HELLO!

At the time I write this, I am in Chicago. Actually, even if you're reading this several months from now, I'll probably still be in Chicago. Why am I in Chicago, you ask?

Because I am officially a college student at Columbia College Chicago.

Technically I was officially a student about a week and a half ago, when I moved in, but my first class wasn't until today. As luck would have it, that first class was Music Theory, at 9:00 in the morning, which is far too early for anyone to be up. The class though, was pretty good, aside from being too early, and my afternoon class, sightsinging, was good too.

I still have a whole bunch more classes, mostly on Mon/Weds, Mostly to do with Musical Theatre and Dance.

Um, other than that, things have been pretty good. My roommate is super nice, and it seems like most people I've met are really cool too. We've been kinda wandering around the city for the past week, getting to know the area and the parks around us. It's been a good time, but I'm really glad there's something to focus on, other than exploring.

AND AND AND!!! I got a fish! I know that is way too much excitement over a fish, but he really is a cutie. He's a Red Betta, with the twirly, fancy fins, and his name is Jasper. He's pretty damn smart too (for a fish, I mean,) and has learned when he's about to be fed.

Anyway, it's been a good couple first days here, and I'll let everyone know how it continues.

~Maya

It's that time again. Time to live for a weekend on caffeine and adrenaline alone. Time for me to cast off the identity known as Maya and become someone else for three days. I find that being Maya all the time can grow tedious, and perhaps that's why I am an actor. Because for three days, Maya will fade into the background and Gertrude will be at the forefront of everything I do.

I cannot begin to explain how this happens, but it does. I am thrilled to bits at the anticipation of tomorrow night. But so much of my heart is breaking. This is it. This is the last show I will ever perform in with the people I have grown to know and love over the last four years. I shall never again perform in that auditorium, where I first grew to love theatre. I predict that by the end of the final show, I shall be a puddle of tears, holding everyone else who feels the same pain I do.

Anyway, this is an amazing show. Everybody is doing so well with their characters, and everyone within a hundred mile radius should most definitely come see it this weekend. I am SO excited, and so ready for this.

So I'm in this playwriting class. And it's wicked fun. Oh, and everyone should come to the student written plays on March 3rd, more details to come.

But right now I have a quandary. I have this play that I've written, and I don't have a title for it.

So I'm going to post my current draft here, and if you think of an interesting title, or if you have any feedback, let me know. Thanks!


A play by Maya Ellert
 
    The curtain opens to reveal two sets on opposite sides of the stage. At Stage Right stand two men, one very dashing and handsome (Prince Filibert), the other a bit short and slightly goofy looking (his friend, William). At Stage Left is the suggestion of a tower room, with a bed and a barrel full of rich, red apples.

Narrator:     Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess by the name of Amadine. On her 16th birthday, a tragedy occurred. She was placed under an evil spell and fell into a deep sleep. Only a kiss from a prince could break the spell.

    As the narrator speaks, Amadine enters from Center Stage, picks up an apple, sits on the bed and takes a bite of the apple. She falls asleep instantly.

    As the narration ends, Filibert crosses the stage and bounds into the room.

Filibert:    At last! I have arrived! And here is the beautiful princess I seek.

Filibert kisses Amadine, and she awakens at once. She sits up, yawns, and stretches. She sees Filibert and looks at him as if he is the most amazing thing to walk this planet.

Amadine:    The spell is broken! Tell me, good sir, was it you who broke the spell?

Filibert:    Indeed, it was I! I was told by many a good man that a beautiful princess slept in this tower, trapped by an evil spell. I knew what I had to do. I knew I would be the one to rescue the girl from her slumber.

Amadine:    And now you have! I profess my love for you.

Filibert:    I am glad that we could share this moment of happiness together!

Amadine:    We will surely share many more moments of happiness. We must be married at once!

Filibert:    Indeed, I- Wait, what?

    Filibert breaks out of the character of the dashing Prince, and now reveals himself to be entirely disinterested in any kind of commitment. Amadine, blissfully unaware of this, continues on in the same tone as before.

