on headset and in your head. If you break your prop, Armand sees you. If you eat in costume, Armand sees you. If you put your prop in the wrong place on the props table, Armand sees you. He IS the phantom of the opera.

Just think of how good Armand looks in ALL BLACK. He rolls up to work in his Theatre Blacks and every single person in the room has a crush on him because he looks so fucking HOT

But the MAIN reason I think Armand would be a fucking stellar stage manager is because I think he could call any show absolutely flawlessly.

What does it mean to call a show?? WELL! it's absolute magic and i have so much respect for stage managers, please jot that down first and foremost. Calling the show basically means that for every single show during the production's run (typically 8 shows a week for...4-5 weeks in regional theatres), the stage manager sits in the booth during the show, and directs every single tech cue that needs to happen during the show. Light cues, sound cues, deck cues (trap doors), rigging/flying cues, EVERYTHING gets called by the stage manager, IN REAL TIME. The stage manager is on headset communicating with board operators for lights, sound, etc., and basically the board ops job is to press their cue button when the stage manager says "GO," but it's the stage manager's job to monitor the stage and conduct all the different board ops in real time.

It's insanely complicated and VERY fast paced. When I did my fellowship, we got to watch the stage manager call the flight sequence for Peter Pan and I think I counted like 40 cues on just one page of the script. Like, it's insane. It makes my brain hurt just thinking about it.

This is actually a really good example of what it looks like to call a show! IDK, I think Armand would be hella good at it!!!!

IN SUMMARY: every stage manager I have ever met is the sweetest, most intense person. They have the BIGGEST Mom Friend Energy on the planet and don't sleep ever. Armand would make a PERFECT stage manager. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[selphieetheirys]

shadowbringers drabble ft. aea (@tenalac) “Correct me if I am wrong, but I seem to recall only inviting Selphie. I very much remember making that distinction, but then again, I suppose I am hardly surprised you would be inclined to be so rude as to show up uninvited and unannounced. Suppose better you than that white-haired dolt fawning over her.”

Aea stood there wordlessly, hands gripped into fists as she watched the man who spoke such disdainful words towards her walked up - looking at her as he might a pesky bug waiting to be stomped.

“Well then, dare I ask what possessed you to come wandering in?” Emet-Selch drawled, “Did you abandon Selphie then? Assume she will find some way to save the day as she always does, while you come and… what? Teach me a lesson? Why am I not surprised in the slightest.”

“Shut. Up.” Despite her best efforts to remain as cool-headed, to maintain her ever present collected, cold logical demeanor - the presence of the man before her ignited a deep hidden fury within her that Aea felt had been missing for much too long, “I'm not here for you. I'm here because Selphie ran off after YOU messed with her head. After you scared her, made her think she was going to hurt all of us. I'm here to knock the sense back into her. So get out of my way.”

For a split second, the lazy and disinterested gaze of Emet-Selch disappeared, replaced with shock before hiding it behind a sneer, “Is that so? Is that what you think? Well you're wrong. I merely stated the facts - the reality of her dire circumstances, and offered her the chance of a sweet and pleasant undoing by my hands. It is a fact. It is a reality. She cannot bear the burdens she has been given, and so I shall take them from her as my gift to her.”

A scoff escaped her lips- very nearly a full on laugh at his soliloquy before narrowing her eyes into a razor sharp glare, “You say it so nicely, you could almost convince someone you actually like her, instead of hating her. But I know better, you're just using he-”

“Don’t you dare to presume my feelings for her. Hate her? I hate what she is, the reminder of my own failings. But hate her? No. Never-” he paused, looking at Aea smugly - the corner of his lips turned up into a sneering smirk, “Why, your very existence is proof of how much I love her. For how could I have ever tried to bring back my beloved without her erstwhile friend, her most…faithful bosom companion?”

An unfamiliar feeling rose up inside her - genuine confusion and the inability to understand what he was speaking of, which only served to further ignite her tempest of anger. Anger, at least, she could understand still. 

“What are you talking about? If you have something to say, say it. Quit messing around.”

But Emet-Selch only sighed, full of disdain as he offered up a dismissive wave, “Stay alive, and perhaps you shall find out. Go on, go and find Selphie. She's here, wallowing as you idly chatter with me - should you not be with her in the final moments before this wretched half-existence draws to a close? It is the least you can do, after all.”

