#the funniest shit is just a bunch of characters walking off something wild that just happened

[grayintogreen]

I really have to say that in the wake of the quip post going around and me rewatching LOST, there is really nothing funnier than a scene that isn’t supposed to be funny, isn’t even set up to be funny, but through the absolute absurdity of the situation is hilarious. To wit, there is humor in playing an absurd scene completely straight without trying to draw attention to how absurd it is.

To use LOST as an example, there’s a scene where two characters meet on an abandoned ship in the jungle (which is funny on its own) that goes like this:

In one corner we have John Locke, currently playing with a knife while the guy he manipulated into coming into the jungle with him on a convoluted quest to get HIM to kill their mutual abuser because he couldn’t do it himself is banging on the door to the brig because Locke is allergic to explaining things as all the island mystics tend to be.

In the other corner, entering the scene, we have Danielle Rousseau, local island crazy lady that everyone has accepted as just a staple of the experience and is deemed an Ally despite the fact that she doesn’t join their group, lives on her own, and has death traps strewn throughout the jungle that are just commonly referenced as a thing that happens.

The two of them regard each other. “Rousseau.” “Locke.”

(And now it’s already funny to the Philosophy Major crowd but wait there’s more.)

Rousseau looks at the door where there’s still shouting and banging. Locke doesn’t explain anything. “What brings you to the ship?”

(Keep in mind that Rousseau is the one who showed the survivors the ship and makes frequent trips to it. LOCKE is the one acting weird. Locke has decided that the only way to make this situation Not Awkward is to just roll with it. He is legitimately Bavarian Fire Drilling his way out of what would CONCERN MOST PEOPLE.)

But here’s where it gets funny.

“I’m here for the dynamite.”

Okay. So you have one person who has locked someone in the brig for some reason and another person who is known to be EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS to the health and safety of others because of her death traps going “I need dynamite” and none of this sounds like sane reasonable behavior and the punchline is just both of them staring at each other and NOT QUESTIONING ANY OF IT. Rousseau walks out with a box of dynamite, Locke continues to wait for a murder to occur.

THAT is funny. That is humor that requires insight into the characters, the situation, and how none of the steps taken are the steps you’d expect. Humor doesn’t have to rely on zingers and meme worthy lines- it requires you to be able to take a completely absurd situation and play it absolutely straight. No irony poisoning and SEE WE KNOW THIS IS STUPID will ever compare to watching two characters just completely refuse to react to something weird or even treat it as anything other than normal behavior.

[elm-tree]

BE MORE CHILL OFF-BROADWAY: THOUGHTS

So I got to see Be More Chill at the Perishing Square Signature Center last night, and it was absolutely incredible! I just wanted to rant about some of my favorite parts. Spoilers ahead!!

Okay so at Jeremy’s laptop had a “Black Suits” sticker on it and I actually laughed out loud when I saw it. I thought it was a cool little inside joke for Joe Iconis and Will Roland

Will Roland pouring lotion into his hand after “waitin’ for my porno to loud” freaking KILLED ME. 

The costumes were all so bright and colorful and it made all the characters stand out.

Brooke pretty much had a can of La Croix in her hand the entire show and it was hysterical. 

Gerard Canonico has such amazing stage presence. When he was onstage, it was HIS SHOW. 

Rich was also wearing a Deadpool belt which I loved. 

I’m pretty sure they actually redesigned all the costumes and din’t reuse anything from the Two River Theatre production, which I found super cool. 

When Michael entered for his lil reggae section at the beginning, the audience went wild and it was jut really cool. 

Michael’s sweatshirt has a bunch of patches on it, and one of them was a gay pride flag. 

Will Roland can play vulnerable and soft very well. I got to see him in Dear Evan Hansen and the entire time I kept thinking “this guy just walked right out of Be More Chill”. I was super happy he was a part of this. His Jeremy was very relatable and awkward, I loved it.

Christine doing the choreography from A Chorus Line and then getting lifted up before signing up for the play was hysterical. 

STEPHANIE HSU IS SUCH AN INCREDIBLE ACTRESS. 

Okay so “I Love Play Rehearsal” is a really great song, but I always find myself needing to be in a specific mood to listen to it. BUT SEEING STEPHANIE DO IT LIVE WAS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. The energy she emits is something special. 

Jake was smooth as FUCK and I loved him. He gave off a total fuck-boy vibe cause of his costume, but he was so damn like-able. 

Also Jake dabbed at some point during the first rehearsal scene and it was FANTASTIC. 

The choreography during the Squip Song was super cool. There was a lot of tutting. 

Rich is just such a great character. The Squip Song was incredible, and they added in a new rap-ish section at the end which totally worked for the character. 