Amadine:    It shall be a grand ceremony- lasting three days at least! We shall feast on only the finest of foods! My parents will be there, to give their blessings, and we shall-

Filibert:    Whoa, whoa. Hang on there Princess. Marriage?

Amadine:    Yes, marriage. Are you not as elated as I am?

Filibert:    I’m sorry- what did you say your name was?

Amadine:     Amadine

Filibert:     Right, Amadine. I just don’t think I’m ready for marriage.

Amadine:     Wh- What?

Filibert:    Yeah… you see, I’m just not ready for that kind of commitment, you know what I mean?

Amadine:    Butbutbut- you came here! You broke the spell! We’re supposed to get married now! Do the words “Happily ever after” mean ANYTHING to you?

Filibert:    Of course they do! I know my fairy tales as well as any other guy. But, Ama-

Amadine:     Amadine.

Filibert:    Amadine, do you want to know the truth? See, I- (He hesitates, thinking) I just got out of this TERRIBLE relationship. She was manipulative and controlling, and she never listened, and-

Amadine:    I’m sorry, but what does any of that have to do with US?

Filibert:    Right. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t think I’m ready for another relationship, let alone MARRIAGE.

Amadine:    But there’ll be dancing bears!

Filibert:    Dancing bears? Aww, I LOVE dancing bears. But no. I just can’t.

    There is a very tense silence.

Filibert:    So! Is this- is this the way out, then? I should probably be going. But you’re good, right? Yeah, you’ll be fine. See ya! (Exits)

Amadine:    But there’s a dragon out there!

    Amadine tries to follow Filibert, but backs away as a loud roar is heard.

    Filibert crosses the stage and joins William at Stage Right. FIlibert and William are an odd pair, Filibert being a prince and, as we have seen, very flighty and distant, and William, a “salt of the Earth” type of guy, sturdy and very caring for those around him.


Filibert:     So THEN, she starts in about MARRIAGE. Now don’t get me wrong, this girl was gorgeous and all, but who wants to get married?

William:    So, what’d you do with her?

Filibert:    What? Oh, I left her there. I didn’t want to get myself in more trouble than I already was. But she’ll be fine.

William:    That sounds pretty irresponsible. I mean, won’t she kinda… starve up there?

Filibert:    Nah. There’s this whole stack of apples in there. And she’s awake now. She can get herself out if she wants to.

William:     …Isn’t there a dragon guarding that place?

Filibert:    Uhhh…

    There is a moment of silence, and William stalks off, muttering about irresponsibility.
   
    William crosses to Stage Left, where Amadine is sitting, alone and dejected on the bed. William starts talking just before he reaches Amadine’s room.

William:    Princess!

Amadine:     My Prince? Is that you? Have you returned at last?

William:    Uh, no. I’m his friend, William. I’ve come to save you!

Amadine:    That’s very sweet of you. But I’ll be just fine, really. I’m sure that any minute, my Prince will burst through that door and whisk me away. I don’t want to be gone when he gets here! And I don’t him to find me here with another guy. So you can go. Really.

William:    Now, Princess, I don’t want to contradict you-

Amadine:    Then don’t.

William:    (Sighs) I really don’t think he’ll be back.

Amadine:    Of course he will! It is our destiny to meet here and live happily ever after! Just like a fairy tale.

William:    But life doesn’t always work out like a story. And sometimes you have to make your own destiny.

    William is clearly quite taken with Amadine, and his speech reflects that.

Amadine:     Perhaps you’re right. If I want something, I should go out and get it!

William:    That’s the spirit! Let’s go.

Amadine:     Hurrah! Prince Charming, here I come!

    Amadine dashes from the room with a new sense of hope.

William:     That’s- that’s not what I meant. Wait, Princess!


    Amadine runs to Stage Right, closely followed by William.

Filibert:    Hey Will. Amanda, you made it!

Amadine:    Amadine

Filibert:    Huh?

Amadine:    My name is Amadine.

Filibert:    Oh, right. Sorry. Anyway, you made it out okay! That’s great!

Amadine:    What d’ya mean, “I made it?”

    Amadine is miffed that Filibert would put her off so carelessly. Filibert senses this and tries to amend his speech.

