#it’s another to say the artist and literal creator of that art can’t assign new meaning to it

[my-weird-heart]

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[latinxcastingmanifesto]

Your questions answered

Recently you tweeted us questions. Gabi and Quiara spent a day eating lunch, sunbathing, and responding to what you asked:

@gmorningstunner: If you are an Afro-Latinx woman, and you look more African than Latina, how likely is it that you will be cast as a Latinx role?

A casting director cannot legally ask about your identity when casting. But if you want your identity to be known, you are free to and encouraged to share it! So, please do go audition for those Latinx roles, and consider sharing your identity on your photo/resume for that particular role.

Self-designation and self-id is an under appreciated casting tool! And trust me, the director, writer, and casting director want as much information about you as possible! But they’re not allowed to ask, plus if they have a more limited sense of the Latinx diaspora then they really may not know.

QUIARA: For writers, we need to consider ourselves producers, too, and push very hard for Afro-Latinx casting as normal and not exceptional. I have had to educate producers and casting directors that the cousins in my Elliot Trilogy plays, well, one cousin can be a black Latina and the other cousin a white Latino, and that this reflects the reality of many Latinx families. Many producers and casting directors didn’t know this and it was absolutely my job to advocate for the truth and integrity of my work. I have given up expecting other people to know my truth and reality, and I say it aloud and clearly and with love and as early in the process as possible. Say these things at the very first meetings, or it may be too late.

Another call to action for playwrights: designate on the script that your casting must include Afro-Latinx. Or say that loud and clear on the first casting conversation.

@SalvadorVasqu10: Why are stories of the latinx community still to this day some of the most un-produced works? How can we make Latinx stories more accessible to all? When are you and @TanyaSaracho gonna team up for a musical?

Who picks up a play and reads it? Not necessarily our family members.

Call to action: professors, help us spread the word about Latinx work by assigning Latinx reading.

Call to action: artists, we need to produce our own work and each other’s work in order to get it to the community. Downtown institutions are our allies, but if we rely exclusively on preexisting production pipelines, the community will remain on the fringes. Our assignment is to figure out how to center the community as artistic creators and producers.

Call to action: we are the living library. Keep creating and producing. We need a few more generations of this work. We need to reach a critical mass.

Call to action: swap reading lists with your Latinx theater allies. Spread the word about the work you know.

(As to Tanya Saracho, I can’t wait to world-build with that FEROCIOUS artist. Till then, I’m blessed to call myself a fan and ally.)

@dbirdsoprano: How can we do more to address the imbalance of privilege in representation onstage?

Call to action: playwrights, literally address it. Write poor characters, working class characters. Write non-college-educated characters. Show various family structures. Break silence.

Call to action: producers, invest in the leadership of POC. Not internships, top positions. Scrutinize and criticize seasons centering wealthy and well-educated characters.

Call to action: universities, teach about professional sustainability (grant-writing, for example) in addition to art curriculum so poor and working class students can stay in it for the the long hall and we don’t lose them for financial reasons.

@AlexChurchyG: As a Young Latina director, who can I look to for role models in an industry of old white men?

WOCA  (Women of Color in the Arts) is a mentorship program for women of color in the theater.

Latina women have been directing plays and kicking ass. Latinx Theatre Commons is a phenomenal community of Latinx theater professionals including working Latina directors.

If you network with someone, follow up. It is not their job to chase you. Chase them! Invite them to coffee! They may say no. But they may say yes.

As Latinas, we’ve been trained to not ask for help. To be caretakers and never be on the receiving end. Stop it! Our spirits can ask for help.

@LaMeraFeli: I’m not in theater myself but have a daughter… can we talk about body type? Roles for the llenitas and the gorditas?

Make sure your daughter knows how to write. Make sure she’s jazzed about producing. If she’s sitting around waiting to get cast in gordita roles created by others, it’s not gonna happen or it will be brutal.

She should write her own stories and act in them. Or she should find a writer friend who gets who she is and ask them to create monologues for her.

Teach her to find her village. She’s not gonna do it alone.

Gabi literally started an entire theater company for this reason. Power Street Theatre Company. They are amazing and breaking new ground in Philly. Come to Philly and join their journey. Or create something like that in your own backyard.

@itsnikkig_: When are we going to start casting some fat Latinx actresses?!

Now. Writers, put ALL BODY TYPES in your actual character descriptions. Producers, put ALL BODY TYPES in your casting calls. You have to write it in as a clear directive or it will be more skinny bodies, always and forever.

@starmacosta: Is hiring an agent necessary? My mom does most of the work when it comes to booking or auditions…

GABI: I’ve always had that question myself. In Philly most of the actors I know don’t have agents. This may be contingent on where you live.

QUIARA: Find local working actors whose career you admire and ask them. For playwrights, no an agent is not necessary until you have a production contract in hand, or an offer from a producer. Then you get an agent. Before then, you have to get your own work produced. Use google to figure out which theaters have produced work that most resonates with your own. Submit your work to them. Or find your fellow travelers, find your village, and produce together.

@saybarra: How do we make space for aaaaalllll the variations of what it means to be Latinx in this country? In casting, in writing, in subject matter, in form, etc etc etc etc

The Latinx Theater Commons is very diverse in terms of pan-Latinx community. Find organizations doing the work, and they may not necessarily be theater groups. They may be drum circles, community college teachers, prayer circles. If you really can’t find a space you need, then it’s time to create the space. Bring the space into your living room or local park. We must always be creating space.

