#not the 'i am a rich person and this is my fourth broadway show of the week' standpoint

[darkjusticiar]

I wish the mixing on the west end american psycho recording wasn't so abysmal. The bass and instrumentation really did the heavy lifting when I saw it on broadway. But the opening number morning routine still rocks

[verydeadpromqueen]

NYT Review: In ‘Black Exhibition,’ a Playwright Exposed In a new work far from Broadway, Jeremy O. Harris, the author of “Slave Play,” puts his body and soul on the line. 

Why would a charismatic young playwright, with a critical hit playing to 800 people a night in Midtown, debut a new work, in which he also stars, at a 72-seat theatrical incubator so far off Broadway it’s in Brooklyn? And why would he do so under a pseudonym that sounds like the name of a bot?

The answer isn’t that @GaryXXXFisher — as the author and pseudo-autobiographical main character of “Black Exhibition” are called — is hiding a messy, heartfelt, intensely personal spectacle from too much scrutiny. Or it’s not just that. The main reason is that @GaryXXXFisher is really Jeremy O. Harris, the author of “Slave Play,” and he is savvy enough to understand that his new play isn’t for everyone.

In the same way, he knew that “Slave Play” was. (Its transfer from New York Theater Workshop to Broadway this season was a great and moving surprise.) Though tightly focused on three interracial couples spending a week at a sex therapy retreat, “Slave Play” encompasses the entire scope of interracial America. From a handful of characters, it implies millions.

“Black Exhibition,” which opened on Saturday at the invaluable Bushwick Starr, turns the telescope the other way around. It features five characters who represent different aspects of outlaw sexuality, but narrows down to just one subject: its author. Part notebook, part incantation, part primal therapy, it is so esoteric it sometimes seems as if it were written in a language with just one speaker left.

And language is key here. Harris invokes Ntozake Shange’s term “choreopoem” to describe a collagelike construction that incorporates free verse, choral speaking, dance, tableaux vivants and (in his case, not hers) text message chains about getting gonorrhea in Berlin. The result is by turns caustic, coy, baffling, impish, embarrassing, insightful and, as the pseudonym suggests, frank.

But if Shange’s “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf” celebrates the healing power of community, “Black Exhibition” feels neither healing nor communitarian. Harris plays a figure based on the real Gary Fisher: a gay black writer who died of AIDS in 1994, leaving behind a small but potent body of work. In Gary’s skin, Harris undergoes a kind of sacrificial flaying as the world he wants to be part of also torments him with its gaze.

The four other characters, or perhaps they are merely Harris’s avatars, advise him on issues of art, submission and self-display. The experimental feminist writer Kathy Acker (Ross Days) offers a paean to anal sex as a way to see God (or at least Elaine Stritch). The Japanese poet Yukio Mishima (Miles Greenberg) schools Gary in “necessary fascisms.” And the gay Afro-Futurist Samuel Delany (Dhari Noel) sings the ambivalent praises of Fire Island, where raunch is integrated into the landscape, yet the rich have “gentrified the trees.”

The three writers make some sense as Gary’s spirit guides; he has been reading them while visiting that gay playland. What the fourth is doing in the story is harder to say. Called MandinGO, he is based on Michael L. Johnson, the black athlete sentenced, after a trial later ruled to be “fundamentally unfair,” to 30 years in prison for not disclosing his H.I.V. status to sexual partners. Perhaps MandinGO (AJ Harris) represents the twinned problems Gary is flirting with: the vulnerability of gay black bodies in white spaces, and the vulnerability of all bodies in the path of disease.

If I am uncertain about this, as about so much here, that’s fine with me. I don’t mind having to ponder the recondite (and wittily worded) questions Harris keeps sparking as Gary travels his “dark gay path.” I look to the theater, in part, to show me the lives of my co-humans as they live them beyond my ken. What it means to be a gay black man in the world is not, for instance, an experience I can ever have directly.

But writer’s block is, and that’s another of the play’s subjects, if not in fact its raison d’être. Harris draws a sly connection between — I’ll put this delicately — the openness to sex and the openness to inspiration. On the evidence of “Black Exhibition,” I’d say he’s at least got some good foreplay going.

[wydmariana]

        hi my loves   !   ur  fav  big  mess  dani   here   ,  i  also  play  our  hailey  fc  alanna  heh   !   i’m  bringing  back  my  bbyg  mariana   !  she’s  my  original  wealthy  character  &  i’ve  had  her  for  like over  3   years   ,  i’m  super  excited  2  be  playing  her  again  &  i  hope  u  guys  rly  like  her   !!!  i’m  gonna  put  all  the   tea  on  her  under  the  cut  &  if  u  wanna  plot  like   this  &   i’ll  come  bug  u  , i  rly  always  need  connections  n  love  plotting  ♡  u  can  also  hmu  on  discord  !! @ 𝒎𝒈𝒌'𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒆 .#1958

new york’s very own mariana cavello was spotted on broadway street in christian louboutins . your resemblance to selena gomez is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your twenty fourth birthday bash . while living in nyc , you’ve been labeled as being stubborn , but also adroit . i guess being a gemini explains that . 3 things that would paint a better picture of you would be  lyrics  scribbled  in  a  notebook  ,  gold  jewelry  ,  &  blue  nail  polish  . ( i  defeaned  a  girl  in  a  fight  when  i  was  17 )  &  ( cisfemale & she/her  )  +  ( dani , 20 , she/her , est . )

╰ ˚･ﾟ  ♡   𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒔   :

full name: mariana marisol cavello

nickname(s): mari,

age: twenty four

date of birth: june 4th

hometown: new york city

current location: upper east side, new york city

ethnicity: half mexican

nationality: american

gender: cisfemale

pronouns: she/her

parents names: alexander hastings, liliana cavello

orientation: pansexual but she doesn’t like labels

religion: grew up catholic, undecided

political affiliation: democrat

occupation: singer/songwriter

living arrangements: lives in her own mansion in the upper east side

language(s) spoken: english, spanish

accent: american

face claim: selena gomez

hair colour: x (most basic/accurate/but it changes)

eye colour: brown

height: 5″5

weight: 113lbs

build: petite

tattoos: mostly selena’s canon, but x instead of the music note

piercings: x (both ears)

drugs/alcohol/sex: yes/yes/yes

pets: one cat, 5 years old, named sergio - x

astrological chart  : gemini sun  ,  libra moon  ,  scorpio rising

character  inspo  :  meredith  grey  (  grey’s  anatomy  )  ,  simone  davis  (  star  )  ,  alyssa  (  the  end  of  the  fucking  world  )  ,  carla  (  elite  )  ,   kat  stratford  (  10  things  i  hate  about  you  )  ,  serena  vanderwoodsen  (  gossip  girl  )  ,  jessica  davis  (  13 reasons  why  )

pinterest  board  :  here .

╰ ˚･ﾟ ♡  𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚  &  𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕   (   tw  :  abuse ,   violence  , injury ,   sexual  assault .  )  :

ok i changed her around quite a lil bit so i’m excited to rEdevelop !  :~)

mariana was born into a seemingly perfect family ,  her older brother &  her having been born heirs to alexander hastings , billionaire hotel & business entrepreneur , shark-tank cast member  ( think kevin o’leary vibes .. yeah . ) &  liliana cavello , legendary supermodel  ( think cindy crawford )

she was spoiled bc they were rich af , so like she never NEEDED for anything , except LoVe :)

mari was quick to blow her dad’s money but did he notice ? no

she still is kjdfnsjdf

mariana was a happy child, but growing up in a household with her father quickly became toxic

she started noticing it when she was around 10

his yelling , his anger against her mother , the hostility towards the entire household

the relationship between her parents always had been toxic but now that they had kids it was quick to spread through the whole household

as mariana grew older and started high school , there were times where she would sit in one of the offices of her father’s buildings and do homework while she waited for him to finish so they could go home

at the mere age of fifteen was the first time one of her father’s co-workers sexually assaulted her in an empty conference room after everyone else went home & she’d be waiting for her dad

this continued for a little under  2  years .

this is when her behaviour at school started to get out of hand, she’d start skipping class, get caught smoking pot, talking back to teachers, etc

it went on for months & mariana suspected that her father knew and wasn’t doing anything to stop it

when she turned 16  &  got  a  boyfriend  , it started affecting her even more . she was struggling w being intimate bc of these things that  were happening to her

which is when she eventually  confronted him about it , in tears , in the kitchen with her mother

it resulted in a screaming match

mariana’s behaviour completely went off the rails after that day & she went to school one day & got into a fight with this girl who was taunting her

they fought and mariana’s anger got the best of her &  she ended up beating the girl so bad that she became deaf in one ear

shoutout to degrassi for the idea Ok female sean cameron in the house

( i needed a secret for mari n i was watching this so i was like .. ok why not lol )

she turned 17 shortly after this argument and by some miracle ( aka money ) her dad was able to keep her out of juvie despite the charges that were brought against her

this is mariana’s secret!!!!!

anyway now , she doesn’t talk to her father really , at all . unless her mom ambushes them into the same room which sometimes happens jkfnsf

mariana moved out on her 18th birthday ,  still has a good relationship with her  mom and brother  &   extended family

when mariana turned 18 was also when she started her career !! she started out as an actor in a few different movies

she got her big break when she starred in a ‘riverdale or like , grey’s anatomy’ type of show a few years ago prob when she was about 19

and that went on for 2 or 3 seasons before she stopped it to pursue music bc !

writing and singing and performing have always been Mariana’s passions & emotional outlet

anyway , she dropped a single while on the show & it did well so she proceeded to drop an album which also blew up

she is now rly successful w her music career and loves it sm , like it’s literally her dream come true ok

it’s the one thing that makes her happy

so yah , if ppl knew she deafened a girl totally wouldn’t b all sunshine n rainbows :/ hehe .

