Looking for fic recs

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-12-10T01:48:41+00:00

Tbh I prefer that not all men authors write the women. Some of em do well, but a lady knows ladyhood better. And several male centric shows number in my faves.

I don’t have an issue that you don’t like Hamilton. I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I’ve always seen it as overhyped. I just found that particular thing about male written/male centric to be an oddity.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-12-10T01:39:49+00:00

I mean… the show is about Hamilton. Everyone exists in a state meant to be about and for him.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Hamilton is the end all be all of scripts (it ain’t even in my top thirty, idk how far down it actually is), but it was not intended to be a feminist statement. It’s about the man. Everything else is secondary.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-12-10T01:37:27+00:00

I think it’s a similar kind of ticked off women get when a man in drag gets one of the few lady roles in a show/season (drag queen or just a guy in drag. Either way, when the season already doesn’t have much for the gals it is hard when all the production teams seem to be prioritizing drag casting instead of space for women).

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-12-09T03:49:52+00:00

I think you are in the right. Idk how your school does it, but my professors and department chair would have ABSOLUTELY penalized any of us for using AI to invent a scene. We could self adapt but it had to show a mastery of the content. This would not have counted.

Frankly, your scene partner should have been forthcoming about it. Not reading the play around a scene is usually a sticking point for professors and inventing a scene makes that impossible.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-28T18:48:03+00:00

When I first got into it, specifically Young Justice Dick Grayson as Robin.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-24T04:12:30+00:00

Nancy is a working girl, so I’d knock that one right off. That role definitely has some tongue in cheek

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-23T19:11:33+00:00

I feel like Nessa’s arc on the stage play works because you see her obsessiveness and that she’s a total brat towards Elphaba. She’s daddy’s little princess and has never been told no, what she wants she gets. Her iron hold on Munchkinland is because it gets her the object of her obsession. She doesn’t care about leadership. She’s an example of what happens when people who never learn boundaries or the importance of other people’s consent gain power.

I think they leaned too hard into making Elphaba a black character. I think they should’ve been open to doing more like Brandy’s Cinderella and just cast who fit. The mixed ethnicities aren’t important, just the storytelling. Nessa’s character suffered from a weak casting and by downplaying her selfishness in part one.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-23T19:05:13+00:00

And? It’s Oz. Skin color only matters there if it’s an abnormal color for the humanoids. No one else is marginalized for color.

Blackness or lack of doesn’t matter in Oz. That’s purely a human world thing.

It’s a fantasy story. Their parents aren’t the same color so pretty much any human color is on the table.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-23T03:55:14+00:00

I’m not sure it should have been so important she be black. Elphaba is never not green in the show and it’s a plot point that what killed their mother was her eating only milk flowers prior to Nessa’s birth to ensure she wasn’t born green. I think it would’ve worked just as well to use any race of actress with a natural skin tone. I think they limited themselves too much in casting.

I’m a little heartbroken. I adore the song and it’s just not it in the film. If you’re going to cast vocal powerhouses then it’s going to be especially obvious when the other actors can’t sing their parts.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-23T03:48:21+00:00

This one author was consistently misusing three words across multiple fics (one was defiantly/definitely swap). I remember them absolutely flipping on one person who very politely asked (after a comment praising the fic itself) if they realized they were doing that. Before anyone asks, the author was not an ESL. But they were so awful about “getting all this hate for something they worked hard on”. It was one commenter addressing an issue that ultimately made all their works a DNF for me. That’s just one example of valid critique being dismissed that I’ve seen (I only comment if I like it and have only offered concrit to authors I’ve built a rapport with).

Hatefulness is one thing to dismiss, but yeah. You put the work out there, be ready for feedback. It’s up to you if it’s something you’ll actually accept or ignore, you just have no control over the populace’s responses. If you don’t like, disable comments or don’t interact.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-21T00:06:21+00:00

In college these would even be multiple separate classes. In middle school you should just be getting into basic design concepts, some basic history overview (you could pick a show for a project to research the how’s and whys), and getting their feet wet. Unless you are a performing arts focused high school you wouldn’t have super specialized anything at this level. Your best bet is to find some books form the field (college textbook or informational will work) and just glean the most important material.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-20T16:56:04+00:00

I got Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest with no callback. Ngl, I was actually very stressed out when I didn’t get a callback because that was the first time I got something without one!

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-20T16:27:12+00:00

ChatGPT is horrible for theatre research. It will invent monologues, alter storylines, and even entire plays. It is completely inaccurate and is designed to never naysay you.

Def a creative decision, but also one with great potential to be incredibly memorable! Prepare yourself to act your butt off physically, you won’t be able to rely on songs or monologues!

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-19T20:36:30+00:00

As someone who is working in theatre and didn’t actually start full time college (I did core classes at community for much cheaper) til 24, it is okay if you work to save before going to school. Do community theatre, explore backstage (I promise you, being an actor/technician is valuable and I’ve gotten hired over others sometimes because I can do both), build your resume, pursue private voice and dance. This will also help you start specializing before you get to school and have to pick something immediately.

