thinking about how mr. smith not only (almost) always physically dominates the space whenever he’s on stage, but also that he stands every time he wants to gain control of a situation. a few examples are:
in scene 5, mr. smith stands while talking to miss gallagher. he has control of the situation. he stays standing when shelby enters (perhaps he’s slightly uncertain about whether she’s going to tell miss gallagher what he did to her) but sits after she tells miss gallagher she’s nervous but not “for any like particular reason.” he’s not worried anymore. he stands up again when he starts talking with shelby about reading the crucible - he’s once again establishing dominance over her, reminding her that he’s in power here. notably, miss gallagher remains seated. even tho she’s also an authority figure, he also wants to make her feel like she doesn’t really have any authority here.
in scene 9, mr. smith remains seated at his desk as he talks to beth about “green light” and gatsby. he wants her to think that they’re equals, that he’s her friend. he remains seated when shelby walks in, but stands up after they quote joan didion. he then quickly inserts himself (literally, he stands in between them) into the conversation, only looking at shelby when beth tells him she’s the one who introduced her to didion.
in scene 10, when shelby confronts him in front of the class, he’s standing on the opposite side of the stage from her. i think he can sense where this is heading, and again wants to get ahead of it by intimidating her into silence. but this time it doesn’t work. shelby stands, too, while the rest of the class remains seated. she is taking some of mr. smith’s power away.
in scene 15, he and beth are standing in almost the exact same spot as where he and shelby stood in scene 10. it’s a mirror image of each other—but where scene 10 had shelby taking some power away from mr. smith, this scene shows him trying to still use his influence to convince beth that he’s innocent.
finally in scene 16, the last scene, mr. smith stands while miss gallagher sits on the desk until she confronts him about his past with some of her sorority sisters. now they’re both standing and again, for the first time, miss gallagher purposefully places herself into a position of power. and then of course during shelby and raelynn’s performance he’s sitting on a stool in the corner. when he stands up and tries to once again gain control of the room, miss gallagher stands up and physically puts herself between him and the girls. with no other choice, he has to go back to his stool in the corner and watch as the rest of the dance plays out.
It’s probably been mentioned before and yes I’m coming to this discussion late but there’s no way Bailey Gallagher's brother didn’t know Carter Smith was a creep. He was definitely overprotective for a reason.
my thoughts on mrs. gallagher changed so drastically through the play, like.
okay so in the beginning i thought she was really annoying and just kind of shitty at her job, and while yeah she cared abt the kids she really didn’t show that in a good way. then as the play progressed i kind of realized that she was sort of blinded by her own history and the things she experienced and that affects how she treats the girls and the club. and as she realizes what cater has done and as she connects all the dots she kind of realizes how much she’s failed these girls. and what really changed my tune about her is that after her lightbulb moment she didn’t just sit idly about it - no she literally got up and in his face during the dance. by the end of the play i was realizing that she’s not supposed to be this phenomenal amazing counselor - she’s supposed to be a real person, fresh out of college, who’s struggling to do her job at some point. she cares so much and wants to help so much but she dosent always know how to do that, especially in the scenario she’s been put in.
Mr. Smith always says to look at a character’s first and last moments, so let’s do just that!
(For the teens minus Shelby, I won’t be counting reading the definition of sex as their first moment, since they’re all doing it and it doesn’t really reveal anything specific about them).
Mason Adams
First Line: “dude/why are you freaking out/about doing less work”
Last Line: “yeah but you were all/you acted like you didn’t/I mean you said we should support women!/I was supporting you!”
Last Stage Direction: Mason stands up/this moment’s not about him/he knows it’s not/but he really wants to show his support/he does a sweet little dance at his desk
With Mason, there’s the obvious contrast of him not wanting to do anything at the beginning versus him getting up and dancing a little of his own volition in the final scene, but I’m also struck by the contrast between his first and last line. In his first line, he’s almost talking down to Beth for being such an enthusiastic learner, wanting to know why she’s “freaking out” over the fact that they might be falling behind on the syllabus. His last line, though, has him explicitly stating that he wants to support the girls. He went about it in the worst way possible, and he still clearly has a lot to learn, but he is genuinely learning.
