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This is worth its own entry. We had a wonderful Q/A session with Russian director Lev Dodin. Here are some of my favorite quotes of his from the session:
"Being a theatre director is not a job... it's a way of life."
"You have to stay a student all your life - the learning process should never stop."
"When making theatre you want to set yourself tasks that are impossible - because when they're impossible you will travel further to reach them."
"Teachers should not only teach skills, but help students form artistic personalities."
"Theatre is about getting to know things - ourselves and the world."
and finally, my favorite...
"What we do is NOT just a job or profession - it's a CALLING. The highest calling. Treat it as such."
I failed... on the blogging of course. I'm sticking with my excuse that it's been so intense and I haven't found time to even get on the computer, let alone blog. Plus, I had rehearsals for my reading of "Decadent Acts" (which went swimmingly, thanks for asking... more on that in another post). I'm also producing two shows in the Estrogenius festival (check out the new web page at www.estrogenius.org) that needed my attention this week in addition to Fringe. Thank God I'm busy.
I left off talking about the workshop I was co-facilitating on Wednesday night. We got a lot of great feedback! Everyone seemed to enjoy it and create magnificent ensemble generated pieces. I have included an outline of it below. The talk with Winter Miller (author of In Darfur http://wintermiller.com/) especially stood out for me. I'm looking forward to seeing her work in the future and hopefully seeing In Darfur back in NYC soon.
Socially Conscious Theater Outline
7:00-7:05 Read out participants responses to “What do you consider socially conscious theatre?”
7:05-7:45 Discussing and Q/A about IN DARFUR with Winter Miller (author)
7:45-7:55 Writing exercise. Participants answer in their notebooks:
1. What makes you American?
2. When was the moment you felt truly America?
3. What is your title?
4. If you had a national anthem – what would it be or write a short one
5. What does it mean to be engaged in America
6. What is the single biggest issue facing your generation?
7:55-8:25 Types/Examples of “Socially Conscious Theater” Discussion
Arts Institutions (Intersection For the Arts, Arts in Ed)
Social Groups
Community Generated / Site Specific
Commercial/Regional Theatre
Independent Project
Also Adaptation or re-visioning a classic
Bring it out to the group in terms of how people have been doing this work in different ways in their careers.
8:25-8:40 Future Project Proposal
A community generated piece on the social and economic issue in Michigan (Issues of the outsider: How one enters the community and creates work that frees itself from the sense of these poor people). We each talk a little about how we would approach it and open it up to the audience for ideas.
8:40-8:50 BREAK
8:50-9:00 The Advantage Line Exercise
9:00-9:30 Instruction and group work
Split people into groups (10 groups of six people)
Explain what they are going to be doing and hand out the component sheets (Create a Community Generated Project – that is socially conscious of and for the community that’s right here, right now). Send them to their spaces
9:30-10:00 Group sharing and reflection
Create a two minutes piece that utilizes the following components:
Five specific references to the group member’s answers to the six question (the only text you can use are the question and the answers)
Something that actively engages spectators / A moment of actively endangering the audience.
A reference to something that happened on “The Advantage Line”.
A moment of simultaneous action
A moment of danger
A national anthem
Another highlight included a phenomenal workshop facilitated by MAAFA at St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn. Read more about it here: http://www.themaafa.com/ .
The workshop incorporated heart wrenching performances and techniques in how to use theatre as a tool for collective healing, something that I want to do in the future with refugees. I can't wait to see their work this fall!
We have been looking at a lot of different variations on physical theatre - Grotowski (an amazing workshop facilitated by Garrett Ayers with James Dacre assisting) Biomechanics, Meyerhold and dance theatre. The workshops are very intense and leave me soar! Looking forward to finding spaces to continue this training after the lab is over.
In other randomness... I'm on a HUGE Moulin Rouge kick. It came out of nowhere. Really. I'm revisiting it... as it was one of my old obsessions. I'm VERY bummed I don't have the DVD with me (it's in Jersey... somewhere... but definitely in Jersey). I may go crazy if I don't see it soon. For now the youtube clips are almost sufficient. I'm sort of in love with Ewan McGregor's character, Christian (I mean, who isn't? Really.) Please enjoy one of my favorite scenes from the film. I remember the first time I saw this particular scene in the theatre "El Tango de Roxanne", I was undone. I had never seen anything so beautiful. I was completely in awe.
