Alright, we're back from the family vacation and it was really awesome getting to see my great-grandma again. Lots of writing progress was made. Already made plans to go see Newsies again. And I got to go to two different temples just this week!!! Boise, Idaho while we were visiting Grandma, and Las Vegas, Nevada, because, um, I live there.
And when you guys read this, I'll probably be on my way home from trek, an event we do in my church so we can learn about and celebrate our ancestors that traveled west. Because I missed my first deadline so the post has to go up later. Trying not to beat myself up over it, but I've done trek before and I'm sure it will be great again. My family gave up a lot just so people like me could have a good and free life.
So no lie, this is near tragic, because I was hoping for a long update so that I could stall getting to the real point of this post, get into my writing vibe or whatever. And we're going to talk about the insecurity that comes with writing a lot in this post too.
Hold on, friends. This is going to be a long one.
Okay, so long story short, you all know the story, because I've told it a million times, because it's pretty much one of my favorite things I've done this year or ever: I auditioned for my high school's production of Fame the Musical, and I was cast as Iris Kelly. Okay. Let's start there. I rehearsed for and successfully completed the production, and it pretty much changed the entire way I do me.
Yep, that's it. That's what happened.
Haha, funny story, a few weeks ago Kendrick (Joe Vegas) and Angelo (Mr. Sheinkopf) discovered that this beautiful blog exists. (OKAY not gonna lie it was the purest thing ever. They both bookmarked it in their phones. Kendrick's face when he figured out why all my social media is @Itsanadventur was priceless.) And Kendrick's scrolling through my posts and he comes across the one entitled "Famefic" but reads it incorrectly and says something along the lines of, "'Fametastic'? This is the best thing ever!" I corrected him, for that is not what it said. (However, I would be lying if I said I've never used that word before. Well THIS ONE'S FOR YOU KENDRICK, GET READY FOR THE MOST FAMETASTIC POST YOU'VE EVER READ.
Alright, so my favorite human who you guys have likely heard of before, Morgan (Serena Katz) way back in the production had this idea to do Fame Fridays on Instagram, every Friday would be about Fame. And every week our Instagrams were poppin' because her Insta story always had a bunch of us yelling "FAME FRIDAY" on it and I would always post a photo or a video relating to the production in some way with the hashtag #FameFriday. And when the show ended, she and I were like, "We have to find a way to keep Fame Friday going!" And I was like "Sure fam," because during the production I had taken all these notes on what I had observed about the characters or about the writing, because I really did learn a lot during this show, and I wanted to write about it for everyone once the show was over. So I was like "Sure, I've been waiting to write about Fame, I have some notes I've been taking on the show that I want to write about, I can do a few more Fame Fridays."
A few more.
A few more.
A FEW MORE.
Wow, guys. Just, wow.
That really is how I'd done it. I observed so much during this whole thing that I wrote down everything I wanted to share, and once it was over and pics had been released of the show, I wrote about everything. I had way more to say than I'd anticipated.
And it got to this ridiculous point where every time I would write my post and just be endlessly anxious about it. Sometimes I would even post it in the insanely early hours of the morning so I could just sleep the anxiety away. I was to be so honest just so afraid of my friends seeing them and thinking I was weird. But think about it. I'm a blogger. Writing about life is what I do. What was I afraid of? Them seeing that I like to write? That's no secret. Them seeing that I like character development? That's no secret either. It was even more difficult because I made a lot of new friends, and I guess that them seeing who I really was was too scary for me. I was actually talking with my dear friend Carlos (Schlomo Metzenbaum) a few weeks ago about some struggles I'd had with writing, and he said to me that when you write something, it's a part of you, and that's what made it even harder. And that was especially true for this bit of writing. Because this was something that had come to mean a lot to me for a million different reasons, and exposing that to the world was something I was really hesitant about. Because how dare I, as a writer, as a human with a strong sense of vulnerability, as a human who has been led irrationally by emotion and passion and art, actually care about something?
So yeah, I used to be embarrassed about writing about Fame, because it meant a lot to me. But to be so honest, I can't let something like that get in my way, because then I'll never sell a piece of writing a day in my life. It's okay for me to hype up Fame that much because it did do that much for me, and it was something I really wanted and really loved.
Fame, for starters, changed the way I perform. I've been performing for a really long time but have never been super good at it. Not in singing, not in color guard, not anywhere. And now I was an actor. And I am a person who is TOTALLY TERRIFIED of doing things I don't know how to do in front of people. I wasn't even a performer, and I definitely wasn't an actor. And pretty much everyone else there was.... I didn't fit in, as usual. I didn't have a huge stage personality; I'm not the kind of person that just can naturally make a big deal out of anything, that can easily put on a show. Everyone else was so bold and loud, and I'm quiet and reserved and kind of afraid of talking to people (especially people that were better than me and wouldn't like me and that I didn't really know). Still didn't fit in. And worst of all, I am known for being expressionless. I'm not good at showing what I'm feeling. If I can't even show what I'm feeling, how was I supposed to show what Iris was feeling? I didn't even know her at first. But all of those problems just made me work even harder at it. It was something I really wanted to do, I think everyone knows that by now. So to overcome all those things I had to work endlessly, and I thought about it all the time, and I was trying to get better all the time. And I think eventually I made it work out, and even now that the show is over and I think on it I'm still learning great things about acting all the time. But since I was in Fame, singing got easier. My performances just got SO MUCH BETTER. And I liked doing them more, because they were better. My performance in color guard went up, like, right away, and a lot. My coach would say he couldn't stop watching me, I was doing so well, he would call me out all the time, and that started about halfway through the making of Fame. A few months before they couldn't stop calling me out for needing to do more, but I started learning a new way of performing, a way that made me need to try so much harder and bigger just to pull it off, and suddenly I was performing the best on the team. I finally started figuring this performing thing out, and I thought I loved it before, but now, as you all know, I can't stop. Fame did that for me. And thanks to you, Iris, I used to not be able to express an emotion at all but after the show I couldn't even hold back a judgmental glance. Special shoutout to Lizzy Neal (SONIA) for being the reason that whenever I'm judging someone, somebody inevitably says "Your Iris is showing."
