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radramblog · 3 years

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P:LA new pokemon dropped

At this point we know slightly more about the game everybody is fucking hyped about that comes out in like 5 months what the hell, and as such there’s probably enough to talk about to make this sort of post work.

With that in mind, fuck it I just wanna talk about the new Pokemon designs because come on that’s the fun part. We don’t really know much about the human characters aside from that half of them are blatantly ancestors of regular Sinnoh people (which isn’t how that works but sure) and the protagonists being named Rei and Akari which is so close to making so many Eva jokes work. So close.

So we’re just gonna skip to the new mons.

Wyrdeer

I actually thought this was a Normal/Ice type until I checked. As godawful as that typing would be defensively, I’m all here for trying to check off every potential type combination box! But alas, this Stantler evolution is Normal/Psychic, and will probably overshadow incredibly good boi Girafarig as a result. And Meloetta is also there.

The good: I like the antlers a lot, they feel much more regal and moose/caribou-y while still looking like Stantler. Frankly it was always a bit weird that Stantler didn’t do Psychic things, considering its association with Hypnosis via antlers, so the typing makes perfect sense! And finally, I really like the big ol’ beard this fella has. It’s cute.

The bad: outside of the colouration, Wyrdeer’s body and head are ridiculously similar to its preevolution. Like, ludicrously so- same head and nose and ears, very close tail and spots, and the detail on the legs isn’t massive. I’m not sure what I’d change them to, but I feel like there was a way to make a New Stantler without making it identical. Compare something like Mr. Rime- it’s still undoubtedly a Mr. Mime evolution, even if the Galar form didn’t exist, but it still looks very distinct from its previous forms.

Overall I’m here for this deer, but I think it’s going to depend a lot on things we don’t know yet.

Basculegion

I think this is the one that people are most excited for, and I can see why. Much like Wyrdeer, this is an evolution to an under-represented and, frankly, underpowered single-stager, in this case the much-maligned Basculin. Gone is the weird idiot mix between Siamese fighting fish and gang wars/American political parties (I’ve heard both!), now we have a massive kickass bass that trails soulfire and bites faces off.

Pokemon has a lot of species that are just “this is a fish”, and at this point I’m getting a little sick of them. Arrokuda/Barraskewda are okay, and this is coming from somebody that likes Barracudas, and Bruxish makes me upset on a level I cannot quite articulate. Basculegion manages to go above and beyond all of these on account of being a massive badass.

Not only is Water/Ghost a rare and awesome typing (shared only with Basculin’s Gen V cousins Frillish/Jellicent), it’s a big and angry and cool fish with facial hair because why not? I’m not sure if this bad boy is meant to evolve from the Red-Striped Basculin or just both, but I don’t really care, it’s just hella sick.

Unfortunately, it does mean we’re going to have to put up with Basculin. Which sucks. Basculin is so fucking boring.

Hisuian Braviary

Slightly less of interest are the regional forms we’ve seen so far. Don’t get me wrong, I like regional forms, but the ones chosen so far aren’t highlighting underappreciated mons the way that Wyrdeer and Basculegion do.

Braviary, AKA ‘murica burd, is arguably not the most top tier in a lot of people’s minds. But I always really liked it, and I’ve run it in competitive. So how do I feel about the new one? It’s okay. I do like how fluffy the thing looks, and the third-and-fourth eyes looks extremely sick. On the other hand, it’s yet another Psychic/Flying type, and like Wyrdeer it looks very similar to the base form. It does look like it could theoretically evolve from regular Rufflet, though, so I expect we’re not going to see a Hisuian form of that. Which is fine, Rufflet is adorable.

We’ve gone from the Chad Thunderbird to the “where do you work out?” “the library” fluff bird. It’s fine? It’s fine.

Hisuian Growlithe

Well they had to sell people the game somehow. I’m actually surprised at the backlash I saw in some places for this Pokemon- like I know Growlithe and Arcanine are sacred icons for some people, but this thing is so fucking cute! It’s a baby komainu! It can’t dang see for the fluff in it eyes! Also that deeper red suits it very well in my opinion.

I also recall some people being like “why is this a rock type”, which. I guess would be confusing if you weren’t aware of this species’ statuesque origins. Because it’s a statue. Considering the many, many Japanese folklore references in the region so far, this particular nod is not one I’d expect people to miss- but I guess not everyone is a big nerd like I am.

