Now that the production has happened, I can finally show you guys, after a month of work and a few weeks of eager waiting!
Recently, I was commissioned through my college to paint a bespoke Magdalena for the Maryland Opera, for use in their production of Tosca. She’s 6 feet tall and 4 feet long and the biggest painting I’ve ever made! She’s also unfinished by request of the opera. I’m so proud of her.
Bonus— wrap painting I made for their gorgeous and gorgeously talented soprano, Christine Lyons. She deserves a portrait of her own in every way.
“Dean Chisnall joins the company as The Phantom, alongside Joanna Ampil as Carlotta Giudicelli, Martin Ball as Monsieur Firmin, Helen Hobson as Madame Giry and Millie Lyon as Meg Giry. Continuing in the show will be Lily Kerhoas as Christine Daaé, Joe Griffiths-Brown as Raoul, Adam Linstead as Monsieur André and David Kristopher-Brown as Ubaldo Piangi. At certain performances the role of Christine Daaé will be played by Eve Shanu-Wilson.
Also joining the cast are Anya Alindada, Lily Allen-Dodd, George Arvidson, Embla Bishop, David Burilin, Fergus Dale, Emily George, Molly Hall, Will Hawksworth, Nicholas Hepher, Mandy Kwan, Jess Michelmore, Johnny Randall.”
i don’t care that halloween’s over. okay. you will look at me and @mortiifying’s corny ass 80s slasher au.
more designs lol:
mitch!! he’s the killer. yes his mask is vault boy
daisybell is the final girl! her costume is madonna ofc. also she and mitch have something weird going on
arcade is dr. frankenstein bc he’s a weird nerd. and christine and veronica are walter white and jesse pinkman bc in this universe brba is a low budget 80s thriller movie. also it’d be funny.
i haven’t drawn benny and swank yet but they’re roger and jessica rabbit. benny is the one in the dress
there’s a bunch of ocs included too but i haven’t drawn most of them lol!
"2 years ago, I thought I had my final Phantom performance in Daegu, South Korea. The pandemic was still at it’s peak and it was an extremely emotional time….
Do you have any favourite costume mashups that were worn on stage?
If you mean specific goofs that were done to the costumes, then yes. A forever favourite is probably for a West End muckup matinée, where a male dancer donned the Hannibal slavegirl costume and a random gold mask. These things are rarely documented, so I'm extra glad actual footage exist:
And maybe not as much mash-up as humorous, but fake tattoos for the final performances will always be fun. Kevin Gray's Miss Saigon deformity tattoo in the US Tour and Tomas Ambt Kofod's Christine-heart-sailor-tattoo in Copenhagen are two favourites:
If you mean different styles of costumes or different costume parts being mixed up... I found the combo of a very vintage UK Elissa skirt with a newer US bodice an interesting one. It was worn in the Restaged Tour, I wanna say Lyndsay O'Neill? Similar combos was worn by the other understudies too, including Katie McCreary, Carmen Vass and Sarah Mossman.
And I am very much in love with Cai Min's combo of the Paris bodice and West End skirt in the Chinese production. The bodice never got a good match in the previous World Tour, with either too dark or too pale skirt. This is a nice match, and a well balanced costume:
Oh yeah, and the very vintage Dutch bodice with newer German skirts, as seen on Giulia Nadruz and the other Christines in the Sao Paulo revival... That's a combo I love:
And even if you didn't ask about my least favourites... HARD NO on this combo of a flat mint bodice and structured pink skirt, as seen on Kayleigh Marven in the Restaged Aussie Tour:
Also hard no on the oh-we-forgot-to-decorate-the-apron UK skirt with a US bodice, as worn by Kaley Ann Voorhees and Claire Lyon in the previous World Tour. Glad they decorated it in China... Here's the before look, as worn by Kaley Ann Voorhees:
...and after, as worn by Yang Chengxiyi. It feels like a more balanced costume, as there is a sense of continuation from bodice to skirt. Definite yes on this one!
Also hard yes to Emmi Christensson's Stockholm revival rooftop look, which was a true mask-up of a West End dress with World Tour decorations, World Tour cloak and World Tour underpinnings. The total is quite awesome.
Spent 2 shows yesterday at phantom which I haven’t done in a while! Planned this couple months ago to see the new cast however I had covers for Raoul, Mme Giry & Piangi and all swings on too! There was a lot of people off!
First off it felt so strange to not see some cast members who had been there since 2021!
