[Location] The Amphitheater of the North Winds

[Colombina]

The Amphitheater of the North Winds The House of the North Winds is the exclusive producer of wadj, the finest form of paper in Mizahar. After dealing with halls of learning and the purveyors of written word, the House became increasingly literate and artistic. An heir to the head of the house constructed the amphitheater as a venue for his works, but plays and performances grew in popularity the subject matter that appeared on the stage grew beyond the works of the son of the North Winds. A selective theater troupe was created, The Paper Faces, that is funded by the House of the North Winds to this day. Performances are seasonal and always sold out. The first plays' subject matter ranged between histories of royal scandal, original works and folklore. Eypharian theater tends to concern only Eypharian stories and matters, but a recent, popular playwright is of human lineage and has begun to broaden the spectrum. Now the plays are more current in tone and subject or largely symbolic, with occasional forays into the past. While the Paper Faces are a popular "modern" theater group, the real queen of the stage is Semhu, the elaborate Eypharian style of theater. Semhu combines drama with music, dance and combat. Where The Paper Faces has sparse props and simple backgrounds, the Semhu school is lavish and ornate with costumes sometimes weighing over 50 pounds and worth more than a yearly wage. The sets are a combination of painted and costumed actors and commissioned works of art. Semhu is by and large the greatest spectacle of the stage. Once a year the amphitheater opens its stage to amateurs. Auditions are held for writers and performers and the winners are paid handsomely. Even those who are not artistically inclined audition for the sheer weight of the purse. These productions have had mixed success, but prove entertaining one way or another. A few ladies of the North Winds have achieved independent fame and wealth from their acting in either Semhu or The Paper Faces. Extravagant and with a flair for the theatrical, these women are the subject of an abundance of gossip and fascination.