And before she could retort back in anger - he was gone, back into the blackened void that all Ascians retreated into.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

from carl swanson (seymour understudy, performed july 21)

Yesterday I made my Guthrie Debut as Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors! The day was such a blur and such a Joy!! So many people to thank!! Thank you to the wonderful cast that lifted me up and pushed/pulled me in the right direction! Thank you to the Crew and Staff at the Guthrie for making my backstage experience so easy and smooth! Couldn’t have done it without you! And last but no least thank you to all the Family and Friends who were able to come out and see the show! Having a little cheer section there meant a lot and I felt so loved from all of you! ❤️ I’m feeling so blessed today… and also so tired! 😴 Thank you everyone! @guthrietheater • #actorlife #understudy #understudylife #theatre #mntheatre #guthrie #twincitiestheatre #actorsequity #aea #equityactor

[leslieexplainsitall]

I really need to be better at asking about payment schedules.

Just started a contract for my next show today. I worked with the theatre last year before I joined AEA, so I assumed they had my direct deposit info. I was wrong. (I'm pretty sure it's because the last show I did with them I was on a 1099 and they used a different payment software)

So every Equity contract i've worked on (save for 1 LOA I signed that had a clear payment schedule in the contract). I got paid on the first day of my contract. I thought that was standard practice. So since the direct deposit didn't come in, I'm hoping to get a paper check today.

I'm just kind of annoyed that it took me until today to realize this because I budgeted my week around getting paid today. I sent an email asking if I was getting my check in person or if it's been mailed. I really hope it's not in the mail because I have most of my bills due this week. 😬 worst case scenario, I get paid next week.

Hopefully, I'll have answers before I arrive in the space today. The moral of the story is, to ask about the payment schedule when you sign your contracts.

[curatorsday]

Friday, December 8, 2023

The Silver Dart (1908-09), the fourth aerodrome designed by the Aerial Experiment Association, was originally built to carry two men. In the same seat. After AEA member Lt. Thomas Selfridge’s death in an airplane crash as a passenger with Orville Wright as pilot, Alexander Graham Bell essentially forbid his organization’s machines from carrying two people. The photo above shows Glenn Curtiss and Doug McCurdy in the Silver Dart.

[thekingofgear]

The Smile’s Gear for The Smile’s NPR Tiny Desk Performance

Photo by joshrogosin.

NPR has finally released the Tiny Desk performance that The Smile recorded back in late-November 2022. The band usually performs at low volumes, and they tend to rely on venue ambience rather than adding their own reverb, so it’s no surprise that they fit right in at Tiny Desk. However, it’s still a surprise hearing the band totally dry, particularly without Thom’s various vocal delay pedals. In an Instagram post, Bob Boilen said the band spend "roughly 90 minutes" rehearsing to decide on the songs to play. The band also recorded We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings, but according to Boilen "they weren't happy with their performance", so the song isn't included. The band clearly rehearsed a bunch of things, as much of the gear they brought along wasn't used in the final video.

There was too much detail to include in one post, so we’ve split it into two more. But for now, here’s a brief overview with the key details:

Thom played his Fender Mustang bass on The Smoke, and his vintage Guild Starfire II bass on Skirting On The Surface. Both are short-scale basses, which Thom tends to favor. Although we don’t get to hear the song, we can see that Thom played his 1964 Fender Jazzmaster guitar on We Don’t Know What Tomorrow Brings. Although we don’t get to hear the song, we can see that Thom played his 1964 Fender Jazzmaster guitar on You Will Never Work In Television Again, rather than the vintage Epiphone Casino he played on the song at recent live shows (including on The Tonight Show).

As at live shows in 2022, Jonny played his early-70s Fender Precision Bass in natural finish on Panavision and You Will Never Work In Television Again. For The Smoke and Skirting On The Surface, he played his vintage Gibson Les Paul in natural finish. Jonny only used his Boss RE-202 Space Echo as a reverb on The Smoke. But on Skirting, he used his RE-202 as a delay, his Akai Headrush E2 as a looper, and his Electro-Harmonix Freeze during the solo. All of that closely mirrors how Jonny played the songs at live shows throughout 2022.

