Jodi Forrest a.k.a. Elisabeth "Sissi" Delmas

[FormicaArchonis offline]

Hand written? Holy! I never realized that. I just assumed it was computerized. Someone writes out the whole script over again just for that? Man, I can't rewrite a grocery shopping list properly.

We are beginning to see more and more computerized bands, but believe it or not, they're more difficult to read.

Woah. You'd think it'd be relatively easy to play with the font settings until it's readable. Of course, it's not their job to read it, is it?:(

(One of my flaws is that I'm an unrepentant flirt, even when it's not necessarily a good idea. If I'm going over the top, feel free to point it out or hit me with a brick or something, and I'll lay off. No offense is meant. )

No offense taken! Flirting is so much fun, innocent and tempting at the same time. And, as one of my friends sez, "No juice, no life".

Cool. (Pokes self with fork.) No juice. I must've been in the oven for too long.

In reference to the "why is Sissi getting nicer" question I would like to thank Stonecreek and FormicaArchonis for their helpful and thought provoking insights.

(Bows.) My pleasure. I find discussion of a character's motivations a fascinating thing. And when the person who brings said character to life is involved, well, that's a rare treat.
Of course, my conclusions rarely agree with anyone else's. And that's fine. To some extent, we see aspects of ourselves in the characters, and that colors things.

I tell you, when you're up at the bar dubbing, you don't think about these things. You just play the scene, especially if you have a character that is not very present (or pleasant). It's very different for the big roles since you have alot of time with your character and can really get into his or her skin.

And more opportunity to nuance your performance and nudge it in a certain direction.

I've also wondered why Sissi sleeps in the dorm. Perhaps her father lives at the school.

He seems to, as TB3 and SamBlob mention, live on campus. But that doesn't really solve the problem of why she's not living in his quarters. I doubt they'd expect all the administrators to live in student-sized apartments, since most of them are likely married with kids who are either too old or too young to be students. The principal would probably recieve further consideration, just like the captain on a ship often gets a bigger cabin. It seems safe to assume that Sissi's father has access to an on-campus house or a sizable apartment, either of which would afford her more privacy and room than a student dwelling. And she'd probably be considered a day student just like Yumi, which would be cheaper for her dad - unless the school has a "teacher's kids stay free" policy, having one's own room is an expense.

It seems like somewhere along the line someone (other than the writers ) made the choice for Sissi to live where she's living. The only ones capable of making that choice are A) Kadic employee policy, B) Mr. Delmas, C) Sissi herself.

A) A policy that students can't live with their teacher parents seems plausible, if harsh. Management is capable of anything, and some places might try to maintain the appearance of neutrality by having the administrators' own children (outwardly) treated just the other students.
B) I doubt Mr. Delmas would make the choice without some sort of prodding, either from A) or C). He might be personally devoted to the principle of treating all students like equals, but I get the feeling Sissi could break down his principles fairly quickly if it wasn't what she wanted. (Could you imagine the size of the guilt trip she could lay on if she'd wanted to live with her dad and he was trying to "throw her out"? He'd still be regretting it when Sissi turned 40.)
C) Sissi seems like the most likely one to make the choice. Convincing her father to spend money on her is probably second nature - I don't see her running a paper route to make money for all her fancy beauty products.
So, if the choice wasn't made for her, it was probably Sissi's own doing. Could be that sneaking out is easier when in the dorm.

And then, of course, there's the question of her mother. Someone brought that up quite a while ago. What happened to her?

Succumbed to the dread disease of being ignored by the writers, neither necessary enough to feature nor important enough to officially kill off. It's an often terminal condition, but some people make miraculous recoveries after a few seasons, when the producers decide they need some new blood.

So she's either dead, or divorced, or married to a Touareg chieftain and living the life of a nomad in the Saharan desert near Timbuktu.... You know, somewhere else.

The girls on this show really got the short shrift parental-wise. Sissi and Aelita are both short mothers, and Yumi's parents seem wont to hit rough patches, at least whenever the 'camera' is on them.

