#personal: recaps

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💔💌🌹☄️🐻🎻✨❤️ // 9.3.17 How was I supposed to choose a single frame to try and capture yesterday? Yesterday, one of the most incredible and overwhelming days of my life (there's "special" and then there's 1200 people audibly crying together). So here's a selection because I cannot choose one; I want to celebrate this endlessly inspiring and beautiful group of people and the life-changing work they accomplished. (Even if the way I enjoy art directing my life on Instagram usually omits any concentrated showings of my face--exception for Comet made) I wanted to keep this first shot for myself--that private happiness--but of the handful of photos I managed in all that mayhem and tears tears tears, this one stands on its own in all that needs to be said. I've only experienced THIS level of connection to a show and its people maybe once before--these things don't. happen. No artifice, just what you see there, rumpled Kleenex box in hand and all. My heart's in a weird place today, but what's surprising to me is how much more full it feels than achingly sad, which isn't something I expected waking up yesterday. The world seems a little brighter for the trail of starstuff left in my eyes, I think. In order of appearance 📷: Alex Gibson, Sumayya Ali, Brad Giovanine (those two shots //must// exist as a pair), Grobes (who flew in to celebrate with his Comet family one more time, and I got a shot 12 years in the making 🙈), choreographer extraordinaire Sam Pinkleton, certified genius set designer/world maker Mimi Lien, and a last 💌. And then there's me, dear reader, in the world in which I felt best. #IntoANewLife (at The Great Comet)

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Great Comet Closing Day // 9.3.17 (Part 2 of 2) 🌹 ☄️

Click through for capshuns!

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Great Comet Closing Day // 9.3.17 (Part 1 of 2)

Just a selection from yesterdays madness and mayhem and tears tears tears. I have a few candid shots, but I’m saving those for me :’) (I’m happy to share them with you if we know each other--it’s those private joys, y’know?)

Click through for names! (I had to include those last two with Brad because they’re perfect together)

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*smush* (｡’▽’｡)♡

If you disregard my unprepared gremlin self, this is the cutest thing I ever did see. RELEASE YOUR JAWLINE, PAUL!!

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If you’ve been following me for a bit, you know that the last few months have been disorienting and panic-filled for me, but I couldn’t have had a better companion through it all. That this should all end when something of the life I want for myself is set to begin? Maybe there’s poetry in that. ❤️🌹✨☄️

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I actually took more photos last night (after all these times barely taking any?? and I waited until now??), but it just so happened that these two with the Nicks are the only ones I find borderline acceptable 4 posting, even if my bangs decided that it was a good night to Give Up. 

🌹 ✨ 💕

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Great Comet: birthday edition 🎂

As I mentioned earlier today, I was onstage at Comet last night; I’ve never enjoyed making a fuss over the occasion and there’s only one party in town I care about being at soooooooo. A few noteworthy moments, since I haven’t the time for a full recap:

Paul was in my vicinity for the pre-show and we traded a grin; he made it a point to turn his pierogi basket upside down and say ‘No dumplings for you!’

I was repeatedly slapped in the face through the whole show by Grace and Amber’s skirts as they passed by. Bless up.

Choksi and I made eye contact when he was in front of the string tavern during “The Opera” and we beamed at each other :>

Lucas did That.

Had a tiny moment during “The Duel” where I caught the violinist’s eye and we bopped in unison to those sick beatz. 

Clinked glasses with and sang with Grace during “The Abduction”. Bless up x2.

I looked back at Nick B. during curtain with tears streaming down my face--par for the course--and gave him a little air kiss; he did a pleased shuffle in his spot and laughed back.

Gushed about Oscar Isaac, Anatol Yusef, Hamlet, etc. at stage door with Choksi

Oh! And MD extraordinaire Rick gave me a little backstage tour o(^▽^)o

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I was never ~~obsessed~~ with Lucas Steele the way many people seem to be (or many people in the fandom? but I also don’t engage with theatre fandom so--); he’s always soft-spoken and kind each time I’ve interacted with him post-show, and he puts in 150% of the work every night--owns that character--and does the most wondrous things onstage, but I’ve never thought beyond that.

After last night, I would like to reconsider... slightly... because I haven’t stopped blushing.

If you’ve seen the show you know what I’m talking about and if you haven’t here’s a quick rundown: when Anatole makes his tres Dramatique entrance during “The Opera”, on the line “and though it was the middle of the act, he walked right down the aisle...”, he swaggers down the stage left stairs and goes up to one of the women in the banquettes on the aisle (if it’s a guy, he shoves him aside and goes for his seat partner). 

“Goes up to” is putting it tamely. Anatole gets... very close, more or less swings his entire torso across to the person he chooses and whispers something. 

I had a solid idea of which specific seat that interaction took place at, so that was the gamble I took when I ordered last night’s seat back in May (Anatole can choose to go to someone +/- a row). (This was supposed to be my first time sitting onstage, but because of last month’s muck-up I got stage seats for an earlier date because I didn’t know then if the show would still be open by my birthday). When I saw the show last weekend, I mentioned to Lucas that I might be sitting in that area and he said he’d keep an eye out :>

Cut to last night: Anatole makes his entrance, everyone onstage cranes their head back to watch; when he begins descending the stairs we lock eyes and he gets the beginning of a smirk. I’m pretty sure I started blushing then and there--oh, here it comes. But he walks past me a step or two--oh, nevermind--pauses, and then whips around. I didn’t anticipate how quickly he’d move because one minute I was staring at Lucas’ back (and studying the costume details because they were right in front of my eyeballs) and the next he was over me with his face pressed into my hair. He proceeds to dajlfkgoilknas INHALES SLOWLY and in the lowest, should-be-illegal breathy whisper right. into. my. ear. goes ‘Mmmmmm, hello there...’ and then he squeezed my knee, stroked up a teensy bit, and whispered again, ‘I hope you’re enjoying the show.’

All this time there was a spotlight on us and I had my face buried in my hands. Natasha, girl, I understand better now.

I can’t look at him ever again. Except for the rest of “The Opera” we kept making meaningful, sustained eye contact while I turned increasingly to pudding in my seat.

I know he gets up in peoples’ space, but I don’t remember passionate knee grabs? BOY! We got intimate very quickly there, didn’t we happy birthday to meeeeee!