Anyway it’s a good fucking dog and I can’t wait to see what the big boy one looks like.

Kleavor

Somebody at Game Freak came out of a 20-year coma the other day and was like “guys we should make a Scyther evolution” and had enough power to force them to do that again, huh. It….why does it look like this? I think I’ve looked at this thing long enough to decide that I don’t really like it.

Scizor, aside from looking rather sicknasty, works because it looks like it could be a bug still. It has these brutal pincers but they’re pincers, it has little wings, it’s an insect.

Kleavor’s hands are caveman-ass stone axes. They look ridiculous. It looks ridiculous. I can’t take it seriously. It’s face looks more avian than insectile, the legs are weirdly wide, it has rock…eyebrows…?

This is the only miss so far for me. I’m sorry any Kleavor stans, but this ain’t it chief. I can’t wait for this fucker to have ludicrous stats so I have to stare at it for hours on end.

...it doesn’t even have cleavers???

#ramble #pokemon #pokemon legends arceus #pokemon legends spoilers

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ladymoonveil · 4 years

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youtube

Mulan: A Case of Failed Empowerment | Video Essay This is an excellent video essay that pretty much sums up how I feel about the new Mulan movie. I highly recommend giving it a watch if you’re interested in learning some things about the tale of Mulan and why the new adaptation is such a fail. While I was disappointed that they are removing all the songs and characters like Mushu and Shang, I was open to the idea of a more character-driven, historically accurate portrayal of Mulan. Sadly, this was not the case at all, and the end result was subpar to say the least. It lacked emotional depth, and if anything the characters are even LESS developed than in the cartoon.

Some additional things not mentioned in the video, is that it feels like Disney tried to make a wuxia film without understanding the fundamentals of the genre, which is why it came off so inauthentic. Right off the bat, the addition of this “witch” character who was “born with powers” is something that you see much more often in Western fantasy compared to Chinese folklore or fiction. (Also, if you’re going to establish this super powerful witch character in your movie, maybe don’t kill her off in the lamest way possible? You inserted a female character who was subservient to her male master, and killed her at the hands of this male master. That's a bad take in a movie supposedly about female empowerment, Disney.)

Even though wuxia can contain fantastical elements, the majority of a character’s skills/powers/“magic” would come from them going through years of training, usually by studying texts or learning from a particular school of martial arts. This is regardless of the character’s moral alignment, as both antagonists and protagonists achieve their success through hard work. (The only exception is if we are talking about monsters or spirits which are magical entities by nature, but the movie makes it clear that the witch is a human.)

The way "qi" is used in this film also feels ridiculous and cringy. No one would talk about her having a "strong qi" or say things like "only men should use their qi" etc. It feels like someone randomly plucked a word from wuxia vernacular then proceeded to use it in all the wrong ways. On the other hand, I've seen some complaints about the characters scaling the sides of the walls, and want to clarify that is a common element in wuxia. The wall scaling is not a problem since they are clearly going for wuxia in terms of fighting abilities, rather than Chinese historical fiction.

The original movie also touches on the horrors of war very effectively, such as the abrupt transition from a song sequence to Mulan coming across the doll in the burned-down village. When you realize that "the girl worth fighting for" is not a dream bride at home but other little girls like Mulan, suddenly the stakes are much higher. The live-action adaptation really doesn't have half the emotional impact when it comes to things like this. The dialogue leaves much to be desired, and I'm low-key salty at the fact that they gave Mulan's "You said you trust Ping; why is Mulan any different?" line to a male soldier instead. (When the emperor accepted the duel with Bori Khan, something that would NEVER happen, it made me facepalm so hard.)

I also don’t understand the reasoning behind removing Mushu, when they literally have a phoenix flying around on screen every 20 minutes. It’s such blatant symbolism that it loses all meaning due to its lack of subtility. One of my favourite sequences in the cartoon is when Mulan decides to take her father’s place while sitting beneath the statue of the Great Dragon, and the implication that the Great Dragon didn’t wake up when called because it was already within Mulan. SHE is the guardian of the Hua family, and I didn’t need to see the great dragon constantly appear beside her in order to infer that.

Regarding the architecture, the emperor’s palace is fairly well done. But the building that Mulan and her family live in is a distinctively Southern Chinese Tulou that’s unique to the Hakka people, while Mulan is from Northern China. It feels like they just went with something that “looked cool” instead of historically/geographically accurate.