[Mewberries151]

Heh...I always thought that Sissi stayed in the dorms because that way she was close to Ulrich 24/7. ^^; I'm not sure if that's a particularly plausible reason but she'd have more opportunities to interact with Ulrich as a dorm student than a day student, I'd think. Poor Ulrich. *giggles* (j/k) ^.^

[Agent_Marquez offline]

Heh...I always thought that Sissi stayed in the dorms because that way she was close to Ulrich 24/7. ^^; I'm not sure if that's a particularly plausible reason but she'd have more opportunities to interact with Ulrich as a dorm student than a day student, I'd think. Poor Ulrich. *giggles* (j/k) ^.^

Good point. Sissi would have more chances (not saying she will score with Ulrich for sure) to gain Ulrich's heart IF she had the one responsibility Ulrich has that she doesn't have: to fight XANA.

[bambi offline]

I've also wondered why Sissi sleeps in the dorm. Perhaps her father lives at the school. And then, of course, there's the question of her mother. Someone brought that up quite a while ago. What happened to her?

I thought you could answer such question.

Ha! To tell you the truth, the question never even occured to me.

As for Sissi's change in attitude, I am wondering exactly how she discovered subtelty, because that seems to be her current strategy.

Yes, it was a very unexpected and, I must say, unlikely transformation. But a welcome one!

*winces* Ouch! Is this the same for all the shows you record? It sounds like a really tough means of knowing WHAT to say - do you get any scripts or whatever to reference in advance for an episode?

We never get scripts in advance. You just show up at the studio and jump right in. Sometimes when we're working on a show we're very familiar with and we have a group of very experienced voice actors (like for CL), we don't even watch the scenes before we do them, so it's important to keep one eye on the screen to see what's happening and one eye on the band to read your lines, making sure that you read them in place. Of course we make mistakes and redo scenes. It generally takes us about 3 and a half hours to do one episode.

From our perspective Sissi's one of the best characterised kids on the show, so you do a great job at the bar!

Why TB3, you shameless flatterer! *smiling and blushing* Thank you so much!

I've always assumed Sissi lived on campus and that the same went for her father - 'Exploration' did show him at Kadic in the middle of the night in Pyjamas and a Dressing-Gown - we also know that Jim sleeps there and that Lycee Lakanal, Kadic's real life prototype, hires staff to live there 24/7 to supervise and safeguard the student population (click here for a plan of Kadic and here for one of Lakanal as comparison.)

Very cool. I had no idea Lycée Lakanal was the model for Kadic. I just had a look at their website and the school is actually in Sceaux, a southern suburb of Paris. The old Renault factory is on the island off Boulogne Billancourt which is just west of Paris. The two buildings are not exactly next door neighbors!

As for Sissi's mother - I always assumed she was dead for one reason or another and that her brattiness can be attributed to a distant but spoiling father figure, and no solid parental base to bounce off - do you have a different take on
it?

I kinda like FormicaArchonis's theory. He suggests she:

Succumbed to the dread disease of being ignored by the writers, neither necessary enough to feature nor important enough to officially kill off. It's an often terminal condition, but some people make miraculous recoveries after a few seasons, when the producers decide they need some new blood.

So she's either dead, or divorced, or married to a Touareg chieftain and living the life of a nomad in the Saharan desert near Timbuktu.... You know, somewhere else.

I've also wondered why Sissi sleeps in the dorm.

It seems like somewhere along the line someone (other than the writers ) made the choice for Sissi to live where she's living. The only ones capable of making that choice are A) Kadic employee policy, B) Mr. Delmas, C) Sissi herself (...) Sissi seems like the most likely one to make the choice. Convincing her father to spend money on her is probably second nature - I don't see her running a paper route to make money for all her fancy beauty products. So, if the choice wasn't made for her, it was probably Sissi's own doing. Could be that sneaking out is easier when in the dorm.

Yes, I agree Sissi made the decision herself. Sneaking out would definitely be one of the perks. Another one would be:

Heh...I always thought that Sissi stayed in the dorms because that way she was close to Ulrich 24/7. ^^;

And let's face it, if you were a teenager and could choose between living in a dorm full of other teenagers or a house with your father, which would you pick?

[MY85 offline]

And let's face it, if you were a teenager and could choose between living in a dorm full of other teenagers or a house with your father, which would you pick?

Whoever answers for living with their father, grab a gun and shoot yourself in the head. Just kidding.

Dorms at school are one thing. Another thing is having it at universities. Sadly, my university doesn't have it that way. but if it did, I would end up with lower grades. I have a huge problem with distraction.

[SamBlob offline]

And let's face it, if you were a teenager and could choose between living in a dorm full of other teenagers or a house with your father, which would you pick?

