Your Name: Madie Fisette

Professor’s Name: Leon Ingulsrud

Date: 4/25/24

Section: FYS 3

GIVEN CIRCUMSTANCES
Darla Tiffany Vanderbilt-Deschanel

OBJECTIVE
I want Peggy, the cast, and the writer, all to admit that I am The Lead of this show.

WHO AM I?
My Name is Darla Tiffany Vanderbilt-Deschanel! I am 21 and was born on World Theatre Day
(March 27th) in 1999! I grew up in Texas for the first 17 years of my life. My mom was born
there and had been there her whole life. Her dream was to be a teacher! My father Rob
Vanderbilt's family founded a boarding school that was very private and very prestigious. My
Dad came from money, and my mom was raised on a farm. Despite their differences they met
when my mom was looking for a job outside of college, my dad was still young and running for
council of the school. They fell in love and decided to raise me in a big white country house! My
dad’s money changed my moms life but their life was never about that, it just meant that they
could use it to start an amazing life and have me! So… only child! But I was never lonely, I grew
up around nature and animals which I loved, and my parents were always supporting me. My dad
built me my first stage outside in our backyard and I would put on one-girl shows for them and
our neighbors. When I was old enough, I started attending my dads school. He became the
president of it. The school was divided between boys and girls, even though we often did coed
activities often I still lived with all girls! They were truly like my sisters, and I was basically
raised with them. At heart I felt like those girls and that school was my family and they were
always supportive of me and my dreams to be an actor. When I turned 17 my parents moved me
to New York. It’s all I had been asking for years, and we had already been working with an agent
there to begin booking roles and contracts for me! I did theater all throughout my life in major
cities around Texas. We would take road trips for a month or so and drive to where I had booked
theater roles! I couldn’t even name how many productions I have been in! After moving to New
York it was a BIG change. I always loved city life, but I really do miss my hometown. I got a big
loft apartment with lots of brick and closet space! I really love performing. I know that I am
going to be doing this for the rest of my life even when I’m 99 and can’t move. I'll be on stage on
a stretcher!! My hair is brown and usually always blown out by my stylist Carrie! I’m 5’6” but
always wearing heels so probably a few inches taller. I have been in a few relationships
throughout high school but when I moved to New York I decided to stay focused on my career! I
truly believe in being who you want to be, and not letting anyone get in the way of that. People
usually don’t believe that I will live up to my legacy or confidence, but I do and I have been
since I was born.

WHERE AM I?
1. Exact Date and Time that the scene takes place. The era in which your scene takes
place is important to the content of the scene.
1. Day: Saturday the 20th
2. Month: April
3. Time: 7:30
4. Year: 2024
5. Current Events:

-Taylor Swift just released her newest album The Tortured Poets Department.

-Merrily We roll along is currently on Broadway!

SETTING
1. The room looks like: This Theatre is a black box theater setup proscenium style.
The audience is higher than the stage, so actors are looking up and out. It’s small
and intimate, there is a purple wash of light in the back and the air is warm.
2. The room feels like: The room is buzzing with the energy of the audience. It feels
warm and inviting, like a community of people.
3. The room smells like: There’s a hint of sawdust smell from the building of sets.
Hairspray and perfume circle the stage. It smells like the theatre or maybe an old
familiar book.

RELATIONSHIPS
Peggy:

- Relationship to you: Scene partner

- How long you’ve had this relationship: 3 Years

- How you feel about them:

 - I respect Peggy, I think she’s a great artist and person, but girl when you
try to come for my role I’m going to fight back. Peggy is stubborn and so am I so
we often bicker and get into little fights. We run in the same community of artists
in the city so often end up at the same auditions and events. We always keep it
pretty civil, but she always undermines me, and I think she can be a little jealous
at times. When I first met her, we had the same agent which was like a living hell
for me, but then I moved on and got a personal one! I think Peggy would have an
easier time in this business if she stopped focusing on me so much! When I saw
her at the auditions for this show I was honestly hoping she didn’t get in, and then
I never heard from her the whole rehearsal time so then I was sure she had been
cut. But no! Here she is again.

