#this is what's so exciting about this era of regional productions

[izloveshorses]

okay some important notes:

the set is very minimal, as is expected with smaller productions, because the budget is mostly dedicated towards the costumes and sets are expensive lol. so we were just working with a screen and moveable props. but! what they lack in set pieces they make up for in their use of the ensemble!

the ensemble i think was larger, we had ipolitov and the tsar as separate tracks this time, as well as casting a young boy to play alexei and a little girl to play little anastasia, whereas broadway and national tour productions just have the girl play both. i think this allowed some room to play :)

the book remained mostly unchanged (from the off broadway production standards, that is), so most of the Choices were in blocking and lots of little minute details only an insane woman (me) will notice

and the highlights (in no particular order):

after the confrontation, anya runs offstage and changes out of Big Red to wear something similar to the boat dress from the movie? like a simple turquoise dress with some pattern and a white ribbon. and then she finds dmitry, proceeds with the finale, and then changes back into Big Red for curtain call

for the press conference when anya first appears as Anastasia in big red, just vibing and minding her own business on stage, she flinches when the camera goes off 👀 and then the dowager comes out and they hug and the dowager poses just as the bulb flashes but anya flinches Again!! girlie was so uncomfortable it was delicious

during in my dreams, they had some ensemble run out in the background and young anastasia (in her blue hair bow!) like weaving between them as anya narrates?? so the cast was providing a visual to the journey anya is describing

and then they did the same thing for my petersburg!! young dmitry has stolen my heart 😭💖

and they did it again for in a crowd of thousands but with just little anastasia and little dmitry 😭 and he like bows to her and everything <3

iacot was so golden, dmitry is wearing a bathrobe and slippers for his jammies 😭 and they hug!! it's similar to the movie, she says the 'stay with me i'm frightened' line and wraps her arms around him, and he's like frozen for a second and then he slowly holds her back and he says 'is that better?' and lets himself enjoy it <3

during the traveling sequence, anya is using dmitry's satchel as an umbrella in the storm <33 (i need. to speak to the director about this. i need the scene where anya decides to do this. i have not stopped thinking about it.)

overall i'm so obsessed with the way this actress portrayed anya. like she's kinda pretty and sweet at first glance but when you get to know her she's not quite all There, something is a bit Off. she was so Strange and Off-Putting and Intimidating. which is exactly how anya exists in my head. no notes. remarkable.

in the fight with the ruffians they didn't have a fire barrel or a stick or anything, anya is just out here throwing her fists around and cleaning up, it's incredible. and then after she's holding her fists up kinda awkwardly but dmitry knows to be wary and it's so cute

dmitry isn't kneeling in meant to be, which bummed me out at first, but when anya has her Blue Dress moment™ he's just standing there Staring Stupidly, which is understandable, and vlad literally has to shove him to go approach her 😭 and even then he's still just kind of staring in awe and smiling, so anya sticks her arm out like hello 😤 and he's like oh right lol and he takes her arm and they go to the ballet together <3

the kiss/finale didn't feature a suitcase slam™ 😔 but! it was so cute and so so flirty. dmitry is so sad but anya like holds out her hand for him to take, bc she's a proper lady now, and says her 'the grand duchess anastasia would beg to disagree 😌' line and dmitry smiles real big, takes her hand, and they kiss and he spins her around and they're giggling and stuff <3333

in the finale, when anya and dmitry move forward from their spot in the back, anya breaks away from him for a moment to hold hands with little and young anastasia ??? and then she finds dmitry again, he kisses her hand, and they do one turn of a waltz together and then move to the front of the stage with the rest of the cast and finish the show holding each other <3

i meantioned this earlier but anya closing the show in a Simple dress sans tiara hits sooooo different. like.

there's definitely more that i will remember later, but these are the things that are going to keep me up at night for a long time. god. this director understood the assignment

i saw a little local production of anastasia last night, and now that we are in the era of non-replica productions.... man, i am so excited. that was so good. i need to have an insane conversation with this director bc there were so many Choices that i have Not stopped thinking about all day

[whoreviewswho]

You're Serious? - The Time Warrior, 1973

A fact that is becoming somewhat lost to time is that Jon Pertwee's time on Doctor Who was very popular. This is not to say that the Pertwee era is largely disregarded in 2024 but it does seem readily apparent, as time marches on, that the prevalence of Pertwee as a definitive, monolithic icon for the general public has naturally dwindled. Or, perhaps, dwindled is the wrong word – Pertwee's Doctor has truly been eclipsed by even mightier, entirely totemic icons that came in his wake. David Tennant is THE Doctor and the only other challenger remains the indomitable Tom Baker.

But back when I was a kid, circa 2004/2005, Jon Pertwee's era was definitive. My mum, who grew up in regional Australia, recalled fond memories of watching Pertwee and Katy Manning pal around with the Brigadier. A formative step in my journey as a fan was a visit to Hobbyco in Sydney and begging my mum for the Corgi Doctor Who 40th Anniversary Gift Set of die cast models. Like any number of similar curios that shape fan memories, this particular set cemented what were, to my mind, the most iconic building blocks of the series – the Doctor (a S18 Tom Baker, presumably for painting reasons), the TARDIS (not to scale with the rest of the models), K-9 (with lettering in both sides), the Daleks (a Chase model), Davros (no notes), the Cybermen (Earthshock model that I apparently either never got or immediately lost since I have not memories of owning one) and Bessie (also not to scale), driven by Tom Baker. I vividly recall purchasing the set and the guy at the counter being excited to strike up a conversation. He was obviously a fan and talked fondly about the highlights of the series. What I realised in the years that have flowed on since is that, despite speaking highly of the Fourth Doctor and Sarah Jane, the most vivid of those rosy fan memories, the ones he and many other adults always relayed to me pre-revival, were of UNIT and the Master and the Sea Devils and Bessie* and the Axons and the Sontarans.

Put into perspective, this makes a great deal of sense. Leaving aside my home country's personal context (mid-'70s DW was infamously repeated on the ABC, a fact that was immortalised in DWM #104 when Tasmanian Jamie Hillard complained of the tedium of seasons eleven to fourteen being repeated twice a year, every year for the past five years. He was suitably rinsed by the UK fandom), Jon Pertwee's era was the most popular Doctor Who had ever been. While the show chugged along just fine during Troughton's tenure, it was in dire straits when producer Barry Letts inherited it partway through production of season seven, Pertwee's first, in 1970. It was only off the strength of what made it to screen that the programme was renewed at all. Throughout the four years that followed, Letts and script-editor Terrance Dicks retooled Doctor Who from Derrick Sherwin's vision of a hard-edged, political sci-fi thriller into the more accessible glam-infused comic-book show that raked in as many as ten million viewers a week for the first time since 1965. 

But a good thing only lasts so long and, by the time of late 1973, just as Doctor Who was kicking off its eleventh season, it felt like a natural end was coming to what had been an incredibly successful five years. Pertwee’s Doctor Who had became an institution in its own right. Not to get too ahead of myself but there is a strong case to be made that Tom Baker and the Philip Hinchcliffe's era ascent to being the most popular the show ever was in its original run owes as much, if not more, of its success to the goodwill and steadily rising audience of the Pertwee years than it does to its actual quality (and it is of a very high quality). This is entirely hyperbolic but I strongly believe that had anybody else been cast as Pertwee's successor, anything less than the perfect storm we got, the Letts/Dicks/Pertwee run of the show would send out as the cultural peak even today. Bessie and the Brig would be wheeled out by the norms instead of the long scarf and K-9, that you can believe,

As everybody reading this article would know, the earthbound stories of Pertwee's time were notable for a distinct 'family feel', so to speak. Unlike previous eras, and any until 2005, the Third Doctor had an ongoing, regular supporting cast of UNIT personnel and assistants as well as the recurring threat of Roger Delgado's Master. There is a familiarity and comfort to the Third Doctor's run. Over the course of the previous year’s season ten, however, Letts and Dicks decided that the format had well and truly run its course and the Doctor was propelled into space and time full-time once again, leaving behind the UNIT regulars as merely recurring characters. It was during this production cycle that Katy Manning had decided that it was time for her to move on from the show, departing at the end of The Green Death, the last story broadcast that season. The final serial of season ten's production block, however, was actually the first story of season eleven – The Time Warrior.

Throughout the 1973-74 season, a slow (and conscious) dismantling of the Pertwee era begun taking place as well as a distinct sense of a lap of honour for the previous four seasons. In real life, this begins with Manning's departure in 1973 which, while her own instigated decision, was encouraged by Letts for fear his two stars would jump ship at the same time. Letts and Dicks had themselves decided to move on by the time season eleven proper began production which ultimately left Pertwee, self-conscious of his self-proclaimed team breaking up, finally deciding to give up the reigns after the tragic death of Roger Delgado. Onscreen, of course, this plays out somewhat quietly masterful. Malcolm Hulke's Invasion of the Dinosaurs is a conspiracy laden, political thriller such as those of season seven (detractors would call it parody) and saw the departure of now disgraced UNIT captain Mike Yates. Death to the Daleks (the hardest to square this circle, tbf)called back to the season ten’s epic return of the ‘60s Dalek adventure and offered the last gasp of the traditional, Hartnell style adventure serial that still permeated across Pertwee's time. The Monster of Peladon offered a direct sequel to the fan-favourite from season nine with some nice, deliberate telegraphing of the Doctor's oncoming death. And then there's the grand finale, Planet of the Spiders, where the Third Doctor departs the show with his remaining UNIT family under a series of self-referential and, frankly, indulgent circumstances set off by his own cavalier behaviour. Season eleven is a twenty-six episode finale for the Pertwee era that retreads all of the highs and exposes its limitations quite deliberately. With all of this in mind, The Time Warrior, the series opener, is entirely lacking in this sort of farewell mentality stands out as something of a different beast for the year.

For each of their seasons on the job, Letts and Dicks made a conscious effort to open each year with a big event and season eleven was no exception. After an absence of eight years (no, The Time Monster doesn't count), the duo thought that it was time for the return of the historical story. Somebody who disagreed, however, was Robert Holmes. Holmes had been a frequent contributor over Dicks' tenure as script-editor and was less than enthused that his proposal, The Automata, was rejected for him to be reassigned an historical. Dicks suggested an adventure be set in and around a medieval castle (it was filmed between Peckforton Castle and Wessex Castle to stunning results) and Holmes agreed only on the proviso that no famous historical figures were to be featured and that strong science-fiction elements were to still be included. The story that made it to screen has become one of the most renowned and celebrated in the history of the show. Frequently, I see it touted up alongside the all-time greats in the franchise as one of the very best and a real highlight of Jon Pertwee’s time in the show. While I think that The Time Warrior is very good, and there is a lot that I really like about it, this level of high praise has never sat entirely well with me. I don't even really have a lot to say on it. I like it a lot, it is the highlight of season eleven and one of many high points of Pertwee's run, but I have never found it to be an unshakable classic. 