Overall, Disney not only failed to capture the emotional depth and energy of the cartoon, they also failed to make a movie with any cultural authenticity. (After finding out that none of the writers or directors had a Chinese background, I understood why.) This is especially disappointing because of how important the Mulan cartoon is to me.

I’m honestly not sure who they made this movie for, because they stripped out everything I liked from the original, and is too “Westernized” and inaccurate for fans of historical Chinese dramas. (Mulan removing her armour and taking down her hair before going back into battle was a pointless reveal that would have only obscured her vision, because both men and women had long hair back then. These are simple things they would have known if they just consulted someone who knows the history and culture.) Even looking at it from a wuxia standpoint, they’ve missed the mark because they don’t really understand the genre and how characters should be developed.

Lastly, can I just say they interpreted the Tang dynasty makeup in the ugliest way possible? I don’t want Fan Bing Bing level glamour makeup, but it’s like they tried their hardest to make everyone look bad. I can squint and maaaayybe give Mulan a pass, but what in the hell is up with the Matchmaker? She looks absolutely horrible, and more like a witch than the actual witch character. 🤦‍♀️

For anyone interested in a scene by scene analysis which goes much more in-depth about all of the cultural inaccuracies, I also recommend this video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3QKq24e0HM

#mulan #rant #this was beyond disappointing

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tipsycad147 · 5 years

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Mirror Gazing (Scrying)

Written and compiled by George Knowles

Since time began, man has been fascinated by his reflected image as seen in the still waters of woodland lakes, pools and rivers. Among primitive peoples superstition was rife, and seeing their image reflected in water may have been like catching a glimpse of their souls, for it was widely believed that the soul existed separate from the body. Others may have found themselves gazing through a portal into the spirit realm, there communicating with departed loved ones or gaining insights into future events. However, these same woodland lakes and pools were also known haunts of fairy folks and nature spirits, sometimes friendly, but sometimes hostile, and likely to snatch at human reflection to capture the souls of the unwary. Little wonder then that anything reflecting images was regarded as magical.

The Mirror of Venus by Burne-Jones

Ancient prophets, soothsayers and oracles initially used bowls filled with water in which to scry and divine answers to questions about past, present and future events. Later, highly polished stones such as beryl, crystal and quartz were used for similar purposes. The first man-made mirrors used in ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome were commonly made of sheeted metal (pewter, copper, tin, bronze or silver etc.) and flattened into rounded disks to which handles were applied. Some had decorative designs inscribed on the back, but the face would have been highly polished and reflective.

In the Middle Ages when it became possible to make glass, crude hand held glass mirrors were made backed with thin layers of metal such as tin and lead. Later during the 16th century, better quality mirrors were produced in Murano, Venice (Italy), the backs of which were covered with an amalgam of tin and mercury (normally 75% tin to 25% mercury). In 1836 a German chemist called ‘Justus von Liebig’ developed the process of coating a glass surface with metallic silver, a process that is still used today. By the end of the 17th century plate glass was developed, and the use of large stationary mirrors became commonplace household features.

Legends, Myths and Folklore

Dr. John Dee (1527 – 1608)

Dr. John Dee was a famous Alchemist, Mathematician, Astronomer; he was also an adviser to Queen Elizabeth I on matters pertaining to science and astrology, as such, he was commonly referred to as “the last royal magician”. A serious academic, some thought him to be the most learned man in the whole of Europe. He was fascinated by all things occult, and was an adept in Hermetic and Cabbalistic philosophy. Dee had a particular interest in divination, and spent much of his later life experimenting with different methods in his efforts to communicate with Angels. From 1583 onward, Dee worked with Edward Kelly using both a black obsidian mirror and a crystal ball to see visions of ‘Angels’. Allegedly they communicated by pointing to squares containing letters and symbols that Dee had transcribed.

John Dee’s black obsidian mirror and crystal ball

This is the mirror together with a small smoky quartz crystal ball used by Dee and Kelly for their occult research. These are now on display at the British Museum in London. The mirror is made of highly polished obsidian (volcanic glass) and was one of many objects brought back to Europe after the conquest of Mexico by the Spanish conquistador Hernán (Ferdinand) Cortés. Obsidian was sacred to Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec “Sky God” associated with Kings, Warriors and Sorcerers, and whose name can be translated as “Smoking Mirror”. The Aztec priests used mirrors for divination and conjuring up visions.

