Solo A conflict of performance

Disagreement and tone-deaf musicians plague the Playhouse

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Considered one of the most mysterious cities in Mizahar, Alvadas is called The City of Illusions. It is the home of Ionu and the notorious Inverted. This city sits on one of the main crossroads through The Region of Kalea.

A conflict of performance

Postby Anthere on March 1st, 2017, 5:14 am

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"Speech" | 4th of Spring, 517 AV | Thoughts

Anthere smiled as she entered the playhouse. As she'd set foot outside her door this morning, the city had dumped her right next to her destination, so she'd only had to cross the street to enter the building. It was at moments like these that she anticipated a good day.

The Nuit was greeted by a stout older woman, by the name of Ida, who, despite her lack of height, always found a way to look down on people. She had a habit of standing on chairs whenever she felt the need to say something important. And shouting. Ida had a loud, husky voice, and quite enjoyed using it to shout. "You're early," smiled Ida. Anthere found that she'd managed to please the woman, an act that was viewed as impossible by some. "The streets favored me today," responded Anthere with a smile.

"Lucky you," muttered Ida offhandedly, who had since become engrossed in the script at hand. It was the third day of a new performance, and Ida, playing the lead role, had put herself in a place of authority, though she wasn't the director.

The musicians were each practicing their own parts, with no rhyme or reason, simply becoming familiar with the notes they were given. The lack of melody wasn't exactly pleasant to the ears, but it was something familiar at the beginning of rehearsals.

The door swung open an hour into their practice. A young man, no older than sixteen, stumbled in. "S-sorry I'm late," he muttered shyly, a violin clutched in one hand. Anthere didn't recognize him, meaning this performance was his first. He closed the door behind him, rather loud, and trudged to his seat amongst the other musicians. Ida's expression had soured, the rare positive demeanor she'd had that morning gone without a trace. "If you're gonna be late, don't make a show of it. You're a musician, not one of the actors," she snapped.

Anthere felt a pang of sympathy, but let out a soft chuckle at Ida's snide comment. Ida sharply directed the actors' attention to the scene at hand, and they quickly complied.

The newcomer began to play, an atrocious sound that was more screeching than music. The musicians paused to glance at him, but returned to their work, too sympathetic to correct or criticise him. Anthere winced, unable to focus on the script at hand. But she kept quiet, trying her best to focus.

Ida shot a glare at the boy at every earsplitting shriek, though she kept quiet at first. After a few minutes, and no progress from the actors, she hoisted herself up on the nearest stool and cleared her throat. "Would you stop that incessant shrieking?"
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A conflict of performance

Postby Anthere on March 3rd, 2017, 2:52 pm

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"Speech" | Timestamp | Thoughts

The room silenced. Ida continued glaring at the boy. "Who had the audacity to entrust this boy with a violin?" she interrogated, looking around the room. "Kid, what's your name?"

The boy's face was red with embarrassment. Though the Nuit didn't want to hear his violin playing anymore, it was a terrifying experience being on the receiving end of Ida's wrath. She was blunt, to say the least. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, and could end up hurting people afterwards.

Despite trying her best to stay on Ida's good side, it was inevitable that one was getting yelled at at some point. However, for this untalented violinist, it was his introduction to the performance center. "I-- I'm Tyler," the boy muttered, his face turned to the ground. His hair was dark, messy, and looked like it was in need of a cut.

"Tyler." Ida paced in front of the musicians, hands clasped behind her back. The room was frigidly silent, and the tension was stifling. The cast was familiar enough with Ida to keep silent in a situation like this, though it was rare for her to be this angry. "Tyler." She paused in front of the boy, who was visibly cowering. "Who taught you to play?" Her voice was eerily calm. Gone was the high pitched shouting, the face red with anger. Instead, she was talking like a civil person. But this felt more like the calm before a storm. The recession before the tidal wave struck. Ida's wrath was just beginning.

The boy made a sort of whimpering stutter sound, like he was trying to form a sentence but couldn't quite manage it. Though Anthere felt for him, it was admittedly pathetic. And it was irritating the woman again.

Ida returned to shouting, her soft smile wiped from her face and replaced with a scowl. "Well? Did you forget how to talk?"

"I taught myself," Tyler blurted, his face managing to achieve an even deeper shade of crimson. Not anticipating anyone would want him to stay, he began packing up his music.

"Well that explains it," Ida chuckled. "You know, you're not only a bad violinist. You're a bad teacher." She resumed her frustrated pacing. "That's fine," the woman said, giving him a thin, flimsy smile, "I'm sure we can find another violinist."

If possible, the room grew quieter. Whispers that had bubbled up ceased, and Tyler looked about ready to cry. "P-please," he mutttered, "I need this. I need the money." Anthere raised her eyebrows. So he could form full sentences.

The conductor turned to Ida. "What authority do you have here?" He was evidently defending the boy. "Tyler is the only violinist we could find. I can teach him myself." Anthere could tell the conductor was hesitant to offer, but there wasn't an alternative option.
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A conflict of performance

Postby Anthere on March 8th, 2017, 5:26 am

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"Speech" | Timestamp | Thoughts

Ida muttered something under her breath, too quiet for Anthere to make out, but one would doubt it was anything less than profane. "Fine. But if we find a better player, we're replacing that atrocity." The woman picked up her script and cleared her throat. "Where were we?"

But her fellow actors weren't quite ready to get back in character. Anthere herself glanced at Tyler, who looked about ready to cry. His arms wrapped around his waist, he shook. The other musicians gave him space, unsure how to comfort him. He seemed so alone, avoided like the plague. Anthere paused for a moment, mustering the courage to start conversation."I-Ida?" Anthere muttered, interrupting the woman, who was mounted atop a stool, mid-line.

The woman looked down at the Nuit, her feet dangling off the edge of her perch. "What?" The word was harshly pronounced, full of edges and aggression.

"Can-- Can I talk to you?" Anthere, though attempting to hold herself with confidence, she managed to stutter under the intimidating glare of the aggressive woman.

Ida jumped off the stool, approaching the girl and grabbing her by the arm, leading her to the edge of the room. She crossed her arms and stood, silent, directing an expression of expectation at Anthere. The nuit, both unsure what to say, and expecting a snide comment from Ida to be her cue to speak, stood silent. After a moment, the older woman spoke up. "Well? You got something to say or were you just bored because you weren't in the scene?"

Anthere remained silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "Well, um, about Tyler," she mustered, "I... think you should go a little easier on him. I mean, look at the poor kid. He's shaking."

Ida directed her attention to the teenager, who was indeed shaking. "It's cold in here. He's fine, he's just shivering." Anthere raised an eyebrow. The room wasn't hot, but it was cozy. One would anticipate otherwise from the turn of winter, but it was a warm day.

It took much prodding from Anthere to coax Ida into admitting she'd hurt Tyler, but even then, her response was hostile. "So? I guess I hurt his feelings. This isn't a playground. He's old enough to take it without crying to his mommy."

The Nuit sighed in frustration. "He came in here, already embarrassed," she recalled with coaxing, "And you chew him out for being a bad violinist." It was evident Ida wasn't used to, or comfortable with, being corrected, especially not by someone so much younger than her. "I mean, he was the best choice, and I'm not happy about it either, but would you mind going a little easier on him? At least the conductor's trying to help him out."
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