Let's not get too in the weeds too soon, though because Robert Holmes was a magnificent writer. Despite his personal disinterest, the man took his brief seriously clearly put in a lot of thought into getting the most out of this particular assignment. There is almost an overabundance of wit and charm and character to The Time Warrior's ensemble. As with most sharply intelligent people, Holmes was also obviously quite cynical and Instead of leaning into something fantastically Arthurian or romantically noble, he opted for a medieval world of pure grime and nastiness. This could be taken as Holmes leaning fully into the historical story's roots as an educational programme, insisting upon the most realistic depiction of the middle ages he could on a BBC budget for a family audience. I find this hard to believe. No, what Holmes was far more likely to do, and did, was recognise that this approach would have worked perfectly well and then take the next step which is basically to take the piss out of it. The Time Warrior is not just a witty script, it is hilariously absurd and over-the-top in every aspect of its conception. Irongron and Bloodaxe are laughably incompetent and self-absorbed but the pair it is in how gleefully squalid and brutal they are that Holmes relishes in. Yes, there is a realism to The Time Warrior in that it is not the Shakespearean or mythic depiction one might have expected from the Hartnell days how but the over-exaggeration of the repulsiveness and savagery of medieval life is what I truly adore. Mind you, this is largely just what's on the surface. Holmes is obviously doing here is writing an exaggerated depiction of middle-aged England that is functionally indistinguishable from England as it was in 1973. Holmes basically invented Blackadder. As great as this is, though, it doesn't always work in its favour. We'll get to Sarah Jane shortly.

A different aspect of this serial that has made it so iconic is its main villain. Determining that a small-scale threat would be easier both for him and for the production team, Holmes’ plot revolves around a single alien menace attempting to find his way home. Allegedly inspired by his recent reading of the On War treatise, Holmes was compelled to create an entirely militaristic villain and what he created was the character of Commander Linx, as performed by Kevin Lindsay. However well Linx is realised in the story, as much praise as anyone needs to be directed to make-up designer Sandra Exelby and costume designer James Acheson for their realisation of him. Linx, and by extension the Sontarans themselves, is a grotesque creature with a troll-like quality. It has not escaped notice for many that the species design is built around an extended gag – that part one cliffhanger. Still, fans continuously fail to appreciate just how goddamn funny Linx is. The characterisation is brilliant and nobody behind the scenes, until Steven Moffat, seems to realise that this is why he works.

Holmes, in no genuinely dramatic way, utilises Linx as a threat. What he is instead, besides a visual joke, is a scathing satire of militaristic ideals. That avenue also lends itself perfectly to the exaggerated depiction of the middle-ages. In his first scene, Linx emerges before the primitive natives, in strange armour with advanced weaponry, and claims that this new land now belongs to the Sontaran Empire as he plants a flag and assumes dominance over the people. It doesn't require much analysis to decipher what's happening here. Throughout the story, Linx, whose lines almost entirely consist of spouting rhetoric, offers to make weapons for the humans he's met, all the while condescending them and caring little for their lives and livelihoods. It's a simple but fantastically clever move; Holmes has taken the opportunity to depict the English, typically at one of their most mythic and noble periods, as a cowardly and cruel race to be easily oppressed and mocked. 

The Time Warrior also sees the debut of another mainstay in Doctor Who lore in Sarah Jane Smith. Created by Barry Letts in direct contrast to her predecessor, Sarah Jane was pitched to directly address accusations of sexism that the series had garnered by being an obviously capable, career-driven, feisty and adventure-seeking investigative journalist. Incredibly, the role was cast before Elisabeth Sladen had even auditioned and, if to weren't for an uproar made by Pertwee due to his not being consulted, the part would have gone to April Walker show was paid out of the part when Letts cast Sladen (after he'd arranged for her to meet Pertwee, of course). For perhaps the wrong reasons, Pertwee was entirely correct though. From her first appearance, it is impossible not to be enamoured by Elisabeth Sladen. She just has a natural charm in this role and a captivating quality that makes her so very easy to watch. 

As introduced in The Time Warrior, Sladen is certainly strong. She is well-defined, well-performed and plays a major role in the events of the plot. She is also at the core of the serial's biggest stumbling block which can come down to Holmes' poorly pitched snark. It is certainly one of Holmes’ regular tricks to lean heavily into sardony and lampshading things that, he at least considers to be, regressive and absurd ways of thinking. Sometimes this can really serve the story the is telling and the characterisation, it does so elsewhere in this one. Here, however, I think he misses the mark drastically and it comes off very poorly. In making the world of The Time Warrior such an exaggerated and vitriolic comment on contemporary Britain, Sarah has little place to assume control in the narrative and is rather brutally victimised by it. 

Sure, Sarah Jane is firmly established as a feminist icon and it is a fine idea to drop her into the wretched sexism and reality of how horrible women were treated in the Middle Ages but emphasis is all wrong and it comes off so mean-spirited to me. In a similar vein, so much of the Doctor’s dialogue is designed to tease her about her strong values. The effect of all of this is likely intended to be endearing, and it is certainly to be funny but it comes off so smug and unnecessary. Sarah's beliefs, and the entire concept of feminism by extension, are singled-out as a futile gesture. Women are put down, they have also been put down and they always will be. This is perfectly in line with Holmes' approach to storytelling and his flavour of social commentary. It is also does not work at all.

Even though the Doctor frequently becomes Holmes' mouthpiece, I must stress that Jon Pertwee is not the problem at all. At this point in his run, the actor is so comfortable and confident in his performance that it would be impossible for him to disappear in it. To be honest, this is really the last time he properly turns up during his run since the season eleven filming Despite his oddly sexist jabs, the Third Doctor is wonderfully charismatic and relaxed in this story. There is a lovely development of his character from the rather pig-headed, irrational and moody character from season seven to the more mischievous tutor role he starts to settle into here. It is a similar progression to the First and Twelfth Doctors though rarely garners the same recognition. 

The Time Warrior also has a few structural problems in my opinion, especially in episode three. The penultimate quarter of a Doctor Who serial always seems to be the hardest to write without playing for time, the three act structure is so familiar for a reason, and this one is no exception feeling like it does waste quite a lot of time with the Doctor arsing. Getting out of the castle and going back in and all for no really good reason other than to stretch out the runtime. Obviously, all of the antics are fun. This is a good production and Alan Bromley's only true directorial credit but it still has a bit of a sag, in my opinion. Is The Time Warrior a bad story? Far from it. Nothing as fun and as well made as this could possibly be considered wholly bad in my books. It is flawed, certainly but there is so much here to love. In a season of greatest hits, The Time Warrior stands out like a toad-faced git, chuckling with glee at how clever it is.

Later in the year, and despite the reservations of the BBC Head of serials, Holmes would be offered the position of script-editor for season twelve. He took the offer up and, in hindsight, it makes The Time Warrior somewhat of an intriguing curio. On the one hand, this is the last product of the creative fury that was season ten. On the other, it is a tantalising glimpse into what lies ahead around the corner. The Hinchcliffe era doesn't obviously have much in common with The Time Warrior, it is a lot funnier than a lot of those stories would be, but there is a more subtle stylistic shift to be seen here. This is not a comic-book adventure serial. The action is not explosive and the dialogue is not pulpy and punchy in the same way. The Time Warrior is more literary. Not inherently a better or even more intelligent choice but the distinction is palpable. Underneath the sheen of a gritty historical is a silly story about squalid and mean characters  whose lives are miserable and ambitions are low. Even with the Doctor, still under UNIT's employ, there is a clear sense of his ready to move on from this status quo. The wheels of the next era are slowly in motion. Even the title sequence has changed, slowly morphing into its next identity but it's not quite there yet. Instead of looking back on the era that is closing up, The Time Warrior sets its sights firmly on the future. 

It's not even close to the best Pertwee story though. 

*He did, however, question why the Bessie model featured a S18 Tom in the driver's seat saying that it was "mostly Pertwee" who drove the car. Throughout my childhood, I found it easy to reconcile this though thanks to Tom's appearance in the The Five Doctors photoshoot. It's obvious, really.

[qnewsau]

Marcia Hines headlines Broken Heel's final festival

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/marcia-hines-headlines-broken-heels-final-festival/

Marcia Hines headlines Broken Heel's final festival

Superstar Marcia Hines brings the heat as she brings Disco Inferno to Broken Heel’s final festival.

If you thought the Priscilla Queen of the Desert inspired festival Broken Heel couldn’t get any bigger for the films 30th anniversary, you’d be wrong.

With a career in the entertainment industry spanning over 50 years;  Marcia Hines is coming for the festivals last hurrah, and she can’t wait.

“I’m going out there and performing for the people who gave me the career I’ve got.” Marcia told us.

“People in the main cities have it so lucky, they get everything. As a performer, you owe it to your audience to go anywhere you possibly can.”

Ready for Broken Hill to dazzle

With 26 albums, countless chart-topping singles, so many stage productions, plus helping others in the industry grow on Australian Idol, you’d think Marcia would want to take a break!

“I love what I do, and I think it helps immensely when you don’t think of what you do at work.” she said while performing in the musical Greece in Perth, “I look at it as my blessing, and I love being able to say that.”

Marcia won’t be outshone when it comes to glitter and glam when she heads to Broken Heel later this year.

She is bringing her Disco Inferno show for all to enjoy on the festivals eventful Friday night.

“I’m performing with some very talented people onstage.” she told us, “We work hard at it, and we can’t wait to entertain the audiences on the night.”

“I love regional areas because people don’t mind traveling a few hundred kilometers to see a show, and that works for me too.”

Celebrating community

With the festival located in the far west region of outback New South Wales near the border of South Australia, getting there can be a bit of a drive.

Luckily the Broken Heel team have coordinated travel options from coach, train and air so that all you must do is pack your boa and get ready to party.

The inland mining town is transformed into a pride-filled hub for five days, creating an inclusive space in an area many people wouldn’t think it would be.

But that is why Marcia is excited to headline there this year.

“This is the community that brought me up.” she said.

“Back in the day, I lost maybe 75% of my boyfriends because of the epidemic that hit us. Those people helped me immensely in my life.”

“That’s the great thing about the performance arts. We’re all family.”

“And the community, that’s where a lot of the artistic and theatrical parts of the world came from.”

“When nobody else knew of us. They lifted most of the music that was happening in the disco era. In the clubs and all the incredible spaces.”

Celebrate disco, drag and more with the one and only Marcia Hines this September at the Broken Heel from 5th -9th September.

Find out more here.

[linuxgamenews]

Explore the Exciting World of Electric Trains with High Voltage DLC

High Voltage DLC is due to make its way onto Railway Empire 2 which is playable on Steam Deck and Linux via Windows PC. Thanks to the brilliant team at Gaming Minds Studios. Due to make its way onto Steam. Big news from Kalypso Media and Gaming Minds Studios – the new DLC, Railway Empire 2 – High Voltage, is sparking its way to your screens on July 30th. Coming to Linux and Steam Deck (Verified) via Windows PC. It's time to electrify your railway empire. In High Voltage, you'll dive into the exciting world of electric trains. Due to leave those old steam engines in the dust. This DLC is packed with great new content, like 10 historically accurate electric locomotives. Leading the charge are the PRR GG1 Blackjack and Ce 6/8 III Krokodil, true legends of railway tech from the early 20th century.

Railway Empire 2 | Release Trailer

You'll also get to explore the stunning Swiss countryside and race through Europe on a brand-new map – Switzerland. This map isn't just about the views; it's also about the cargo. You’ll be transporting 10 new goods, including Swiss Pocket Knives, Herbal Candies, and even Cheese Fondue. These unique items will boost your revenue like never before. Take control in two new scenarios – High Voltage and Power to the People. In these, you'll master the art of high-speed, efficient train travel, ensuring your passengers and goods get where they need to be quickly and profitably.