╰ ˚･ﾟ ♡  𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚  (   tw  :  drugs  )  :

mariana is very lowkey crazy

like she knows how to hide it but girl , it’ll come out

she can definitely be a brat , she wasn’t raised with proper consequences & often thinks she can do whatever she wants , has a bit of an attitude about it

she hates being told what to do

and will voice her opinion

she is also the most loyal & loving person you know , but the thing is it’s very hidden deep down rn . she is completely walls up , doesn’t wanna let anyone get close to her bc she’s a PUSSY

and like , she hasn’t worked through her trauma & probably never will

the only opening up she does is when she’s writing music

daddy issues galore over here

but she’s a lowkey softie when she  waants 2 be

when she loves someone she loves fiercly !!

mariana . is a  . party . animal

it’s basically all she does

like every night , her stamina is insane bc she can go out every single night until 3 am if she really wants to .

and she’s fun too , if she’s going out she’s getting WASTED

she’s the type of drunk girl to make out w  all her friends

she loves cocaine, is most definitely an addict (   but who isn’t in this city  ), tequila is her alcohol of choice, but she’ll drink anything you give her & weed is her creative saving grace

we luv a bitch who doesn’t care abt her health !

u will most likely find her in sweatpants and a hoodie or a big tshirt

she will dress up to go out & luvs lookin cute for paparazzi & career stuff

um , she listens to a lot of rap and just lays in bed  w her cat smoking blunts

um n ya  .. sad bitch vibes :/

╰ ˚･ﾟ ♡  𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔  :

i have  a wanted connections page here    &   a   wanted  tag  here  !!! i need & want every connection so pls hmu ! like this  &  i’ll come to you .

[sync-up]

My BMC Experience

Hey y'all I saw BMC on February 24, 2019 at 2:00 and I have so many thoughts in my head so let's get this ball rolling. Everything is under the cut because it's a super long post and I have a lot to say

Changes:

WILL ROLAND HAS GLASSES! He has them at the beginning of the musical. The morning after he got his Squip, the Squip corrects his vision and he loses them for the rest of Act 1 and most of Act 2. After "The Play," he gets them back

New dialogue in More Than Survive from the teens

Mr Reyes rewrites A Mid Summer Night's Dream just cause he wants to

The Squip has a brand new verse right before BMC part 1!

More Than Survive Reprise has been replaced with a song named (Let's) Sync Up with only a few remaining lyrics at the end

There are a lot of changes to Upgrade lyrics, including the repeated line "I'm tired of being the person that everyone thinks that I am"

Halloween also has a new verse!

Jake no longer comes through the window, he just bursts through the door

Jason Tam sings along with the kids in one of the verses of Halloween, and dances along too. He's front and center

The Squip now wants to, and I quote, "take over the entire human race" to achieve Jeremy's goal

Michael at the hospital: "Hi Rich! ...Bye Rich!"

Overall, it looks like everyone is more thoroughly and explicitly explored? I mean everyone

Visuals:

Everything was very neony and flashy, like in off broadway

The band is behind the stage, behind a wall that can lift and drop

There's like a conveyor thing in the back that brings a lot of people on and off

There are these phone shaped rectangles that drop from the ceiling? At one point during the smartphone hour Jason Sweettooth Williams and Gerard (?) enter via those. They ride them

Right after More Than Survive, when Jeremy is about the go into the drama room, he waits outside for a bit prepping before Michael goes kind of “Really?” and pushes Jeremy into the room

During "I Love Play Rehearsal," Christine leans really close to Jeremy when she says "A part of me also wants to do this" and she looks like she's about to kiss him

During "Do You Want a Ride," Brooke has a soda can and a straw that she repeatedly jams into each other. She also sucks and licks the straw a lot

There was this weird streamer thing during Halloween? It was orange and long and it kept getting caught on people's costumes as they came out

Pretty sure this was unintentional, but during Smartphone Hour Brooke tried to yeet her banana off stage only it fell onstage

When Michael made his entrance, he ripped through this tapestry thing

JEREMY FLIPPED OFF THE SQUIP DURING THE PLAY

Squip (or Jason Tam) Stuff:

The costumes' color schemes transition from light blue/white to black/silver/white

He has maybe 5 costumes in total? Each change was pretty fast too, the longest amount of time he had offstage was maybe a minute or two and the shortest maybe 15 seconds

He didn't change between Act 1 and Act 2 which was surprising

He does not have a Neo costume during Halloween

He has emo hair at the end

As he "dies," the wall to the orchestra room behind the stage lifts and the Squip mimes being dragged into it

He's definitely the fourth wall breaker in this show. Several times he goes to the outside border of the stage (a place where no other character goes) and stares out into the audience. After DYWR he looks at them like "can you believe this guy?"

He also directly interacts with the audience by throwing sparkly confetti into them during "A Guy I Could Kind Of Be Into." The only time the wall to the orchestra is lifted is when the Squip dies

The Squip dabbed

For whatever reason, during DYWH he just... looked out the window a lot

I've been told this also happened off Broadway, but I'll say it again: After glitching out and speaking rapid Japanese, the Squip screeched and flopped face first onto the bed. He stayed there until the scene ended, and was carried out by the bed rolling out

He's now noted as a "learning program," and learns from observing human behavior

Christine confuses and frustrates him because she doesn't follow normal social rules

He loves?? Climbing shit

During the Play, he controlled the squipped teens like puppets and physically fought Mich & Jer. Every time Mich or Jer hit them, Jason would also mine being hit

Miscellaneous:

Oh my god, the line around the theater was SO LONG. It like doubled within five minutes!

I sat super close (Row E) and almost cried

The orchestra area was smaaaall. I only saw maybe 10-15 rows in the center orchestra. Big theatre though, there were two levels above us

Everyone in the audience was very enthusiastic, but respectful! They all cheered at the end when Jeremy kissed Christine (they were very cute)

A lot of people came out at stage door, especially for a Sunday matinee show! The list goes: Both Jasons, Stephanie, Gerard, George, Katlyn, Lauren. Troy and Cameron also came out even though they didn't perform!

Someone asked Jason Tam to say "How do you do, fellow kids" In his Squip voice. He did

Someone also asked Katlyn what headcanons she had for Chloe. She said that Chloe was in anger management because she slapped her pony named Cinnamon

PLEASE feel free to send me asks about this!! I had so much fun and can feel myself wanting to get into this show again! Please keep in mind that I saw this during previews, so some of this might not even have been in the evening show that same day and won't be in the final version after opening!

[asterinjapan]

Back in time

Good evening, this time from the train from Osaka to Okayama! It's a little past 8:30 pm now, and since I'll have to get up early tomorrow for my trip to Tokyo, I'll be typing most of today's report on my phone. Just a heads up in case you spot any weird typoes, haha.

Anyway! Today was indeed a busy day, although very much fun in a lot of senses. You see, today I was meeting up with a friend to go to Universal Studios Japan, and then to a concert by KOKIA, my absolute favourite artist. So that's 3 great things in one sentence already, haha.

I'll be splitting the report so that one half just concerns the concert, because I tend to do very detailed reports on those. Seeing KOKIA live is such a treat, I don't want to forget a single detail! So below follows the report on the rest of the day.

I had to get up early to catch my train, so of course I woke up wayyyy to early at 4 am, pff. I went right back to sleep and woke up a little before my 6 am alarm, which was still too early, because breakfast starts at 6:30, haha. Oh well, plenty of time to get dressed in peace!

After breakfast, I made my way to the station to catch the shinkansen to Shin-Osaka station. The train goes past Himeji, though sadly I wasn't in a good position to take a picture of the castle. I did however notice that you can see Okayama castle from the train as well, be it from quite the distance. The views weren't really superb today, which was to be expected, since there was rain forecasted for pretty much the entire country. Oh well, not much I can do about that but take an umbrella, haha.

The trip was smooth and I met up with my friend at the station. We were going to Osaka station from here, a mere 5 minute ride, but it was quite tricky to even make it through the shinkansen gates. It was really busy for some reason, though they had just announced a train further south had stopped running due to heavy rains. Uh oh... but so far so good in Osaka, no rain yet and we eventually made it to Osaka station and from there, 2 quick trains bound for Universal Studios Japan!

We first caught up a little over drinks, with matcha latte for me of course, before we made it to the park entrance and got tickets. Since it was a Saturday I suspected it would be busy and we'd need to draw a number for the Harry Potter part of the park, but apparently the weather forecast worked in our favour, because there were no numbers needed to enter today. Yaaay! I went to Universal 4 years ago as well and mostly spent my day in the Harry Potter part, haha, so I wasn't complaining about starting here. Actually, this part of the park only has two rides proper and they're both a bit wild for us, but just looking around here is an attraction in itself. I got all nostalgic over the music and the scenes, and after shop browsing for a while and having our picture taken in front of the Hogwarts Express, we went into the wand shop to experience some magic happening as a random audience member was picked to be chosen by a wand. Sadly this wasn't me, haha, although I have a great wand at home I bought here last time. It was a fun little show (this time Ollivander spoke both very good English and Japanese, haha), after which we ended up in the wand shop, but we passed through it in favour of the castle.

You can go into Hogwarts castle for a pretty intense adventure (I did it back in 2015, my stomach wasn't very happy), or you can choose to take a stroll inside and look up on awe at all the amazing detail they put on here, haha. We opted for the latter, and I definitely made use of the invitation to take pictures by going wild with my current camera. Much better quality! Ah, I love this camera so. The castle has a ton of talking and moving paintings as well as some projections and a ton of replicas from the movies. Aside maybe from the last bit, where we first had to wait for a while for unknown reasons and then were rushed through, it was really great.

