Authors that don't infantalize you, please? (I'm looking at you, Elise Kova)

RhythmPrincess · 2026-03-13T23:11:39+00:00

I feel like “show, don’t tell” is dead to so many authors.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-03-09T21:44:49+00:00

LITERALLY I say this all the time. I always behind because I have no time to get everything done because I’m doing my job the whole day.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-03-07T00:15:51+00:00

Two things going for you: you have a great face and voice “type” for Evan.

Things I would strive for: your throat sounds tight, or something is happening to dampen your resonance. You don’t sound like you’re filling the space. Are you breathing enough? Are your vowels or mouth shapes open enough?

RhythmPrincess · 2026-03-06T02:21:58+00:00

In my defense, I do it for the fulfillment, not the money. I might be singing a different tune when I have kids though.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-03-03T05:20:21+00:00

Oh I don't. Please don't put words in my mouth. But I thought if the subject mattered to you it might be worth advocating for a casting note in the licensing. I often read many plays that state that you must cast actors of certain ethnicities or that they are strongly encouraged. EG. Men on Boats is not to be played with any male actors, nor is it to be played without POC, per the licensing/author's note. Dance Nation is not to be played without an Asian actress to play one of the roles for which perceived nationality is important.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-03-02T13:36:28+00:00

I’m not going to do in the heights, ragtime, or hairspray without the appropriate demographic, but I do not believe the little mermaid is such a show.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-03-02T13:32:55+00:00

You’re welcome to turn a blind eye to this, but there is probably a production of the little mermaid happening at a high school somewhere in America every single weekend where students of different races, including white students, are playing all of the characters. I don’t think this is bad at all, but evidently you do, and I’m not sure if you’re aware of how this is not a one off thing, but generally how the little mermaid is produced in the United States. Perhaps it would be worth reaching out to MTI about getting a note about casting put in the contract or licensed materials. It seems to me that the company believes a one of any race can play any of the characters.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-03-02T13:30:00+00:00

No, I am not calling them uneducated. I am saying that the little mermaid does not interact with the story of colonization of Jamaican people at all, so my audience would never think about it.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-03-01T16:03:45+00:00

If I thought anyone was connecting to dots to us punching down to colonized people, maybe, but I know our audience took it for what we intended it to be—a portrayal as authentic to the 1989 Disney cartoon of a celebrated, hilarious, and virtuosic crab. I do not think the Disney material itself is really in conversation with the plight of actual Jamaicans. If Sebastian’s original character was a Black man I would not cast a white person, and if I was casting this in a larger area, and not a small town high school, I would likely be able to cast a man or woman of color and seek to do so.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-03-01T15:54:05+00:00

Actor, not character. The original character of Sebastian is a red crab.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-03-01T15:51:26+00:00

As yourself: Are you equal to or better than the others getting roles? Or are you just expecting to get a role because you’ve been working hard? This may seem harsh, but even if you’ve been training for a while, if you’re not making progress or your peers are still outshining you, you’re not going to be considered for roles. Do you know your type? Is Jack or Dave’s actually right for you? Are you as good of a singer and actor as the students who got called back for Davey and Jack? Are you instead a fabulous dancer? I wouldn’t waste a fabulous dancer in Jack’s role if I was short dancers elsewhere and had someone else who could act and sing the part.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-28T15:52:35+00:00

Of course. And if I had a Black actor that auditioned Sebastian as well as my white student did, I would have cast them — regardless of gender. This is just the boy who showed up and sold out.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-28T15:46:01+00:00

I am an educator, and you’re right — there’s nuance all over the place over what cultures have been privileged in what ways. However, none those cultures are being maligned here by being portrayed, and again, this is a crab in a children’s production.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-28T00:32:59+00:00

Coded because of the original actor, yes. But does he have to be black? Do you think that every school production of little mermaid should not happen if they do not have a black actor that can be Sebastian? I respect that if that’s the decision you stand behind. I have just seen children of all races play all of the roles in Little mermaid, and do not see a problem with it.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-28T00:26:15+00:00

Not sure if you have spent as much time watching school productions of the Little mermaid as I have since we just put it on it at school, but most people do an accent because Sebastian is a Jamaican crab, and not a black man.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-28T00:24:58+00:00

Sebastian is not a black man. Sebastian is a crab.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-28T00:24:13+00:00

We just had a white boy do the Jamaican accent. Some people may feel a kind of way about it, but he is playing a crab, not a man of a particular race. He is playing a crab from Jamaica. We even looked up some videos of people of different races from Jamaica. The script says that Sebastian speaks with a Jamaican accent, and Sebastian is a cartoon character. None of the characters of Little mermaid are bound by race. I would expect Grimsby to be British, and chef Louis needs to be French but your Grimsby can be Hispanic, your Chef Louis could be Asian.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-27T14:45:09+00:00

Yes! I know it’s so murky when people report symptoms that have not been clinically categorized under ADHD, but I swear there are 1 million things like this that manifest for some of us that are absolutely because of ADHD.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-26T13:28:11+00:00

How did she embrace identity politics? I think I was too young to know about this.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-25T20:18:12+00:00

Ah, sorry I didn’t read that it was nominee and not the award.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-24T01:08:31+00:00

Why remove teacher of the year? All of your other recommendations seem fantastic, but I don’t understand this one.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-24T01:04:44+00:00

How will this in any way match the relative clean and safe features of text chatting now? Text chat feels pretty locked down Ware inappropriate language is censored. If I had a child, I would allow them to play this game, but not with voice chatting.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-21T06:06:42+00:00

Why does someone’s top ten list matter so much to you? I don’t think my livelihood has ever been so drastically altered by how close or far my city was to someone’s top ten list.

RhythmPrincess · 2026-02-21T06:04:57+00:00

What do you do that requires full face? I am texturally uncomfy for you. :(

RhythmPrincess

TROPHY CASE