Whoever answers for living with their father, grab a gun and shoot yourself in the head. Just kidding.(

I guess I would have, simply because we all want what we can't get.

[MY85 offline]

And let's face it, if you were a teenager and could choose between living in a dorm full of other teenagers or a house with your father, which would you pick?

Whoever answers for living with their father, grab a gun and shoot yourself in the head. Just kidding.(

I guess I would have, simply because we all want what we can't get.

Sorry that I forgot about you, Blob.

[TB3]

And let's face it, if you were a teenager and could choose between living in a dorm full of other teenagers or a house with your father, which would you pick?

Whoever answers for living with their father, grab a gun and shoot yourself in the head. Just kidding.(

I guess I would have, simply because we all want what we can't get.

Sorry that I forgot about you, Blob.

Hmm...I kinda like living in a uni dorm - and so far distraction has not been a major problem - I actually fin I wirte some of my best essays in the campus bar!

I've always assumed Sissi lived on campus and that the same went for her father - 'Exploration' did show him at Kadic in the middle of the night in Pyjamas and a Dressing-Gown - we also know that Jim sleeps there and that Lycee Lakanal, Kadic's real life prototype, hires staff to live there 24/7 to supervise and safeguard the student population (click here for a plan of Kadic and here for one of Lakanal as comparison.)

Very cool. I had no idea Lycée Lakanal was the model for Kadic. I just had a look at their website and the school is actually in Sceaux, a southern suburb of Paris. The old Renault factory is on the island off Boulogne Billancourt which is just west of Paris. The two buildings are not exactly next door neighbors!

Well at least the kids get their exercise when they nip over to the factory!

Yeah, I knew about the conflict of locations - there is this interesting map which shows Kadic's fictional location is on Billancourt's main road - what tickles me is that I drove along this very road, past 'Kadic' and past the factory at the Pte. de Sevres (shame on them for tearing it down!) last August.

You'll probably notice Jodi from this map that the factory island is different to reality - it's shorter and only has one access bridge rather than two - similar area maps also used to crop up a lot on Jeremie's computer in S1 - reaffirming both the reality of the location, and the fictionality (i.e. I doubt that there's both a chemical plant and a nuclear power station that close to France's capital in reality! ) Billancourt in the show is also shown as quite peaceful and rural, in stark contrast to the city environment I saw when I drove past.

Do you have any thoughts on this?

[FormicaArchonis offline]

As for Sissi's change in attitude, I am wondering exactly how she discovered subtelty, because that seems to be her current strategy.

Yes, it was a very unexpected and, I must say, unlikely transformation. But a welcome one!

Unlikely, but not impossible to explain or retcon. (Nothing is impossible to retcon. ) There's also plently of precedents to cite. Off the top of my head, I recall that Jonathan Harris's character (Dr. Zachary Smith) in the "Lost in Space" TV series was rapidly lightened up and played for laughs as he and the script editor realized that someone willing to kill an entire family to get what he wanted wasn't going to be the sort of character that lasted long.

Whoever answers for living with their father, grab a gun and shoot yourself in the head. Just kidding.

(Checks barrel of gun for obstructions.) Wouldn't want to hurt myself while trying to commit suicide.
Seriously, though, as a teenager I had nothing but contempt for many of my so-called peers. Being around them more than required would've driven me mad. Even now, the fewer people I deal with on a regular basis, the happier I am. I keep my own company very well.

[Aceilikeeggs offline]

WOW!

Sissi Delmas is here! You might have been asked this before,but are you anything like Sissi at all? Similarities ?Anything? Did you audition for other characters or Sissi exactly ?Do you like being Sissi ?Do i ask too many questions?

Sorry, i'm just excited.
Excited Dan

[bambi offline]

Dear All,
Just to let you know I'll be back on the forum this weekend.
See ya then!
Jodi

[Mewberries151]

Dear All,
Just to let you know I'll be back on the forum this weekend.
See ya then!
Jodi

We eagerly await your return, Ms. Forrest! ^.^ Have a good week then!

[bambi offline]

Dorms at school are one thing. Another thing is having it at universities. Sadly, my university doesn't have it that way. but if it did, I would end up with lower grades. I have a huge problem with distraction.

I never lived in a dorm, at high school or college. But I did definitely want to get away from my family! As far as distractions were concerned, well, let's just say I was never much of a party girl, although I did and still do love to go out dancing. Same with concerts, plays, and movies. My distractions were mostly studying things outside the regular curriculum. And I was a cinema fanatic, sometimes going to see as many as 4 (foreign and art) films a day.

