Post by isaac on Nov 8, 2011 1:51:13 GMT -5
| [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-image:url(http://lh4.ggpht.com/-LWSqSNpIToc/TYZTxT60WjI/AAAAAAAAAUg/kX0kRj5ZB6k/BlackWood.jpg); width: 437px; padding-top: 30; padding-bottom: 30;] THE ISAAC JAMES FENTON EDITION  SEVENTEEN , JUNIOR , DRAMA GEEK , RYAN ROSS "HELLO THERE. I'M SO GLAD YOU MADE IT HERE TODAY, BUT I'VE SEEM TO FORGOTTEN WHAT YOUR NAME WAS, IT WAS PAT... OR SOMETHING, RIGHT? NO, WELL, WHY DON'T YOU TELL ME IT THEN? FIRST, MIDDLE AND LAST, PLEASE. OH, AND PLEASE DO TELL ME ANY SCRUMPTIOUS NICKNAMES." Pat….? It’s…Isaac. I think…the last guy was named Pat. Or maybe the next guy. No, I’m Isaac…some people call me Izzy, or Iz…but that’s about it for nicknames. The full name is Isaac James Fenton IV. Yeah…the fourth. I really don’t…my dad was named Isaac James Fenton the III, and my grandpa is Isaac James Fenton Jr, and then my great grandpa is Isaac James Fenton. I have no intention of saddling offspring with my name. "I HAVE TO SAY, THAT'S QUITE A NAME YOU GOT THERE. I DON'T THINK I'VE HEARD IT BEFORE. TELL ME, HAVE YOU ALWAYS LIVED IN PORTLAND OR HAVE YOU COME FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE?" Born and raised, actually. Well, most, but really, every once in a while I’d spend a weekend, or a month, or two months in New York City with my mom. She’s a Broadway producer, but didn’t want me growing up in that kind of environment, so me and Dad live on the other side of the country. She sends us cheques to look after us, which is convenient about being as wealthy as she is. I miss her a lot though. "OH, I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE YOU FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE. HERE, LET'S LIGHTEN UP THE TOPIC A LITTLE BIT. OUT OF ALL OF THE WORDS IN THE WORLD, WHICH FIVE DESCRIBE YOU BEST AND WHY?" Five words. The first thing I would use to describe me is busy. I hate idle time. Right now, I’m involved in everything I possibly can be. I’m taking courses at the community college to get as much stuff done as possible before I go to La Cordon Bleu in Miami, and I’m the official stage manager for the school drama department, and I’m actually in a band too. Any opportunity I get to play my guitar I’m more than willing to jump in—I was thinking about talking to the music teacher about it. I think the next best word would then be…stressed? I am constantly stressed out. Being busy feels good until things start to come together, and things do seem to throw all at once. Shows tend to premiere around exam time, and then there aer high school exams, community college exams, band shows, Christmas concerts—I’ve even started stage managing for a few other productions around the city because I love working back stage. I’m very culinary. My dad taught me how to cook when I was really young. While most fathers/sons bond over things like fishing, or hunting, or sports, my dad and I bonded over a wok. I do plan on going to La Cordon Bleu and my goal in life is to own my own restaurant. Being a celebrity chef like Wolfgang Puck is my life dream, and I do plan on taking over the food world once I’m ready. I watch cooking shows, I cook for friends and family—I have won more than one heart because the way to a man’s heart is through is stomach. Everybody knows this. This is a stereotype, isn’t it? There’s this cultural stigma against men who cook. Men who cook are gay. Men with a high sense of fashion are gay. Men who take care fo their hair are gay. Men who throw their hands in the air and squeal when they’re excited are gay. I’m just a showtune singing, broadway loving, fashionista, make up wearing, hair straightening queer then. Finally, one thing that people don’t really know about me but is really important to my life is that I’m a little bit obsessive compulsive. I’m not insane, but I do count every step I take and I do knock exactly three times, I chew my food an even number of times, I’m worried and panicked about disorder and mess…I manage it fairly well and I fight really hard to make sure it doesn’t interferre with my life, but trust me. You want an OCD stagemanager. "I'M NOT GOING TO LIE. YOU SEEM LIKE QUITE THE CATCH. I'M SURE YOU'RE ALWAYS BUSY, HUH? DO YOU LIKE WATCHING TELEVISION OR KNITTING? WHY DON'T YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF?" I am constantly busy, but I like it that away. And I only really like watching cooking shows, and I just sit there with my spiral notebook and write down ideas. I’d love to compete on an iron chef type show, that’d be fun…I’m really into