Once outside, we spotted some performers coming out dressed like the students from the wizarding schools Beauxbatons and Durmstrang from the fourth book/movie, so we stayed to watch. I think i read somewhere that this was a limited time show, and they were really good, very athletic. (I'm personally not a big fan of the movie approach of "the French students are only girls who dance pretty dainty ballet and the vaguely Russian students are only manly guys who grunt and stomp with sticks", but hey, that says nothing about the performers here! And the costumes were lovely. )

After some more shop browsing, we were in for a surprise once we were outside: the sun was shining bright! Absolutely not according to the forecasts, absolutely not complaining, haha. I took some very pretty pictures of the castle if I do say so myself, and then we went for lunch here. The salad served at the Three Broomsticks was pretty big, plenty enough to share. After this and of course some butterbeer (non-alcoholic), we left the wizarding world behind us and moved into the rest of the park.

This mostly ended in sightseeing, since the rows were too long to consider queuing up with the concert time getting closer, but that was a lot of fun too. They put in so much detail, and since it is almost Halloween, a lot of people had come dressed up.They do in the Disney parks too, but Disney has pretty strict rules about which characters you're allowed to dress up as, while here it seems to be "anything goes". I saw a guy dressed up as a piece of corn, quite some elaborate costume dress ups, a surprising amount of guys in Sailor Moon outfits, a lot of fancy gothic dress up, and a surprising number of uh, nuns. Alright! And of course, there was the usual mix with outfits from the Harry Potter part and uh, Minions. They have their own spot here.

We also went into the Jurassic park area, which was closed for maintenance last time, although sadly we didn't see a lot of dinosaurs roaming around. There was a scarily realistic Velociraptor animatronic inside the gift shop though! (I think it might have been Blue? Look, I only saw Jurassic World once.) But well, I still love dinosaurs, so this was still cool, haha.

Once we were getting closer to the time of the concert, we went back to the station to catch the train to Osaka station. Luckily the concert venue was very close and actually within the same building in which they have the big Broadway musicals here, currently the little mermaid. It was the lion king last time I went here and got lost at Osaka station, haha. (That station is like 5 different stations all connected, so it's a bit of a maze.) We got seated, got ourselves a drink (it's kinda like a jazz bar here, so you sit at a table and you can order food and drinks), made a quick trip to the merchandise shop, and then sat back to enjoy the performance.

I'll save those details for my next post, haha, but rest assured I had a great time. KOKIA had two performances tonight, so it was a little shorter than a big hall concert, but she did make time for an autograph session! Naturally we queued up with our newly purchased albums, haha.

Ah, such a good time! It was around dinner time now, so my friend introduced me to akashiyaki, which is "sort of takoyaki, except not", haha. Akashi is a city in the nearby Hyogo prefecture, and these are dumplings made of egg rich batter and octopus you need to dump into thin fish broth before eating (thank you, wikipedia). Although takoyaki, also balls with octopus, is more popular and better known, akashiyaki apparently came first. It was really yummy! We shared akashiyaki and then had a takoyaki gratin, which sounded kinda odd, but ended up being delicious as well. We eventually had some desserts at a nearby tea shop that sold SO MANY matcha things, I nearly had a crisis deciding until I opted for the matcha roll cake, incidentally the best roll cake I've ever had.

It was time to part ways with the promise of reunion, and I made it to Shin-Osaka alone. Familiar territory after last year, haha. I caught a shinkansen for Okayama and I have just arrived in my hotel safe and sound, very tired but very pleased.

Tomorrow will be tiring without a doubt, as I'll be in a train for 4.5 hours straight (I did this to myself, I know). But then I'll be in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, my home away from home at this point, haha. I guess I'll ditch my things at the hotel and then rush to Shibuya for my favourite little shrine there, because I must owe some deity something for how lucky I've been so far. Did I mention it was dry the whole time we were outside? Yeah.

I love Tokyo, so I'm very excited about going back there, but it also means saying goodbye to Okayama and entering my last week already. Time really flies, huh...

Well, stay tuned for pictures and the concert review while I go pack my suitcase (the title will make sense after that review, haha, although Harry Potter and dinosaurs are both things I grew up with) and then see you tomorrow from Tokyo!

[schmergo]

Scarlet Pimpernel at Lincoln Center (informal review)

I just saw the most amazing show at Lincoln Center last night. I said to someone the other day that I don’t usually write informal “reviews” of limited-run productions because nobody else would probably be able to get tickets to them, but this was something special. It was a one-night only semi-staged version of The Scarlet Pimpernel, which originally ran on Broadway from 1997-2000 and has never yet been revived. A rarely-performed musical, my friend Wren and I discovered it in 10th grade and quickly fell in love with the catchy score but never thought we’d see a professional production.

When I first heard about the Lincoln Center concert, I burst into tears with excitement and thought, “Oh MAN, I wish I could go!” and moped around for a few days. Then I realized, “Hang on, I have some money saved. I have lots of unused vacation days. It’s only a four-hour bus ride away. What’s stopping me from going?” And I am so glad I did. Was it a flawless production? No. Was it painstakingly and meticulously designed and rehearsed? Definitely not. But was it one of the liveliest, most entertaining shows I’ve seen with top-notch vocals, hilarious gags, and tremendous audience response (actors sometimes having to cut off the excessive cheers and applause after certain numbers) that culminated in a 100% standing ovation? All that and a bag of pommes frites.

If you’re unfamiliar with the story, The Scarlet Pimpernel is based on a classic adventure-romance novel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. Set during the French Revolution, it’s often called the original superhero story, in which a disguised vigilante hides behind a mild-mannered secret identity. When fashionable English gentleman Sir Percy Blakeney suspects his new bride, Marguerite, may be a spy for the French Revolution, he sets off on a mission to rescue innocent people from the guillotine- without his wife finding out. But he and his band of merry men don’t fight terror with terror. No, they employ witty disguises, tricks, and antics, leaving behind the mark of a flower called the Scarlet Pimpernel (Percy’s family crest). Back home, the men escape suspicion by exaggerating their mannerisms into ridiculous caricatures of fancy fops who care more about French lace and silk than French Revolutions.

But when Marguerite’s ex-lover Chauvelin (now a high-ranking French agent) blackmails her into discovering the true identity of the Pimpernel lest her brother die, she little knows how close to home her mission will hit.

It sounds like it could either be an overwrought melodrama or a Looney Toons short- and indeed, it is a bit of both. The musical itself endured many extensive rewrites during its short run, never quite finding the right balance. This concert seems to be a mish-mash of about three different past versions with at least one new song. But despite the jarring shifts between heart-wrenching ballads and silly slapstick in which tap shoes become a valuable component in a duel and executioners are distracted by 123 rampant geese, this performance was so rich in heart, joy, and spirit that the whole audience beamed along.

Of the leading roles, the only one I’d never seen or heard before was Tony Yazbeck, inhabiting the many hats (literally) of the Pimpernel himself. I can confidently say that he gave one of the most brilliant performances I’ve ever seen, period. Although he’s already an accomplished performer, I suspect this one-night show might catapult him to being a massive star. He’s, like, a quadruple threat, with so much stage presence that he shimmers. Yazbeck’s Percy can be ludicrously silly or achingly sincere, powerful or vulnerable, with a powerhouse voice and untiring energy and grace. I was sitting close enough to see all of his facial expressions, however over-the-top or subtle, and he was totally immersed in the character the entire time, sometimes hurling his script to the ground with emotion. (Remember, it was a staged concert with about a week of rehearsal.) He frequently breaks the fourth wall, trying to steal a violinist’s bow, dropping ad-libbed comments, sitting in the audience or dancing down the aisle, without dropping his polished English accent. I can’t wait to see what he’ll do next.

My personal favorite singer, Norm Lewis, co-starred as sinister French operative Chauvelin, who I can best describe as a more seductive Javert who is constantly humiliated by those around him. Having recently seen him in the Music Man, in which he gave a jovial performance but struggled with some lyrics, I was relieved to see that he held his script in hand most of the time here. He still flubbed the occasional word and seemed overly reliant on his script at times, but oh my good golly, I have NEVER heard his voice sound better. He has one of the richest, most powerful voices on Broadway, not to mention a huge vocal range, and this score puts all of it to use. This is the 6th time I’ve seen him live (plus his filmed performances in the 25th anniversary Les Mis concert and NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar), and every song he sang here sent huge chills up my spine and fireworks off in my brain. Gosh, I love him. I do think Mr Lewis bit off a little more than he could chew doing these two semi-staged concerts only a week apart— he did seem less confident than the other performers— but I still feel so lucky to have seen him in both.

Laura Osnes sparkles as the sensitive and vivacious Marguerite. Her voice is higher and lighter than how I’d heard the role performed before, but she can certainly belt out a tune when required. She gives nuance and genuine feeling to Marguerite’s inner conflict, even joining in a sword fight to defend her husband! Osnes shows remarkable poise, rarely consulting her script. She has especially great onstage chemistry with Corey Cott, who plays her little brother with earnest puppy dog eyes and a strong pop vocal.

Though I didn’t like all of the changes in the song listing, lyrics, and script, I was completely invested the entire time. The able and versatile ensemble took on a variety of roles, from Percy’s merry men to French guards. Drew Gehling gave a particularly scene-stealing turn in the dual roles of Robespierre (stern and sardonic) and the Prince of Wales (utterly zany and wearing a magnificent feathered hat). Backed by a chorus of over 200 people and a full orchestra, the music was nothing short of sublime.

The pared-down nature of the show mostly came across in costumes and props, or lack thereof- Percy’s elaborate 18th century suits were clearly necessary to the plot, but stood out against most characters’ contemporary clothing. Supporting characters merely threw on a cheap-looking accessory or two to connote a different character or disguise, and Marguerite wore modern ball gowns. Sometimes, the script referred to characters changing clothes without the actors actually doing so. Still, the movement and staging was more complex than I had expected, and I was particularly taken by the effective guillotine prop.

