#htdio caroline

[supermallorygalaxyart]

(originally posted on instagram on 3/1/24)

redrew one of the promo pictures for this show <3 it's so dear to me, i am still so sad it's no longer on broadway

[thetisming]

divorce is a state of mind

[thesquirrelqueer]

it would be impossible to do a show without swings, so much love to the amazing swings of how to dance in ohio!

[ashleywool]

Possible fanfiction prompt:

A reboot of Gilligan's Island, but the seven castaways are the Spectrum Club 7 from How to Dance in Ohio.

Gilligan = Tommy (friendly, means well, tries hard, but kind of chaotic and likely to ruin things, usually seen in red)

Skipper = Drew (charismatic, good leader, but knows how to delegate when necessary, usually seen in blue, also I just like the idea of him clonking Tommy on the head a lot)

Professor = Marideth (more intellectual than emotional, has a vast knowledge of facts about pretty much everything, most likely to figure out how to do anything...except fix the boat)

Thurston Howell III = Remy (highly influential and well-connected, could be morally corrupt but chooses not to be, the most likely to pack an absurd amount of "necessary" possessions to keep with them on a three-hour tour)

Eunice Howell = Mel (stronger than they seem, wiser than you expect, protective maternal energy, also I just like the idea of Mel and Remy being married because probably what happened is Remy got rich and famous from influencer income and married Mel so that they could afford to leave Paws & Claws and have a better life with adequate healthcare and that's the wholesome queer aro/ace love story we deserve)

Ginger Grant = Jessica (is a star, knows she's a star, knows that you know she's a star, acts accordingly)

Mary Ann = Caroline (sweet, wholesome, has a toxic ex, bffs with Jessica, and people totally like her better than Jessica, but don't tell Jessica)

cc: @traderjoesfan2008 @indigogirl420 @wakanda-never

[de-lyc-ful]

Ok for the semi-finale, we’ve got a twofer!

I think it would be a crime if I were to separate these two besties so obviously here they are at a cat cafe (please imagine the rest of the cafe. I will not be drawing it.) also at this point I care less about costume accuracy and more about correct vibes so Jessica gets some chunky leg warmers. Also a Formosan Mountain Dog is a breed of dog that originated in Taiwan and I think it’s super important to at least acknowledge that Amelia Fei is one of if not THE FIRST TAIWANESE ACTOR ON BROADWAY???? Hell yeah

Let autistic women swear. I was gonna add the sword but I think it’s generally frowned upon to be dancing with a weapon and also I could not figure out how to pose that.

[ya-what--ya-erster]

Ohio obsession anyone?

And then I said thank you prayers for the blend option, paint bucket, color match, and reference images

(read tags lol it explains the random shift in art style)

[betterwithbooksthanwithpeople]

so which htdio character would be obsessed with the ides of march and why is it caroline

[muppetmagic]

me, being someone who headcanons all characters i like at t1 diabetics realising that bc the actress who played ashley amigo in htdio has t1 diabetes and therefore would've had her cgm and all that on her while in character, that means canonically, at least when cristina was playing her, ashley had t1 diabetes so basically i never lose!

[thetisming]

im so Caroline core (asked someone to move because ive started sitting in the front, specifically the seat to the left, and the one to the right was weird texture wise, and then they moved and now im sitting in the Correct Seat)

[thesquirrelqueer]

What is HTDIO?

How to Dance in Ohio or HTDIO is a musical about 7 autistic young adults in a counseling group getting ready for a spring formal. All 7 of them are played by autistic actors. It is based off of a documentary of the same name. The show focuses on the relationships between characters as they prepare for the formal as well as face some of their biggest social fears.

The show had a short run at Syracuse Stage back in 2022 and started previews on Broadway on November 15th, 2023. It is set to officially open at the Belasco Theatre on December 10th, 2023.

Who are the characters?

Remy (played by Desmond Edwards) - The youngest of the group, a genderqueer cosplayer with a budding TikTok channel and a love of fashion. 16, any pronouns.