Broadway musicals. My mom’s a producer, so I’ve seen almost every show possible since I was a kid. I’ve met actors and schmoozed directors, and I’m really picky. I love Sondheim, but really, what isn’t there to love about him? If I had any acting ability I would love to play Sweeney Todd someday, or perhaps the Wolf in Into The Woods…Hello little girl…He’s dead by the middle of the first act but he’s the part everybody remembers. Does it say something about me that I want to play the pedowolf? ….I certainly hope not. I listen to a lot of music, and I listen to…well, basically anything. If somebody shows me a band chances aer I’m going to listen to them. You can learn a lot from listening to music, good and bad. The same goes for theatre. A few things I really dislike are talent search shows. If these people wanted it bad enough, they’d find a way to get to the top without having to pander for votes. On that note, I deplore Glee. Do you have any idea how talented some of those people are? These are Broadway stars. These are actors who have proven again and again that they have the ability to sing and belt on stage in front of an audience—and they are AUTOTUNED. Ryan Murphy should be fed to the dogs, truly. Tell you a little about myself? Isn’t that…isn’t that what I’ve been doing? Really, you need to pay better attention. "YOU SOUND PRETTY FEARLESS, BUT THERE HAS TO BE SOMETHING YOU'RE AFRAID OF. ANY JUICY SECRETS?" I’m far from fearless. I do get stage fright when I’m in the spotlight. It’s easier when I’m playing my guitar, because I don’t really have to think about anything except plucking the right strings and I definitely don’t need to look at anybody. I’m afraid that…I’ll be completely forgotten, or I’ll never get anywhere in my life and—secrets? Hm. Off the record? I…don’t handle the stress as well as I like to think I do. I have a fake ID. I don’t use it to get into clubs, though, I…I go right into the liquor store and I buy stuff for myself. I steal from my dad’s liquor cabinet. I’m only ever truly sober during tech week and the week of the shows. "DON'T TAKE THIS THE WRONG WAY, BUT ARE YOU GAY? I MEAN, IT WASN'T SOMETHING YOU SAID OR ANYTHING. I'M JUST A CURIOUS OLD BADGER. UM. WHAT DO YOU FIND ATTRACTIVE? IS THAT BETTER? I GUESS YOU DON'T HAVE TO ANSWER IF YOU DON'T WANT TO." Of course I’m gay! What would make you possibly think I’m not? I fit every single stereotype, I’m a textbook homosexual, down to scarves and hand flipping. I’ve always been this way, I came out when I was thirteen, for god’s sake. Femme boys like me aren’t heterosexual. Everybod knows that. A straight boy like me wouldn’t even be able to get any girls because I’m not butch or anything like that. But what I’m attracted to? I like curves. I like nipped in waists and perky breasts, long hair, something intelligent in the eye. I like them pretty and witty and—preferably not gay. But what I’m attracted to has nothing to do with sexuality. If I tried to tell people I’m straight nobody would believe me. I’d get laughed at, I’d get pushed around…when I came out to my parents they supported me one hundred percent. I came out of the closet only to hide in a bigger one. I hide playboys under my mattress for god’s sake—nobody would believe me anyway. ' "ALRIGHT, ENOUGH WITH THE HEAVY STUFF. LET'S TALK ABOUT... MUSIC. I THINK YOU MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT POP OR HIP HOP EARLIER. WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU LIKE? RAP, COUNTRY, JAZZ? WHAT ARE YOUR TOP FIVE MOST PLAYED SONGS ON ITUNES?" I mentioned that I love all kinds of music. I don’t really have any favorite genres, I do specifically like artists more than anything…I’ve really gotten into this band Jack’s Mannequin lately. It’s like…piano punk but it’s really catchy. I like Lady Gaga, but then again—that just proves my point, doesn’t it? Like I said, I don’t really choose music based on genres…my top five most played songs in no particular order are Dark Blue by Jack’s Mannequin, Animal by Neon Trees, You and I by Lady Gaga, Save Me San Francisco by Train and Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls. "LISTENING TO MUSIC LIKE THAT? YOU'RE SURE TO BE A STAR IN THE NEAR FUTURE. YOU SEEM LIKE A WELL-ROUNDED YOUNG PERSON, MY DEAR. WHERE DO YOU FIND YOURSELF TO BE IN FIVE YEARS FROM NOW?" In five years I’ll be twenty-two…it’d be nice to be graduated from La Cordon Bleu at that point, maybe be working on an MBA…working as a sous chef at a super fancy place. I want to be working on getting my own restaurant. Maybe I’ll have even started