The case along side it was especially made to fit the mirror, it has a paper label written by the English antiquary Sir Horace Walpole who acquired the mirror in 1771 stating: “The Black Stone into which Dr Dee used to call his spirits...” and added later: “Kelly was Dr Dee’s associate and is mentioned with this very stone in “Hudibras” (a satirical poem by Samuel Butler, first published in 1664) Part 2. Canto 3 v. 631. Kelly did all his feats upon The Devil’s Looking glass, a Stone".

Archimedes

In one of the many legends of Greece, the mathematician Archimedes (287-212 BC) invented giant mirrors that were used to reflect the rays of the Sun onto Roman warships during the battle of Syracuse in 212 B.C.

Wall painting from the Stanzino delle Matematiche in the Galleria degli Uffizi (Florence, Italy). Painted by Giulio Parigi - 1599-1600.

“At last in an incredible manner he (Archimedes) burned up the whole Roman fleet. For by tilting a kind of mirror toward the sun he concentrated the sun's beam upon it; and owing to the thickness and smoothness of the mirror he ignited the air from this beam and kindled a great flame, the whole of which he directed upon the ships that lay at anchor in the path of the fire, until he consumed them all.”

(The above description is from Dio's Roman History - Translated by Earnest Cary, Loeb Classical Library, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 1914)

Narcissus

In Greek mythology Narcissus was a handsome young man whose beautiful good looks claimed the love of all the women who met him, but he continually rejected their advances. One day while hunting in the woods he came upon a clear pool of water and stopped to take a drink from it. Mirrors were almost unknown in those times, but when he bent down to drink from the water, he saw what he thought was another young man. Amazingly the young man seems to be alive and responding, for when Narcissus smiled, so did he. The young man was so incredibly beautiful that Narcissus immediately fell in love with him, but when he bent forward to kiss him, just when their lips should have touched, the young man’s image blurred and rippled and all he got was a mouthful of water.

Narcissus by John William Waterhouse (1903)

Eventually Narcissus realised it was his own reflection in the water, but he could not bear to pull himself away. As he continued to gaze longingly at himself, he gradually pined away and died. At the place where his body had lain now grows a beautiful flower, a Narcissus, nodding its head over its own reflection in a pool.

Perseus and Medusa of the Gorgons

In Greek mythology, the Gorgons (daughters of the sea god Phorcys and his wife Ceto) were three monstrous sisters called: Stheno, Euryale and Medusa. They were dragon-like creatures covered with scales, had wings, claws, enormous teeth and snakes replicating hair. They lived on the farthest side of the western ocean, shunned and feared because a single direct glance at one of them could turn a person to stone. Of the three, only Medusa was mortal and could be killed, a feat that was achieved by the hero Perseus (son of Zeus).

Perseus, with the aid of a sword given to him by Hermes and a highly polished shield given to him by Athena, by watching Medusa’s reflection in the shield, was able to cut off her head without directly looking at her. The severed head, however, still had the power to turn a person into stone if it was looked upon. Legend has it that Perseus gave the severed head to Athena who used it to turn Atlas into stone. This stone became known as the Atlas Mountains that now hold up the heaven and earth.

Medusa painted by Caravaggio 1596-1597

Other legends about mirrors and scrying include the Goddess Hathor, who carried a shield that could reflect back all things in their true light. Nostradamus is believed to have used a small bowl of water as a scrying tool into which he gazed and received images of future events. And who can forget the magic mirror featured in the Disney folktale classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, when the wicked Queen immortalized the question “Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the fairest one of all?”

Making a Scrying Mirror

All types and sizes of mirrors can be used for scrying, but commonly round or oval mirrors seem to be preferred. Old mirrors seem to work better than new mirrors, and more particularly those encased in a silver frame. Silver is generally associated with the moon, and while scrying can be practised at any time, best results are often gained in the quiet of night during a full or new moon.

Many people find it easier to scry using a black or obsidian mirror, the dark depth of a black mirror being more conducive to inducing visions. Obsidian is a black or dark-coloured volcanic lava rock, chemically similar to granite, but formed by cooling rapidly on the Earth’s surface at low pressure. The glassy texture of the rock is the result of its rapid cooling, which inhibits the growth of crystals.