And let's face it, if you were a teenager and could choose between living in a dorm full of other teenagers or a house with your father, which would you pick?

Whoever answers for living with their father, grab a gun and shoot yourself in the head. Just kidding.(

I guess I would have, simply because we all want what we can't get.

*gives SamBlob a big hug*

Hmm...I kinda like living in a uni dorm - and so far distraction has not been a major problem - I actually fin I wirte some of my best essays in the campus bar!

Didn't J.K. Rowling write her first Harry Potter book in a coffee shop? And didn't some of the Lost Generation writers (Hemingway, etc.) do their writing in Paris cafés? I'm actually quite familiar with someone who composed the music for an entire musical in a Paris café!

Yeah, I knew about the conflict of locations - there is this interesting map which shows Kadic's fictional location is on Billancourt's main road - what tickles me is that I drove along this very road, past 'Kadic' and past the factory at the Pte. de Sevres (shame on them for tearing it down!) last August.

You'll probably notice Jodi from this map that the factory island is different to reality - it's shorter and only has one access bridge rather than two - similar area maps also used to crop up a lot on Jeremie's computer in S1 - reaffirming both the reality of the location, and the fictionality (i.e. I doubt that there's both a chemical plant and a nuclear power station that close to France's capital in reality! ) Billancourt in the show is also shown as quite peaceful and rural, in stark contrast to the city environment I saw when I drove past.

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Too bad they tore the building down. I used to drive by there quite often and I like old factory buildings (as opposed to new ones which I detest). To answer your question, I guess any creative art form includes bits of reality mixed with bits of imagination. I'd say the old factory in CL is a hommage of sorts. Yeah, a kind of cartoon "putting out to pasture".

As for Sissi's change in attitude, I am wondering exactly how she discovered subtelty, because that seems to be her current strategy.

Yes, it was a very unexpected and, I must say, unlikely transformation. But a welcome one!

Unlikely, but not impossible to explain or retcon. (Nothing is impossible to retcon. ) There's also plently of precedents to cite. Off the top of my head, I recall that Jonathan Harris's character (Dr. Zachary Smith) in the "Lost in Space" TV series was rapidly lightened up and played for laughs as he and the script editor realized that someone willing to kill an entire family to get what he wanted wasn't going to be the sort of character that lasted long.

Holy Moley, "Lost in Space"? Good god, that's a moth eaten blast from the past. And what's retcon?

Seriously, though, as a teenager I had nothing but contempt for many of my so-called peers. Being around them more than required would've driven me mad. Even now, the fewer people I deal with on a regular basis, the happier I am. I keep my own company very well.

Wow, FormicaArchonis, I'm a kind of a loner, too, but, do I detect an edge of bitterness in your words?

WOW!

Sissi Delmas is here! You might have been asked this before,but are you anything like Sissi at all? Similarities ?Anything? Did you audition for other characters or Sissi exactly ?Do you like being Sissi ?Do i ask too many questions?

Sorry,i'm just excited.
Excited Dan

Hi, Aceilikeeggs, do you really like eggs that much? In any case, welcome! I kind of resemble Sissi physically: tall, thin, long black hair. I'm also kind of bossy, but NOTHING even approaching Sissi. I'm not manipulative, and I think if you asked any of my friends they'd all say I was a kind, warm person. I can be very persistant when I fall love with somebody, though. I auditioned for Aelita, Ulrich, and Odd, but didn't get anything. Christine Flowers (a good friend) was cast as Sissi, but she was unavailable after a few episodes so I was called in to replace her. And yes, I love being Sissi! She's so over the top. Please don't apologize for asking questions. That's what I'm here for. And it's great you're excited! It makes life fun.

Dear All,
Just to let you know I'll be back on the forum this weekend.
See ya then!
Jodi

We eagerly await your return, Ms. Forrest! ^.^ Have a good week then!

Thanks Mewberries!

[Skorpigeist offline]

well it is good to see you back on the forums. I hope you have been well of course .

I must say that in the past week I have had the pleasure (or curse) of having to direct a one act play at my schools drama club. After it was done I have a new found respect for people who direct because there are so many logistics to work out, telling the other actors how to do this and that. It is really, really hard. I was wondering what you thought of this if you have directed? ( I think it was told somewhere that you have but I don't remember)

Also you said you auditioned for Aelita,Ulrich, and Odd. Of those three which one were you paticuarly hoping to get? or do you do like me and just sort of go well as long as I get a part its all gravy?

