#at least this theatre can be year round

[mystery-pixels]

more builds for my save. I redid the grocery store and laundromat because I didn't like them anymore so i merged them together. I also made a movie theatre because drive-ins feel very summer and I needed something year round!

[mothmans-side-ho]

Armand called Lestat a clown in the most round about way

s2e3 hot wired the two passions in my brain into this info dump, however seeing as a central theme of this episode (and the season) is power, status, and their subversions, it seems relevant. for context, I have 2 degrees in theatre, specifically theatre history and how trends effect form. (I am in no way an expert though, and this is very simplified). long story short, I'm relishing in being a big ol nerd about this entire season

FINALLY, we got to see Lestat (a version of) strutting his stuff on stage in a scene with peak commedia dell'arte shenanigans. Commedia dell'arte is/was an originally Italian form of theatre which was defined by lazzi (comedic bits), improv, and stock characters. these stock characters have been around from Roman times and are still super familiar to us today - the young lovers, the pervy old rich man, the soldier with bravado, etc. It's been seen as a somewhat formulaic form of theatre which relied on quickly identifiable characters and situations so audiences can sit back and enjoy the butt jokes and servant beatings.

In the book - specifically The Vampire Lestat - our beloved Lestat RELISHES in playing a character called Lelio, one of the young lovers. It is in playing Lelio that he "found a tongue for verses and wit [he]'d never had in life" (TVL pg 31). It is in playing Lelio that Lestat first gets a taste of the person he can become, and it is in Lelio that we see the first glimpses of the Lestat which so fully seduces Louis. In short, Lestat casts himself as the suave and handsome romantic protagonist, here to sweep people off their feet. The young lovers are also notably some of the only roles portrayed without masks, to emphasize their youth and natural beauty.

SO IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN LESTAT SHOWS UP IN S2E3 DRESSED LIKE THIS:

He has a half mask! He's wearing all sorts of colors! He's clearly acting as a go between between two other characters who seem to be of a higher status than him! As I said before, commedia dell'arte can be very formulaic (especially by the late 1700s when it is being codified away from being improv focused to being cemented into scripts). From all of these visual and characterization clues, Lestat is not playing Lelio the young lover, he's playing a Harlequin! And his costume seems to be heavily based off of this Harlequin (Arlecchino, Arlecino, etc.) which is literally the wikipedia image of a Harlequin.

(note, if you give a fuck, this image is depicting an Arlechino from 1671, roughly 125 years before Lestat on stage. in my mind, this accounts for the changes in silhouette, styling, why Lestat doesn't wear the mask for the entirety of the performance, etc. Also, just while we're talking about costuming, I believe the late 18th Century was still a time in which actors would have been expected to provide their own costumes, which would explain why Lestat's version is made with expensive fabrics and includes cunty little details like the bow in his hair. At the very least, I can see him making looking good a priority as the owner of the theater and as...well...Lestat.)

Okay, okay, okay. Why does this matter?

Harlequins are not characters of any social status. They're servants who are quick witted enough to get into antics but stupid enough to be commanded by animalistic instincts (lust, food, you name it). The Harlequin being beaten by their master was ENORMOUSLY funny, and is the origin of the term "slapstick comedy". They a memorable iteration of clown.

In this scene, which I'm willing to bet was inspired by (if not outright) Carlo Goldoni's A Servant of Two Masters, Lestat plays a servant who interacts with two characters. One appears to be a young woman in a breeches part - another common trope of commedia performance. The other appears to be the young male lover! We see Lestat prancing between the two, seemingly facilitating some romance plot, being paid for his compliance, and doing a good ol fashioned butt lazzi. (Could he be presenting his ass for beating? Maybe.)

So why is Lestat not the young valiant lover, but instead A LITERAL CLOWN? Three potential, not conflicting, reasons. By the time Lestat is performing (mid to late 1790s, based off Armand's earlier comment about Robespierre's 1794 execution), the Harlequin characters were the most sought after roles! At this time, we are seeing the emergence of "Celebrity Culture" where audiences sought out actors for their off-stage personalities as much as their on-stage ones. This is an extremely fitting position for Lestat to fall into. Yay a semblance of historical accuracy!

Secondly, Lestat's ENTIRE ROLE in season two is to come between this season's new pair of young(ish) lovers: Louis & Armand. Lestat's function is to repeatedly detract and distract from their relationship through Dreamstat's antics (appearing at the piano calling Louis a whore, having Louis re-kill him, etc.). Additionally, simply put, Lestat (and Sam Reid as Lestat) is a lot of fun to watch. He is absolutely a stand out (if not THE stand out) of the show! His constant ability to serve cunt is often what your eye is drawn to, he pulls focus to himself, and often undercuts the more subdued, philosophical, and morose nature of others. Both on-stage and on-screen, Lestat continuously upstages his screen partners. He does kinda function as a Harlequin. But in the end, the Harlequin's antics are also what ultimately drive the young lovers together. If not for Lestat's actions, Louis and Armand would have never met nor bonded over knowing this fucked up brat prince.

But we also have to remember! This portion of the episode is presented by Armand the mind fuckery master. It is absolutely in his best interests to paint Lestat as some sort of ridiculous, lesser being driven by animalistic nature. Especially if - by extension of the metaphor - this frames he and Louis as the virtuous and optimistic young lovers, striving to cling to each other in a world of chaos. I would be EXTREMELY interested to see if, when recollected by someone else, Lestat appears in a different role or characterized differently.

Again, given the celebrity culture of the time and Lestat being himself, it is entirely believable that he would appear in the Harlequin role (Truffaldino, if this is Goldoni's Servant). However, I think it's extremely telling that in Armand's iteration of the story Lestat is not the dignified, refined, and sympathetic young romantic. He is instead a literal fucking clown.

[sweetteainthesummerx]

THE LOVE LASTS SO LONG (2)

In which a breakup occurs and Aubrey meets some new people...

series masterlist

whitejadetigermovie posted

whitejadetigermovie Meet our Keung and Jasmine! Proud to announce that @dallas_liu and @aubreyyang will star in White Jade Tiger, coming to theatres next winter.

liked by dallas_liu, aubreyyang, dior.n.goodjohn and 13,724 others

view all 408 comments

user1 NO WAY NO WAY ALERT THE MEDIA

user2 babe wake up the casting for white jade tiger just came out

user3 THEYRE ABOUT TO EAT THIS UP I ALREADY KNOWW

dallas_liu im about to be bald again 😃

- aubreyyang at least ur head is round!

