Just for Fun ;)

Kim’s comment about Victorian shadow boxes in staging launched me into a rabbit hole of shadow box art. I was enamored by the work of visual narrative artist Daria Aksenova, so I thought I’d pass it along to you all. I hope you enjoy!

Looking for more inspiration to build your fairy character? Get a glance of over 30 different types of fairies across history and culture here.

Steel is harmful, deadly to the faery folk. Learn about its effects on fae and why it harms them here.

Let’s take a look at the history of May Day (or Beltane) in Scottish History: the custom of young couples sneaking off into the woods, the ride of the fairy queen, and the maypole tradition.

Ever wonder what it would be like to date during the Gilded Age?

Check out this chapter from Our Deportment by John H. Young (1881), a period etiquette guidebook.

The experiences of black people in the Gilded Age (1870-1910s) set the stage for the Black Renaissance in Pittsburgh (1920-1950s). In Mark Whitaker's book Smoketown: The Untold Story of the Other Great Black Renaissance attributes the Black Renaissance to three main factors: 

1. Where the early black migrants from the South came from, places where blacks learned how to read and play music.

2. The educational opportunities in Pittsburgh both at the college level and particularly at the high school level made possible by the money of the Gilded Age.

3. Spirit of entrepreneurship in Pittsburgh. Even though black people couldn’t always get jobs they emulated those entrepreneurs. Pittsburgh became a hub for black business.

Here's some more generalized info fromThe WPA History of the Negro in Pittsburgh. This series of articles was commissioned as a part of the American Guide Series, published by the Federal Writers’ Project, to provide work to thousands of unemployed writers, editors, and researchers in the midst of the Great Depression. An unknown number of these projects in progress were lost when the program was abruptly shut down by a hostile Congress in 1939. One of those, “The Negro in Pittsburgh,” lay dormant in the Pennsylvania State Library until it was microfilmed in 1970. The WPA History of the Negro in Pittsburgh marked the first publication of this rich body of information. This unique historical study of the city’s Black population, although never completed, features articles on civil rights, social class, lifestyle, culture, folklore, and institutions from colonial times through the 1930s. It was edited and contextualized by Laurence A. Glasco. 

Looking wayyyy ahead to our Scottish-Irish Reel at the end of the play I wanted to share a brief history of the dance form and some video examples of different reels. These may not by exactly what we’ll be doing, but it gives you a idea of what it looks like.

In light of our reflection question of your Character’s Moon Phases I wanted to highlight the article “Moon Magic: A Guide To Living In Alignment With The Moon's Phases”. This article breaks down the many different symbolic meanings of the moon, walks you through the moon phases, and the meaning of each phase.