singing, wandering, geeking out over music, sewing, befriending felines, stopping to talk to every dog ever, fabric shopping, coffee and its surrounding culture, busking, languages that aren't English, everything musical theatre, riding the Wikipedia train, sequins, karaoke, getting intentionally lost, salad bars and buffet tables, finding a bra that fits, tap dancing, people-watching, diner-ing, typing really fast, colouring my hair, searching fruitlessly for my glasses, backstage ninja-ing, taking random pictures, and dreaming of an apartment in Chinatown...
Music
Deep breath... here we go, in COMPLETELY random order:
The Beatles, Corinne Bailey Rae, Buddy Holly, Vanessa Carlton, U2, The Sundays, Over the Rhine, Marshall Crenshaw, 10,000 Maniacs, Julieta Venegas, Depeche Mode, Natalia Lafourcade, Rush, Led Zeppelin, John Legend, Coldplay, Wyclef Jean, Apes & Androids, Slow Runner, Imogen Heap, Tori Amos, Less the Band, Stars, Pink Floyd, Shonen Knife, The Clash, Blondie, Regina Spektor, The Cure, Sixpence None the Richer, Five Iron Frenzy, Muse, Natalie Merchant, Frou Frou, CKY, Belle & Sebastian, The Supremes, The Byrds, John Lennon, Travis, Marvin Gaye, Prince, india.arie, Sarah McLachlan, Arrested Development, Weezer, Black Eyed Peas, City & Colour, Sia, Turin Brakes, Queen, The Lisps, Christina Aguilera, Enya, Dixie Chicks, Pharrell/Neptunes, Radiohead, New Kids on the Block, Shakira, Elliott Smith, Hedwig & The Angry Inch, Leigh Nash, Dave Matthews Band, George Harrison, The Smiths, Sam Cooke, Norah Jones, Damien Rice, IAMX, Blink 182, Jeff Buckley, Nickel Creek, Justin Timberlake, Snow Patrol, New Order, Flogging Molly, Fleetwood Mac, Blur, Sarah Masen, Death Cab For Cutie, David Bowie, Eisley, Dropkick Murphys, Burlap To Cashmere, Amy Winehouse, Cibo Matto, Bjork, Alicia Keys, Los Lobos, Ben Folds [Five], Jay-Z, Aqualung, Lauryn Hill, Nine Inch Nails, Paramore, KT Tunstall, Massive Attack, The Shins, The Murmurs, Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, Oasis, Portishead, The Who, English Beat, Kanye West, Fiona Apple, Rancid, Natalie Imbruglia, Sly & The Family Stone, Bob Dylan, Lizz Wright, N.E.R.D., Green Day, Rilo Kiley, The Jackson 5, The Spice Girls, Ben Lee, No Doubt, Smashing Pumpkins, Nouvelle Vague, Swingle Singers, Puffy AmiYumi, Elbow, Cat Stevens, ELO, Pet Shop Boys, Madness, Violent Femmes, The Doors, Dusty Springfield, Soundgarden, Morrissey, Ricky Nelson, Harry Chapin, Keane, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads, Juliana Hatfield, The Postal Service, Ani Difranco, Roy Orbison, The Police, Chantal Kreviazuk, Sunny Day Real Estate, Feist, Camera Obscura, They Might Be Giants, Bic Runga, Semisonic, Nirvana, Meat Loaf, The Killers, Ash, Ice-T, Elvis Costello, R.E.M., The Monkees, Veruca Salt, Rolling Stones, Traveling Wilburys, The Pillows...
Oh, and I can't forget the soundtracks to Hair, Pippin, Rent, Wicked, In The Heights, Spring Awakening, Into the Woods, No, No, Nanette, Little Shop of Horrors, The Rocky Horror [Picture] Show, She Loves Me, Song & Dance, Miss Saigon, Phantom of the Opera, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, The Last Five Years, Tick... Tick... BOOM!, Guys & Dolls, Bye Bye Birdie, Les Miserables, And The World Goes 'Round, Starting Here, Starting Now, Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph & The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (but ONLY the original B'way one!), Oliver!, Grease (the movie), Godspell, A Chorus Line, 42nd Street, Avenue Q, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Man of La Mancha, City of Angels (not the movie, the musical), Grease 2 (UNASHAMED)... and I am sure of countless other musicals I've forgotten...