- aubreyfanpage06 the filming hasnt started but the trolling has

dallas_liu posted on their story

caption: sometimes all u need is some ramen 🤷🏻‍♂️

tagged: aubreyyang

aubreyyang replied:

WORD tyyy iou big bro :)

dallas_liu

just make sure charlie and dior dont try to kill mace pls they have such bright futures

aubreyyang

😭

celebritynews_1 posted

celebritynews_1 In recent interview with @ellemagazine, Aubrey Yang confirmed her break up with famous child star, Mace Coronel. According to Yang, the split of their 4 year relationship as childhood sweethearts was mutual...link in bio for full story.

liked by fan_gossip, celebritygossippage and 300 others

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user1 BRO FINALLY

user2 pls ma'am I can cook I can clean bark bark

yoyang_a as a loyal fan I CAN CONFIRM THE WAR IS OVER

aubreyyangxfans elle magazine understood the assignment 🗣️

user3 ngl her and dallas kinda

-- user2 nah thats a case 🫢

aubreyyang posted on their story

caption: thank you guys sm for the support! Just a reminder to spread love only <3

tagged: dior.n.goodjohn

dior.n.goodjohn replied: ur actually too kind

aubreyyang I feel bad uk

dior.n.goodjohn oh babes

aubreyyang its just that i loved him for so long and now

aubreyyang I can't love him anymore

dior.n.goodjohn coming over w chocolates and ice cream

lilymhe posted

lilymhe thank you to @asianhustlenetwork for hosting such a fun event! Had some good food, met some good people ❤️

tagged: alex_albon, aubreyyang

liked by alex_albon, olliebearman and 185,008 others

view all 45 comments

user1 why is Aubrey showing up everywhere on my page 😭

alex_albon my gf was stolen this night. pls return her @aubreyyang

-- aubreyyang no can do she's mine now

liked by author

aubreyyang it was so good to meet you guys!!

aubreyyang UR SO GORGEOUS ALSO UR MY PARENTS NOW

-- lilymhe come home its curfew

-- user2 stop that's so cute

lilyhefanpage aww they're so mother and daughter coded (alex is just there)

f1wags ollie what r u doing here 👆my mans lurking in the likes

______________________________________________________________

© sweetteainthesummerx.tumblr. all rights reserved. unauthorized copying, translation, or claiming of my writing or any works as your own is strictly prohibited.

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 1B

Lea Salonga (1971) made history in 1991 as the youngest performer to ever win Best Leading Actress in a Musical for Miss Saigon. She was just twenty years old at the time, and now all these years later, she qualifies for our MILF tournament. Lea has starred in six Broadway shows including Les Miserables (as first Eponine and then later Fantine), Once On This Island (2017), and most recently a brief stint in Here Lies Love (2023). She is also the singing voice for Disney's Mulan.

Diva, icon, certified GILF Christine Baranski (1952) has a theatre resume a mile long. A two-time Tony winner, Christine has performed on and off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally in shows such as Mame at the Kennedy Center, the pre-Broadway workshop of Sunday in the Park with George, and the infamous flop that was Nick & Nora (1991). She can be seen alongside a slew of other Broadway Divas in HBO's The Gilded Age, and has also participated in at least ten Sondheim shows and concerts over the years.

PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT:

"Lea Salonga was our only major Asian representation on Broadway for decades, and yeah okay, Miss Saigon was the single most racist, orientalist, offensive show I've ever seen on Broadway, but-- Actually, no, I have no "buts" for this. It's just a bad show, and Lea Salonga deserved a better star vehicle."

"If you didn't turn into a raging lesbian from the moment you watched Christine Baranski perform "Does Your Mother Know?" in Mamma Mia, then are you really queer? THE GILF, and still able to be a high kicking bitch when she wants to."

[the-fiction-witch]

Favourite Nurse

Media The Artful Dodger

Character Jack Dawkins

Couple Jack X Reader

Rating Sweet AF

I stood in the surgical theatre sweeping, scrubbing and cleaning the place down in the early morning light, my cheap scratchy nurse dress around me as I tried to remove blood stains from the table. I heard the door creak open and a voice spoke up.

"Humm... There's my favourite nurse." He slyly smiled,

I looked up seeing Doctor Jack Dawkins leant on the wooden door frame that led into the prep room, in his usual brown trousers, white faded shirt with blood-stained sleeves, blue waistcoat and tattered green tie, his blonde hair dusty and dirty as usual. His arms crossed smugly over his chest and that stupid sly smile on his lips. 

I turned on my heels to face him moving a strand of hair out my eyes and setting both hands on my hips, "Ah Doctor Dawkins,"

"The Very same my darling," 

"Just the man I've been looking for, I have a bone to pick with you,"

"ohh really?" he smirked as he moved his hands behind him and swaggered over with an air of teasing playfulness, "Umm... Go on then my darling, But I think we both know what bone I want you to be picking at," 

"You left the surgical theatre in an utter abhorrence!" I complain, "Tools used and all over the place, floor blanketed in blood, if you are going to do surgery in the middle of the night you could at least tidy up after yourself!" 

His tone soured, "I don't have time my darling," He rolled his eyes, "If I hadn't acted quickly the man would be dead by now. So I had to perform an emergency operation late last night or early this morning... not confident which it was."

"That's not an excuse not to clean up after yourself."

"But I was tired," he pouted, 

"I am not your maid Jack, as much as you like to think I am," I told him as I took my bucket out with me to the courtyard, but he followed me. 

"I know you're not. I just needed your help. We are the only ones working round the clock here. It's not my fault my body won't let me stay up past 10 anymore."

"That doesn't mean I'm your maid," I told him as I tipped my bucket over the stairwell and set it down with the others, but before I could scamper back inside he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"But you're a brilliant cleaner you get all the spots I'm too blind for."

"Or too ignorant for." 

"Both," he chuckled, "I like you being my cute little maid girl,"

"I am not your maid." I told him poking his chest with my finger, "As much as you may like it."

"And how did you know I had a maid fetish?" he whispered,

"Because you have an everything fetish," I glared as I moved away and cleaned off my hands, "You're a very horny boy Jack."

"Well yeah? You spent ten years in the navy where you're lucky to see one woman per six months, You can't help getting excited for every girl you see." he smirked sitting himself on the edge of the stairs, "And how can I help it with you running around my darling? "

"Some days I really do wonder how you are such a smart doctor, your brain rarely gets any blood it's always down your trousers." I sighed as I began to hang the washed sheets on the lines in the courtyard, 

"I can't help it, you're too captivating," 

"Umm... You're lucky you don't get a damn slap. Escpaily after I caught you peeking down my dress the other day."

"And up your dress," he muttered,

"What was that?" I glared,

"Nothing my darling," He cooed, "You're such a little smart ass, aren't you? The girls at the cat and bagpipes don't give me such sassback."

"That's because you're paying them jack they have to pretend to like you,"

"They do like me."

"do they? do they ever actually want to talk or be near you before you hand them a pound?" 

"Sometimes," He lied, "They like my stethoscope, and hearing stories about work."

"AHH yes your stethoscope I'm sure all rottys girls at the cat and bagpipes just love your... Stethoscope"

"Well and because I'm so handsome,"

"You good looking I think you're very handsome just... Too confident for your own good sometimes" I rolled my eyes as I finished hanging the newly washed sheets and gathered in the dry ones from earlier, 

"Oh? you think I'm handsome My darling?" he teased, 

I finished gathering all the dry sheets and headed back towards the door, "You can be when you have a bath and some clean clothes Jack" I said tugging on his stained sleeves and giving his hair a tussle as I walked up the steps seeing visible dust fall out of it, 

"So you're saying I'm attractive? Like you are actually attracted to me and you think I'm handsome" he gave chase of course following behind me like an excited puppy, 

"If it makes you feel better. Yes," I rolled my eyes kissing his cheek before I headed into the storage cupboard to start folding the dry sheets and putting them away, 

"Wait. You're actually serious, no joke and you're not just saying that to make me stop bugging you?"

