#coop playwright

[icarusthecryptid]

Recent Sunwright art I did! I just really like how I challenged myself on the detailing :D and the improvement I had between the pieces (left was done a couple of days ago, on the right about a month ago) .

[ann1e-on-earth]

I love that the Lark were flowergirls at Sunwright’s wedding because imagine Kingsley and Clémmie aggressively throwing flowers at each other while Cole and Perrine watch in slight horror

[vixylinescolorsandwips]

Staged is the Set

I have the impression that playwright is keen of shenanigans

(Animated with toonsquid)

Inspired by this funny twitter post:

[jellybeanartt]

Who are these divas

[kals-kool-blog]

hey guys what happened with yaelokre i took a break from the internet shortly after songs of origin was released and i think i'm fully back but now there's a bunch more lore im not caught up on??? when did a second troupe come into play what's happening

if you had sources it would be cool but if not then that's also fine i just don't know where to look since i really only have tumblr + insta + youtube

[holy-harkers-47]

can anyone be so kind as to explain the new meadowlark lore to me ? :[ i can't really find any information on anything. i know everything about the lark and the harkers, but who is playwright ? and hero / coop (?)

[larkwinged]

arvenlia rlly is boopwright coded … LIKE THIS IS LITERALLY THEM

[mixter-crown]

☀️Sunwright🪶

I can't believe I didn't post it here 😔 So here it is!

🪶 Playwright's POV:

Hehe

☀️ Coop's POV:

Hehe

That's it for now Sunwright nation Wonderfolk o/

See ya!! ✨✨

[tylercircuit]

The Curtain Call: performance and ‘reality’ on the Renaissance English stage and in the cinematic works of David Lynch

Attached is a link to my most recent blog post on the works of David Lynch, including Twin Peaks.

The Curtain Call: performance and ‘reality’ on the Renaissance English stage and in the cinematic works of David Lynch

The News Circuit

The Elizabethan (1558-1603) English theatre had a tradition called a 'jig' or an 'aftergame' in which, after the performance of a full-length play of any genre (but especially tragedy), a clown would perform. It's not considered an epilogue in that these plays usually don't contain any of the characters from the play spectators came to see, it's its own comic drama, like a palate cleanser. Some playwrights like Ben Jonson referenced these comic dramas in a metanarrative way.

Jonson's Volpone features a performing group of 'freaks' including a dwarf named Nano, who is asked (not seriously) to perform a jig for the protagonist. This reminds me of the Arm's jig in the Black Lodge and the metanarrative nature of the setting, the fact he's surrounded by red curtains and observed by a spectator (Coop).

This article is about stage performance and its parallels with reality, about Bakhtin and the carnivalesque, and the relationship between those concepts and the works of David Lynch.

Here's an excerpt:

Like Shakespeare’s Tempest, the works of David Lynch seem, whether through the actions or dialogue or the setting in which they take place or both, to be conscious of their performative nature. As a writer-director he appears interested in the concept of performance-within-performance, a metanarrative indication that the film is aware of its own performance, its fiction. Performance and spectatorship are principal to Lynch. In Twin Peaks, the Black Lodge is shrouded by tall red drapes identical to stage curtains. The only respite for Eraserhead’s protagonist is observing or being on stage with the Lady in the Radiator. Frank Booth’s victim in Blue Velvet is a professional singer at a nightclub; it’s her fame and stage presence which leads to her trouble with Frank in the first place. Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire, to different ends, are commentaries on the Hollywood filmmaking industry, and heavily feature scenes of sets and performance. Laura Palmer’s perfect schoolgirl life is performative. She performs to convince her family and friends she does not take drugs; she does not lead a second life in which she has fetishistic orgies with grown adults and know of a ring of groomed and trafficked teenage girls in and around Eastern Washington.

[...]

The world of Twin Peaks is upside-down, a mirror world. In it, Lynch and Frost have created an inverse world typical of the early modern era of English theatre. Shakespeare and his contemporaries created satirical worlds in their comedies in which their contemporary Elizabethan/Jacobean value system is reversed or altered. Social order is deconstructed by the early modern satirist and reorganised, offering spectators a mirror reality. In a Mark Fisher-esque, capitalist realist way, this type of spectatorship is purgative. It gives spectators a chance to revel in activities considered immoral and live vicariously through characters who might, for example, fool other characters that they are the opposite sex by dressing as such, or flirt with characters of the same sex, or decry God and Christianity, or party too hard and sin too much. It’s a Bacchanalian tradition, evocative of the Roman festival Saturnalia in which, for a single day, slaves pretended to be masters and masters slaves. It’s a catharsis and, almost paradoxically, reinforces ‘the rules’. In abandoning the rules on stage or in carnival, revellers can return to the real world cleansed of their antisocial desires, like Fisher suggests returning to the real world after observing a performance of revolution satisfies the urge to revolt. Bakhtin calls the literary equivalent of this, your Shakespeares and your Lynches, the carnival mode.

[...]

Bakhtin’s carnival symbolises the dismantling of structure and control. Normative order is replaced by strange and arguably immoral phenomena, contrary to the moral foundations of real contemporary society. Performance in Lynch’s work is symbolic of the abandonment of social order. Laura Palmer’s homecoming queen performance is offset by her other performance, the drug-abusing femme fatale type – in reality, she is neither.

Laura rejects order. She rejects the moral value system imposed on her. For Laura, so long as she is in control, even (or especially) if the act she is in control of is self-destructive, she is comfortable. Performance is her strength. Manipulation of both sides is her strength. She can manipulate her mother and her teachers and the pretty boys at school, and she can manipulate Jacques and Leo and the statutory rapists and child sex traffickers and paedophile truck drivers, and she can exercise some form of control over Bob.

