#she isn't given a name. she's played by a non-actor. and there don't seem to be any future plans w her.

[beheworthy]

I love how in Thor4 it's clearly shown that Thor is with the Guardians for a very long time - enough to get back in shape, go on multiple galaxy-spanning adventures, and even form drinking routines with Quill but James Gunn says he was with them for only 2 weeks. It's quite literally not possible but of course Gunn wouldn't want his beloved characters to spend any time with the bumbling buffoon bully.

I hope the same is done to the rando kid going forward. Say Thor took care of her for 2 weeks and then she left to be on her own. Or better yet, do what Feminist Waititi did to Jane - 'respectfully' discard her with a throwaway line.

[the-everqueen]

Wondering your thoughts on something I’ve noticed a lot in the Sandman fandom - namely, that every fanart or fanfic involving Daniel (based on the show!!) always portrays/describes him as white, despite the fact that show!Danny’s dad is a black man…

i think there's a few factors at work. first (and foremost) people trying to incorporate bits of the comix in the absence of "official" casting (almost every fanart and a lot of fanfics defaulted to Destruction as a white, red-haired man before the actor was announced). Danny in the comix is a blonde baby and then a sort of...ghostly amalgam of a young man who never existed and Morpheus as we knew him (disheveled hair, gaunt figure, sharp cheekbones, dark eyes). what would that look like in the show? i don't know! i'm hoping there's at least a nod to Daniel's human parentage (he's blonde in the comix BECAUSE he's Lyta Hall's son, and in the comix she's blonde), but i think there are a few ways that it could be cast. Danny!Dream as mixed, light-skinned, and/or racially ambiguous could be both really tragic and really compelling: the erasure of where he came from as metaphor for his personal losses (of family, of childhood, of "personhood" in a human sense), and the insistence on some reminder of his parents, his past, as a counter to his "function." i'd love to see that explored in fic! (as someone who also defaults to comix!Daniel - though there IS a reasoning behind this choice in the LA guard dog universe and non-Dreaming aus.)

at the same time, i think it's partially a function of fans getting attached to Tom Sturridge's portrayal of Dream. when s1 came out, i saw some discourse circulating about how already people weren't ready to "lose" him (and i think some of this filtered into the whole "retired" Dream headcanons, though that's another discussion). and i get that if someone else is cast as Danny, there's going to be a...reaction to both the actor figured as a "replacement" for Tom and the character as a "replacement" for the Dream that fans became attached to. which then becomes a possible burden on the actor. Rose's actor, Vanesu Samunyai, got significant backlash for being a Black woman to play a character who was white and blonde in the comix, and i could see that kind of racism seeping into people's reactions to Daniel. (also a fan grief/sadness at the tragic ending used as a "justification" for racism.) it's not clear to me how much support nonwhite actors like Vanesu get when they're cast in these roles where fans might "expect" a white actor. (like...Riordan told Leah Jeffries in the new PJO series not to listen to the haters because he chose her, which is great and all, but...is production working to ensure that she has someone she can safely process her experiences with, is she given reasonable accommodations, is someone else moderating her socials so she doesn't have to deal with trolls?) so that's another consideration.

(obviously the "solution" isn't to never cast nonwhite actors, but there's been an increase in "diverse representation" in media without a discussion of how these predominantly white spaces have material impact on nonwhite creatives.)

last thing is just that i've noticed the sandman fandom generally seems...more reluctant to engage in alt. casting than say, musical theater fandoms, where there's an expectation that the principal actor won't always be in a role or present when you witness the performance. there's this automatic turn toward finding someone who fits, for example, Delirium from the comix in the absence of an official show casting, rather than playing around with the uncertainty. (personally i'm out here championing Bailey Bass as my Delirium face cast, and tbh if they cast the rest of the Endless sibs as white, she and Stephanie Hsu will remain my primary Del references.) which i think is common in fandoms that rely on a visual "text" for reference, and even more so for Neilman tv fandoms, where fans seem to want/expect "word of god" affirmation. again, another discussion, but i'll just say for now i think the fandom suffers for it.