"I'm very serious you can be very handsome sometimes," 

"Ohh? Well, what makes me so handsome then my darling?" he cooed leaning his elbow on the shelf, 

"you're a very handsome man Jack. You have a toned slender body, you're tall, you have very handsome soft blonde hair, deep chocolate brown eyes, a striking jaw and a very cute smile and you're are adorable when you get mad or jealous and you frown all pouty, so yes I do find you attractive and the times when you clean up have a hot bath and some clean clothes I admit your very lovely" I explain as I fold sheets, 

He smiled and slightly blushed at my compliments "So... if I had a bath and some fresh clothes I wouldn't just be cute I'd be... sexy?"

"Perhaps,"

He smirked and grabbed my hand spinning me around before pulling me into his chest, "So? how would I rate all clean and lovely?"

"Out of ten?"

"Yep," he smirked not letting me move in any way,

I smiled and set my hands on his waistcoat moving on my tip toes to be inches from his lips as I spoke, At the moment eight. When you have a bath eleven."

"A-an 11? So you're saying once I've had a bath and worn nice clothes, I'll be stunningly handsome and an 11 out of 10?" he blushed, "You... really mean that Y/n?"

"I do, You're a slender little smart-ass jack. And I think you're the most attractive man in the hospital... I mean, that's kind of a hollow complaint though given my options for doctors are you, Dr sneed and Prof. And prof is in his 60s and Sneed looks like a snail" 

"Well, it's lucky for you that I'm so good-looking and have such a captivating personality," 

"It is," I giggled,

"I always knew I was your favourite nurse darling," He smiled stroking my cheek and pulling my lips to his own.  

[finniestoncrane]

What're the Riddlers' favorite places to......cuddle? And who are the softest, snuggliest sweethearts about it?

Favourite Place to Cuddle

Riddler Headcanons THANK YOU SNOW for letting me write the fluff i thought i was going to write before lmao here's their favourite snuggling spots and their hug status too because you're right, some of them are huggers and some are. not 💚 request info • prompt list • send me a request • kofi • masterlist minors DNI!! 🔞 cw: soft and squishy fluff, sexually suggestive

gotham

favourite place: in bed

either directly after sex, or when you first wake up, or when you lay down to finally go to sleep

his arms are around you and you're held so tight there's no escaping

(but why would you want to wriggle free of his sweet cuddles?)

it just feels so natural and romantic to him, to have you in his bed with his body wrapped around you

hug status: gosh his cuddles are so sweet, they last forever and they take your breath away (or constrict your lungs...)

dano

favourite place: on his stream

it gives him neverending joy when you come up behind him and wrap your arms round his neck and shoulders

or when you feel brave enough to plop yourself down on his lap

all while he's streaming to his loyal followers, who he hopes are very jealous that he has someone to hug and hold

it gives him the ego boost he needs to get up to his nefarious little silly activities

hug status: he says thank you everytime you finish cuddling with him because he feels like he needs to ;-;

twojar

favourite place: the shower

holding you from behind while the water beats down on you both?

hands free to caress your front, your stomach, your chest, maybe even a little bit further south...

it makes him feel dominant still, to be cradling you

to be in control of the length and manner of the cuddle

hug status: he'll only hug you when he feels like it, it feels stifled, almost for show sometimes, but there's warmth in it

btaa

favourite place: while you're dancing

nothing feels better than holding you tight, resting his head on your shoulder, you against his

as you both sway gently to whatever music he has put on

his arms around you, keeping you close, sighing softly

the joy of humming along to the tune and hearing you hum right back

hug status: he's not always aware when you need a hug but when he does cuddle into you it's always perfect

arkham

favourite place: anywhere, as long as it's private

it's unlikely that he'll ever take the initiative to hug you first, because it's not something he thinks about or feels like he needs

but he'll accept a hug from you, or at least he'll let you hang off of him while he stands still and waits for it to be over

but ground rules: you're allowed to hug him twice a day, at most, only when no one is around

and it can't last for too long either, he has things to be getting on with thank you

hug status: he's prickly, but the fact that he lets you hug him at all suggests that he might be softer than he's willing to admit

telltale

favourite place: the back seat of a car

it feels very much like you're on a date, makes him feel young

going to some lovers' lane where he can get into some heavy petting or maybe even more

it's really the only place he gets soft and romantic, the rest of the time he's quite cold and dominant

but the nostalgia, the adrenaline, the innocence, it all does it for him

hug status: don't even think about hugging him without advanced warning in writing

zero year

favourite place: anywhere

but you have to be constantly draped over him, wrapped round his neck

so everyone can see that he has someone who is willing to hug him

and he's definitely going to be grabbing you back

although... maybe not in the traditional sense of a cuddle... maybe more... desperate and gropey than that...

hug status: makes a pouty face and says "where's my hug?" but it's still somehow hard to say no to him

unburied

favourite place: back row of the movie theatre

it's less about the location of this one and more the sort of risk that accompanies it

because with him, hugs are always just the first step

they're a slippery slope to even more physical contact of a more lewd nature

and sitting in the back row, getting cosy, the risk of getting caught? perfect for him

hug status: cuddles are how he expresses himself, how he apologises, initiates sex, lets you know he missed you etc.

btas

favourite place: snuggled up on the sofa

whether you're watching a movie, or playing a video game, he likes you to be close to him

he'll put his arm over your shoulder and pull you in

shifting you closer, inch by inch, until you're practically on his lap or sitting between his legs

just him and you, no one around to interrupt you while he's peppering kisses over any part of you he can reach

hug status: he's definitely a big hugger! absolutely loves being in contact with you

young justice

favourite place: anywhere, as long as it's in public

he'll literally take a hug from you regardless of the situation

he's so touch-starved and desperate to be loved and held and wanted and squished

a quick side-hug, a big bear hug, a hug that knocks him over

literally nothing makes him happier than knowing you're willing to be seen doting over him in front of other people

hug status: absolute soft boy, will melt into your arms when you hug him but is a bit nervous about intiating any cuddles

[bracketsoffear]

Stranger: Hologram Professor/The Substitute/Concupiscence McNasty (Puppet History) "Called The Substitute by the fandom (because he replaces The Professor and it's a play on "substitute teacher"). Stranger by human standards because he is a talking puppet, and also Stranger by living puppet standards because he’s a hologram pretending to be a puppet, and all of the musical guests from his season aren’t really living puppets (in the sense that they were existing animals/objects turned into puppets by The Professor) but just holograms he pretends are “people.” Moisturizes Ryan so he can turn his skin into a suit and become “real,” which as Nikola shows is peak Stranger—he’s basically turning Ryan into a “puppet”. Stranger is also associated with theatre and music, which The Substitute is quite adept at, as shown by him impersonating the musical guests and then having a trippy musical number about skinning Ryan featuring lyrics like “But I think, I think / At least, I think I think / Therefore I kinda think I think that I am.” Also wants to turn all living beings on Earth into puppets using a genie wish, which is basically a Stranger ritual."

