Ari ♫ ♪ ♬ (gracenotes) wrote in emillion, @ 2014-01-13 09:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, arielle chiaro, riyeko lionward |
So come one, come all and see the show tonight, prepare to be astounded...
Who: Ari & Riyeko
What: Let’s talk about (stage) magic!
Where: A rehearsal room
When: This morning
Rating: Tame
Status: Complete!
Upon arrival at the guildhall this morning, Ari had discovered that the director was out with a cold (which he, no doubt, feared to be a resurgence of the plague -- the only reasonable excuse to miss the first day of rehearsal for a new production) and the cast and crew were using this sterling opportunity to lounge about and discuss absolutely anything but work. The assistant director was fluttering about, trying to organize a reading, but it was cold and early -- a terrible combination with this bunch. Really, it was no surprise that the day was off to a lethargic start. The assistant director finally seemed to settle upon the age-old strategy of divide and conquer, which was how Ari found herself culled from the group and pulled aside by one of the aides. “Now,” the young man said, gesticulating wildly with his hands, “usually, we don’t start tech rehearsal until considerably later, but since your case is special...” Ari sighed. Last year, she had had to worry about little more than playing a harp and being witty. This year, she’d lost her part to a newcomer and wound up with this role instead, and while it had equal billing and involved a certain amount of inevitable creative growth (she was not, generally, the sort of actress chosen for roles defined by such things as wisdom and elegance), it also, unfortunately, involved a dour wardrobe (oh, how her mother would laugh to see her in robes!) and this particular inconvenience. I’m terrible at magic, she had admitted quite openly when asked at the audition; the answer, apparently, was to make up for that lack with technology. Though she did perk up a little when she saw the person to whom she was clearly being led; her few interactions with this woman had been generally positive. “So,” the aide continued, “Miss Chiaro, this is --” “We’ve met,” Ari said, offering a smile and a small wave of her hand in greeting. “I didn’t realize you were working on this, too.” Her experiences with Riyeko Lionward had painted a picture of a woman with interest in applications of science more avant garde than smoke and mirrors, but then, she supposed everyone had to make a living. Riyeko had easily busied herself with a hinge on what could best be described almost as an exoskeleton for an arm. The straps, belts, and velcro, along with metal that wrapped around the forearm, and upper arm. The cage extended slightly, moving back to settle over the top of the shoulder slightly, but not wrapping the full way down. Though the approach was missed for a moment, the spoken words from the man caused the machinist to startle slightly, and she instantly put the screwdriver in her hand down, posture straightening to greet the new…. Oh. “We have.” Riyeko confirmed as her tone found itself caught between a chirped response - relief of seeing someone she knew - and her normally reserved demeanor when dealing with the public en masse. A polite smile was offered to the man who had shown Arielle back to the technical area as she waited for him to appropriately vacate. Thankfully, it would seem that he understood what needed to be done and scooted off without too much fuss. “Um,” The machinist’s gaze dropped down to the - somewhat - clunky contraption she’d been tinkering with just moments before. “Do you cast?” Ari grimaced and said, “Dreadfully.” She put out her hand, concentrated and muttered one of the two incantations she knew. A spark of electricity -- her pathetic attempt at Thunder -- flickered over her palm, then died. “That is about the extent of it,” she admitted. “My Cure is a bit better but… well, no one pays to see Cure.” She eyed the contraption Riyeko was prodding at with genuine curiosity. “I hope that,” whatever it was, “is more skilled than I am, or the audience will be terribly disappointed.” She also hoped she would be able to move in it -- it looked like it could be heavy and rather uncomfortable (though considering the fact that she’d gotten through operas in corsets, armored boots, and other absurd things, she supposed she would survive one way or another). “Oh.” The machinists features screwed up for a moment. Reconfiguring the machine would be a bit more tricky this way. “Well, um,” A glance was cast between Arielle and the fixture for a moment. “It could make that bigger, but I don’t think it can make that as big as we’d really need.” A low thoughtful noise slipped out, Riyeko seemingly lost to her own thoughts, a world of fantasy house within her own head. “How’s your aim?” Were the first words out of her mouth as she obviously resurfaced to the reality around them. “Better than my magic,” Ari told her. In truth, she couldn’t begin to dream of, say, throwing something and hoping it hit a target, but magic was more mental, wasn’t it? “I guess we’re going to find out.” She shrugged and admitted, “When I played the Warrior Queen about a year ago, they literally had a mage on staff doing my spells from backstage, so I’ve never really had to try.” She gave a sheepish shrug and said, “I am sorry to be your problem child. I promise my acting is better than my casting.” Rolling her lips in on themselves, a low thoughtful hum was given with the scrunching of her brow. That would help to some degree, at least it was something. If they could just… “I guess we are.” A polite - though mildly sheepish smile - rose. “I thought they were going to hire someone who knew some sort of magicks, but I think I can work with this.” A glance was taken between Ari and the machine again. “What about your sleight of hand?” If the responsive to this was positive, they could have something pretty solid to work with but if the other woman was woefully lacking in that area too then maybe… No, better to leave the experimental stuff out if it could be helped. At this, Ari relaxed and smiled. “Ah, now there, I am finally competent,” she said. “Not a stage magician by any means, but I will hold my own, especially from a distance.” And it would behoove her not to publicize some of her better skills in this regard, but every actor was expected to know a little. “I am dying to know,” she said, “what sleight of hand has to do with your rather fascinating… contraption.” She really could find no better word for it. And she was -- perhaps -- a bit more excited about the role now, if only for the opportunity to try something new (though if that thing was a pain to wear, she had no doubt she would revise that opinion rapidly). “Okay,” The relieved tone was painfully obvious in the best of circumstances. Now, it would just be a matter of rigging the pieces to function on a reduced functionality. “That’s good, we can make this work.” Maybe if she added some tubes to streamline and push forward any possible - And then the other woman was chiming in again. “Oh! Um…” Riyeko’s eyes fell down to the device, it was still a bit big, and heavy for a person of Ari’s size, but part of this process would be reconstructing it with lighter materials, and adjusting fit to not be obvious or bulky so that it wouldn’t be so obvious when the show finally came around. It was just a matter of finding Arielle’s measurements, and ability to bear weight. “It’s a spell expander. If you had been able to cast, it would have made your spells bigger and more impressive to help wow the audience and sell you to them on the role.” A slightly defeated shrug was given as her eyes rolled back up to the other woman. “But I can reconfigure it. I think I can equip it with a propulsion system of sorts and a modified equipable multi-tap system to hook into fangs and motes that - paired with your sleight of hand - should make it look like you’re casting massive spells with a wave of your arm and the press of a button.” The machinist let her hand fall down, fingers tracing delicately over the contraption. “Part of making the show a thing to remember is really giving them something to wow them, right?” “Yes,” Ari said, then, with a laugh, added, “Or, perhaps, it is all a matter of making people believe the impossible. Just look at us -- a Mages’ Guild founder who can’t cast, a Bards’ Guild founder who can barely sing, and a Fighters’ Guild founder who would probably stab himself if he had to actually wield a broadsword, assuming he could pick it up at all.” She grinned. “And yet, come Aries, even the current members of those guilds will be awed, amazed, and captivated. The peculiar magic of the stage.” And they would manage it, too. Didn’t they always? “So,” she said, “What can I do to make your job easier?” After all, the machinist’s job was making her look good, in the end, and that was an aim Ari could certainly get behind. “Um, to start I guess we could have you try it on?” And what a way to start this would be. Riyeko couldn’t help but wonder, just how many times they’d have to have this dance before April but… She had no doubt that counting would probably just be a waste of valuable time. |