You don't know how bad I want to adapt this for the stage (I have big plans for this, and "The Newsies" haha). Caroline O'Connor is riviting in this dance and as a performer in general. Fierce. Gorgeous. Gritty. I would LOVE to work with her! I bug everyone I meet from Australia about her. After seeing her performance in Moulin Rouge, I made my mom order me her CDs from Australia. I admit when I was 17, I wrote her a fan letter and delivered it to the stage door of Chicago (when she was in the Broadway company). I got to meet her afterward, she was very gracious and sweet. I also got an autographed photo (total dorky fan moment) that I still have.
It's 11:30 pm and I just got home from Day 2 of the Directors Lab. I figure I must post now or else I will fall way behind and I want to make sure I keep up with blogging. I know that if I don't start doing this I will wait until this weekend... which will end up turning into next weekend... and then happen at the end of 3 weeks. I'll be overwhelmed with everything that all I will post is "I attended the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. It was good." or something like that...
Yesterday was orientation. We arrived at 2:00 pm and met in the lobby of the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. We took the infamous group picture and proceeded downstairs into the rehearsal room of Lincoln Center for orientation. I overdressed. Part of it was my mother calling me early in the morning with the gentle reminder of "if you look like an ass in that group picture, I will never let you forget it". There are about 65 directors this year from across the world - Denmark, Zimbabwe, Canada, Australia, Germany, Thai Land, Greece and throughout the United States. Most everyone arrived that morning and headed directly from the air port to orientation. Somewhere in the next three weeks we will be addressing international theatre and the role of the director in the various countries of origin.
We were introduced to Anne Cattanneo, lab director and Winnie Lok, lab coordinator and a slew of ASMs and PSMs we'll be working with over the next three weeks. They provide us with a brief oversight of what the lab is about, the guiding principles "Directors run the lab and make their way through the lab... it's driven by ideas... an idea lab as opposed to a career lab. DO and EXPLORE things you don't know. This is NOT a showcase..." We are now part of a large network of directors who have passed through the lab in previous years.
This year's theme is about questioning what makes better theatre - the things that are close to us (ritual, background, experiences etc.) or the things farthest from us?
From my notes:
- LCDL is an opportunity to connect with others
- This lab should question the fundamental assumptions of both the academic and professional theatre worlds
- Most preexisting rules are nonsense
-No one gives you anything - MAKE IT HAPPEN YOURSELF!
We broke up into groups, two of which attended performances at Lincoln Center and mine, that attended a talk with Kate Whoriskey, who touched on a variety of topics including her personal journey in developing "Ruined", her approach to new work, dealing with gender bias and finding your voice as a director. I'm glad that there are a lot of people thinking about these important topics. I will be talking more about this as the week progresses but overall I'm absolutely thrilled with the discussions we're having and themes that we're thinking about (and it's only day 2). I can't wait to see where it's going. These are topics I've been thinking about in my own work and discussions that I never got to have in academia. It's incredibly stimulating.
This morning I took part in an experimental lab session called "The 7 Holy Sacraments", led by one of the lab members. She has been thinking about religious ritual and its place in developing new work. She focuses especially on the 7 Holy Sacraments in Catholicism and by taking the "religiosity" out of them, creates pivotal "life changing" moments that we applied to our own lives and create work around in small groups. My little paragraph doesn't do this workshop justice. I'm excited to see where she will take this, especially since we're returning to it tomorrow. I can certainly see the beginning of a new directing pedagogy come out of something like this. In any case, this workshop made me realize that apparently water has played an important role at every pivotal moment in my life (one of my colleagues pointed this out to me)... I could ramble on more about my personal relationship to water, but I'll save it for another time.
This evening I worked with Andy Paris, one of the original members of the Tectonic Theatre Project and a collaborator in "The Laramie Project". We did "Moment Work", focusing on creating pieces from a starting point other than text. We spent a great deal of time talking a structure/deconstruction/structural analysis and what this means in developing new pieces. Andy discussed his experience working in previous productions with Tectonic and on his new show, "Gold Star Ohio".
