Student
Tyler Lormel
- School of Art and Design
- Fine Arts
The Most Popular Freak in School
A modern retelling of a classic fairy tale through the writing of queer youth.
High School is hard enough as it is, but when you’re queer it can be even more difficult to find where you belong. Crystal finds pride in being the only openly trans student in her class. She writes her own story until she is totally caught off guard by someone who she believes might be her Prince Charming. Knocked down by heartbreak, bullying, and struggles with identity, Crystal continues to write out her own fairy tale and hopes it leads her to a better happy ending.
How did you first come up with the idea for this work?
It’s inspired by writings I had going back to high school, as well as a retelling of the first play I wrote & got produced.
What was your research process like?
Not difficult, I love fairy tales & Disney, & it was also very inspired by my personal experiences & life.
Does this work relate to your role at FIT? If so, how?
With everything I went through as far as school goes FIT has helped inspire me to be a better student & a better artist despite that I’m different or weird, which was such a big deal that basically got in the way of my education. I believe it mirrors how I’ve grown mentally stronger as a student & a queer artist.
What was your biggest challenge? What was most rewarding?
My biggest challenge was being so open & writing about something that was so sensitive, such as bullying. The most rewarding thing was making something negative into something more positive, just like my book says, Use Your Disadvantage to Your Advantage.
Is there other information we should know?
Available on Amazon & special color edition on Barnes&Noble ;)
- Time to publication: 1 year
- Also known as Crystal Tyler