life in college

An online portfolio of my writing and theatre designs

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Gods Are Fallen and All Safety Gone by Selma Dimitrijevic

Directed By: Michelle Taliento, CLA ‘17, G ‘18

Photos By: Lynne DeLade

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Haiku by Katherine Snodgrass at Drew University

Directed by Aaron Sartorio, CLA ‘18

Photos By: Lynne DeLade

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Boys Rule written by Hannah Ponturo (Drew University CLA ‘19)

Drew University Spring 2017

Photos By: Lynne DeLade

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Then We Went Back by Jihan Crowther

Drew University Spring 2017

Photos by: Lynne DeLade

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Lighting Designs for Drew University Fall 2016 Dance Show, Dancing Shakespeare

Photos By: Lynne DeLade

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Light Design for Drew University’s production of Hamlet by William Shakeaspeare

Directed by Daniel LaPenta, faculty

Photos By: Lynne DeLade

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Light Designs for Drew University’s Spring 2016 Dance Show: Art For A Purpose

Directed by Kimani Fowlin (faculty)

Photos By: Lynne DeLade

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Light Design for Drew University’s production of Top Girls by Caryl Churchill at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey

Directed by Jamie Richards, faculty

Photos By: Lynne DeLade

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Light Designs for Drew University’s Fall 2015 Dance Show

Directed by Kimani Fowlin (faculty)

Photos By: Lynne DeLade

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Light Design for Drew University’s Fall production of Jaybird by Emma Levin (CLA ‘16)

Directed by Emma Osmundson (CLA ‘16)

Photos By: Lynne DeLade

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Tumbling Down The Rabbit Hole

short prose I wrote back in my high school days

I feel like I'm falling.

Tumbling down the rabbit hole that never ends.

* 

The rabbit hole hidden deep inside the Labyrinth.

The rabbit hole that rests beneath the large, almost magical, tree.

The rabbit hole I had completely forgotten about.

The rabbit hole that had been covered by leaves of all colors.

By soft cushioning grass.

By twisting, winding, grabbing thick roots.

The rabbit hold that appeared out of nowhere and drew me in.

*

So down I fell.

Down the dark, cold, small space in the abyss.

Never hitting a wall.

Never been touched by anything.

I reached out.

Reached for something.

Anything to stop the falling.

But when I reach out there's nothing there.

Nothing to grab ahold of.

Nothing to wrap my fingers around and hold onto.

I look up at the once glistening sunlight and see only darkness.

* 

My body feels cold.

My lips feel cracked.

My skin feels like it's being tightened around my bone.

I'm being pushed down by a massive weight.

Pulled down by a thick, strong rope.

*

I'm falling.

Tumbling down the rabbit hole.

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Light Design for Drew University’s Spring 2015 Dance Show: Spectrum

Directed by Kimani Fowlin (faculty)

Photos By: Lynne DeLade

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Surrounded by Darkness

Short prose type piece I wrote a couple months back.

I am surrounded by darkness.

Surrounded by death.

Wrapped in a blanket of chilling air that creates goose bumps on my skin and turns my light pink lips to shades of blues and purples.

My eyes burn from the rancid smell of rotting flesh and bone that cover the powdered dirt ground below me.

I curl my toes and feel the sensation of a liquid running down my legs and covering my feet.

This liquid feels thick.

It feels warm.

Cold.

A mix of multiple physical feelings that create new and unusual sensations in my thoughts;

Sensations of longing,

Of wanting,

Of pain.

The pain of heartbreak,

Of loss,

Of death.

It is the pain of someone tearing at my skin.

Of someone ripping away at my flesh and pulling me a part bit by it.

This pain is agonizing but I do not scream.

I cannot scream.

I cannot do anything but feel the pain of skin being torn away.

Of each layer being removed slowly.

Layer by layer I am being eroded like a mountainside near the ocean.

Each lost layer is replaced with a red liquid.

It is replaced with blood slowly pouring out of pores that cover my skin from head to toe.

And as the final layer is removed I am no longer a being.

I am a physical form that is covered in a red substance.

Covered in a liquid that spills off my bones and begins to pool in the dirt.

Begins to create a puddle of liquid that ever so slowly is absorbed into the earth.

A liquid that adds to the rancid smell of death.

That fills the space with a new smell,

A new sensation,

A new desire.

It is the desire to never wake up from this deadly dream, because by the next night the dream will restart itself and the process will begin all over again.

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

The World Beyond Protection

A creative piece written by looking through a one foot by one foot square picture frame