Fame changed my writing. Like, wow, it changed my writing. I've been interested in writing for theatre for a long time, specifically musical theatre. So I got cast in this show, and they gave me this book and sometimes I would just open it and stare at it and drink in the format because WOW I was holding an actual libretto and I wanted to learn as much about writing this beautiful art form as I could. But as I continued in the show, there were so many cool things, like formatting and the way a word is used and I just couldn't get over it all. I saw so many intelligent things, and I just loved it. It especially taught me how to develop a character. It's funny, watching the progression of my knowledge of how to write a character. When I started writing seriously, I was eleven, and my idea of characters was kind of like they were shells of people. That doesn't work. If I as the writer don't believe a character is a real person in their real universe, then the reader doesn't believe it either. It was the exact same thing. Writing and acting went hand in hand. Because if I didn't believe everything I was doing as Iris, then nobody in the audience was going to believe her. I had to genuinely think and genuinely feel everything that Iris did, and while I was her it had to be real to me. Which went for writing, which went for acting, which went for writing. It was all the same. You play a character the same way you write it. You have to know them. You have to become their best friend, and you won't know everything about them at first, but eventually you'll have a really intimate relationship with them and you'll know what they need to do in every situation. The first time I read through the show and I was thinking about this character I was supposed to bring to life and the first thing I had established was that Iris HECKA loved Tyrone, and I was like, "Well, the first thing I gotta figure out is why that is," because her story had pretty much everything to do with him. And eventually I figured out why she loved him so much, and then I figured out why she loved dancing so much, because while Tyrone meant the world to her dancing meant even more, it kind of kept her going and that really established who she was. And either between that or after that I learned that Iris thrives off of being on top, and her need to impress people an be the best is where she gets her drive from. She and I got really close, because once I knew those three things about her I could figure out pretty much everything else. And I really did try to figure out everything else. I thought about her all the time. Because it's a totally different experience developing just one character in the story instead of all of them at once. When I was in Fame, I wouldn't even let myself think too much about Miss Sherman's motives because I knew that Iris would never try to understand Miss Sherman, she hated her. I thought about Iris all the time. Like, literally all the time. And you become so connected to a person like that, and I love her so much. Another great thing that was learned from being Iris was that Iris is a support role. She is not one of the main leads. And so the big stories didn't revolve around her, so my time as Iris didn't require having to be a big contributor to the plot. But she was still there. That's the important thing, that she was still there. It all affected her even if it wasn't happening directly to her, so I mostly got to learn what it's like to be a secondary character, because those characters can often get forgotten but they honestly need as much depth as your main characters do. You need to know how they react to everything, because they are still there even if they're not your mains. I got to think a lot about how she reacted to the things that happened instead of being the person that made them happen. And it was so dang fun. The other day I was reading a chapter of Story 3 and something was happening from one character's point of view that very directly affected a
minor decision made by all the other characters. I knew how much that decision (that WASN'T
RELEVANT to the character who currently held the point of view) meant to the other characters,
even though our current point of view would never know that or care about it. So I started having a conversation in my head between the other characters about how to come to this conclusion, this simple choice that meant a lot to them. It was a conversation that no one will ever read, nor will ever get written down at all, because it doesn't need to. But that conversation still needs to be had by me as the writer, because I needed to understand how all of my characters felt about that one thing, that was simple to some but a big deal to others. I needed to have that conversation personally, so that my
readers will believe that my characters are real people, because in their universe they are real and they need to be real in that moment that they are being read. You taught me that, Iris. I can't thank you enough.
And so yeah, doing Fame changed the way I do my art. But it also changed my life.
It's funny, because I think about how I've gotten involved in the theatre and how much I've always
loved it. Because I have always loved the theatre. But it started even sooner than I thought it did. Besides my general love for seeing musicals my entire life, I used to think it started when my sister
Emily started doing productions when she was in high school, but it was way before that. It was in fact way before even my first musical, which was The Music Man when I was in eighth grade. (I was one of the River City children.) I was looking through some old writing, and I realized it was when my SISTER did her first musical when she was in sixth grade. I've always been a huge writer, and
some of that writing included journals. And so I was looking on my journals from when I was nine,
when my sister was in her first musical, Willy Wonka, as an oompa loompa. And she would come home from rehearsals and tell me all these stories about what happened there. And I would write them down. Haha, it wasn't just something I did when I was actually in the shows! I think I even started asking to hear them eventually, because I loved them so much. I remember reading the stories I'd written down from her rehearsals for the show and thinking how crazy it was that I loved the idea of it even back then. And it wasn't just the idea of being in a show, it was the idea of getting to have all these fun times with all these talented people that would become your friends and building a show with them and making all these memories with them. And I still love the idea of that, and I'm still
so happy that I got to do that, even for a person who is often afraid of talking to her peers because in the past she had a hard time fitting in with them. I love all the friends I made in the theatre, even though it was hard for me to talk to them most of the time. I was terrified, but I wish I hadn't let myself be. Because I really liked being there. And now that I don't let myself care what people think about what I say or do or think or feel, I can say that, and thank all you people that made my time in the theatre great, even those of you that will never read this, which is most of you.
But yeah, my sister was in that musical, and then about four years later I was in eighth grade and got the chance to do The Music Man. I enjoyed doing that a lot, plus I was in a glee club that did show tunes and so we focused a lot on theatre and acting and I REALLY enjoyed doing that and I had made a list of a bunch of songs that I wanted to perform and at that point I had every intention of doing theatre in high school. (I think a lot of you didn't know that, but, fun fact, it's true!)
And in between those times, my sister was in productions in high school. She was a birdgirl (and did a lot of understudy work as Jojo) in Seussical and did the ensemble (as well as being vocal captain) of Cinderella. I helped paint props for Seussical. And I helped her run her lines, like, every day. It was my favorite thing ever. She will tell you that I often had more of the book memorized than some of the cast members did. (I could legit perform the shows for you. Memorizing is a talent of mine.) Horton was my favorite character to be in Seussical, and we didn't really have to run lines for Cinderella but luckily I didn't even like that show anyway.
Okay, so all of that happened, and then I was in high school myself. I still had all the intention of doing theatre. There was going to be this revue show in the fall that year, and I REALLY wanted to audition for it. As you all know, however, I am a four-year marching band member, and so the fall is a really busy time for marchers. I had a lot of conflicts when it came to performing the show, so I was really discouraged from auditioning for it. I didn't, and the show didn't even end up happening, but after that I was pretty much discouraged about doing theatre at all. I didn't audition for the musical like I had been planning on doing. I used color guard as an excuse for my time doing theatre because that seemed more acceptable to people than saying what was true and that I'd stopped wanting to do it, but that's the truth. But I still was kind of involved in it, because Emily was cast as Judy Bernley in 9 to 5. (YES THAT'S RIGHT, JUDY "PLEASE HOLD" BERNLEY, JUDY "COPY THAT" BERNLEY, JUDY "I AM TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS" BERNLEY.) I loved that show, and I loved getting to run lines for it like I did with her for every show. (My favorite scene is the one where they try to steal the body from the hospital.) And after that year, I was pretty content with not doing any productions, I guess, and I had decided theatre wasn't for me, but I still loved supporting it, like, really supporting it. My proudest days as a sister were when Emily was cast in the title role of Annie (!!!) her senior year. I cried, like, literally every time I saw it. It was so good. And again, I loved getting to run lines with her. (The scene where Daddy Warbucks is trying to have a serious conversation with Annie in his office.) I loved seeing my friends every night, I loved running lines, I loved talking about Emily's roles with her and researching the shows with her. (The amount of 9 to 5 videos we watched were actually ridiculous, and Annie had been running on Broadway for about two years right before they did their production so of course there was a lot of material to watch there.) I loved the theatre, even still. I loved being a part of it, but somehow still was not.
A year went by and I went and saw all my friends in their productions and loved them all. Then was the summer before my senior year. I was hanging out with Carter and Becca (music student) one day and Carter had been wondering about whether or not he wanted to audition for the musical. And somehow it came up whether or not I wanted to do it. And I said I didn't, and was asked why not. And I said that that was my sister's thing, not mine. (Which is the STUPIDEST THING EVER. Something being someone else's thing does not make that same thing incapable of being your thing. It sounds like a High School Musical movie, saying you're obligated to not do something just because it's someone else's dream.) And of course all that was pointed out, that that is irrelevant, and eventually I just said that I didn't want to do it, and that answer was acceptable to him, because if I just didn't want to do it then I shouldn't do it.