Bailey Gallagher
First Line: “it’s just that some people feel like this will alienate the boys”
Last Line: “all right/everybody settle down/whenever you’re ready, ladies”
Last Stage Direction: Miss Gallagher stands up/gives him a Look
Much like Raelynn (I’ll get into her later on) Miss Gallagher starts out unconfident and grows into her confidence as the play goes on. She starts out trying to explain to the girls why they can’t have feminism club, even later saying “I think you’re overestimating the amount of power I have here.” After meeting Shelby properly and hearing the allegation, however, she realizes that all of the stories she heard about Carter before were true, and that she might just be the only adult in the entire town who’s going to protect Shelby. So she does just that, and it’s notable that her final line is taking control of the classroom and leading presentation day. And of course, standing directly in Carter’s path when he tries to stop the girls from dancing.
Shelby Holcomb
First Line: “oh/surprise bitch”
Last Line: “yeah but/it shouldn’t take being scary to make things different/they shouldn’t have to be scared into listening to us/things should just be different/they should just listen”
Last Stage Direction: the other girls see her/we see them see her
Shelby’s not the best with words all the time. That much is clear when she sees 2/3 of her best friends + a new girl for the first time in four months after fucking things up badly with them and her immediate impulse is to quote American Horror Story. This is reflected in her final line: she shouldn’t have to be perfect for people to believe her, they should just listen to her and believe her and protect her and other girls from Carter. There’s also an interesting contrast here when it comes to sincerity - in her first line, she’s trying to be funny and cover up her emotions, since she’s seeing the friend she betrayed again and she’s about to have to go back to being in her rapist’s class. In her final line though, with everything revealed, this being her last day in that class, and her friendship being repaired, she’s able to be completely sincere.
Raelynn Nix
First Line: “yeah it’s supposed to like-/Beth what’s the way you said it?”
Last Line: “one day/maybe/the new world we were promised will actually be new/one day/maybe/the men in charge won’t be in charge anymore/one day we can dance in the forest/and in the streets/and with each other/in our rooms that belong to us and only to us/on our beds we share with no one/under the moon/under the sun/under the shade of our favorite trees/under a shower of the blood and brittle bones of supposedly strong men who failed us/and when that day comes/it won’t matter that we’re not supposed to dance/it won’t matter that once upon a time/I married a man who made me feel smaller than nothing/and like his shame was my shortcoming/it won’t matter than when you were sixteen and newly orphaned/a married man two decades older than you made promises he had no intention to keep/and said things in the dark that made you feel like you were made of fire/it will matter that you took that fire and burned him down with it/because that same fire will spread/it will scorch the earth to make room for the new world we deserve/it won’t matter that he told you and told me it was all our fault/each of us/both of us/it won’t matter that we let him think he had reclaimed his goodness in the face of death/it won’t matter because that kind of currency has been out of date for centuries in our new world/those feelings will be so far away from us by then/at first we won’t remember their names/and that will plague us/then the faces of those feelings will become blurry/and we’ll feel the stirrings of peace/and then we won’t remember those feelings at all/we wouldn’t even recognize them if they passed us on the street/we’ll sleep soundly then/we’ll use our fire only for warmth”
Last Stage Direction: the other girls see her/we see them see her
Okay so when I was starting this post I did not plan to type the entire monologue out but like. Look at that. Look at the size difference between her first line and her last line. Look at the difference between those lines in general. Raelynn does not speak the entire first scene. She doesn’t speak when the girls are arguing with Miss Gallagher - only when Mr. Smith comes in to ask them about the club, and even then, her first line is passing the burden of the conversation to Beth. She doesn’t feel confident enough to explain it to him on her own. Then, by the end, she delivers a monologue that grows in confidence - notice how the maybes start to disappear when she’s describing their new world. Her whole arc is regaining her confidence following what seems to have been her borderline emotionally abusive seven year relationship, and boy does it show in her dialogue. This is probably my favorite first line/last line contrast in the whole show.
Beth Powell
First Line: “sorry!/for interrupting”
First Stage Direction: Beth suddenly raises her hand
Last Line: “no no no no don’t say that please don’t say that/…/I wouldn’t be better off”
Last Stage Direction: she takes a step toward them/is she going to dance too?/she might/she just might
Oh Beth. Her first line is an unnecessary apology to her groomer, her last line is her trying to appease her groomer after his threat of suicide, and if you take it at face value she seems pretty doomed. The fact that both her first and last lines are directed towards Mr. Smith is horrifying, it really shows how much she is completely wrapped around his little finger, how far he’s gotten along in trying to make her reliant on him. However, her first stage direction is her raising her hand, and her last stage direction is her stepping towards the girls, about to dance, not asking anyone for permission. She’s not going to be over his manipulation tomorrow, but she’s taking a step away from him and back towards her friends, and that’s the most important part.