We are a diaspora, so how do we both engage all the specific variations of who we are while also embracing fluidity and openness? Those with more cultural leverage can use that to create spaces for underrepresnted Latinx stories: for instance, Latinx queer stories, Latinx trans stories, Afro-Latinx stories, biracial stories.

@zjriv: How do you manage your ideas? Every time I get writers block it’s because another comes along and I can’t stop thinking about it. Then another idea. Then another idea.

QUIARA: Sometimes you get 30 pages into an idea and can’t take it any further. That’s ok. Let it go. Let the new ideas continue to blossom in your imagination at their own speed. If they are still growing six months later, there may be a play there. Write what is speaking to you most today. No need to ignore it. The other stuff will still be there tomorrow. But also, letting ideas blossom is enough, they do not always need to be written out yet. I just had new insights for a play I thought up in 2003. I had forgotten about the play completely and then it tapped my shoulder over 15 years later.

@sleeplessinmit: What opportunities are available for presenting blended-language or Spanish-language works of theatre? What tools are available to make them accessible to all audiences?

Repertorio Espanol in New York has been doing this work for a very long time! Reach out to them and ask if they know of other bilingual theaters in your area. Ask what tools they use for this work. Suerte!

Also check out Spanglish theaters in your area. Miracle Theater in Portland, Power Street Theatre in Philly, Urban Theater Company in Chicago are just a few. Make allies and seek out mentors!

@omixmix: my plays are nonrealistic and include Spanglish. How do I shift attention to working on my style of nonrealism when everybody else seems to latch on to the “challenges of a foreign language”?

See above answer about Spanglish theaters. There are probably some in your area!

Also, stick to your guns. Live your truth, speak your truth, write your truth, and that’s what matters. You don’t need anyone’s permission to create, and you also cannot control others. Articulate to yourself and others why this work speaks to you and is important to you.

QUIARA: I have had to get into a deep practice as a playwright that I have no control over an audience. I only have control over the words I create. I have to believe in my writing, whether or not it’s what people want.

@ajdm: How do the Iberian colonial conquests in what we now call Asia (east, south, and Pacific) and those diasporic movements figure into this conversation?

Exactly. They do. What about collaborations and bridge-building between local Asian theater groups and Latinx theater groups? This would be fire. Let them know you’re hungry for this. Let them know how you willparticipate in bringing this question to the stage!

For instance, Power Street Theater Company (Gabi’s company) supports the Asian Arts Initiative. Gabi attends their town halls, though she’s Puerto Rican. She listens, observes and supports. And when she’s invited to share, she does. World building together, and doing the work.

Showing up for each other.

@alejandroraya_: I find casting requiring Latinx are given less reach than castings for other POC. Many projects in need of POC are often wide searching, but it seems casting for Latinx feels somewhat inaccessible. How do you feel casting directors can create larger reach for Latinx artist?

This is not necessarily true about other POC groups. A lot of communities have limited casting access and are underserved. This may be for budget reasons, and also because the roles simply aren’t being produced.

Create a list of all the Latinx folks you know, find out who the casting director is, and send it to them. Are there Latinx casting lists and resource groups in your area? The Kilroys did this cool experiment about creating a visible google-searchable list of unproduced plays by womxn. This may be a neat thing to do in your area for Latinx actors. The internet is a great tool for harnessing visibility!

@mingarla: If you don’t sing and dance as a Latina actress, is there any chance of finding work in theater? Seriously thinking of giving up my Equity membership.

GABI: I seriously relate to that.

QUIARA: This is hard. As a playwright, I have recently pressed pause on my playwriting life. For various reasons. It’s ok to step aside. I think life as an actor must be hard, because you’re at the whims of writers, producers, directors, etc. However, if you’re an actor who’s also a writer, designer, producer, then you can start to create work for yourself.

GABI: Another option is to find other paying jobs that sustain you, that you love, because you will need that income. If you’re only sustained by being an actor in someone else’s thing, then the reality is that’s a hard road.

[huntypastellance]

A follow up to the posts about the Nazi art (drawn by a Klance artist), the Pride Parade Klance sign & all those edits where Sheith scenes in canon got turned into Klance ROMANTIC scenes by people who constantly spam “I ONLY SEE THEM AS BROTHERS, BROGANES, THAT’S SUCH A PLATONIC BROGANES SCENE” everywhere.

NOTE: This is referring to the Klancedom, NOT Klance shippers. If you do NOT do any of these things, this post is NOT talking about you.

This interview has been approved of by MisterPoofOfficial (names were blacked out at her request).

Do NOT harass any of these people in the screenshots.

The events:

> Misterpoof creates a parody animatic of the Heathers song “Dead Girl Walking” & makes it a Sheith video. At this point, Poof was already known for not wanting to make any content for Klance & only making content for Sheith, Keitor, Pance & gen stuff.

> Klancers fill the comments section, whining for a Klance version. Misterpoof blacklists the word “klance” from her notifications & deletes all comments mentioning them. Poof’s fans tell the klancers to knock it off.

> A Klancer makes a yandere Klance PORN version of Poof’s animatic, directly advertising it on the comments of Poof’s animatic. (Keith & Lance semi-graphically have sex in this video).

Lord Pastel Lance: The Klance version was Keith TRYING TO RAPE AN UNWILLING LANCE (he gives in after Keith "reasons" with him) Oh god, klancers Never change Poof: Oh dear lord;;;; that’s gross I didn’t even watch the video, I was too scared it was gonna look like mine;;;” Lord Pastel Lance: NOPE It's got yandere creep faces & is genuinely disturbing with dark colors & Lance PHYSICALLY shoving Keith away from him And like, actual sex Like, they fuck

> Meanwhile, as Klancers & antis flock to the Klance version, the plagiarist upvotes & responds positively to anti-Sheith & anti-Poof comments. She claims that she admires Poof’s stuff even though it’s Sheith & she hates Sheith & doesn’t like going on Sheith vids while also saying that Sheith content on youtube should not exist at all (even joking that she will start a ship war).