Performance in the Black Lodge is the visual representation that this spiritual world exists outside of the rules of reality, it is through the looking glass, forget what you thought you knew.

[...]

For Lynch, all realities are performative, all performance is reality. What is real and what is performed roll into one. Social order is rejected and no one thing is truth: there are multiple truths, multiple realities, multiple potential reorganisations of the dismantled concept of contemporary social order.

[amelichka3486]

A little spoiler to my new art.😉 (playwright gonna hug Coop whit one hand from behind.)

[puppet-radio]

╔══ ≪ extra extra!! read all about it! ≫ ══╗

♡ ༘ ˚·⑅ ◛ character information ◛ ⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

°❈° Name

Sarah Annabeth “Amy” Bell

°❈° Age

7

°❈° Title

The Storyteller

°❈° Gender and Pronouns

Female // She/Her

°❈° Status

????

♡ ༘ ˚·⑅ ◛ external traits ◛ ⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

°❈° Lampshade Heroine

The storyteller depends on her characters to tell the story the way she wants! Her favorite character assists her in decoding ciphers and opening gates, which means she will always have the coop decoding buff.

°❈° Childish Stamina

Being young and running around the stage delivering scripts and props, the storyteller has gathered a lot of stamina! The storyteller runs 15 percent faster than a normal survivor.

However, due to her small size, she often has trouble vaulting windows and throwing down pallets, for they’re simply too high for her! She vaults and drops pallets 15 percent slower than other survivors.

♡ ༘ ˚·⑅ ◛ character orientation ◛ ⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

°❈° decoder

♡ ༘ ˚·⑅ ◛ deductions // rumor ◛ ⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

°❈° The daughter of a famous storyteller and imagineer. After the mysterious disappearance of the playwright, she’s taken matters into her own hands to find the one she loves again.

♡ ༘ ˚·⑅ ◛ completed deductions ◛ ⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

°❈° TBA

♡ ༘ ˚·⑅ ◛ character day // birthday ◛ ⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

°❈° Character Day °❈°

June 19th (Father’s Day)

°❈° Birthday °❈°

September 23rd

♡ ༘ ˚·⑅ ◛ character day letters ◛ ⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

°❈° … there’s none here! Woah!

♡ ༘ ˚·⑅ ◛ costumes and accessories ◛ ⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

°❈° S-Tier Costumes °❈°

( Release S-Tier ) Puppet Radio

°❈° A-Tier Costumes °❈°

Lolli Shepherd

Lullaby

Bellhop of the Towers

°❈° B-Tier Costumes °❈°

Rom Cremat

Broken Sign

Silly Mouse

Sweet Dreams

[soymimikyu]

Twin Peaks: Episode 1

Previous post was the pilot -- this is now episode 1. Since, I am watching this on the Definitive Gold Edition, the log lady intros have been eerily fantastic.

Onto the notes!

The hook shoes! I really want those! Pre-pandemic soymimikyu could do crunches hanging upside down and these would be a good way to get back to that point (I might still be able to, but it would be a struggle. I should try tomorrow -- nothing good will come of this I am sure...). Coop is clearly lean jacked -- are donuts keto? Maybe if you drink enough coffee your heart beats fast enough to balance out calories consumed. (Now my brain went to a fic I read where coop was a donut -- he would be a buff donut. Not space marine, no neck buff, but "I do 100 pull ups a day" buff donut. American psycho buff. [This is worse than when I first read that fic in a horribly sleep deprived state and had soooo many questions])

Did something really happen between the Kennedy's and Monroe? The internet seems to indicate there was an affair, but I am not digging into the details right now.

Part of me, seeing the "Damn fine cup of coffee scene" really wanted coffee. But at 8:40 Pm that would end poorly.

AUDREY AND COOP! I love these two. The way she enters and coop trails off after talking about freshly squeezed orange juice (grape fruit juice). It is such a charged scene and so well done! Squeeeee!

James bothers me less when he is not being romantic. As Laura says, he sounds dumb being romantic. He sounds less dumb at other points.

On rewatch, the plot structure is amazingly well done and the characters develop each other really well. Simple things, like a name drop shows character connections.

Donna in these early episodes -- ah her arc is so good. I am recalling an episode later in season two where one can only go d-a-m-n...

I look forward to Albert. He foils so well with the environment.

I would listen to just an hour of Lucy describing things. It has been too many years since I have had an actual international or long distance phone call, but I don't recall wind. Maybe I am wrong.

PECULATOR FISH. I kinda want to draw a fish chilling in a peculator. Damn fine fish?

Bob.

The two parenting scenes are right after each other. Horne and Audrey is clearly broken while Bobby and his father are at a distance for totally different reasons. (The operatic music while bobby's father talks is something. I don't know what, it fit because it was in the background enough to not distract, but when listened for is weird).

I just have a line that says James is Dumb. I agree.

Dr. Jacobi is a strange dude. Not bad. The hammock is nice though. As is the general tropical aesthetic.

Looking at the influences for David Lynch, I am surprised to not see the famous tragicomedy playwrights (e.g. Beckett and Durrenmatt are two I am familiar with). I don't think Twin Peaks falls into the category of a tragicomedy (I mean, given Durrenmatt's definion of the play as a structure desiring death), I don't think that is the case here. However the vibe of The Visit or the absurdity of Waiting for Godot feels like it fits. I should watch more Herzog.