What’s New in High Voltage?

The Age of Electrification: Step into a new era as electric trains start due to take over from steam giants. Get ready for some serious speed and efficiency upgrades.

Fully Charged Locomotives: You’ll have 10 carefully recreated electric locomotives at your disposal. So you can experience the power of the Ce 6/8 III Krokodil and the PRR GG1 Blackjack. Plus, enjoy 3 new electronic locomotive sounds that bring these machines to life.

New Scenarios: The DLC also features two fully voiced scenarios, "High Voltage" starting in 1914, and "Power to the People" beginning in 1920. These challenges will test your skills as you navigate the shift to electric power.

Swiss Expansion: Expand your empire across the middle of Europe with the new Switzerland regional map. Since you can play it as one large map or in five detailed sections.

Unique Swiss Goods: Transport iconic Swiss products like Pocket Knives, Herbal Candies, and Cheese Fondue. These new items add variety and profit potential to your routes.

Fresh Tunes: Get into the groove with 20 new music tracks and jingles. They’re designed to immerse you in the high-energy world of electric trains. Railway Empire 2 – High Voltage is due to hit Steam on July 30th. Mark your calendars and get ready to power up your railway empire. Playable on Linux and Steam Deck (Verified) via Windows PC. So, if you're ready to jump into the future of railroads, this content is for you. It’s packed with everything you need to take your game to the next level. Don’t miss out the base title, on sale via Steam (20% off) and Humble Store (15% off). Dropping the price to roughly $39.99 USD / £36.79 / 39,99€.

[qocsuing]

The Evolution of Clothing: A Journey Through Time

The Evolution of Clothing: A Journey Through Time Clothing, an essential part of human civilization, has evolved significantly over the centuries. From simple animal skins and plant materials to sophisticated fabrics and fashion trends, the journey of clothing is a fascinating tale of innovation, creativity, and cultural expression.

In the early days, our ancestors wore clothing for protection against harsh weather and environmental hazards. They used readily available materials, such as animal skins and leaves, to cover themselves. This rudimentary form of clothing served its purpose well, providing warmth in cold climates and protection from the sun in hotter regions. Yupoo-China Wholesale Supplier Branded Shoes clothing bags accessories watches caps belts, join us on whatsapp | Yupoo As societies developed, so did their clothing. The invention of weaving marked a significant turning point in the history of clothing. People began to weave plant fibers into cloth, creating a more comfortable and durable form of clothing. This advancement allowed for greater variety in clothing styles and designs, reflecting the growing complexity of human societies.

The Industrial Revolution brought about another major change in clothing. The invention of the sewing machine and the mass production of textiles made clothing more affordable and accessible. Fashion trends began to emerge, reflecting societal changes and individual expression. Clothing became more than just a necessity; it became a way to express one’s identity and status.

In the modern era, clothing has become a global industry, with fashion trends changing at a rapid pace. Advances in technology have led to the creation of new fabrics and materials, such as synthetic fibers and smart textiles. These innovations have further expanded the possibilities for clothing design and functionality.

Despite these changes, the fundamental purpose of clothing remains the same. It provides protection, comfort, and a means of self-expression. As we look to the future, it’s exciting to imagine what new innovations and trends will shape the evolution of clothing.

In conclusion, the journey of clothing is a testament to human ingenuity and creativity. From simple animal skins to sophisticated fashion trends, clothing has evolved alongside human civilization, reflecting our history, culture, and aspirations. As we continue to innovate and create, there’s no telling what the future of clothing will look like. But one thing is certain: clothing will always be an essential part of our lives, a reflection of who we are and the world we live in.

[delllaptops]

who we are

what we do

By 1990 some personal computers had become small enough to be completely portable. They included laptop computers, also known as notebook computers, which were about the size of a notebook, and less-powerful pocket-sized computers, known as personal digital assistants (PDAs). (Personal computers that were not portable became known as “desktops” to distinguish them from laptops.) At the high end of the PC market,

In 2005, while earnings and sales continued to rise, sales growth slowed considerably, and the company stock lost 25% of its value that year.[33] By June 2006, the stock traded around US$25 which was 40% down from July 2005—the high-water mark of the company in the post-dotcom era.

The slowing sales growth has been attributed to the maturing PC market, which constituted 66% of Dell's sales, and analysts suggested that Dell needed to make inroads into non-PC business segments such as storage, services, and servers. Dell's price advantage was tied to its ultra-lean manufacturing for desktop PCs,[36] but this became less important as savings became harder to find inside the company's supply chain, and as competitors such as Hewlett-Packard and Acer made their PC manufacturing operations more efficient to match Dell, weakening Dell's traditional price differentiation.[37] Throughout the entire PC industry, declines in prices along with commensurate increases in performance meant that Dell had fewer opportunities to upsell to their customers (a lucrative strategy of encouraging buyers to upgrade the processor or memory). As a result, the company was selling a greater proportion of inexpensive PCs than before, which eroded profit margins.[27] The laptop segment had become the fastest-growing of the PC market, but Dell produced low-cost notebooks in China like other PC manufacturers which eliminated Dell's manufacturing cost advantages, plus Dell's reliance on Internet sales meant that it missed out on growing notebook sales in big box stores.[3][34] CNET has suggested that Dell was getting trapped in the increasing commoditization of high volume low margin computers, which prevented it from offering more exciting devices that consumers demanded.[36]

Despite plans of expanding into other global regions and product segments, Dell was heavily dependent on US corporate PC market, as desktop PCs sold to both commercial and corporate customers accounted for 32 percent of its revenue, 85 percent of its revenue comes from businesses, and sixty-four percent of its revenue comes from North and South America, according to its 2006 third-quarter results. US shipments of desktop PCs were shrinking, and the corporate PC market, which purchases PCs in upgrade cycles, had largely decided to take a break from buying new systems. The last cycle started around 2002, three or so years after companies started buying PCs ahead of the perceived Y2K problems, and corporate clients were not expected to upgrade again until extensive testing of Microsoft's Windows Vista (expected in early 2007), putting the next upgrade cycle around 2008.[38][39] Heavily dependent on PCs, Dell had to slash prices to boost sales volumes, while demanding deep cuts from suppliers.

[swissrailjourney]

Facts why Switzerland has Always been Rveryone's Favourite Destination:

Switzerland may seem little in contrast to other European nations, but that does not imply there are fewer attractions there. Instead, it has set itself apart from the rest of Europe with its fantastic landscape, tranquil settings, and cosmopolitan towns. It has successfully become a tourist hotspot while being only mildly over-commercialized. Discover more tours in Switzerland, a place you must glimpse at least once in your lifetime. The spectacular mountain views, the heart-pounding activities, and the delectable cuisine must all be experienced at least once. So here are a few Facts about why Switzerland has always been everyone’s favourite destination:

Amazing cuisine:

The cuisine of Switzerland will astonish you with its excellent ingredients and gorgeous plate presentation, in addition to cheese and milk chocolate, both of which the nation is renowned for producing. The cuisine may be described as the result of canton’s French, Italian, and Germanic meals with a unique twist, which is most frequently obtained by adding homemade spices, naturally aged products, and a regular contrast between sweetness and light bitterness that adds to the exquisite flavours. If you are interested in the culinary arts or want to try out different cuisines, Switzerland has everything from casual cafes to Fine dining restaurants.

The fantasy of photographers:

The mountains, the crystal-clear canals, and the lush plains are only a tiny part of what makes Switzerland one of the gorgeous countries in all of Europe. The combination of all of these factors results in the unparalleled beauty of Switzerland’s landscapes. While participating in exploration activities there, The one of Switzerland's most magnificent sights, might help you find or rediscover your love of photography.

Best Swiss art galleries:

Since it offers a window into the past and a method to understand the lives and civilizations of the past, art is respected and conserved in Switzerland with the utmost care. Even though Switzerland does not produce much of its art, it makes up for this by having a variety of museums with collections of works of art from all over Europe, each of which emphasizes a particular era, whether it be contemporary, modern, or abstract. Numerous works of Swiss art, including poetry, wood carvings, embroidery, and music that frequently alternates between high falsetto and low chest notes, are influenced by art.

Self-proclaimed country of cheese:

The cheeses from Switzerland are by far the best-known in terms of diversity, quality, and production. The Swiss dairy industry is one of the most environmentally friendly types of agricultural production, has a considerable impact on the country’s economic growth. The local government depends on the businesses to maintain and improve cheese production levels, which generates jobs and secures income for various occupational groups. It is projected that the companies will generate 189,000 tons of cheese annually. Additionally, there are 475 different varieties of cheese. The flavours of Swiss cuisine will surprise you even though they are delicious on their own. The most well-known is fondue, a cheese sauce into which you can dip bread, meats, and even fruits. In a meal called raclette, cheese is melted, and then pieces are scraped off to be added to other cuisines or even eaten on their own because it is so delicious.

A country with a variety of cultures:

Switzerland is comparable to a nation with various regions, each with a distinctive culture. Each canton has its traditions, customs, and even accents, making the country exciting to visit and never getting boring. Due to the numerous historical associations ingrained in each canton, Switzerland is culturally fragmented, resulting in certain places being wholly separate from others. You should always have a translator on hand since you never know who you could run into. The differences can be distinguished in minute elements like street layouts, sign types, and more.

A train ride like no other else:

Switzerland has many beautiful open-air attractions, so you will likely have little time to see them on your first trip there. But, is it? Switzerland has a top-notch public transportation system that includes cable cars and trains that pass through some of the country’s most beautiful regions yet are unreachable by foot. So, to experience nature from a unique viewpoint, take a lovely train journey between two mountains. Seize the opportunity to practise your smartphone photography skills or to learn more about photography. Planning a rail trip across the country will not only be a fantastic adventure but one where you will always be on schedule. Like Swiss watches, all trains are exact in timing and arrive right on schedule.

Final Thoughts:

At least one time in a lifetime, visit Swiss historical places when you travel to Switzerland. The selection of the city to visit is the next step in planning a trip to Switzerland. Therefore, start looking for the town that will highlight the feature of the nation that most interests you.

[mxvladdy]

Self Indulgent B-Day HCs

It’s my birthday and Obey Me has watered by crops with 5 UR cards in a row and phone calls so have some fluff with NSFWish stuff at the end 

Presents the boys get you. (NSFWish)

Lucifer 

A custom leather tote bag

Made with the softest leather and embroidered with your favorite pattern (And his pact mark on the inside cover so he can keep you safe)

It’s large enough for school and fashionable enough to be used for social outings

A private dinner at a restaurant of your choice

An evening alone at a high-end establishment

You pick a human realm restaurant you’d always dreamed of going to from all those travel shows you watch

He’s never been there either so it's a treat for both of you, sampling the regional and chief’s specialties before being whisked off to wherever else you wanted to go for dessert

Day ends in his bed- If you want it

He’s spent the day pampering you so why not the evening too

For once he lets you take the lead. Whatever you desire you get.

Ultimate service top for this occasion

If you say no that’s fine too. At least let him indulge in your company a bit more with some drinks and conversation. But it’s up to you.

It’s your special day after all

Mammon

Personalized necklace

Don’t say the Great Mammon never got ya nothin’!