Poof: And my video was dedicated to my friends--It wasn’t even supposed to be taken seriously yet people think that me assigning Lance as the "bad guy" means that I hate him Lord Pastel Lance: Seriously, who says "I was inspired by Poof" & then promotes & likes comments basically saying "I hate Poof & Poof's stuff".

> She even went so far as to react negatively & shut down an upset Sheith fan who was just asking for others to let people ship whatever they want. > She also agrees (multiple times) with fans that gay sex is sin & that they are sinners for getting off to her Klance porn video. > She also claims to be a 14 year old who openly draws BL porn on her parents’ laptop & says that she got all her knowledge from BL stuff & yaoi.

Lord Pastel Lance: Google research: literally just a click away Poof: Honestly......I mean they’re using their parent's computer after all Lord Pastel Lance: They already drew twinks fucking on their parents' computer Are they seriously that worried that their parents will see them reading about gay sex

> She also linked Poof’s video directly on her Klance video & self-promoed her klance version directly in the comments of Poof’s vid. (And mentioned how much she hated Sheith). [Reminder that the Klance version was watched predominately by Klancers/antis who were bashing Poof for not making Klance stuff. This was essentially painting a huge bulls-eye on Poof. And that the Klance artist was encouraging these types of comments in her own comment section.]

Poof: The comments I’ve gotten in the video (are removed) -- I’ve been called a "pedophile" for liking Sheith and making content for it -- another comment was talking about age discourse (also removed) I recall getting a comment (also removed) saying this wouldve been better with Klance

> Poof finally disables all comments (just on her Heathers video though).

Lord Pastel Lance: Also They're blaming YOU & your fans in the comments Poof: I KNOW I READ IT AND IT’S RIDICULOUS

Lord Pastel Lance: ??? If they wanted to apologize, why didn't they just send you a fucking ask? Poof: Exactly??? I have my tumblr and twitter on my about on youtube Lmao they could’ve looked and said sorry instead of talking shit

Poof: I found this in my Dead Keith Walking part 2 Lord Pastel Lance: Amazing Poof: Funny.....You say that Lord Pastel Lance: And yet they can't seem to send you a single comment apology Poof: Yup Lord Pastel Lance: It costs zero dollars to say "sorry for causing people to bash on you" Like damn gurl, you don’t need a tumblr to talk to misterpoof Poof: Exactly??? And they don't know how to use it ------------------------------------------- Lord Pastel Lance: By the way, Did the plagiarist ever apologize to you (directly) on tumblr/youtube? Poof: Nope! Never got a single message from them apologizing to me Lord Pastel Lance: Damn It's been like a whole week or so, right? Poof: Yeah Lord Pastel Lance: Even toddlers can use smartphones to google "how 2 do this" now Poof: Lmao true Lord Pastel Lance: Seriously, there is no way that it takes them over a week to figure out "HOW DO I SEND POOF AN ASK ON TUMBLR" Poof: I mean sure they're new to it and they don't know how to use tumblr, but seriously, it's not so hard to just go to my channel and apologize or send me a message Lord Pastel Lance: Yeah, but A WEEK In 2017 Plus they already send you comments on youtube There's nothing stopping them from sending you an apology On youtube Poof: Mhm ------------------------------------------- Poof: So apparently they "apologized", but through instagram and it was just...

:/ You know, I was expecting a message since there is an option on instagram. Not...being tagged in something where everyone can see it.......... I checked my instagram for once jfc, I don't go on it often, but they tagged me in their post to say "sorry"... Lord Pastel Lance: With like zero context Poof: Yup They just straight up said "I’m sorry" and nothing else :/ Lord Pastel Lance: Sorry for what? Plagiarizing? Shitting on you? Self-promo-ing in the comments of your own vids? Promoting comments that shit on you & your vids? That's SO vague Poof: Exactly??? I'm not replying back to the post because not only is it awkward, but it's just not right to forgive them for what they've done Lord Pastel Lance: I don't think they've fully understood their part in this either I think it's more like a "oh noes, a BNF is upset & people think it's my fault that she's mad!!! D:" sort of thing Poof: Mhm

Twas not the straw that broke the camel’s back, but a never-ending pile of sticks instead.

The entitled hypocrisy of the Klancedom is outrageous.

Claiming to loathe Sheith, but constantly looking at Sheith content & whining to the creators that the content would be “so much better if it was Klance & Broganes instead”. Taking no responsibility when people use your Sheith->Klance content to harass the original creators. Excusing anything & everything fucked up that a Klance fan does with “they didn’t know any better!” even though everybody in the discourse is talking through the INTERNET -- the information multilingual multicultural highway. Encouraging discourse & ship hate while pretending to be ignorant about it. Dismissing all the harassment shaladins receive while using the “Not All Klancers” card whenever shaladins complain about the harassment. Doing NOTHING to stop/prevent the Klantis from harassing people while you yourself bitch endlessly about how Shaladins are such hypocrites for generalizing Klance fans as hate-spamming anti-Sheith douchebags. Calling yourself an anti to “protect children & the LGBTQ+ community” while squealing happily about how gay sex is “sin” unironically.

The second you start allowing/encouraging people to trash on someone, who you CLAIMED to like, & that person’s stuff, which you REPEATEDLY mentioned that you dislike, you have chosen a side in the discourse. You are NOT being neutral.