Caroline (played by Amelia Fei) - A bubbly college freshman who is just getting into her first real relationship. Best friend of Jessica. 19, she/her.

Marideth (played by Madison Kopec) - The newest member to the group, very shy but loves geography and Australia. Oh and just like fun facts in general. 18, she/her.

Drew (played by Liam Pearce) - A senior in high school preparing for college. Loves electricity and electrical grids. 18, he/him.

Tommy (played by Conor Tague) - The "class clown" of the group. Uses humor to cope with being self-conscious. Wants to get his drivers license. 22, he/him.

Jessica (played by Ashley Wool) - The confident best friend of Caroline. Loves fantasy stories, especially ones with dragons in them. 20, she/her.

Mel (played by Imani Russell) - The oldest of the group and the one who has been there the longest. Works at a local pet shop and loves reptiles and self-help books. 24, they/them.

Dr. Emilio Amigo (played by Caesar Samayoa) - The therapist in charge of the group, trying his best to get his clients to break out of their shells. he/him

Ashley Amigo (played by Cristina Sastre) - Dr. Amigo's daughter. Used to be a dancer but due to an injury is back in Ohio helping out with the group. she/her

Johanna (played by Darlesia Cearcy) - Caroline's mother. she/her

Terry (played by Haven Burton) - Jessica's mother. she/her

Where can I listen to/watch it?

Currently there are no video recordings of the show available (yet), but they did release an EP with 4 of the songs on it on Spotify which you can check out here

[thetisming]

ONLY 4??? ONLY 4????

okay fine

no pressure tags that i forgot to do at first cause i was apologising to my favourite female characters i didnt even list them all: @noys-boise @montygatorguy @thecomet-and-themeteor @fen-the-magnificat

Fave female character tag game

Tagged by @undecimber-of-joy💞

Rules: Make a poll of your top four favourite female characters of all time and see who is the favorite amongst your followers, then tag four people to do the same.

My faves✨

Put my mutual's urls through a random generator, and I got @devotiondroid @saintarmand @lynnenne and @pockedeye :)

[jewish-fanboy]

something i really really love about htdio is how the members of spectrum club 7 cope with thoughts/feelings/situations with their special interests cuz hey i do that too! and i feel like it reflects a part of the autistic experience that is ignored a lot

marideth (my favorite!!) deals with the questions from her dad that she doesn’t want to answer about the dance and the uncomfortable situation in the diner by reciting facts about australia (leading into the song unlikely animals). she also thinks about her feelings for drew through the lens of continents and geography (in the song drift) which makes it easier for her to deal with. AND the way that she ends up talking to drew about her feelings for him is also through facts, when she talks about the history behind formal dances

caroline thinks a lot about her relationship with her boyfriend in terms of her interest in royalty and historical figures (like how all the costumes in the song slow dance are very historical)

jessica plans her conversations with tommy to be about dragons, instead of directly having to talk about her feelings, and she spends a lot of time thinking about dragons and fantasy (“don’t get me started on dragons,” and the way she gets a sword as her prize for being the intergalactic superhero of the formal)

drew talks about his feelings about change and marideth and social situations through the lens of engineering (in the song waves and wires) and especially his thoughts about emotions (“light is made of waves, sound is made of waves, feelings come in waves)”

remy talks a lot about their feelings about identity through his cosplays (especially in the song nothing at all) and how they express all the different facets of their identity and feelings as other people (“when i am sherlock the world makes perfect sense”)

tommy talks about independence and what he wants through his focus on driving (in the song chevy silverado)

mel uses their interest in reptiles to get a promotion in their job and their interest in quotes and literature to make friends (during their conversations with ashley)

i just think it’s really cool to see this kind of thing represented!!

[de-lyc-ful]

And just like that, the Broadway run of How To Dance In Ohio has come to a close.

I don’t particularly know what to say, I’ve never been very good at explaining my emotions. I see parts of myself in parts of almost every show I watch, but Ohio is special in the way that I have seen myself in all of the show. Every character, every beat, every song, felt like looking in a mirror. My Ohio art journey started with a (mostly) full cast drawing, so it’s only fair that I close this chapter with another, better one.