It’s a beautiful and simple piece. A slim gold chain with your birthstone embedded in the beak of a small crow. Gotta remind the other demons who is looking out for ya

What makes it doubly special is that you know he saved up to get you this. No witches, schemes or older brother’s involved in this

Private photoshoot

He’s got some connections and a few favors way past due

Let him treat ya.

You pick the theme, the dress, and the makeup. He’s got his whole crew there to make this perfect.

Has a blast posing next to you knowing that no one else in the realms will get to see these photos.

Just you and him. Like it should be.

Has his favorite framed and tucked away in his room so none of the other brothers can find it

Day ends in his bed- If you want it

A blushing bravado fueled mess when he asks. Palm sweaty in yours.

It’s how he would want his birthday to end so like obviously you’d want the same too, right?

If not, that cool. Can he at least cuddle with ya on his couch with a movie? He doesn’t want this day to end yet.

If you say yes well be ready for a ride! You ain’t lifting a finger. He reads your body like a book and makes sure you're happy and satisfied before turning to his own needs.

Leviathan

A video game

Not just any game of course! What do you take him for some kinda normie?

This game is a two-player with a twist. It’s only made for two players, the first two to ever log in are bound to it.No one else can play this with you but him.

Bonus! You can play it with him even after you have to return to the human realm. It’ll be like you never left.

He’ll spend hours showing you the ropes then another couple just enjoying a game with you and unlocking all the achievements.

Day at the beach

You're lucky he likes you. Leaving his room is an ordeal for him

But you’ve been begging for a while to go swimming with him in his demon form. You had heard he’s a great swimmer.

He can’t really say no to that now can he?

Takes you to collect seashells and deep diving for treasure (he knows a few spells so you could breathe underwater like him)

Day ends in his tub bed- If you want to

Like Mammon is an absolute mess at the idea

But is sweet about it if you say no. Well instead ask to just chill and cuddle. Probably drift off watching the sea creatures in his tank swim by in lazy circles.

If you say yes he is an enthusiastic demon and will treat you like the protagonist in all his favorite animes

Satan

A person book of poetry

He’s been around a while and has studied enough books that he is good with just about every form of literature

It’s a sweet gift. A slim leather-bound book, the pages embossed with gold and tiny runes that make the little cat doodles he’s drawn about the pages move on their own.

The book is filled with little poems or short letters that he has written over a year of getting to know you. Just little things like evenings out together or group misadventure.  

Trip to the human realm to visit any museum of your choosing

Taking him to a museum is the best idea. He knows all the little details that have been lost to time or that humans just couldn’t understand.

Takes special pride in talking about events he had witnessed first hand or caused.

Buys you a souvenir from all the places you visit and will drag you into a photo booth. Say hello to his new favorite bookmark

Day ends in his bed- If you want to

Won’t push the subject obviously. But his little kisses and touches are a clear giveaway to his intentions of the night.

If you decide otherwise then allow him to escort you to your room, or perhaps sit with him in the music room for a bit longer? High key just stole a good bottle of whiskey from Lucifer and he still has so many stories he wants to share.

If you say yes. You’re in for a helluva night. He could let you take the lead. But he’s not and you’ll thank him for it

Asmodeus

Resort trip

He had this one booked in advance. Devildom hot springs and spas are a no-go for humans so he found the absolute perfect one in the human realm.

Got the honeymoon package bc he’s extra and wants to go all out. Plus this package has simply the cutest gourmet tea cakes and complimentary champagne.

Makes you spend the whole day relaxing with him. You’re always too tense in his eyes. Made for the skin. Come soak a bit with him!

Shopping spree

Whatever you want you got today! Within reason. He can’t let you buy anything ugly!

Helps pick out a few new outfits and highly recommended skincare products.

If you let him will buy you some tasteful lingerie. Trust him, whether it's for him or devil forbid one of his brothers he wants you looking fabulous.

Regales you with stories of his younger years and the different eras of fashion. Honestly, the corset wasn’t that bad! It made his waistline look so good! Lead makeup was a no- ugh could you image? Not on your pretty face!  

Day ends in bed- if you want to

If you want to give him a private showing of all the outfits you bought he won’t say no. If you want to show him the undergarments he will definitely be enthusiastic.

If not oh well! He has a strict sleep schedule so he’ll wind down for the night. You are welcome to join him in his bedroom if you want. He just changed his sheets for the season and they are as close to heaven as he’ll ever get again.

If you do how exciting. He has so many tips and tricks he knows you’ll appreciate. The pampering doesn’t stop until you can’t handle it anymore.

Beelzebub

Breakfast in bed

This was a herculean effort for him. The first two meals got eaten on the way to your room :(

But when he gets it to you it’s the best! There is plenty to share too. He has a real talent for breakfast foods

Spends the time while you eat asking what you want to fo for your birthday if anything at all.

He has plans to take you cafe hopping and then a walk up the forest path

Cafe Hopping and a walk

He treats you to any fancy treat you like and walks you around the Devildom proper pointing at all the interesting historic monuments and places

He helps take lots of pics of all the fancy foods and cute presentations before digging in

If you need a break no worries from walking or just full from too much good food no problem. You want to sit or maybe a piggyback ride back to the house

A very low key birthday present but that the best kind sometimes

Day ends in bed- if you want to

Doesn’t really think about it until you hint at it. He’s dtf if you are. He is still kinda hungry ;)

Always sweet on you in and out of the bedroom and today is no different. He doesn’t want you to get hurt.

If you don’t bring it up he won’t bring it up. Would much rather just hang out and talk till you fall asleep then make you uncomfortable

Belphegor

Botanical Garden tour

Loves the Devildom one so maybe he will like the human realm ones too

The most energetic you’ve ever seen him. Sure he walks slow and sits down at every opportunity

Stops at the butterfly habitat it’s a mutual favorite.

Buys you a super soft plushie from the gift shop. Can’t have a birthday without a physical present

Movie night

No one else is invited. Not even Beel. He remembers you talking about your favorite movie once and bought the directors cut to watch with you.

Love or hate the film he tries his best to stay up for the whole thing

Only dozes off once

Day ends in bed- if you want to

He could sleep or spend the night with you whatevs.

If you want to watch another movie and sleep sweet

If you want to do more well-say no more

He’s got enough energy for some fun  

[miserablesme]

The Les Miserables Changelog Part 9: 1997-2001 American variations

Hello, everyone! This is the latest edition in my attempt to chronicle all of the musical and lyrical changes which the show Les Miserables has undergone over the years. This time, we're going through the production-specific differences between the official 1997-2001 libretto and the third national tour and Broadway productions of the era.

As had been the case prior to 1997, the "Marius Company" tour and the Broadway show seemed to be closely connected to each other. They tended to use the same variations as each other, and while the American show definitely tried fewer new things lyrically speaking than the West End production did, it was a little more daring than its pre-1997 self. One notable difference is that the tour took significantly longer to adapt to changes than the Broadway production did. It held on to the version of the libretto prior to the second round of 1997 changes until around May-June 1998. Similarly, it continued to use the later 1997 libretto until around March-April 2001, whereas the Broadway production had infamously moved to a shortened libretto in December 2000.

With all that cleared up, let's get started!

As had been the case since 1987, American Javerts continued to sing "And I am Javert" instead of "And I'm Javert" in the opening number for some reason.

This isn't an official lyrical change or anything, but I still think it's worth noting that in the prologue Valjean no longer screams his "fliiiiiiiight!" line in American productions. He just speaks "took my flight" in a rather anticlimactic way. I guess it's less cheesy, but is also way less exciting.

There are a few parts of the libretto that present various options, and the Broadway and third national tour shows are always consistent in their choices. As has previously been mentioned, the 1997 libretto by default has Bamatabois call Fantine "you ugly slut", but gives his original "you little whore" as an alternate line. American productions during this era without exception gave him the latter line.

An interesting variation occurs during "The Runaway Cart". The line after "Don't approach, don't go near", as has been discussed, has changed a lot. It had previously taken the forms of:

At the risk of your life

And:

It'll fall on you too

Before the 1997 libretto made it as follows:

It's that load, it'll fall

Well, the Broadway and US tour productions changed it AGAIN, into:

That load's gonna fall

I guess it was supposed to sound more natural than the official line, though it annoys me that it's the wrong number of syllables.

Another option presented by the libretto is the presence or absence of Valjean's "You will find me at the hospital!" after "Who Am I?" Without exception, American productions during this era did include this line.

A very small change occurred after "Castle on a Cloud". Whereas Mme. Thenardier officially has always said "Now look who's here", these productions gave her the line "Well look who's here". Small as it may be, I actually like this change a lot. I feel like it sounds more casual and less... I don't know, literary, which is more consistent with Mme. Thenardier's character.

Initially, the show continued to have Thenardier pause and then remember Cosette's name during the "Waltz of Treachery". However, around late 1997, the American productions adapted the version that had already been used in the West End for a couple years, in which he mistakes her name as "Colette", is corrected by Mme. Thenardier, and finally speaks her name correctly.

I've previously mentioned the many variants of the beggars' lines in "Look Down". Officially, post-1997 they are as follows, with female beggars singing all the lines except for the final one, which is sung by a male beggar:

When's it gonna end

When're we gonna live

Something's gotta happen now

Something's gotta give

American productions apparently noticed the improper amount of syllables, and compensated by adding an "or" again to the final line:

When's it gonna end

When're we gonna live

Something's gotta happen now

Or something's gotta give

This is something of a callback to the 1987-1997 libretto, in which the entire crowd sings "Something's gotta happen now or something's gotta give". The "or" really ought to be the end of the third line instead of the beginning of the fourth; consequently, it's a little awkward to hear the last beggar's line begin so early. Still, I prefer this variant over the official syllable-deprived one.

As had always been the case, Thenardier's and Montparnasse's "wot" lines in "The Robbery" and "The Attack on Rue Plumet" respectively are replaced with the less region-specific "that".

The next notable discrepancy can be heard before "The Attack on Rue Plumet". Officially Montparnasse claimed that Valjean has "Got a number on his chest". As an earlier national tour had, the Broadway and US tour shows instead had him sing "Got a brand upon his chest". This accounted for a change in staging; whereas pre-1997 Valjean literally had "24601" branded on his chest, post-1997 Valjean just had a generic bar. I find it interesting that the change from "number" to "brand" was only regional; it seems like an obvious edit to make to the official libretto, yet is never ended up as one.

That just about sums this part up! If I missed anything feel free to let me know, as my goal is to create a changelog as thorough and complete as possible. I plan on making more parts in the near future covering all the changes that have been made in the show up until this day (discounting concerts). Any feedback and constructive criticism is very much appreciated.

As a side note, both for this project and my own enjoyment, I want as complete a collection of Les Miserables audios as possible. I already have most of what’s commonly circulated, but if you have any audios or videos you know are rare, I’d love it if you DMed me!