You don’t want to get involved in discourse? Fine. THEN DON’T GET INVOLVED AT ALL.

[cyberstabbing]

Sci-fi/Dystopian future/Danger Days/idk

Heaven’s Not About Your Reputation - Desolation Row AU. The Tipper Laws have consumed the nation; more and more freedoms are being restricted every day. After getting thrown in jail for causing a riot with their illegal punk show, My Chem decides to do the logical thing: cause even more trouble. 28k

In Repair - "Shit,“ Frank mutters, and shoves both hands through his hair. He looks around the kitchen like he’s gonna find what he should do scratched into the old linoleum, then looks back at the bot. He gnaws on his lip. Fuck it. He already knows what he’s gonna do. He’s just gotta do it.

Getting down on his knees, he braces a hand on the edge of the crate and leans over the bot. It’s dressed in a plain white tee and matching drawstring pants like an escaped mental patient. Frank rolls his neck and cracks his knuckles, shaking the ache out of them before carefully laying his palm against its cheek. He’s pretty sure his voice is steady when he says, "Activate.”

Nothing happens. Fucking shitty packaging– the thing’s busted. But Frank keeps his hand where it is, jumping a little when he feels the surge of energy beneath it. The robot’s skin goes from room temperature to lukewarm, then warm. Frank watches it open its eyes, the light behind them adjusting until they’re a pale sort of brown. It looks at him and asks, “Am I dead?” 33k

sing it for the n00bs - Gerard would be killing twice as many dracs right now if his fucking spacebar would quit sticking. (Gamer AU, wherein the Danger Days universe is an MMORPG.) 17k

I was rereading this on a bus in France with my stepsister. She asked me what I was reading and I just squirmed around in my seat. So she shouted “FANFICTION??” And I was like … Well, I mean, yes–but hear me out!! And so I told her about Danger Days, the Killjoys and the whole gamer au concept.

She actually thought it sounded pretty cool. Or maybe she just wanted me to quit gushing about it and leave her alone.

The point is, if someone who just heard a second-rate description of this fic still thought it sounded interesting, that means it’s HELLA RAD. And it is. So. Read it.

The Way They Fly - Frank is a robot. He is in love with his genius creator, Gerard, who doesn’t realize that Frank is capable of real feelings. Frank starts breaking down, getting ill, and Gerard doesn’t know what to do to fix it - all his methods are completely useless, none of the programming explains why this is happening to his Frank - but it’s because Frank has a broken heart. 17k

Of Another Kind - Gerard is an alien on a mission–to find a human mate on Earth. He’s decided on Frank Iero, but his database doesn’t give him all the facts he needs to win over his future companion, and there are just some things he will have to learn on his own. 17k

Let The Darkness Lead You Home - Vampires are in charge and most of the humans on earth are prey, so Frank Iero’s parents have him train as a cyber tech to protect him. Leaving the family he’s born into may have saved his life, but his parents never could have expected the lengths he’d go to in order to find a new family to call home. 49k

The Chasing of Moons - The biggest dilemma in all of this is that Frank slept with his future husband. Now Frank’s just got to make sure that the future with him stays intact, but it’s not so easy when present day Gerard seems to hate his guts. 110k

Might I Have a Bit of Earth - Gerard took things. He didn’t used to take things; he used to ask before, say please and may I and other things his parents taught him, because that was what you did. You didn’t just take. 14k

Space pirates :D !!

Are You Broken? (from the Robot!Gerard series) - Frank gets sick and Gerard doesn’t understand. <1k (the series is 7k)

Lovely Way to Burn - Frank is no stranger to sickness. He’s been wheezing his way in and out of hospitals since he was a kid, but things are different now. He was already pulled from two assignments due to illness, and the third time is the charm. Three strikes and you’re out. 4k

video girl - This is a space AU that has more random worldbuilding than actual porn in it. In which Frank wanders into a virtual sex video booth. 1k

Reaching Through The Mirror - The one where Party Poison and Basement!Gerard have sex. 5k

(part one of Time Travel ‘verse)

James Cameron Got It Wrong - In which 2005!Frank and Fun Ghoul get it on. Then Frank accidentally winds up in 2019. 56k

(part two of Time Travel ‘verse)

yoooo i just found some really really REALLY good fanart. .. unbelievably good. and six years after the fic came out! that’s amazing!! anyway, here it is.

EDIT #2: found some more! Man, that fic just keeps giving.

EDIT #3: Damn it, the artist’s blog (second one) is marked as having “sensitive content”, so I couldn’t view it anymore on this account. So here is the post reblogged on a sfw blog for y’all youngins, and here is a screenshot juuust in case the sfw blog deactivates and that link stops working, too. 

The Science of Sleep - It’s 2011 and Frank Iero’s life is pretty average until the night where he starts getting dreams about a strange, apocalyptic California where there’s rayguns, grey corporations and terrorists who use art and color as a weapon. Interesting and fun at first, but the more he dreams about this world, the more he starts to wonder if it really is a dream… and the deeper he gets into this futuristic world, the more it seems to affect his life in the present day.

And just how exactly does everything all seem to link in with that douchebag black-haired artist who sits in Starbucks every day?

(Set in the Danger Days world but not necessarily following the cannon established by the album and music video’s.) 93k

Killjoys Never Die - No description. 2k

i want to die i want to die i want to die

Up Against Your Will (HERE is the chapter index) - Stepping into a world so different from their own, Frank and Gerard struggle to survive. 18 chapters

this was amazing, but also hard to read in some parts, bc of the non con and gore :/ not my cup of tea, but I did love the word building and the fic overall.