- Bella

- Relationship to you: Scene partner

- How long you’ve had this relationship: A year.

- How you feel about them:

- Bella makes me want to rip my hair out. It’s different than Peggy….
almost worse. Bella is just so random! And somehow all her character's lines end
up being just as weird as hers. Don’t get me wrong, she’s not that weird, and can
sometimes be super kind. Except for when she’s super blunt. We have known
each other for less time than Peggy and me but we were in a production of Rent
about three months ago. We were the only two new people at the playhouse, so
naturally got pushed aside together. Let’s just say that after basically being her
best friend and right arm for a month, I really wish I didn’t work with her again.

- Tiana

- Relationship to you: Scene partner

- How long you’ve had this relationship: 3 Years

- How you feel about them:

- Tiana is great! I haven't worked with her that much, but she is so
supportive. When our scene goes off the rails, she doesn’t jump to attacking me
like Peggy or Bella, but instead tries to ease the situation and makes sure
everyone feels loved. My favorite memory with Tiana is toward the beginning.
We were both young and scared of the industry so we would often perform small
 songs and monologues only for each other. A judgment-free zone where we could
share our art. Even though we don’t have the closest relationship now, I am
grateful that I could find that girlhood friendship when first moving away from
home and all my friends. I hope that Tiana makes it because I would love to work
with her… Without Peggy!

- Amanda

- Relationship to you: Scene partner

- How long you’ve had this relationship: 2 years

- How you feel about them: Amanda is one of my favorite actors to work
with. She's always complimenting me or defending me in situations. We have
worked together on so many small projects and shes always a lovely face to have
in the room.

WHERE HAVE I COME FROM?

(Hint – all of the events in this section should directly relate to your objective and help to
raise the stakes in the scene).

1. Preceding Event --
1. What JUST happened to me before the scene is…: I always get ready for every
show at my apartment first so I come into our space ready. I walked in to put my
stuff down and Peggy looked shocked that I was there. She told me that she
thought I wasn’t coming. I explained to her the deal that the writer and I made and
assured her of course I knew all my lines. I'm the lead. She laughed at that but I
didn’t have time to let that bother me because I was annoyed at the sound of
Bella's loud screamo music. I greeted Tiana and Amanda before we were called
for places.

2. Near Past –
1. What has happened in the past 24 hours is…: Thursday night before we
opened, the writer and I got dinner. She told me she's so happy to have me on her
show! She had me sign some documents but I'm sure they were just confirming
 my role! We had a great time at a little vegan restaurant near the theatre! I called
my parents and told them how big this is going to be for my career, that night too!
After that, I got a bunch of pesky emails from Peggy. She always gets stressed out
right before, so I knew she was probably asking me something random and
unnecessary. I just ignored her and ran my lines again. Then I had a glass of wine
and watched Sex and the City with my cat Lola.

DISTANT PAST EVENTS

1. Meeting the writer– December 3rd 2023
1. Source: “when you asked me to participate in this you specifically said I
would be the lead… not a plot device” - Me
2. Event: After a wonderful closing night of Curtains where I played Bambi,
i was exhausted and took way longer than usual to leave the dressing room
and go home. To my surprise when I walked out, the writer was standing
outside. She stopped me and told me all about her new show and how she
has been dying to work with me. She complimented me on past
performances too which shocked me. I looked her up on my phone and
even though shes a bit cooky I could tell that her writing was great and id
never turn down a leading role. I told her we could keep in touch which
she then assured me I would be the lead. I guess we had differing ideas of
the title “Lead”.

2. Contract- January 11th 2024

1. Source: “You signed the contract”
2. Event: The night before opening night i ahd dinner with the writer. She
had me sign the contract after a few drinks and I really dont remember
antything other then my glorious signature in red ink. But now that im
thinking about it, no I really didnt read the contract. Peggy doesnt need to
know that.