Basically Rich was just an uncontrollable ball of fire. 

Two Player Game was so cute and I just love George and Will so much. 

They had fake video game footage playing during Two Player Game, and one of the zombies in the game dabbed. 

The Michael/Mr. Heere relationship is so great. Michael was really trying to help Mr. Heere out whenever Jeremy was shit-talking him. 

The Payless Shoestore guy was absolutely hysterical holy crap.  

So Jason Tam’s SQUIP was very different from Eric William Morris’s SQUIP. His SQUIP was a lot less harsh and very *ahem* chill. He was almost nurturing, which only made his eventual turn to evil even more stark and bone chilling.  

Stephanie Hsu was dressed as an old lady on a motor scooter during Be More Chill Part 2 and it was one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

Upgrade is just a super fun song and once again the flashy costumes and the awesome choreography just left a huge smile on my face. 

OKAY I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THE NEW ACT ONE FINALE “LOSER GEEK WHATEVER”. It basically expanded on the end of “Upgrade” and fleshed out Jeremy’s thought process in ignoring Michael a lot more. I loved it, and it reminded me a little bit of Defying Gravity. 

Will Roland has such a gorgeous voice.

Okay unrelated annecdote: I saw Joe Iconis in the bathroom at intermission and it was so awkward I couldn’t stop laughing (i didn’t say anything to him cause I ran into him before the show, and also it was the bathroom which is always super awkward)

HALLOWEEN WAS JUST SUCH A WONDERFUL JOYOUS EXPLOSION OF COLOR

Jenna Roland was dressed as a clown (like a full body suit that covered her face) and it was so freaking funny. 

Do You Wanna Hang was just super funny. Also Rich climbing up the window chasing Jeremy was hysterical. 

Okay so the whole “Creeps” shirt thing turned out to be the shirt Michael wore during Michael In The Bathroom (”I’m a creeper in the bathroom...”)

When Jeremy turned on Michael and called him a loser, I got chills. Jeremy’s character arc is a little Evan Hansen-ish, but with a completely different tone and sense of humor. 

Will Roland has incredible comic timing. 

Michael In The Bathroom...HOLY CRAP. I’ve listening to a bunch of different versions, I’ve seen videos of George performing it, but nothing compares to see him do it live. I started crying. And the applause at the end of the song was colossal. 

The scene between Jeremy and Christine at the party where Jeremy asks her out was just so cute. You’re so mad at Jeremy for abandoning Michael, but then you start to see the old Jeremy peeking through and you have a little sympathy.

*weird robot noises*

GERARD ASKING EVERYBODY FOR MOUNTAIN DEW RED WAS WONDERFUL. 

Okay so there was actually a scene where Rich talked to his SQUIP and he didn’t want to help his SQUIP take over the school. Then he decides to set the fire. It was actually really dark. I liked it a lot. 

Tiffany Mann as Jenna Roland was so incredible. 

When Brooke came on for The Smartphone Hour, she had a banana shoved in her mouth and was just sucking on it. Later she just threw it off the stage, and it was hysterical. 

At the end of the Smartphone Hour, all the guys in the cast came out in drag and I couldn’t stop laughing. 

The applause at the end of The Smartphone Hour was so insane holy crap. 

The Pants Song made me cry tbh. The Michael/Mr. Heere bond is so great.  

They took out the line where Michael tells Mr. Heere he needs to go buy a pair of pants, which I think makes Mr. Heere having pants on at the end have more of an impact.

Michael’s awkward reaction to Jeremy’s dad asking “do you love [Jeremy]?” was GOLDEN. 

The Pitiful Children was actually switched with The Pants Song. The new lyrics worked really well. It made Jeremy deciding to help the SQUIP more believable.

The Play was just so fun to watch.

I really enjoyed the fact that Christine knew what a SQUIP was. 

THE AUDIENCE WENT CRAZY DURING “MICHAEL MAKES AN ENTRANCE”. George just kinda reggae danced onto the stage I loved it. 

BISEXUAL RICH. 

Rich was also kinda hitting on Michael (who awkwardly played it off) but it was super cute. 

The cluster of popular kids in the second verse of “Voices In My Head” just made me cry idk why. 

Jenna, Chloe, and Brooke have really good, really subtle character development. 

Michael and Christine did a little hip bump thing and it was so cute. 

Everyone was just kinda friends at the end and I was legit crying. 

At the end, Jeremy was onstage with Michael,  Christine, and his dad. They left his one by one until he was alone. He took a deep breath and the lights went out. I thought that was a great ending for Jeremy’s character arc. 

THE CAST KINDA HAD A STRAIGHT UP DANCE PARTY AT THE END IT WAS SO AWESOME. 

SEE THE SHOW IF YOU CAN GET TICKETS???