All in all, I left the theatre electrified and touched that this huge audience- David Geffen Hall holds 2,738 and this show was pretty much sold out- had all seen and evidently loved this musical that means so much to me, that over 200 people put in so much effort and enthusiasm to bring it to life, and that I got to be there.

Another thing that unexpectedly moved me was Percy’s character arc. I’ve always strangely related to Percy despite not being heroic, rich, or fashionable, but I AM known for being kinda silly and flamboyant. And like Percy, I like to think there’s more to me than that. Although Percy becomes the Pimpernel out of anguish and desperation, he seems to genuinely relish getting to act so weird and over-the-top. He seems so comfortable in his own skin. Even when his identity is unmasked, he continues to be outlandish, even forcing Chauvelin into a tap dance battle. He and his wife desperately love one another, his friends care about him and always have his back, and he’s able to be his true and complete self— strong, smart, and brave, yes, but also in touch with his feminine side, compassionate, theatrical, romantic, and generally outrageous. As someone who feels equally accepted by my loved ones despite my outsized personality, I love this non-conformist romantic hero who proves you don’t have to be macho and grimly stoic to save the day.

“And that is why the lord created men!” Percy sings after springing a trap on Chauvelin. Marguerite and Madame Tussaud, who both helped, cough. “And women!” he sings to cheers from the audience.

I loved this show. I wish you could have been there. I’m heading home on the bus right now and this piece reminded me more then anything how much I value and appreciate all of the people in my life. Onward, ho!

[bellesdomain]

Starlight Express Workshop - what would I do?

A lot of talk has been floated about “Updating Starlight Express” and most of that seems to focus on the cosmetic elements, the choice of musical instrumentation, the costume design, and to be honest these are the elements of nostalgia which attract a lot of the audience! There’s no problem with the show looking or sounding like its 1980s roots. However the deeper issues of the show, the social politics, the representation and the role models for young minds, these need to be addressed.  Also, the many alterations and re-writes over the years have left a patchwork of plot holes and elements lost in translation, and the show will enormously benefit from being unpicked, and cut from fresh cloth, to be put back together in a near identical result but strong and clean!

So I humbly present my personal opinions, as a fan who knows the show well. What would I do were I directing the overhaul of Starlight Express?

First - since the concept is on the table already - Gender switch Electra.  Switching Poppa to Momma has been interesting, but vocally it doesn’t work, and I don’t think it particularly brings anything new to the show.  However, female Electra would kick ass! she would immediately break the convention of “Engine = male”.

She would bring some complications - while I am all for bisexual representation onstage, I think it’s a bit much to expect Pearl to be able to consider Electra a “lover” immediately in “Make Up My Heart”.  But then it’s somewhat ridiculous as the show stands that she’s taking Electra’s race invitation as seriously as Rusty’s interest in her, so regardless of Electra’s gender, I’d want to restore “He Whistled At Me” in place of “Make Up My Heart”.  The Upbeat, funky song is far more fun anyway! 

That then brings a complication - “He Whistled At Me” is the same melody as “Engine of Love”, so in order to not drive the audience mad at the repetition, Rusty’s introduction needs to me “Call Me Rusty”, which might benefit from being a more light-hearted tweak on the original, dark and angry version. However keeping the coaches’ section is important as it gives their perspective on Rusty’s hopeless optimism. 

Second - Include Belle, the old Sleeping Car.  Poppa’s coach, an older female character. “Belle’s Song” is one of the hidden gems in the show, but after the Broadway production she was cut, justified as she wasn’t needed in the plot.  Well, I’d make her vital to the plot, as part of the third point...  Also she would take her place in “Girl’s Rolling Stock”, where slight lyric changes are needed to express that the girls are convincing Dinah “You don’t need him” rather than “Take him back”. 

Third - Logic in the Races.  If you were to ask, say, Flat-Top what was most exciting about the races, he’d say it’s between Electricity and Diesel.  Nobody takes Rusty seriously, it’s all about the fight between Electra and Greaseball. WHO WILL WIN?  So, in order to stretch out that excitement, move Electra to Heat 2.  Poppa still races in Heat 2 as well - and he races with Belle, his old partner.  It’s not the weight of pulling Dustin that overloads him, simply his age.  This is really important, as Dustin is the least likely race partner - except he races twice.  If Poppa races with Belle, then when Rusty comes to pick Dustin as his partner for the Downhill Final, the reaction is “Oh no, don’t be ridiculous?” rather than the current “hmm, well, he managed ok last time I guess...” The “Two heats, two qualifiers from each” structure works well when it is observed, so it’s simply a matter of swapping Electra with Ruhrgold (or national engine of choice).  Greaseball wins the first heat comfortably, and Ruhrgold comes second.  The second heat is won by Electra, and Poppa crosses the finish line second to qualify. 

Fourth - Ensemble piece, layered story. Starlight loses a lot of interest when it becomes “The Pearl and Rusty Show”.  Scenes that don’t include either of them - such as Girl’s Rolling Stock, or Caboose’s character arc including “There’s Me”, are just as valuable to the show.  It’s a rich and interesting world, especially when we get to know more characters.

Fifth - Control is Dreaming. This element is subtle but important.  The child drifts off to sleep during the “Overture”, and from then on we’re seeing their dream. This is important because if Control is awake and playing, their conscious mind is creating these scenarios, they are choosing to beat up their favourite oldest engine, they’re choosing distinctly adult concepts of gender and sexuality well beyond their pre-pubescent years.   However, if Control is asleep, then it is their unconscious mind at work, these elements are a way of processing the world they’re learning.  For example, Electra is an openly sexual character, and comes from “The Future”.  Control is a young kid, and sexuality is a subject that lies in their future.  It’s intriguing and confusing and scary. 

Linked to this concept, the “Entry of the National Trains” needs to be placed before AC/DC to allow for the full lullaby/to sleep/to dream sequence of the Overture.  “Entry of the National Trains” works better in this position for two further reasons - it contextualises Electra’s arrival, and causes less confusion for the audience.  The first characters the audience are introduced to are assumed to be important - and really, remembering the name of the Russian engine is not vital to understanding the plot!

One more small point about Electra - I would include “No Comeback”, as she throws the biggest tantrum, and storms out after losing the race! The melody is so deeply woven into the show already, yet its source is missing.  While seeing Electra crashed and humiliated is poetic justice, the contrast with Greaseball and Caboose crashing and Electra storming off would add variety.  Especially with Greaseball redeemed by the end, but Electra is not.

Finally, Love Song, I would want to use “Only You” for Rusty and Pearl - the duet version used as “Du Allein” in Germany for many years. Part of the glory of the Starlight Sequence is the blending of two strong themes from the show - Rusty’s questioning, lost in “Starlight Express”, and he finds his answer in the form of “Only You”. It’s the completion of the story, and having a new love song shoe-horned in loses that arc.  The “Du Allein” version in particular suits Pearl’s character so well, it’s quieter and reflective rather than a big impassioned belter. As Pearl has finally stopped and taken the time to reflect on her choices, she realises her mistakes, and that version conveys the moment best.

So overall my choices land heavily on the original material, and I don’t think most of these changes would even be recognised as alterations by casual audience members - except for those who remember Electra as male. The audience would simply not find many flaws to criticise.  My intention is to focus on the characters and telling their stories, the theatrical spectacle lies on top of solid characer based plot.

[cameronlsummers]

1. From the Files of Spook House – #055:  The Elevator Game

Hand to God, I really wish he hadn't done it, but Manny knew someone who worked in the hotel.  I wish we hadn't decided to rent a room there or use that fucking glass elevator.  I mean, we only knew about the Game because of that youtube video of that poor girl about what happened at the Cecil Hotel in L.A.  We should have known.

We'd all been through our fair share of weird shit.  I figured that we would be fine.

Let me back up.

We were – are – the Spook House Group.  Or, when Ronnie and our Fearless Leader are fighting and she moves out for a week or two, Tom insists on calling us the “Spook House Boys.”  I don't say anything about it.  It feels needlessly exclusionary.  I mean, just because Tom fucking Knight is having blue balls, all non-male candidates are excluded?

It's the 21st century.  Get over it.

But we are the Spook House Group.  And this was the Elevator Game Test.

The Hotel at 43rd and Broadway was the site.  It's built around a huge central atrium that puts vaporwave music in mind.  A lot of big leafy plants and some fountains, and down on the bottom there are tables and a carpeted area that look like the world's most upscale food court, tiles done in dark rich browns and deep red accents.  There's a tiered fountain in the middle that looked like it was made in imitation of Spanish Mission architecture.  Its spacial vocabulary was a postmodern imitation of the Country Club Plaza – world's best high-rent strip mall, – which was a corporate bastardization of Seville, itself an imitation of Roman architecture done with the Arabic and Gothic alphabets on baroque stationary.

Copy of a copy of a copy.  The mannequin in Jean Baudrillard's grave was spinning.

In the middle of this atrium is a bank of three glass elevators. You need an elevator with at least ten stories for the Elevator Game. That's the first requirement.

The second is a Participant or Player.  I insisted on the term “Operator” for our internal terminology, because whoever yells the loudest about such things tends to get their way and I preferred it's sound.  So the second requirement was the Operator, me:  Jules Ng Miller.

No non-player was allowed on the elevator, so we were doing it at 4 AM, an hour after the last bar in Westport closed and all the out-of-town visitors had holed up in their rooms.

To play the game you start at the first floor and ride the elevator to the following floors in the following order without exiting it until the end.

Fourth.  Second.  Sixth.  Second.  Tenth.  Fifth.

At the fifth floor (according to “the lore,” by which I mean “the internet,” and more specifically, I mean “the Korean-language page we got this information from and plugged into Google Translate”) a “beautiful young woman” will get on the elevator.  You're not supposed to look at her or speak to her, or else she might “keep you forever.”