I hope to elaborate more on these panels in addition to what they've been forcing me to think about personally and professionally really soon. I can't stress how excited I am for the next few weeks. These few days have been incredibly awe inspiring.
Pictures soon.
Tomorrow I'm part of a group that's presenting a three hour panel on "Social Conscious Theatre". I'm not going to give it away yet, but we've got (what we hope is) an exciting evening of events, discussion points and experiments planned. Full report soon.
One of my favorite things to do at my mom's house is look through old stuff - paperwork, journals, artwork, etc. Today I came across my favorite discoveries- a collection of plays, short stories and a "novel" I wrote in high school. There's a lot of fanfiction (X-Files, ER, Xena: Warrior Princess and Touched by an Angel), some Beowulfian type story involving Richard Simmons, Janet Reno and Anna Nicole Smith and a 85 page novel I wrote about a news network.
The best though... Around age 7 or 8 I wrote several plays involving Sonic the Hedgehog, "Sonic the Hedgehog Goes to the Moon" and "The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog", which was pretty epic. It involves Sonic falling in love and saving the world with his friends "The Freedom Fighters". Of course, I wrote the role of Sonic for myself. The entire cast list was comprised of neighborhood friends, cousins and American Girl dolls. I remember rehearsals (we never actually got to put on the show) that involved using the garage door as our curtain. You will see below, that I had written that into the stage directions.
"The Weather Channel Play" is about the meteorologists at the Weather Channel. (A little back story - I was obsessed with the weather and watching TWC from about age 8-12. While most girls were fantasizing about being Belle in Beauty and the Beast, I was obsessed with becoming a storm chaser and out running tornadoes in the mid west). Anyway, I recall being convinced that if I did a good job writing and directing this play, the people from TWC would show up at my house, see it and relocate me to Atlanta where I could have my own weather show and "travel around the country to chase tornadoes" (that exact quote is from my journal).
I also have "Fran Fine Goes to Australia" (about "The Nanny"). It's self explanatory. Fran goes to Australia with Mr. Sheffield and "the gang". She gets into trouble snorkeling the great barrier reef. 
All of these plays are dance musicals. They involve some element of singing and choreography (that apparently I did because I have all the choreography written out in back of the script). Enjoy some excerpts:
Excerpt from "Sonic the Hedgehog Goes to the Moon" (age 7 or 8)Scene 1
(Sonic and Sally walking through the Knothole Forest)
Sally: I really don't think this is a good idea.
Sonic: Come on, Sal. If we don't we will get roboticized.
Sally: I don't get it, how blasting to the moon is going to help.
Sonic: I told you one, I told you twice and I won't tell you again. We are doing this so we don't get roboticized.
Sally: And for something else Soney Boy...
Sonic: Don't call me Soney boy. Yeah, I know. It's to destroy that big machine.
Sally: But Sonic, if that machinbe distroyes (sic) everything, Knothole will not exist and chances are, neither will we.
(Dr. Robotnick and Robot enter. Sonic and Sally duck (sic) in a bush)
Robotnick: Report bot brain.
Robot: Yes sir. The distroyer (sic) reports ninedy (sic) percent of Robotropolos is affected, sir.
Robotnick: Excellent!!!!!!! Come on, let's go eat.
(They leave)
Sonic: Well, you see Sal.
Sally: See what?
Sonic: I don't know. All I know is were (sic) going to blast to the moon.
Excerpt of "The Weather Channel Play" (age 9)
Scene1Angelica: Girls, girls. Every good meteorologist knows that you do not scroll the red screen to the place with the good weather. You scroll it to the place with the severe weather.
Amy and Abigail: We're sorry. We will never do it again.
(They run off)
Jessica: Why don't you give them a break.
Diane: We don't have time. We're on in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... we're on!
(Garage door closes. All action now in front of garage)
Diane: Hi, my name is Diane McFeely
Nicole: My name is Nicole Vanswazie. Today we are going to talk about severe weather.
Diane: Remember, any severe thunderstorms can produce tornadoes.
Stacy: You should always have a safety plan just in case.