[jameshcricket-blog]

MUN QUESTIONNAIRE!

Personal Details:

Nicknames? Andy is already my nickname, sooo my namename is Andressa so! Andy it is.  

Where do you live? Living that Louisiana life.

What’s your age? Uuuuhhh what is my age, good question. 20. I am 20.

Hair color? Dark Brown

Eye color? I don’t even know, that weird ass shade that’s like grey, but people say it’s blue but they’re grey.

Height? Five foot and seven inches.

Date of Birth? December 31st

What’s your star sign? The Goat

Element? Idk what this means, but I’m going to say water because Katara is my kin.

How many siblings? One younger brother, separated by like a year and a few months so like not THAT much younger, but I am still superior.

How many pets? One doberman baby. Look at her:

Obsessions? Soft blankets, candles, Cereal at the moment, and then Catfish for whatever reason. Probably because Nev and Max. Idk I hate myself for liking that show.

Bad habits? The whole, walk around the kitchen. Open the fridge: nothing there. Open the pantry: Nothing there…….opENS THE FRIDGE-

Phobias? None? Idk. Who knows. Talking to people, how’s that.

About You:

What makes you happy? My family. Wholesome memes. Getting in the car with a new song and singing like no one is watching or listening even though I know I am trash. And my dog! I love her! Look at her:

What really irritates you? Smacking and people! Texting! In movies! Like! The door is right there, please use it.

What makes you sad? The world. Unrequited love.

What makes you angry? THE WORLD

What makes you scared? Th E WoRl d

Who is your best friend? This punk ass hoe names John White. Literally the whitest boy you will ever meet. Idk, but we got stuck together during that shitty bridge project in like Sophomore year of high school. And we like, bonded over sleepless nights of hell trying to get that pos done. Little did I know that this fuck boy was actually not as big of an asshole as he made himself out to be. I don’t think we actually solidified until we went to college though, since we are going to the same one and didn’t know anyone and bonded. Also Lisa. Love you Lisa, never change, but I know you love Brooke more, so it’s fine.  

Ever broken a bone? THANK GOD NO.

What was the last CD you bought? I have never boughten a hard copy CD lmao. But online I got Michael Buble’s Christmas album to get prepared. :

What was the last book you read? Ugly ass textbook that I wanted to toss into the garbage disposal.

Who was the last person you spoke to? My mother, I’m doing this instead of talking with my family on Thanksgiving, whoops.

What was the last thing you ate? Thanksgiving meal. But like if you want specifics, the cookies I baked.

What was the last thing you drank? Wattah

What’s the best thing you’ve ever bought? This shampoo that makes me hair not frizzy when it dried, blessed.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever bought? This sunblock that made me break out in hives and freaked out my mom when we were in Florida because she thought something in the ocean was killing me.

What’s the best thing you’ve ever been given? This is going to turn into a story time because I’m extra and am looking for a distraction alright okay. If we’re talking sentimental; Stupid John White, who I mentioned above, gave me this big ass jar. I was like, wow thanks John, I get you concert tickets, suffered at it with you, and you give me a damn jar, what is this full of diRT? And he’s like, no you fucker, just take it home and open it. So I go back to my apartment and am like half scared it’s something gross because he would pull that shit on me, so I open it over my trashcan. And when nothing gross wafs into the air I look inside and am not really sure? What I’m looking at? So I take it back to my bed and dump it out, and basically it’s just a bunch of bullshit that he kept over the years. Like movie tickets and notes we passed in class, and pictures and other stuff. And then a little letter being like, “Happy Birthday!” And I cried!

If we’re talking material: My laptop. Thanks mom, you’re the best, love you.

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever been given? Is there such a thing as a bad gift. I don’t know. Probably some gift card to a place I don’t like, but even then I probably went and used it on deserts. So I don’t really know, you got me there.

What are your future goals? Get a job. Don’t be a bum.

Describe your bedroom? Uhh...So I guess I’ll describe my one at home because my apartment one is as bare as is was when I moved in.

It’s like a square, but one of the walls is slanted, so it’s got a weird angle. A full length window on the right wall with some soft floral curtains. My bed is in the middle of the room, up against the opposite wall so when I walk in I can just hop up and fall face first onto it. The bed has four drawers under it, so that’s where all my regular clothing is for the most part. My closet it on the left wall, and that’s where I keep my hanging clothes, old sentimental clothes, and blankets for when I get cold or when someone stays over.

Who do you consider the most beautiful woman in the world? Honestly I really love Alicia Key??? Or Reese Witherspoon. OR WAIT TARAJI P. HENSON.

Who do you consider the most handsome man in the world? ….Can I say Taika or is this biased. Probably. Maybe Chris Pine. Idk. Roger Federer.