[kristianhrabkolma32]

Rehearsal process

Opening Scene

- Veronica moves from left to right, opening the reading from her diary.

Beautifu, the name of the opening song introduces 'Baxter hill high' which is the school where majority of scenes take place. Veronica is still reading from her diary which reveals rest of the cast throughout the whole song.

At the very start of this song my mind always tells to count, counting beats in time and rhythm of a song is very fundamental skill to have in any practitioner repertoire.

My role at this point is a moody teenager, who always wanted to be with the popular kids but secretly hated them which lead him to express wearing dark clothes and really going into emo culture yet he's still a geek at heart.

Going into a bit more technical side of this, ensemble has 3x8 to un-freeze from each of their position. So the song consists of beats knowing the mean of beats is commonly used amongst musicians, musical theatre performers or just performers overall.

On the second count of 8s in the music, curtain is lifting and allows me to be ready in time so my professionalism is shown right from the start. There are 3x8 counts leading into 4th where ensemble joins in on the first count of 8 count sequences. Progressing each 8th count into the song the ensemble starts on different count for three times.

For exanple:

FREAK!SLUT! BUNOUT! BOGEYE! - we start on the first count of 8.

Moving into next section,

FREAK! SLUT! LUSER! SHORTBUS! - this time ensemble starts on the second count, which leads to third change and this time it begins on third count.

Knowing how to count enables me to be on time in my place positioned, which shows commitment to knowing & understanding my material.

This link contains footage of our rehearsal process , I wasn't able to insert actual video here so I'm taking a different approach. In the first 18 seconds of the video, you can see techniques of progressive counting as previously mentioned in the sections above.

As Veronica takes us through the song she reveals the rest of the cast thus showing her emotions and setting the scene which is reflected in the technical aspects in choreography. The choreography is strategically placed along with music to create what the director envisioned . Near the midway of Beautiful Heathers are being introduced, there is change in music to more minor, this is an expression used to describe mood of songs or melodies. As Heather's enter through the archway created by us the non-populars , this is a strategically placed choreographed exert to showcase class diversity within the school society.

This footage is only to support my analysis and to help demonstrate points mentioned above, it is not our final rehearsal footage therefore it serves as a teaching tool.

Dramaclasses (2020) "Verfremdungseffekt, or the ‘estrangement effect,’ was used to distance the audience from the play and is sometimes called the alienation effect. Brecht did not want the audience to have any emotional attachment to his characters, so he did various things to break it."

Thus confirming that Bertol Brecht technique uses several techniques to alienate audience, however it can be used in different situations such as in this instance. 

Following, the music comes off into a scene that takes place two weeks late, it is stated by Veronica as a clue for audience. Brecht technique is used to tell the audience there is time change or that something has changed.  Brecht technique consists of literally tell the audience actors mood, intentions or it can be simple character change , this is shown through either literal representation of the change or simply writing the representation and displaying it.

Candy Store

Leading into 'Candy Store' , the scene is showing use of power within school society by Heather's. They are telling Veronica that it is their "job" to keep losers like 'Martha Dumstock' in their place. Martha is Veronica's best friend,  although she thought. Veronica gets blinded by the limelight as she enters the world of Heathers, the Heathers want to invite Martha to Rams party as a joke but Veronica quickly realizes what is about to happen and try to stop them. This is when Heather starts Candy Store with the infamous " are we gonna have a problem…." line to tell Veronica you're either with us or against us. 

At this point ensemble wise I'm in the scene witnessing how this unfolds, obviously feeling scared by Heathers, I'm showing this through my timid positions and acting style as they burst through the crowd of students. 

I'm not singing in this scene as our director want to show female empowerment thus giving this song stronger meaning using the lyrics in quite literal sense as Heather C. Talks about school being her candy store. The viewer can see this as a very sexual innuendo situations as we are in school environment and these are three young adolescents students in mini skirts talking about how they 'own' everyone.  