Fogs, Sheets and Thunder - Not as grey as it seems. A post-apocalyptic postal service AU. 5k

And ze art!

​The World Famous Extraterrestial Diner - Sure the menu had a picture of literally everything in it, causing the menu itself to be ten pages in total, but that was for the foreign visitors. And not just the ones from other countries, according to the owners.Gerard worked at a diner located directly on the famous ‘extraterrestrial highway’. The pictures were more for if any actual aliens ever came by Earth for a good meal and couldn’t speak English. They had the pictures to see exactly what was on offer. Even the beverages had their own separate pictures.Not that they had had any extraterrestial visitors since, like, ever. 8k

Born to Motorbabies - Here's the thing with having a crush on a mysterious DJ; it's kind of an inconvenient place to hang your affections. 12k

The person who’s rec list i snagged this from (can’t remember who, sorry!) added “​affectionately referred to as the dishwasher fic” which is v cute so I’m putting it here too.

...the weapon - Tattoos are one of the ways they measure out the time between getting ghosted. Inspired by Art is... 0.2k

Code Red - In the fall out of a fire fight, Party Poison goes looking for medicine, and finds pretty much the exact opposite of that. 2k Ship: Party Poison/Korse

Workplace Appropriate Attire - Korse is a creepy boyfriend. 1k

Ship: Party Poison/Korse

This was fun to read, but some lines made me go OH SHIT, because ...... well if you read this you will know what I’m talking about.

We Got Machines - There are questions on the lips of everyone with eyes or money on the arena. Who is this kid? Where’d he come from? Who trained him? BLind’s got no records on him, meaning he’s a Zonebrat returning to the grasp of the city of his own volition. Another anomaly. That a 16 year old nobody could waltz in out of nowhere and turn the system on its head is... concerning to BLind. <1k

Part 1 of KJ/Griefers 'verse (3.5k in total)

Ship: Deadmau5/G3rard

xoxoxoxo - Party Poison wakes up somewhere he's never been - but there's plenty that's familiar here. 1k

Ship: Party Poison/Korse

Looking for Satellites - Galaxy-hopping alien trader Gerard has business on space station Perseus Four. Getting to know station administrator Grant is a nice bonus. 25k Ship: Gerard/Grant Gerard is a sexy, telepathic and open minded (heh) alien and it’s great.

the only hope for me - Korse has never been one to show his emotions. 1k Ship: Korse/Party Poison

your kicks don't hit, so we remain the same - a battery city ambush goes somewhat wrong. korsepoison. 0.8k Ship: Korse/Party Poison

Methane Skies - Run, run, bunny, run. 3k

Hot damn this is some creepy and suspenseful stuff. Ship: (implied) Korse/Party Poison

mutilate, maim and destroy (just a tad) - For clarification, this fic is about Gerard Way the actual person being tortured by Korse in the Killjoys universe. Like. Hnng, you'll see nevermind. Ship: Gerard/Korse

A Room Full Of Suicides - His jaw was clenched and his whole body quivering. He looked right at Korse with those huge, transparent eyes. “Do what you want to me. I don’t give a shit, Korse.” He drew in a breath that shook. “You wouldn’t understand. It’s about standing up for what you believe in.” God, the kid was adorable. Korse couldn’t wait to make him scream. 4k Ship: Korse/Party Poison, Fun Ghoul/Party Poison (implied)

Of All the Places in the Universe - Gerard, an alien with a severe case of anomie and wanderlust, crash-lands in Jersey while traveling the galaxy. A chance meeting with a creature his studies had told him didn't exist leads to a surprising turn of events. With time, Gerard comes to call Earth home, and finds love with the adorable punk who found him--Frank, an energetic puppy of a werewolf who's really more bark than bite. 30k

"You know The Smiths?"

Gerard grinned. "Oh, yes! They're one of my favorite Earth bands."

Thank You For The - Just an alien in New Jersey, looking for a mate. 0.5k Ship: Gabe Saporta/Mikey Way

"Have fun," Gerard said, even though he'd just told Mikey he couldn't have fun because he needed to be careful. Mikey wished his venom sacs were fully developed. He would spit on Gerard's shoes.

Double Exposure - “The worst part was the confession. Well, the explanation sucked too.” Written for prompt 38. Frank/Mikey - Frank and Mikey bodyswap during tour and have to play shows as each other. 2.5k

Frank isn’t part italian in this fic. He’s part alien! :D Ship: Frank/Mikey

[fredenglish]

Well, here we are on another #FeatureFriday! Today we talk to Professor Dan Lendzian about his career as a professional actor, the most rewarding parts of teaching theatre, and SUNY Fredonia’s upcoming production of Antigone! He is an alumni of SUNY Fredonia, and graduated with concurrent degrees in English and Acting.   1. What do you think the most rewarding part of your time as a professor at SUNY Fredonia has been?

I would say that all of it has been rewarding. I think, when I was a working actor in New York, it always felt like a part of my work was missing. And when I started teaching, I found that for me to really find joy there has to be a connection between practice of the art form and teaching. And so, I feel like being here has been incredibly rewarding, working with passionate, motivated students and also being able to take advantage of the amazing things that this campus has to offer. I’ve been lucky enough since I’ve been back to audit Dr McVicker’s Bloomsbury Modernism class, and one of Dr. McRae’s classes, learn from those master teachers again.  

For me, I often identify as an “actor-teacher-teaching artist,” and being here at Fredonia has really allowed me to dive headfirst into that. Performing, teaching, connecting with students, learning from them. It has been an incredibly enriching experience, and I’m so thankful for it.