[FormicaArchonis offline]

Unlikely, but not impossible to explain or retcon. (Nothing is impossible to retcon. ) There's also plently of precedents to cite. Off the top of my head, I recall that Jonathan Harris's character (Dr. Zachary Smith) in the "Lost in Space" TV series was rapidly lightened up and played for laughs as he and the script editor realized that someone willing to kill an entire family to get what he wanted wasn't going to be the sort of character that lasted long.

Holy Moley, "Lost in Space"? Good god, that's a moth eaten blast from the past.

Indeed. While I didn't watch a lot of it, I know a bit of trivia about SF from that era, mostly from watching the Sci-Fi Channel during its early days. (They had the occasional show on behind-the-scenes stuff that I found interesting.) About the only show of the time I can chapter-and-verse is Doctor Who.

And what's retcon?

Retroactive continuity. When a later revelation changes the interpretation of previous events without changing the facts. For instance, the big revelation that a season of Dallas was just a dream. It changes everything that happened before while the events themselves stay the same. It's used to jumpstart plots, to patch up clashing bits of continuity, or for writers to get out of the corner they painted themselves into. A bit closer to home, I suppose you could look at Aelita's origins as being a retcon, since I doubt that was the intention back when the writers were penning stories about giant teddy bears. (Edit: Perhaps the most obvious retcon would be the 'virus' Aelita was stuck with thanks to XANA.)

Seriously, though, as a teenager I had nothing but contempt for many of my so-called peers. Being around them more than required would've driven me mad. Even now, the fewer people I deal with on a regular basis, the happier I am. I keep my own company very well.

Wow, FormicaArchonis, I'm a kind of a loner, too, but, do I detect an edge of bitterness in your words?

You think?:) My days of public school weren't terribly enjoyable. Perhaps I'm overstating it - ten years removed, my memory's prone to cheating - but it's still not a time of my life I'd be terribly willing to return to.

Though your choice of words is amusing. I still remember being called "a loner who's always with someone" in a speech by a local politican.

[SamBlob offline]

Dorms at school are one thing. Another thing is having it at universities. Sadly, my university doesn't have it that way. but if it did, I would end up with lower grades. I have a huge problem with distraction.

I never lived in a dorm, at high school or college. But I did definitely want to get away from my family! As far as distractions were concerned, well, let's just say I was never much of a party girl, although I did and still do love to go out dancing. Same with concerts, plays, and movies. My distractions were mostly studying things outside the regular curriculum. And I was a cinema fanatic, sometimes going to see as many as 4 (foreign and art) films a day.

My first experience of living away from home was at the St. Augustine (Trinidad) campus of the University of the West Indies, where I lived on Canada Hall. About 95 or 96 out of 100 students living on Canada Hall at any given time were Engineering students, and we were dedicated to getting through the course and getting each other through the course. Secondary activities included beating Milner Hall at football (which Americans know as "soccer"), putting on the best concert at the University (and, when I was there, the only one that ran for more than one night...), battling the Dark Forces of the Administration (if the Students' Guild was at odds with Admin they joined our side, if not, they joined Admin's; they were generally not reliable), and otherwise being a force to be reckoned with.

And let's face it, if you were a teenager and could choose between living in a dorm full of other teenagers or a house with your father, which would you pick?

Whoever answers for living with their father, grab a gun and shoot yourself in the head. Just kidding.(

I guess I would have, simply because we all want what we can't get.

*gives SamBlob a big hug*

Thank you.

Hmm...I kinda like living in a uni dorm - and so far distraction has not been a major problem - I actually fin I wirte some of my best essays in the campus bar!

Didn't J.K. Rowling write her first Harry Potter book in a coffee shop? And didn't some of the Lost Generation writers (Hemingway, etc.) do their writing in Paris cafés? I'm actually quite familiar with someone who composed the music for an entire musical in a Paris café!

Considering that the sketches many of the pictures I've posted at deviantART started while I was seated on the loo, I can believe that (but then again I can carry the sketch pad, pencil and eraser there; did the café have a piano or any other instrument he or she could have checked the notation on?)