Nell Shaw
First Line: “yeah like/I had sex ed in fifth grade when I still lived in Atlanta”
Last Line: “that’s not what that means”
Last Stage Direction: the other girls see her/we see them see her
Like Ivy (who I’ll discuss later on) Nell starts off confident in class. Having grown up in Atlanta, she got sex ed at a much more appropriate age, and she’s not afraid to say it, even if everyone else is shocked. Unlike Ivy, though, she maintains this confidence throughout the play. Her suspicions about Shelby are partially right, and she and Mason start to date. Both her first and last line depict her as someone who is unafraid to speak the truth no matter what; not in class, and not to her boyfriend when he accidentally-on-purpose calls Shelby a slut.
Carter Smith
First Line: “‘sex’”
Last Line: “all right, ladies”
Last Stage Direction: Mr. Smith starts to walk closer to stop the dancing/he barely takes a step, though-/Miss Gallagher stands up/gives him a Look/he stops
I’ve talked about this before; back in August, I had the thought of “hm, I love this play, but I don’t know if I love that Mr. Smith gets the first and last word.” Then I had the thought…but he doesn’t get the last word, does he? Shelby does, Raelynn does, Nell does, Beth does. Just because he has the last line doesn’t actually mean that he gets final say. He opens the play leading the class, completely in control of the situation…and ends it trying and failing to stop the girls, with them having control of the situation now. An earlier draft of the play even states that his last line should be barely audible over the song. No matter what he says, he can’t stop them from dancing.
Lee Turner
First Line: “hey/hey hey hey/no no no/c’mon baby please just listen to me-”
First Stage Direction of Sorts: “Lee…/that’s enough”
Last Line: “whoa dude/you always yell at me for cussing”
So Lee’s first stage direction is not a stage direction, but the dialogue indicates that he’s doing some sort of inappropriate motion while reading the words “erotic pleasure.” Immediately, we see that he’s an immature teenage boy. His first and last lines are to Raelynn; he exists for her story, not the other way around, and he is hyper focused on winning her back. His first line indicates that he’s been doing this for a while, and also that he seems to think that he’ll be successful, as indicated by him still calling her “baby.” In his last line, though, he calls her “dude” - even if he’s not willing to accept it yet, he knows deep down that their relationship is over for good. He’s also reacting to her dropping an f-bomb; she’s not the meek Raelynn he dated, and she never will be again.
Ivy Watkins
First Line: “but I mean doesn’t it make sense for sex ed to actually come like/before people know about sex?”
Last Line: “my dad had a brief, consensual flirtation/it was a mistake/he’s very ashamed/but he didn’t just-/that lady is making it sound like it was all his fault/and I mean my dad didn’t like/rape her/…/I know that’s not the only bad thing that can happen/I just”
Last Stage Direction: Ivy joins in/they scream so loud and for so long/it’s a lifetime of screams/it’s awesome/the classroom door opens/Mason and Lee come in/the girls stop screaming
Even though I was aware that Ivy doesn’t speak beyond Scene 13, I was a little stunned to learn that you could mute her actor’s mic once the screaming is done for the entire rest of the show. Like Raelynn, this is another insane first line/last line contrast…but in the opposite direction. In the first line, Ivy is confident, with no problem speaking frankly to her teacher about the fact that the students all know what sex is. In her last line, on the other hand, she’s stumbling over her words, feeling isolated from the rest of the girls, trying to explain herself, near completely disconnected from everything else happening because of what’s been going on with her dad. It’s especially notable that Beth and Ivy, the two girls that doubt the allegation, are the only ones in the entire show with a pause built into their last lines. While Raelynn had her confidence built up, Ivy had hers destroyed, and all she can do about it is scream.
John Proctor is the Villain is giving me brain worms, so have some spotlight analysis from your friendly neighborhood lighting designer.
Disclaimer: I am doing this analysis based off a bootleg. A very high quality bootleg, but a bootleg all the same. Lighting specifically is very hard to convey over camera (I am at war with my local theater's photographer, stop white balancing all the color out of my designs!), so I may miss some of the nuances. However, even with the video there is some really cool stuff going on I want to talk about.