I know.  I cringed, too.

At this point, you press “1” and one of two things happen.  If the elevator descends, you get off at the first floor and walk away. If, instead, it ascends, you get out and walk around: at this point, you're supposedly in another world.  To get back, you return to the exact same elevator and punch in the order in reverse.  You've got to leave so that the woman isn't there when you return.

I'm the subject.  The Operator. With me here are Tom Knight (Fearless Leader; Camera 1, 5th floor,) Veronica “Ronnie” Wagner (Second-in-Command; Camera 2, 1st and 2nd floor,) Manuel “Manny” Rojas (Off-duty paramedic; Camera 3, 4th and 6th Floor,) and Franklin “Frankie” Fallon (resident skeptic; Camera 4, 10th floor.)  Veronica and Manny move between the different floors as I move up and down using the stairs.  The idea is that someone can see me every time I stop and I give a sign that everything is okay.  We record it so that there's a record of the whole thing.

It's just some dumb internet shit, but it's tied up with that whole thing that happened in L.A. a couple years back.  I'm kind of haunted by it, but I don't really show it to the others.  Tom would make fun of me, and the other two would feel awkward.  That girl could have been my cousin.  Maybe not a sister.  I never knew my family, so I guess I've just got this phantom limb thing when it comes to people who vaguely resemble me.

She was supposedly doing this thing before she disappeared, only to be found a month later in the water tower on top of the Cecil Hotel.

I began to wonder if this was a race thing as we were about to start.

I mean, we had drawn straws, but they had just conveniently chosen the guy who looked most like the person in the video.  The random element didn't really help me get away from that.

“You okay?” Veronica asked, pointing the camera at me.

I looked at her, at the projecting lens of the camera, then back at her.  She was watching me through the range-finder, and the whole thing was honestly a bit alienating.  She wasn't paying attention to me but to an image of me, an electronic simulacrum created out of bits and pixels.

Ronnie worked in a call center, and could turn on the charm when she had to.  She never did when she didn't have to, though.  I could understand that:  she had to dress up in slacks and a blouse for work, she had to raise the pitch of her voice, she had to smile. When she was with us she dressed in jeans and a tank top under a flannel shirt, she spoke in a husky voice, and she never smiled. Manny and Tom worked in health care, but if I had to pick one of us for surgeon material, it would be Veronica Elma Wagner.

“Just nerves,” I said.

She paused.

“Makes sense.  You think anything is going to happen?”

I shook my head as the door opened.

“No.  Just feels like bad luck,” I said as I stepped in.

“What do you mean?” she asked, adjusting the focus.

No way to back out of it, now, though.  I hit “4.”

“Like I'm making fun of a dead person.”

Part of me was gratified that she looked up at me as the door slid shut.

I took out my phone and hit record on it before sticking it in my breast pocket, lens exposed.  I turned to look out the window, mugging the camera Manny was holding like I was on “The Office.” After a second, I gave a tired “thumbs up,” signaling “all clear.”

Manny didn't live in the house anymore.  His room had become my room, and he had washed his hands of things for almost six months, but he still worked with Tom and was eventually dragged back in.  I liked him.  We weren't friends, or anything, but he was just magnetic: handsome, reliable, charming.  Good to have around.  I felt bad that he was spending a late night with a bunch of assholes like the Spook House Group.

Once the doors opened, I waited a second and then hit “2.”

Veronica had just gotten into position, having run up from the first floor.  The door dinged open, and I gave her the “all clear.”

When the door closed, I hit “6.”

Third…

Fourth...

As I passed Tom on the fifth floor, I flipped him the double bird. I could see the son of a bitch just laughing.

He was getting a kick out of this.  He was such a juvenile piece of shit.  I don't get why Owen kept putting him in charge of these tests.  Probably just the shouting.  Tom could argue for hours over minutiae and there was no getting him to shut up about it.  Force of personality, my ass.  He'd known the other three since high school, and I got the feeling that he'd just eroded them, worn them down until they didn't have the will to put a stop to it.

It must have to do with his height, I figured.  Even Veronica had an inch or two on him, and he was the type who would never really pack on that much muscle or fat, so he had the personality of a bantam rooster on speed.  All twitchy and looking to establish dominance.

That's unfair.  It's also true.

Unlike the rest of us, Tom hadn't been scarred by the weird shit.  He'd been empowered by it.  He'd become convinced of his own importance, deriving meaning from it.  Then it had slipped from his life, retreating from it like some woodland creature running away from the light of a forest clearing.  He wanted it back, and didn't understand how traumatized the rest of us were.

Our worst moment mapped on to his best, and he couldn't put himself in our shoes.  He was all about this.  That's why he was leader, I imagine.  He wanted it.  He wanted it, bad.

I lowered my hands and looked at Manny just getting in to position as the door dinged and opened to the sixth floor.  I raised my hand and gave a shaky thumbs up.

The silence was getting to me.  Elevators were stressful places.  It was a machine whose sole purpose was to get you from one place to another, and I spent all day, every day, driving.

The door closed.  I hit “2.”

Wave to Ronnie there.

Up to “10.”

This was the longest period of largely unobserved travel.  I shouldn't have been nervous about it.  The eyes of my housemates – well, housemates and Manny – were bothersome when present, but I just felt anxious when they weren't watching.  There was no winning, really.  There was no way to get comfortable.

Maybe I could get off.  Maybe I could trade with somebody.

No...no...we had drawn straws.  That was the protocol.

I gave Frankie a thumbs up at “10.”

The big, blonde ex-goth waved back at 10.  He was how I knew the rest of these people:  we had worked at the same pizzeria for a long period, and I had moved in just after I left in the most spectacular fashion.  He had jumped ship shortly after in solidarity, switching over to manning the grill over at the Westport Flea Market, where he was stoked about the fact that he worked in the same building as the former site of Bob's Bizarre Bazaar, a shop operated by Kansas City's most famous serial killer, Bob Berdella.  I wonder if the serial killer fascination was what had led to him being a goth kid, if it has been nascent in the good Catholic school boy he had once been.  Had he been watching Silence of the Lambs in the wilds of the Southwestern Suburbs, thinking about Ed Gein while biking around the cul-de-sac?  Or had it been an outgrowth of that subculture?  A perverse fascination that he had developed after the torn ACL moved him from football to theater?

I guess I'll never know.

He waved back.

Absentmindedly, I hit “5.”

The elevator descended.

When the door opened, I turned sharply away, looking out the window at Tom, who was narrating something into his camera.  Someone else had gotten on the elevator.  Tom grinned and gave me the thumbs up.

The beautiful young woman from the internet had stepped on.

Ꚛ

Tom spoke low, directly into the microphone:  “Young, Asian woman getting on the elevator...”

He squinted.  “I think? I can't tell her age…Wait!  Shit, that's because she's far away, not because she's – ”

He trailed off.

“She looks pretty well-dressed?  Like put-together?  The sort of clothes you would wear to a job interview.  Like...one of those dresses that's worn over a shirt, leaving only the collar and sleeves out.  She's got a white shirt on.”

The walkie-talkie he had in his breast pocket crackled, and Manny spoke.

“Shirt or blouse?”

“What's the difference?”

“How loose is it?” Manny asked.

“I don't know!  It's pretty far away.”

“Let's just call it a blouse.”

“Okay, fine,” Tom said.  “Blouse, then.  She also looks like she's got some panty-hose on.”

“Also, the dress you're talking about is a jumper,” Manny said.

“How do you know so much about women's clothing?” Tom asked.

“Hey, I've got hobbies you don't know about.  I don't hang out with you guys all the time.”

“I think he means that he just pays attention,” Veronica said.

“Yeah, Manny's pretty observant,” Frankie added.

“Shut up!  This isn't important,” Tom said, and waved, gesturing to Jules for continue.

Slowly, Jules swallowed and shook his head.

“He's refusing to continue.  I can't believe it,” Tom said.

“Hey, we've got confirmation.  Lady just appeared out of nowhere, right?” Frankie said.  “Can't we just call this one?”

“I...I think? She might have?”

“Were you not paying attention?” Veronica asked, barely hiding her exasperation.

“I'm going to call him,” Tom said.

He ignored the walkie-talkie for a moment and pulled out his phone, hit the contact information for Jules, and raised it to his ear.

Jules pulled out his phone, looked at it, and sighed.  It was a visible, dramatic sigh.  He looked over at Tom, made direct eye contact, and touched something on the screen.  It went to voicemail.

“Son of a bitch didn't accept my call!” Tom complained.

He almost missed the woman say something.  Almost missed Jules go rigid and fight the urge to look at her.

Jules reached over and hit “1.”

The elevator didn't move.  Its lights flickered.  Tom wrinkled his nose as an unpleasant smell assaulted his senses.  An electric buzz seemed to emanate from it.

There was a pained screeching noise as the elevator shot up to the tenth floor far faster than it should have.  Jules fell down, but the woman remained standing.

“Fuck!” someone shouted.

“What –?” someone else began

After a moment, Frankie spoke: “Uh...guys, the elevator is full of smoke.”

The elevator began to slowly slide down toward the first floor. There was an uncomfortable ratcheting noise that accompanied it down.

“I'm only seeing one silhouette,” Manny said at the sixth.

“First floor,” Tom said.

“How do you know it's…?” Frankie asked.

“First floor,” Veronica said, backing Tom up.

“Right,” Manny said.

Tom broke down the tripod, pulling the camera free after a second and began to head for the first floor, taking the stairs down. Veronica was already ahead of him, but he figured he would be second to reach –

Manny passed him, carrying his camera by the tripod, and Tom cursed under his waning breath.

In the lobby, Veronica was filming the woman from behind a planter, peeking the lens of the camera out around the planter.  Manny was crouched next to her behind the same planter, completely hidden from the woman's view.