Dark: Commander Samuel Vimes (Discworld) "Canonically is the host to an entity called the Summoning Dark, as well as an entity he created called the Guarding Dark. Was a night Watchman for some 25 years, feels most comfortable in the nighttime streets in the rain. Once blended so seamlessly into his pitch-dark surroundings that a fleeing thief didn't realize he was there and leaned against him to take a breath. The poor thief got grabbed and so scared. It's commented on that he "stares into shadows" and likely would have spotted another character who is an expert at going unseen if he hadn't been hidden behind Vimes. I don't know how to explain myself better but it's the Vibes."

[aceofsnacks]

I did a tour of GO filming locations

It was around London, so I didn't get all of them, but the trip has been such a blast I just have to share the pics!

1. St James park: so many birds! And tourists. Which is good because the secret government agents wouldn't be able to feed so many ducks. I saw pelicans too—they were huge and pink and funny!!

2. Berkley Square (they actually didn't film anything here, but still): it's a giant construction site now. The only birds I spotted were parrots, so many of them, at least 5 nests, and loud too. No sane nightingale would ever come there, this much is true. But the song is referenced on one of the bench plaques <3

3. The Ritz / The Criterion: they both look nothing like the restaurant in the show (maybe the Criterion changed since 2019?) But both are fancy! When my rich uncle leaves me a giant inheritance and I find my 6000 year soulmate, I am so taking them out there, just you wait.

4. The Globe: this is my favourite theatre now!!!Macbeth was magnificent! And the standing tickets were so worth it: actors were down in the crowd and interacted with everyone! I got some of Macduff's blood on me! (Can't get this anywhere else :D) The Globe is closed in winter, so I'm already planning to buy tickets for next year.

5. The Bandstand and the-place-where-Gabriel-was-running: after marinating on Tumblr for so long I felt shocked seeing the word "bandstand" on a physical sign in the park. Like, put up a warning at least, my heart needs to be prepared?? The actual bandstand was at the same time smaller and bigger than I expected. Also those red bits—apparently they were there the whole time; I was imagining it black and white for some reason.

Also I met another crazy fan taking pictures of the bandstand in the rain, and I remember thinking, they have to be just as crazy as me xD

6. Tavistock square (where they switched bodies): the filming crew must have moved the benches around, because the square itself is so tiny and you can only match the scene background if you stand all the way back in the bushes. Surely there must have been a better way.

7. Crystal palace: just as I suspected, you can't see the dinosaurs from the bench because of all the trees in the way. The dinos are hilarious though, they look more like🗿and not like 🦖. In the show Warlock seems to have written a rude word on the teleosaurus info card, how dare he!

8. Tadfield (Hambleden, really): I thought, it's just two hours from London, easy day trip, in and out, what could go wrong. Cue to me stumbling over muddy fields in the dark surrounded by menacing sheep and regretting everything. The village is cute and English and has literally three streets and a post office and nothing else. And sheep.

9. Bonus round, my take on Aziraphale's bookshop xD "Seducing women? I think you've got the wrong shop!"

10. Bonus bonus round, food! (am I or am I not the ace of snacks after all?) An oyster recipe from Marcus Gavius Apicius' cookbook (Rome, 1c CE, stumbled upon it in the museum of Reading), and Eccles cakes (soooo sweet they don't calm people down but give them instant diabetes)

And that's it!! Thank you for reading all the way <3 Here is a secret snack 🍎

[annoyingblondebracket]

Round 1 | Poll 1

~ Note: This poll is being done out of a genuine love and affection for these types of characters! Please keep that in mind when adding commentary. Propaganda under the cut!

Tsukasa Tenma:

~ hes very loud and eccentric and multiple characters say he is annoying

~ He's an extremely loud theater kid who wants to be a world famous star. Anytime he's on screen he'll yell very loudly at least once. Most other characters have an 'oh... it's him.." moment whenever they see him. Others try (and fail) to avoid him so they don't get caught in his antics. He's a loser and the fandom loves him for it.

~ he's a theater kid who is 100% determined to become the Number 1 World Future Star!!! with absolutely zero volume control who is constantly screaming and laughing at the top of his lungs, to the point where you can hear him from pretty much anywhere in the school. several of his friends (who still love him) and random background characters talk about finding him annoying and intrusive at several points in the story. he's a genuinely really sweet guy who is mainly just putting up a front to hide his insecurities but also the man is constantly reciting a mantra that's just him telling you what his name means. also one time he tried to comfort a crying kid at a theme park by screaming his name at her in english (which he does not speak) and just wound up making her cry harder which tells you pretty much all you need to know

~ He is canonically so loud, like helicopter blades whirling levels of loud. He does not know when to shut up, and is just all around, annoying!!

~ generally very loud, overconfident, little self awareness of how silly he is. consistently found annoying by some characters (ie akito, nene, shiho) and can overwhelm others with his intensity at times

~ he is a very loud and slightly obnoxious theatre kid!! although he is a good person deep down, he's constantly bragging about becoming the world's greatest star. one of his close friends, kamishiro rui (not blonde), makes a lot of drones and robots and often brings them to school, causing quite a bit of chaos that tsukasa inevitably gets roped into. the two of them are referred to as the "weirdo wombo combo" (among other names, depending on the translation) and are found particularly annoying by the character shinonome akito, who mostly tolerates him just because they have a close mutual friend. outside of school, tsukasa works part time as a performer in a theme park, along with characters otori emu, kusanagi nene, and the aforementioned kamishiro rui. nene finds his antics very annoying, and regularly wears noise-canceling headphones just to drown out his voice. she also makes fun of him a lot, but it's all in good fun; they're actually very good friends. tsukasa can sometimes be annoyingly overprotective over his younger sister, saki, mostly because she has had health issues all her life and spent years in and out of the hospital. so although he means well, even she finds him annoying on occasion. not to mention he talks to himself, rehearses monologues, and paces around his room quite a lot. i love the guy but i'd hate to live in the same house as him too. most of this can be summed up by saying that he just gives off immense amounts of theatre kid energy, and if you've ever known a theatre kid during tech week or right after a show, you get somewhat of an idea of what tsukasa's peers have to deal with on a regular basis. and i love him dearly

~ He’s so loud and boisterous and cocky and dramatic that a decent chunk of the other characters actively describe him as annoying or loud. He’s a really good guy, he really is, he’s a great big brother and a nice dude, but unless you’re on his wavelength or a compatible wavelength, he’s completely fucking insufferable.

