in honor of opening night, here are some of the many reasons you should come see Portraiture at @EliteTheatreCo this weekend https://www.onthestage.com/show/elite-theatre-company/portraiture-by-lillian-grace-41521/tickets

ONE: @sstarlitcas plays Dorian Gray as a nonbinary character and fully embodies the complexity and depth necessary for this being. Cas and I have had discussion after discussion about D.G. as an IDENTITY rather than a character. Come see what that means! Be blessed by their skill

TWO: costume design by the lovely Amelia Patterson creates a cohesive look among the four characters, contributing to this idea of universality, acknowledging the time period of the book but also existing in a setting that is outside of time or place altogether.

THREE: The Critic played by @BBSurvivorSnake , one of my closest friends and one of the most creative people I know. Adam jumped in LAST MINUTE for this role, performs live from USC's Theatre department, and creates a character who is definitely not black and white.

FOUR: An amazing two-minute film trailer by @ratmos805 to start off the show. It will bring you to Ventura County (made me miss home) but will also create a cacophony of images that set the scene for the piece. Kim is AMAZING!!!

FIVE: Social media and morale support from my adorable little sister, Marabelle, who has the ABSOLUTE CUTEST bio that you can read on the Elite website after you purchase your tickets.

SIX: A narrator/medium/playwright/stage direction-reader character fully created and embodied by @achilleanclowns . Mik has put in an enormous amount of emotional work to create a guiding light for the audience through the emotions of the show using ONLY VOICE ACTING.

SEVEN: super amazing and useful help from Arri (cant seem to find her handle) on Zoom! While I run the tech, Arri watches the stream alongside all of you and helps keep in communication with me about any lag to make your experience as seamless as possible!

EIGHT: virtual backgrounds drawn by the ridiculously cool @chloeannh1 that make the experience feel detailed and consistent, really helping the characters exist in a completely other world.

NINE: SO. MUCH. ORIGINAL. MUSIC. BY. @lilcryptid . You will lose your mind with all of the emotions and motifs and instruments, it LITERALLY SOUNDS LIKE AN ORCHESTRA IS PLAYING LIVE DURING THE SHOW THANKS TO LUCY!!!

TEN: as previously mentioned in other posts, we also feature the amazing @tessxjo and Liliana Roman who are both TOP NOTCH actors and breathe life and humor and emotion and intention into this script day after day after day.

ELEVEN: Beyond the story of Dorian Gray, this script and this cast/creative team has created a project that has valuable conversations about queer theory and gender identity in relation to this work. There is a level of fluidity that I have not seen duplicated before.

TWELVE: The amazing Hayley Silvers from Camarillo Junior Theatre trained me on technical design and execution, so I am able to run this show from New York City (meaning it's basically Broadway and buying a ticket is buying a ticket for a Broadway show).

THIRTEEN: The script is a balance of poetry and prose, Wilde and teenage-poet, a bridging of worlds brought to life by a group of actors that has worked it sentence by sentence, phrase by phrase. They imbue meaning into everything they do.

FOURTEEN: You'll be supporting a group of diverse youth doing an unconventional show at a community theatre during a pandemic. For five dollars! What a steal!

and FIFTEEN: It is rare in my life that I have ever gotten to work on something with so many people that I admire. If I could watch this show every night, I would. There is always something new. The creativity here is ridiculous. It is an artistic treasure hunt.

NOW THAT YOU'VE MADE IT TO THE BOTTOM OF THIS THREAD, SCROLL BACK UP AND BUY THOSE TICKETS!!! see you tonight!!!