Favorite thing to do on a hot summers day?  Swim in the damn pool or drink a glass of lemonade.

Favorite thing to do on a snowy winters day? What’re those. Joking. Uhm, probably the usual. Get snuggly. Get something warm to drink. Throw on Elf or some other feel good snowy movie.

If you were granted 3 wishes, what would they be?

Be granted the power of healing.

Please, Mr. Genie, fix the environment.

Probably ask for money I’m ngl.

If you could go back in time to see or change something, when would it be and what would you do?

Wow so many options. Tell my parents to wait for a hot second on having a baby, then maybe one of the other sperms could have gotten to the egg that wouldn’t have made me.

Too morbid? Lmao, okay, uhm, probably keep my brother from wrecking the car.

What’s the first thing you think about when you wake up? “Why am I awake, god damnit.”

Do you believe in the after-life? Sure.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years time? Same place, just with a job and not in school.

What’s the funniest joke you’ve ever been told? Gosh, I don’t even know???

Describe yourself in 3 words: Empathetic,Tired, YIKES.

Favorites:

Favorite color? Blue

Favorite number? 4

Favorite animal? Whales

Favorite sport (to play)? Soft Ball

Favorite sport (to watch)? I don’t really watch sports unless it’s the Olympics because I’m a shit.

Favorite Show(s)? Catfish, The X-Files, anything on Food Network, Mr. Robot, Recently watched the Punisher and damn, Lucifer, and The Office.

Favorite movies? The Iron Giant and Legally Blonde.

Favorite band? Panic! At the Disco, love you beebo.

Favorite song? I have not a clue. I’ll tell you what I’m listening to right now: The Calender by Panic! At the Disco

Favorite room in the house? My room, or my mom’s office because she’s abandoned it and I am slowly moving in mwahaha.

Favorite food? My grandpa’s chicken sandwich he makes us when me and my brother come over. Idk what he does but it’s so good.

Favorite drink? Lemonade.

Favorite place? Hoooome.

Favorite cartoon character? This shouldn’t be allOWED. But fine. NOT DISNEY would probably be...Charlie Brown, my og love.

Favorite day of the week? Saturday.

Favorite day of the year? APRIL 25TH BECAUSE IT’S NOT TOO HOT AND IT’S NOT TOO COLD. ALL YOU NEED IS A LIGHT JACKET.

Favorite season? Winter!

Favorite Holiday? New Years Eve, bitch, that’s my birthday.

Favorite girls name? Grace

Favorite boys name? Chandler

Favorite country? I don’t know..

Favorite smell? Sandalwood.

Favorite sound? My phone going off because I’m lonely and need validation.

Favorite accent? I’m really into the New Zealand accent now that I watch Taika’s interviews to make gifs and just listen to him talk ngl.

Favorite Ships (in or our of BDRP)? I’m that how out here still shipping Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr from the X-Men. Or FUCKING Mulder and Scully! God!

In this RP: Y’all have screwed me out of both Sophink, CinderPrince, and Simber, so can I even trust you with anything else. WHAT ARE THE OTHER SHIPS: Barrell and Peri are adorable, as are Minnie and Dodger. Hmmmm...I wish there was a page out there for ships hahaha, because I don’t even know. Everyone and happiness??? PLEASE?

Favorite Fandoms? I don’t even go on my main anymore hahaha. But, probably the bandom.

Preferences:

Coke or Pepsi? Coca Cola

Pen or Pencil? Mechanical Pencil

Day or Night? Night

Cat or Dog? Rude?

Summer or Winter? Winter

T.V. or Radio? T.V.

Brains or Beauty? Brains

Cup or Mug? Mug all the way, who’s out here trying to wrap their whole hand around a cup when you can have a handle for free.

Tea or Coffee? Tea.

Gold or Silver? Gold.

Brush or Comb? Brush? WHO has hair thin enough for a comb? My hair is too thick and too wild to be tamed by a mere comb.

City or Country? Country. I rEALLY would love to just go get some lad, build my own house, live off renewable energy, grow my own food, and just live my life in peace.

Early or Late riser? Late af.

Blond or Brunette? Blonde, because I love what I don’t have. Lowkey redheads, though.

Scary or Romantic movies? Romantic. I like sleeping without having all the lights on??

Board or Computer games? Board with friends, computer on my own.

Half full or Half empty?  Empty

Happy and poor or Sad and rich? Happy and POOR

Glasses or Contacts? Glasses, contacts and die.

Flowers or Chocolates? Chocolate. No offense to flowers, but like stay in the ground, I want something I can eat.

Love or Money? Love. I am that asshole who is desperate for love. Ugh.

Hugs or Kisses? Wow, both.