Ensemble was made up of all 5 swings being on which is a first for me I think?
Overall lovely performances from all, new corps de ballet were gorgeous as always!
For the Principals I’ll start with Millie Lyon as Meg who was brilliant - lovely youthful voice, feisty characterisation and a BLONDE wig! I’ve missed the blonde wig! Fantastic Meg looking forward to seeing her much more.
Martin Ball as Firmin is an absolute triumph! Hilariously pompous and arrogant and such a grumbly kind of voice he was a standout last night, he seemed to play the role like he was tipsy drunk the majority of the time and he was just not interested in all the dramas going on. Great chemistry with Adam which I admittedly thought may have been difficult to achieve after Matt Harrop but I absolutely loved his take on the character!
Hywel Dowsell was on for Piangi, last time I seen him he was second cover and was on for the first time in 18 months! Lovely nuanced performance with little ad-libs and added acting pieces - really enjoyed!
Victoria Ward was on for Mme Giry I’ve seen her once before and I really enjoyed her and even yesterday she was such a standout! Beautiful voice and again such nuanced acting and more motherly to Meg!
Joanna Ampil as Carlotta was very different to what we’ve seen before, less operatic and more ever so slightly belty sometimes her voice got a little lost in the music, still some gorgeous top notes but I just was hoping for a little more oomph from her voice. acting wise was generally great but I did hope for a little more over the top like Carlotta should be, looking forward to seeing how she grows into the role over the next year!
Enjoyed Michael as Raoul - super strong voice and some great acting choices! I’ve now seen him as many times as I’ve seen Joe! (6 times) Joe is admittedly more my cup of tea acting wise but I enjoyed him nonetheless.
Lily was on fire yesterday, gorgeous voice and acting was out of this world, a top tier Christine by miles! My only slight gripe is her last note in think of me I’m not sure if the orchestra is rushing her or something else but it’s very short, her other high notes are held much longer but I just wish she got to hold it slightly longer as it felt super rushed, 8th time seeing her and always finding new things I love about her Portrayal! Her chemistry with Dean was also insane!!!
Now for Dean, I heard the opening night audio and I’ll admit I wasn’t crazy about his voice and didn’t hear too much acting albeit through audio so my expectations were mid however, I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY that was how a Phantom should sound his voice literally vibrated the auditorium and was just ridiculously gorgeous!!! Acting wise he was more gentler with Christine until the final lair when he let loose. I’ll go out on a limb and say from all the Phantoms I’ve seen he may have been my favourite in line with Earl Carpenter - vocally 100% my favourite he reminded me of Colm Wilkinson, Tim Howar & Killian Donnelly in some musical points. a firm favourite!
Really great cast, will be back to catch the full principal cast so I can see Helen Hobson as Mme Giry!
Aiming to see Eve with the new cast too as I last saw her nearly a year ago and must’ve caught an off show as she wasn’t sounding great but after hearing more recent audios she sounded as beautiful as her debut! Would also love to see Zoe on as Carlotta as she has a voice that lifts the ensemble to new heights!
I do have audios from the 2 shows yesterday, please message me to trade but disclaimer that my replies are not great rn as work has been super hectic!
They always paint and depict her as dainty and skinny, but she literally fights for a living and is canon that she uses steroids and drugs. That girl must be ripped. Farenheit too, that girl carries around a heavy gun like it's nothing. It we take into account that in some Fallout games you need a STR requirement to be able to use some weapons, those two must surely have some muscles.
I'm tired of seeing the strong women in the Fallout franchise draw as skinny women. Paladin Cross, Sarah Lyons, Veronica, Christine, Commandant Daguerre, Paladin Ramani.
Canon/Headcanon ages for Fallout characters (potential spoilers)
I’m standardizing the ages to 2281, which is when New Vegas begins. (Fallout 3 is 2277 and 4 is 2287 but I haven’t played it yet). These are kind of estimations because obviously everyone doesn’t have the same birthday.
Dogmeat (from Fallout 3): 12. (Not canon.) It’s on the elderly side for his breed (fanon pretty much agrees he’s a blue heeler), but I choose to believe that Fallout dogs have mutated to live longer. My version of Dogmeat either got too old or took too many hits by this point, so he’s retired to become Three Dog’s co-host.
Arthur Maxson: 14. I think it’s also canon that he became elder at 16, which I adore. Boy is way too young to look like that.