2. Which of the courses that you have taught do you think students have connected the most with? Which do you think you connect the most with?

That’s like asking “which of your children do you like the best!” [Laughs]

I think… all of them? The experience that I bring in has allowed me to create a lot of amazing work with students. I come from a background that’s…. I did classical theatre for a while, I did Shakespeare, and then I also got really invested in generating theatre, postmodern concepts like “devising.” And so I think that I bring this interesting education of a very classically-trained, Shakespearean background mixed with a very postmodern way of putting things together. And so, in all of my classes, the things that always get me really excited are the times when students can take concepts and generate work from them. I think about [the course] Acting for Non-Majors: there’s a section where people create a silent scene, and it always thrills me to see what they’ve created. In Intro to the Performing Arts, I have these assignments called “making experiences,” where students will learn a series of concepts and then they utilize those concepts and create some kind of artistic expression.

I also think that anything that’s ensemble-based can be really interesting. In my last Shakespeare performance class, we did the first two acts of Julius Caesar and people were just swinging in and out, and that was our final. So, somebody might be playing Brutus for 60 lines, and then they would get tapped them on the shoulder and someone else would swing in. And that kind of thing can be really, really compelling, and that’s what I’m most proud of. The fact that students can feel empowered in my classes to create their own artistic expressions.

3. What advice do you have for prospective and/or current English students?

There’s always a pressure to specialize. And while I think that in some ways that’s great, I think in other ways — especially in undergraduate education — we can look at things and say, “that’s not exactly what I need, so I am not going to take it as seriously.” Like, for example, a foundations class, you might say, “oh, I just need to get this done.”

Whereas, I have found that in everything that I do, the more vocabulary that I have across the board — if I can connect something to a concept from science, or a concept from theatre, or a concept from math — it both deepens my practice, and allows my thinking and my teaching to become more accessible to the students that are in the room.

So, I think that I was very lucky, unknowingly, when I went to Fredonia in that I double-majored and got a minor. And all of that has completely fueled my professional career as an actor and theatre creator, in addition to my work as a teacher. So, I think that really taking advantage of this experience and committing yourself wholly to opportunities that are presented to you, even if some of them don’t necessarily seem like they’re going to serve you in the moment. Because they might serve you four or five years down the line.

4. You were a double major at Fredonia in English and Theatre. How do you think that English background affected your work with the theatre?

My experience in English here opened up so many doors, because I fell in love with language. And with the use of language, and how language works, and how stories are put together, and how narrative is constructed. So, when I left, I wasn’t afraid to step into and work on heavy-language plays. Being an English major made me fall in love with and be prepared to do something like King Lear, and completely empowered me to move forward and audition for those things. I think that it allowed me to have really close reading skills, which really served for both creating text and working with existing text, and I think it just completely strengthened me and allowed me to become a better citizen of the world, which leads to a better artist.

5. What are some advantages that you think live theatre brings as a medium, and what drew you to it?

I was four years old when I saw a musical, and I thought: “that’s what I need to do.” I also come from a line of artists. My grandmother was an incredible artist, an occupational therapist and social worker, and seeing her intersect art and work and life was incredibly inspirational for me. And my father is also an artist! My father was making training videos for the New York City Police Department when I was growing up, and so I grew up thinking that he ran a movie studio. So I kind of come from that line, and I see myself in that intersection between community service and art-making and the creation of enacting of literature. I think that biographically, it’s always been a part of me.

I also think that one of the amazing things about the theatre is that it can encompass everything. It’s a big enough container to say: “We’re going to do a play that’s entirely in poetry.” It can provide a different experience, and a concurrent experience, to just reading something.

It can encompass prose. I think that one of the amazing things about the theatre — and one of the reasons that I love language plays — is because when you go in to see a language play, the language literally creates the world, and invites you to be in that new world. Like this production of Antigone that we’re working on has this beautiful, challenging, heightened language that really takes you to a different world. And how we use that to create the world around us I find to be endlessly fascinating and incredibly powerful. And that’s what I’ve dedicated my life to.

6. Speaking of Antigone, you’re about to put on a production of it. Can you give some background about the show, and talk about why you think it’s still a relevant story to tell?

Any time that someone stands up in the face of opposition and says what they believe to be right, that is an Antigone story.

I think women throughout history have done this, and we can consistently see it. You can open up the news any day of the week and find the story of Antigone being played out in front of you. Every day. And it’s a tragic story, but I think that one of the reasons that we continue to tell this story is to find the hope in resistance. This particular version of the play, the Jean Anouilh version, was written in 1944 in France, during the Nazi occupation of Paris. And it was, kind of, a veiled challenge of the Vichy government. (And our dramaturge, Shawn Sprankle, has done an amazing job of providing historical context for the actors, if I can give him a shout-out!)

So, what’s really interesting about this production is that it’s a contemporary translation of a modern adaptation. There is no greek chorus. There’s a prologue figure that leads us through the world of the play, and I think that — while the language is heightened — it’s very accessible for audiences.

One of my goals is to have people think and consider argument. The show says, at one point, that “to argue is noble,” and what it means for me in this play is the argument between Creon and Antigone. And I think one of the goals of all theatre is to raise questions. I believe this play does. [Pause] I believe this play will hopefully have the viewer leaving with some kind of internal introspection. About what they believe is right. About what family means. What’s the relationship between our public selves and our private selves. What happens when they don’t meet up. Or they do! Could events that happen to Antigone could have been avoided? All of these are the questions that this play is asking, and I think that great art raises questions rather than giving us prescriptions.