Jessica: If for some reason you are in an open field, take cover by lying in a ditch or a low place.
Amy: Abigail, what exactly is a tornado?
Amy: A tornado is a funnel shaped cloud extending downward from the base of a cumulonimbus cloud.
Diane: Now, we will have our storm chasers show you how they chase storms.
Everyone: WOW!
(Everyone dances to the song "Grease Lightening")
Tomorrow starts the Lincoln Center Directors Lab. I have promised myself that I will blog about it as much as I can. I love looking at the blogs from previous labs. They have been incredibly helpful. I hope that mine can do the same for future applicants.
Labels:
childhood,
New Jersey,
playwriting
Several colleagues from grad school and the Arts Politics program at NYU founded a new and groundbreaking magazine called "The Arts Politic", dedicated to solving problems at the intersection of arts and politics. Check it out at:
http://theartspolitic.com/ . You can read it online and order the hard copy "Economy Issue" (#1) at: http://theartspolitic.com/magazine/issue-1/ .
This is great...
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The words of God do not justify cruelty to women
Discrimination and abuse wrongly backed by doctrine are damaging society, argues the former US president
"Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status ..." (Article 2, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)
I have been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world.
So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when th e convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be "subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service. This was in conflict with my belief - confirmed in the holy scriptures - that we are all equal in the eyes of God.
This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. It is widespread. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths.
Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for centuries. The male interpretations of religious texts and the way they interact with, and reinforce, traditional practices justify some of the most pervasive, persistent, flagrant and damaging examples of human rights abuses.
At their most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.
The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives. They help explain why in many countries boys are educated before girls; why girls are told when and whom they must marry; and why many face enormous and unacceptable risks in pregnancy and childbirth because their basic health needs are not met.
In some Islamic nations, women are restricted in their movements, punished for permitting the exposure of an arm or ankle, deprived of education, prohibited from driving a car or competing with men for a job. If a woman is raped, she is often most severely punished as the guilty party in the crime.
The same discriminatory thinking lies behind the continuing gender gap in pay and why there are still so few women in office in Britain and the United States. The root of this prejudice lies deep in our histories, but its impact is felt every day. It is not women and girls alone who suffer. It damages all of us. The evidence shows that investing in women and girls delivers major benefits for everyone in society. An educated woman has healthier children. She is more likely to send them to school. She earns more and invests what she earns in her family.
It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these self-serving and out-dated attitudes and practices - as we are seeing in Iran where women are at the forefront of the battle for democracy and freedom.
I understand, however, why many political leaders can be reluctant about stepping into this minefield. Religion, and tradition, are powerful and sensitive area to challenge.
But my fellow Elders and I, who come from many faiths and backgrounds, no longer need to worry about winning votes or avoiding controversy - and we are deeply committed to challenging injustice wherever we see it.
The Elders have decided to draw particular attention to the responsibility of religious and traditional leaders in ensuring equality and human rights. We have recently published a statement that declares: "The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable."
We are calling on all leaders to challenge and change the harmful teachings and practices, no matter how ingrained, which justify discrimination against women. We ask, in particular, that leaders of all religions have the courage to acknowledge and emphasise the positive messages of dignity and equality that all the world's major faiths share.
Although not having training in religion or theology, I understand that the carefully selected verses found in the holy scriptures to justify the superiority of men owe more to time and place - and the determination of male leaders to hold onto their influence - than eternal truths. Similar Biblical excerpts could be found to support the approval of slavery and the timid acquiescence to oppressive rulers.
At the same time, I am also familiar with vivid descriptions in the same scriptures in which women are revered as pre-eminent leaders. During the years of the early Christian church women served as deacons, priests, bishops, apostles, teachers and prophets. It wasn't until the fourth century that dominant Christian leaders, all men, twisted and distorted holy scriptures to perpetuate their ascendant positions within the religious hierarchy.
I know, too, that Billy Graham, one of the most widely respected and revered Christians during my lifetime, did not understand why women were prevented from being priests and preachers. He said: "Women preach all over the world. It doesn't bother me from my study of the scriptures."
The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter.
Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions - all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views.
• Jimmy Carter was US president from 1977-81. The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity.