Here is a footage of our Candy Store rehearsal, this is only to demonstrate and support points made above. This footage is not a final piece it is only a rehearsal at its beginning stage.

For our final show I thought it would improve my performance, stamina and focus if I make a timetable to be in that mindset constantly.

Here's an example of my timetable:

I've tried my best to keep in sync with it , from our last performance I understood that it is vital for an musical theatre practitioner to have some type of regime even if they are not performing.

This gave me some room for improvement and allowed me to see how simple regimes can implement massive changes in a short time.

This semester I have improved on my overall stamina/ strength which I'm more than pleased with , however it gave me more than that. I am able to understand and apply my skills where are needed.

Fight for Me

Moving forward we have another school scene just after Candy Store, this time we are in groups that we stay with for the majority of time. We are watching how things will unveil with Veronica's new status as she meets Jason Dean or J.D. for short.

We're in semi-circle of students now, watching a fight with J.D., Ram And Kurt who are other characters known as Jocks.

Going into three different positions at the beginning of this song called 'Fight For Me/Holly Shit', just like previous we have 3x8s of call and response from the female/male ensemble leading into 4th eight where we freeze frame as Veronica confesses her interest in J.D. as he fights those two Jocks, she finds this very arousing. Our role is to be interactive students just like in a normal school environment when you see fights. This highlights the overall relationship within society and how it molds pupils into bigots from a young age.

Kurt: " Hey, sweetheart. What did your boyfriend say when you told him you were moving to Sherwood, Ohio?"

Ram: "My buddy asked you a question."

Kurt: "Hey Ram, doesn't this cafeteria have a 'no fags allowed' rules?"

J.D. : "They're seem to have an open-door policy for assholes though. "

Kurt: "Hold his arms".

As its shown above in the exert from our script on the page 33, this leads into the begging of Fight for Me. J.D. gets into an alteration, this insinuate the societal mindset structure how pupils are raised up in this environment which they bring into their adulthood thus continue the cycle of abuse.

In Big Fun we have a scene with Ram and Kurt, following rest of the students arriving at Rams party.

The scene revolves around Heathers, Veronica, Jocks and Martha's relationship, it is shown throughout in a party environment of underage drinking takes place. As an ensemble member I'm one of the guests at this party having good time, nothing unusual for a teenager that age he's no stranger to alcohol or even pretends that they don't know what they're doing.

In the next footage you're about to see there is proof of rehearsal progress, from the instructions given by tutor I now know that at the time I was incorrect in the technical intention of the movement.

For example: in the footage you can see my counts and movement itself are correct however the speed of my delivery isn't. We have been given 3x8 of step,step,step drag behind, drag behind, drag behind. It is put in as a dynamic change to show off that we are affected by alcohol or whatever substances these teenagers consume.

You can see this from 2:20 minutes into the video, notice me in my green cap and buckle belt as I do those steps accurately yet incorrect.

I was able to correct this once I understood the intention behind this movement and what it was representing.

Which brings us to Blue , this is the last scene that I was a part of before this world wide pandemic occurred.

There is a scene leading into this song , including Heathers and Veronica as she is called into the woods for help yet instead is misled and offered up for a daterape.

This I a kind of thing people do to one another on daily basis, 'rather you than me' type of situation.

The song itself talks about teenage boys testosterone levels rising out of control, (this is the nicest way I can put it) boys from early teen hood develop testosterone levels high enough so they are ready to mate. In this instance it is forced upon Veronica by Heathers, knowing that parental views and opinions impact their children and how they treat on another, proves why Ram and Kurt thinks it is okay to treat women with such disrespect. Maccoby (2020) states, "There is clear evidence that parents can and do influence children."

You can see this throughout the footage , it is solely focused on how the boy needs help and would do anything for you once you help them.