~ He is LOUD. SO VERY LOUD. The entire school he goes to knows who he is (maybe not by name, but as that-one-guy-who-never-stops-screaming) and will roll their eyes when they see him approach. He's a theater kid also if that wasn't bad enough. And stupid as hell. Ridiculous. I love him so much

~ He's extremely confident and almost always posing and/or screaming. Characters frequently comment on how loud or over the top he is and several characters make a point to try to avoid him when they see him out in public.

~ he's a loud, exuberant, overdramatic theater kid!!! 90% of the time he is shouting and loves to just strike poses whenever he can! tends to overreact and many many characters regard him as loud and annoying but he also has a really big heart and cares a lot about his loved ones and he also expresses that fact very VERY loudly. he's so STUPID (affectionate)

Sanji:

~ Fucking malewife. Horrid little man.

~ He simps so hard for literally every single women

~ everything about him [ is annoying ] pretty much (endearing)

~ be normal about women for once in your life king please

~ he swoons over every woman he sees and it annoys everyone around him (he is very stupid and i love him)

~ Creepy abt women

~ Obsessed with women to an insane level; he'd do anything for women including getting in their bed first because he "thought they didn't want to be alone"; also he's a better cook than me

[vintagestagehotties]

FAQ

Welcome to the vintage theatre showdown! The Vintage Theatre Actress Tournament to determine the hotness of vintage theatre ladies will begin Saturday, April 13. Submissions are currently closed! Hot male actors will come soon, but I’m in a ladies mood at the moment.

Can I currently submit hot ladies?

Submissions are now closed. Round 4 of the tournament will begin on June 7th!

How long will round 4 last?

About a week! Round 4 begins June 7th, polls will be posted that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Polls will last a week, with the last polls closing on the 16th.

What are the criteria for contestants?

Your hot lady must:

Have a significant theatre career - ie, more than two theatre credits to her name, have played leading or featured roles, won awards, etc.

Have had a decent chunk of their career take place pre-70s (if they made their stage debut in an ensemble in 1969 but then became famous in years to come, I’m not counting it)

Exceptions to the above will be accepted at my discretion - for example, maybe she only played one or two shows but earned a Tony Award. To take into account the racism of past theatre, exceptions will be made nearly always for the sake of inclusivity and diversity

What counts as theatre?

I am accepting performers from plays, musicals, revues, and operas. Other types of stage performers (for example, comedians and ballerinas) will be accepted on a case by case basis, provided a case could be made that their stage career involved a degree of acting. I’m accepting Broadway, West End, worldwide productions, tours, even regional theatre counts!

What counts as vintage?

The timeline to be considered vintage for this tournament is 1900-1969. A lady can have a significant chunk of her career post 1970 or in the 19th century, but at least some of it has to be within this time frame.

Can I submit propaganda?

Yes! You can send propaganda to my asks or submissions, or you can tag me in reblogs or posts. However, I won’t be posting or reblogging any propaganda until the tournament starts except the posts I have queued to lead up to the tournament’s beginning.

What tags do you track?

I track the tags #vintagestagehotties and #vintagestagepoll

The #vintagestagepoll will be the tag for all of the polls, while #vintagestagehotties is for anything relating to the tournament

Why did you use this photo/propaganda/etc…?

Propaganda is entirely submitted. I try to remain as impartial as possible and will simply post the propaganda that is submitted to me, however I will not use negative propaganda.

If you dislike the photo used for an actress, send me an alternative and I’ll see what I can do!

How will the pairs be selected?

For round 1, depending on how many ladies end up making the cut, I’ll probably pit similar decades against each other and then be more random in following rounds.

There is a lot of overlap between theatre stars and film stars, and a great many major vintage film stars had successful theatre careers as well. So, in order to avoid the last rounds turning into a hot movie star competition, round 1 will see the incredibly famous movie stars pitted against each other. This is in the spirit of fairness to give lesser known actresses with only theatre careers more of a fighting chance.

Will there be future polls?

Yes! I do plan to do a poll for vintage stage men as well, plus I have a few others planned - vintage women in STEM is pretty definite, and I’m tossing around the idea of a silent film star poll, a vintage ballerina poll, a femme fatale poll, and a poll just for vintage opera stars. And to be honest there’s enough vintage stage women in the world that I could easily do a second tournament for them!

Edit, clearly I HAVE to do a Peter Pan actress poll in the very near future

[drift-compatible-poll]

Preliminary Round: Poll Runner's Choice

Ok, so this poll is gonna be a bit different. I picked six of my favorite submissions that didn't get in to put in this poll. Vote for who you would like to be in the main bracket the most, and the top three duos will be added to the bracket. So, without further ado...

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III and Toothless(top left) vs Tsukioka Tsumugi and Takatou Tasuku(top right) vs Xingqiu and Chongyun(middle left) vs Rose Lalonde and Dave Strider(middle right) vs Mabel and Dipper Pines(bottom left) vs Lio Fotia and Galo Thymos(bottom right)

Propaganda for Hiccup and Toothless: "They literally read each others minds, they're so in sync, they trust each other so much"

Propaganda for Tsumugi and Tasuku: "they're childhood friends who started acting together in school! acting requires lots of trust in your fellow co-stars like for example if they mess up or forget a line you need to be able to cover for them and keep the show going. after years of acting they're very much in sync able to match each other's energy onstage during a performance. even the player character (default name: izumi) notes in her narration that these two have a special connection onstage that no one else in their theatre company has bc of their years of acting together <3"

Propaganda for Xingqiu and Chongyun: "They have several matching design elements that balance each other out, with Xingqiu being associated with dark blue and black while Chongyun is associated with light blue and white. Chongyun uses the ice element, while Xingqiu uses the water element, which makes them formidable (or at least troublesome, since they freeze the enemies constantly) in a team together in game. They're commonly seen or mentioned together, and while Chongyun occasionally complains about Xingqiu's pranks, they get along well enough that an entire section of Chongyun's character story (in his profile) is dedicated to his friendship with Xingqiu, and vice versa with Xingqiu's story. Chongyun is a very earnest and genuine person, while Xingqiu is a bit wily and a prankster - despite this, Chongyun trusts him over and over again, despite the trouble that Xingqiu's pranks often cause for him. sorry for submitting genshin and writing a whole wall of text lol"

Propaganda for Rose and Dave: "I'm bad explanations, but the short of it is that even though they're both very cagey people and try not to be themselves, they see through each other's façade."

Propaganda for Mabel and Dipper: "They're the bestest siblings ever. They're twins and have such a wonderful beautiful relationship. Their relationship so important for the show as a whole and Gravity Falls wouldn't be what it is if not for them. They're the reason why I strive to be a good sibling to my own brother. I've been obsessed with this show and them for so many years. They're my favourite and I love them so so much."

Propaganda for Lio and Galo: "First, the obvious- they literally co-pilot a mech during the movie, and them being in sync is required for it to function: the more they understand each other, the better they fight. Also, they're very effective foils: The ice-cold arsonist and the burning-hot firefighter, who are also (as close to canonically as Studio Trigger can get) in gay love."