3. Revenge - May 2nd 2007

1. Source: “no one outdies me onstage girly”
2. Event: When i was 8 years old I was in a small production at my boarding
school. It was a weird play written by a high school student and my role
was small. I played a choking girl in a restaurant who died. I worked so
hard as a little 8 year old girl practicing in the mirror every night. I even
would swollow food and THEN act like was choking. On opening night
the audience gasped and clapped throughout the whole thing! I will never
forget how the audiences reaction made me feel. I promised from then on
 that no one will ever out die me onstage. If I have a death scene…. its
gonna be big.

4. They know me - June 7 2016

1. Source: “I am far too well known by this audience to be anything but the
actual lead of a play”
2. Event: I have been performing at this playhouse since I moved to NY. The
audiences are consistent and they have given me countless accolades for
my performances.

WHERE AM I GOING?

1. I HOPE:
1. If I achieve my objective…: I will be the lead. People will know my name and see
how hard I have worked to get where I am. I am trying to build my career and
even though I've been in many productions I need to work professionally and
build relationships with writers and directors.

2. I FEAR:
1. If I don’t achieve my objective…: Peggy will get all the fame instead, and the
writer will pick her for all future works!

CHARACTER LISTS

1.Everything the playwright says about your character:

Female, 30s and up, any ethnicity, “Playing a stylized version of herself”

For this production we chose to create our own characters with new names, instead of using our
own. This made the actors, including myself, more comfortable exploring their characters, while
still keeping the vision of the writer being a stylized version of myself.

2. Everything the other characters say about you (and who says it)

“I cant believe shes gone” - The Actual Lead on page 1

“She looks so peaceful there” - The others on page1
“A shame she went so young” -The others on page 1
“A true original” - Bella on page 1
“Almost like shes asleep” - The Actual Lead on page 1
“Looks like shes dreaming, Like shes smiling” -The others on page 1
“She looks…Beautiful, gorgeous, heavenly almost life like”- The others on page 1
“A wonderful laugh” -The others on page 2
“You're not that good an actress”- The Actual Lead on page 3
“You signed the contract”- The Actual Lead on page 3
“You certainly look stoned”- Bella on page 4
“You are very important to the plot, this whole scene revolves around you” -Peggy on page 5
“You're the focus” -Peggy on page 5
“You Are wonderfully stiff, beautifully still, convincingly rotten” -The others on page 6
“You're the most important part of this play”- Peggy on page 6
“And yet….You're still talking”- Bella on page 6
“You”re the star of this play…everyone talks about you, everyone misses you”- The writer on
page 8
“Everyone is here for you….You are dead…. You are spock in the wrath of khan”- The writer on
page 8
“Only actress i knew who could act circles around this cast while doing absolutely nothing” -The
writer on page 8
“You're magnificent…spectacular”- The others on page 8
“The lead is already dead” The writer on page 9

3. Everything you say about yourself

“I am not old enough to be your mother”- Page3

“But i have to keep quiet while you get to act” - Page 4
“I am far too well known by this audience to be anything less than the actual lead..” - Page 4
“I’m the important one here” -Page 4
“I'm the one putting asses in seats”- Page 4
“I’m not doing anything” - Page 4
“But i have to keep quiet”- Page 4
“Im dead” -Page 5
“I've got no lines, no dialogue, no interaction” - Page 5
“So I die….offstage” -Page 7
“But I was supposed to be dead” -Page 8
“I can play a dead body and my own daughter” Page 9

What is your:

First/middle/last name and nicknames:

- Darla Tiffany Venderbilt Deschanel
- Lala
 - Tiff
- Miss. Vanderbilt Deschanel

Date/place of birth/age:
- Texas

Past and current socio/economic status:

- Past: Mother came from low class, Father came from upper rich class.

- Current: Upper class

Greatest fear:
- Failing in front of others

Greatest accomplishment:
- Moving to New York at 17 to pursue acting!