And that day I got thinking. "Wait. Do I want to do it?"
I have personally messaged Carter and thanked him since that day, because that was what really got me thinking about it. And after a lot of thinking, I decided I didn't just want to do it, but I really wanted to do it. Like, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted to do it.
Okay, so I know that a lot of what I just wrote is new to a good portion of you, but here's where we get to the part that I don't really talk about ever.
The time came and I really wanted to audition, and so me and Emily spent a lot of time talking about what song I should audition with and looking through her old monologues to decide what I wanted to do. (This was before we knew that both were provided for me.) When I went to the audition clinics, my friends were SO EXCITED because, as I've mentioned previously, so many of them had been wanting me to do this for so long and I never had. I got my audition packet, and I worked on my monologue SO HARD. (Because I can memorize and sing and perform a song no problem, I've done that plenty of times.) Like, when I couldn't practice it out loud I would put in my earbuds and listen to a recording of myself performing it. I wanted it that much. I asked Morgan and Hallie (acting student)
about what the audition would be like, because as you know doing new things is terrifying for me, and I wanted to be as prepared for this as possible. I talked about backing out a million times. Oh my gosh, I was so scared. But I knew every time I considered it that my desire to do the show had to outweigh that. I wanted to do the show so badly, I had to work so hard, and I had to go through with
it, or I would regret it. I'm not sure I could have backed out if I tried, because I wanted it that much. The dance audition was crazy, because it was the first time being fully a part of the theatre
experience. It was crazy and I wasn't sure I liked it, but I'm pretty sure most people were just
showing off since it was auditions, so the real thing was a lot more chill. The next day I did my
personal audition with my monologue and song. I had so many friends supporting me and I am
endlessly grateful for that, because while I have auditioned for so many things in my life I'd never done anything like this, because I'd never auditioned for a musical with the opportunity to get a part (I could only be one of the River City children in The Music Man) and I'd never auditioned a
monologue before. Special thanks to Gwen "True Love" Rogers (dance student) for being really
supportive that day. I also want to give a shoutout to Holly (production manager) for being there for
me that day, who had been a friend of mine for a long time and had always been encouraging me to try stuff like this.
I gotta say, both days of auditions went really well.
And then the cast list went up. I remember walking through the choir room, and everyone was excited because the cast list was up. And I had to go look at it. So I went out into the hallway and I remember Morgan asking if I'd seen it yet, I said no, she told me to give it a look. I could tell by the way she said it that something was up. As I walked up to take a look at the list, Kobe (Tyrone Jackson) walked by and asked who Elizabeth Day was. (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.) I go up to the list, and I start going down names, I get past five that aren't mine.
Iris Kelly-- Elizabeth Day.
I had of course wanted to get a part by auditioning. But I didn't want to get irrationally hopeful, because I wasn't much of an actor, like, at all. I even pre-cast the show in my head to make sure I had a full understanding that I wouldn't make it. And then that happened.
I saw my name next to hers, and, I just felt this unbelievable love. I read that and just was like, yes. Like, it felt so correct. I didn't even know her, but it felt correct. I started loving Iris that very second. I wish I could describe to you guys how it felt. It was so beautiful. I saw my name next to hers and I loved Iris, and I loved being her, and I hadn't even started.
I got to imaginative writing class that morning and messaged Emily and Mom something along the
lines of "I have been cast as Iris Kelly in Fame the Musical *insert crying emoji*". I was literally so happy. My social media was poppin' that day with the news that I was Iris. And, pretty much every day after that. I was quite honestly so excited.
So, okay, I guess you just got a really descriptive run-down of my love for theatre. How is that relevant to anything? Honestly, it probably isn't. But I think to understand the whole thing, you need to know the whole thing.
So I gave you that cute little narrative. But I think that just explains the love that I feel for the art. It
doesn't explain how Fame specifically changed my life. But it did. It totally did.
The end of junior year was a struggle, and the beginning of senior year was only a little bit better. You guys all know about the way I kind of lost myself second semester of junior year, and senior year spent a lot of time trying to reestablish that. I was really miserable for a long time. I got life from being in marching band, and I found refuge in choir as well, which had been hard at first that year but it eventually became a home to me again. And I really did have quite a good year even in the beginning, but wow, the beginning was still filled with a lot of bad days. I let a lot of things get in the way of me doing me, and sometimes I just wasn't genuinely happy. And I think I would've been kind of stuck there. I really do think I would have been stuck generally unhappy for awhile. I don't know how to describe to you guys what it was like. But things would happen, and I would just not be okay about it. I was dealing with the loss of what had previously been normal for me, and building my new version of happiness was really difficult, and it wasn't always there. Then I put my all into this audition, and once I was cast, I put my heart into the show. And it felt really good to be invested in
something I really wanted, this beautiful piece of art. I got to be someone else for a few hours every day, and she was perfect, and afraid of the same things as me, and she became my best friend, and I
would spend those few hours learning incredible things. I got a new group of friends, and they were the students at PA. I read my book all the time, I thought about them all the time, I became so invested in them and I used them to make me find my own version of happy again. When I was lonely or I felt left out, I would run lines with myself. I remember feeling so alone on a break on a caroling gig at the mall and just walking through the mall over to the food court to sit down, on the verge of tears, saying to myself, "My gosh, why can't you get it together? These steps are so basic it's ridiculous." And that's how I would deal with loneliness, is practicing for the show. Until I wasn't lonely anymore, and until I was just happy by myself. Fame was a distraction for me, and it gave me something to do when I really needed it. It helped turn me into the me I currently am.
And now, I am going to continue to audition for theatre productions. I am going to minor in theatre arts. And I am most definitely hoping to see you all at a future production with book, music, and lyrics by Elizabeth Day.
Guys, what even is obligation? Most of the time I think that it's the opposite of desire. And doing
something you need to do is not bad. Needing to do something to help either yourself or something you care about is still led by desire, not because you want to do the thing, but because you want to get the result that would be best for you or something else. Necessity is good. Obligation is bad. Obligation is the feeling that you need to do something. You don't want to, and you don't even particularly care about getting the specific outcome. You just feel like you're supposed to. Necessity is knowing that you need to do something, because in the end you still have a want, even if it is not immediate. You still have a genuine desire for an outcome, even if the steps to get there are hard. I guess I felt obligated to not consider myself a theatre person, since I had felt discouraged from doing it and since it was Emily's thing and since I had just so often said that it wasn't my thing, that writing was my thing. Which is ridiculous, because the two go together so much. The moral of the story, as it always is with me, is to follow your heart. It is okay to let yourself do what you want! If it is not going to stop you from getting to an ultimate goal, and if it isn't hurting you, then you really need to let yourself be happy. I am finally letting myself do all the things I always wanted to do. And I am really happy about that. Do not feel obligated to be or not be anything. You are allowed to follow your heart. You are supposed to follow your heart. I am glad I let myself go through with this, because I learned an insane amount of things that I am so happy about. It has helped lead me to a new and big part of my future. And it came at the exact right time. Fame happened exactly when I needed it. No sooner, no later. I needed it right then. God really does know what is best for us.