I saw eyes staring at me from afar. Piercing golden eyes that saw directly through me. Eyes that seem like they want to haunt my inner thoughts and pick away at my soul slowly. I blink once and realize that those eyes are just a figment of my imagination. I am surrounded on all sides by darkness. Closest to me are trees that seem to be as tall as skyscrapers. Trees that have branches that reach out after one another. Trees whose rustling green leaves tell stories to each other over the course of never-ending days. They come in all shapes and sizes and surround me in a protective embrace. But as I stand there taking in their beauty I begin to feel fear. Fear for what lies beyond the protective trees that surround me. Fear for the darkness that pulls at me, tugs at me, and draws me in. I try to fight back but the strength of the darkness is beginning to overpower me. The protective trees beg me to stay and send thick roots out of the leaf-covered foliage to trip me and slow down my journey. The wind picks up and sends specks of dirt into my eyes. They try to stop me. Try to grab me by dropping leaves around me, by tripping me, by making my skin cold as ice to keep me from leaving them, but I are determined. I am longing to discover what lies in the darkness. Longing to be consumed by the darkness. I step into darkness and get consumed by a new reality; a reality filled with death. This is the area beyond protection. It is the area where death and pain took control of the beauty and tore it down with anger and regret. This is where rotting roots are wet and the ground sinks down with each step you take. It is where the leaves of browns, grays, and ugly oranges crunch under my bare feet and cling to my frozen skin. Where branches filled with forgotten stories cover the ground and rainfalls to fill the silent and decaying world. I look down and the creatures unknown to me seem to scurry away quickly to find some sort of protection from this world; but there is no safe haven in the space of darkness whose branches are claws that reach out to scrape me. Whose roots seem to have been designed in a way to trip their victims into falling into mud and sharp leaves. And as I stand there, I see a tree that seems out of place in this world. Its trunk is thick and strong. Its branches jut out this way and that and grab at the surrounding air. Its leaves are thick, beautiful shades of green and the slight breeze makes the tree almost sing. I stare at this tree and take in all its beauty; and as I stare at it, the darkness that I once feared now seems to be illuminated by this trees ever growing beauty.

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Excerpt from Nightmares

An excerpt from my most current story

With his hands still over his eyes he began to think of what had just happened to him. He felt as if he had been dreaming the entire time, but he knew that was no dream. It couldn’t have been a dream because his hand was able to rest perfectly on her small delicate shoulder when he tapped her slightly, and from that simple touch on the shoulder it was as if her entire physical being had been engraved into his eyes.

From a distance she looked like a delicate flower. Her light, high pitched giggle made her seem so innocent and fragile, but once she became fully visible to ones eyes, she was no angel. Her golden partially curled hair made her seem like a normal seven year old, but the rest of her made it obvious that she was not normal at all. Her skin was as white as snow and simply staring at it made Dylan feel like he was in one of the coldest parts of the universe. Her lips were a deep purple and chapped to the point where blood should’ve been lingering on the surface, but it seemed as if blood did not pump through the deep blue veins that stood out from a mile away all over her arms and legs. Her cheeks were a rosy red color that took away from her ghostly being, but still added a tingle of fear. Around her neck seemed to be the outlines of two adult hands. Hands that seemed out of place.

Her torso was covered by a white nightgown that seemed outdated for the modern era that Dylan was living in, but the dirt and grim covering the fabric added unanswered questions. If one were to examine the dress carefully, behind all the dirt, grime, and grass stains, one would notice the residue of dried blood. Blood that could belong to any person, but that was probably so dried and contaminated no amount of technology would be able to determine its host. Sticking out of the bottom of the dress were a set of legs that matched the cold coloring of the girls skin, but were also unique. Starting from the most visible part of the leg, one could see dark blue and purple bloches covering the skin. Some bloches were as small as a quarter, while others were as large as a neon yellow softball. 

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

We assume based on actions and looks. The boy who spends twenty minutes each day just on doing his hair is seen as being conceited. The skinny blond who dresses in tight tops and pants is seen as a slut. The girl and boy who walk together each and every day are talked about as a couple moving way too fast. But the boy who gives off a vibe to some of the people around him was automatically considered gay. Does that truly mean that he is? Does the mere fact that he is able to change his voice range and talk in a way that may seem gay mean he is? Does his lack of interest in certain girls mean he is? Not at all. Each and every day we see people walking around, talking, socializing, and doing things that cause us to assume. We assume that they are happy. We assume that they are straight, gay, bi. We assume he is single. We assume she has multiple boy friends. We guess that they are dating. We say that they are fucking. Each of us finds a person, or a group of people, and instantly decide who they are, what their story is, and how they got here; but do we truly know the truth about them? Do we truly know their life story? We don't. So us as a generation need to be the people that make the change and decide to stop making assumptions about people we do not know, because it turns out that the boy who spends twenty minutes on his hair was actually raised to leave his house everyday looking well dressed. And the skinny blonde, well she had an eating disorder for years but when she overcame the only things that fit her body were tight tops and pants. The boy and girl everyone says is dating are actually best friends from high school. And that boy who gives off the gay vibe to those around him is just a bit shy and confused because he hasn't found his proper place in society yet. So don't assume that just because they might look different, act different, or say things different means that they are different.

[life-beyond-the-unknown]

Lyrics to a untitled song I wrote

Don't take another drink

To drown out the hate

Just push away your fears

And lock your tears away

Let all your troubles fade

For you are going someplace

___________________________

It's simple to be alone

It's easier to be afraid

The blade is not an escape

The scars won't make a brighter day

Just forget the world

The heartache too

Cause there is someone out there for you.

___________________________

Although it seems like you're alone

And no one out there cares

Don't turn your back on it all

Just take another breath

Let all your troubles fade

For you are going someplace

___________________________

Just forget the world

The heartache too

Cause there is someone out there for you

___________________________

A helping hand

A true best friend

Someone who can rescue you

They might be old

Or someone new

But they are there just for you

___________________________

So forget the world

The heartache too

Cause there is someone out there for you

___________________________

Yes there is someone out there for you