Ten differences and ten similarities between yourself and your character:

Differences:
1. Parents are still together
2. Darla is straight
3. She has been performing for her whole life
4. She was raised in the south
5. Her family owned something prestigious
6. Only child
7. Went to a private school
8. Lives in the city
9. She argues with her castmates
10. Interrupts people

Similarities:

1. Love performing
2. Have a few close friends
3. Does not dwell on love life
4. Has good fashion sense
5. Gets frustrated with castmates
6. Independant
 7. Enjoys getting ready for a show
8. Expressive
9. Girly
10. Favorite color is dark royal blue

RESEARCH

Texas man dies after being stung by bees:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O28riETNzCY

After developing my improv moment during the death, I really was wondering what a painful
bee sting would feel like. I have gotten stung by a wasp on my foot before so I pulled alot from
that but I also wanted to imagine the pain of actual DEATH caused from such a small sting.
There are actually about 100 reported bee sting deaths a year. Most of them are cuased y the
swelling of the throat and tensing of muscles which stops your breathing and heart eventually. So
all of these things went into making my death even more accurate.

This was one of the first images that I really saw darla in. I loved the youthful energy but also the
sense of urgency and passion. The red boots are a little piece of my country side and darla will
always be down to wear a tutu.
Darla left behind her best friends and sister when she moved to NYC to pursue her dreams. This
picture is one taken in her final year of school with her classmates. I think it shows a part of
darlas history that alot of people dont know about. She misses these girls alot and this picture is
framed on her nightstand.

SCORING
REFLECTION

Madie Fisette

PLAB: FYS 3

Leon Ingulsrud

5/9/24

Think No More.
 My first year at PTC has been… eventful, to say the least. The highs and lows of these

past two semesters don’t hold a candle to my life in the past, but the Freshmen showcase was my

first glimpse of the performer I'm going to become here, and despite all of my struggles, I know I

belong here.

Let’s start at the beginning: Auditions. I submitted one of my favorite monologues ever, a

goofy southern woman on a rant about her life. I really wanted my freshmen showcase to be as

free and as me as possible. I wanted to make choices that were new and exciting, but also settle

into what I've learned this year. I was elated to be cast in KCs showcase, because I had him for

two semesters of acting. I think having KC, someone who knows how I work even a little, was

so beneficial to my success. I felt comfortable enough to just put myself out there and make this

showcase what I want to be! So next, callbacks! I felt good but didn’t have any particular

expectations. Even from callbacks I could tell that this cast was amazing and I was truly excited

to be creating with them. Using this new energy of motivation I decided to also audition for

solos. I had never heard the song cult of personality before, little did i know it was going to be

the only song i heard for the next month. During my audition I was a little tense, we had already

learned the opening number dance and it was clear that whoever was going to sing this number

needed to have energy and pull the audience in. The stakes were high, but I knew that I had the

power to take on this song and make it my own. In this production I was gratefully given big

roles. I will admit, I struggled to find the confidence near the beginning. I somehow felt like I

didn't deserve it, even though I knew I did. This uncertainty got into my head and made me self

conscious, something you can't really have when you're singing an entire opening number alone

for three minutes. It was ambitious, for me, and after hearing that doesn't happen often was also

nerve racking. Cult of Personality did end up being one of my favorites to perform, but for a
while we had a rocky relationship. Sometimes, often in my characters, if I can't get something

right or make it justified, I get very frustrated and can even turn to me desping what I'm working

on. A perfectionist: that's what i've been called in the past and it's true. I had a lot of thinking to

do with the song. It was a whole other character for me; new objectives, givens with the people

around me, and my journey as the one singing this song. After I settled into the choreography

and gained the confidence that I had in my audition back, I think I had great energy for the

opening number. I think I struggled so much because on one hand I needed to draw the audience

in and make them excited to watch, but then on the other hand I was interacting with 27 people

in masks dancing around…. It was a lot in the best way. Another factor was the vocals.

Technically speaking, the song was a great fit for. It was in my range and gave me a lot of space

to be creative with it. My biggest problem was breathing. I struggled so much to keep energy in

my body and give it my all but still keep breathing. It's not that i'm out of shape, or dont have the

breath control, but I truly forget to breathe and this is an issue in all areas of my art. I worked so

much on breathing when I could, and also not wearing myself out too much that I couldn't sing.

By the time the performances came around I was confident in everything. I was able to breath

through the whole number and was really excited to show everyone my hard work on this song.

This number taught me so much about myself and how I work, and was so rewarding to perform

after all of the struggles.