Seriously, though, as a teenager I had nothing but contempt for many of my so-called peers. Being around them more than required would've driven me mad. Even now, the fewer people I deal with on a regular basis, the happier I am. I keep my own company very well.

Wow, FormicaArchonis, I'm a kind of a loner, too, but, do I detect an edge of bitterness in your words?

Heigh ho! sing Heigh ho! unto the green holly,
All friendship is feighning, all loving mere folly,
Sing Heigh ho the holly! This life is most jolly.
-from As You Like It by William Shakespeare

I feel like that quite often myself.

[bambi offline]

well it is good to see you back on the forums. I hope you have been well of course .

I've been very well indeed, thank you! Working out everyday to get into shape for the show I'm doing in April, toiling on Troilus and Cressida, which, frankly (you don't mind if I call you...), is beginning to grow on me, especially Act V. Funny, when I did my first read through I hated Act V. I guess Hegel was right, under certain conditions things DO turn into their opposites!

I must say that in the past week I have had the pleasure (or curse) of having to direct a one act play at my schools drama club. After it was done I have a new found respect for people who direct because there are so many logistics to work out, telling the other actors how to do this and that. It is really, really hard. I was wondering what you thought of this if you have directed? ( I think it was told somewhere that you have but I don't remember)

I've had the pleasure of directing a number of full length and one act plays. I'm so sorry you didn't enjoy it more. It's one of my most favoritest things in the whole wide world. I just kind of wind the actors up and let them go. Then I watch them from a spaced out sort of place until all of a sudden something hits me. Wait! sez the something, what we could do here is thus-and-such, or wouldn't it be fun if so-and-so was actually lying, or whatever. Of course I'm working with professional actors, which makes the basic level of performance pretty high right from the start. My approach is entirely intuitive (in fact it's the only area in my life where I am intuitive), but I'm complimenting it now by working with a mentor who is teaching me more left-brain methods of approaching a text (hence Troilus and Cressida).

Also you said you auditioned for Aelita,Ulrich, and Odd. Of those three which one were you paticuarly hoping to get? or do you do like me and just sort of go well as long as I get a part its all gravy?

I do like you, Skorp, just go with the flow.

Wow, FormicaArchonis, I'm a kind of a loner, too, but, do I detect an edge of bitterness in your words?

You think?:) My days of public school weren't terribly enjoyable. Perhaps I'm overstating it - ten years removed, my memory's prone to cheating - but it's still not a time of my life I'd be terribly willing to return to.

Hey, when you say "public school" in Canadian English do you mean the way it's used in US or UK English? If you COULD do a RTTP, when would it be to?

Though your choice of words is amusing. I still remember being called "a loner who's always with someone" in a speech by a local politican.

Heh heh, "a loner who's always with someone", I can relate to that! "In a speech by a local politician"... what's that all about?

My first experience of living away from home was at the St. Augustine (Trinidad) campus of the University of the West Indies, where I lived on Canada Hall. About 95 or 96 out of 100 students living on Canada Hall at any given time were Engineering students, and we were dedicated to getting through the course and getting each other through the course. Secondary activities included beating Milner Hall at football (which Americans know as "soccer"), putting on the best concert at the University (and, when I was there, the only one that ran for more than one night...), battling the Dark Forces of the Administration (if the Students' Guild was at odds with Admin they joined our side, if not, they joined Admin's; they were generally not reliable), and otherwise being a force to be reckoned with.

Sounds like you guys had fun!

Considering that the sketches many of the pictures I've posted at deviantART started while I was seated on the loo, I can believe that (but then again I can carry the sketch pad, pencil and eraser there; did the café have a piano or any other instrument he or she could have checked the notation on?)

Nope. Let me tell you something SamBlob, this guy is amazing. He just hears the music in his head and writes it down. And it's beautiful stuff, too. Enchanting.

Heigh ho! sing Heigh ho! unto the green holly,
All friendship is feighning, all loving mere folly,
Sing Heigh ho the holly! This life is most jolly.
-from As You Like It by William Shakespeare

I feel like that quite often myself.

Hahahahahaha! Good old Will! Thanks for the quote and I see what you mean.

[SamBlob offline]

My first experience of living away from home was at the St. Augustine (Trinidad) campus of the University of the West Indies, where I lived on Canada Hall. About 95 or 96 out of 100 students living on Canada Hall at any given time were Engineering students, and we were dedicated to getting through the course and getting each other through the course. Secondary activities included beating Milner Hall at football (which Americans know as "soccer"), putting on the best concert at the University (and, when I was there, the only one that ran for more than one night...), battling the Dark Forces of the Administration (if the Students' Guild was at odds with Admin they joined our side, if not, they joined Admin's; they were generally not reliable), and otherwise being a force to be reckoned with.