Basically, I dig most of the '60s British Invasion (and much of the '90s one, as well), intelligent rap, jazz/soul/R&B that say something new and deviate from the formula, old school country, chill beats, ambient ethereal sounds that don't make you think of crystal-healers, traditional Celtic music, Mariachi bands, Bollywood musicals, Latin jazz, cheesy pop if it's a good song, DDR music with brains, epic metal when it makes sense, the more accessible anime J-pop, film scores, choral music, Big Band, melodic symphonies and fugues and caprices and... dammit, I JUST LIKE GOOD MUSIC!!!
Movies
Empire Records, So I Married An Axe Murderer, The Chipmunk Adventure, Amélie, The Wizard of Oz, Across The Universe, The Believer, Haggard, 10 Things I Hate About You, Blade Runner, The Breakfast Club, Center Stage, Requiem For A Dream, Fight Club, Pokémon: The First Movie, Not Another Teen Movie, Howl's Moving Castle, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Wedding Singer, Spirited Away, Tokyo Godfathers, The Guru, Grease, Grease 2 (I'm the only person who likes this), Moulin Rouge, Austin Powers movies, Lord of the Rings movies (when I'm Very Caffeinated), And I Hate You So, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Chicago, Singin' In The Rain, On The Town, Rent, and I'm sure I could take up my entire page with more stupid movies, musicals and teen drivel that I just absolutely love, so I'll stop.
Television
Heroes, Project Runway, The L Word, Firefly, The Wire, Supernatural, CSI, Iron Chef America, Vision of Escaflowne, Neon Genesis Evangelion, My So-Called Life, VH1 clip shows, The Adventures of Pete and Pete, Chuck... and I'm sure a bunch of other things that haven't aired on network TV in years and years.
Books
I'll admit, I have found little in the world of grownup books that appeals to me... but I'm making a concerted effort to change that.
Some favourites:
Tom Robbins - Still Life With Woodpecker
Amy Tan - The Kitchen God's Wife
Connie Willis - To Say Nothing Of The Dog
JK Rowling - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Barbara Kingsolver - The Bean Trees
Aldous Huxley - Brave New World
CS Lewis - The Narnia Chronicles
Philip K. Dick - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Frances Hodgson Burnett - The Secret Garden
LM Montgomery - Anne of Green Gables
Spider Robinson - The Callahan's Series
Douglas Adams - The Hitchhiker Trilogy
Assorted textbooks, usually involving Sociology, Psychology, History (prefer non-American), Visual Art, Fashion/Costuming, wartime culture, etc. etc. etc...
Heroes
Cyndi Lauper
Hedwig
Pippi Longstocking
Anne Shirley
Bruce Dickinson
The Artful Dodger
Sheila Franklin
Ann Wilson
Hiro Nakamura
Grandpa José
...and Hoo Shee?
War Memorial High
Parlin, NEW JERSEY
Graduated: 1997
Student status: Alumni
Degree: High School Diploma
Clubs: From CA to NJ, some things never change. OMG I was a drama dork. Who knew? And Peter Pan totally didn't fly, what the hell?
1996 to 1997
Mira Costa High
Manhattan Beach, CALIFORNIA
Graduated: 1997
Student status: Alumni
Major: stereotypical drama & chorus girl
Clubs: If there was anything performed on the stage at Mira Costa High during the 1995-96 school year, I was in it. Me, the only student without a tan, with bright burgundy hair. I tried to dress like a hippie, but hung out with assorted frosh, punks and the drama people when they were nice to me. Let's see if anyone remembers me...
1995 to 1996
Hamilton (alexander) Senior Hi
Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA
Graduated: 1997
Student status: Alumni
Major: Musical Theatre
Clubs: I was a: Symphonic Band groupie, chronic ditcher of 7th Period, copy room bum, obnoxious redhead, and Musical Theatre Production wannabe... most famous for being in the first ever year of Women's Ensemble. Ooooooh... fancy!