So this series of posts ran on Instagram for the months following Fame, and I realized I wanted them to be all in the same place, plus, some of my musings were pretty good, and the rest of my people deserve to hear them, so here it is on the actual blog, typos and all. I hope you enjoy them if you've never seen them, or if you missed one, or hey, if you just like them and want to reread them, I'm not complaining. Here are my short pieces on all the things I observed during my time as Iris Kelly, which I took notes on as I studied the production endlessly, tirelessly, the book I read and studied and memorized and slept with and bled on, the things I observed that were so worth sharing to me.
(Not gonna lie, though, the fact that there are about to be emojis on the blog is unsettling, because the blog is very strictly emoji-free.)
Would also like to properly credit Shelby Basso and everyone's favorite math teacher Paul Guerrero for the photos. Thank you so much for capturing the best show ever.
Here's to hoping there are more productions in our future. I love you, Iris.
And I love all of you.
And hey... just in case you forgot... you can find Basic Academy's full production of Fame here.
--Lizzo
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I am genuinely sorry Kobe but I'm gonna be tagging you in photos for the next five billion years
Honestly I talk about Tyrone almost as much as I talk about Iris, because he's so important to her
character. Her story relies so heavily on him. The only scene I had that he did not directly affect was "Mabel's Prayer". And Iris isn't entirely a filler character; she has a personality and a human quality that makes her a really beautiful character. But even that has so much to do with Tyrone and where he stands in her life and thus how he shapes her story. Tyrone is such an INTERESTING character. He's
one of the characters in the show with the most depth to him. And so Iris's story is pretty much being
a part of Tyrone's story, to give him even more quality.
Iris's character is perfectly written, honestly. She is not a very vocal character. She just kind of lets her presence and her actions speak for her. It says a lot about who she is. And when you look at who she talks to and how much it gets even better. In the scenes Iris speaks in, she often has just one line. It's perfect; she doesn't need to talk to prove herself, she can just do it by existing. Sometimes she'll have a short exchange with the dancers. Not say a lot, but she is actually willing to talk to them. This is important because dance is Iris's entire life, and so the people she meets there do hold some significance to her; she cares about the other dancers. But the only real CONVERSATIONS she had in the entire show are with Tyrone. He is the only person she's willing to REALLY talk to. And for a really long time he was the only person she was willing to be honest with. Tyrone is the only person
that REALLY matters to Iris. You can tell so much about Iris's character just based on when she
does and doesn't talk. Perfect writing.
Thanks @katelynn.blad for the pic from the Junior Festival scene
Honestly probably my favorite picture from the show of #Tyris
Thanks for listening to my writings, friends. Hoping for a lengthy post by Thursday. For now, goodnight world ❤️😴
I officially wrote about #FameFriday on the blog so that means I actually have to go through with it
Honestly I talk about Tyrone almost as much as I talk about Iris, because he's so important to her
character. Her story relies so heavily on him. The only scene I had that he did not directly affect was "Mabel's Prayer". And Iris isn't entirely a filler character; she has a personality and a human quality that makes her a really beautiful character. But even that has so much to do with Tyrone and where he stands in her life and thus how he shapes her story. Tyrone is such an INTERESTING character. He's
one of the characters in the show with the most depth to him. And so Iris's story is pretty much being
a part of Tyrone's story, to give him even more quality.
Iris's character is perfectly written, honestly. She is not a very vocal character. She just kind of lets her presence and her actions speak for her. It says a lot about who she is. And when you look at who she talks to and how much it gets even better. In the scenes Iris speaks in, she often has just one line. It's perfect; she doesn't need to talk to prove herself, she can just do it by existing. Sometimes she'll have a short exchange with the dancers. Not say a lot, but she is actually willing to talk to them. This is important because dance is Iris's entire life, and so the people she meets there do hold some significance to her; she cares about the other dancers. But the only real CONVERSATIONS she had in the entire show are with Tyrone. He is the only person she's willing to REALLY talk to. And for a really long time he was the only person she was willing to be honest with. Tyrone is the only person
that REALLY matters to Iris. You can tell so much about Iris's character just based on when she
does and doesn't talk. Perfect writing.
Thanks @katelynn.blad for the pic from the Junior Festival scene
Honestly probably my favorite picture from the show of #Tyris
Thanks for listening to my writings, friends. Hoping for a lengthy post by Thursday. For now, goodnight world ❤️😴
😖
(By the way, thanks for all the support about yesterday's post. You guys are literally too kind 😭)
This is probably the most visually appealing set in the show 😍 We are too blessed to have Justin
as a choreographer
as a choreographer
LOOK AT THESE HUMANS. I love these humans. I'm so lucky that I got to work with the most talented people in the world.
This song is such a cool emotion. The kids are facing such strong negativity, and then they make the decision to step up and overcome it, because they didn't come here to fail. I remember one
particularly bad rehearsal where we all walked out pretty discouraged, and while I was walking out
to my car when it was all dark outside and I was super frustrated this song started playing in my head. And I was just like, "Yes. This is what this song feels like." A really discomforting downfall, and then the decision to get back up and make the next day better.
particularly bad rehearsal where we all walked out pretty discouraged, and while I was walking out
to my car when it was all dark outside and I was super frustrated this song started playing in my head. And I was just like, "Yes. This is what this song feels like." A really discomforting downfall, and then the decision to get back up and make the next day better.
One of the greatest things about this production was how realistic it was able to be just because we're
all kids. Only four of us were playing adults, the rest of us were teenagers, exactly the same age we are now. It made the whole thing better, just being high school kids. And not just high school kids, but high school kids that are performers... like us. When I'd done some research on the show in the
earlier parts of our rehearsal process, I would be staring at pictures of professional productions of the show and wondering why they all looked so weird. And then I realized it was because they all looked
OLD. They were adults playing high school students. The fact that we were actually playing kids our
age just made the whole thing feel so much more real.
My brother was unconvinced that #Tyris is the best couple, and this scene was a reason why. "One minute they're yelling at each other and then they're kissing, like???" The great thing about this part is that the tension between Tyrone and Iris is TANGIBLE. We have to show four years in two hours, but this isn't at all their first encounter. I concluded that at this point Tyrone and Iris have known each other about a semester. They've had plenty of time for that to build, and they're highkey attracted to each other, but they're not about to admit it straight out because they're both prideful, independent.
We were told to find the moment that our character falls in love. I decided Iris never had a defined moment,she had a few points that led to her being with Tyrone. She notices him in class when Ms. Bell calls him out, and she thinks he's trash that can't take dance seriously. But the way he talks about dance catches her attention; he starts to look like someone that loves dance as much as her. He shows his choreo, she isn't sold but she's got her eye on him. Then more important things happen, the semester we don't see, when she really falls for him; she's watching him that whole time. Then he's
her dance partner and her training compared to his confirms her original impression. They fight and the reason she admires him comes into play. Iris is hiding that she's not rich or perfect and she's
ashamed, because she loves being the best. Tyrone comes from a rough background but he's unashamed of who he is and never tries to hide it; he has confidence that Iris wants. That comes
through in his rap that proves she didn't understand him as well as she thought.
THIS MOMENT. This is what I usually thought of, not because it's when she realizes she loves him,
but because it's the moment she decides she's going to let herself go for it.
If Iris had courage she would have kissed him after the rap. But the entire thing scared her a little, because she wasn't sure how he'd react, he kinda scared her, this was nothing she'd ever tried. Instead
she tells him the truth. Then he calls her the best dancer at PA and she's like "Okay, yes, I want this one."
