I love Lee's Beetlejuice so much he is so fun

am i good at making gifs? no! can i figure out how to get them onto tumblr without killing the quality? no! will i do it anyway? absolutely!

1. Introduction: Slime Tutorials and the Musical Theatre Fandom on Tumblr

Musical theatre exists in a strange meridian:

It's too extravagant for people who don't enjoy live performances, but it's too commercialized for theatre-goers.

Tickets (especially to Broadway and West End shows) are ludicrously expensive, so all its biggest fans can't afford them.

It's incredibly localized and time-restrained (shows only run in one place for an allotted time) and yet fans remain interested despite when or where they are.

The industry relies on fan support, but discourages the circulation of the very content that attracts new fans.

How, then, are new fans entering the musical theatre community so consistently? The short answer: online fandom. The advent of social media allows for constant engagement, even if a show has stopped running. Online fandoms, however, are largely occupied by young people, many of whom have never seen their favourite shows live. How is this possible? Bootleg videos, shared on YouTube or online drives, allow for fans who can't access live theatre to experience the magic of a recorded show from their own homes. The catch? It's illegal. In order to bypass YouTube's copyright flagging system, many bootlegged recordings make up coded titles for their videos, with a common theme being the use of the words "Slime Tutorial."

This research will focus on the emergence of bootleg recordings of musical theatre, colloquially “Slime Tutorials” on YouTube, and their ties to the digital age/Web 2.0, the inaccessibility of theatre, and fandom culture. It also delves into the interplay between these bootlegs, online fandom, and their implications for the future of live theatre.

In “Tap, Tap, Tapping on the Glass”: Generation Z, Social Media and Dear Evan Hansen by Bethany Doherty, the notion of paratextuality is frequently mentioned when examining current trends within the musical theatre fan community. "The term paratext refers to materials that have been created to aid the promotion of a performance." When considering this definition outside of its traditional context of marketing (though this angle will be explored later), it's easy to make connections between paratextuality and bootlegs. While not created by the theatre company themselves, fan-curated video databases and other forms of online circulation are often how prospective fans discover new shows, thus intrinsically linking a show's success to its social currency through word-of-mouth marketing.

This model is particularly effective with younger audiences who can't afford tickets or travel, and thus the shows with a younger-leaning demographic are more likely to achieve online virality:

"Social media is facilitating this shift towards a more collaborative relationship between production and audience, as social media users become more apparent as content creators. Younger audiences delight in such interactions, which have led to critically engaged and creative responses to the musical. Widespread access to online, interactive platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr bring new opportunities for paratextual creativity and for re-experiencing the feelings and euphoria associated with the fleeting nature of performance. There is also something to be explored in the nature of sharing the fan-established paratextual creations for those who are yet to experience the performance moment. The relationship between fandoms is beginning to expand, in an attempt to replicate and share this ephemerality with those unable to witness the performance first-hand" (Doherty).

Tumblr is the ideal platform for this research, as despite its dwindling userbase, it has become the website of choice for niche fandoms and individually curated content, especially considering its lack of algorithm. It's also a multimedia blogging platform, which allows for photos, videos, gifs, text, audio, polls, and many more features which diversify the fan experience. This research pulls examples from all of these features. The following analysis posts include clickable links to all content referenced, which have all been previously "reblogged" by this account.

Let's embark on a journey through musical theatre bootlegs and how they affect the online fan experience!

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Did somebody say NEW RELEASE??

That's right! 4 new videos today, including Beetlejuice with Matthew Michael Janisse and Jackera Davis, and Funny Girl with Hannah Shankman! Join my discord for details! https://discord.gg/CTstY4CdeQ

Lasagna Mailing List

Making everyone join my (frankly, chaotic as hell) discord server to access my videos has proven difficult, and many have expressed interest in a mailing list in order to be notified every time I release. And so I shall oblige - introducing Lasagna Monthly!

In order to sign up for monthly emails detailing my releases, just fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/sRff8xdn29R5ZiBn8

Discord will remain my primary hub for releases, this is just a secondary option for those who understandably don't want to/can't use it. Invitations remain open and you can still contact me privately if you are interested in joining!

Thank you all for understanding, I just released March's videos so make sure you sign up quick to always be notified when new releases go out!

Everybody tryin' to get a ticket to go but Those who go they don't come back They goin' way down Hadestown Way down under the ground

Hello hello! 3 new video releases today; Parade, Pippin, and a certain musical I won't name because I'm preeeetty sure they search this website for their name, but it does rhyme with Paw!

For full information, screenshots and videos, please join my discord: https://discord.gg/zy5X87Vwvh

Avery Wilson acrobatics appreciation

Hey all! Two new releases today, both of The Wiz's Pre-Broadway run! Join my Discord for more info: https://discord.gg/JUfFS5bw

Release coming soon-ish: The Wiz! A rough, obstructed, frustrating, but very fun capture. More screenshots in my discord! https://discord.gg/FyCBTKxs8G

Hello! I don't really know how tumblr works yet, so bear with me as I figure this out.

Hi, I'm MTTZ! I'm a California-based video master and advocate for theater preservation. If you want more information on videos I've released or want to reach me easily, feel free to join my discord while I figure this whole tumblr thing out! https://discord.gg/tsbzAR2zkA