The Boards, Sunday Afternoon, Summer Showcase

[furnaceface]

Well, the rehearsals had been short, but Jono hadn't been too concerned by that, seeing as reality had been swallowed up the last time they did a showcase here, and people had gone onstage and had performed excellent pieces in spite of the trauma. What he had been concerned about was his own capacity to get everything done, but the programs were printed and there were light refreshments thanks to Raven, and the stage had been decorated to portray key areas of the island, displaying varying degrees of Fandom's weirdness.

The Fandom Island Summer Showcase!
Come one, come all, to a celebration
of Fandom's diversity!

Enjoy musical and dramatic performances
that will bring nostalgia to old residents
and possibly some surprises to the new.

Two-For-One tickets to new residents!
Bring a sibling, a roommate, or a new friend!

Why yes, there were giant foam tentacles coming out of a duck pond that was surrounded by lawn flamingos over on that side of the stage. Why? Was that strange?

[Open to all!]

Comments

Backstage!

[furnaceface]

For the cast and crew to ready themselves for today's show! Make-up, last-minute rehearsing, last-minute jitters. The usual!

Re: Backstage!

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie wasn't really doing make-up, or rehearsing, or jitters. Not any you could see if you didn't know her very, very well, at least.

She was just calmly sipping some water and humming under her breath.

Re: Backstage!

[furnaceface]

Before the show, Jonothon was making laps back and forth, from backstage to the sound booths. There were still preparations to be made. He had to be sure the make-up supply was decent enough for the performers to make use of it, had to double-check all the equipment to make sure the curtains weren't going to snag halfway through a show. The instruments needed tuning, there were light and sound checks to be done...

And he was here to help any performers with last-minute rehearsing that they might want to do.

Somebody should tie this boy to a seat or something before he passes out. But if they do, who will sell the tickets?!

Re: Backstage!

[not_in_the_book]

Ronan was sucking down lemon water like it was nectar, but only because he wanted to make sure his throat was in perfect condition for his performance.

What? Last time he'd been on a stage, he'd been singing karaoke at Caritas with a drunk chocobo. He was allowed to be a little nervous.

Re: Backstage!

[twintuitionist.livejournal.com]

Juliet had fussed over her makeup for far longer than was necessary. She came out looking pretty much exactly the same as she did any other day, save a slight pink flush to her cheeks that was excitement as much as blush.

That done, she took a seat in as quiet a corner as she could find to do some breathing and articulation exercises.

"Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery. Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery. Wowy the rorier - damn."

And then she started over.

Re: Backstage!

[beautifulsenshi.livejournal.com]

Minako was sipping the water between vocal warm-ups, doing a few stretches to get her jitters out.

Idol-ness, look out! Here comes Aino Minako!

Re: Backstage!

[regretiz4suckas.livejournal.com]

Having crew *and* cast stuff to do at the last minute meant Kenzi was imitating a dervish, a Mexican jumping bean, and a cartoon Tasmanian devil all at the same time.

"Coming through okay move hoshit let me get through here--"

She'd be okay. Really.

Re: Backstage!

[fates_jaye]

There were squirrels.

Well, of course there were squirrels, hiding in the shadows, taking notes as usual. But there were also three squirrels in costume. In can-can outfits, in fact, with two of them chittering wildly to each other like maybe there was just a little bit of drama going down at the eleventh hour.

The third was sipping from a squirrel-sized glass of rum. Yes, squirrel-sized glasses of rum apparently existed.

Re: Backstage!

[trigons_child]

Raven was desperately trying not to focus on any jitters, thank you. Mostly she was just staying out of the way and occasionally checking the mirror to see how she looked.

All right, maybe she was a little flaily.

Re: Backstage!

[angelo_wings]

Rinoa hadn't had much time to practice, what with spending most of rehearsal time as a finch. So this seemed like a good time for a moment of jitters.

She had sheet music. She felt like a fraud.

Audience - Before the Show!

[furnaceface]

Come in, get your tickets, find your seats, chat. There is a table of moddable refreshments, so help yourselves!