Filibert:    Well, I was worried that- Oh, hey Seraphina

    Entering from Stage Left is Seraphina, another princess. Filibert’s undergoes a drastic change as Seraphina enters. Seraphina and Amadine are as different as night and day. Where Amadine is sweet and virtuous, Seraphina is dark, mysterious and sexy. She walks with a strut past Amadine and William toward Filibert.

Seraphina: Hey, Filibert.

    It is clear that Amadine did not know Filibert’s name, as her eyes go wide, she mouths, “Filibert?” to William, and silently cracks up.

Filibert:    How’s it going, babe?

Seraphina: Pretty good, you?

    Filibert snakes his arm around Seraphina, and Amadine, suddenly angry, stalks over to confront him.

Amadine:    Excuse me, who is she?
   
    Seraphina is not one to be trifled with. She untangles herself from Filibert’s grip and steps forward to confront the other princess.

Seraphina: Who am I? Who are you?

Amadine:    Me? I am Princess Amadine, and the Prince and I are going to be married.

Seraphina: Excuse me?

Amadine: That’s right. He woke me from an evil spell. That’s practically a marriage proposal right there.

Seraphina: I can’t believe this! Filibert, is this true?

Filibert:    Well, yes, but-

Seraphina: You… (smacks Filibert, starts to exit Stage Right)

Filibert:    Wait! Stop! I just woke her on a dare! It wasn’t real! Seraphina!

    Seraphina exits Stage Right with one last haughty toss of her head. Amadine is livid.

Amadine:    A dare? I was a DARE?

Filibert:    Please, let me explain! I wanted to wake you up, but I never thought you’d want to get married! If I knew that, I never would have done it!

Amadine:    WHAT?

Filibert:    No, that’s not what I meant! I just-

Amadine:    No, just shut up. Clearly, I’m not wanted here. Maybe I’ll just go back to my tower and ROT there!

    Amadine exits the scene to return to her room at Stage Left.

Filibert:    Aw, come on!

William:    You are incredibly stupid. Princess! Princess!

    William follows Amadine Stage Left.

    As Wililam follows Amadine, she lies back down in bed and pretends to sleep. William enters the room, out of breath.

William:    Princess! Oh, thank God you’re okay! Princess, I- What are you doing?

Amadine:    Go away, I’m under a spell!

William:    I don’t think that’s how it-

Amadine:    (Shouting) I’m under a spell!

William:    Right then. Can you at least hear me?

Amadine:    (She hesitates) Maybe.

William:    Well then, listen. I know that Filibert woke you up, and by all rights you’re supposed to go riding off into the sunset together on a white horse, but he’s really not “that type”.

Amadine:    (She sits up angrily) He seemed quite ready to whisk that other princess off into the sunset!
 
William:    Yes, and that princess is one of three princesses he’s been jerking around lately. He’ll just do that to you, too. He’s not worth it.

Amadine:     (Sighs, she is reluctant to admit this) Yeah, I kinda figured that out…

William:    So what are you going to do, then?

Amadine:     I’m going to wait here until another prince comes to break the spell. Spread the word. (She lies back down)

William:    Alright then. If that’s really what you want.

He turns to leave, but lingers at the door. After a moment of hesitation and internal struggle, he rushes back and kisses Amadine

Amadine:    (She sits up and frowns) You’re not a prince.

William:    No I’m not. And I can’t whisk you away into the sunset on a white horse, because I don’t have one. But I will never hurt you, never leave you, and I will never forget your name, Amadine. And besides, we can probably rent a white horse from the Hertz down street.

Amadine:    I don’t know if my parents will approve.

William:    We’ll just have to convince them then, won’t we? (He holds out his hand, and Amadine takes it and they stand to leave)

    They leave the room, but not before Amadine grabs an apple from the barrel. Amadine and William move Center Stage.


Narrator:    As it turned out, the King and Queen had no quibbles with their daughter’s choice of husband, so long as there would be grandchildren in the offing. So they held a grand celebration, lasting three days and with the finest of foods- though they weren’t able to hire dancing bears on such short notice.