7. Finally: what would you say is the most important lesson that theatre can teach us?

Compassion and empathy. My primary discipline as an actor. Being an actor, you’re asked to step into someone else’s shoes. And you have to approach that with incredible compassion and empathy, or else you can’t do it. So, I think that when we see a play, it can open up new ideas by presenting to us different viewpoints that will — perhaps — have the ability to change us. Or, in any way, deepen our empathy and understanding for other people in the world. Antigone, by Jean Anouilh, is an adaptation of a Greek tragedy by master playwright Sophocles. It tells the story of a young Greek woman fighting the tyrannical rule of her uncle Creon; and endures to this day by raising questions of grief, the power of choice, and the nature of leadership. SUNY Fredonia’s production is a contemporary adaptation that stars two actresses (Aterahme Lawrence and Julia Kerr) in the role of Antigone. Antigone will be performed in Rockefeller Art Center’s Bartlett Theatre from February 22nd - March 2nd, 2019. Tickets are $25.00 for the General Public,$12.00 for SUNY Students, and $19.00 for Non-SUNY Students/Children. More scheduling information can be found at this address.

[inktae]

Ok so I think I’m honestly just going to submit this because this is probably going to be long and the ask box can be a bit annoying.

So here we go ^^

If both story and writing style are important to you YOU NEED to check out the handmaids tale by margaret atwood! I don’t think there are many authors who combine the two as well as she does tbh. Tht is a bit slow paced (but NOWHERE near as much as atlwcs) but her writing is honestly everything and the atmosphere! Oh my gosh she’s so good at creating the right atmosphere. You know how dystopias often feel kind of unrealistic? This one feels scarily plausible (atwood actually didn’t include anything that didn’t exist somewhere at some point in history) and honestly with the way politics are atm, it’s actually pretty relevant. Her main character isn’t some badass bitch that conspires to take down the system either but a breathing flawed human being who feels incredibly real.

Also literary fiction but with a completely different approach are life after life by kate atkinson and station eleven by emily st. john mandel. I’ve read lal some time ago but I just remember being absolutely hooked. Super shortly put it’s about the main character (a woman born in 1910) who gets to live her life again and again with full knowledge of her previous lives. The story is super engaging and addictive and the plot is so so intricately constructed. Her style is really elegant but the structure’s even more so, there are so many timelines (taking place in alternative realities nonetheless) and so many recurrent themes but she makes it work so well! It also asks some really interesting questions about the definition of living a “right” life, individual responsibility and how much agency an individual really has and how much in life is up to circumstances/out of a persons hand.

Station eleven is about so many things at once but it mainly takes place in north america in the time during and after an apocalypse (not the dramatic zombie kind, but it’s literally just some flue if I remember correctly). It has a lot of different povs and timelines but as in lal it’s awe inspiringly elegantly organized. A central theme is definitely the importance of stories and storytelling for humanity as well as individuals, for example the book focuses partly on a shakespearian theatre company touring the post apocalyptical usa, but there are also multiple narratives relating to a comic book (it’s creator, it’s consumers, the people who derive meaning from it), an aspiring actor in the days before the apocalypse and the cost of fame etc and all the narratives are related to another and slowly come together as the novel progresses.

For space related stuff: consider checking out the book of strange new things by michel faber. The synopsis sounds incredibly weird, it’s literally about a priest assigned to convert aliens who has to leave his wife back on earth for his mission. But it’s actually equal parts literary and science fiction and a metaphor for the relationship between the author and his wife who was dying of cancer as he wrote the book (I honestly cried as I read the interview in which he said that). It’s super hard to describe so you should probably just read some reviews to get a feel for it. Ah and it’s also very readable if you aren’t religious even though the main character is a priest (I’m not religious and really enjoyed it and I’m pretty sure the author himself is an atheist (it deals very respectfully with religion though)). I think I like it slightly less than tht, lal and station eleven but it’s still a really great book and the concept is really something else and it’s space related too, so I figured why not include it. Also the covers of the canongate versions are gorgeous af (and maybe the reason I bought it in the first place)

I’ve only ever read the german translation (the original is czech I think), but if you are into books with more of a philosophical approach read the unbearable lightness of being by milan kundera! I read this like three years ago and I have no idea how to summarise this but it’s really interesting

Another author I’ve only ever read in german is italo calvino (originally italian) of whom I really enjoyed if on a winters night a traveller and invisible cities. Invisible cities is a novella/poetry collection so it’s probably not everyone’s sort of thing but I really enjoy the images he creates. and ioawnat is really something else (it’s also written in 2nd person and I read it before I started reading fanfiction, so I found it very hard to get into at first). I really enjoyed the way he plays with different writing styles and the narrative structure (which is super complex, it’s sort of a book in a book in a book in a book…?) and it’s kind of a postmodern classic, so reading it does make you feel smart lol, but I probably wouldn’t recommend it if you’re in a reading slump, since calvino isn’t very plot or character driven.

Idk if you are into comics/graphic novels, but if yes: the sandman by neil gaiman! The first few issues are a bit weaker than the rest but it’s probably the best fantasy related series I’ve ever read. also if you should read it start with the main series and none of the prequels/spinoffs, it gets super confusing otherwise, and the artist changes all few issues/each arc to reflect the mood of the story which I think is super cool.

Space related and also comics/graphic novels: saga by brian k. vaughan and fiona staples, ok this one is super hard to summarise but imagine romeo and juliet in space paired with star wars and game of thrones? The art is probably my favorite ever but it’s also very explicit and gory (think game of thrones) which honestly took me a while to get used to (but I’m also a bit of a chicken when it comes to this stuff). It’s really really good though and the plot keeps you on edge, unlike sandman the series is still ongoing though.