Now let's tackle the beast that is Darla Tiffany Vanderbilt Deschanel. Firstly, it's

important to mention that in the script, my character is technically supposed to just be ourselves.

During our first read through I could see the choices I wanted to make with the lines, but had

great fear around acting under my own name. I opened up to my cast and directions team about
how I've struggled in the past with people thinking that I think I'm above them. I wanted to take

the character in that direction, she is demanding she's the lead so of course these topics came up

but I was very worried about what would that say about me and my personality. So, we had a

lovely conversation and decided that we could make up our own names to use. And so… Darla

Tiffany Vanderbilt Deschanel was born. From the first blocking of Burying the lead, we had

such great chemistry on stage, and were making KC giggle with the smallest choices. There are

many things I worked on with my character. To start, my voice started as higher pitched. After

speaking some of my text during suzuki, I realized that some of my lines would hit so differently

if I lowered and ground my voice. Darla spoke with poise but also had a little whine, due to her

being an only child and being just a little spoiled by everyone in her life up until Peggy. I felt it

very easy to identify actions for my lines, I really understood a lot of where she was coming

from and wanted her lines to reflect her inner thoughts of course. The next area of the character I

wanted to explore was her physical movement. Darla was very similar to me in the way she sits

and moves through space, but she also led with her nose in the air, and always had some picture

going on with her legs. The other movement I workshopped a lot was the moment when I say my

name. Initially I would just say it and spread my arms to the side, but I felt like it was missing

the darla flare. The final movement I performed was spelling out my initials on each name. I feel

like this gave each name its own moment and was more visually capturing. For the D, I bent my

legs and created the curved part with my arms, then I came up to a T shape with my arms for

Tiffany. After the T my arms immediately went up into a V shape for Vanderbilt, and lastly

deschanel was just a slow bring down of my arms. One regret i have for this play was not

devolping it more with my castmates out of rehearsal. We had great chemistry and could all act

very well together, but I still did a feel a little dsconnected from them. I offered for us to talk
about any givens or feelings a few times but we could never all get together. I think I want to

make it a priority to discuss eachihers individual givens because it changes your relationship

with each person so much. I am very proud of the work I did for this charchter. I am so grateful

that KC gives us the space to make everyhting truly US! So much of our scene was added by the

creative minds of my fellow actors and myself. One of my favorite moments i the rehrsal process

was the death. We had been skipping over it in rehrsals waiting to get in the space and rehrse, but

the day we finally did it was one to remeber! I had the idea to reanact the bee sting! KC fully

trusted me to creat that monolouge for myself and im so happy he did. Ive never considred

myself a comedic actor, but after acting out my death for the first time with improv, they were

laughing so hard I couldnt help but feel proud of myself.

My freshman showcase experience was amazing, but I also recognize the mistakes I

made along the way and how they set us back. I struggled to communicate when absent or late,

or if I needed any help. After I missed one full rehearsal, I felt terrible and embarrassed, but I

knew the only way to make it better was to show up. I felt like I had let down my cast because I

had two big parts in our show and I wanted to prove to them that I was dedicated and wouldnt let

my mistakes fall onto their show too. I know that i have alot of growing to do in this area, I need

lots of help when it comes to scheduling, assignments, and due dates and I havent quite figured

out my rhythm yet. I know that in future PTC productions I wont let myself get to that point

again, and I am happy to start fresh net year!

I have learned so much this year and throughout the showcase process, not only about

theatre and my craft but also about how I work and interact with those around me. I was able to

apply things ive learned this year to my work in showcase aswell, and it felt great to use what I

was learning in a real way. I practiced suzuki when rehearsing my death momnoulge and also the
moments before singing Cult of Personality. I focused on engaging my core so that I was ready

to shoot off with energy when the music began. I found great tactics and actions for my character

as well, and could really see the application of my work.

I am endlessly grateful for the showcase experience I had because it made me feel like

even though I was struggling before, that doesnt mean I cant end off on a good note and put my

best foot forward. I had something to prove, to lose, and to work for and thats my favorite part

about bening a performer.