Thom and Jonny shared a pair of small combo amps, using a Fender ‘68 Custom Reissue Deluxe Reverb for guitars and an Ampeg RB-110 combo for bass. Both amps belong to Tiny Desk and can be seen in recent performances. This is the first time Thom or Jonny have been seen with either of those amps, and the Ampeg should not be confused with the Ampeg PF-50T combos that Jonny used for The Smile’s Magazine performances in January 2022.

The upright piano played by Thom, the drum kit and cymbals played by Tom, and the wide range of AEA ribbon microphones all similarly belong to Tiny Desk, and can be seen in other videos on the Tiny Desk channel.

Photo by joshrogosin.

[ahearthoficeandstone]

MCs Family!

Your mother Vasilisia is a cold and distant woman, but more importanly was the last ruler of H'afeara before the kingdom was annexed. She cares deeply for her nation, perhaps her husband as well but you aren't totally convinced. She has always warned you and your siblings of the Aea Empire since you could remember. You have not seen her in some years but you suspect she is more upset by the loss in the war than your capture. She has ice magic.

The father Lief is quiet different from your mother, he is calm and composed but there has always been a warmth to it. He loves you and your siblings more than anything, and loves to dote on you three despite your mother's demands he stop. You know he only wishes the best for you all, and likely the reason your mother did not push the war much longer after your capture. He has water magic.

Moira is your younger sister, she is not particularly close with you. You were when you were younger but it didn't last very long. She is closer to Eluin than she ever was with you. She is bookish and serious, and has an air of coolness that immediately melts in casual situations. Diplomacy, magic, battle, and academics she excels but simple talks seem to fluster her. She is gifted with ice magic.

Eluin is your youngest sibling. They are excitable and playful, and is a bit of a prankster who avoids their tutors with efficiency since day one. They also adore you and sticks to your side when they had the chance. They show affinity for both water and ice magic, though much prefer the blade.

[alienhoarder]

New Intro Post!!

Hello, my name is Percy. I used to go by Kaede and Aea if you recognize those.

Old urls:

aea-is-bored

gway-is-bored

anxiouslesbianvampire

anxiousvampire

xvampirebackbendsx

What I usually blog about:

Politics, cats, animated shows, My Chemical Romance, poetry, what I'm currently into, etc etc.

Others?

I try to use trigger warnings but I apologize if a certain post lacks them. If you need me to tag anything or edit anything, tell me. I have anonymous asks on if you feel uncomfortable actually asking.

Please don't be weird. I might not be a minor anymore but I am still a real person. I usually don't have to deal with that but I thought I'd put it out there.

If your account looks like spam (i.e. generic picture/porn links/no personalization) it's an immediate block.

I'm not super active but feel free to talk!!! 〜⁠(⁠꒪⁠꒳⁠꒪⁠)⁠〜

[chansaw]

i’ve gotten a lot of new followers recently so i thought now would be a good time to get on my soapbox. as many of you know, i’m an actor. many of you guys are theatre kids/theatre fans. in case you didn’t know, actors equity (the professional actors’ union) has issued a strike threat for all broadway national tours currently on the road. they’re fighting for better wages and safer working conditions.

nearly every touring actor is currently working under a contract that expired over two months ago. often, they only get one day off per week and that day is almost always spent traveling to the next tour stop. a touring actor makes, at a minimum, $1500 per week less than an actor playing the same role on broadway. their per diems aren’t enough to cover rising hotel/travel costs, and the language surrounding acceptable housing conditions is woefully out of date. if you love theatre and the people who work extremely hard to bring your favorite stories to life onstage, please help support the AEA in their efforts to renegotiate better touring contracts with the broadway league! you don’t even need to be an actor/member of the union to help out.

check out the full letter addressed to the broadway league to see what conditions the union are fighting for, and scroll through the list of signers to see if you can spot your favorite actor.

then, add YOUR name to the chorus by signing the audience pledge not to cross the picket line if the strike occurs below:

and if internet petitions aren’t your thing, another easy action you can take to support this effort is going to the broadway league’s instagram page and flooding their comments with #UniteTheRoad!