[ann1e-on-earth]

Yaelokre modern AU!!

(Part 2)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cooper/Coop:

-Gym Teacher

-Married to the Playwright (aka the music/drama teacher)

-Surprisingly chill and also kinda favourites certain people 😃

-Lets students who get harassed by bullies hang out in the gym at break (aka the lark kids..)

-Helps out with Drama Club !!

-That’s basically it I barely know anything about their character

The Playwright

-To simplify things, their name is this AU is just “Mx. Wright” because the idea of modern kids calling their teacher “The Playwright” sounds weird. In this AU, “The Playwright” is a weird nickname that the Lark gave to them

-Music teacher who volunteered to handle Drama club

-Used to be a local actor and then quit to do other things

-Doesn’t have any patience for annoying students (unless they have a reason to be annoying)

-That being said, most of the students actually like them (especially “weird” kids)

-Also lets people hang out in their classroom during break

-Gets asked stupid questions a lot (mainly by Kingsley)

“Mx Wright is it true you rizzed up Mx Caligayahan??”

“What the fuck does that mean”

The Harkers

-I think that The Harkers would probably be a local band that the Lark just really idolizes

-The Storyteller, Enkindled, Croon, and Bellringer are their stage personas

OK THATS IT !!! Remember this is all an AU and none of this is canon! none of the characters belong to me, they all belong to Yaelokre!!!

[the-cashewpeia]

In Search for Inspiration (Tsuzuru Minagi x Reader)

Additional Character(s): Izumi; mentioning Masumi, Misumi, and Homare

Genre: Fluff

Words count: 2404

Note: -

🌸

"I don't know what to do anymore. My head hurts and the deadline is nearing."

You gave your boyfriend the eye at his slumped form on the low table in his shared room with Masumi. Currently he was trying to work on a new script for Autumn Troupe's upcoming play, but nothing came up to his mind. You, on the other hand, showed yourself up before the young playwright after receiving no reply from him. The only information you got was that he cooped himself up for days to write a script, which would lead to sleepless nights. And you were there to assure that he took care of himself and finished his work at the same time.

"What should I do?" Finally lifted his head up, his tired eyes met yours. You took the seat beside him and enveloped his form in your arms.

"Take a rest." Your words were short and he could hear the command in them, but just like the usual, he would shake his head in refusal.

"Tsuzuru...."

He shook his head once again, "I know why you said that. But... I won't make it to the deadline with finished script if I--"

"Tsuzuru." You cut his statement, "And I know why you stubbornly trying to find an idea." The emphasis on a certain word made the brunet snorted, but he knew you did not mean to offend him.

"But you need to rest at the moment. If you keep your brain to work too hard, you'll just hurt yourself and no one wants that." You paused just to cup his cheeks and hoping that he would be aware that you were worried about him, "Whether it's me or everyone else in Mankai. Because you are precious to me, to them."

He did not say anything, but you could swear that his cheeks painted in faint crimson. To affirm your guess, he slipped from your hands to nuzzle your stomach and his arms wrapped around your torso to prevent you from looking at him. His legs now were sprawled all over the floor, while you tried to hold yourself from falling backwards.

"Hey!" You giggled, feeling ticklish when you felt him mumbling something on your belly.

"Why are you saying embarrassing things?" Despite his words, you knew well enough what he actually meant. That was why you could not hold your laugh even longer, and he pouted as a result.

"And why are you laughing at me?" Tsuzuru faked an annoyed expression.

For a while, you forgot that your boyfriend could be clingy and cuter than usual when he was tired and missing your presence. You petted his brown lock, made him drifted off to sleep.

"Hey." You poked his cheek, "let's just go to sleep first, okay?"

The brunet hummed in approval, "as long as you keep me company."

You let out a chuckle, "deal. But... after that, you must go somewhere with me, okay?"

It was hard to make him move to his bed, but it was worth it when you could see his peaceful face and heard the soft snore that slipped past his lips.

"Have a nice dream, Tsuzuru." You smile, as you pressed a kiss on his nose and embrace him with your warmth.

*

You woke up to the blazing glare of the sun. A groan left your lips and you tried to cover your face with a blanket, when you realized something.

Where was Tsuzuru?

Just then, the door to his room opened with a loud clack, revealing your brunet boyfriend with a tray in his hands. On the platter was a plate of his signature fried rice with the right portion for two people. He was about to wake you up when he caught a glimpse of your sleepy figure on his bed.

He let out a chuckle, as he placed the tray on the table, and helped you to go down like a gentleman.

"How is your sleep, My Lady?"

It was your turn to giggle, "great! It would be better if a certain someone didn't leave the bed before me."

"Well, that certain someone wanted to thank you, though." A smile plastered on Tsuzuru's face and it was enough to bloom another beam on yours.

"If you feel better, it was enough 'thank you' for me."

He grinned as he ruffled your hair, a gesture you knew by heart that signaling if he was overjoyed with something.

"Well, let's just dig it in, okay? I don't want my special fried rice to end up in another stomach."

*

"Hey, wait, wait!" He almost tripped on his own foot when you pulled him with you, saying that he needed to fulfil his promise, "do we need to be in a rush?"

"Well, no actually. But I remember that you want to finish the script soon."

Tsuzuru scrunched his eyebrows, somehow confused with your puzzling words, "and... what does it have to do with accompanying you?"

"It will help you to find inspiration... I guess?" You were not too sure, but you thought that a change of an atmosphere would help him even for a little bit.