[straightplayshowdown]

Indecent: The story of Sholem Asch’s controversial play, The God of Vengeance, and the passionate artists who risked everything to bring it to the stage. The story—about the daughter of a brothel owner who falls in love with one of her father’s prostitutes—was polarizing even at its first readings, with many of Asch’s fellows arising him to burn it. Nevertheless, it achieved great success on the stages of Europe and in the Yiddish theatre scene of downtown New York City. But when an English-translation was attempted on Broadway, the play—featuring the first kiss between women on a Broadway stage—proved too scandalous for the general public, and the entire cast was arrested and charged with obscenity. 

Arcadia: The show takes place in a single room on the Coverly estate in two separate times: the Regency period and the present. 1809 finds a household in transition, where an Arcadian English garden landscape is being uprooted to make way for picturesque Gothic gardens, complete with hermitage. Meanwhile, brilliant thirteen-year-old Lady Thomasina proposes a startling scientific theory that is only starting to be figured out more than 200 years later. In the present day, we find two competing scholars researching the world of the estate in the Regency Era.

Propaganda under the cut!

Indecent:

Best, most emotionally resonant play I have ever seen performed. It recounts the controversy surrounding the play God of Vengeance by Sholem Asch, which was produced on Broadway in 1923, and for which the producer and cast were arrested and convicted on the grounds of obscenity. In God of Vengeance, the brothel owner's daughter falls in love with the female prostitute. Vogel's play goes far beyond recounting the censorship. It's a complex story that follows the show's playwright and performers and how their relationship to the material changes from the plays original run, to the Broadway censorship, to the Holocaust. It focuses on the need for hope and love.

A troupe of ghosts rise to keep alive the story of author Scholem Asch's most controversy play. In three languages & innumerable roles (including a turn by Katarina Lenk in the 2017 Broadway production) the lovers in God of Vengeance preserve for the stages of eternity one rain-soaked & sacred night. Meanwhile Asch, once a passionate defender of the plays love story against intracommunal accusations of fueling antisemitism and well, indecency...he gets quieter as Lemml becomes the stage manager of a story whose ending he will always forget. The play that convinced me that I could & would read Yiddish theater.

A breathtaking play about art, censorship, and Jewish lesbians, by THE Jewish lesbian. "He’s crafted a play that shrouds us in a deep, deep fog of human depravity: then like a lighthouse, those two girls. That’s a beacon I will remember."

Arcadia: 

it's the COOLEST. it's an exploration of entropy and how time scrambles popular perception and desire derails supposedly perfect plans and how knowledge makes its way through the years as sources get lost. 

it's about math and also lord byron is a character and there's a turtle

This is his best play (and pretty accessible for Stoppard). It’s an exploration of humanities vs. science, chaos theory, the interpretation of history, and also a love story. 

This is such a beautiful play about academia and how we do research and understand the past. And it's about love and friendship and biases and egos and so much more. 

THOMASINA: Oh, Septimus! -- can you bear it? All the lost plays of the Athenians! Two hundred at least by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides -- thousands of poems -- Aristotle's own library!....How can we sleep for grief?

SEPTIMUS: By counting our stock. Seven plays from Aeschylus, seven from Sophocles, nineteen from Euripides, my lady! You should no more grieve for the rest than for a buckle lost from your first shoe, or for your lesson book which will be lost when you are old. We shed as we pick up, like travellers who must carry everything in their arms, and what we let fall will be picked up by those behind. The procession is very long and life is very short. We die on the march. But there is nothing outside the march so nothing can be lost to it. The missing plays of Sophocles will turn up piece by piece, or be written again in another language. Ancient cures for diseases will reveal themselves once more. Mathematical discoveries glimpsed and lost to view will have their time again. You do not suppose, my lady, that if all of Archimedes had been hiding in the great library of Alexandria, we would be at a loss for a corkscrew?

[ninjasmudge]

actually obsessed with happy drunk wukong being canon.

he seemed a lot more comfortable being theatrical which leads me to the conclusion that at least once he wound up doing karaoke despite his stage fright only because he was off his ass drunk.

someone totally doesn’t have footage of that mhm nope why would you even think that

i got so much in my head about this

i love the idea that hes friendly enough with all these people that it doesnt register as stage fright because hes just telling a story to his friends (i mean, he was comfortable enough to invite them all round to his home on ffm RIGHT after havoc in heaven)

BUT ALSO DRUNK SWK JUST NOT EVEN REGISTERING STAGEFRIGHT IS SO FUNNY, picturing that hes allowed a TINY bit of alcohol before a big speech

(this is more boring but actually what i think the main reason is) 500 years is a fuckin long time to go without much human contact and while he used to be fine with it, as evidenced by most of jttw, now its just that hes super out of practice and unsure if he can live up to his own legacy.

i also love the fact that in the past, maq seemed like the shyer one and swk was up on the table, whereas now, swk doesnt want to speak in front of a crowd, and maqs doing theatre. how the turns have tabled

[broadwaydivastournament]

Broadway Divas Tournament: Round 4

Diva, icon, certified GILF Christine Baranski (1952) has a theatre resume a mile long. A two-time Tony winner, Christine has performed on and off-Broadway, regionally, and internationally in shows such as Mame at the Kennedy Center, the pre-Broadway workshop of Sunday in the Park with George, and the infamous flop that was Nick & Nora (1991). She can be seen alongside a slew of other Broadway Divas in HBO's The Gilded Age, and has also participated in at least ten Sondheim shows and concerts over the years.

Newly certified GILF, Donna Murphy (1959) is a two-time Tony-winning legend of the Broadway stage, with five nominations in all, each for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Her gripping performance as the chronically ill Fosca in Sondheim's Passion (1994) may have disgusted and disturbed audiences, but earned her immense critical acclaim. Two years later, she won her second Tony for The King and I (1996), and the year after that, earned a Daytime Emmy. Additional credits include: Dear World (2023), Hello, Again (1993), LoveMusik (2007), and most recently on Broadway, Bette Midler's alternate in Hello, Dolly! (2017)

NEW PROPAGANDA AND MEDIA UNDER CUT: ALL POLLS HERE

"The high-kicking bitch herself, Christine Baranski. It's a legal requirement that every actress who plays Phyllis must have legs for days, and she delivers."

"There is one singular show above all other I would commit heinous crimes to travel back in time to see. Follies for Encores!, 2007. And now, with the upcoming Follies concert at Carnegie Hall this June, I can live out at least some of my dream. Donna Murphy, my beloved, who looks fucking stunning with no makeup. I am unwell."

[adhd-merlin]

Ok so, @destielification asked about my Simon Amstell joke, and I'm not going to hijack poor @centurieslove's post but...

(Sorry, this isn't Merlin-related but it's tangentially about Colin Morgan, so it is at least Merlin-adjacent.)

Simon Amstell, if you didn't know, is a British stand-up comedian and certified weird little man.

I'm not, like, a Simon Amstell fan or anything, but I do like stand-up comedy. And I became aware of Simon Amstell some years ago after watching one stand-up show of his on YouTube, which is Do Nothing, which is still available, in fact, and you should definitely watch if you haven't because it's pretty good.