Obsidian was highly valued by the early civilisations of Mexico, who used it for making sharp-edged tools, ritual and ceremonial sculptures, and polished mirrors similar to the one owned by Dr. John Dee above. Sadly, the ancient method of mining, grinding and smoothing obsidian into reflective mirrors was a long and drawn-out process, and so true obsidian mirrors, particularly old ones, are now quite expensive. However, given modern techniques and the demand created in the contemporary market, new obsidian mirrors can be obtained from most modern occult shops who stock them in a range of sizes at competitive prices.

Here’s an old mirror and stand I found at a car boot sale recently. I then purchased a new black obsidian mirror slate from an occult store in Glastonbury and collected all the bits and pieces needed to transform and create my own magick mirror.

An alternative to using obsidian is to make your own ‘black’ mirror. If you have an old silver picture frame lying around the home, simply take out the glass, clean it being careful to remove any marks, finger prints or blemishes, then paint the back of it black. Matt black paint tends to work better than gloss paint, as does black enamel or car spray paint. You may need to give the glass a few coats of paint to cover it properly, but allow each coat to dry thoroughly before adding the next. Also try to leave a smooth finish without streaks or runs.

Having rubbed down the mirror frame with fine sandpaper and sprayed it with black satin paint, I decided to decorate the boarder with appropriate directional and elemental stones. North is Malachite representing Earth, East is Citrine representing Air, South is Tigers Eye representing Fire, and West is Lapis Lazuli representing Water. Replacing the silver backed mirror glass into the frame, I then centralised and bonded the black obsidian slate to it leaving a silver rim around the black mirror...

Another good idea is to use the curved glass face of an old clock and paint the convex side black; you will of course need to make a suitable frame to mount it on. Antique shops are a good source for old clocks, and who knows, you could also find an antique silver frame on which to mount it. Frames can be as plain or as ornate as you like; you may even wish to personalise or decorate it with meaningful stones, gems or sigils. Remember the mirror will also need some method of standing-up on your altar or table, ideally at a shallow or adjustable angle. Some picture frames have a leg on the back for this purpose, or alternatively you could use a display stand similar to those used for collector plates.

... and the end result is my own Magick Mirror.

Before using your mirror, as with all magickal tools, it needs to be cleansed of all previous associations and negative energies, then dedicated and charged with your own energy. It is up to you how simple or elaborate you wish to make this process, but most people do it inside a properly consecrated circle. Once your circle is formed and quarters called, a simple dedication might go something like this:

“Into this sacred space I bring this mirror, here to be cleansed and dedicated to my service”. Face each direction in turn and call on its associated element with these or similar words (start with North - Earth): “By the spirits of the North and the powers of the Earth, I purify and dedicate this mirror” (repeat the same with the other directions: East - Air, South – Fire, and West - Water). Next you may wish to call whatever deities you are working with for their blessing, saying: Goddess/God (or deity names), bless this mirror, let it be a tool I use for positive purposes. Guard and watch over the works that come from it, and ensure no harm can ever be caused by it. In thy name Goddess/God I dedicate this mirror to my service. So Mote It Be!”

Mirror Gazing (Scrying)

The art of mirror gazing (scrying) is called Catoptromancy, a term that refers to the use of reflective surfaces for the purposes of divination. Scrying mirrors can be used to make contact with spirit guides, to access knowledge for healing and self-improvement, or to define the past, predict the present, and perceive the future. As a portal into other realms, it can also be used to aid astral travel, and during ritual to communicate with deity.

Scrying can be practised at any time, but best results are often gained in the quiet of night after the hustle and bustle of the day’s activities. It is not necessary to construct a fully consecrated circle for scrying; it is enough to simply create your sacred space by visualising a circle of white light surrounding and purifying the appointed working area. In a quiet darkened room, place your mirror on a table or altar with a dark cloth beneath it. Light a candle, one on each side of the mirror, but in such a position they don’t reflect on the mirror’s surface, and if you wish, burn an appropriate blend of incense to stimulate the psychic senses. Switch off all other light sources except for the two candles, and seat yourself comfortably in front of the mirror. Take a few minutes to relax while you tune into the atmosphere created. When ready to start, first ground and center yourself then call your guides or guardians to protect the work from unwanted or misleading influences.