He seemed delighted as his eyes gleamed in amusement. The idea of spending a day with you had already put him in a good mood, even though he insisted that he should finish his work first before enjoying his past time, and searching for ideas together made it sound better. He knew you would come up with interesting ideas, which helped him so much during his script writing time for the previous plays.

"Oh?" A shocked voice made you both stopped in your tracks, "are you going on a date?"

It was Izumi, the director of Mankai where Tsuzuru played a part as actor and playwright. She beamed, seeming pleased to see you dragged your boyfriend out of his room.

"Ah, no. We're--"

You cut his words, "Yep, kinda! But actually I want to help Tsuzuru to find inspiration."

"Oh, that's good! It's okay to have fun, though. He was cooped up in his room for days and didn't touch his meal at all. Good thing you came!"

Tsuzuru averted his gaze when you glared at him. You know that he would neglect his own body when carrying out his role as a scriptwriter and only God knew how much you had scolded him because of that.

"Okay, I believe it's time for you two lovebirds to go out for your date." She literally pushed you two to the front door, almost making you bump into Misumi who was about to come in while bouncing all of his way, "have a nice day!" She waved her hands, while whispering to Tsuzuru to walk you home afterwards.

"Well, I guess I got an okay from Izumi-san?" You grinned.

He hummed in agreement, as he silently linked his hand with yours. A giggle left your lips when he softly pulled you close and your shoulder brushed his arm.

"Hm, where do we go first?" The brunet asked. He only went with your plan as he had not had any thought of where you should visit.

You thought for a moment, "how about the shopping center? It has many options and I bet you want to check the latest collection in the bookstore."

His eyes lit up at the mention of the bookstore. You could hear a quick 'let's go' before he took his turn to pull you along to the bus stop.

Before you realized it, you already arrived at the shopping center you frequently visited when you had the chance. Both you and Tsuzuru liked to window shop there, as there were many interesting things and for your boyfriend, he enjoyed checking the bookstore's most recent collection.

"Oh, look. Isn't that Homare-san's poem book?" You eyed a banner of the said book with the photo of one of Tsuzuru's colleagues in the company.

"Yeah, it's his newest project. And you know, he recited his poem all day long that it stuck in my head." He practically groaned and the image of him mumbling the poetic lines made you need to stifle your laugh.

"Let's go!"

The two of you went on your own way, but you knew by heart that he must have gone to the Literature Section. You, on the other hand, went to the Fiction Section to find a book that your friend recommended you to read.

The similar shelves made it harder to find the book you want, moreover when you only knew the title. And when the idea of using the store's computer popped up in your mind, your eyes caught a glimpse of a book that was placed on the row you had missed to check.

With the book you long to have in hands, you went to search for Tsuzuru. He seemed focused on a script book that he failed to notice your presence. His knitted brows somehow made him look more adorable, so you secretly took his photo and read a random book so he would not catch your act.

It took longer than what you imagined for him to become aware of your company, "uh, since when you were here?"

A grin was the answer you gave him, "maybe since the time I could see you pouting over a book?" You teased.

His eyes widened. He did not realize at all as he made the same expression you told him before, "I wasn't!"

You giggled, "well, you were so cute, though." And before he sulked even more, you showed the book you chose to him, "and look! I found the book my friend recommended to me. I heard that the story was about a rich and a poor man fighting over the most beautiful girl in the town."

"Ah, the one that you told me a week ago?" His expression softened.

"Yep." You nodded, "and... have you chosen a book to buy?"

The two ended up going to the cashier with your chosen book and the script book he read earlier. He said that he got to know more about how to tell the story through that book, so that was why he chose it.

After paying for the books, you almost dragged the poor brunet towards the arcade that was on the same floor with the bookstore. Just as you predicted, he attempted to refuse your suggestion.

"You know that I'm not Itaru-san!" He tried to escape from your hold, but to no avail.

"Of course I know that." A sigh escapes your lips, "I thought that maybe we could just play there."

Hearing your reason, he did nothing but became the follower of your recommendation. At first, he reluctantly came along with you. But the second he saw the basketball game, his eyes gleaming with joy just like a child eyeing a toy.

"I thought that the arcade only had game machines with tricky buttons. If they have games like this, I would like to try." His eyes practically burn with passion, as you let out a chuckle.

"Well, who didn't want to go at first?" You elbowed his side, "but before we play, let's buy some coins first."

After buying the coins you mentioned before, you stood before two basketball game machines, as you proposed a match between the two of you. Of course you knew that Tsuzuru had the advantage with his taller figure and his competitiveness, but it did not mean that you had zero possibility to win.

"Ready... Go!" The sound from the machine was the cue to start the competition. You both threw the dark orange ball into the basket, some missed and just hit the rim of the hoops.

Tsuzuru was so immersed in the game that he failed to notice that he was the only one playing. When the timer went off, he cheered for having higher points than you, before taking a quick glance to where you were supposed to stand.

"Seriously, I thought you went missing!"

You turned your head to a worried Tsuzuru, while he almost scolded you for leaving him behind. An apology muttered under your breath, as you showed him the game machine that was installed not too far away from the basketball game.

"Look!" You enthusiastically ran your finger over the side of the machine while reading the instruction written there, "It's a Greek Mythology-based game!"

It was not a surprise for him to see you gushing over it, as you were into mythologies and basically the stories about it. He could even remember the time when you blabbering about a book, which Gods and Goddesses were the main characters, all night long.

"It seemed fun though!" Your eyes glimmering just like the stars in the night sky, "it's about a human who wants to protect the world from the Mythology Gods. They wanted to destroy it because they thought that humans only made mistakes and ruined their own world."