Now Simon's openly gay, and in Do Nothing he talks a lot about his romantic life, or lack thereof, and he jokes a lot about the type of men he finds attractive, who he describes as "ill-thin", "timid" and "vulnerable".

And one of the funniest bits in the show is one where he recounts an extremely awkward encounter with one such man — an actor Simon had "fallen in love with", despite never having talked to him.

So Simon went to see a play starring this actor in the hope of meeting him afterwards and maybe talking to him a bit, which didn't happen.

What did happen, though, is that a few weeks later Simon randomly bumped into the very same actor, love of his life, in a shop. And he decides there and then that it's destiny, and he must shoot his shot. (You can skip the quote below if you intend to watch the show, but I'm pasting it here because it's hilarious).

I saw him there, he hadn't seen me. He was about a metre away from me. There, that thin. And what I thought... For some reason, what I thought would be really cool and seductive would be to just stand in the middle of the shop and shout his full name. He turned round, alarmed. I could see the terror in his eyes, but because I'd started at a certain volume, I thought it'd be too odd to get any quieter. So I'm there just shouting about the good reviews this play has had and he's going, "Oh, I don't really read reviews." And he's all timid and vulnerable, which is why I love him. And I think the difference between us, because I think we were both quite shy as children... I say, "I think" — I did a lot of research on him.

And that man's name? Ben Whishaw. Apparently.

Look, I have no idea who claimed it first. I don't know if Simon admitted it in an interview at some point, or what. But it became An Established Fact™️ that the actor he was talking about was, indeed, Ben Whishaw. And if you watch Simon Amstell's show, and you know about Ben, well. It tracks. It makes perfect sense, actually.

Anyway, Simon talks to Ben, gives him his email address with some excuse or another. Ben promises to email him. And then, he doesn’t. Cue sad noises from the audience.

And that could have been the end of it, except that Simon, certified weird man, decided to be weird about it. And instead of letting it go, he elaborates his trauma by incorporating it into his writing.

And in case you think I'm exaggerating — here's what Simon himself wrote about it some time after the fact, in his own book. Straight from the horse's mouth.

A year later, the actor was in another play at the Royal Court. So I thought I’d give myself one more go at making him love me. I felt I’d written and performed all the insanity out of my head and was now ready for something real. I believed this because it would have been unbearable to accept that after all that transformative, healing comedy, I was still the same lunatic. (source)

So what Simon did was write a sit-com, in which he played a fictionalised version of himself, and in it he put a character called Ben Theodore, a pretentious theatre actor and also, basically, Ben Whishaw. (Like, if you know Ben Whishaw, you cannot not see it. That's him talking.)

But hang on, you might say, I thought this was going to be about Colin? Why are you going on about Ben Whishaw?

Well, Simon, in case you don't remember (and at this point I hope you don't) is also the writer and director of the film Benjamin (BENjamin), starring Colin Morgan as the lead and title character.

A Colin Morgan who, I might say, has something of a young Ben Whishaw about him. And he doesn't play a pretentious actor this time — in fact he plays a version of Simon Amstell himself — but the fact remains that he's exactly Simon Amstell's type, kind of looks like the man Simon was admittedly obsessed with, and even bears his name. And Simon cast him in his film to play himself, which is weird but also funny and very on brand for him, because he's self-obsessed like that.

So, to come back to my joke — I just thought the idea of Simon Amstell developing an obsessive crush on Colin Morgan and going to see The Tempest specifically to see him and missing him was hilarious.

But he did get to have him in his own film, so.

(I can't censure Simon too much for his obsession with Ben because... well, same, and also it resulted in Simon giving us Colin Morgan looking Peak Gay and serving cunt in Benjamin — in his own accent! — and I'll be forever grateful for it).

here's another post about it

[nancydrewwouldnever]

Backstage Magazine Sept 22-28, 2011

Chris Evans Takes On a New Fight in 'Puncture'

By Jessica Gardner all photos by Jamie Painter Young

Five minutes with Chris Evans and you feel like you've known him your whole life. Considering his charming smile, lingering Boston accent (complete with the occasional curse word), and high-fives—and even a call to Mom to check a fact—it's easy to forget you're chatting with Captain America and not just an old friend from high school. Asked if he ever read Back Stage, he responds, "I got my first acting gig through Back Stage in New York. It was a short film called 'The Paper Boy.' My first real audition outside of, like, community theater, and I ended up getting it. I was walking to work one morning when I got the phone call from the writer-director, whose name was Eric Ogden. I remember walking down the street with my hand in the air [pumps his fist]. We filmed in upstate New York for two weeks. I still have a copy of it. My first job on a film ever." Community theater was a big part of life in the Evans household while he was growing up. Evans, his two sisters, and his brother, Scott (whom you might remember as Officer Oliver Fish from "One Life to Live"), grew up acting at a community children's theater called the Concord Youth Theatre. "Each of us must have done at least 15 to 20 shows there," Evans says. Their family was so connected to the theater that when Chris was around 18, his mother, Lisa, took over as artistic director, and she's been working there ever since.

Seeing his elder sister, Carly, onstage inspired Evans to be an actor. "Her play would end, and she'd get flowers and candy, and it just seemed like such a good time. She was having a ball and hanging out with her acting friends—it just looked awesome," he remembers. "I was like, 'I'll give this a shot.' " He started doing plays at the theater and going to acting camp in the summer. "I fell in love with that, too. I started doing plays year-round. I was always onstage." In his junior year of high school, Evans started thinking he might want to pursue acting professionally. He convinced his parents to let him move to New York City for the summer and take classes at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. He also wrote casting offices and secured a summer internship with Bonnie Finnegan, who was casting "Spin City" at the time. "We got to go to the tapings every Friday for the show with Michael J. Fox, and I thought that was the coolest thing in the world," he says. At the end of the summer, his plan was to ask the two or three agents he was the most friendly with if he could read for them. "I was like, 'I know you know me as Chris from Bonnie's office, but I'm an actor—can you give me five minutes?' " One of the agencies was willing to let him read, so he did. The agency was interested in signing him, but it was the end of summer, and he had to go home to start senior year. "They said to me, 'You've got to get back [to New York] as soon as possible. Pilot season's in January.' So I went back and doubled up my classes and graduated early, in January. Went back to New York, got my agent, got the same internship with Bonnie, and I even got the same apartment."