To begin, when looking at the mirror try not to just stare at it, but look through its surface as if gazing into a dark and endless tunnel. After awhile, images and colours will begin to take form, they may even appear and take shape outside the mirror surrounding it on all sides. When you first start scrying be patient, keeping your first sessions to about 10 - 30 minutes, and gradually work it up to hour-long sessions as you learn. The art of scrying is interpreting what you see in the images and colours as they take form. This in a way it is a little like dream interpretation, and initially you may wish to consult one of the many books on the subject to help define the images you see. At the end of the day however, the real interpretation will be what those images mean to you personally.

After you have completed your scrying session, re-ground yourself and close your sacred space. You may wish to keep a journal and note down any visions you received during your session and later compare them with a list of dream interpretations. The more you practice, the more familiar the images and their meanings will become, but you may need to meditate on them for awhile to reveal any hidden meanings.

In conclusion, there are many differing ways and methods of scrying in addition to the one above, so it pays to experiment and use what works best for you. Whatever tool or method you use, be it your own personalised mirror, a crystal ball, or simply a bowl of coloured water; it can with time and patience become a font of wisdom and knowledge. As Ostara, the Spring Equinox approaches, a time of fresh beginnings, who knows what future truths can be divined??? Believe in your abilities and may you find what you seek.

End

https://www.controverscial.com/Mirror%20Gazing.htm

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newyorktheater · 5 years

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Britney Spears, 20 years ago

Will Roland in Be More Chiil

Cast of Mean Girls

Andrew Barth Feldman in Dear Evan Hansen

Isabelle McCalla and Caitlin Kinnunen as high school girlfriends in The Prom

“I’m not a girl, not yet a woman…I’m in between,” Britney Spears sang some two decades ago, and it could almost be the new anthem (gender-adjusted) for Broadway. The opening of Be More Chill this week adds yet another to the New York stage shows that focus on teenage characters (mostly portrayed by non-teenage performers), many of which attract a large teenage audience. These include Dear Evan Hansen, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Mean Girls, and, yes, ok, Wicked. (The Prom has a dual focus; and the audience for, if not the characters in, Frozen skew younger.) Teen angst has made its way Off-Broadway as well, with Superhero.

Shows about teens and tweens are hardly new: 13, Bye Bye Birdie, Carrie, Hairspray, Matilda, Newsies, School of Rock, Spring Awakening come to mind. But we’re seeing a particular trend now, and not an especially welcome one. It’s of course a good thing to broaden the demographics of the Broadway audience, and at least one of these shows is widely viewed as of high quality. Yet their focus is largely on angst and on stereotypes. How accurate or fair are the depictions of teenagers in these shows? Yes, high school may be a time when some people are trying out identities, and too many of them might like to assign reductive labels to their classmates or even to themselves. But surely this is not the full picture, nor a constructive one. As I say in my review of Be More Chill, the actual high school students we see regularly in the news are taking the lead in attacking such crucial problems as climate change and gun control — problems that have stalemated adults.

Incidentally, “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman,” along with “Baby One More Time,” Spear’s first pop single when she was 17 years old, are likely to be two of the 23 songs from her repertorie that will be in the new musical “Once Upon a One More Time” aiming for Broadway, announced today. The book, thankfully, is not about teen angst. (For more details, see Week in NY Theater News, below.)

The Week in New York Theater Reviews

THE B-SIDE: “Negro Folklore from Texas State Prisons,” A Record Album Interpretation

In “The B-Side,” three men sing along with an album on a record-player — or, as people prefer to say these days, a vinyl on the turntable. But there’s a reason why the Wooster Group’s encore presentation of its simple and odd hour-long piece, first performed at the Performing Garage in 2017, is filling St. Ann’s Warehouse every night. The album is “Negro Folklore from Texas State Prisons”…

Austin Scott as Alexander Hamilton and Carvens Lissaint as George Washington, the new cast members of “Hamilton” on Broadway.

Hamilton on Broadway 2019: New Cast, New Clarity

I recently saw Hamilton again on Broadway, during a rare open captioned performance, and it was a revelation in several ways.

