Logs:The Play's The Thing
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| RL Date: 30 April, 2013 |
| Who: Mave, K'zin, E'sren, Seamus, Wheatley, N'hax, Hana, Barnabas, Jo |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Vignette |
| What: By the grace of several generous High Reachians, the random desire to hold a play does not crash and burn. Labor comes to fruition. |
| Where: West Bowl, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 27, Month 8, Turn 31 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: Warm sunshine and cloudless skies make for a beautiful day and pleasantly warm evening. A breeze tempers the heat with no humidity lingering in the air. |
| OOC Notes: This vignette was contributed to by several parties, all of whom--everyone!-- I'd like to thank for letting me harass them, and turning this little thing into a wonderful moment. (And because it was written by several people, they should feel free to edit if I messed something up.) |
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| As the evening took over on the day of, there could finally be no mistaking it: a misheard encouragement had managed to turn into an entire affair, rolling downhill and collecting Weyrfolk along the way with its tumultuous thundering. Rising spectacularly early, lingering only long enough to harry Ratha to be there, Mave's a-buzz when the natural light dims and the glows are being temporarily erected around the audience space. The combined efforts of High Reachian talents have brought them here. And now it's far too late to turn back. K'zin's were some of the many hands on deck when the final preparations for the play were underway. His primary concern was seeing that the backdrops looked right once they were mounted. There were a few touchups to do here and there, some that required a draconic elevator, but they more or less looked as he'd intended them to. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach, as no amount of reassuring from others familiar with what a Hold looks like and a ship and so on could convince him they were realistic and right. Not much to do about it now though, he told himself. The show must go on, whether or not the backdrops are up to par. He lent hands to whomever needed after that, but found mostly that he just needed to stay out of the way. Somehow, someway, Wheatley had heard about Mave's play. It can't be said if the production was purposefully kept from him, but upon throwing himself at the 'gal in charge', some could see one might be tempted. He was perfect for the lead! Holder turned sea renegade, why, the play may as well be about him! Three days before the performance, Lee had an understandably tough time convincing Mave or E'sren to drop Seamus as the star. But oh, didn't they have a place for him somewhere!? He'd do anything! Final look-overs by N'hax have assured that the sets will switch smoothly while a harried Hana insists on double-checking all hairstyles and clothing looks herself despite her schedule: a quality assurance that runs like a backbone through all of the play's many interwoven pieces. She works magic with the borrowed wardrobes from stores, or pieces of mostly relevant clothes from personal closets, letting stylistic make-up and the-- by varying degrees-- ease of the actors explain the character when the supplies are more lacking. In an inspired flare, the play's setting moves from morning to always at night-time as the day itself wanes to evening's darker approach. And here at the beginning -- Bones' renegade ship: in fact, painted cheekily as the vessel's name on the side: 'Bones'. It's referred to quite more elaborately than the play's nature requires, leaving a few faces confused, but such is the price of accuracy. Bones watches from the back with a nervous smile, arms crossed over his chest with booted toes tapping. His part in this is small, and yet he continues to fidget as if he's the lead role. Bones helped Mave by getting as much accurate nautical jargon into the play as he could. It wasn't just a knot, it was a Midshipman's Hitch. A sailor isn't just up in the sails, he's aloft in the rigging. And it's not just a line connecting the pointy front part to "That sail in the middle." It's the Foretopgallant-stay connecting the Flying Jib-Boom to the fore-uppper topsail yard. Alright, she probably didn't need things that technical, but working with the kid was fun, and he can't help but hope for success. When the first fighting breaks out, it almost feels like a true argument-- the natural movements of the actors a tribute to Jo's patience. Fast-paced, and ruthless, but with a flare true to the comedy beats of the play, they're a definite prize and the reason a few of the younger eyes allowed to sit in stay glued open whereas they'd been drifting for some of the wordier sections. Intermission brings a variety of entertainment choices. Many adjourn to the Snowasis to freshen up, while the kids are expected to stay behind-- and many are quite eager to, as E'sren rewards them with a spectacular magic show. Sitting cross-legged amongst the children, Mave's applause is no less than theirs, the shine of her eyes as bright. Early returnees from the drinks survey some themed wares brought out by the Renais, hanging on a nearby wagon: hats and perfumes, a scarf of two, and costume pieces, for those inspired to engage in their own productions after this. The second half holds a few nervously flubbed lines from a less natural performer from the caverns, and the ship set doesn't roll out as smoothly as practiced because of a fumbled hand-- but all in all, things happen as they should-- and end happily, both fictionally and physically. ... Anything, it turns out, means changing out the background between each scene. There's plenty of quiet grumbling back stage, but when the time calls for him to help, Wheatley is all smiles. It's what he signed up for, as unglamorous as it is. He's even angry at himself when things go awry during the second half, though it isn't clear if he's directly at fault or not. It doesn't matter. Throughout the play, Seamus is the target of some muttered critiques: does he really need to ham it up so much? Wasn't that line delivery a little cheesy? But by the end of the performance, even Wheatley's cheering his name and whistling through his fingers above the roaring applause. Still, if you ask him, what does a trader know about life on the sea? It takes a set of palms pushing from behind and a grip on her wrist from the front to get Mave onto the stage after the cast takes its bow, unprofessionally with her mouth agape as Seamus guides her forward with a hand on her shoulder till she can see the people clapping-- till the Renais start clapping. From freckle to freckle, Mave's cheeks light up, but her spine absorbs the attention like electricity. She bounces with abundant energy straight into the bouquet of flowers being handed her. Petals bump into her nose and she's awash in fragrance and pride. Spinning on a heel, she grabs a skulking nearby E'sren, hauling him and his giant grin forward to separate one flower from the others to give him. "Our illustrious director!" she chirps for the benefit of the audience, hopping several times on her toes to plant a kiss to his cheek as he laughs, waving it off with chuckles. Fumbling off the stage by the side stairs, Mave picks the bouquet apart, attempting to thrust single flowers upon every cast and crew member she can pass by until the feeling of something cold being thrust back at her interrupts the flow. Her head jerks up: it's Jo, proudly pressing a modestly sized bottle of ale into her palm. Grinning boldly at her instructor, Mave murmurs a few quickly grateful words, a one-armed hug, before she's skittering off: she's got something to do, guys! Something to do. Words are passed along: everyone to the Snowasis, for Mave's collecting old winnings banked a long time in her room to treat them all. By the third person, it's all become exaggerated, but no one much cares in the mood of things. |
Comments
Azaylia (Dragonshy (talk)) left a comment on Wed, 01 May 2013 06:44:34 GMT.
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Wow. I'm amazed at how well everything just flowed together. It really felt like a team effort, IC AND OOC, and that's amazing! Congrats to Mave, who was working on this little project for how long? And it turned out so great!
And everyone's contribution was both hilarious and fantastic! Really. The ending filled me with disgusting warm fuzzies. <3 Who could've figured that a misunderstanding could lead to all of this? XD
Eliv (Eliv (talk)) left a comment on Wed, 01 May 2013 16:17:47 GMT.
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Now let's start planning the next one! ...where'd everyone go?
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