    During the narration, Amadine and William act out the basics of a wedding, i.e. silent “I dos,” placing rings on each other’s fingers, etc. As the narration ends, William saunters Center Stage, alone.

Filibert:    William! Now, how’d I know that you’d be the first of us to get tied down in marriage? (It now seems that he’s going to say something inappropriate) Remember what I was saying? A wife is just for-

William:    (He hastily interrupts) Filibert! I do believe you’ve met my lovely wife, Amadine, before?

Filibert:    (He looks puzzled for a moment, as if he has heard that name, but can’t remember where.) Amadine… Oh! Amadine! Really? Wow, I never would’ve expected that.

Amadine:    Well, it happened.

Filibert:    I guess so. How’s life treating you?

Amadine:    (Ironically, looking at Filibert) Oh, I can’t complain. How about you? How’s Seraphina?

Filibert:    Oh, her. (A pause) Never mind her.

Amadine:    Ah.

Filibert:    Yeah… but there’s no hard feelings, right? (He punches her arm playfully) Right?

Amadine:    (Slightly sarcastically) Of course not. And just to prove that we’re friends, I’d like you to have this apple.

    Filibert’s face lights up, he smiles, he goes to take the apple, and they freeze. Curtains close.



Feedback? Interesting titles? Leave your comments after the tone.

So I suppose I'll update.

Anyway, for the past several months, cool things have been happening. First I got into Senior Districts Chorus, then I got into All-State Chorus (Which is coming up in a few weeks) then I got the part of a narrator in Scarlet Letter (Which was the most awesome show I've ever been in, and I still sniffle a bit that it's over.) And then, the biggest most exciting news:

I GOT INTO MY TOP CHOICE SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Note the use of capitals. Note the long string of exclamation points. I am very excited.

You all should have heard me when I got my letter. I ran around the house about three times, screaming, and as a result, my voice is quite rough. The neighbors probably think I died in agony or something.

If you're wondering what school, it's Columbia College Chicago, and I will be studying Musical Theatre. Columbia is the largest private arts school in the U.S., and the programs there are very edgy, very 21st century. The school itself in integrated right into the city, so the students really get thrown right into real life. They also have none of that silly: "Well, you can't be in the shows for your first year, just sit back and watch" attitude, nor do they compel you to live on campus past your first year or to have a meal plan at all if you live in a dorm with a kitchen.

The school accepts a vast majority of the applicants, but the cut program is apparently very competitive. Only about 60% of the students continue on to their sophomore year. The mentality of Columbia is that anybody who applies could have potential, even if they only started their art a few years beforehand, and once you get there, they will place you in classes where you belong. That way, someone who hasn't had much experience can still get in, they will just have to start in a lower class than those who have been acting/singing/dancing for years.

This, of course, is very important to me, as I am incredibly experienced in singing, moderate in acting, and I have no dance skills to speak of at all.

Anyway, that's about all I have to say right now. I'm very very very very very excited, and I can't wait to go to Chicago next fall!

~Maya

So it's been a couple weeks since I last posted... I last left off at Castle of the Damned, so I'll start there.

Castle was amazing. I performed every night and had a blast doing so. For the first two weeks I was a zombie/ghost/soul damned for all eternity trapped in a wall between the two bedrooms upstairs. I was there to cleverly hide a window that people shouldn't be distracted by. On the final week, however, I played a child who was being terrorized by psychopath Santa with fangs. Who was, in reality, Tom, a really fun guy when he doesn't have a creepy mask on. He said he'd send me a pony for Christmas- one that still has a bit of flesh clinging to the bones. I'm waiting with great anticipation.

So the thing about Castle is that there are a lot of really cool people from Rockport that work there. And well, there's no better way of meeting someone than through a mutual love of scaring the pants off people, so...

Only there's a problem: he's REALLY dense. Or nervous. Or a combination of the two. But do I let it bother me? NO! (whoops, quoting Peter Pan there... ahem) But I have several people working on my side, trying to convince this *person* to not be dense/nervous/whatever.

So on to other news: PETER PAN!!!