R.J. MacCready: 16. Mungo 😔
Follows-Chalk: 19. (Not canon.) Honestly, I’d be surprised if he weren’t a teenager. He’s very much finding himself and choosing who he wants to be, which you can still do at any age, but it’s a hallmark of your teen years. And he’s adorable.
Amata Almodovar: 23. (Pretty much canon.) Younger than the Lone Wanderer because she has no Pip-Boy when LW turns 10. Can’t be too many months apart, though, because they go to play with her when they’re 12 months.
Lone Wanderer: 23. They were born on July 13 and left the Vault at 19.
(my) Courier Six: Also 23. (Not canon.) I like having them be the same age. In terms of canon information, all we know is that they were well-established as a courier in 2277, so they probably wouldn’t be younger than about 21. It’s implied in one Lady Killer dialogue that they’re at least 36 (apparently had some sort of fling in Montana 18 years ago), but the dialogue is optional, so you can have them be whatever age you want.
Butch DeLoria: 24. (Not canon.) IDK where I got the idea that he’s a year older than the Lone Wanderer, because the only canon evidence I can find is that he already had his Pip-Boy at their 10th birthday, but I like it. Either he got held back a year, or Vault 101 combines classrooms due to low population.
Craig Boone: 26. Let the man be young pls.
Veronica Santangelo: 27. Older than she seems IMO.
Sarah Lyons: 27-28. Would be 30 if she were still alive.
Christine Royce: 28. (Not canon.) Because if you grew up with someone, I feel like it would be weird to date them if there had been a substantial age gap.
Nova: 29. A successful innkeeper living life and not being exploited, bless.
Charon: 30. (Extremely not canon.) I feel like most people would cast him as way older than that, but I’ve written his whole backstory and it requires him to not have been hanging out in Underworld for the past century. There’s no concrete information on this, so go wild.
Waking Cloud: 32. (Not canon.) Her third child is six, but she still seems pretty young. I imagine marriage age is a little lower in the tribes.
Vulpes Inculta: 34-38. (Canon is a passing shadow at this point.) Try as I might, I can’t figure out why people place the destruction of the Twisted Hairs as happening 25 years prior. Not only would Vulpes have to have been an adult then, he was a decanus before that. Which would put him in his fifties. He’s described in canon as a young man, though, and I’m also attached to this interpretation of him. It’s a mess, and I’m going with my gut.
Arcade Gannon: 35. Probably on the tail end of 35 since he says he’s in his late thirties. Happy birthday, Arcade, your prize is bandaging me up on our stupid adventures.
Daniel: 36. (Not canon.) In my timeline, he’s Joshua’s nephew, and he was a toddler when Josh left. I know that’s completely unsupported by canon, but I wanted to add personal drama to their ideological drama.
Rose of Sharon Cassidy: 37. Which makes sense because her father was in Fallout 2.
Benny: 40. (Not canon.) I’m a Benny-in-his-forties truther. He’s led the tribe for seven years, and he really doesn’t strike me as young. It’s also just funny that cosplay is his literal whole personality when he’s edging into middle age.
Lucius: 43. (Not canon.) Appears to be graying, still quite capable in a very physical job. He’s considered old in the Legion, but since it’s a young nation, most men are taken from their tribes as children, and death comes early and violent, I think old is a relative term. Caesar purposefully isolates men from their families so they’ll focus any filial loyalty on him, so I feel like he must be significantly younger than Caesar.
Ulysses: 47-50. (Not canon.) I’m even comfortable with casting him a little older. He exudes knowledge and experience with everything he does. He seems to have been an adult when he entered the Legion — which, as discussed, gets placed 25 years ago but IDK why.
Gob: 51. (Not canon.) Acts very young (could just be learned helplessness), so I’ve got his age frozen at like 20. He’d been a slave for fifteen years as of 2277, so I gave him about 12 years of being happy in Underworld with Carol.
James: 51-52, depending when you got around to the main storyline. He would be 55, but… yeah.
Joshua Graham: 54. (Not canon.) He says he was “young” 35 years ago when the Legion began. 19 is the standard age for Mormon men to go on their mission trips, and it’s also an important age in my version of the Fallout universe (i.e. the age I ruin my characters’ lives). I also like the idea of Joshua being a little younger and more sheltered than Edward, it makes his path to darkness more interesting.
Edward Sallow: 55. Again, this guy was my little brother’s age when one day he just decided to take over the world.
Star Paladin Cross: 60. (Not canon.) She’s a cyborg, so I think her cybernetics kept her in fighting shape a little longer.