Until the turntable puts me at the forefront again, good-bye…

[southeastasianists]

In late July, sitting in my sister-in-law’s home in St. Louis, Missouri, I waited in the “lobby” area of Cloud Theatre for Zoom Parah to begin. Itself a creation born of the pandemic, Cloud Theatre is an online platform which strives to offer a seamless digital theatre experience to global audiences. Their “lobby” is a simple but smart artificial space: a live chat box, available to attendees as they login for a show, is positioned next to the image of a theatre stage, framed by red curtains. The waiting room attempts to replicate the experience of audience members mingling and chatting before a performance begins. Joining others in this virtual space, I was excited to see another Malaysian, also based in the United States, mention that they were from Petaling Jaya—my hometown. I excitedly typed back, “I’m from PJ, too!” The spark of recognition flashing across the chat box was akin to overhearing a conversation between strangers, and interjecting to share a mutual connection. Months into social distancing protocols, the Cloud Theatre lobby reminded me that there was something inherently sociable about joining hundreds of people from around the world to watch this production together—albeit, online.

“We had people who’d never seen theatre before experience it for the first time using Zoom.” Malaysian theatre director, actor and writer Jo Kukathas stressed this point repeatedly when discussing Zoom Parah, the online adaptation of the critically acclaimed play, Parah. This digital theatre performance, and the new viewing experiences it made possible, is just one of many examples of innovative work being produced by Southeast Asian directors, producers, and actors since the pandemic. In the early days and weeks of Covid-19, theatre makers from this region—like so many others around the world—watched in despair as stages went dark and theatres shut their doors. Despite the dire conditions, they rallied—with little to no funding and even less governmental support—to reimagine theatre in the time of COVID. They created innovative forms of theatre designed for Zoom, streamed recordings of award-winning plays that had not previously been available online, and held numerous talk-back sessions to reflect on the creative process. The digital turn in Southeast Asian theatre has provided unprecedented access to experimental and critically acclaimed work from the region. These productions have connected audiences and diasporic communities around the world, focusing often on urgent questions of race, identity, and belonging. These developments offer models not only for the professional theatre world, but also for teachers and students of the performing arts who are navigating online education.

In their articles for Offstage and The Business Times, Akanksha Raja and Helmi Yusof discuss half a dozen new Singaporean and Southeast Asian theatre projects which have embraced the digital turn. These include: Murder at Mandai Camp and The Future Stage from Sight Lines Entertainment; Long Distance Affair from Juggerknot Theatre and PopUP Theatrics; Fat Kids Are Harder to Kidnap from How Drama; and Who’s There? from The Transit Ensemble and New Ohio Theatre. While these are just a few of the productions that have emerged since the pandemic began, they are impressive in scale, quantity, and range of forms. These performances have taken advantage of every feature offered by Zoom, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and other social media platforms. They’ve incorporated chat boxes, polls, and even collaborative detective work on the part of the audience. In addition to Zoom Parah (by Instant Café Theatre), I’ve had the opportunity to watch Who’s There?, as well as a recording of WILD RICE theatre’s celebrated play, Merdeka, written by Singaporean playwrights Alfian Sa’at and Neo Hai Bin. Of these three, Zoom Parah and Who’s There? illuminate the technological and socio-political interventions of Southeast Asian digital theatre, as well as the ways in which COVID-19 has redefined performance and spectatorship.

In addition to the virtual lobby and chat function, Zoom Parah employed live English translation in a separate text box, making the production accessible to those not fluent in Malay. Who’s There? like Zoom Parah, also made the most of the chat function, along with approximately a dozen polls which punctuated the performance. Each poll gauged audience reactions to the complex issues the play addressed and reflected the responses back to the viewers. This feature required audience members to pause, reflect on a particular scene and its context, and assess the perspectives through which they were viewing the performance. In effect, the polls created a dynamic feedback loop between the cast, crew, and viewers, offering an alternative to the in-person audience response that is so crucial to live performances. Augmenting their efforts to keep audience members plugged in, the play experimented with layering lighting, sound, and mixed media to produce different visual and sound effects within the Zoom frame.

Alongside their adaptation of online technologies, both plays are also noteworthy for their socio-political interventions. Parah, the critically acclaimed play on which Zoom Parah is based, was written in 2011 by award-winning Singaporean writer and resident playwright at WILD RICE theatre, Alfian Sa’at. It follow a group of 11th grade students of different races (Malay, Chinese, and Indian) as they navigate reading the controversial Malaysian novel, Interlok, which sparked national debates surrounding racial stereotypes. The classmates, who share a deep friendship, challenge each other’s views of the novel by reflecting on their lived experiences. Zoom Parah retained the original plot and script, bringing the play’s pressing questions into a national landscape marked by pandemic lockdowns and political upheaval, and shadowed by new iterations of Malay supremacy. At a volatile time for the country, Zoom Parah questions what it means to be Malaysian, making visible the forms of belonging and exclusion that continue to shape national identities.

Who’s There? was also invested in broaching difficult discussions of contemporary issues. A transnational collaboration between artists from the US, Singapore, and Malaysia, the play was part of the New Ohio Theatre’s summer festival, which moved online due to the pandemic. Who’s There? aimed to tackle some of the most contentious racial topics of 2020: the killing of George Floyd and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests; the use of black and brownface in Malaysia; and the relationship between DNA testing and cultural identity. The production was structured as a series of linked vignettes, featuring different sets of characters wrestling with interconnected racial and national contexts.

Both Parah and Who’s There speak to the arts’ inherent capacity to not merely experiment with form and aesthetics in the digital realm, but to also engage the complexity of history, politics, and contemporary culture. As Kukathas recently reflected, “The act of making theatre to me is always about trying to connect to the society that I live in; that could be local, that could be global . . . people want to hear stories, and to connect through stories.” By taking on the dual challenge of experimenting with digital technologies and responding to what’s happening in the public square, Southeast Asian digital theatre joins work such as the Public Theatre’s all-Black production of Much Ado About Nothing to offer new frames through which to view race, rights, and identity—even and especially in the midst of a global pandemic.

Kukathas’ comments on the inherently social motivations of her work were shared during a Facebook Live discussion entitled “Who’s Afraid of Digital Theater?”. The conversation aired on 20 August, hosted by WILD RICE theatre and moderated by Alfian. Focusing on “the possibilities and pitfalls of digital theatre,” the discussion featured reflections from artists who have helped launch this new era of Southeast Asian theatre. The panelists included Kukathas, Kwin Bhichitkul from Thailand (director, In Own Space) and Sim Yan Ying “YY” from Singapore (co-director and actor, Who’s There?). Approximately 100 people tuned in for the discussion, and the recording has accrued over 8,000 views on Facebook. During the conversation, the theatre makers shared rationales for their creative choices, as well as strategies for navigating the challenges of developing online performances. Their insights offer potential pathways for other theatre professionals, as well as teachers and students of theatre who are continuing to work online.

Bhichitkul, Kukathas, and Sim’s approaches to digital theatre diverged significantly from one another. They each played with different technologies and were guided by distinct motivations. Bhichitkul was focussed on the isolation created by the pandemic and, responding to this fragmentation, he asked 15 artists to create short, 2-minute video performances. Bhichitkul explained that this project also had an improvisational twist: “Every artist need[ed] to be inspired by the message of the [artist’s] video before them. They couldn’t think beforehand, they needed to wait until the day [they received the video]” before creating their own. The creative process was thus limited to just a 24-hour window for each artist. The entire project spanned 15 days, with Bhichitkul stitching the videos together on the final day.

On the other hand, Kukathas felt strongly that her foray into digital theatre required a deep connection to a live, staged performance. Therefore, she chose Parah—a play she directed for six re-stagings between 2011-2013—as the production she would adapt to Zoom. Kukathas explained, “If I was going to start experimenting with doing digital theatre . . . it needed to be a play that I was very familiar with, and a play that the actors were very familiar with. I wanted the actors to really inhabit their bodies, so that the energy of the actor’s body was very present even through the screen . . . I [needed] actors who have a kinetic memory in their body of that performance being 360 degrees.” Unlike Kukathas, Sim was “interested in doing something as far away from live theatre as possible” and did not want to be “beholden” to its conventions. She views digital theatre as “a new art form in itself; not an extension of live theatre, not a replacement, but something that straddles the line between theatre and film.”

The directors’ reflections on their respective productions illustrate the range of forms, techniques, and points of view with which theatre makers are experimenting. They also suggest that digital theatre has the potential to accommodate a surprisingly wide variety of directorial visions and investments.

And while their approaches might vary, these theatre makers all agreed about the benefits and opportunities of digital theatre. They returned repeatedly to the advantages of greater accessibility and transnational reach without the costs of international travel. Kukathas and Sim cited accessibility and the pay-what-you-can model as being particular priorities for them. Kukathas was especially proud of the fact that “we could reach the play to people who would ordinarily not be able to go to the theatre. And we made our tickets really cheap: our cheapest ticket was RM5 (US $1). We did that deliberately so that people who don’t usually even go to the theatre would get a chance to watch it. So we had people who’d never seen theatre before experience it for the first time using Zoom.”

The directors also view the digital turn as one which opens up new avenues for creativity and collaboration. Sim recalls, “We still spent 3-4 hours per rehearsal, 4 times a week, on this space together. We developed a closeness and a relationship with each other even though we never met live. And we still shared a lot of cross-cultural exchanges.” Kukathas views the shift to online technologies and platforms as one which prompts us to ask big questions about theatre and to re-evaluate the rules of spectatorship. Filming theatre at home, sharing it online, and watching it at home creates, according to Kukathas, a merging of “strangeness and ordinariness” that shrinks the spaces between public and private. The ensuing disorientation poses, for Kukathas, a number of pivotal questions: “What is theatre? What are the impulses that drive us to make a piece of theatre? What is it to watch theatre? How free are you now when you’re watching? . . . I think this could be a good chance to question why we have certain rules [in theatre] and whether those rules are really necessary.”

While we are used to hearing laments about the digital as the enemy of “the real,” the digital turn in Southeast Asian theatre suggests an opening and an expansion; a chance to reimagine the performing arts, develop new forms of collaboration, and reach wider and more diverse audiences. As Akanksha Raja notes in Offstage, “performance-makers have been recognising that the way they choose to embrace technology can not only enhance but possibly birth new forms of theatre.”

However, it’s crucial not to romanticise the very real challenges of alternative forms and platforms. Alfian noted that, “In a traditional theatre, you are a captive audience . . . you’re not allowed to be distracted, not allowed to look at your phone. On the one hand, we’re seeing there’s the freedom to not be so disciplined when watching a show. But at the same time, is the freedom necessarily a good thing? You’re actually quite distracted and you’re not giving your 100 percent [attention] to the work.”

Sim and Kukathas agreed to an extent, but pointed out alternative advantages: group chats and texts in a “watch party” format build a sense of connection among audience members and provide real-time audience reactions and feedback. Kukathas recalled how attendees used the chat box (along with text messages and DMs) to alert Kukathas and her producer to a sound issue that they were not aware of. Kukathas laughingly reflected, “I really appreciated how invested people were. They were like, ‘Fix this right now!’ and then we had to rush to try to fix it. It made me feel how alive we were—the audience was shouting at us!”

The digital turn in Southeast Asian theatre is bringing a wide range of productions to global audiences. The literary and cultural traditions of this region are incredibly rich and have always been shaped by complex histories of migration, exchange, and adaptation. Digital theatre is borne of new practices of migration, exchange, and adaptation—and of necessity. While there have been controversial debates in countries like Singapore and Malaysia about the value of the arts during this pandemic, the creatives featured here are turning to the digital in order to keep art alive and to keep their companies and projects afloat. They are extending an invitation to audiences and to collaborators to embrace play and experimentation, to find opportunities in the challenges of online theatre, and to recognise that art is essential, now more than ever.