Also wuthering heights by emily bronte is one of the best things ever written, just saying.

Aaaand if you are into chick flick/cutesy stuff fangirl by rainbow rowell is great!

I can’t believe this got so long, ugh I’m powerless against procrastination sdhfjkl :’). Anyways I hope some of these sound at least kind of interesting to you!

- coffee

DAMN I GOT SO EXCITED WHEN I SAW ALL THESE RECS OMG -

okay, I am definitely intrigued by the handmaids tale. I tried not to read the reviews too much but they seemed to find the plot quite compelling and that definitely caught my attention. also, someone commented about the blind assassin by the same author. have you read this one? it seems quite interesting as well :)

oh boy, life after life sounds very interesting. I saw a few reviews and they seem mixed, but I am still going to keep it in mind. and station eleven... I read the summary and !!! I love it already!! I adore apocalyptic universes and this seems to be a very original take on it. I might read this one first. ^^

ALSO ADULT SCI-FI, THANK YOU FOR THAT REC. yes it’s strange, and that’s what draws me to this book. :)) oh and I did read milan kundera’s book a few years back! it was actually a school assignment, and I ended up enjoying it a lot. I should give it another try though, because I think I would understand it differently now. 

also!!! neil gaiman!! I’ve had his books on pending for ages, so thank you for reminding me about him. even though I have never read a graphic novel, I do enjoy mangas so I’ll probably enjoy this one quite a lot. ^^

AJLSD I THINK A FRIEND ACTUALLY READ SAGA AND WAS REALLY ENJOYING IT. the reviews are also astonishing! will def keep it in mind as well. 

emily bronte is another author I’ve had in my pendings for a while (sorry sorry) and even though I haven’t read fangirl, I do know the author and I remember enjoying eleanor & park when I was younger. I might give it a try, even though I’m not sure if I’ll enjoy her style in the same way now :’D

anyway, thank you for all these recs. I think the handmaid’s tale and station eleven are on top of the list (for now). it depends on what I can find though - since I want to buy books in english and sadly it’s not that easy to find them here ;; but I’ll let you know if I get one of these in my hands!! :)

[thepringlesofblood]

relaxing channels

i feel like people always have something they watch to relax - i have several youtube channels that are just pure wholesome relaxation. no drama, no performativity, just folks doing cool things. tag yours!

nuggetnoggin - this is a newer one of mine - attractive southern man brings his metal detectors and scuba gear to rivers and lakes to hunt for treasure. he takes home or throws out any manmade thing he finds to clean up the beautiful natural environments he visits, which he also takes long, beautiful shots of as he kayaks around digging stuff up.  he also shows bible verses before and after each video and sometimes in the descriptions, and i dont know if thats a plus or minus for you but it’s fairly innocuous and ignorable and just sort of a little eccentricity - it’s not like he talks about jesus at all during the videos, just cool stuff he digs up. he apparently owns a store that sells specific gear for metal detecting and ‘treasure’ hunting (e.g. finding coins and keys and other stuff in rivers/lakes or beaches. 

SnakeDiscovery - has snakes (clearly) but Emily, who runs the channel, is so enthusiastic about snakes and teaching people about them that it’s very wholesome. she goes around to schools and libraries and stuff and shows kids snakes and teaches them about reptiles. most of the videos are just her holding a snake and talking about it or some aspect of it very cheerfully - other fun ones include videos of snakes and other reptiles being fed, cleaned, or even hatched.

Baumgartner Restoration - professional art restorer walks you through how a particular painting is restored - each video is one piece. he calmly and in a vaguely hypnotic and soothing voice tells you what he’s doing to the piece and exactly why he’s doing it. don’t blow through these videos all at once because they don’t come out too often

WalkingWithGiants - miniature artist Jay (an artist who makes miniatures, not a very small artist) cooks tiny versions of real life dishes in miniature kitchen sets that he made himself. all of the food is 100% edible - he literally mixes minute amounts of flour and sugar and milk and stuff into cake and bakes it in a tiny oven over a tea candle. 

HomeCookingAdventure - Buzzfeed’s Tasty wishes it could be HomeCookingAdventure. this lovely woman carefully goes through each recipe, with beautiful shots and lovely music in the background. if Tasty is a pop song this channel is a symphony. 

TranslatorFails - Malinda Kathleen Reese, by all account a beautiful singer, puts lyrics to songs through google translate many times until they don’t make sense, then sings them. she also does her own music, which is lovely, but if you want to laugh she’s got you. 

PES - do NOT go through these videos too fast because there’s very few of them, but they are beautiful stop motion videos of different foods being ‘cooked’ out of everyday materials - my favorite (and the only Oscar nominated youtube video I’ve ever seen) is called ‘Fresh Guacamole’ - highly recommend

this isn’t a specific channel, but rather a genre - marble races. there is something very comforting about arbitrarily picking a marble and then cheering for it as it goes down the little plastic tracks. the creator of the video usually assigns attributes to each marble too - one channel assigns pokemon to each marble so you can root for your favorite. 

Binging with Babish - another one for the ‘soothing narrator voice’ category, this guy recreates dishes from popular media, as well as teaching you how to cook, while narrating his actions after the fact. 

HowItsMade - come on. you knew it was coming. this discovery channel special raised me, and it remains to this day one of the most comforting things in the world. it is what it says on the package - it takes you through every step in how something is made. narrator voice varies wildly from ‘news announcer��� to ‘i can’t understand a word you say through that accent’, but still fun aaaaaaand edumacational