Sounds like you guys had fun!

We did, at times, but the course was tough. Fortunately the open war we had with the Guild ended shortly before I first went there; I wasn't there for the football riot, nor the fire-bombing.

Considering that the sketches many of the pictures I've posted at deviantART started while I was seated on the loo, I can believe that (but then again I can carry the sketch pad, pencil and eraser there; did the café have a piano or any other instrument he or she could have checked the notation on?)

Nope. Let me tell you something SamBlob, this guy is amazing. He just hears the music in his head and writes it down. And it's beautiful stuff, too. Enchanting.

Sounds like a genius operating at the level of Bach or Beethoven.

Heigh ho! sing Heigh ho! unto the green holly,
All friendship is feighning, all loving mere folly,
Sing Heigh ho the holly! This life is most jolly.
-from As You Like It by William Shakespeare

I feel like that quite often myself.

Hahahahahaha! Good old Will! Thanks for the quote and I see what you mean.

You're welcome.

[Skorpigeist offline]

well it is good to see you back on the forums. I hope you have been well of course .

I've been very well indeed, thank you! Working out everyday to get into shape for the show I'm doing in April, toiling on Troilus and Cressida, which, frankly (you don't mind if I call you...), is beginning to grow on me, especially Act V. Funny, when I did my first read through I hated Act V. I guess Hegel was right, under certain conditions things DO turn into their opposites!

I must say that in the past week I have had the pleasure (or curse) of having to direct a one act play at my schools drama club. After it was done I have a new found respect for people who direct because there are so many logistics to work out, telling the other actors how to do this and that. It is really, really hard. I was wondering what you thought of this if you have directed? ( I think it was told somewhere that you have but I don't remember)

I've had the pleasure of directing a number of full length and one act plays. I'm so sorry you didn't enjoy it more. It's one of my most favoritest things in the whole wide world. I just kind of wind the actors up and let them go. Then I watch them from a spaced out sort of place until all of a sudden something hits me. Wait! sez the something, what we could do here is thus-and-such, or wouldn't it be fun if so-and-so was actually lying, or whatever. Of course I'm working with professional actors, which makes the basic level of performance pretty high right from the start. My approach is entirely intuitive (in fact it's the only area in my life where I am intuitive), but I'm complimenting it now by working with a mentor who is teaching me more left-brain methods of approaching a text (hence Troilus and Cressida).

Also you said you auditioned for Aelita,Ulrich, and Odd. Of those three which one were you paticuarly hoping to get? or do you do like me and just sort of go well as long as I get a part its all gravy?

I do like you, Skorp, just go with the flow.

Well, that is good. It wasn't that I didn't like the directing after everything settled down, but it was very intimidating the first couple of days when everyone was asking me what to do and I was still working out details in the head. The idea of winding them up like toys is a good idea and something simlar that I tried. It was fun, but it will be awhile before I take a job like that again .

[MY85 offline]

Didn't J.K. Rowling write her first Harry Potter book in a coffee shop?

Can't remember if it was inside her car by Scottland or Portugal. Part of it, maybe. She was really broke before releasing the first Potter book.

[FormicaArchonis offline]

Didn't J.K. Rowling write her first Harry Potter book in a coffee shop?

Can't remember if it was inside her car by Scottland or Portugal. Part of it, maybe. She was really broke before releasing the first Potter book.

I'd heard it was a coffee shop as well. Inside her car? I didn't even think she had a car - unemployed (well, semi-employed) single mothers not exactly being able to keep up the payments.

Wow, FormicaArchonis, I'm a kind of a loner, too, but, do I detect an edge of bitterness in your words?

You think?:) My days of public school weren't terribly enjoyable. Perhaps I'm overstating it - ten years removed, my memory's prone to cheating - but it's still not a time of my life I'd be terribly willing to return to.

Hey, when you say "public school" in Canadian English do you mean the way it's used in US or UK English?

You remembered my nationality. I'm impressed!

US English, I suspect. A school run by the government and funded by taxes, available to all people without an education.

If you COULD do a RTTP, when would it be to?