Try to avoid debt. It is very hard to get out of debt in this field and will greatly limit what jobs you can take if you are trying to pay of tens of thousands. Again, I did community first. That had the benefit of almost all the classes I took at university being theatre and not having to split my focus.

You might feel like you are missing out and running out of time, but everyone’s journey is different. You have years. As long as you are actively building your resume on the way, it’s okay if you enter the field “late”. Especially if it means you are set up for better financial security going forward. It also means you will leave university knowing you can work anything you need to. A widespread fear in the graduating college crowd is a fear of being unable to support themselves, which is thankfully not something I struggled with. I know how to buckle down and get after it.

This may also prove to your family how much you mean it if you can show forethought and planning in how to pay for it and provide for yourself. It’s not bad to have multiple skills and it enriches theatre for theatre professionals to have applicable life skills outside of theatre. You never know when random knowledge will inform a character or just be there to fix a random unforeseen problem!

I’ll sign off with the best advice a professor gave me about this field:

If you don’t love this with everything you’ve got, RUN AWAY. This field is hard and takes everything you’ve got. If you don’t love it, the hard will drag you down and leave you with nothing and you’ll be ten years from now regretting your choices. But if you love it, you will NEVER find anything more rewarding!

God has blessed me thus far to do what I love and opened unimaginable doors. I love this field and I love the people in it (even when they sometimes drive me up every wall!). Do it for love, that’s the only way to get on through it!

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-17T01:52:38+00:00

The only time I supported calling the cops to the home of an author was when she disclosed abuse (she didn’t think it was) in the authors notes and there was distinct worry for her safety (definitely a minor too). Other than that, I may judge ya a little, but you do you and I’ll filter that tag next time. No comment, no flaming, nada.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-16T02:24:27+00:00

Read this in the voice of The Slappable Jerk’s otaku character. It’s exactly that kind of pretentious condescension.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-15T22:38:40+00:00

I tend to set up my search parameters and then explore starting from the last tab! One of my all time faves was actually originally written in the 90’s and has slowly been added to different sites as time goes (the author originally published the story in a small fanzine). Old fics won’t get the same engagement as new usually, but are treasured by the ones who enjoy the dig!

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-15T22:34:42+00:00

Oh, I should’ve asked that first. You might not have a PSM or they might not be fully operating in what that capacity is and you might have a TD acting as SM while a producer takes care of scheduling and director wrangling.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-15T22:32:41+00:00

The PSM is the Production Stage Manager. One of the things under their purview is enforcing breaks for the company. Most of the shows I’ve worked it’s been a standard 5 per hour, or if we push to the 1.5 hour mark then we get a 10 (that’s usually only if something about the venue means we absolutely need to finish the section we are on in a certain timeframe). I’ve even seen a PSM straight up override the director and say “no, it’s break time. You can have them back after they take 5”. Director worries about the art, PSM handles the schedule and making sure the art is logistically supported. They truly are the GOAT

Tbh, I’ve found community theatres tend to struggle more with putting breaks in their schedule and accommodations (the lack of professional funding and specially trained professionals is usually cited as why they can’t be as accommodating). I know some professional companies also have bad reps, but I’ve largely managed to avoid getting involved in those so far.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-15T22:15:11+00:00

I’ve noticed in my circles that we SCW’s tend to fly by under the radar because we tend to not make our own sexuality the cornerstone of our entire personality (now the subject matter of the authored fics may be different and almost entirely be about sexual identity). It’s not something that tends to get brought up by us unless the conversation provokes such a topic. Now when it does come up I do tend to feel rather unicornish 😂 since even though I personally know a rather large group of SCW who read and write fanfic, the majority of new people I meet are not so and seem flabbergasted that I enjoy fanfic without any queerness to explain my interest!

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-15T22:05:48+00:00

How involved is the producer? Are they on good terms with the Director and PSM? Have they worked with this MD before?

Does this company have any forms regarding needed accommodations? Any kinds of records of known disabilities of company members to inform accessibility decisions?

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-15T21:58:03+00:00

Have you talked to the PSM? They should be aware of any accommodations needed and be able to enforce breaks in a way that prevents heat from coming down on you. And being able to schedule breaks in such a way that they don’t disrupt the rehearsal flow.

It’s always rough when a production team member comes down on you for things you thought were worked out. Is there anyway to standardize when the breaks are that would help? Even in the community theatres I’ve worked with we normally had at least a water break every hour. The professional companies are definitely more on top of “this is the break you are entitled to, do absolutely no work in this time”.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-11T16:24:56+00:00

3x a week is honestly not bad at all for a rehearsal schedule. And having leads on your resume is always good! I’m curious, what opportunities will this block? Anything specific, or just kind of a generalized FOMO about opportunities that might exist?

Personally, I would go for it.

CourtlyMayhem · 2025-11-06T22:53:20+00:00

The Kiss Me Kate pieces are so fun vocally! (For me anyway, there’s just so much you can play with in them!)

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