I would love to see this show but there are not enough OC performances for those of us who want to attend. It’s nice to pat yourself on the back about access, but the reality is that an occasional Wednesday OC performance with limited tickets is not access. #captionallshows

— Dr. Petrified Tree Sap (@a_joy_martin) March 9, 2019

The Cake Review: “This is Us” writer on Christian baker’s Lesbian wedding dilemma

In “The Cake,” Debra Jo Rupp (the mother on “That 70s Show”) portrays Della, a Christian baker in North Carolina who refuses to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding. If the story is inspired by the Supreme Court case decided last year, Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, playwright Bekah Brunstetter, who is a writer for “This Is Us,” makes it personal in several ways…One of the future brides, Jen (Genevieve Angelson), is the daughter of Della’s best friend, who died five years ago. Della, who is childless, views Jen like a daughter…Bekah Brunstetter has told interviewers that she wrote “The Cake” as a way to explain her support for gay rights and same-sex marriage to her parents. Her father, Peter Brunstetter, is a Republican politician from North Carolina who supported an anti-gay state bill that defined marriage as between a man and a woman.

Be More Chill on Broadway

Somebody wrote “NYC Loves BMC” in chalk on the sidewalk outside Broadway’s Lyceum Theater, the new home of “Be More Chill,” the high energy, high decibel pop-rock musical that stars Will Roland as a self-proclaimed high school “loser” who swallows a pill containing a supercomputer and becomes cool. I tweeted a picture of the scrawled public love note; the tweet was retweeted nearly a hundred times. “Be More Chill” has some seriously devoted fans, most of whom seem to be 15 years old. It’s a thrill to see such teenaged enthusiasm for live theater. I wish I could share more fully in their ardor for this show

The Week in New York Theater News

The first annual Rave Theater Festival is asking for submissions. Artistic director @kendavenportplans roughly 20 plays, musicals, multimedia, and cross-disciplinary projects, as well as family shows, which will each receive up to five performances, August 9-25, 2019 at Clemente Sito Velez Cultural and Education Center on the Lower East Side.

Simpsons theme song composer Danny Elfman will make his Broadway debut by composing music for “Gary: The Sequel to Titus Andronicus.”

Twenty-three of Britney Spears’ songs will form the score for a new Broadway-aiming musical, “Once Upon a One More Time” with will have a try-out in Chicago from October to December of this year. “Once Upon A Time… Cinderella, Snow White, and the other fairytale princesses gather for their book club, when – oh, baby baby! – a rogue fairy godmother drops The Feminine Mystique into their corseted laps, spurring a royal revelation.” The Times reports that the run at the Chicago theater “had been set aside for “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough,” a Michael Jackson jukebox musical that canceled its Chicago plans on the eve of an HBO documentary detailing abuse allegations against the pop star. That show’s producers say they are still hoping to come to Broadway.”

The Arts Are Good For You

Three articles that show that the arts are a good thing.

Article 1, by Isaac Kaplan in Artsy: Arts Sector Contributed $763.6 Billion to U.S. Economy—More Than Agriculture or Transportation, New Data Shows

Article 2, by Tom Jacobs in Pacific Standard: How arts can help struggling science students do better

A large study released last month found that Florida middle-school students who study music, theater, or visual art subsequently get higher overall grades than their peers.

Article 3 by Robert Ruffin in HowlRound (from 2018) We Need Theatre to Exist, and Maybe Research Can Prove Its Necessity

A new Broadway By The Year, musicals of 1943 and 1951, will be presented at Town Hall of March 25th, “created, written, hosted and directed” by Scott Siegel — for whom 2018 was not a great year, having gotten into a bad bicycle accident. Here is an article about his accident and his show in the Times, written right before the last Broadway By Year, last month.

Alexa’s new skill lets you scour Ticketmaster using your voice

Robert Barry Fleming has been appointed artistic director of Actors Theater of Louisville, the theater that brings us the annual Humana Festival. He’s been an actor, director, choreographer, arts administrator (at Arena Stage and Cleveland PlayHouse), and championed or commissioned such shows as Dear Evan Hansen and Sweat.

Daryl_Roth – Producing with a Purpose. Theater producer for 31 yrs “Marvel action hero” – Paula Vogel. One of the few female producers on Broadway…she chooses work by women, LGBT folks, and people of color not usually seen as commercially viable

Daveed DIggs is back in New York, for the play White Noise at the Public Theater, and he’s happier to be here than last time.