But please don't spill on the carpet. This poor carpet suffers so much just by being a carpet on Fandom Island.

Re: Audience - Before the Show!

[stars_and_money]

Well duh, Jeremy's twin was performing at this thing. It would have been weird if he hadn't shown up. He even had a bunch of roses ready for Juliet. Whether she was going to be great or not didn't matter much.

He grabbed a drink and went to look for a good place to sit.

Re: Audience - Before the Show!

[liarallmyown.livejournal.com]

Jace really was not for this type of stuff but Natalie had asked him to come in her own roundabout way, so he was there. Jace Wayland was a dick, but he was loyal to family.

He couldn't quite muster up the willpower needed to not look bored though.

[necroslacker]

Sam took a seat near the front but not right at the front. He stretched his legs out and settled back, waiting for the show to start and for Natalie to appear on stage.

Of course.

Re: Audience - Before the Show!

[fewer_explosions]

Liara did not strictly have an idea what this was beyond some kind of performance, but Karla had been rather adamant about her turning up. And... well... since she hadn't found a way home as of yet, she supposed she might as well... get to know the locals?

...this did not mean that the blue girl sitting in the audience looked anywhere near comfortable. But at least she was there.

Re: Audience - Before the Show!

[glacial_queen]

Oooh, refreshments! Karla filled up a plate or three (because getting up for more in the middle of the performances would just be rude) before settling into her seat. She was in a great mood, glad to be back on the island, and had an easy grin for everyone she knew and even people she didn't.

Re: Audience - Before the Show!

[solarhippie]

Karolina had not meant to come here. But, curiosity had gotten the best of her at the last minute, so here she was, looking around and, yes, helping herself to the refreshments.

Re: Audience - Before the Show!

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Squall took a seat in the back and waited patiently. He wasn't sure who else would be performing, but Rinoa was going to be in the show, and Jono had arranged it, so he wouldn't miss it for anything.

Re: Audience - Before the Show!

[thelobsterking.livejournal.com]

After a bit of confusion regarding what it took to actually obtain a ticket, Stannis entered the theatre with a keen eye for observation and feeling a little bit out of place. But he had said he would come for Juliet's sake, and a man was only as good as his honor and his word, so...

There he was. Grinding his teeth as he scowled at a program.

The Show!

[furnaceface]

For all the performers to ping in with their acts!

Feel free to make it messy with performances and reactions!

Re: The Show!

[furnaceface]

"Ladies and gentlemen." Jono stepped up to the stage before the other performers, dressed in his usual long jacket, tall collar and all. But for this, the collar was down, showing his face in its entirety. Let people stare at the bluish man on the stage. This show was, after all, a showcase of the island and all of its quirks. "I would like to thank you all for coming here this afternoon for our Summer Showcase. I'm Jonothon, the director here at the Boards, and I have just a bit of housekeeping to take care of before we get started."

This was an important part of every performance, thank you.

"First, I would like to ask that you all turn off your cell phones during the show, as it's distracting to both your fellow audience members and to the performers on the stage. Likewise, you're welcome to take pictures and video during the performance, but please save all flash photography until after the show."

Housekeeping!

"Today's showcase is going to be a collection of songs and stories, put together by residents of the island who want to share their feelings and experiences with you. Some might tell you stories of things that actually happened, reaching from the everyday to, as yesterday's unique weather might have prepared you for, a taste of the unbelievably fantastic. While I can't necessarily vouch for the truth behind the stories you'll hear, I can tell you this. Over the years, Fandom Island has taken her residents, has lifted us up and has torn us down. She's rattled us and has tested the upper limits of our ability to believe the improbable, and to do the impossible. She's housed humans, aliens, demons, mutants, gods and more, and has made equals of the most unlikely companions. I hope that our performance today leaves all of you with, if not an appreciation for our island, at least a better understanding of just what sort of place it happens to be."

And then, without further dallying, Jonothon turned and walked off the stage. It was time for the showcase to begin.

Re: The Show!