Tom walked right past them, and began to film the woman, walking around her slowly and steadily.  Her black jumper dress was worn over a cream-colored blouse, all of which fit well enough that someone more knowledgeable than Tom would assume that it had been tailored to fit her.  She was about as tall as Tom was, with most of her height in her legs.  The cold white smoke around her feet began to dissipate, revealing that she was wearing flats.  Tom wondered if Manny would want to explain the difference to him.

She noticed the movement, and turned to look at him.

“What was that about?” she asked.  “Do you know?”

She had a pronounced accent, but spoke confidently and clearly. English might not be her first language, but she had been speaking it long enough to have a firm command of the language, Tom assumed.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Tom said, training his camera on her.

She looked at him, down at the camera, then back up at him.

“You're filming me?” she asked, confused and dismayed.

“You bet your ass.  Our friend just disappeared and you stepped out of the elevator he was in.  So unless the Elevator Game is some elaborate gender-swap ritual and you're Jules – in which case, you look a lot better as a girl than as a guy, I mean, just saying – then – ”

Veronica, having set down her camera, stepped in and cut Tom off.

“Tom?  Shut up.  How many times do we have to tell you to be more careful?”

Tom turned to look at her, uncomprehenidng.

She stepped between Tom and the woman, almost blocking his view with the camera lens.  Tom tried to correct, Veronica grimaced at him, and then used one finger to push the camera away to not record the woman.

“I'm sorry about him,” she said.  “He was never the same after he stopped huffing glue, you know?”

“I never – !” Tom began to protest.

Manny took Tom by the shoulders and pulled him back a step.

The woman nodded slowly, and her posture relaxed.  Veronica took a step closer, but didn't invade her personal space.

“If you could return our friend,” Veronica said, “we would be very grateful.”

The woman cocked her head to the side.

“Your friend?  Oh!  The man from the elevator.  He slipped away, I won't be able to find him.”

Veronica slumped slightly.

“Oh.  Right.  Sorry to bother you.”

“It's okay,” the woman said.  “I'm just a bit turned around. I think I got into a liminality without realizing it.”

“Liminality?”

“Liminality.  Heterotopos.  Thin place.”

Veronica nodded slowly.

“A place that is part of two or more spaces.  A...crosshatch?”

“I think I understand.”

The woman looked at Veronica appraisingly.  Her large, dark eyes put Veronica in mind of a cenote, an unexpected yawning well in the surface of the earth.

“You seem like you might,” was all the woman said.

“Can I ask who you are?” Veronica asked.

“Forgive me,” the woman said.  “I don't really give out my real name lightly.  To explain myself simply, I'm a...hmm...a traveler, a seeker.”

She reached into a pocket sewn into the side of her dress, and pulled out something that looked like a cigarette case: aluminum-shiny, with an embossed bit of cursive text on it – “CABIN FILTERS” – and opened it up.  She pulled a business card out of it, on which was written:

Ms. 5

SEANCES * CARTOMANCY * PALMISTRY

KC-0057-665-93

“Is this a phone number?”

“What?  Of course it is.”

“What are you searching for?” Tom asked, cutting in.

“Something I don't think I can find here,” she said regretfully.

“You're being awful evasive,” Tom muttered.

“And you're prying,” the woman said, an oddly satisfied smile on her face.  “So in the Prisoner's Dilemma of politeness, let us both defect.”

Tom blinked.

“...What?”

“I must get back to my search.  This is a dead end.”

Franklin rounded his corner and raised his camera just as the woman climbed back aboard the elevator.  She bent down, studied the panel, and held down two buttons while pressing a series of others  in a particular sequence.

She looked back at the group.  Frankie zoomed in on her face.

“Be seeing you,” she said with a smile.

The door closed.  The lights flickered.  A strange, pungent smell wafted in cold waves from the elevator doors before the car rose with a pained shriek.

“What the hell is that?” Tom said, coughing.

“I don't know,” Veronica said, waving the air in front of her face.

“Kind of like...it smells like how it would smell if cinnamon could rot,” Manny said.

“Seriously, what the hell was that?” Tom asked.

Veronica sighed.

“The first confirmed incident in like...a decade?”

“Guys?” Franklin said, holding his nose.

“What?” Tom said.

“Where's Jules?”

A moment of silence followed.

“Fuck,” Tom said, quietly.

[newyorktheater]

At the latest theater awards show, it was the presenters who got the spotlight — or I should say the lamplight or, in the case of one presenter, the bathroom light. “You know after a long day of homeschooling a nine-year-old, and perfecting my sourdough starter, now is the time when I duck into my shower for a much-deserved primal scream,” Rachel Dratch said while taking a shower. “But instead of that I’ve made time to announced the nominees for Outstanding Revival of the Lucille Lortel Awards.”

“So, are you drunk yet? Are you high?” host Mario Cantone asked near the end of the 35th annual Lucille Lortel Award, which for the first time was presented online. “When this is over, I’m heading for the tequila, because there’s nothing else.” Actually, there’s quite a lot – more theater than is usual in the month of May, and almost as many theater awards Of course, it’s different this year, as Rachel Dratch vividly demonstrated. Below the latest award nominees,  winners and ceremonies.

    April 2020 Online Theater Quiz

May Calendar of Theater “Openings”

PLUS

plus tonight at Stars in the House on YouTube: The cast of Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series “Hollywood” (many of whom are Broadway veterans): David Corenswet, Darren Criss, Laura Harrier, Joe Mantello, Dylan McDermott, Jeremy Pope, Mira Sorvino, Holland Taylor and Samara Weaving

PLUS

Broadway Does Mothers Day, a star-studded fundraising variety show on — when else? — Mother’s Day (this coming Sunday)

  The Week in Theater Awards

(Next up: The Pulitzer Prizes, this afternoon)

Lucille Lortel Award Winners: Octet, Heroes of the Fourth Turning, For Colored Girls

David Byrne after accepting a theater award

NY Drama Critics Circle President Adam Feldman, applauding everybody

Musical award winner Michael R. Jackson: “whenever we get to the other side of whatever this is, I feel like theater will still be home for me.”

Dierdre O’Connell: “… the challenges are so lush and varied and the writers and theater makers are so fearless and curious, and the audiences have such an appetite for the rich and the strange.”

Presenter Michael Shannon and winning playwright Will Arbery

Watch the 85th annual New York Drama Critics Circle ceremony 

(and read the speeches)

Drama League Award nominations and watch Gratitude Awards video

Don’t know the difference between the awards of the Drama League and the Drama Desk and the New York Drama Critics Circle? Read my guide to the 2020 New York Theater Awards

The Week in Online Theater Reviews

Trump Lear In the middle of the new livestreamed version of the satirical solo show “Trump Lear,” David Carl as Donald Trump sips on a long straw that is fitted into a bottle of Lysol. It is a topical moment, and a funny one. But it’s disappointing that this is one of the few obvious changes in a stage play that debuted Off-Off Broadway in 2017…Yet, there remains much to admire in the show – and something especially instructive about its translation online.

What Do We Need to Talk About? After spending an hour on Zoom with the Apple family in Richard Nelson’s latest low-key play, I was surprised by my reaction, which I could sum up as: Hallelujah! “What Do We Need to Talk About?” is splendid….This fifth play that revolves around a brother and three sisters in Rhinebeck, New York is beautiful and sad, funny and moving, terrifically acted, and perfectly timed – a precise reflection of our sudden new era.

Felt Sad, Posted Frog (and other streams of global quarantine) “Felt Sad, Posted Frog,” the title of this collection of six new works of online theater by playwrights from six different countries (on three continents), is what one of the characters tells us he did on day 11 of his lockdown alone in Berlin…and day 15, and day 16, and day 26, and apparently many days in-between, because he also tells us that one of his “Facebook friends berated me, said he couldn’t stand seeing any more of these Goddamn frogs. ..” I sympathized. As striking as I found some specific moments in the show, I started wondering after about an hour whether I was meant to identify quite so closely with these bored, frustrated characters under quarantine.

The Week in Theater News

“Take Me To The World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration” raised more than $400,000 for ASTEP (Artists Striving To End Poverty). The event has been viewed over 1.8 million times.

Theater Producers “Completely Aligned” With New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Re-Opening Process And Planning, Says Broadway League President

Why one author believes you’re better off using the telephone than Zoom https://t.co/0exTZNW9yB pic.twitter.com/OawzMPtCdg

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) April 29, 2020

Listen to Missing Sounds of New York, an album of NYC noises

It’s Springtime! I’ve added @Derekklena singing “Younger Than Springtime” for @RnH_Org #RnHGoesLive to the South Pacific section of my O is for Hammerstein post.https://t.co/yyqxwU4P8J pic.twitter.com/3f57pdXyQN

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) April 29, 2020

Why theater?

This week, I got the following e-mail: “My name is Akriti Sharma and I am a journalism student from India. I am working on an article for my blog that focuses on the future of theatre, as social distancing becomes the norm in this pandemic. As I did the research for my story, a question I thought was important to address was this: why is it necessary to preserve this art form? I have read your theatre reviews on your blog and thought of writing to you to gain insight into the importance of theatre, and why we must, as a society, save this art form, one that is rooted in performing to a live audience, when it is against the basic requirements to be followed in these difficult times.”

What would be your response?

Why is it necessary to have schools, libraries, museums? Its how we exchange ideas, learn about other’s stories & how they reflect our own. Its specifically in coming together they have their best impact. All social gatherings will return at some point. Pandemic is not the Norm.

— specialsmiley (@Ianto_back2_TW) April 29, 2020

Personally, the experience of a group of people in same time, same space living thru an empathetic, emotional experience together is like none other. As community becomes more fragile & fragmented, sitting in a theatre engaged in a communal experience is powerful & healing.

