#in the fall performance

[protect-namine]

mitsuki's role in weekend lesson is so interesting, because... there's no challenge for him? why doesn't the mean casting director in neji want to challenge him?

(disclaimer that I'm on suzu's route and have only done kisa's route before this)

like, okay, so neji finds out that amber isn't participating in univeil's summer performance. his strategy would be something like a mix of fall and winter: aim to win, but also use the opportunity to train your new actors. since there isn't a chui to beat in this scenario, he and fumi can relax and risk a bit of the performance to train the new guys. alright, makes sense, cool cool.

so neji writes the characters and assigns the roles, right. the third years have some inner conflicts to overcome, and the first years have some growing to do. we have fumi playing the talented genius who quit competitive dancing, and kai who plays as someone that limits himself or is otherwise unambitious for the sake of supporting others. okay, same conflicts, let's see if the character development transfers from role to actor.

we have suzu playing louis who has pages and pages of monologue specifically, because suzu is bad at memorizing lines unless it's built around a conversation with another person (opposite of sou, who can memorize lines on his own). and also he has to do it while dancing, which he also needs to improve on. sou plays a jeanne who is cheerful, sociable, literally acts as the glue that binds everyone together through instigating the competition -- a departure from sou's own personality (plus sou, at this point I think, still wanted to play jack roles, though idk if neji knew this, or if it mattered to him). kisa plays a jack role for the first time, while also dancing and singing, and had to deal with neji sending her off to spy/steal ideas from other classes for her own improvement (in the guise of letting other classes try to poach her from quartz). neji always pushes a little harder on kisa, because he's always amazed that kisa will just do any of his own unreasonable demands (he says something to this effect if you let kisa choose neji to help her during one of the rehearsals).

so, okay, we've got a training plan down for everyone... except mitsuki. mitsuki doesn't get a challenge. shiroma is a side character, a prize to be won, very flat compared to even mukai (who has more depth to his personality even without the last minute improv). neji even throws in the random jazz lounge singer just so mitsuki can sing, which ends up looking more like a favor to mitsuki (since he only likes singing) and a "might as well use your talents somewhere" scenario.

(lmao shut up mitsuki, you got an easy role. sou has to dance both the great galleon and the random social dance kanna does in the background in andou's studio, and the dance she does with louis. the only characters who don't dance as much are mukai and employees A and B).

neji seems to place mitsuki in the same category as otori and himself: reliable in the roles they're good at, with no need to push for improvement compared to the others. but that's so interesting to me because like... why wouldn't he push mitsuki more? why wait until late into the year during the winter performance? and even then, initially, he wanted mitsuki as al jeanne more so to train kisa and fumi, rather than mitsuki himself. like, this is the scriptwriter who has no problems using other people's own inner conflicts as inspiration for his writing. neji can be a mean casting director when he wants to be. there's no reason why mitsuki is an exception.

I guess shiroma being a prize to be won and nothing more does mimic how mitsuki is valued for being a tresor and nothing more. but there is no space in the play for shiroma or mitsuki to do anything about that, unlike fumi and kai whose characters (andou and hasekura) both change throughout the play. mitsuki himself realizes very late into rehearsals (like, around a week before the performance) how he can connect with shiroma

and I mean, sure, that sounds compelling, but I don't think that's what neji intended nor do I think mitsuki is just talking about shiroma at this point, but hey this is the "theater is a metaphor" game sooooooo

anyway. I just think it's so odd that neji doesn't push mitsuki that much... but then I think about otori. I'd bet if otori wasn't so hilariously antagonistic to suzukisasou, he would also get the mean director neji treatment. not because of otori himself but more like. neji writes around actor chemistry and otori's rapport with the other actors is just less inspiring for drama and more inspiring for comedy LMAO (sorry otori). chui himself had a missing takihime bc he didn't really vibe with anyone on the stage.

and maybe that's it? mitsuki is also a person who distances himself from other people, and doesn't really put in the effort until later in the game. and before he even makes the effort for quartz (that neji sees), he really only made an effort for kisa. (I still maintain that mitsuki cares a lot about quartz even from the beginning, but whatever, I guess early game mitsuki that wasn't compelling enough for neji)

and I think it makes more sense why neji couldn't write anything for mitsuki. early game mitsuki doesn't have interesting relationships that neji could see. neji could write fumi and kai together and let their own internal conflicts be reflected in their relationship onstage. hasekura lets andou shine. mary jane wanted an equal (some form of it, a "friend" in the play) and that's why she created jacob. neji sees suzu and sou fighting in the hallway and in the next play writes jire and fugio fighting over chicchi. neji sees otori... being otori, and either writes him as funny side character A or a small-time antagonist to kisa.

which makes it extra hilarious why neji didn't understand oh rama havenna. neji wanted to experiment with fumi as a jack and kisa as a lead role. and mitsuki finally, coincidentally slots in as someone who could fill in the gaps left by fumi not being the al jeanne, and as someone who has a good relationship with kisa. and yet. mitsuki excels above and beyond during oh rama havenna, precisely because he makes rukiora his own character (as opposed to how neji initially wrote rukiora based on a younger version of himself; hence rukiora's relationship with domina) and rukiora's chemistry with chicchi reflects mitsuki's own relationship with kisa.

idk, I think all of this is just neat. kinda wish neji pushed mitsuki a little bit earlier, but also I think it's cute that he kept giving mitsuki easy roles for a while. he can push and prod the other actors, but he's making sure the princess doesn't have too much to complain about.