Tsuzuru closed his eyes while sighing softly, "that sounds too impossible though." He grumbled.

"Yeah, I know. But don't you feel it sounds cool too? Humans are weaker than Gods and even had their fate set from the start--" You paused.

Your boyfriend eyed you concernedly, while at the same time his face painted in puzzlement.

"Tsuzuru! I have an idea!" A smile plastered on your lips, "how about using mythology as the theme for the play? So there will be two men fighting each other for a girl. Both are being helped by the Gods, but there is one God who also liked the girl." You paused for a while to see his reaction. He just nodded, giving you the chance to continue with your explanation.

"Okay, this one God is toying with the two men, like... maybe setting something up to make them in quarrel. Since it's for Autumn Troupe, we could focus on the fighting scene rather than the romantic relationship."

The young playwright seemed fascinated with your idea, "oh, I like it. And I can imagine it already!"

Your date might have finished the second Tsuzuru pulled you to go back to his dorm. But you could not say that you were crestfallen, as his bright expression that accompanied you through the way back was enough to make happiness bubbling inside your heart.

It was enough for you, as long as you could help him and saw his delighted smile.

[blackkudos]

Canada Lee

Canada Lee (born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata; March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952) was an American actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he became an actor in the Federal Theatre Project, most notably in a 1936 production of Macbeth adapted and directed by Orson Welles. Lee later starred in Welles's original Broadway production of Native Son (1941). A champion of civil rights in the 1930s and 1940s, Lee was blacklisted and died shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee. He furthered the African-American tradition in theatre pioneered by such actors as Paul Robeson. Lee was the father of actor Carl Lee.

Biography

Canada Lee was born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata on March 3, 1907, in the San Juan Hill neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. His father, James Cornelius Lionel Canegata, was born on the Caribbean island of St. Croix, and as a youth had migrated to New York, where he married Lydia Whaley Gadsen. Raised by his parents in Harlem, Lee had an aptitude for music, and at age seven he began studying violin and piano with J. Rosamond Johnson at the Music School Settlement for Colored People. He made his concert debut at age 11, performing a student recital at Aeolian Hall. But after seven years of music studies, without explanation, he put away his violin and ran away from home. In 1921, aged 14, Lee went to Saratoga Springs, New York, and began a two-year career as a jockey.

Lee returned to his parents' home in Harlem in 1923 with no idea what he was going to do next. He considered returning to music, but an old school friend suggested that he try boxing. At one amateur match, fight announcer Joe Humphries saw the name "Canagata, Lee" on the card he was using. He tossed the card aside and instead announced "Canada Lee"—a name that Lee liked and adopted. In the amateur ring he won 90 out of 100 bouts and the national amateur lightweight title.

Lee turned pro at age 19, in October 1926, and became a favorite with audiences. At 5 feet 9 inches (1.75 m) and about 144 pounds (65 kg), he fought as a welterweight. His boxing statistics vary due to incomplete coverage and record keeping for the sport in the 1920s and 1930s. Boxing historian Donald R. Koss documents Lee having 60 bouts 1927–31, the majority of them taking place 1927–28. The New York Times reported that Lee had some 200 professional matches and lost only about 25.

During his victorious 10-round bout with Andy Divodi at Madison Square Garden on December 12, 1929, Lee was dealt a blow over his right ear that detached his retina. With treatment his vision could have been saved, but Lee feared losing his successful career and masked his injury. In time he lost all sight in his right eye. He quit professional boxing in 1933. Despite having made an estimated $90,000 during his boxing career (roughly equivalent to $1.7 million today), Lee was broke. "Just threw it away," Lee later said. Lee eventually lobbied for insurance, health care, financial consultation and retirement homes for fighters. "The average boxer possesses little education," he said in 1946. "If he winds up broke, he has no trade, no education and nobody to turn to."

As Lee's fighting career began to wind down, he put together a small dance band that played at obscure clubs. When an old friend, sportswriter Ed Sullivan, plugged him in his new entertainment column, Lee and his group began landing better engagements. His career as a bandleader peaked in 1933 when his group played at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem. The following year he opened his own small club, The Jitterbug, which he managed to operate for six months. When it closed he had no prospects, and his mother convinced him to simply get a job.

Acting

All my life I've been on the verge of something. I'm almost becoming a concert violinist and I run away to the races. I'm almost a good jockey and I go overweight. I'm almost a champion prizefighter and my eyes go bad. Now I've got it, now I've got what I'm going to be.

Lee discovered a love for Broadway theatre during his years as a prizefighter. He remembered Show Boat as the first stage production he ever saw: "A big, tough fighter, all muscle, just sobbing," he recalled.

His acting career began by accident in 1934. While at a YMCA to apply for a job as a laborer, Lee stumbled upon an audition in progress and was recognized by playwright Augustus Smith. Lee was invited to try out, and won a supporting role in Brother Mose, directed by Frank H. Wilson. Sponsored by New York's Civil Works Administration, the show toured the boroughs, playing at community centers and city parks into the fall of the year. In October 1934 Lee succeeded Rex Ingram in the Theatre Union's revival of Stevedore, which toured to Chicago, Detroit and other U.S. cities after its run on Broadway. It was his first professional role.

Lee then was cast in his first major role, that of Banquo, in the legendary Federal Theatre Project production of Macbeth (1936), adapted and directed by Orson Welles.