— Patricia Milton (@PatriciaMilton) April 29, 2020

Rest in Peace

Peter Hunt, 81, Broadway lighting designer and director, winner of the Tony Award for directing  “1776”

Zev Buffman, 89, producer of 29 Broadway shows

Roger Horchow, 91, mail-order magnate who became a six-time Broadway producer, winning the Tony for “Crazy for You” and “Kiss Me Kate”

A Shower of Theater and Theater Awards. #Stageworthy News of the Week “So, are you drunk yet? Are you high?” host Mario Cantone asked near the end of the 35th annual Lucille Lortel Award, which for the first time was presented online.

[girllifepower]

Life Story and Timeline of Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey is one of the iconic figures of the media today. Read on to know about her eventful life. Oprah Winfrey is one of the most recognized personalities in the world today. Through the power of media, she has connected with millions of people around the world. She is a media icon and a role model for both blacks and women. As host and supervising producer of the top-rated, award-winning "The Oprah Winfrey Show", she has entertained, enlightened and uplifted millions of viewers for the past two decades. Timeline of Oprah Winfrey 1954: Oprah was born on January 29,1954 in Mississippi to unmarried parents. Her father Vernon Winfrey was a coal miner. Her mother Vernita Lee was a housemaid. 1954-1960: Oprah lived with her grandmother, Hattie Mae Lee on a farm. 1960: At age six, Oprah moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin with her mother. Oprah has claimed that she was molested by her cousin, uncle, and a family friend, starting when she was nine years old. 1967: Oprah received a scholarship to attend Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wisconsin. 1968: Oprah rebelled, ran away from home and ran to the street. When she was 14, she gave birth to a male baby which died shortly afterwards. Her mother sent her to live with her father in Nashville, Tennessee. Her father was strict and made her education a priority. She became an honors student and graduated from East Nashville High School. 1972: Oprah Winfrey won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant. The local black radio station WVOL hired her to do the news part-time. 1973: Oprah graduated from Tennessee State University with a degree in Speech and Performing Arts. She became the first black TV news anchor reporter with WTVF-TV. 1976: Oprah moved to Baltimore's WJZ-TV to co-anchor the six o'clock news. 1978: Oprah was recruited to join Richard Sher as co-host of WJZ's local talk show People Are Talking , which premiered on August 14, 1978. She also hosted the local version of Dialing for Dollars there. 1983: In 1983, Oprah moved to Chicago to host WLS-TV's low-rated half-hour morning talk-show, AM Chicago. 1984:Within months after Oprah took over, the show went from last place in the ratings to overtaking Donahue as the highest rated talk show in Chicago. It was renamed as "The Oprah Winfrey Show". 1985: Oprah co-starred in Steven Spielberg's epic film adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple. She earned immediate accolades as Sofia, the distraught housewife. 1986: The Oprah Winfrey Show was expanded to a full hour, and broadcast nationally beginning September 8, 1986. She starred in the movie 'Native Son' as Janet Thomason. 1987: On February 9 her much acclaimed episode from her show was aired from Forsyth County, Georgia, where no blacks had been allowed to live since 1912. Oprah won her first Emmy award for best talk/service show host and best show. She played a cameo role in the Danny DeVito movie "Throw Momma from the Train". 1988: The International Television and Radio Society named Oprah Broadcaster of the Year. She bought an apartment in Chicago and a farm in Indiana. She appeared in the TV program Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special as herself . 1989: Oprah's half brother, Jeffrey Lee died of AIDS. She played the role of Mattie Michael in the movie "The Women of Brewster Place". She received the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Entertainer of the year award. 1990: Oprah starred in the documentary "Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones". She appeared as Mattie Michael in the TV program "Brewster Place". 1991: Oprah testified before the US congress and initiated the National Child Protection Act. 1992: Oprah was engaged to Stedman Graham, a public relations executive. She appeared in the TV program "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" episode "A Night at the Oprah". She won the Best talk show Host Emmy award. In the mid-1990s, Oprah anchored shows about heart disease in women, geopolitics with Lisa Ling, spirituality and meditation, and gift-giving and home decorating shows. She would often interview celebrities on issues that directly involve them in some way, such as cancer, charity work, or substance abuse. She also interviewed ordinary people who have done extraordinary things or been involved in important current issues. 1993: Oprah hosted a rare prime-time interview with Michael Jackson which became the fourth most watched event in American television history as well as the most watched interview ever, with an audience of one hundred million. She appeared in the TV program "There Are No Children Here" as LaJoe Rivers. 1994: Oprah won Best Talk Show and Best Talk Show Host at the 21st Annual Daytime Emmy Awards .She became co-author of the book In The Kitchen With Rosie: Oprah's Favorite Recipes by Oprah Winfrey and Rosie Daley. 1995: Oprah won an Emmy for Best Talk Show and Best Host for the second year in a row. "Oprah Online" started on AOL (American Online) in partnership with ABC. She became the first woman and the only black on Forbes list of 400 richest Americans. 1996: Oprah received the prestigious George Foster Peabody's Individual Achievement Award. She became co-author of the book "A Journal of Daily Renewal: The Companion to Make the Connection", by Oprah Winfrey and Bob Greene. 1997: Oprah delivered the commencements address to the Wellesley College Class of 1997. She appeared in the TV program "Ellen - The Puppy Episode" and "Before Women Had Wings." Oprah's Angel Network is formed encouraging people to make charitable contributions and volunteer work. She became author of the book The "Uncommon Wisdom of Oprah Winfrey: A Portrait in Her Own Words" by Oprah Winfrey and Bill Adler (editor). 1998: Oprah became co-author of the book "Journey to Beloved", by Oprah Winfrey and Ken Regan. She received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Daytime Emmy Awards and an award for top talk show host. She starred in the movie of the Toni Morrison novel, "Beloved". 1999: Oprah was co-author of the book "Make the Connection: Ten Steps to a Better Body and a Better Life", by Oprah Winfrey and Bob Greene. 2002: Oprah became the recipient of the first Bob Hope Humanitarian Award at the 2002 Emmy Awards for services to television and film. 2004: Oprah and Tom Cruise hosted the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Concert. She was listed as the world's only black billionaire in Forbes's international rich list. 2005: Oprah was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people of the year. She ranked in 9th place in public poll of the greatest Americans.She was named as the greatest woman in American history. She became the first black person listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most generous philanthropists. "The Color Purple" was made into a Broadway musical and she was one of the producers. 2006: Oprah signed a 3-year contract with XM Satellite Radio to establish a new radio channel based in Chicago. She starred in the movie "Charlotte's Web" playing Gussy. 2007: Oprah invested $40 million creating the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls near Johannesburg in South Africa. She received praise from Nelson Mandela for overcoming her own disadvantaged youth to become a benefactor for others and for investing in the future of South Africa. Also towards the end of the same year, Oprah endorsed President Barack Obama (then Senator) and joined him for campaign trails. 2009: Oprah announced that she would be concluding The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2011. On the show she said, "This show has been my life. And I love it enough to know when it's time to say good-bye. Twenty-five years feels right in my bones, and it feels right in my spirit. It's the perfect number -- the exact right time." 2011: Oprah launched her own cable network, the Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN. 2012: Oprah's Next Chapter premiered on 1st January. Oprah chose Steven Tyler (of Aerosmith) as her first guest on the show. Unlike The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah has now decided to step out of the studio and into people's abodes to interview them. Oprah also visited Mumbai, India recently regarding the show. Oprah Winfrey currently lives on "The Promised Land", her 42-acre estate in Montecito, California. She also owns a house in Lavallette, New Jersey. Please Share This Post To Your Friends And Family To Inspire Them © Girl life Power™

[marnimariestanley]

About me / Bibliography.

Before I began my about me section I decided to research what information i would need and see if i could find some previous examples.  In doing so I can across an article called ‘6 Steps To Writing a Great Bio.’(Gilliss,2017)  The blog was brilliant it was a step by step guide with points throughout.  below I am going to show you how I wrote my About me section. 

link to website: https://www.backstage.com/advice-for-actors/backstage-experts/6-steps-writing-great-bio/

I used the guidelines below to understand the fundamentals of writing the bio and found it extremely helpful.

Here are some guidelines for writing the best bio possible.

1. Make it short and sweet. Being direct in your bio is better than flowery or overly imaginative language.

2. Write it in third person. This is not an autobiography, it's a bio. Use subjects like—she/he, your name (Gwyn), your professional address (Mrs. Gilliss), etc.

3. Avoid the cloying justification. For example, “I knew I wanted to be an actor at age 5 when I saw a magical production of Peter Pan.” Tell us what you've done not why you do what you do.

4. Don't make lists. Describe or elaborate your skills, training, and experience in sentence form.

5. Include personal experiences and special skills. Put these in the last paragraph. These skills might help you get a job. For example, you could write, “Fluent in French and Italian, Gwyn studied cooking at the Cordon Bleu in Marseille, and painting in Florence!” or “An advanced Yogini, she teaches yoga and meditation.” Or “As a pop singer, her new CD with original music/lyrics is coming out soon!”

6. Write in “pyramid” style. Put the most important information at the top, working down to the less critical info by the fourth paragraph.

(Gilliss,2017)

When it came to writing the actual paragraphs , I used the breakdowns provided by the writer. Below you will see the breakdown advice followed by my actual paragraph. 

