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Portrait of Me by Sabrina Cotugno |
Name: Catherine Faris King
Birthplace: Santa Monica, CA
School: Whittier College, Whittier, Home of the Fighting Poets
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius, Year of the Snake
I've lived all my life in Los Angeles, CA, but I have travelled all over the world, including Egypt, England, Scotland, and Paris. It has been my ambition to be a writer from my earliest days. I attended elementary school at St. Augustine's School, and remain the only half-Lebanese half-Irish person I know, other than my other brother. I went on to Notre Dame Academy High School, where I became active in Drama and theater - even, in my sophomore year, participating in the Drama Department's trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to perform in Return to the Forbidden Planet. The next year, as a participant in the Drama Teacher's Association of Southern California Fall Festival, I decided to write and perform in the Student-Written category. The prompt, Historical Event or Biography Post 1900, inspired the five-minute play The Romanov's Last Photograph. It did not do well at the Festival, but that summer my father and I turned Romanovs into a fifteen minute film.
I graduated from Notre Dame Academy in the spring of 2008 (the Purple Class) and began to attend Whittier College that fall. I am for a major in English with an Emphasis in Creative Writing. Since then I have continued to write, and have recently grown active in Live-Action Roleplaying, and Tarot cards.
My favorite books include James Clavell's Shogun, Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes, the Harry Potter series (though I harbor strong doubts about the seventh, The Philosopher's Stone and The Half-Blood Prince remain my favorites), Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, Garth Nix's The Old Kingdom trilogy (Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen), any of the works of Lucy Maud Montgomery, but especially the Emily books, Tamora Pierce's Circle of Magic and The Circle Opens, Charlote Brontë's Jane Eyre, Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, William Goldman's The Princess Bride, and many others. In terms of nonfiction, I am trying to adopt Renoir, My Father as a guide to everyday philosophy.
In terms of other favorites, I look up to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report as examples of not only stellar comedy, but also reliable and accountable news sources. I happily admit to loving Avatar The Last Airbender, and I have a fondness for many manga series as well. My favorite video games are The Legend of Zelda and Portal.
The list of films I love is extensive. I am a great adherent of Disney and Pixar, especially Beauty and the Beast and The Incredibles. I also revere Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy I & II, Pan's Labyrinth). I view Mongol as one of the foremost film epics of our time, on a par with Gone With the Wind - another movie I love. Cabaret, Once, Sullivan's Travels, are other films that I enjoy and look up to.
On my playlist you'll find songs by L.Udo, The Decemberists, Pink Martini, the Beatles, Koop, and numerous musicals, including Pacific Overtures, Les Miserables, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park With George, Wicked, Rent, and Sweeney Todd.