The last few years I have had not a great relationship with New York, but this time feels really good. The Hamilton experience here was so intense, and it became a pretty stressful place for me to be. That was a show that, at the bottom of it, it’s a bunch of friends getting together and making rap songs. I was involved with that show for a long time because my friend wrote it and asked me to come along for the ride. Everything on the inside of it felt very small, and everything on the outside of it felt very big.

…I love performing in smaller houses. I think you get a different kind of connection there. I’m excited to be doing any play, period, after spending a couple years being in front of a camera. This is a very welcome return. You get a different kind of intimacy in a small space, and I think everybody gets to know each other a little better.

As much as I loved performing on Broadway, I don’t care if I ever do that again. I like telling stories in places where everyone is part of the storytelling.

Oskar Eustis and Suzan-Lori Parks chat with one another about their new collaboration as director and playwright, White Noise, It begins: Oskar Eustis doesn’t believe in giving audiences a heads-up. “When you have a trigger warning, you’re implying that people need to be protected from pain,” says Eustis, the artistic director of New York’s Public Theater. “I think real art says, ‘No, you don’t. What you need is the chance to face it.’”

If you’re working on a play– especially a new one– and you’re not checking in with your ushers on a regular basis during previews, you don’t actually know how it’s going.

— Evan Cabnet (@evancabnet) March 11, 2019

Thanks Broadway Twitter for having my back. Being a working parent in any profession is really challenging. I never want to disappoint audiences as I am beyond grateful to them, but the health of my family will always come before my job. Thanks to those who understand that 💛

— Laura Benanti (@LauraBenanti) March 11, 2019

.@FosseVerdonFX cast includes: Sam Rockwell as Bob Fosse & Michelle Williams as Gwen Verdon@kelli_barrett as Liza Minnelli@biancamarroquin as @Chita_Rivera +@BranUran as Dustin Hoffman @TheTylerHanes as Jerry Orbach@ethansaslater as @joelgrey Premieres on FX April 9th. pic.twitter.com/lvokxwZUFl

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 11, 2019

If you’re an aspiring playwright, this thread by @MikeLew4 might change your life. https://t.co/WouQGQXNUh

— New York Theater (@NewYorkTheater) March 8, 2019

My favorite line: “Get that EXT/INT shit outta there! Dead giveaway your “play” is a pilot.”

Play Formatting PSA: In undergrad one of the 1st things Donald Margulies did was teach us proper play formatting. Which felt like a huge bummer. Shouldn’t it be story first? Who cares about formatting?! Don’t you see that l WILL CHANGE THE FORM, WITH THE POWER OF ART? 1

But now that I’ve done a ton of reading committees, I can see he was right. In the same way you wouldn’t show up to a job interview dressed wrong for the job, when I’m reading a ton of plays my first cut rejections boil down to, “Does this manuscript LOOK like a play or not?” 2/

And the most screwed up thing is that published plays don’t look like manuscript-form plays, so you can’t just learn by picking up an acting edition at the bookstore or your submission’ll look weird. To wit, a thread about formatting. ARE YOU EXCITED?? 3/

A full-length play is approx 100 pgs in length (50 pgs per act). Sure your length may vary. You may have a lean 75 pg straight-through-no-intermission piece or a 120 pg 2-act that “should read really really fast”

Now the formatting nitty gritty! *character names in all caps & centered *dialogue left-justified *in-dialogue stage directions like “(she exits)” should be in parentheses and italics *longer stage directions should be tabbed in and (optionally) italicized 10/

New scenes get their own line (i.e. “Scene 1”) – bolded and numbered *Get that EXT/INT shit outta there! Dead giveaway your “play” is a pilot. *Start a new pg for each scene *End the act on an all-caps “END OF ACT 1” “END OF PLAY” etc – and bold it too cuz that feels GREAT 11/

youtube

Teens Take Over Broadway (but is it real?). A Britney Spears Broadway musical? Hamilton Reconsidered. #Stageworthy News of the Week “I’m not a girl, not yet a woman...I'm in between,” Britney Spears sang some two decades ago, and it could almost be the new anthem (gender-adjusted) for Broadway. 2,063 more words

#Britney Spears #Daveed Diggs on New York #getting tickets through Alexa #Hamilton and Broadway #Mike Lew on how to format a play script #the arts are good for you #We Kiss in a Shadow Jelani Alladin and Matt Doyle video

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