Is it perfect? No. Is it accurate? Also no, I drew the characters as werewolves, in what world is that accurate? (I also didn’t draw the stripes on Caroline’s sweater but you’d have to actually pay me to do that) But this is my send off to a wonderful show.

How To Dance In Ohio has brought me so much, even though I only saw it once. It brought me community, it brought me confidence in my work, and it brought me confidence in myself. Ohio has told me that “yes, I can make it, whatever that means to me.”

As a surprise to absolutely nobody because I’m very open about this, I am autistic. And while I am studying to become a concept artist, acting is a dream of mine as well. I’ve been told by my family that I will never be able to do theatre professionally due to my sensory issues, my stubbornness, everything about myself. The Ohio community welcomed me with open arms, told me to dust myself off, and keep going.

I’d like to specifically thank a few people who I’ve had lovely interactions with.

Ashley Wool- You were the one who encouraged me to keep going, to not doubt myself, and to take pride in my work. You were the first person to actually enjoy my art so much that you wanted a print of it, and I am so incredibly grateful for all you’ve done, intentionally or not, to push me to make more art.

Desmond Luis Edwards- You are incredibly funny and I have so much respect for you. I’ve enjoyed our interactions and watching your livestreams and all the delightful people I’ve gotten to meet through them.

Madison Kopec- I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. I am mildly frightened by you and I will see every show that I possibly can where you’re in it. Like, holy shit, I can’t begin to explain how in awe I am of your performance. Also your tumblr username makes me laugh.

Imani Russell- Pretty much the same as like I’ve said about Madison, I’m amazed by your performance and I will try to see or at least listen to as many shows that you’re in as I can. However you don’t scare me nearly as much because anyone with an orange cat can’t be scary to me. Your username also makes me laugh. (This paragraph has been edited for spell checking)

Nicole D’Angelo- This dude responded to my tiktok comment right after MIDNIGHT to read a random essay I had written THE DAY BEFORE CLOSING and then had a delightful conversation with me about why Marideth is such a good character. Endless respect and love for them.

Thank you, How To Dance In Ohio. Thank you for everything.

[ya-what--ya-erster]

she has reservations about his jealous accusations

(I took like ten minutes on this and did not use a ref image enjoy)

[azrantimes]

Haven't posted about HTDIO in a hot minute but hear me out:

Aroace Jessica.

Ive been thinking about it for a while but I'm about to sleep so I might add to it tomorrow but here are my headcanons and "evidence" (reminder that this is a silly headcanon and I'm in no way claiming that this is canon)

Jessica wants to be independent. That's the reason she tries to date Tommy, because he has a car. She's not really attracted to him.

That brings us to the reason why she wants to date someone. Caroline.

Ever since Caroline started dating Jay, Jessica has felt like she lost her best friend. I've had a similar experience, where my friend began dating someone and I was happy for them first but realized I was jealous. I've struggled that entire day because I thought I was in love with them, which I can confidently say I wasn't. I just thought I would lose my friend.

Jessica was very happy for Caroline but they had a fight because of that (and because of Carolines actions too). Jessica felt like the only option was too find someone she could date, thus Tommy.

Jessica also loves swords and dragons. Very AroAce coded tbh. /j

Again, this is my silly headcanon and also me projecting but ye.

[amazingabby300]

Htdio thoughts part 3:

Tommy and Drew are actually good friends their dads will watch football together and have a barbecue in the fall.

Jessica and Caroline will do that high pitch scream whenever they hear gossip or just overall good news.

Mel and Meredith geek overall the reptiles at Mel’s work. Paul isn’t happy.

Rick Jenkins, Hawkins, and Kurt are all put in a room together to think about their own actions. (They are played by the same guy this would be funny. A Jekyll and Hyde moment)

Tommy gets Drew into Pokémon because of the electric Pokémon. Drew falls in love with Pikachu

Remy does Inktober but for cosplay.