[juniaships]

Loonatics Reboot: Origins

The cousins of the world-famous Looney Tunes, the Loonatics are resident protectors of the progressive city-state, Acmetropolis. Currently there are seven members headed by their mysterious mentor, but for now let's dive in deeper into the origin story of the first six Loonatics. We'll get to number seven in the future! 💛💛💛

The story goes, the Loonatics came about by chance. You see, not too long ago six individuals volunteered for an experiment conducted by the city's namesake ACME (the business). As all of them needed the extra cash, they didn't mind being used as temporary guinea pigs if it meant having the funds to pursue their dreams or pay the rent.

Unfortunately the test did not produced the expected results and was marked off as a failure. While the group were paid they were disappointed & went back to their normal lives.

Until abnormalities started cropping up.

One volunteer, a college freshman named Lexi Bunny, began hearing things, increased migraines, and physically cringing at even moderately loud sounds. Such condition affected the way she moved and grooved to the beat (she was an avid dancer) and one day, she had passed out from the pressure and sent to the emergency room. While she recovered she began seeing everything in a pink haze. Lexi didn't know exactly caused her health emergency but she had a feeling that it had something to do with the experiment. But she kept quiet, she wasn't one to stand up for herself, remembering a horrid incident trying out for her school's cheer squad. She wondered what the other volunteers were feeling...

The second volunteer was an Acmewood stunt artist named Ace Bunny (yeah yeah he's related to Bugs now let him train in peace). Whenever Ace felt particularly confident, he saw his vision turn red...literally. His eyes burned no matter how much ice or eyedrops he used. During rehearsals he started to notice how every time someone went to strike him, he dodged them every. Single. Time. Many of the crew members lucky to see were impressed, shocked even (much to the displeasure of the lead actor) & leaving the Looney cousin embarrassed at the increased attention.

The fourth volunteer was a scientist named Tech E Coyote. Like Duck he also lost his job though unlike Duck he was on the receiving end of an angry coworker. The poor man was left to craft consolation contraptions in the solitude of his workshop. One night he noticed some pieces of metal clinging to his lab-coat. At first he brushed them off but they stuck to his hands. He made a note to himself to use anti-static softener; but after several wash days the problems persisted and very soon larger pieces of metal started clinging to his clothes, hands, all around his body - one incident he knocked himself out with a frying pan! He also took notes of lights flickering around him, computers and screens turning on and off whenever he walked near them.

The third volunteer was a young man barely out of his teen years simply known as Duck. Danger Duck. He worked as a pool boy ironically had a hot temper. To put it best he loathed his job, feeling not being taken seriously by the oh-so-macho lifeguards that picked on him constantly. One minute he was complaining about his job, and the next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of a desert. Than back to the pool. Than an artic region! He also complained of tingling sensations in his fingers, as if he dumped his hands in a bowl of cut peppers. And after one particularly frustrating day, he got so made he raised his threw something at the lifeguard... something red-hot and round...which nearly costed the lifeguard his life yet ALSO caused Duck to lose his job.

Rev, a pizza delivery man with a sense of words and no sense of direction, was the onlt one whose problems weren't seen. Not at least externally. During his trips he was relieved to not miss addresses as much as he used to. Maybe a stroke of luck he guessed. But now it seems his brain was replaced by a GPS because days by he can verbally recite the location almost every place in Acmetropolis from the tallest skyscraper to the dingey of alleyways. Not even having to travel to these places.

As for Slam, his already phenomenal strength increased tenfold, and so did his speed. Such growth massively helped his wrestling career. Every time he spun however, he swore he felt and heard the crick-crackle-boom of lightning...which one day during a match he accidentally electrocuted his opponent, promptly suspended for the rest of the season. At least the guy was alive...a cooked steak but alive.

Eventually these side effects took their toll and the citizens finally had enough. Weeks after the test the group went back to Acme to report on what they were experiencing, hoping to get some compensation to pay off frequent trips to the hospital.

To their surprise ACME was pleased to hear the results of the experiment had been successful after all. The CEO, Otto Matthias, saw potential in the ragtag group of Tunes and offered them a deal: work for his company as sponsored superheroes. There was a mixed reaction: Tech was skeptical, as was Lexi and Slam. Ace didn't know what to think of the deal, he wanted to be recognized for his talents. Danger was the only one totally on board with the plan (no more finding lost trunks). Rev was also excited yet nervous at the prospect. Otto added that the offer came with free housing, access to any and all Acme products, and a lifetime supply of Scooby Snacks (much to Slam's fancy).

Duck didn't have to hear anymore before immediately agreeing to the deal. He did not want to go back to being a lowly pool boy or any other position to be laughed at and bullied, and saw the deal as a surefire way to success. The rest of the group & Scooby Snack Slam decided to wait a week before giving their answer. Acme signed Duck as Danger Duck, the Living Magma Extraordinaire! Cool name is it?

Throughout the week the remaining Tunes pondered long and hard about the company's offer. Would this deal really help them find meaning in their otherwise pitiful lives? Or was it all a glorified corporate tactic designed to keep them quiet? Danger Duck, Living Magma Extraordinaire seemed to be having a good time, so they might be missing out on a stable fulfilling lifestyle. Surely it wasn't an evil trick? Right? Right??

The answer to their dilemma showed uo at their door. Literally.

For five days, each person received a visit from a woman dressed in a simple lavender coat with the hood drawn up. From the shadows they could make out ruby-colored lips, yet her eyes seemed to lack irises as they were entirely blank-white.

This woman claimed that she was the creator of the drug and that is was not meant to be in mortal hands. She claimed that Acme stole her formula for personal gain, warning them the CEO was not who he seemed & that they shouldn't take his word. When the civilians asked about Danger Duck, the woman vowed she would do everything in her power to try to steer the young man from a terrible fate.

"How do you know I can trust you?" That was the sentiment shared by the five Tunes, in varying words.

The woman only smiled. "It's all up to you," she simply replied before handing out a shiny triangle with the familiar shield logo on it.

As each Tune took the metallic shape in their hands, they wondered how would this hunk ol metal help them decide their future? The lady's words echoed through their minds...maybe...the shield was a emblem of their roots. How did she know so much about them and so concerned about their lives?

By the morning of the last day, it was Ace who came to his decision first. "I'll believe you," he relented. "If only you'll tell me more about this drug you made."

The woman shook her head. "I'm afraid that'll have to come in a group meeting," she said a bit tersely. The truth is too much to bear on one man.

"Here." She scribbled a few words down on a piece of paper. "Meet me at this location later this afternoon. Don't bring anyone else."

"Okay," Ace said a bit skeptically. He was about to ask more but the lady quickly left with a hurried goodbye. Ace blinked his blue eyes before reading what she had wrote. "I hope this ain't gonna land me on a watchlist," he muttered before starting to prepare for his impromptu meeting. He prayed that he made the right choice.

I'm making this as I go along XD

My goal for this chapter and the next one is to give the team a better backstories and the why and HOW they got together. I know the show had an origin episode but it didn't show them their first mission or how they actually met, only how they got their powers. As this is a reboot there are a lot of changes so instead of being set in the future, it's set in modern era and they're cousins of the Looney Tunes. I'm also trying to give them motivations: Danger Duck seeking fame and fortune; Tech seeking recognition for his genius; Ace forging his own path out of his cousin's shadow. I haven't gotten to Slam & Lexi's motivations as much as that would be for when I get to writing Weathervane (who will be Lexi's foil) and Massive (Slam's foil). Rev's motivation will also be explored as him learning to be more independent away from his family's wealthy lifestyle. As for my OC Mikayla Jordan, she's going to appear in a future post pertaining to the Freleng Royal Family oop spoiled my own OC subplot XD

[dropintomanga]

11 Years of Manga Therapy

Today, this blog is 11 years old. And it all feels like the past year went by so suddenly despite a pandemic that’s shut off almost everything.

Given that everything was at such a standstill, a good number of my thoughts from the blog when it turned 10 still stand. I will talk about a few new things that came to my mind recently and over the past year.

COVID-19 sucks. I have a lot of compassion for those who are just trying to survive. I’m sick of this need to be productive for the sake of being productive during a time where life isn’t normal at all. A lot of people have no outside help for basic needs. I find myself to be very fortunate and I owe that to the support systems in my life. I wish they had what I have.

I don’t know how I found the need to blog for this long even when it’s okay to just stop. But after the little rant I wrote a couple of days ago, I find that social media is too transient for what I really want to say. It’s platforms like Tumblr/WordPress that provide outlets for more concise thoughts. I still love manga and there’s always fascinating titles/stories (like My Broken Mariko pictured above) that can mostly be told via manga waiting to be explored.

What else? I got a PlayStation 4 last year and finally saw for myself the renewed popularity of Japanese video games post-2016. The PS3 era disappointed me and got me away from gaming. I’m excited to see where Japanese games go from here after playing through various games since my console purchase.

Plus playing a bunch of Yakuza (I played through Yakuza 0, Judgment, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon) games got me into riichi mahjong. It all started from doing a mandatory mahjong side-quest in Judgment to unlock the chance to fight the game’s superboss that got me into it. I couldn’t get mahjong at first, but I had help from my parents who played mahjong their whole lives despite regional rule differences. I struggled at mahjong for a while until I decided to try it again in Yakuza: Like a Dragon after I finished the main story. I’ve been hooked ever since after taking the time to understand the rules and how to properly win. I now read riichi mahjong books and want to start playing more Mahjong Soul (a gacha-style mahjong game with cute anime characters). Once the pandemic is finally over, I think I’ll try going to a local riichi mahjong club near me and see what it’s like offline.

What I like about mahjong is that the game is a metaphor for life. My dad sent me a video of Julia Roberts talking about her love of mahjong. She said that mahjong is like sorting your life out of chaos. I find that to be strikingly true. A big part of learning mahjong is WWYD (What would you discard?) as you need to draw tiles to make a winning combination and throw away ones that won’t help you win. Yet while certain tiles will help you win, there are times where you need to throw out tiles that are considered to be safe in order to not lose big. In various points in life, there’s things you need to toss away in order to become better and/or safer. To be honest, we’re not always perfect at what to throw away. I feel the complexities of mahjong is good practice for me in understanding that not everything’s going to go our way even if we’ve done a lot of good for the world.

Finally, I’m starting to embrace myself as a non-binary thinker. I support important cultural movements and find them necessary. Yet I know there are always voices still being shut out despite good intentions and alternatives. It’s disrespectful to believe that everyone all happily agrees with one another when that’s not really the case. I don’t think we truly listen enough to each other and try to shout so much about how important this and that are without considering that some things are helpful for some people while some aren’t.

Empathy isn’t enough. You can understand someone’s suffering, but it doesn’t mean that you’re willing to sit with them through it. I think the person who’s suffering wants compassion more than just empathy. I want people to see there’s power in knowing uncomfortable truths in everything.

Of course, I’m not sure there’s room for someone like me up in a world of absolutes. It’s fine. I relish where I’m at and I now know that I’m not alone in my thinking. I’m also thinking about changing the name of this blog because truth be told, I’m not sure the name “Manga Therapy” is right anymore because I’m not a licensed mental health professional. I’m more on an peer/advocate level. I know some of you may disagree, but calling myself “therapy” feels like an insult to the mental health profession and does disservice to anyone with serious mental illness that doesn’t have the luxury to enjoy the privileges (i.e. reading manga as a way to process emotions) that most of us have.