Scene 1 -> 2 - No spotlight. This is one of two moments in the show where we do not use a spotlight in our transition. What we have instead is a high intensity light shining through the classroom door which is backlighting Miss Gallagher. Backlighting like this is normally done for the villain, it casts their face into shadow well illuminating their form to create an ominous presence. Which makes a sort of sense given Miss Gallagher is about to tell our girls that their request for a feminist club has been denied, she is the first obstacle they need to overcome. However, she also seems awkward in the light rather than confident or ominous. She's fidgeting with her hair and shirt. readying herself for the confrontation she's about to have, and takes a deep breath before moving forward. In a sense she's forcing herself into a role she doesn't truly inhabit. Additionally we don't see her from the front the way we do the rest of the spotlights, we are not allowed in to her inner thoughts because at this point in the show she is still putting up a wall. Still pretending not to see the small signs in favor of maintaining the image of Carter she's always had.
Scene 2 -> 3 and 3 -> 4 - Both of these spotlights focus on Raelynn, but there are major difference between them. The first is after her little speech about what happened with Shelby. The spot itself is white, something you usually don't do with traditional front light as it can wash out your actor, but in this case makes sense to highlight the distress Raelynn feels over what happened. However, it's not pure white. It seems to have a very, very, slight pink tint to it, making it softer then most of the spotlights in the show are. The down lights around the stage have also been left on with a pinkish amber tint to them helping to soften the scene as a whole. Raelynn herself shifts in the spotlight, turning towards where the other girls are easily and leaving the room with them without a second thought.
The spot at the end of scene 3 is completely different. The tint is blue now, making it harsher and more intense. The down lights around her are off, creating a feeling of emptiness and isolation. As for Raelynn herself, she looks directly at the audience the entire time, seemingly unable to look away, even as Lee leaves and her friends enter. So much so that she is still standing in the exact same spot when the next scene starts, not breaking the spotlight like most of the characters do during the scene change.
What's the difference? At the end of scene 2, her friends are there. They are able to pull her out of her head and distract her, make the fight with Shelby something she doesn't have to dwell on or be mad about alone. Plus the fight with Shelby happened months ago, it still hurts, but it's easier to ignore, especially when Shelby herself is not there. At the end of scene 3 though, she's alone. There's nothing to distract her from what Lee said or did, all she can do is think about it.
Scene 4 -> 5 - Mason is an interesting choice for our spotlight character, and cards on the table when I initially made this post I brushed it off as just to keep up the pattern, but the more I thought about it the more I wasn't satisfied with that answer. The light on him is fairly standard, edging towards the cool side, but the down lights are different then we see in the other changes. They're left on across the full stage and also seem to be fairly close to pure white. I think what we're doing is highlighting the idea that just being in the room is going to cause a shift in Mason. He can pretend to sleep through discussions, but he's still there, he's still hearing everything they're talking about and we see by the end of the play that he has started to absorb it (his attempt to stand up for Beth, showing his support during the dance). He rushes out of the spotlight once he wakes up, as if catching himself starting to care before he's fully ready to admit that he does, but the seeds have been planted.
Scene 5 -> 6 - Shelby gets the focus this time. The spot is very reminiscent of the spot that hits Raelynn at the end of scene 3, a harsh white light with a blue tint to it, most of the stage dark around her. However, the down light directly above Shelby is on creating a fuzzy circle on the ground below her. My initial instinct was that this should feel claustrophobic, but the light has an amber tint to it making it warmer then the rest of the stage. It does isolate her, but it's also creates an island of sorts, an area of safety in the dark room. So it's telling that Shelby willingly walks out of it before the end of the scene change, choosing to join the rest of the class rather then stay on her island.
Additionally though, the light draws attention. The spot lights always do, that's their purpose, but the down light emphasizes that element. Staying in Atlanta gave her space, it gave her time to heal and try and move on, but it also gave the school's rumor mill time to run rampant well she was away. It made what would have been standard gossip into a mystery. Shelby also seems to be aware of the spotlight in a way the other characters aren't, fully looking up at it as she turns to join the class. She knows she's being watched.
Scene 6 -> 7 - This might be my favorite spotlight in the whole show. It's so good.
We actually break our pattern a little at first, as when the scene change starts none of the characters are lit up. The stage simply gets dimmer as the music plays and everyone starts moving. It's not until about ten seconds later that it happens.