#FameFriday
So apparently I really do like writing too much because last week I spent an hour and a half trying to make the caption fit so I cut it down until it had literally no voice and I pretty much hated myself after that
This scene was really hard before I had Iris figured out and I don't even really say anything 😰 But it's also one of the scenes that made her character really come together once I knew what it was
about. Me and my friend Iris have something in common. We're both hecka insecure because we just want everyone to like us. And so I understood that part, but the thing that took me so long to understand is that she reacted to that fear the exact opposite of how I would. I"m the kind of person that likes to hide when I'm scared 😬 (That's why my RBF is so on point, if I don't look approachable then no one will talk to me 👌) However, when she's scared Iris likes to make herself more visible,
she wants to make herself seen. She projects herself, she wants everyone to notice her, because that
gives her a chance to prove her superiority. Iris wants to be on top, she wants to be the most beautiful and perfect human in the room, it gives her power. Once I understood that, I pretty much understood Iris entirely. That mentality is a huge part of who she is, she just came together after that.
#FameFriday
This time we're having a super #FameFriday instead of a super late one because Thursday comps get out hecka late and I'd rather deal with this right before I go to sleep than in the middle of being alive. It is currently 1:13 AM 😊
about. Me and my friend Iris have something in common. We're both hecka insecure because we just want everyone to like us. And so I understood that part, but the thing that took me so long to understand is that she reacted to that fear the exact opposite of how I would. I"m the kind of person that likes to hide when I'm scared 😬 (That's why my RBF is so on point, if I don't look approachable then no one will talk to me 👌) However, when she's scared Iris likes to make herself more visible,
she wants to make herself seen. She projects herself, she wants everyone to notice her, because that
gives her a chance to prove her superiority. Iris wants to be on top, she wants to be the most beautiful and perfect human in the room, it gives her power. Once I understood that, I pretty much understood Iris entirely. That mentality is a huge part of who she is, she just came together after that.
#FameFriday
If Iris taught me anything it is how to properly JUDGE PEOPLE
Oh my heck Iris I'm even more in love with you than Tyrone is 😍😍😍
Okay so about Tyrone and being in love with Iris and whatever. Sometime in January or whenever me and Kobe were talking about when our characters fell in love with the other and with Tyrone it is made very evident that he sees Iris and is automatically drawn to her. I explained how Iris fell for Tyrone in a previous piece, how including when and why, but for a really long time I really just
couldn't figure out what about Iris made Tyrone want her automatically.
Honestly it's probably just because she's beautiful and perfect. But I also decided that, kind of like how with Iris why was more important than when, for Tyrone when was more important than why.
The entire vibe you are supposed to get from Tyrone is untraditional, down to the way he dances.
He's not classically trained like everyone else, he has a different way of thinking of ballet, he does his
own choreography rather than what he's given in class. Not traditional. But if you could think of the sappiest possible way for someone to fall in love with someone else, it would probably be love at first sight. This is perfect. Iris is the very definition of traditional, and Tyrone, who is not, sees her one
time and is generally smitten. Iris is an exception for him. This not-classic guy falls for this classic girl in literally the most classic way that we know of. THAT IS SO BEAUTIFUL I WISH I HAD
WRITTEN IT 😭😍
#Tyris
Oh my heck Iris I'm even more in love with you than Tyrone is 😍😍😍
Okay so about Tyrone and being in love with Iris and whatever. Sometime in January or whenever me and Kobe were talking about when our characters fell in love with the other and with Tyrone it is made very evident that he sees Iris and is automatically drawn to her. I explained how Iris fell for Tyrone in a previous piece, how including when and why, but for a really long time I really just
couldn't figure out what about Iris made Tyrone want her automatically.
Honestly it's probably just because she's beautiful and perfect. But I also decided that, kind of like how with Iris why was more important than when, for Tyrone when was more important than why.
The entire vibe you are supposed to get from Tyrone is untraditional, down to the way he dances.
He's not classically trained like everyone else, he has a different way of thinking of ballet, he does his
own choreography rather than what he's given in class. Not traditional. But if you could think of the sappiest possible way for someone to fall in love with someone else, it would probably be love at first sight. This is perfect. Iris is the very definition of traditional, and Tyrone, who is not, sees her one
time and is generally smitten. Iris is an exception for him. This not-classic guy falls for this classic girl in literally the most classic way that we know of. THAT IS SO BEAUTIFUL I WISH I HAD
WRITTEN IT 😭😍
#Tyris
Oh my gosh Miss Sherman if you could leave my boyfriend alone FOR ONCE that would be great 😡
Will never stop being grateful for Kobe's intelligence as an actor. I know I say this a lot but seriously thank you for being so great.
I mean the post isn't about them but this is a cute pic of #Tyris
Every single thing in the show was written with intention. IN the book the two female teachers'
names are spelled differently: MISS Sherman, and MS. Bell. THIS IS NOT A MISTAKE. We are supposed to understand things about the characters' personal lives from this. We are given room to wonder about Ms. Bell. She could be the singlest Pringle on earth or she could be married for five billion years or anywhere in between. The writer does not care if we know that about Ms. Bell. We are wanted to assume what we want from what we gather from the show, he doesn't care if her story is concrete. However, with Miss Sherman, he wants to make her undoubtedly single. He wants us to know that she is ENTIRELY ALONE. We need to know this to understand her. It makes her song more powerful, "These Are My Children", her entire character. The students are literally all she has. They are everything to her.
So you think that you'd be nicer to Tyrone but you know what go ahead and verbally attack him and publicly humiliate him and SLAP HIM yeah that's cool too 😒
#FameFriday
Kaylee and the other ladies totally slayed this song ❤️ It was perfect
This scene was the best partly because they were all funny as heck and partly because it was RELATABLE
HOWEVER not gonna lie, you have no idea how hard it is to dance through pretzel crumbs, the pas
de deux was difficult beyond words 😫 Didn't appreciate that part.
Oh my gosh this scene was so hard for me at first 😂😂😂 This is going to sound weird to those
of you that don't know me super well, but I just really like PRETTY things. So when they tell me to go UGLY EAT onstage I don't even really know how, that was legit so uncomfortable for me at first. Honestly the only time I felt really comfortable doing it was opening night; the more the audience laughed the less afraid I was. But not just personally was that scene hard for me, it just really didn't make any sense to me. Lizzo likes being pretty, but Iris is just PRETTY. Like, everything about her, she's literally supposed to be perfect. Iris is pretty, so where does she belong in this ugly-eating scene??? 🤔
So instead Iris kind of did the pretty version of ugly eating. Like she put her entire heart and soul into that vanilla pudding yo 😂 Tyrone stopped existing for a hot minute and Iris was fully invested in the pudding, the pudding was her one true love 😍😂 I know @emily.dimond thoroughly enjoyed seeing Iris be in love with that pudding.
#FameFriday
Haha, Kobe hated this line because he found it intolerably sappy, but I hated this line because I
couldn't ever quite figure out what to do with it, and it frustrated me. It was either right before the
show ended or right after the show ended that I realized it was because the line is incredibly well-
written.
I was talking to @metstar the other day, who often asks what the weekly piece on Fame is about. I told her it was about this line, and she described the line as a lollipop that has multiple layers.
Because it really does.