- guardian.co.uk © Guardian News and Media Limited 2009
The Manhattan Theatre Source Presents:
GIRLPOWER: VOICES OF A GENERATION
Created and Performed by the 2008-2009 GirlPower Performance Collective
Directed by Ashley Marinaccio and Elizabeth Koke
The New York International Fringe Festival – FringeNYC
A production of The Present Company
MON 8/17 at 7pm (Talkback 8:30-9:15), THUR 8/20 at 9:30pm , FRI 8/21 at 3:15pm,
SUN 8/23 at 5:00 pm, MON 8/24 at 5:00pm
Tickets: $15
For tickets and venue information visit www.FringeNYC.org
“We are the girls of the future. Listen to our cry. Listen to the things that make us mad, upset and happy. Don't take us for granted. Don't think that we don't understand the world. We are GirlPower! Walk away with the knowledge we give you. Walk away with our problems. Walk away with the solution. Walk away with the feeling of hope. Walk away with life. But mostly, walk away knowing you have Girl Power!”- Lauren Marie Curet, age 13, 2008-2009 GirlPower Collective Member
The Manhattan Theatre Source is proud to present GirlPower: Voices of a Generation as part of the 13th annual New York International Fringe Festival – FringeNYC. The New York International Fringe Festival (FringeNYC) is the largest multi-arts festival in North America, with more than 200 companies from all over the world performing for 16 days in more than 20 venues.
Bold. Smart. Fresh. For teens, by teens. GirlPower: Voices of a Generation is an empowering, ensemble-driven collection of words written and performed by teenagers, struggling with issues they face growing up in today's world. Through monologues and spoken word, the young women share their perspectives on love, relationships, the future, creating social change and finding power through theatre. Audiences can expect to walk away with a renewed sense of their own empowerment, regardless of their age and gender. Not only does the cast of GirlPower discuss the problems plaguing their generation, but they present audiences with solutions and ideas for action that can start upon leaving the theatre.
The show features a diverse ensemble of teenage girls from the tri-state area and includes: Anastasia Zorin (Manhattan), Dominique Fishback (Brooklyn), Alexis Molnar (New Jersey), Lauren Curet (Queens), Michelle Lee (Bronx), Christina Perry (Manhattan), Andrea Panichi (New Jersey), Roni Laytin (Long Island), Candice Fernandez (New Jersey), Lyric Anderson (New Jersey), Alexa Winston (Manhattan), Amber Rhabb (Queens), Kezia Tyson (Queens), Alondra Diaz (Bronx) and Kaitlin Marie Hernandez (Brooklyn). It is directed by Ashley Marinaccio and Elizabeth Koke.
GirlPower: Voices of a Generation is part of the Manhattan Theatre Source’s five week long Estrogenius Festival. Shining the spotlight on women’s creativity, the Estrogenius Festival offers a dynamic line-up of performances theatre, dance, music, solo shows and visual art. Since its inception in 2000, The Estrogenius Festival has grown into a premier showcase for the diversity of women’s artistic voices, right in the center of the downtown New York theatre scene. 2009 marks the tenth anniversary of the Estrogenius Festival. More information about GirlPower: Voices of a Generation and the Estrogenius Festival can be found on the Manhattan Theatre Source’s website http://www.theatresource.org/estro/.
July has been a busy month for me! Currently working on edits for "Decadent Acts" (see below), directing "GirlPower: Voices of a Generation" for the NYC Fringe Festival and getting ready for the Lincoln Center Directors Lab starting in a few short weeks. I'm also subletting a place in Williamsburg which I love and am hoping to stay permanently.
Enjoy some pictures from the first read through of "Decadent Acts" below...
Decadent Acts
Written by Ashley Marinaccio
Directed by Robert Gonyo
One Night Only
Monday, July 27th, 2009
7:00 pm
Schaeberle Studio @ Pace University
41 Park Row, 10th FloorManhattan(Across from City Hall Park)
$5 Suggested Donation
To reserve tickets, please e-mail cooptheatreeast@gmail.com
Notice how we're now a "Performance Collective"? Loves it. Here is the new GirlPower audition breakdown for the following year. If you are (or know anyone) interested, feel free to submit. We're looking for a diverse group of young women and have a ton of exciting plans!