That’s about it. Thanks for reading and following me this past year (or longer)! I just want you all to survive somehow this year. Nothing more.

[fremedon]

It’s almost Yuletide! This will be my 18th Yuletide! My first Yuletide story will be old enough to vote this year and I have some mixed feelings about that! But also I have never missed or defaulted on a Yuletide since, and I have to say I feel pretty proud of that. I am still pretty far down the Les Misérables rabbit hole (speaking of which, it is not too late to propose programming for Barricades!), and unsurprisingly all the fandoms I'm nominating/requesting this year are set in July Monarchy France--Les Mis canon era: Petit-Cénacle RPF, Champavert: Contes Cruelles | Champavert: Immoral Tales - Pétrus Borel, and Les Enfants du Paradis | Children of Paradise. Petit-Cénacle RPF The Petit-Cénacle was a French Romantic salon, slightly younger and considerably more politically radical than the Cénacle centered on Hugo and Dumas; it included painters and sculptors as well as writers and critics, and most of its members at least dabbled in both written and visual arts. Its best-known members today are Théophile Gautier, Gérard de Nerval, and Pétrus Borel (the Lycanthrope)--the last two are thinly fictionalized in Les Misérables as Jean Prouvaire and Bahorel. (It's debatable how much Grantaire owes to Gautier but it's probably a nonzero amount.) The group coalesced around Borel and Nerval as the organizers of the Battle of Hernani--a fight between Romantics and classicists at the premiere of Victor Hugo's play Hernani in 1830. Most theater productions at this time had claques--groups of paid supporters of a show or an actor, who were planted in the audience to drum up applause. For Hernani--the first Romantic work staged at the prestigious Comédie-Français, which broke classical norms so thoroughly that it no longer seems at all transgressive--Hugo and the theater management decided they were going to need more than just a claque. They recruited a few of Hugo's fans--Gautier was so star-struck he had to be physically hauled up the stairs to Hugo's apartment--to stage An Event. The fans recruited their friends. They showed up in cosplay, with the play already memorized and callback lines devised. It was basically the Rocky Horror Picture Show of its day. It almost immediately turned into an actual fight, with fists and projectiles flying. And it made Hernani the hottest ticket in Paris. This is the group's origin story, and they pretty much spent their lives living up to it. They were every bit as extra as you would expect--Nerval allegedly walked a lobster on a leash in the Champs-Elyseés, explaining that "it knows the secrets of the deep, and it does not bark"--but they also stayed friends all their lives, often living together, supporting each other through poverty and mental illness and absurd political upheaval. I'm nominating Pétrus Borel | Le Lycanthrope, Théophile Gautier, Gérard de Nerval, and Philothée O’Neddy; you could nominate other people like Jehan Duseigneur, Celestin Nanteuil, or the Deverias, or associates of the group like Dumas and Hugo. The Canon Gautier's History of Romanticism covers the early days of the group and the Battle of Hernani in some detail. (There is also a 2002 French TV movie, La bataille d'Hernani, which is charming and pretty accurate; hit me up if you want a copy.) Other than that--this crowd wrote a lot, and they're all very present in their work--even in their fiction, which is shockingly modern in a ton of ways. For Gautier, Mademoiselle de Maupin has a lot of genderfeels, surprisingly literal landscape porn, and a fursuit sex scene in chapter two. If you want Nerval's works in English, you might be limited to dead-tree versions, but I highly, highly recommend The Salt Smugglers, a work of metafiction that answers the question, "What if The Princess Bride had been written in 1850 specifically to troll the press censorship laws of Prince President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte?" Borel's experimental short story collection Champavert has a new and very good English translation by Brian Stableford and is also my next fandom :D. Champavert: Contes Immoraux | Champavert: Immoral Tales - Pétrus Borel Last year I requested Borel RPF but I decided this book was unfanficcable. This year, I am going to have a little more faith in the Yuletide community. Champavert, available in ebook and dead tree form, is a weird as hell little book and probably the best thing I read last year. It's an experimental short story collection from 1830. Someone on one of my Les Mis Discords described it as "a collection of gothic creepypasta, but the author is constantly clanging pots and pans together and going 'JUST IN CASE you didn't notice, the real horror was colonialism and misogyny all along and i'm very angry about it!'" And, yeah, pretty much that, with added metafictional weirdness, intense nerding about architecture and regional languages, and the absolute delight that is Borel's righteously ebullient voice. Borel wrote for a couple of years under the name of The Lycanthrope, and though he kills the alter ego in this book, the name stuck, and would continue to be used by friends and enemies alike all his life. Pretty much everyone who met Pétrus agreed that 1) he was just ungodly hot; 2) he was probably a werewolf, sure, that makes sense; and 3) he was definitely older than he claimed to be, possibly by centuries, possibly just immortal, who knows. But, like I said, he kills the alter ego in this book: it begins with an introduction announcing that "Pétrus Borel" has been a pseudonym all along, that the Lycanthrope's real name is Champavert--and that the Lycanthrope is dead and these are his posthumous papers, compiled by an unnamed editor; the papers include some of Borel's actual poems and letters, published under his own name. The final story in the collection is called "Champavert, The Lycanthrope," and is situated as an autobiographical story, following a collection of fictional tales--which share thematic elements and, in the frame of the book, start to look like "Champavert"'s attempts to use fiction to come to terms with events of his own life. And that's probably an oversimplification; this is a dense little book and it's doing a lot. The subtitle is Contes Immoraux. It's part of a genre of "contes cruelles" (and, content note for. Um. A lot), but it's never gratuitously cruel--it's very consciously interrogating the idea of the moral story, and what sort of morality is encoded in fables, and what it means to set a story where people get what they deserve in an unjust world where that's rarely the case. I'm nominating the unnamed editor, Champavert, his friend Jean-Louis from the introduction and the final story, and Flava from the final story; you could also nominate characters from the explicitly fictional stories. Les Enfants du Paradis | Children of Paradise This is a film made between 1943 and 1945 in Vichy and Occupied France and set...somewhere?...around the July Revolution, probably, I'll get into that :D. There's a DVD in print from Criterion and quite possibly available through your local library system. (And it's streaming on Amazon Prime and the Criterion Channel.) It's beautifully filmed, with gorgeous sets and costumes and a truly unbelievable number of extras, and some fantastic pantomime scenes. (On stage and off; there's a scene where a henchman attempts to publicly humiliate a mime, and it goes about as well as you would expect.) "Paradise," in the title, is the equivalent of "the gods" in English--the cheap seats in the topmost tier of a theater. It's set in and around the theaters of the Boulevard du Temple--the area called the Boulevard du Crime, not for the pickpockets outside the theaters but for the content of the melodramas inside them. The story follows a woman called Garance, after the flower (red madder), a grisette turned artists' model turned sideshow girl turned actress turned courtesan, and four men who love her, some of whom she loves, all of whom ultimately fail to connect with her in the way she needs or wants or can live with. This sounds like a setup for some slut-shaming garbage. It's not--Garance is a person, with interiority, and the story never blames her for what other people project onto her. Of those four men, one is a fictional count and the other three are heavily fictionalized real people: the actor Frédérick Lemaître, the mime Baptiste Deburau, and the celebrity criminal Lacenaire. Everyone in this story is performing for an audience, pretty much constantly, onstage or off: reflexively, or deliberately, or compulsively. Garance's survival skill is to reflect back to people what they want to see of themselves. She never lies, but she shows very different parts of herself to different people. We get the impression that there are aspects of herself she doesn't have much access to without someone else to show them to. Frédérick is also a mirror, in a way that makes him and Garance good as friends and terrible as lovers--an empty hall of mirrors. He's always playing a part--the libertine, the artist, the lover--and mining his actual life and emotions for the sake of his art. Baptiste channels his life into his art as well, but without any deliberation or artifice--everything goes into the character, unfiltered. It makes him a better artist than any of the others will ever be, but his lack of self-awareness is terrifying, and his transparency fascinates Garance and Frédérick, who are more themselves with him than with anyone else. Lacenaire, the playwright turned thief and murderer, seems to no self at all, except when other people are watching. Against the performers are the spectators: the gaze of others--fashion, etiquette, and reputation--personified by Count Mornay; and the internal gaze personified in Nathalie, an actress and Baptiste's eventual wife, who hopes that if they observe the forms of devotion for long enough the feeling will follow. The time frame is deliberately vague--it's set an idealized July Monarchy where all these people were simultaneously at the most exciting part of their careers. In the real world, Frédérick turned his performance of Robert Macaire into burlesque in 1823, Baptiste's tragic pantomime Le Marrrchand d’Habits! ("The Old-Clothes Seller") played in 1842, and Lacenaire's final murder, for which he is guillotined, is 1832; these all take place in Act II of the movie within about a week of each other. (Théophile Gautier, mentioned but tragically offstage in the film, was a fan of Baptiste; Le Marrrchand d’Habits! started as Gautier's fanfic--he wrote a fake review of a nonexistent pantomime, and the review became popular enough the Theater des Funambules decided to actually stage it. It only ran for seven performances.) I am nominating Garance, Frédérick Lemaître, Baptiste Deburau, and Pierre François Lacenaire. You could nominate any of the other characters (Count Mornay, Nathalie, the old-clothes seller Jéricho, Baptiste's father, his landlady, Nathalie's father the Funambules manager). Gautier, regrettably, does not actually appear in the film but you can bet that's going to be one of my prompts. So, that's one good movie you definitely have time to watch before signups, several good books you probably have time for and that are probably not like whatever else you're reading right now, and one RPF rabbit hole to go down! Please consider taking up any or all of these so that you can write me fanfic about Romantic shenanigans.

[onestowatch]

Lynn Gunn’s Honest Portrayal of PVRIS’ Past, Present and Future Plus Details on New LP ‘Use Me’ [Q&A]

Did you know that quicksand cannot really sink your entire body? Hollywood renditions of this frightening occurrence showcase “Indiana Jones” type heroes desperately reaching for a branch or a vine to evade being swallowed whole by the muddy foe. In real life, however, quicksand is much denser than the human body–namely your torso and lungs. So, although you may sink to some degree, you’ll only be engulfed to about your torso region. That being said, to escape the hold of this mucky captor, you’re called to utilize, not a vine or a stick, but a natural aspect of yourself–in this case, the buoyancy of your torso and lungs. Doing so allows you to adjust your positioning so that you are on your back and are therefore more easily able to free your legs and eventually, yourself.

During moments of crisis such as this, it is not often that we think to use what comes most natural to us in order to overcome difficulties. However, as PVRIS frontwomxn Lynn Gunn discovered, tuning into your natural inclinations can be exactly what sets you free.

After battling debilitating health issues, anxieties, and multiple album delays, the refreshingly new album Use Me is here, and it has the empowered LGBTQIA+ artist plastered all over it. From the distinctively raw lyrics, impassioned vocals, dexterous commixture of that classic PVRIS Alternative Rock and new-aged Glitch-pop, and even a 070 Shake feature, this new album is taking everything we thought we knew about PVRIS to much higher heights. Use Me serves as the first release since Gunn followed her heart and came forward as the sole architect behind PVRIS back in March. After listening to all 40 emotion-inducing minutes of this cinematic project, it becomes clear that Use Me is so much more than an album, it is an unapologetic reclamation of power.

