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🎭️ Run of show
Prologue (Setup)
Act I (Inspiration)
Act II (Application)
Prologue
All smiles
Today’s newsletter is all about grinning and (not) bearing it. And then playing in that liminal space between messages sent and received, realities shown and felt.
Despite the grim-grin chagrin ahead, I’m very earnestly all smiles because you’re on this newsletter journey with me. Your support, especially in these early days, means everything. Thank you!
I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line to let me know what you think of things so far. And if I haven’t scared you away yet (brave soul), I’d be so grateful if you’d share Spine Tingler with a fellow storyteller or staunch lover (or hater) of horror and musical theater. (We’re big fans of strong opinions around these parts.)
Are you that special someone on the receiving end of a referral? Welcome! Catch up on past issues and subscribe here.
Stay smiling,
Delaney
Delaney Rebernik
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P.S. I just joined Bluesky! Come help me get my (duck) feet wet over there.
Wanna make ’em grin from ear to ear?😁
As an award-winning editorial and communications strategist, I help purpose-driven organizations — media brands; memberships; social good companies; progressive nonprofits; and other champions of community, knowledge, and justice — tell vital stories and advance worthy missions.
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Act I
Let’s put a smile on that face
Editor’s note: This essay contains spoilers for the movies Smile (2022) and Smile 2 (2024).
I’ve always had a thing with smiles.
As a child, I’d stretch mine to extremes in the bathroom mirror to scare myself, staring at that demented facsimile of excitement until the bounds between me and my reflection blurred and I was bones-deep in dread.
I was an odd kid.
And, also, there’s something seductively off-footing about a smile divorced from goodwill and/or pleasure, a warping of felt and shown experience that rattles the cages of reality.