That's what frustrated me about it. When I first read the line I read it as flirty. Okay, cool. And I think I tried that for awhile and I instead decided that she was being actually really sweet and genuine in that moment. But honestly I probably wasn't fully satisfied with that either. I was directed to say it flirty, so that's what ended up happening. I think in the end I like that. It was supposed to be flirty. Especially once she realized all her previous subtle flirting was working so she allowed herself to be straightforward once she realized he was buying into it. But the line also had a bit of a deeper
meaning for their character. Tyrone and Iris both have the "strong independent and single" vibe about them. They push away help from everybody. They don't rely on people. They both like to come off as if they don't need anyone. But they also can't shake their need for each other, even though they don't want to need anyone. They really are the only people that can help each other.
Oh my heck, they're so cute.
#FameFriday #Tyris
✨🎶I want to make magic🎶✨
couldn't ever quite figure out what to do with it, and it frustrated me. It was either right before the
show ended or right after the show ended that I realized it was because the line is incredibly well-
written.
I was talking to @metstar the other day, who often asks what the weekly piece on Fame is about. I told her it was about this line, and she described the line as a lollipop that has multiple layers.
Because it really does.
That's what frustrated me about it. When I first read the line I read it as flirty. Okay, cool. And I think I tried that for awhile and I instead decided that she was being actually really sweet and genuine in that moment. But honestly I probably wasn't fully satisfied with that either. I was directed to say it flirty, so that's what ended up happening. I think in the end I like that. It was supposed to be flirty. Especially once she realized all her previous subtle flirting was working so she allowed herself to be straightforward once she realized he was buying into it. But the line also had a bit of a deeper
meaning for their character. Tyrone and Iris both have the "strong independent and single" vibe about them. They push away help from everybody. They don't rely on people. They both like to come off as if they don't need anyone. But they also can't shake their need for each other, even though they don't want to need anyone. They really are the only people that can help each other.
Oh my heck, they're so cute.
#FameFriday #Tyris
HAHAHAHA SORRY NICK, TYRONE AND IRIS TOTALLY SNATCHED THIS SONG FROM YOU. But honestly every other couple had a song already so we deserved it.
And if we're gonna be honest Tyrone and Iris are the cutest part of this scene 😍 Someday I'm going to try to write something as good as them and I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to do it.
Okay but before I get too much into this scene I want to talk about the scene before it. The one where Carmen's getting her drugs. This was a good decision made by our directors. I can't remember if the scene didn't have any music under it or if they just didn't like the music written. So instead "There She Goes" is played underneath. When Carmen sings this for us the first time, she's talking about her dreams to be the biggest star the world has ever seen. About how she's gonna make it, everything is gonna turn out perfect for her. And then we hear the song again, while she's doing THIS. "There she goes. Now wouldn't anybody wish they were her?" It's tragic this time, it's shameful. Why would anybody WANT to be her?
Okay, so about this scene now. I really love this scene, it's pretty powerful. But I think I especially liked it because it kind of embodies Iris. Dance comes first in Iris's life. It's the one thing that has always been there for her, it's constant, it's her passion, she can work and make something beautiful, she loves making something beautiful, she loves dancing. And second comes Tyrone. Like, really, I don't think people quite realize how much he changed the game for Iris. Maybe it's just because I know her, but he really is that important to her, he's her everything. And Iris and Tyrone get selected to be a dance feature in the Junior Festival where they sing this song. And it's so special to her. That's why I love this song, I think it's about Iris. This scene is one of her happiest scenes in the show, she's on the moon in this one. It's about her doing her favorite thing with her favorite person. And that is just so beautiful to me
#FameFriday #Tyris
And if we're gonna be honest Tyrone and Iris are the cutest part of this scene 😍 Someday I'm going to try to write something as good as them and I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to do it.
Okay but before I get too much into this scene I want to talk about the scene before it. The one where Carmen's getting her drugs. This was a good decision made by our directors. I can't remember if the scene didn't have any music under it or if they just didn't like the music written. So instead "There She Goes" is played underneath. When Carmen sings this for us the first time, she's talking about her dreams to be the biggest star the world has ever seen. About how she's gonna make it, everything is gonna turn out perfect for her. And then we hear the song again, while she's doing THIS. "There she goes. Now wouldn't anybody wish they were her?" It's tragic this time, it's shameful. Why would anybody WANT to be her?
Okay, so about this scene now. I really love this scene, it's pretty powerful. But I think I especially liked it because it kind of embodies Iris. Dance comes first in Iris's life. It's the one thing that has always been there for her, it's constant, it's her passion, she can work and make something beautiful, she loves making something beautiful, she loves dancing. And second comes Tyrone. Like, really, I don't think people quite realize how much he changed the game for Iris. Maybe it's just because I know her, but he really is that important to her, he's her everything. And Iris and Tyrone get selected to be a dance feature in the Junior Festival where they sing this song. And it's so special to her. That's why I love this song, I think it's about Iris. This scene is one of her happiest scenes in the show, she's on the moon in this one. It's about her doing her favorite thing with her favorite person. And that is just so beautiful to me
#FameFriday #Tyris
This was actually supposed to be part of last week's post, but I once again wrote too much. Sorry I'm
writing all this stuff after the fact, but that's usually easier for me; I can only write about something in the detail it deserves once it's over. "I'm sorry, I've just got so much I want to say...."
Carmen is actually a really interesting character, and wildly important. The concept of this show is that the movie Fame is released May 16, 1980-- right before our beloved class of 84 enters high school. They know that their new school is the subject of a popular movie, and they want to see what it's really like there. All the students know that it isn't going to be quite like what the film depicts. All the students, except for Carmen. And that's what makes all the difference. Carmen's expecting a dramatic, sparkling film version of high school, one where she gains stardom instantly. And these
unrealistic expectations are what bring her downfall, lead her into places she shouldn't be and eventually kill her. While everyone else had a generally successful high school career, going to PA killed Carmen. She was our bad example, so we could see how things can go wrong.
writing all this stuff after the fact, but that's usually easier for me; I can only write about something in the detail it deserves once it's over. "I'm sorry, I've just got so much I want to say...."
Carmen is actually a really interesting character, and wildly important. The concept of this show is that the movie Fame is released May 16, 1980-- right before our beloved class of 84 enters high school. They know that their new school is the subject of a popular movie, and they want to see what it's really like there. All the students know that it isn't going to be quite like what the film depicts. All the students, except for Carmen. And that's what makes all the difference. Carmen's expecting a dramatic, sparkling film version of high school, one where she gains stardom instantly. And these
unrealistic expectations are what bring her downfall, lead her into places she shouldn't be and eventually kill her. While everyone else had a generally successful high school career, going to PA killed Carmen. She was our bad example, so we could see how things can go wrong.
What else do I want to talk about? Carmen and Schlomo, because their relationship is very interesting. Schlomo is perfect. Oh my heck, he's so PURE. I literally love his character so much
he's just the sweetest thing 😂 And Carmen, we already talked about all the bad ish Carmen has going on. She has all these high expectations and all these terrible ways to acheive them, drugs and all that. She's got a way of getting herself into a mess. But the thing is, Schlomo is such a pure and beautiful person... and Carmen is not. What we understand from the show is that Carmen is viewed as a sexual object by pretty much everyone. Even her family. And Schlomo genuinely loves her SO MUCH. No matter what happens to her, even to the close of the show whens she overdoses Schlomo loves he
and thinks she's the most beautiful person in the world. His love for her is so pure, so incorruptible.