We were able to speak with Lynn Gunn before the release of the album and gather her perspective on this new era of creativity, utilizing her natural abilities for this new project, and even on supporting social justice causes.

All quicksand jokes aside, sink into this interview with Lynn Gunn below:

Ones to Watch: Although you’ve been making music for quite some time, this new era seems to be of a new bloom, not only for PVRIS, but for you. As you have stated, PVRIS is still very much a collective, but you have decided to shed the skin of “band culture” and from it emerge as the sole vocalist, lyricists, and creative director of PVRIS. How has that transition been on you all? Are people taking to it the way that you imagined?

Lynn Gunn: I didn’t really imagine anyone taking it any way, to be honest, it’s happening regardless of what others want to say or feel about it. It’s felt great personally and as a unit. I’ve seen mostly support but obviously, with anything, there’s always going to be people with the opposite. At the end of the day, this is what this is moving forward and works best for us, I know my truth and what this journey has been and looked like so far. I’ve seen so many insane and comical theories and conspiracies about the transition/negative comments… but ultimately I think anyone who decides to wastes their energy like that might find their life to be much more enjoyable if they channeled that energy back into their own life as there’s clearly a lack/wound somewhere within themselves. If that seems sprinkled with “shade”, it is, but I mean that with the most sincerity as well.

The saying goes “you can never really outrun yourself”, and from White Noise to Use Me, it seems that you’ve left a bit of a breadcrumb-trail leading us to this point. Although PVRIS has primarily been recognized as an Alternative Rock “band”, we can hear tiny glimpses of the sound that best encompasses PVRIS now throughout your entire discography.  Was this glitch-pop, disco-esque sound something you were intentionally experimenting within your previous projects?

To be honest, this is always where I imagined PVRIS’s sound living and the type of production I’d heard PVRIS songs being told through. I think in the past I didn’t fully know how to communicate the little production nuances that would have taken some tracks from point A to B, there was also a fear (that I now regret having) about straying from the “rock” production/experiencing rejection from the “scene” we initially started playing shows and touring in.

For the most part, and I truly mean this, there really isn’t that much of a difference in the instrumentation and sonic choices of this album from the first two, it’s still a very even play of organic instruments and electronic/synths, it’s just being produced through a different lens that’s a bit cleaner, crisper and crunchier in some areas. It’s a new interpretation of the woodwork that’s always been there.

What has kept you motivated to continue creating and sharing your truth with the world?

That’s a great question because I go back and forth with that feeling sometimes… Ultimately seeing comments from fans/listeners and hearing everyone’s stories and ways that they connect to PVRIS’s music is the most motivating thing in the world. I also feel that no matter what type of obstacle course the universe wants to throw me through, I’m always going to be grateful for the bruises/lessons and always going to feel compelled to create and share those truths through music.

I understand you’ve run into a deluge of unfortunate health issues the past few years that have affected you and the band greatly. If you feel comfortable sharing, could you talk a little bit about these illnesses and the ways you have had to overcome the obstacles they brought forth to get you to where you are now?

Totally comfortable sharing! I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease called Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) about two years ago and then about a year ago was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. AS is an inflammatory disease that mainly attacks the lower back, hips, and ribs, but it can also manifest in a lot of other ways as well such as joint pain, chronic fatigue, and even eye issues. Sometimes when my AS is really bad, I can barely get out of bed or even roll over in bed. Over time, if not treated properly or managed, it can cause your vertebrae to fuse... I’ve heard that’s super rare though. Crohn’s is chronic inflammation in the digestive tract and is a little more embarrassing but pretty self-explanatory haha…

They definitely taught me (and by taught I mean forced me) to take time in caring for myself and caring for my body. Resting properly, staying in shape, eating super healthy, setting boundaries with work, etc. It’s also just made me really appreciative of the moments when my symptoms aren’t as bad/just happy to be alive and not have it worse. I’m determined to manage both diseases holistically and through integrative medicine, so far I’ve seen great progress.

Do you believe these difficulties aided in your journey towards this self-actualization that listeners are able to distinguish in this new era of PVRIS? If so, how/in what way?

Definitely! There are definitely some references to those difficulties in a few of the songs. I think outside of the music, it’s given a lot more self-love, strength, and patience. It’s also just created even more urgency to live my truth and to live it unapologetically in the way that I want, which naturally extends into PVRIS and the art that I want to make.

If you had to use one word to describe each album thus far, what words would you use and why?

White Noise - Freshman - everything was so new and exciting and there was so much eagerness with it, like a freshman walking through a high school for the first time haha.

All We Know of Heaven, All We Need of Hell - Bootcamp (haha) - creating it and touring it were both pretty hard experiences BUT incredibly strengthening.

USE ME - Upgrade - despite all the chaos around this release, this is the freest I’ve felt and the most confident I’ve felt about a PVRIS album.

All the visuals and music video treatments that you have conjured up have a strikingly symbolic and cinematic feel to them. However, the symbolism and tone of the music videos tied to Use Me seem to take on a different nature. Can you talk about this shift in creative expression?

Mostly just working with new collaborators (Yhellow, Katharine White and Griffin Stoddard). I feel a lot less precious about things (to a healthy degree) and much more open to letting others run with the concepts as they wish! So many fun new exciting perspectives have been able to shine through.  

I know you are a film fanatic and dabble in cinematography. Do you have any staple films that influenced the creation of the last five music videos?

The Holy Mountain was a big influence for the “Hallucinations” video, as well as [for] “Old Wounds”. For “Dead Weight”, I was actually inspired by the opening credits to That 70’s Show and Saturday Night Fever haha.

In July, you announced that the album was being pushed back so as to allow the floor for the amplification of Black voices, and to generate events in support of Black Lives Matter. Do you believe artists have a responsibility to take steps such as these to create a better future, regardless of whether or not these issues directly affect them?

Absolutely. We all need to be educating ourselves and actively doing the work to demand and create change towards a future that’s equal and just for Black lives.

Fans have been clinging to the edges of their proverbial seats waiting for Use Me in spite of all of the justifiable album delays. If you could relay one message to all the fans who have been patiently waiting, what would it be?

Please enjoy/connect, be good to each other and please please please vote if you are able!

Who are your Ones to Watch?

DRAMA, Jax Anderson, HDBeenDope, Royal and The Serpent, Nikki Hayes, Kat Cunning and LEXXE!

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/14/2020: BLOODY MUSCLE BODYBUILDER FROM HELL

In the last couple of years, I've been paying a lot more attention to shot on video (or SOV) genre movies than I was ever compelled to do before. Platforms like the webzine Bleeding Skull and the restoration house American Genre Film Association have taken up the task of bringing this material greater attention, and treating it to the same kind of serious discussion that foundational film-based grade B-to-Z movies already enjoy. If I'm being completely honest, I don't always understand the appeal of these productions, which is part of the reason that the current SOV moment has me pricking up my ears. At the very least, I have a desire to understand it.

Not to suggest that I always find SOV production so impoverished. It is very often full of innovative special effects, envelope-pushing sex and violence, and bizarre narratives that a movie with more professional aspirations would never dare to attempt. Also, the umbrella term Shot On Video can include movies that were shot on smaller film formats, as long as a title demonstrates a certain style of grotty homemade charm and it arrived during the right era, it can be included in the SOV canon (as I’m seeing with BODYBUILDER now)--so this designation doesn't exclude the warm glow of film stock, which many of us prefer to the cold crunch of video. I like all this stuff as much as the next guy, but it feels like SOV movies are often regarded with a kind of uncritical indulgence, as if anything that is free from the oppression of the studio system--or even the basic production orthodoxy followed by the independents--is automatically a beacon of free-thinking, unfiltered personal expression...which is just not always an accurate description.

I'm familiar with, and often guilty of this attitude as regards independent and regional movies of the pre-video era; it's like, why bother criticizing something whose flaws are so plain, when it's so much more fun to discuss its hidden virtues? But I feel like SOV production faces a challenge that is unique to the time of its origins. By the 80s and 90s, the archetypal horror fan had been born: a connoisseur who became erudite through the miracle of home video, who writes and enjoys xerox-and-staple zines involving a mix of crude punk humor and intellectual analysis, who knows and repeats every line of every one of their favorite movies, no matter how badly you might want them to stop. Nerddom is great because it keeps alive wonderful things that would otherwise die from mainstream neglect, and it is terrible because it can have a calcifying effect, turning everything it consumes into a cliche of itself through rote repetition and imitation. The double-edged sword of production by and for nerds makes its mark on a lot of SOV output, and the recently exhumed BLOODY MUSCLE BODYBUILDER IN HELL is no exception. This movie was made with the passion that only a real nerd can sustain, shot and edited between 1995 and 2009 with no guarantee that anyone would ever see it. That's a pretty exciting proposal, but in practice, BODYBUILDER is not as weird as one might expect.

The lone 8mm creation of producer-director-writer-star Shinichi Fukazawa is equal parts fabulously original, and disappointingly familiar. Also known as "The Japanese Evil Dead", BODYBUILDER describes one terrifying night in a haunted house in which a demonic presence pits a group of young people against one another in a fight to the death. Fukazawa makes a handsome leading man and he knows it, punctuating the proceedings with regular inserts of himself smoldering and mugging in his best imitation of Bruce Campbell. Many of the makeup designs are as familiar as the plot, and the laudable no-budget special effects have some of that same "necessity is the mother of invention" quality that one associates with EVIL DEAD. While I certainly identify with Fukazawa's passion for the often imitated, never duplicated Sam Raimi classic, I wish I could tell him how much more valuable are his own signature innovations. The title BLOODY MUSCLE BODYBUILDER IN HELL is the best thing about the movie for sure, and it points to the second best thing about the movie: that Fukazawa is a bodybuilder, and this is a key part of his character. I'm so much less interested in him twirling a shotgun and slinging catch phrases like "Groovy", than I am in him flexing his considerable muscles, posing with obvious pleasure, and swinging a barbell like a bo staff to crack some zombie skulls.

So BODYBUILDER is kind of a mixed bag, and the 62 minute movie can drag surprisingly, because of a peculiar feature: It's essentially very competent. A lot of the writing is fairly typical of mid-grade supernatural thrillers, and the slow burn tour of the sinister house before the shit really hits the fan is, like, fine. It reminded me of a sound bite from Brian Eno in which he complains about the volume of perfectly-good music that people submit to him all the time; something that is just-fine can be intensely boring, much less stimulating than something that is interestingly bad. This is not to say that I would prefer that Fukazawa make more of a fool of himself for my amusement; it's just that the movie feels less alive when it most resembles what more people would consider a "real movie", following certain foregone conclusions about how these things are structured. BODYBUILDER succeeds more when it is unbeholden to conventions, serving up a feast of inventive FX solutions, and bathing its beefy hero in a halo of neon fog as he discovers the secret anti-demon weapon he's been questing for all along: his own muscles. Obviously I didn't love this as much as some viewers will, but it definitely earned my respect with its unique qualities, and despite my ambivalence for this kind of thing in general, I'm deeply grateful that folks like Wild Eye Releasing are out there, sharing the joy of discovery with us all.