Lily Bowen: 203. They turned her into a nightkin at 75! :((((((
Rex: 209. Ultimate immortal doggie.
Fawkes: 227. (Not canon.) I’m basing this on the cut Sheldon Delacroix logs, which would imply he moved into Vault 87 as a married adult.
Carol: 230. There’s some debate on this because she claims to have been a little girl when the bombs fell, but from her perspective I imagine everyone is a little child.
(my) Sole Survivor: 233. (Not canon.) Nora is a lawyer, and most American lawyers are 25 or older when they pass the bar. She also probably didn’t get married or have a child during law school (if she did… queen), so she’d have to be at least 26 or 27 during the prologue. I have her at 29 to make her the same age as my other two protagonists. Besties!
Raul Tejada: 234. By his dialogue, I had assumed he was a teenager during the Great War, but it turns out he was about 30. Multigenerational households FTW. Which probably means his age is frozen somewhere in his thirties and he’s not actually elderly. (Not that ghoul lore is actually consistent. Also, I’m not going to be the one to tell him it’s all in his head.)
Robert House: 261. Bro was born in 2020. Why, why would you do that to yourself?
Some of these are completely unsubstantiated so feel free to correct me or give your own opinion. I’ll probably edit if I think of more.
This is a masterlist of PotO inspired soundscapes I've created. I struggled for weeks to find good ASMR ambience for writing until my good friend @enigmawritesstuff put me on to the myNoise.net sound generator.
Though I created these for some of the hyper-specific settings in my fic When the Longing Returns, (the stable, the dormitory, etc.), they're also good for general PotO ambience. I figure if I can't find good Lair or opera house asmr, most other writers and readers probably can't either. So please, consider this a resource, my gift to you, for the good of all Phan-kind.
Wandering Child (Church Bells (slow), Wind and tree creaks, Wind, Church Bells (faster), Footsteps in snow, Crows, Carriage, Horse and harness, Wind 2, Horse hooves)
In the Bois (Background Paris, winter wind, Church Bells, snowy footsteps, trotting horses, birds, carriages, children playing, snow thaw, cheery babble)
Phantom's Lair (Lapping water, oar/pole in water, low ambient tone, organ music, lantern/gate squeak, torch/flame, horse & harness, footsteps, pen scratching paper, dripping water)
Tunnel Walk Preset
Boat Ride Preset
Erik Composing Preset
The Setting Sun Inn (Church bells, Chatter, Fireplace (three kinds), footsteps, coin clink, table sounds, wind whistle, light snow)
Note: This is the first scape I've done exclusively for Gaston Leroux's novel. When Raoul follows Christine to Perros they lodge at the little inn there, called the Setting Sun, run by one Mme. Tricarde.
Breton Winter (Chilly coastal sounds, night birds, wind rustling heather, crashing waves, light snow)
Another 'scape for Leroux, also for The Magic Violin. I've tried to capture the hillside on the edge of the moor overlooking the sea where Christine tells Raoul about her visits from "the Angel of Music"
Other Soundscapes
Chateau Destler (For Guardian Angel by @madamedestler)
Chateau de Chagny (For The Phantom's Atonement by MadameDestler, Chapter's 1 and 3)
Christine's Room Preset
Engagement Party Preset
Madame Bassett's (For The Phantom's Atonement by MadameDestler, Chapters 2, 14, and 15 )
Lounge Preset
Claire's Room Preset
Lyon Cottage (For The Phantom's Atonement by @madamedestler)
Cozy Evening Preset (With Rain)
Cozy Evening Preset (No Rain)
Spring Afternoon Preset
Church Saint-Jacques (For Corpus Christi by @madamedestler. A little combination of Church echo, wooden creaks, fabric rustle, and most important for any sinful assignation--rain and thunder. This is such a vivid setting for a fic, and I really wanted an excuse to do a Cathedral scape. The Church Saint-Jacques is one of the two actual churches in Perros-Guirec. The one that features in Leroux's book may be the other: the Chapel Notre-Dame-de-la-Clarte)
Christine's Sleeping Cell Preset
Night Confession Preset
Sounds of St. Florent (For Sacred by TryingNotToLoveYou. This is such a breath of fresh air. Very specific to the fic because of the Corsica setting, but really good fun because of all the sounds one doesn't often get to use for a PotO scape.)
I posted some highlights already but here is the full audio of this show for anyone who wants to give it a listen. Def recommend it they’re a great trio! :))