"I never would have amounted to anything in the theatre if it hadn't been for Orson Welles," Lee recalled. "The way I looked at acting, it was interesting and it was certainly better than going hungry. But I didn't have a serious approach to it until … I bumped into Orson Welles. He was putting on a Federal Theatre production of Macbeth with Negro players and, somehow, I won the part of Banquo. He rehearsed us for six solid months, but when the play finally went on before an audience, it was right—and it was a wonderful sensation, knowing it was right. Suddenly, the theatre became important to me. I had a respect for it, for what it could say. I had the ambition—I caught it from Orson Welles—to work like mad and be a convincing actor."

Macbeth was sold out for ten weeks at the Lafayette Theatre. After an additional two weeks on Broadway it toured the nation, including performances at the Texas Centennial Exposition in Dallas.

After five months in a supporting role, Lee succeeded Rex Ingram as the lead in the stage production Haiti (1938), portraying Haitian slave turned emperor Henri Christophe. One of the Federal Theatre Project's most popular productions, Haiti was seen by some 90,000 people at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem and at Boston's Copley Theatre.

In January 1939, with the end of the Federal Theatre Project, Lee won a role in Mamba's Daughters, a Broadway success that toured North America and returned to Broadway for another brief run in 1940. Lee took a break from the road tour to make his motion picture debut in Keep Punching (1939), a film about boxing. He made his radio debut as narrator of the weekly CBS jazz series Flow Gently, Sweet Rhythm (1940–41). As that regular series came to an end, he opened a restaurant at 102 West 136th Street, Canada Lee's Chicken Coop, which offered authentic South Carolina cuisine, jazz and blues. Lee kept it going despite chronic financial difficulties.

Lee played the lead role in the 1940 revival of Theodore Ward's Big White Fog. A 1938 Federal Theatre Project production, the play was remounted by the newly created Negro Playwrights Company, founded in New York by Ward, Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, Theodore Browne, Richard Wright and Alain Locke.

Lee became a star overnight in his ultimate stage success, Native Son (1941), an adaptation of Richard Wright's novel staged on Broadway by Orson Welles. The show was a spectacular hit for both Welles and Lee, who starred in the initial New York run, a 19-month national tour, and a second run on Broadway with accessible ticket prices. "Mr. Lee's performance is superb," wrote Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times, who called him "certainly the best Negro actor of his time, as well as one of the best actors in this country." Wright also applauded the performance, noting the contrast between Lee's affable personality and his intensity as Bigger Thomas. The sympathetic portrayal of a black man driven to murder by racial hatred brought much criticism however, especially from the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and the Legion of Decency, and the ensuing pressure forced the play to close.

During World War II, Lee continued to act in plays and in films. In 1942, he played in two comedies by William Saroyan, and earned approving reviews despite the generally negative response to these plays. In 1943, his name was above the title on the marquee for South Pacific, a race-themed drama directed by Lee Strasberg that again was panned by critics but won Lee critical praise.

Perhaps Lee's most famous film role was in Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat (1944), in which he played ship’s steward Joe Spencer, one of 8 men and women who survive the sinking of the freighter carrying them from New York to London and are joined in their lifeboat by a survivor of the crew of the U-boat that destroyed their vessel.

According to a June 22, 1943, Hollywood Reporter news item, Lee was the first actor cast for the film. The script was criticized for making Joe "too stereotypical". Lee testified that he attempted to round out the character by revising dialogue, primarily eliminating repeated "yessir"s and "nossir"s that sounded subservient, and cutting some actions. An NAACP critique of the film condemned the role of Joe and praised Lee’s performance. The Baltimore Afro-American's review, while commenting on the character's shortcomings, praised Lee's portrayal. Historian Rebecca Sklaroff, while writing in 2009 that Joe's role was more "tokenistic" than black roles in the wartime films Sahara and Bataan, noted that Joe was depicted as compassionate, dependable and heroic. He is the only one who resists the impulse of mob fury that leads the other characters to kill the German. He is the only character who steps forward to disarm the wounded German sailor rescued at the end of the film.

Lee's successful radio career continued with New World A-Comin', which made its debut in March 1944. He narrated the first two seasons of the groundbreaking WMCA radio series that presented Negro history and culture to mainstream American audiences.

He became the first African American to play Caliban, in Margaret Webster’s 1945 Broadway rendition of The Tempest. Lee had admired Shakespeare since his turn in Macbeth; indeed, at the time of his death he was preparing to play Othello on film.

In 1946, Lee played a principal role in On Whitman Avenue, a drama about racial prejudice directed by Margo Jones. Lee produced the play, making him the first African-American producer on Broadway. The play spoke directly to the need for interracial housing following World War II and won the praise of former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, who wrote weekly columns encouraging readers to see it.

In the autumn of 1946, Lee made American theatre history when he portrayed the villain Daniel de Bosola in John Webster's The Duchess of Malfi. Presented in Boston and on Broadway, the production marked the first time a black actor had played a white role on the stage. Lee wore a special white paste that had been used medically, to cover burns and marks, but had never before been used in the theatre.

In 1947, he had a supporting role in Robert Rossen's Body and Soul, another boxing picture.

In 1948, Lee played his last stage role, that of a devoted slave in Set My People Free, Dorothy Heyward's drama based on the aborted 1822 slave revolt led by Denmark Vesey.

In 1949, he took a supporting role in Lost Boundaries, a drama based on William Lindsay White's book of the same title, a nonfiction account of Dr. Albert C. Johnston and his family, who passed for white while living in New England in the 1930s and 1940s.

Lee's last film appearance was the starring role of minister Stephen Kumalo in Cry, the Beloved Country (1951).