[smittyw]

had a category 5 lesbian moment looping midwest princess for the past couple hours so i drew some stills from this vid

[pinkponycult]

Chappell looking angelic in Montreal on 10-12-23

[eats-a-berry]

i wasn't sure exactly what i thought adult gideon should be doing, but i DO quite like the triple combination of cowboy-biker, drag queen, and used car salesman at the same time. she's always a busy person!

[autizmotbh]

skinny guys are outdated

get yourself a fat fuck

AND I STAND BY THAT

and angel dust and carmilla redesign because i can

[lakemichiganlolita]

sugar, we're goin' down - late night with conan o'brien - 5/10/05

[mediademon]

Anatomy of a Fall (2023) dir. Justine Triet

[turtleblogatlast]

I think a lot about Leo’s tendency to push his way into the spotlight despite clearly being a natural in the shadows. Hell, you could argue that his worst moments are when he’s forcing himself onstage, and his best are when he does things no one notices until it’s already been done.

[badnewswhatsleft]

patrick singing the harmony as the topline for our lawyer performances my beloved (summer sonic 2007)

[tyongie]

TEN Baggy Jeans @ 2023 SBS Gayo Daejeon | © 10nectar

[heartorbit]

a fool and a sinner

[mummer]

just saw asteroid city last night, pls explain the proposed significance of the kiss!!

answering this publicly hope thats ok! cant do a readmore im on mobile *****asteroid city spoilers below beware*****

i dont remember anyones names so this is gonna sound partly unhinged. okay so the edward norton playwright and jason schwartzman actor (not character, in the black and white parts) are lovers right. tbh i thought this was kind of a gag and forgot about it. but later we find out that the playwright died 6 months into the production. i didnt make the connection that THAT’s why the actor-jason has to suddenly leave the stage and freaks out backstage about how he’s not sure he’s Doing it right. hes not talking about acting!! because he himself is literally grieving his lover while he’s playing a character who’s grieving his wife written by his lover so obviously it’s too much!!! actor-jason is trying to find meaning in his death through his writing but there isnt any meaning in death [gerris drinkwater voice] which is what the play is trying to say anyway. he doesnt think he’s performing grief right even in his own life!!! (and tbh it’s the 50s so he wouldnt be able to perform grief publicly anyway!!!!) the play starts with a car accident… anyone would search for some hidden meaning there, some sign…. so when he talks to margot robbie outside it’s not really about finding the CHARACTER’s motivations it’s about the actor himself being able to process the playwright’s death! and adrien brody director was probably also dealing with that too (him and norton seemed to be good buddies) so the whole “sleeping backstage” thing gets a bit sadder maybe? maybe everyone else got this in the theatre and im just stupid lol but crazy making stuff to me!!! the whole story is about sublimated gay grief that cannot be expressed?!?!

the tweet that caught me onto this was here which posits that the playwright’s death was a suicide but i think that’s pretty stupid and unnecessary because the whole thing about the play asteroid city is that death is random and meaningless. im pretty sure that’s what the alien represents— a shocking and absurd event that isnt outright evil or menacing, not something anyone can predict or make sense of, it’s just a thing that happens to you out of nowhere, it doesnt mean anything. he’s a little black figure, he’s death! giving and taking! aagh

[jaggedjot]

the notion that queer men can be flamboyantly theatrical, perform in drag, even occasionally refer to themselves with female pronouns, and nevertheless willfully uphold and enforce patriarchal norms, would have been a well worn complaint in any given 1970s lesbian collective, and yet

[pinkponycult]

Chappell at The Beacham in Orlando, FL on 10.25.23

[jeannemoreau]

• Favorite female performances [20/?] “My love. I just want you to know that I'm not that monster, you know. Everything you hear in the trial it's just.. it's twisted. It wasn't like that.” SANDRA HÜLLER as Sandra Voyter in — ANATOMY OF A FALL (2023) dir. Justine Triet

[emdotcom]

Yeah, so while I was on my "I'm going to read into Vanny/Vanessa as much as possible" journey, I noticed an odd quirk in her animations in how she moves. At first, I thought it reminded me of a ballerina, 'cause she's kinda tip-toeing, & she has this way of keeping her head & chest in one place as she moves, but I looked again & realized --

That's not ballet! She's doing a tight-rope act. Like, look at this one:

This is like standing up on the wooden boards before you do the actual tight-rope walking, & the ring leader is hyping you up as you do some fun movement for the crowds. &, then, these:

These are all instances where she walks with one foot directly in front of the other. In that third, she's doing the "woaaah" wiggly-ass balance movements & everything, as if she's swaying up at the top of the tent, even though she's down on solid ground.

Idk, I feel like the way her feet are placed isn't accurate (pretty sure they should be pointed left & right, not both forwards...) doesn't make this 100% correct, but I like it. It also connects back with her first SB teaser, wherein she's up in the rafters.