And I think that's really attractive to Carmen, that someone is seeing her as genuinely beautiful for once.
#FameFriday
"Hey baby, wanna be my girlfriend? I'm illiterate" 😏
he's just the sweetest thing 😂 And Carmen, we already talked about all the bad ish Carmen has going on. She has all these high expectations and all these terrible ways to acheive them, drugs and all that. She's got a way of getting herself into a mess. But the thing is, Schlomo is such a pure and beautiful person... and Carmen is not. What we understand from the show is that Carmen is viewed as a sexual object by pretty much everyone. Even her family. And Schlomo genuinely loves her SO MUCH. No matter what happens to her, even to the close of the show whens she overdoses Schlomo loves he
and thinks she's the most beautiful person in the world. His love for her is so pure, so incorruptible.
And I think that's really attractive to Carmen, that someone is seeing her as genuinely beautiful for once.
#FameFriday
It only took me five billion years to stop laughing at that line
This scene nearly mirrors the first scene between Tyrone and Iris and I think that's nearly cool
This scene is cool because it resolves not just Tyrone and Iris's story but also Tyrone and Miss
Sherman's. Because, like, fitting another scene in between those two would be totally unnecessary. So instead they have this opportunity to resolve it while we're talking about Tyrone's inability to read.
So while this scene is about everyone's favorite power couple, our writer took the opportunity given to help wrap up the story. "But thanks to Miss Sherman, that noise is starting to sound like music." We know, oh hey, things are cool between them. He did decide to get help. They don't totally hate each other anymore.
#FameFriday #Tyris
🎶CRUNCHES ON THE RISERS🎶
The awkward moment when your boyfriend forgets to mention he CAN'T READ
Zoom in on each individual human in this photo, it is worth it
My favorite part of being in this scene will forever be that moment when most of the kids are jamming out but some of them aren't and I would just look at Lizzy and she's all hyped and enthusiastic about life and then she gestures to me like "Come on Iris this is so fun, isn't this the best???" and Iris is just kinda like "I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT JUST FREAKING HAPPENED SONIA"
YES IRIS, I mean I know you're the love of my life and whatnot but I like this part because it's the first time you get to see her posture really drop, because Iris always wants to be seen but right now she just doesn't even want to be there, it breaks my heart 😞
Oh snap speaking of breaks my heart, the scene after this one 😫💔 YES TYRONE you better slay the audience's life with your vulnerability 👏👏👏
Aiight well I guess I should stop rambling and write something of actual substance. The original line in this scene was "Yeah, help the poor *racial slur*", but obviously enough we changed it. The line used was "Yeah, help the poor kid." Which lowkey always bothered me, because Tyrone doesn't play around with his words. He chooses them very carefully, there is intention in everything he says. So that really bold statement was very purposeful; he's trying to accuse Miss Sherman of racism there. I'd always wished we'd changed the line to "Yeah, help the poor black kid" or something like that because Tyrone was accusing Miss Sherman of something pretty bad, and he meant it, and so he wanted his race to be implied. I just don't think that point came across as clear in our production; he was trying to say that it was because of his race, and that didn't quite translate. I honestly kind of wish I"d said something, because I think that's a really important point.
#FameFriday
✨🎶Bring on tomorrow, let it shine🎶✨
This scene nearly mirrors the first scene between Tyrone and Iris and I think that's nearly cool
This scene is cool because it resolves not just Tyrone and Iris's story but also Tyrone and Miss
Sherman's. Because, like, fitting another scene in between those two would be totally unnecessary. So instead they have this opportunity to resolve it while we're talking about Tyrone's inability to read.
So while this scene is about everyone's favorite power couple, our writer took the opportunity given to help wrap up the story. "But thanks to Miss Sherman, that noise is starting to sound like music." We know, oh hey, things are cool between them. He did decide to get help. They don't totally hate each other anymore.
#FameFriday #Tyris
The awkward moment when your boyfriend forgets to mention he CAN'T READ
Zoom in on each individual human in this photo, it is worth it
My favorite part of being in this scene will forever be that moment when most of the kids are jamming out but some of them aren't and I would just look at Lizzy and she's all hyped and enthusiastic about life and then she gestures to me like "Come on Iris this is so fun, isn't this the best???" and Iris is just kinda like "I DON'T THINK YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT JUST FREAKING HAPPENED SONIA"
YES IRIS, I mean I know you're the love of my life and whatnot but I like this part because it's the first time you get to see her posture really drop, because Iris always wants to be seen but right now she just doesn't even want to be there, it breaks my heart 😞
Oh snap speaking of breaks my heart, the scene after this one 😫💔 YES TYRONE you better slay the audience's life with your vulnerability 👏👏👏
Aiight well I guess I should stop rambling and write something of actual substance. The original line in this scene was "Yeah, help the poor *racial slur*", but obviously enough we changed it. The line used was "Yeah, help the poor kid." Which lowkey always bothered me, because Tyrone doesn't play around with his words. He chooses them very carefully, there is intention in everything he says. So that really bold statement was very purposeful; he's trying to accuse Miss Sherman of racism there. I'd always wished we'd changed the line to "Yeah, help the poor black kid" or something like that because Tyrone was accusing Miss Sherman of something pretty bad, and he meant it, and so he wanted his race to be implied. I just don't think that point came across as clear in our production; he was trying to say that it was because of his race, and that didn't quite translate. I honestly kind of wish I"d said something, because I think that's a really important point.
#FameFriday
Okay, so Mr. Calkins told us that we are singing this song to someone, and we needed to figure out who that person was for each of us individually. The ridiculous thing is that that really tripped me up. Like, I legit couldn't figure it out. Iris talks to, what, a maximum of three people, and I couldn't understand who she was singing to?
Maybe it seemed too simple to me? I think I lowkey knew it the whole time??? But it seemed to me like it had to be an external human she was singing for. Like, someone that wasn't there. But it didn't have to be someone that wasn't there. It could be someone in the room. It could be someone right next to her. IRIS WAS SINGING TO TYRONE.
And it honestly says so much about her character, because everything she does is like this. Iris gets a small feature in this song, and that's about her, because Iris spends her entire life trying to be perfect and look good. And then Tyrone starts singing, and she sees him, and after that it's not even kind of about her anymore. Once she notices Tyrone, every time without fail, that's it. He's the only thing she sees after that.
*insert ugly sobbing*
There's no one else she would even think about singing for. The song is about moving on to a better future. And she really has hope for that future, for their future together. She's excited to be with him tomorrow, she is excited for what is ahead of her, probably for the first time in awhile.
I had the realization of who she was talking to in the middle of the song the second night and I was pretty much glowing after that.
And the reality of the thing is none of them were sure Tyrone would make it to graduation. The fact that he nearly dropped out, could never get his grades figured out for his life, and that he went through eleven years of schooling without anyone figuring out he couldn't read, it should've been impossible for him. And the fact that Iris is graduating high school and Tyrone is standing next to her doing it with her, he made it, he did it, just means the world to her.
Oh my gosh I love themmmmm.