Civil rights activism

As an actor, Lee came into contact with many of the leading progressive figures in the country. Langston Hughes, for instance, wrote two brief plays for Lee; these were submitted to the Theater Project, but their criticism of racism in America was deemed too controversial, and neither was staged. Lee spoke to schools, sponsored various humanitarian events, and began speaking directly against the existing segregation in America's armed forces, while simultaneously acknowledging the need to win World War II. To this latter end, he appeared at numerous USO events; he won an award from the United States Recruiting Office and another from the Treasury Department for his help in selling war bonds. These sentiments would carry on throughout his life, culminating in his early firsthand account of apartheid in South Africa.

Lee was an early influence on physician and human rights activist H. Jack Geiger. They met in 1940 when Geiger, a 14-year-old middle-class Jewish runaway, was backstage at a Broadway production of Native Son. Lee agreed to take Geiger in when he showed up at his door in Harlem asking for a place to stay. With the consent of his parents, Geiger stayed with Lee for over a year. Lee took on the role of surrogate father and introduced Geiger to Langston Hughes, Billy Strayhorn, Richard Wright, and Adam Clayton Powell. Geiger eventually became a journalist, then a doctor who co-founded the first community health center in the United States, Columbia Point Health Center in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He became a founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility and Physicians for Human Rights, and established community health centers in Mississippi and South Africa. Geiger says he would never have moved so deeply in these worlds so quickly if not for his experiences with Canada Lee.

By the late 1940s, the rising tide of anti-communism had made many of Lee’s earlier contacts politically dangerous. In 1949, the trade journal Variety stated that under no circumstance was Lee to be used in American Tobacco’s televised production of a radio play he had recently starred in because he was "too controversial".

The same year, the FBI offered to clear Lee’s name if he would publicly call Paul Robeson a communist. Lee refused and responded by saying, "All you’re trying to do is split my race." According to newspaper columnist Walter Winchell, Lee stated that he intended to come out and "publicly blast Paul Robeson." However, the fact that the friendship between the two actors remained until Lee's death suggests that Robeson put no faith in Winchell's claim.

At the height of the Hollywood blacklist, Lee managed to find work in 1950 as the star of a British film Cry, The Beloved Country, for which both he and Sidney Poitier were smuggled into South Africa as indentured servants in order to play their roles as African ministers. During filming, Lee had his first heart attack, and he never fully recovered his health. The film’s message of universal brotherhood stands as Lee's final work towards this aim.

Being on the Hollywood blacklist prevented him from getting further work. Scheduled to appear in Italy to begin production on a filmed version of Othello, he was repeatedly notified that his passport "remained under review". Lee was reportedly to star as Bigger Thomas in the Argentine version of Native Son but was replaced in the role by Richard Wright, author of the novel, when Lee had to withdraw.

Family life

In December 1925, Lee married Juanita Eugenia Waller. On November 22, 1926, they had a son, Carl Vincent Canegata, who became actor Carl Lee. The couple separated while their son was young, and they were amicably divorced in 1942.

In 1934, Lee began a love affair with publisher and peace activist Caresse Crosby, despite the threat of miscegenation laws. They often had lunch in uptown New York in Harlem at the then-new restaurant "Franks", where they could maintain their secret relationship. When Lee was performing in Washington, D.C., during the 1940s, the only restaurant in the city where they could eat together was an African restaurant named the Bugazi. Crosby and Lee's intimate relationship continued into the mid-1940s.

In March 1951, Lee married Frances Pollack. They remained together until he died just over a year later.

Death

Lee died of a reported heart attack at the age of 45 on May 9, 1952, in Manhattan. It was later revealed by his widow, Frances Pollack, that he had been diagnosed with uremia and died of kidney disease, slipping into a coma and passing away 10 days after his diagnosis. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx.

[imnotcameraready]

chivalry is dead — ball outfits

as of chapter 20, everyone is dressed Fancy™

outfits and ID explanations below! 

Patton — Cat

i gotta start with our kitty-pat!!!!! he’s so cute !!!! his dress is a lot like cinderella’s, actually, now that i think about it. His dress corset has the princess-cut lines down the center that have some silver thread detailing, and the center part is a sparkly grey while the outside is a pale grey-blue velvet. The corset’s waist juts out, and at the center middle of the waist there’s a large bow made of glittery black tulle. The top most layer of his dress is glittery silver tulle, while the next layer (and the one that extends out behind him in a train) is glittery black tulle. i feel like it should bunch in the back, but i didn’t draw the back, but it also probably bunches in the back just given how fabric Moves™. the inner most layer of his dress is a velvet gradient from the same pale grey-blue on his corset to an actual dark grey, similar in shade to the silver tulle! his shoulder poofs are also scrunched up silver tulle, and that’s all the sleeve he’s got. he does have forearm-length gloves, though, which are grey with pink toe beans that mimic a cat’s!

his mask is also pretty standard for a masquerade ball — it’s a grey cat mask, with a silver gem for the nose and with pink ears and whiskers! 

Logan — Octopus

a smart animal for our smart boi :^) also like, my favorite outfit of the bunch, i want it so badly. his blazer doesn’t clasp, but it’s fitted pretty well and clips on the inside to his vest. It’s dark blue, with a black adjustable waist strap that goes around his back, and with four tails that seem more like tentacles. The shoulders of his blazer are also adorned with light blue “bubble” rhinestones. His vest is just a shimmery royal blue, and his undershirt is white, but his tie is iridescent blue and black. It’s tied up in an eldritch knot tho ;0 His pants are pretty tame, just some dark blue slacks. hes got a little piece of pink coral tucked into his lapel, too!

logan’s mask is. like. like i’d die for it. like it’s so cool. there are four tendrils poking out and swirling around it on either side, protruding from the mask itself, and while the coloring of the mask is fairly basic (it’s just dark blue) the “underside” of the tentacles are decorated in silver gems that mimic an octopus’ suckers. this was the first one i did and. like. im still yelling. i want that mask. 