Ivy is crossing towards the couch to join her friends when the lights suddenly shift. A blue tint spotlight snaps on, catching her as she walks and forcing her to stop as all other lights disappear. She wants so desperately for everything to be normal, to go about the day like nothing's wrong and for no one to be talking about her. No matter what she does though, she can't out run what's happened. She can say over and over that her dad is a good person, that he's her dad and she believes him, but the 'what if' is always in the back of her head now, and things can't go back to the way they were. It's only so long before that realization catches up to her.
Scene 7 -> 8 - Our spot light is on Beth this time, and we're making some interesting choices. The spot itself seems softer than any of the others we've seen. Partly this is because she's wearing a pink sweater, but if you look at her skin there is a pink tint there as well. However, unlike Raelynn after scene 2, the down lights around Beth are off, she's alone in her spotlight. The pink tint initially felt odd to me, but I think it's because the scene ended with an explosive show of emotion from Beth rather than an attempt to hold her feelings in or conceal them. Which it's also telling than that Beth seems almost embarrassed in her spotlight, looking down at her paper, and rushing out of it as soon as she can, as if apologizing for the outburst even without the voice to do so.
Scene 8 -> 9 - This one is almost exactly the same as Scene 2 to 3, which makes sense. Raelynn has her friend back, and there is a freedom and joy in that, so she has the warmer spot with warm down lights.
Scene 9 -> 10 - This is an extremely close follow up for favorite spotlight. It's the one that made me start paying attention to them. It's also the most obvious one, but whatever, it's still so smart I don't care if it's on the nose.
Shelby is our spotlit character again, but it's a completely different then anything else we see. The stage is dark around her, the only light on is her spotlight, which is a much harsher white then the last few have been. What's important here though, is the shape. Theatrical lights have the ability to be focused allowing the designer to decide how sharp they want the light's spill to be on the floor. Most of the time the designer will leave the lights with a soft focus, as a major goal of lighting design is to hide the light from the audience. Unless you're doing something like, say, Chicago, seeing pools of light on the ground can break the immersion of the play. Here though, the designer has opted for a sharp focus, you can tell based on how clean the lines look, which draws attention to the light and it's shape, which is what's really important here. The light has been shuttered in to create a square shape, something that doesn't happen anywhere else in the show.
The meaning is obvious, right? I don't have to spell it out for you. I'm going to though, because I'm getting the chance to geek about theater lighting, something I so rarely get to do on here.
Shelby is boxed in. She's been trying to go back to normal, to act like nothing is wrong, but the longer she's there the harder it is. In theory she should only have to be around Mr. Smith during his class, but he finds ways to slip in outside of that time too, like offering to let them work in his classroom and inserting himself into their conversations. I also don't think it's a mistake that this happens right after the scene where Shelby sees the ways Mr. Smith acts with Beth, the small moments of praise he gives her or that they were alone together before she entered. How many times did he say something similar to Shelby or were the two of them alone together? Does she see the signs starting all over again but with a different girl? It also comes directly after Mr. Smith assumes Beth is the one who must have been reading Joan Didion, not Shelby. In the moment she brushes it off, but we've seen throughout the play with how quick she is to reassure everyone that she has read The Crucible that this is an insecurity for her, that she knows everyone thinks she's stupid. All of these pieces stack on top of each other, creating a box she can't escape and everyone seems to be able to so clearly see.
Finally (because I've been talking about this spotlight moment for way to long), it's telling that this time Shelby doesn't move from her spot. It looks like she wants to pull away but can't, her attention stays fixed on the audience the whole time as the rest of the cast enters around her, because no matter what she does she can't escape this. He's always there and the cycle is always continuing and even if she did say anything why would anyone believe her when they think she's stupid and slightly crazy? This is the only point in the show where a character does not end the scene change on their next mark, Shelby has to scramble to get to her desk once the lights come up. Almost as if it's starting to prevent her from being able to move forward the way everyone else can.
Scene 10 -> 11 - I can tell something is happening here, but the boot I have blacks out almost as soon as the scene does, so I'm not sure on the details for this one. It looks like some sort of down light near Shelby in a cool/white color, but I don't feel comfortable trying to analyze it with how little I have.
