We have to do a project for my Writing, Research, and Technology class at my University. My project is about theatre and how it can be used to escape reality for a few hours. Whether you're watching a play or in one, they can make troubles go away. If you are an actor or actress, you become someone else for a while each time you perform. Your worries and stress melt away while other aspects conflict the new person you are. We had to use Instagram to follow people and tags that would help us with the goal of our project. It took me a while to find some people on Instagram that I wanted to follow to help me with this project but first and foremost I followed Sarah Brightman.
For those of you who don't know who she is, she was the original Christine in "Phantom of the Opera." She was even married to Andrew Lloyd Weber (who wrote the play). He actually modeled Christine after her. She also performed in the original "Cats!" (which was also done by Andrew Lloyd Weber). Growing up, I listened to her CDs all the time, before I even got into Phantom of the Opera. My mom loved her voice and I can't imagine my life without her inspiration.
She sometimes posts quotes via Instagram and Twitter that really makes you think. Whenever I'm having a bad day or need a pick me up, there's always a post from her account that can really help me. She is a wonderful performer and my all time favorite Broadway star and singer. I had to post two pictures of her on Weebly because she is wonderful.
Next I chose to follow Ramin Karimloo. Despite the fact that he played The Phantom in Cameron MacIntosh's 25th Anniversary show of "Phantom of the Opera" and also he played The Phantom in the horrid sequel "Love Never Dies," I loved him ever since I saw him in Cameron MacIntosh's 25th Anniversary of "Les Miserables" as Enjolras. When I looked up his information I found out that we share the same birthday! NERDGASM! If I remember correctly he is scheduled to play Jean Val Jean in "Les Miserables." His Instagram (not sure if it's official or fan-made), though, is mostly him working out. He is one of the Broadway performers who really takes a lot of care to stay physically fit.
Hashtag theatrelife is such a great tag to follow on Instagram! You can see all performers of different ages and skills and really get to see what's happening all around. I grew up in the theatre because my parents were community theatre actors. They took me to plays, musicals, and we've even all shared the stage together! I can't imagine my life without it and I love seeing others who are just as involved as I am. You really feel connected.
It's really awesome to have classmates into theatre as well! I am so lucky to have Chris in class with me because I plan to use him in my project if I can (I've already talked to him about it). He's also in a Shakespeare play and I happen to love Shakespeare! Not so much as a crazy English teacher I've encountered before, but enough to understand what's going on in one of his plays without looking it up on SparkNotes or Cliff'sNotes.
Last, but not least, I follow Jennifer Dulo who happens to be in Evaluating Writing. She's even more obsessed with "Phantom of the Opera" and also enjoys Shakespeare plays. She appreciates the art of theatre so I love talking to her and looking at her posts. Sometimes she surprises me with facts I don't even know!
It is so interesting to see all of the people that you have found on Instagram to follow that pertain to your topic. It is interesting to see how much we can learn from pictures and how powerful Instagram is as a tool to help us explore concepts. I think that you have made a great start into your topic and I can't wait to see where your project goes!
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Yesiris Seguinot
4/2/2014 02:43:09 am
I love that you described how you feel about theatre and what it does to you because I can relate except mine is with art. This is definitely a topic that we are all surrounded by and easy to find different communities under.
Thanks! I really like the Instagram thing and really seeing others who are interested in the same thing I am. I feel like everyone has that something that they connect with and can find that others connect to the same things whether it's art, music, theatre, reading, etc. It's cool to see what's out there!
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Katy is a senior at a University where she keeps this blog for her Writing, Research, and Technology class.