Deceit — Peacock

thought i’d mix it up a little!!!! deceit’s suddenly flashy and, in the bard’s words, “the hottest chick in the coop.” he doesn’t have a blazer, but he does have a half-cape thingie, which has blue and purple and green rhinestones on the shoulder pad while shimmers an iridescent purple and green when he moves. his vest is a matte teal, and his undershirt is mint green, and he has lil arm bands that keep his sleeves pulled up that are dark blue. his ascot is also iridescent, and shimmers blue and purple. His pants are pretty tame, though (as i’ve seemed to do with most everyone’s pants lmao) they’re black with a glittery green stripe down the side. his shoes are. supposed to be black dress shoes. but it seems i forgot to draw them. and his gloves are dark green! i love this outfit but its also a mess of colors asdfgjkl

his mask covers the scaled side of his face and has blue rhinestones decorated similarly to the cape. There are also a lot of feathers. Like a lot of peacock feathers. all coming out of the left side. his scales are well hidden. 

The Thief — Snake

speaking of mixing it up a little, the thief does love being a red herring. his outfit is less snake themed and more deceit themed t b h. idk what to call that blazer, but it’s black, and short in the front with two long coat tails in the back, and is buttoned low and twice with gold circles and chains that mimic deceit’s coat clasp. His blazer also has sequins arranged in diamonds, traveling up his sleeves’ forearms. his vest is black, too, but is sheer while the blazer itself is matte. his dress shirt is a pastel yellow, and the bowtie is black, calling back to deceit’s SvS outfit. his slacks are also pretty plain, just black, and he’s wearing black gloves. 

his mask is literally a call back to deceit — covers the let side of his face, and has sequins arranged in diamonds all across it, mimicking deceit’s scales. If you look close enough, though, you can see his face scar jutting out at the very edge

remember when virgil was tryna convince the thief that he was the virgil-esque roman? :^) 

The Bard — Harlequin

i love love love the bard’s outfit. it’s actually a ball-dance dress, meant for people who are actually doing ballroom dancing, with some red sheer tulle as the skirt. His bodice isn’t a corset, though it is kinda stiff and sinched at the waist by a thick black belt with a heart on it. The belt matches his choker, which incidentally is connected to his dress :^) the bodice also has a red and black checkered pattern throughout, with a large white pearl at every check intersection. There are pieces of tulle from his dress connected to his wrists by thick forearm bands, also with the red and black checkered pattern — good for showy dancing!

his mask is also based on a harlequin/jester theme, with five protrusions at the top in alternating red-black-red-black-red, and with bells at the ends. the center of his mask is white and fades into the red and black checkered pattern at the sides. 

The Artist — Jester

shout out to the artist for his character development, because the boy’s learned to be okay laughing at himself and at things. He’s going as a jester, so his outfit is semi-formal and semi-flashy (good for distracting ;) ). The left half of his suit is a solid black, while the right half has a checkered pattern of red and black. His suit’s sleeve cuffs spiral out a little, and are gold. His slacks are solid red on the right while adorned with the red and black checkered pattern on the left. 

his mask is similar to the bard’s — the top has five jester-hat-like protrusions, alternating black-red-black-red-black, with bells on the ends. The mask itself, however, is white with little marks of all four card suits. 

The Playwright — Queen of Hearts

The Playwright’s dress harkens back to the animated Alice in Wonderland’s queen of hearts dress. The skirt is nearly identical, with an outer most layer that’s half red and half black, and with chevrons on the inside that alternate black and gold. At the tip of his corset’s waist is a large red rhinestone in the shape of a heart, and across his bodice is a large red heart that stretches from the neckline to the waist. His sleeves? Basically remus’ sleeves. Poofy shoulder parts that pinch in near his elbow, then are flush against his skin to the wrist, and then floof out at the wrist. The sleeves are black with glittery red trims around the wrist floofs and in the creases of the shoulder poofs. 

his mask is actually all rose gold wire-work, in intricate spirals. there’s a crown in the middle, on the top, also made of wire. 

Dragon and Damsel — the Prince and flames

ignore the big doodle on the left — that was for another drawing! 

Dragon’s outfit is fairly simple, he’s just wearing Roman’s usual white princely outfit with the gold trims, red sash, black boots, etc. The main difference is that his crest has been replaced with Dragon’s part of the crest, which is just the castle’s outer towers and wall. 

Damsel on the other hand is wearing a ball gown. His corset has a tall behind-head-neck-thing-whose-name-ive-forgotten, taller than his head with orange and red detailing shaped like flames. The corset has stiff gold shoulder pads that actually prevent him from lifting his arms high, and the body itself is detailed with sequins and rhinestones that mimic the red sash. There’s a little bit of rolled up red tulle at his waist, and then the gown. The first two layers are kind of torn up and in tatters (almost as though they’d been physically torn and then burned) and are colored orange, then red, and the inner most visible layer is a dark ashy grey. His eye, usually covered in a bandage, is patched over with a red rose. 

neither of them have masks, but the damsel has a red veil (not in the picture). they want to be seen and identified. 

no taglist bc uhhhh idk if y’all wanna see this (its not writing?? )