#FameFriday #Tyris
"Pas de Deux" 💖💖💖
Maybe it seemed too simple to me? I think I lowkey knew it the whole time??? But it seemed to me like it had to be an external human she was singing for. Like, someone that wasn't there. But it didn't have to be someone that wasn't there. It could be someone in the room. It could be someone right next to her. IRIS WAS SINGING TO TYRONE.
And it honestly says so much about her character, because everything she does is like this. Iris gets a small feature in this song, and that's about her, because Iris spends her entire life trying to be perfect and look good. And then Tyrone starts singing, and she sees him, and after that it's not even kind of about her anymore. Once she notices Tyrone, every time without fail, that's it. He's the only thing she sees after that.
*insert ugly sobbing*
There's no one else she would even think about singing for. The song is about moving on to a better future. And she really has hope for that future, for their future together. She's excited to be with him tomorrow, she is excited for what is ahead of her, probably for the first time in awhile.
I had the realization of who she was talking to in the middle of the song the second night and I was pretty much glowing after that.
And the reality of the thing is none of them were sure Tyrone would make it to graduation. The fact that he nearly dropped out, could never get his grades figured out for his life, and that he went through eleven years of schooling without anyone figuring out he couldn't read, it should've been impossible for him. And the fact that Iris is graduating high school and Tyrone is standing next to her doing it with her, he made it, he did it, just means the world to her.
Oh my gosh I love themmmmm.
#FameFriday #Tyris
I think this scene is best described by something Mr. Calkins said to us while we were rehearsing the dance number: "You need to trust that he'll be there, you need to BE there."
Okay, so this is one of the best-written scenes, like, ever. And NOT just because the scene itself is written well, and not just because it's your two favorite characters in the show. It's mostly because of the scene that precedes it. Tyrone and Iris's relationship has been pretty much the exact opposite of Nick and Serena's for the entire show. While Tyrone and Iris have been dating almost since they met each other, our poor friend Serena has been playing a friendzone scene for the majority of her high school career. Then FINALLY at the end of their junior year Nick confesses that he caught feelings and Nick and Serena are together! and simultaneously Tyrone and Iris AREN'T together for the first time. So we see the Romeo and Juliet scene, and Nick and Serena are dating, everyone's been waiting for that to happen the entire show so they're really excited. Things are finally working out for them. And then they have the scene shift. And it's our friendly reminder, meanwhile, things are not going so well for out favorite OG couple. Beautiful placement, beautiful contrast.
And hey, the scene shift is really significant too, because it reinforces the contrast. Tyrone has his cute little theme that plays occassionally, and after Serena gives her "hello Romeo" line, we hear that... and then IRIS enters, And that's how we know, oh dang, stuff is about to go down between those two. Because while Nick and Serena are finally together, Tyrone and Iris have fallen apart.
This scene bothered my brother too 😂 He was like, "They flirt... by dancing." Um, YES!!! IN fact, Tyrone would be stupid if he DIDN'T flirt by dancing. Because to Iris, the only thing more important than Tyrone is dancing. It means the world to her. And Tyrone knows that, and he needs to get her trust back. And dancing is the only way he's going to get her to listen to him.
My gosh it's so cute.
#FameFriday #Tyris
Okay, so this is one of the best-written scenes, like, ever. And NOT just because the scene itself is written well, and not just because it's your two favorite characters in the show. It's mostly because of the scene that precedes it. Tyrone and Iris's relationship has been pretty much the exact opposite of Nick and Serena's for the entire show. While Tyrone and Iris have been dating almost since they met each other, our poor friend Serena has been playing a friendzone scene for the majority of her high school career. Then FINALLY at the end of their junior year Nick confesses that he caught feelings and Nick and Serena are together! and simultaneously Tyrone and Iris AREN'T together for the first time. So we see the Romeo and Juliet scene, and Nick and Serena are dating, everyone's been waiting for that to happen the entire show so they're really excited. Things are finally working out for them. And then they have the scene shift. And it's our friendly reminder, meanwhile, things are not going so well for out favorite OG couple. Beautiful placement, beautiful contrast.
And hey, the scene shift is really significant too, because it reinforces the contrast. Tyrone has his cute little theme that plays occassionally, and after Serena gives her "hello Romeo" line, we hear that... and then IRIS enters, And that's how we know, oh dang, stuff is about to go down between those two. Because while Nick and Serena are finally together, Tyrone and Iris have fallen apart.
This scene bothered my brother too 😂 He was like, "They flirt... by dancing." Um, YES!!! IN fact, Tyrone would be stupid if he DIDN'T flirt by dancing. Because to Iris, the only thing more important than Tyrone is dancing. It means the world to her. And Tyrone knows that, and he needs to get her trust back. And dancing is the only way he's going to get her to listen to him.
My gosh it's so cute.
#FameFriday #Tyris
People don't realize how hard it is to dance without counts. Kobe and I deserve a gosh dang trophy.
So a few weeks before the show all the stage couples went on a date together. And somehow we started talking about the character of all the relationships or something like that. And Kobe says, "Our relationship is actually kind of symbolic."
"What do you mean?" responds Elizabeth.
"Well, I don't want to be THAT guy, but...." And Kobe points out the difference in our skin colors. We are an interracial couple.
Wait, no, Kobe! You're SUPPOSED to be that guy! Tyrone and Iris were written to be exact opposites, right down to their race. They were written for you to notice that. They were written to be contemporary and classical, black and white. And they were written to show that that is not only okay, but beautiful. Do you think it was a coincidence that Iris's favorite book was To Kill a Mockingbird, a book that discusses how no one race is better than another and how people generally are beautiful and good? Not. Even. Kind. Of.
It was honestly kind of eye-opening; when I got cast, I realized that interracial couples are still kind of a weird concept to people And when I was cast in a role whose purpose was to raise acceptance for interracial couples, it became really important to me. Due to some comments made to me after the performance, I really think that people understood that. There is no feeling better than knowing you fulfilled a character's purpose ☺️
It would be a shame if I didn't give credit to @basic_academy for all the beautiful photos I used to write my pieces
I hope you all enjoyed my musings 😊 I know there was a lot, but even I didn't realize how much I had learned during the production when I took notes on all the cool things I discovered and said, "I'm gonna write about this when it's all over."
#FameFriday #Tyris
"What do you mean?" responds Elizabeth.
"Well, I don't want to be THAT guy, but...." And Kobe points out the difference in our skin colors. We are an interracial couple.
Wait, no, Kobe! You're SUPPOSED to be that guy! Tyrone and Iris were written to be exact opposites, right down to their race. They were written for you to notice that. They were written to be contemporary and classical, black and white. And they were written to show that that is not only okay, but beautiful. Do you think it was a coincidence that Iris's favorite book was To Kill a Mockingbird, a book that discusses how no one race is better than another and how people generally are beautiful and good? Not. Even. Kind. Of.
It was honestly kind of eye-opening; when I got cast, I realized that interracial couples are still kind of a weird concept to people And when I was cast in a role whose purpose was to raise acceptance for interracial couples, it became really important to me. Due to some comments made to me after the performance, I really think that people understood that. There is no feeling better than knowing you fulfilled a character's purpose ☺️
It would be a shame if I didn't give credit to @basic_academy for all the beautiful photos I used to write my pieces
I hope you all enjoyed my musings 😊 I know there was a lot, but even I didn't realize how much I had learned during the production when I took notes on all the cool things I discovered and said, "I'm gonna write about this when it's all over."
#FameFriday #Tyris