Down the hall from Finnegan's office was casting director Marcia DeBonis, who one day asked Evans to come in and read for a pilot she was working on called "Get Real." Evans went in and nailed the audition, so the network sent him out to Los Angeles to test for it. "The first person I met in Los Angeles was Anne Hathaway," he remembers. "She was testing for it, too. We were both kids—she wasn't 'Anne Hathaway' then. I was 17, and she was pretty young, too." Because Evans was the only person there reading for his role, he was convinced he would get it. "I was like, 'I got this in the bag,' " he says. "But I didn't get the show. [Hathaway] did, but I didn't. It was so crushing to be that close that soon. My dad was out there with me, and I was so excited and then just so devastated. But then Warner Bros. said, 'Stick around—there's a couple of other shows you might be right for. We'll put you up for the week.' So I stuck around and auditioned, and I ended up getting a different pilot called 'Opposite Sex.' " The Fox show (which also starred Milo Ventimiglia) lasted only one season, but it was Evans' first break, and he stayed in Los Angeles. By age 20, he landed his first leading film role in the comedy spoof "Not Another Teen Movie" and hasn't stopped since. Gone Audition Gone "I'm pretty shitty at auditioning," Evans admits. "Auditioning is such a strange thing. It's like the opposite of acting. It's a strange environment. To act well, you need to be extremely comfortable. You need to be extremely in your skin. Even if you have to play someone nervous, you have to be neutral and let it come to you and listen. I get so nervous in auditions. My heart just pounds."

Evans thinks plenty of amazing actors aren't working because they can't audition well. "It's like those races in the Olympics," he says. "You could race 100 times, and the same guy's not going to win every time—it's just who's going to win that day. Everyone here is fast. Everyone here can run well. But who's going to run well today? I used to sit at these auditions and look around, and I know all these actors. I've seen them. Everyone here can act. No one here is a bad actor. But it's just a matter of who's going to act well in the next five minutes. If you're not going to, someone else is. I'm sure I've gotten parts where I wasn't the best man for the job; I just happened to have a really good audition that day. And the guy who was the right man for the job had a bad one. It's that type of uncertainty that makes acting such a crapshoot." The audition-gone-wrong story he recalls as being worst was meeting with Ben Affleck for "Gone Baby Gone." "I don't get starstruck," says Evans. "I'm fine. Especially Ben—he's a Boston guy, I should be fine. I walked in and I'm walking down the halls looking for this room, and as I passed a room I heard 'There he is.' In my head I was like, 'That's Ben.' I turned around and it was, and for some reason I instantly was nervous. I went in and shook his hand, and the first thing I said was 'Hey, how ya doing—am I gonna be okay where I parked?' And he said, 'Where'd you park?' And I said, 'At one of the meters.' And he said, 'Did you put money in it?' And I said, 'Yeah.' And he said, 'I think you'll be all right.' From that moment, I just wanted to get the f*** out of the room. I just wanted to be anywhere but there. I sat down with my heart beating out of my chest; I was so mortified that I started this meeting off that way. I started giving him one-word answers. They put me in a rocking chair, so I'm just rocking and twisting, just nervous. 'So, what was your last movie like?' 'Good.' 'What was it like to work with Danny Boyle?' 'Good.' I just wanted to get out of there. It was horrible, a complete disaster. So obviously, I did not get that job."

Character Choices In Evans' upcoming film "Puncture," a law drama based on a true story, he portrays Mike Weiss, lawyer and drug addict. This was Evans' first experience playing a role based on a real person. He spoke to the deceased Weiss' brother, father, college friends, and colleagues and even read the transcript of what was said at Weiss' funeral. "The problem is, I could tell you 100 stories about someone, but is that going to make you able to embody their speech pattern and posture and nuances?" he says. "It's not like I'm playing JFK, where you can watch videos and get cadence and inflection." Evans decided his best option was to tell Weiss' family and friends he would have to have some artistic license. He told everyone he would do his best, "but don't expect to see the Mike you know." Evans worked hard not to second-guess his character choices or worry about what Weiss' family and friends might think. "If you start second-guessing yourself, you're f***ed," he says. "The family and the friends couldn't have been more accommodating, but it was still pretty nerve-racking." He admits to being similarly nerve-racked when bringing beloved comic book characters Steve Rogers/Captain America and Johnny Storm/Human Torch to the screen. "Most times you make a film and you say, 'I hope it does well.' [With 'Captain America: The First Avenger' and 'Fantastic Four'] I knew people were going to go see them. There would be a response, positive or negative. There's this phenomenal built-in audience. There's going to be a huge opening weekend; there's going to be a shit ton of merchandise. That's intimidating." Evans realized the best way to approach playing a superhero was to try to get in the same headspace as all the fans. "To me, the fans are the most important—if they're not happy, you didn't do your job. So let's try and essentially become a fan. Try and understand what they understand. To see what they're expecting." For "Captain America: The First Avenger," Evans says he and director Joe Johnston read many comic books before coming together to create the film version of the Steve Rogers character.

"Steve Rogers is a tricky character to play because he doesn't have too much conflict," says Evans. "He's such a selfless person. There's very little that can rattle him. If [your character] doesn't have conflict, it's easy to become boring. It's nice [that in the upcoming film 'The Avengers'] he struggles a little bit. He struggles with being a fish out of water. He's from the '40s; he's from a different mentality. Today the world is text messaging and impersonal and selfishness, and in the '40s there was much more of a human connection and camaraderie among the country. It's an old-fashioned way of thinking. So I think he's struggling with trying to find his place in modern day." The Evans Method Although he studied for a summer at the Lee Strasberg Institute, Evans says he isn't sure that Strasberg is his "cup of tea." He believes that acting is an ever-evolving thing, and if you get stuck in one method or approach, you might get stagnant. He says Keanu Reeves, his co-star in "Street Kings," helped him put his method into words. He asked Reeves what his approach to acting was, and Reeves answered, "It's constantly changing." "I was like, 'That's a good answer,' " Evans says. "It's like art. You want to constantly change your style and find new things to spark your creativity and keep you excited about it." Evans is a fan of asking his fellow actors for their thoughts on acting. His friend Jonathan Tucker gave him his favorite advice: "Don't forget that the audience doesn't know what's coming next. It's very easy to forget when you're acting and you do the scene over and over again. Don't forget this is brand-new for the audience. You can push them in any direction because they don't know what's coming."

A favorite acting exercise of Evans', that he recommends all actors do, is to buy scripts of good films, work on a character's scene or monologue until you feel you've nailed the role, and then watch the movie to see how the actor did it. "It's like training with Michael Jordan in basketball," he says. "Go train with De Niro. Make your choices, and then watch Bob show you how to do it right. It's a real eye opener. The thing you'll learn is to not follow the words so closely. The words are not always the indication of the character. A lot of time, actors look at the words as clues as to who the character is and how the line should be said. But it's not always a direct link. If [casting directors] are going to audition 100 people for a role, the majority of the actors are going to use the words as indicators. Be different. Go another route. Take the dance somewhere unique. If nothing else, you'll stick in their mind." Outtakes - Raised in Sudbury, Mass. - Other films include "Cellular," "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World," and "The Losers" - In the final stages of auditions for "Not Another Teen Movie," the director brought Evans and co-star Chyler Leigh to Jennifer Coolidge's house to workshop their scenes: "[Coolidge] was so clever, funny, smart, and awesome. I felt so lucky." - On returning to the theater: "The stage, in my opinion, has the best actors. I'd love to get back to the stage, but it's a big commitment. You've got to find something you really want to do everyday for months and months. It's tricky." - Also starring opposite Anna Faris in the comedy "What's Your Number?," opening Sept. 30.