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie's chosen song said very little about Fandom, apart from perhaps that they had at least one musically gifted person living on the island – but then, Natalie preferred to make statements about herself rather than sweeping generalizations. She took a seat by the piano for the second time today, and began to play. It sounded dark, and it was understated, the song stripped bare of all unnecessary elements. And as she got to the start of the vocals –– "Well, I hope God protects your soul; I don't know if you should leave home alone." –– there was no big burst of emotion. She sounded a little distant. So very Natalie-like. "Maybe you've been drinking from the Devil's bowl; I can't express myself 'cause I'm not fully grown." Her voice grew lighter in time with her fingers on the keys. "My heartache is my mistake, you see," she sang, as if it was nothing. The musical equivalent of one of those noncommittal one-shoulder shrugs she was so fond of. "My heartache is my mistake, you see..."

As her words trailed off the tune got a little less light again. Her gaze was down on her hands. It wasn't really necessary, she knew this song like (no pun intended) the back of her hand. It was just how she was. It was how she kept things intimate. Like the audience wasn't there. "Well, I am conscious of the way that I act," she continued, with just the hint of a drawl, only to drop it again for the next line. "But I won't betray you, you can be sure of that. I'm not a pet who does tricks at the drop of a hat; I wish I was fiction, I wish I was fact." And that was still a line that amused her, in a meta context. It didn't really show, though, and and she dropped all hints of dryness or wryness or anything as she came back to those lines where the delivery didn't seem to reveal anything even though the words did. "My heartache is my mistake, you see; my heartache is my mistake ––"

And then she slammed her hands down on the keys, and suddenly there was more emotion in her voice. Something just barely restrained that even had her brow furrowing a little.

"I need to build a wall around me! I need to build a wall around me!" Yes, it seemed she just loved to make people wonder about how she could give away so very little of what she felt or thought in everyday life, and then get up on stage and sing that and sound – by her standards – almost desperate with it. Her tone was tempered by the next lines, continuing on to the repeat of the chorus, but something remained, a certain sadness, or resignation. "But I want to smile with everybody, would you say that is possessive of me?"

Her fingers seemed lighter on the piano keys again after that, but the song stayed changed. No straight-up pretense of indifference anymore. And as for her vocals, she never went quite all the way back to her detached tone from the beginning of the song. There was always something there, fraying at the edges. "Yes, we feel bad in winter, we act a little bit strange." And if there was anything here that could be applied to Fandom, this was it. "The dark sky threatens me daily, makes me alter and change, change, change, change!"

Even her shoulders seemed to tense up as she launched back into the chorus. It had the same kind of feel to it as it had before. Far more emotion than she tended to show. She played the chorus once like that, but then for the final repeat she brought some of the intensity down, turned desperation into something closer to melancholy to close the song. There was no going back to how she'd started, but the end could still be utterly her. Not that the rest of it hadn't been. The final line –– "Would you say that is possessive of me?" –– was almost a sigh. And then, with a few more presses on the keys, she was done. With a deep breath, she got up, and did a vague little curtsey in the general direction of the audience, her face back in its usual state of an alert but otherwise pretty blank expression.

A wall was needed, see.

Audience - After the Show!

[furnaceface]

Talk about what you just watched! Say hello to cast and crew who might have wandered out! Polish off the last of the dessert squares!

Re: Audience - After the Show!

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie spent the actual show backstage, helping where she could, but she came back out into the theater proper afterwards.

She sipped water from a bottle as she glanced around for anyone who might want to talk to her.

Backstage - After the Show!

[furnaceface]

For those performers who just want to wind-down, rather than get swarmed by their adoring fans.

Or something.

OOC!

[furnaceface]

I'll be around all day, except for a chunk of the evening where I'll be watching big pretty explosions in the sky! Feel free to make this as messy as you want, to tag in with last-minute surprise acts, whatever!

(I'd pay money to see the Caritas zombies perform a number while Tino and Tiny dance a tango, but then, I dream big.)

Re: OOC!

[regretiz4suckas.livejournal.com]

*IS SO HAPPY* *APPLAUDS SQUIRRELS* *GLEEEEEEE*

*cellphone held up*