Honestly? I have no idea what to say. I am filled with SO much excitement at the conclusion of an AMAZING first week! The auditorium has been absolutely PACKED every night and today we were completely sold out ahead of time, which doesn't usually happen. Everyone is completely fired up about the show, and so far everything's gone smoothly.

So to anyone who would like tickets: They are selling fast, if you want to see the show, let me know and I'll reserve tickets for you for Friday or Saturday (Sunday is ALREADY sold out.)

Oh, and one more thing that I'm pretty excited about. In a few weeks at my mum's church, we will be singing the William Hawley Magnificat, which is very lovely and incredibly fun to sing. So I'm happy about that.

And that's pretty much my life for the past several weeks.

Ah, yes. It's that time of year again. The time when families start stocking up on plenty of candy and people of all ages begin the search for that perfect costume. Some go to fancy parties and join in exciting and thrilling games, and some travel through the streets of town, carousing, silly string-ing, or just demanding candy from perfect strangers.

And some of us like to scare the wits out of everyone else.

Yes, I shall be performing in Castle of the Damned this year, (Hammond Castle) most likely terrifying people with my uncanny imitation of an angry cat. Or perhaps I will travel with groups of people and suddenly become possessed halfway through. Either way, it shall be a thrilling six nights. I try to jump at any opportunity to act, no matter how odd. And I DO like scaring people. It's perfect.

So please, anyone who can make it down to Hammond Castle on Friday or Saturday of the next three weeks, starting tomorrow, come be chilled. it shall be an exciting time. More info at: www.hammondcastle.org/common/index.php

BEST. DRAMA PARTY. EVER.

Also the most painful, but that's half the fun, right?

So today was the day of the long-awaited Drama Pool-Party. I was really nervous that people wouldn't want me there, but no one seemed to mind. Everyone was just having way too much fun to care, anyway. We played Volleyball, (in the pool, of course) Categories, and Tetherball. But the best was definitely Greasy Watermelon.

For those of you who have no idea what Greasy Watermelon is all about, it's basically free-form Water Polo. Only instead of a ball, you use a watermelon. A watermelon covered in oil.  With more than 10 people per team, it quickly became a free for all.

Oh, we were also divided up into team Hufflepuff and team VOLDEMORT. Team Voldemort, which I was on, quickly crushed the silly little Hufflepuffs. Honestly, what were they expecting?

Anyway, my eyes are still burning from chlorine, and my cheeks are all red from sunburn, meaning of course that it was one of the best parties I've been to in quite a while.

Well, that was my day. How was yours?

For those of you who are wondering if I dropped off the planet, I did. I had a marvelous adventure in Dimension X, where everybody from all my favorite movies, tv shows, and books really do exist. And there are talking stuffed animals, too.

*Ahem* No, I've just kinda forgotten to update/comment on LJ in the last few weeks, so this is a blanket comment to everyone who posted in that time: HI, EVERYBODY!

Umm, yeah. There's really not much to say, I just wanted to reassure everyone that I am still alive. And, also, I have nothing better to do right now than update.

There is one bit of news: If anyone is looking for me in the next 4 days, I'm going to be Vermont. So it's probably going to be hard to find me.

That's about all that's going on, leave a comment and say hi! =)

Stolen from phantomcranefly. The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicise those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them ;-)

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11. Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12. Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete Works of Shakespeare
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19. The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen
36. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38. Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41. Animal Farm - George Orwell
42. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49. Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50. Atonement - Ian McEwan
51. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52. Dune - Frank Herbert
53. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68. Bridget Jones' Diary - Helen Fielding
69. Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72. Dracula - Bram Stoker
73.The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75. Ulysses - James Joyce
76. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78. Germinal - Emile Zola
79. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80. Possession - AS Byatt
81. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87. Charlotte's Web - EB White
88. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (not all, but some)
90. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94. Watership Down - Richard Adams
95. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98. Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Sweet! I've read 27 of these! And I have yet to read 29, so long as I don't bother with those I haven't italicized. Guess I've got some reading to do.

not so much of a doodle this time: This took about three hours, maybe? Anyway, I'm much happier with how the skull came out, because the graffiti program tends to get slow and hard to use after awhile of drawing, so I finally just had to accept that this was as good as it would get. Sigh.