If I could relive a part of my past? Any time from about five, six years ago to last summer, when my mother died. I don't have a great deal of regrets in my relationship with my mom - mostly the common things about bits of wisdom only half listened-to and stories partly forgotten, the small careless things we do without thinking and justify to ourselves with the belief that the person will always be around to tell us again. But I do miss her. It wasn't a half-decade I'm altogether proud of, but I'd willingly go through it again.

Though your choice of words is amusing. I still remember being called "a loner who's always with someone" in a speech by a local politican.

Heh heh, "a loner who's always with someone", I can relate to that! "In a speech by a local politician"... what's that all about?

Highest average in the graduating class. The local MLA (representative of the area in the provincial legislature) had a kid in the school, plus he was brother to the school's guidance counsellor. So the counsellor wrote up a speech and he delivered it. Not really a big deal, he could've been reading Mary Had a Little Lamb for all he knew of me. The applause of my peers was rather enjoyable, I admit, but the applause of the ones I respected meant far more than the cheers of the masses.

The counsellor and I never saw eye-to-eye - to put it mildly - so I always took the "loner" wording as a bit of a backhanded compliment, since it's attached to any kid who commits violence in a school, a shorthand for everything from "psychopath" to "nonconformist". (For me it perhaps meant that I was a nonconformist, unaligned with any of the major cliques.)

But I left it pass; I had much bigger things on my mind that night. A family member was ill, and I only went because that person insisted. I'd long since decided to skip the prom and the march and the this and the that and all the other banality associated with the night anyway, so skipping that interminable series of speeches punctuated by short bursts of glory would have been a minor sacrifice. I later learned that some people were rather angry with me, as I appeared shortly before the ceremony began and left minutes after it ended, vanishing into the night without saying goodbye to them or hanging around for secondary congratulations. (I'm the sort of person who's known by many but who knows few.)

The only other part of that graduation that really brings me any pride was my mortarboard. It didn't fit and no replacement was available. In a sea of about 90 blue and white squares was one dark brown head. I went out looking as unique as I felt, as unique as I am - and that, I am very proud of.

[Chosen_one offline]

I have a question for you, Ms. Forrest.

Do you think that Sissi's "popular" talk is... well... good? For example, in the episode XANA's Kiss, Hervé asks Sissi if he could see Adventure in the Tropics with her, and she says "Sure... not!" Do you think that the tone in which Sissi [was meant to have] said "not!" is... well... good or bad?

[bambi offline]

Sorry I've been away for so long. Been in very intensive rehearsals for a show that just opened yesterday and I'm wrecked (and ill). Will be back on the forum when I catch up with all the stuff I have to do and feel better. In the meantime:

I have a question for you, Ms. Forrest.

Do you think that Sissi's "popular" talk is... well... good? For example, in the episode XANA's Kiss, Hervé asks Sissi if he could see Adventure in the Tropics with her, and she says "Sure... not!" Do you think that the tone in which Sissi [was meant to have] said "not!" is... well... good or bad?

Chosen_one (who did the choosing?), welcome! I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you saying I didn't quite get the intonation right, or that it was inappropriate for Sissi to say that? Also, why are my ISP, and different numbers, etc., displayed in your signature? Please remove them, it really upsets me.

[Cassius335 offline]

If you think about it, a French girl using California slang is a little weird. *shrugs*

[SamBlob offline]

Sorry I've been away for so long. Been in very intensive rehearsals for a show that just opened yesterday and I'm wrecked (and ill). Will be back on the forum when I catch up with all the stuff I have to do and feel better. In the meantime:

I have a question for you, Ms. Forrest.

Do you think that Sissi's "popular" talk is... well... good? For example, in the episode XANA's Kiss, Hervé asks Sissi if he could see Adventure in the Tropics with her, and she says "Sure... not!" Do you think that the tone in which Sissi [was meant to have] said "not!" is... well... good or bad?

Chosen_one (who did the choosing?), welcome! I'm not sure I understand your question. Are you saying I didn't quite get the intonation right, or that it was inappropriate for Sissi to say that? Also, why are my ISP, and different numbers, etc., displayed in your signature? Please remove them, it really upsets me.

Sorry to hear you're not well. I hope your intensive schedule allows you to recover soon.

As for the sign, I think it shows each viewer his or her own data without making it available to other viewers (or so I'm told... hmmm... ). I know it shows mine when I look at it. Quite a few people have it here.