a family by then, me and some nice…person… "IF IT MEANS ANYTHING, I'LL BE ROOTING FOR YOU WHEN THE TIME COMES. I'M SURE YOUR PARENTS WILL TOO. SPEAKING OF YOUR PARENTS, WHY DON'T YOU TELL US THEIR NAMES AND WHAT YOU THINK OF THEM! DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS, PETS, OTHER RELATIVES?" Well, my family is pretty small. There’s my father, Isaac James Fenton III, and he’s 40. He was a stay-at-home dad for most of his life but he’s started doing odd jobs now because he can’t really stand to be around the house with me almost old enough to be on my own. My mom is Elizabeth Fenton, no excess numbers for her, and she’s—well I’m not supposed to tell you, but she is older than my father by a few months. She’s a Broadway producer, so courtesy of her I have an endless supply of spending cash. She doesn’t like the show the producers either. I do, I think it’s a witty satire of her life. I also have a little beagle named Bandit. "OH, I SEE. WELL, WE'RE RUNNING OUT OF TIME. WHY DON'T WE WRAP THIS UP WITH YOUR STORY? HOW DID YOU END UP IN PORTLAND, OREGON?" How I ended up in Portland. Well, it all started back in 1994 when a young up and coming Off-Off Broadway Producer decided she wanted to have a baby. My mom and my dad were living in New York at the time, but she didn’t want to raise a baby in the city, so we moved to Portland. I was born, tada, and then mom was asked to help work on a little show called Rent. She whooshed off to New York, and what do you know, the show took off big time. Mom started to get a reputation as a producer and she started working on show after show—the cheques started rolling in. I rarely ever saw her, but my dad and I bonded. He was mom and dad to me, and he taught me how to cook and clean—I cooked Christmas dinner practically by myself when I was nine, the only help coming from things like…lifting turkeys and dealing with the oven and anything potentially dangerous. I told people what to do. It was the first time that I really knew I wanted to be a chef. I first “knew” I was gay when I was nine years old. My dad was watching a show called Will & Grace, and here was this man who could cook, and another man who flamboyantly threw his arms in the air, and acted…odd. I’d never seen anyone act like this before, and I turned to my dad and I asked him what was wrong with him and my dad said that there was nothing wrong with him, he was just different. Some men liked women, some men liked men, and sometimes the men who liked men acted like the strange fashion loving show tune singing man on the tv show. I got my guitar when I was ten and set in to trying to teach myself how to play it, all while forcing myself to learn more and more recipes. When Mom decided to do a show with a little boy, she decided she wanted me to audition. Turns out I can’t sing, act, or most importantly dance. I have no performance talents whatsoever, and I felt myself crushed. I loved the theatre, and Iwasn’t going to be able to be a part of it, until one of the later shows when mom led me up to the tech booth and I got to see the real masterminds. I was watching people control everything that happened on the set, and it was exhilarating. When my elementary school did a show, I made them let me be a technician. I got my first boyfriend when I was thirteen. We were both just a couple of confused queers, and together we came out to my parents. My dad just smiled at me and stood up, walking over to us and giving us both a hug, saying that he was proud of me for being honest. Mom called later that night and talked to me, giving me a modified version of the birds and the bees, and my boyfriend wound up spending a few weeks with us after he tried the same thing with his parents and it didn’t go well. We were each other’s firsts, and I distinctly remember the first time we slept together—he was going to be on the bottom but I couldn’t get it up. We were both fifteen and we ended up switching positions. I just figured, to fit with all of the other stereotypes I fit, I’m just a power bottom. I’ve never topped. I just...can’t get aroused enough while thinking about a man. So, anyway, being the stage manager and being directly blood related to someone currently working on Broadway means that the drama kids love me. And I love them—as soon as I put my turtleneck and headset on everybody becomes my bitch. I have the power. Now, if only I could figure out how I’m going to reconcile the whole…attracted to women with the screaming queen thing. ROLEPLAY EXAMPLE Check Jackie THERESA, EIGHT YEARS, ON CAUTION, I FEEL LIKE DANCING |