PARAGRAPH 1 

Paragraph 1: Recent roles/strongest credits (Theater if you’re in New York and film/TV if you’re in L.A.) Try to use recognizable plays and roles, not just “showcases.” If you’re just starting out, you can include “representative” roles. Those parts from Shakespeare or Chekov done at school outweigh showcases of unknown writers Off-Off-Broadway. (Gilliss,2017)

Liverpool born Actress Marni Stanley has been acting since she was 7 years old. Best known for her role as Sarah in horror film 'In Abigail's Place' (2014).  She has since ventured into the world of theater. Her first stage performance was Alice's sister in 'Alice the Panto' at the Echo Arena (2014). Her classical training alongside her love for Shakespeare seen her play Lady Anne in a recent production in the Blackie Theatre (2017).  Marni Stanley has shown her versatility from playing various comedic roles in 'Darling You Were Marvellous' to Tituba in Arthur Miller's 'The Crucible'(2016) 

PARAGRAPH 2 

Paragraph 2: Training Don’t be afraid to name drop master teachers or prestigious drama schools, as well as directors you’ve studied with. If you’ve worked with “greats,” they will assume you will be great! (Gilliss,2017)

Set to graduate from Liverpool Media Academy in July 2018 with a 1st Class Honours in Acting. This will be the end of Marni’s 5 year extensive training. The focus of her technique has influence from Stanislavski, Meisner and predominantly Ivana Chubbuck.  Her time at LMA has included mentoring from industry professionals such as Mike Neary, Jackie Downy, Stephen Graham ,Illy Hill and Scot Williams.

PARAGRAPH 3

Paragraph 3: Recent work (Switch what you included in paragraph one.) Include Indie films and appearances on primetime or daytime TV or include all major stage credits from Off-Off-Broadway to Broadway. Your credits tell them how to cast you and what roles you are consistently hired to play. Don’t include extra work—it's not considered a professional credit if you’re standing in the background (Gilliss,2017)

 Whilst being at university Marni has worked on promotional work for LMA as well as working in the industry in various theatre and film roles her recent work includes voice over work and motion capture with Cosmanoughts Studios a BAFTA winning gaming company.   Her already promising career has allowed her to perform in incredible venues including internationally recognised Everyman Theatre.

PARAGRAPH 4

Paragraph 4: Personal life Here, write about your interests, skills, travel, languages, or musical instruments—anything that makes you memorable. Elaborate don’t just list.

Here are some examples of closing statements. You want to leave them with a powerful professional memory of you.

Weak example: “I want to thank my cat, my roommate Diana, and my Mom for believing in me.” (This gives the impression that you’re still a beginner. Save the gratitude for your acceptance speech at the Oscars).

Strong example: “Looking forward to working in the next Emmy Award USA series or in any feature opposite Johnny Depp!” (Industry professionals will remember you as an actor who knows where you’re going!)

Let your bio jumpstart your career even when you’re not there to audition! (Gilliss,2017)

 Marnis character, dedication to work and etiquette is what gets her recognised in a working environment. At a young age Marni has already had experience from working on a film set or in a studio to shooting motion capture and working in fast pace environment leaving no room for mistakes.  In her own time Marni enjoys travelling. She has travelled to over 47 countries and was christened in Fiji. Although Marni’s first language is English, she spend the majority of her youth living in Spain making her fluent in spanish.  Marni's love for understanding culture and passion for learning languages is what makes her love of Shakespeare so rich.  As much as Marni enjoys the practical side to acting she understands the industry as a business, already owning a successful company. She has passion , talent and knowledge to drive her through the industry as one of the UKs future leading actresses. 

[wydmariana]

         hi my loves  !  dani   here  ,  i  also  play  our  hailey  fc  alanna  !  i’m  bringing  back  my  bbyg  mariana  !  she’s  my  original  wealthy  character  &  i’ve  had  her  for  like over  3   years   ,  i’m  super  excited  2  be  playing  her  again  &   i  hope  u  guys  rly  like  her  !   i’m  gonna  put  all  the   tea  on  her  under  the  cut  &  if  u  wanna  plot  like  this  &   i’ll  come  bug  u  ,  i  rly  always  need  connections  n  love  plotting  ♡

new york’s very own mariana  cavello  was spotted on broadway street in nike air force ones . your resemblance to selena gomez is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your twenty fourth birthday bash . while living in nyc ,  you’ve been labeled as being reticent  , but also kindhearted . i guess being a gemini explains that . 3 things that would paint a better picture of you would be   fishnets ,  notebooks filled with lyrics , the lingering smell of weed . ( i deafened a girl in a fight when i was 17 )  &  ( cisfemale & she/her  )  +  ( dani , 20 , she/her , est . )

╰ ˚･ﾟ ♡  STASTITICS   :

full name: mariana marisol cavello

nickname(s): mari, 

age: twenty four

date of birth: june 4th

hometown: new york city

current location: upper east side, new york city

ethnicity: half mexican

nationality: american

gender: cisfemale

pronouns: she/her

parents names: alexander hastings, liliana cavello

orientation: pansexual but she doesn’t like labels

religion: grew up catholic, undecided

political affiliation: democrat

occupation: singer/songwriter

living arrangements: lives in her own mansion in the upper east side

language(s) spoken: english, spanish

accent: american

face claim: selena gomez

hair colour: x (most basic/accurate/but it changes)

eye colour: brown

height: 5″5

weight: 113lbs

build: petite

tattoos: mostly selena’s canon, but x instead of the music note

piercings: x (both ears)

drugs/alcohol/sex: yes/yes/yes

pets: one cat, 5 years old, named sergio - x

astrological chart: gemini sun, libra moon, leo rising

╰ ˚･ﾟ ♡  BACKSTORY  &  ABOUT   (   tw  :  abuse ,   violence  ,   sexual  assault .  )  :

ok i changed her around quite a lil bit so i’m excited to rEdevelop !  :~)

mariana was born into a seemingly perfect family ,  her older brother &  her having been born heirs to alexander hastings , billionaire hotel & business entrepreneur , shark-tank cast member  ( think kevin o’leary vibes .. yeah . ) &  liliana cavello , legendary supermodel  ( think cindy crawford )

she was spoiled bc they were rich af , so like she never NEEDED for anything , except LoVe :) 

mari was quick to blow her dad’s money but did he notice ? no

she still is kjdfnsjdf

mariana was a happy child, but growing up in a household with her father quickly became toxic

she started noticing it when she was around 10

his yelling , his anger against her mother , the hostility towards the entire household

the relationship between her parents always had been toxic but now that they had kids it was quick to spread through the whole household

as mariana grew older and started high school , there were times where she would sit in one of the offices of her father’s buildings and do homework while she waited for him to finish so they could go home

at the mere age of fifteen was the first time one of her father’s co-workers sexually assaulted her in an empty conference room after everyone else went home & she’d be waiting for her dad

this continued for a little under  2  years .

this is when her behaviour at school started to get out of hand, she’d start skipping class, get caught smoking pot, talking back to teachers, etc

it went on for months & mariana suspected that her father knew and wasn’t doing anything to stop it

when she turned 16  &  got  a  boyfriend  , it started affecting her even more . she was struggling w being intimate bc of these things that  were happening to her

which is when she eventually  confronted him about it , in tears , in the kitchen with her mother

it resulted in a screaming match 

mariana’s behaviour completely went off the rails after that day & she went to school one day & got into a fight with this girl who was taunting her

they fought and mariana’s anger got the best of her &  she ended up beating the girl so bad that she became deaf in one ear

shoutout to degrassi for the idea Ok female sean cameron in the house

( i needed a secret for mari n i was watching this so i was like .. ok why not lol )

she turned 17 shortly after this argument and by some miracle ( aka money ) her dad was able to keep her out of juvie despite the charges that were brought against her

this is mariana’s secret!!!!! 

anyway now , she doesn’t talk to her father really , at all . unless her mom ambushes them into the same room which sometimes happens jkfnsf

mariana moved out on her 18th birthday ,  still has a good relationship with her  mom and brother  &   extended family

when mariana turned 18 was also when she started her career !! she started out as an actor in a few different movies 

she got her big break when she starred in a ‘riverdale or like , grey’s anatomy’ type of show a few years ago prob when she was about 19

and that went on for 2 or 3 seasons before she stopped it to pursue music bc !

writing and singing and performing have always been Mariana’s passions & emotional outlet

anyway , she dropped a single while on the show & it did well so she proceeded to drop an album which also blew up 

she is now rly successful w her music career and loves it sm , like it’s literally her dream come true ok

it’s the one thing that makes her happy

so yah , if ppl knew she deafened a girl totally wouldn’t b all sunshine n rainbows :/ hehe .

╰ ˚･ﾟ ♡  PERSONALITY  (   tw  :  drugs  )  :

mariana is very lowkey crazy

like she knows how to hide it but girl , it’ll come out

she can definitely be a brat , she wasn’t raised with proper consequences & often thinks she can do whatever she wants , has a bit of an attitude about it

she hates being told what to do 

and will voice her opinion

she is also the most loyal & loving person you know , but the thing is it’s very hidden deep down rn . she is completely walls up , doesn’t wanna let anyone get close to her bc she’s a PUSSY

and like , she hasn’t worked through her trauma & probably never will

she’s lowkey based off meredith grey a little bit ? just less ... extra 

she’s also based off serena van der woodsen a lil bit 

the only opening up she does is when she’s writing music

daddy issues galore over here

but she’s a lowkey softie when she  waants 2 be

when she loves someone she loves fiercly !!

mariana . is a  . party . animal

it’s basically all she does

like every night , her stamina is insane bc she can go out every single night until 3 am if she really wants to .

and she’s fun too , if she’s going out she’s getting WASTED

she’s the type of drunk girl to make out w  all her friends 

she loves cocaine, is most definitely an addict (   but who isn’t in this city  ), tequila is her alcohol of choice, but she’ll drink anything you give her & weed is her creative saving grace

we luv a bitch who doesn’t care abt her health !

u will most likely find her in sweatpants and a hoodie or a big tshirt

she will dress up to go out & luvs lookin cute for paparazzi & career stuff 

um , she listens to a lot of rap and just lays in bed  w her cat smoking blunts

um n ya  .. sad bitch vibes :/ 

i have  a wanted connections page here  &   a   wanted  tag  here  !!!  i need & want every connection so pls hmu ! like this  &  i’ll come to you .