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Estrogenius Festival: GirlPower
Seeking: Performers/Writers/Activists between the ages of 10-20. Please do NOT submit if you do not fall into this age category as these aremonologues written specifically by and for young women between theages of 10-20. Through writing and acting workshops, guest artists,discussion groups, performances and drawing from the media, news andinterviews with peers, the GirlPower collective will be workingtogether in generating a theatrical event based on their own lifeexperiences and what it means to be a young woman in today's world.The actresses share the joys and troubles of today's generation withtheir experiences of love, relationships, parents, identity, pain andsuccess.
GirlPower is part of the Manhattan Theatre Source's month longEstrogenius Festival (www.theatresource.org/aboutestro.html orwww.estrogenius.org ) which is in it's 10th season and has become oneof New York City's largest women's arts festivals, presenting morethan 35 events over 24 nights. The festival features a diverseschedule of short plays, dance, solo shows, visual art, paneldiscussions and performances by teens. The festival has afforded morethan 1,600 artists the chance to shine. The 2009 festival runs October1 through November 1 at Manhattan Theatre Source.
Currently, the 2008-2009 GirlPower collective is performing in the NYCInternational Fringe Festival, August 14th through 30th(www.girlpowermts.blogspot.com and fringnyc.org). The 2009-2010collective is encouraged to come back for a spring performance andsimilar experience in a 2010 summer festival. We are also working onbringing the performance to public schools and community events in thetri-state area.
GirlPower will be presented at the Manhattan Theatre Source October9th and 10th, 2009. Tech Rehearsal will be on October 8th. There willbe two afternoon performances during the week of the show for schooland community groups. Rehearsals will begin in late August and will beheld Saturday mornings from 9:30 am - 12:00 pm.Do not submit if you are unavailable for the performances or a largeportion of the proposed rehearsal period.
Please send a picture and resume to girlpowermts@gmail.com. Also,please include information about yourself and why you want toparticipate in this project. Auditions will be held on Monday, July13th from 3:00 - 6:00 pm at the Manhattan Theatre Source. Uponreceiving your information, we will schedule you in a five minute audition slot.
For the audition, please write a short monologue (2 minutes or under) about your life/school/friends/goals/fears/hobbies/interests etc. oranything that shows us who you are and the issues you care about. Youcan feel free to write a poem, short story, scene or spoken word pieceas well. We want to see who you are. You do not need to memorize thispiece. We also ask that you prepare any monologue 2 minutes or under.Be prepared to perform the monologue and your written piece.GirlPower is presented under an AEA Showcase Code. Union/Non-Union may apply.It is produced and directed by Ashley Marinaccio and Elizabeth Koke.
http://www.spike.com/blog/michael-jackson-fans/83008
Michael Jackson Fans are Committing Suicide
According to Michael Jackson's largest online fan club, MJ fanatics have been recently committing suicide because of the pop star's tragic death.
The Sun is reporting that up to 12 die-hard Jackson followers have taken their own lives since his passing on Thursday.
Gary Taylor, who runs MJJcommunity.com, recently said, "I know there has been an increase, I now believe the figure is 12. I believe there may have been one Briton who has taken their life. It is a serious situation that these people are going through but Michael Jackson would never want this. He would want them to live."
This crazy news came to light when it was revealed that a Jackson lookalike in Russia cut his wrists after Michael's death was announced last week. The fan, Pável Talaláyev, was found bleeding heavily at his home in Moscow just hours after it was announced that Jackson had died. Luckily for him, an ambulance crew found him in time and managed to save his life. Apparently others have not been so fortunate.
The most insane aspect of this story has to be the conversation that took place in the ambulance after the paramedics had saved Talaláyev from death.
One of the paramedics stated, "He was in a terrible state and kept on saying: 'It's all the same to me. I'm going to kill myself. It's the worst tragedy of my life and I don't want to live any more. I don't know why you saved my life, I want to be with him'."
Pável is supposedly Russia's most famous Jacko lookalike and apparently modeled himself after MJ from the age of nine.
Hot damn.Source: Ben Stansall/Getty Images
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