1993 to 1995
Jilly's Companies
Mac-Haydn Theatre Chatham, NY US Costume Shop Intern
Summer 2007
Prospect Theater Company New York, New York US Wardrobe Supervisor - The Rockae
Sept - Oct 2007
ATA - Chernuchin Theatre New York, NY US Costume Designer - Let's Speak Tango
Apr - May 2007
Plays In The Park Edison, New Jersey US Costume Technician/Stitcher
May - August 2008
Mac-Haydn Theatre Chatham, New York US Costume Technician/Childrens' Wardrobe Head
August - September 2008
13P New York, New York US Wardrobe Supervisor - Crawl, Fade To White
Oct - Nov 2008
Zenbaby Theatre Company New York, NY US Costume Designer - Land of the Babydolls
January - February 2009
Opera NJ Princeton, NJ US Dresser - Die Fledermaus
February 2009
Transport Group New York, NY US Wardrobe Supervisor - Being Audrey
March - April 2009
Starbucks Philly, North Brunswick, NYC, PA, NJ, NY US barista
October 2007 - present
Jilly is doing laundry. Don't expect this update to change for quite some time. Posted at 6:07 AM Aug 11 view more
I am Jillian, sometimes called Jilly or Jillycat, but please don't call me Jill - I won't answer.
I always say "good morning", because I like the sound of it, it's bright and cheerful, I'm known in some circles for singing "Good Morning, Starshine" and well - it's always morning somewhere.
Some people say that you can't be defined by what you do, but I consider myself a fortunate exception. When you think about it, I get paid to sew, to hang out backstage and make sure everyone has the right costume on, to make hats and paint shoes, to work with sequins and bright colours, to play in fabric, to sketch out ideas and bring them to life, to stand in the subway and sing my songs, to stand onstage and sing someone else's, to wear a cute skirt and argyle knee socks and talk to my friends, to make coffee, to share my ideas and opinions, to knit things, to crochet things, to sketch other people's ideas and bring them to life... I think for me, being defined by what I do is pretty stinking accurate!
Unable to leave it at that, I will also add that I'm ridiculously awkward, I can read many more languages than I can speak, I collect tap shoes, I love reading cookbooks, I am prone to cutting my hair with craft scissors, I'm a bit of a Hermione Granger when it comes to Starbucks drink recipes, I break into song at random, and 13 year olds think I'm really awesome.
I didn't belong in musical theatre, pop music, chain restaurants, Evangelical Christianity, high school, ballet class, the soprano section, Central Illinois, or behind the mic at a Jersey Shore bar. Realising this has made me a very happy person.
Every dog in New York City knows who I am.
I do not like:
~ ketchup
~ The Hills
~ girls who wear tights as pants
~ white chocolate
~ waist-length winter coats
~ racism, homophobia, or ANY sort of bigotry
~ Anne Geddes photos
~ the belief that chicken fingers and macaroni & cheese are the required staple diet for children
~ wine snobs and yarn snobs; the thought of meeting someone who is both downright terrifies me
~ Vera Bradley bags... no, no... ALL designer purses
~ the words moist and milk - ugh
~ Girls Gone Wild
~ monkeys!!!!!!!!
~ being called a white girl, because I'm not.
I think that's about it for me...
Oh, and meet my family:
Who I'd like to meet:
People I already know
People with pachinko machines
Girls who write song lyrics on the bottom of their shoe
Inordinate lovers of music
People who actually read through the bios in their theatre programme, and thus recognise random ensemble members
City dwellers
Art fags
Comic book devourers
Wordsmiths
Swashbucklers
Transients
Buskers
Those who would road trip
Unapologetic Asian snack food junkies
People who remember when I wore striped tights every day
People who think my kitsch is what makes me awesome
Drag queens - glittery ones
Stagehands who want to stab ballerinas with sporks
People who dance like idiots in public intentionally
Diner philosophers
Fighting game aficionadoes
Someone who remembers the pattern for the last board of Super Mario Bros. on the NES
Anyone who's ever marched in the ninja parade
Costume-wearers
Wandering folk
Kindreds
Welsh Corgis
My band
I guess it would still be a peppermint mocha, but without the twist, what's the point? It's all about showmanship, you've gotta have a prestige. How else are we supposed to keep the masses coming back in this economic climate?!
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