Scene 11 -> 12 - Beth gets her second spotlight moment here and following our theme it has a blue tint this time, reflecting the way she just closed herself in and shut down after feeling like she failed to properly lead the lesson. There's an extra detail this time though. Miss Gallagher is also illuminated by the spotlight, as if sharing the moment. It's possible this is just a fluke because of how close she's standing to Beth, but I'm choosing to assume it's intentional for the sake of this analysis.
By sharing the spotlight we create a connection between Beth and Miss Gallagher. The rest of the down lights are off, imitating the feeling of isolation from other transitions, but this time Beth doesn't have to face it by herself. There is someone else there who understands, offering her support and reassuring her she doesn't have to be ashamed or scared. Miss Gallagher leaves the light first, but even after she does Beth doesn't seem nervous or rushed. She gathers her things and leaves the light at her own pace as opposed to the frantic way she did from scene 7 to 8, comforted in knowing she isn't alone.
Scene 12 -> 13 - Going to be real gang, the white balance does something weird in the boot I'm watching, so if I'm off on this one feel free to call me on it.
From what I can see we have a warm tinted spotlight on Nell, and there is definitely a down light over her, which I believe is also warm tinted, both of which would fit with our pattern given Nell has just had her flirty scene with Mason. There is a small detail I like though. Unlike the earlier happy ending scenes with Raelynn, the rest of the stage around Nell is dark. It reminds me of the spot on Shelby between scenes 5 and 6, the island of safety she was given. This is a good moment, but it's just that, a moment. Nell is excited, an excitement she happily shares with the audience, but this is a small island of good in the sea of everything happening around them, one which Nell can not stay on forever.
Scene 13 -> 14 - The script describes Lee as "deeply insecure and without the tools to deal with it. he's always been good at getting what he wants" and I think that's important to understanding what's happening here. He has finally been told to his face that there are no second chance, no charming his way into forgiveness, it's done. Raelynn will not take him back. For possibly the first time in his life he is being told he can not have what he wants and there is zero chance of him ever getting it. So when the spotlight snaps on it's got a cool tint and is isolated on stage, giving him a moment to reflect...
...and Lee immediately turns and wanders out of it without seeming to do any of the introspection our other spotlight characters have done. It's genuinely so good. I love it.
Scene 14 -> 15 - There is no spotlight used here. Instead, we return to our transition from the begining, with the intense light streaming through the classroom door as Mr. Smith enters the scene. There are subtle differences to it though. Where as the first transition used backlight, this light comes from Stage Right fully illuminating his face. Where as Miss Gallagher seemed awkward and unsure in her light, Mr. Smith strides in, confident and unbothered as if reclaiming his control. He is our villain, but he's not hiding or putting up a front. He's gotten away with it and he's so confident that he will continue to do so that he willingly shows us who he is, not relying on shadows to sell his power, entering the classroom without a second thought.
Scene 15 -> 16 - The final spotlight of the show goes to Beth. At first it seems like our standard spotlight pattern, a cool blue spot on our character who's introspecting. This time though, when Beth moves to leave the light the way she did before, it follows her. There's a slight lag to it (this is most likely either operator error or if they're using automatic spots which can sometimes have delay), but it still travels downstage with her, catching her again. Beth isn't fully trapped by it the way Shelby or Ivy were, she can still move around and she does manage to fully break free before the end of the scene change, but it also doesn't let her go as easily as it used to. The meaning is, I think, two fold.
Firstly Mr. Smith is laying it on thick in scene 15, his most charming and manipulative, and in doing so he's building the box around Beth that could someday trap her the way it did Shelby. Every layer he adds makes it a little harder to break free of his influence.
However, Beth is also starting to see the pieces. She can't brush it all off and blindly trust him the way she could before, the doubt follows her. She's still trying to ignore it, to not think to deeply about what's going on, which is why she's able to walk out of the spotlight on her second attempt, but it's not as easy anymore. Just like Ivy from scene 6 to 7, she can't fully go back to normal. In this case though, that's a good thing. Because Shelby told her story, Beth knows what to be on the look out for and is starting to truly reflect on her own relationship with Mr. Smith, and that's what allows her to stand up at the end. Even if she's not ready to fully join the dance, she has the tools she needs to one day get there.
i think it would be fun to be able to talk to each other on Discord!! ive found its a great way to foster community, bounce ideas off each other, and share joy for the media we love in other fandoms, and i think it could be great here, especially since we are so small! but we're also So small, we need enough people to sustain a discord server... hence the poll.
