CAC Showcase: The Stage

[Van Voclain]

There were days when Van didn't feel like a Gryffindor, and today was one of them. Standing in the dark backstage, she closed her eyes, only wishing she could close her ears as well. Everybody was so talented. How was she supposed to follow someone like Aaliyah Chun, or Lennox Addison? The good thing about going first, Van realised now, was that there was nobody for anybody to compare you to. Maybe she should have switched when she'd had the chance.

No. It didn't matter. She hadn't come here for applause. For years, she'd sat on the side-lines, too afraid of judgement to express herself. For years, she'd done what other people told her to do, grappling for any semblance of control. But this - this was hers. Singing. Piano. No-one could tell her how to play, or how not to play. And she wasn't bad at it. Her dad had said she had natural talent. She hadn't bothered to correct him; she'd been far too happy to spoil the moment by mentioning the hundreds of hours she'd spent in the conglomerated arts room - practising, to convince herself she was there for any other reason but to hide.

As the piano rolled towards centre-stage, Van walked over to meet it. She sat down. Felt the keys. An expectant silence had come over the hall, though Van couldn't hear it over the rushing in her ears. And then she played.

What happened between the first note and the last was a blur. She was vaguely aware that the audience was there, but she wasn't singing for them. She was singing for herself, for the parts of herself which she had failed to acknowledge, and which, with each breath, finally found their voice. And then it was over, and, without taking a bow, she melted into the wings.

Singing/piano reference

 

[Sky Eriksen]

Sky watched the seventh year take to the stage. to be honest she didnt know Van very well at all and was a little surprised that she had signed up. not that many of the performers were club members. but most of the non members were young not seventh year.
She watched her take her seat at the piano and start to play. The funny thing about music was there were some performances that were performed. Done for the audience. sometimes they were perfectly executed technically complex pieces, but not always, The main thing was that there was some emotion in them that was separate from the performer. other performances were done for the player. it was hard to describe the difference until you saw it in action. Often these weren't score-perfect pieces but they had a different perfection to them. This performance was very much for the performer. She seemed to transform before her eyes like a butterfly unfurling her wings for the first time and seeing its colours, no more like a bird spreading its wings for the first time and realising it could fly. Sky couldn't take her eyes away. sky finished and the world faded back to normal as van exited the stage.
"Wow that was incredible" she said as they passed before sky was back in the MC spot. "Wow What a performance. That was Van Voclain, everyone." she said. pausing for the applause between last and next performer. "It is sad to think that that was our last musical act and the night is nearly over. but don't despair we still have one more act to go. Please give it up for your final act of the night a dramatic performance by Dahlia Doherty" she said. before leaving the stage glad that so far the show had gone smoothly enough with no major hiccoughs and this really was its home run

Out of Character:

@Dahlia Doherty you have 24 hours to post

 

[Dahlia Doherty]

There was a part of Dahlia that still hoped beyond all evidence that one day she'd wake up back home in Melbourne, going to school with all her netball friends, acting in school musicals and working on going somewhere like NIDA for performance or the AIS and playing netball professionally. But every morning she woke up in the Gryffindor dorm, and realized she no longer had those opportunities, and just had to try and find a place in the magical world instead. There was a magical performing arts school in London, she knew. It wasn't like all her dreams were over. Just had to change their course.

And it was hard to practice acting when she didn't have anyone to work with. All she could really do was work on monologues in the mirror in her dorm, or in the arts room where she wouldn't bother Leah or Anisha. It was hard, too, to pick her own monologues without much guidance. What could she perform effectively? Shakespeare was a bit too over the top and she stumbled over the wording a bit. And often monologues and plays she found called for a wealth of experience she just didn't have. Thankfully, she'd stumbled on something she loved over the holidays, and she'd been workshopping it over and over until she thought she could perform it well and had the words committed to memory. She knew she didn't quite have the same experiences to draw from as Tracey, but she was the right age and she thought about how she was at the back of the pecking order as a muggleborn in a wizarding world, a tiny fish in an overwhelmingly big pond, and of cute boys who she didn't feel she would be good enough for, and a lot of the emotion seemed to flow naturally.

Dressed up like she was going to a party, Dahlia sat down in a chair that she'd asked to have put on the stage, and smiled nervously at the crowd before clearing her throat. She liked performing, she was just a bit out of practice with it. And wasn't sure how this would go down, but she'd do her best. She rested her elbow on the arm of the chair, her chin on her palm, and put on a dreamy look as she started.

His lips are thin, and soft, and very pink and one time we kissed for eight minutes, I know coz we started kissing when Craig David’s album was on, and it was like Walking Away, which is three minutes 27 seconds and then we kept kissing after that when Time to Party came on which is like four minutes and six seconds so all together that’s like eight minutes. Eight minutes.

If I look at him for more than like six seconds he starts squinting – he’s not going blind or anything coz they sort of get bigger at the same time, sort of like – I think it’s coz he really likes the way my face is. He says I’m like a little firecracker and he’s like… I dunno, someone smart.

He’s not like those boys that take you cinema just so they can kiss you in the dark, we walk outside holding hands. And he likes the way my face is.

Right now I am looking at the sea for the first time in my life. He blindfolded me and took me all the way to a beach.

I’ve never seen so much water before, and it’s not the water it’s just, I’ve never seen anything like this in the whole course of my life.

“Where are we?”

“Margate”

“Mah… Gate…”

I don’t actually know where Margate is but I’m guessing it must be like… past Enfield coz we ain’t got anything like this in my borough or in any of the neighbouring boroughs I’m sure.

“Gosh, it goes back for ages. It goes so far, it joins with the sky.”

I feel like crying, but not from sadness. “Thank you.”

She made sure to give ample pauses, letting the humour go through while also taking it seriously. Sometimes she paused because a flutter of nerves crossed her chest and she'd forget the words for a second, but she was able to take a deep breath and keep going. Even though she looked over the crowd, she just tried to pretend she was still talking to the mirror and focusing more on conveying the emotion. Being awed, feeling special but somehow also feeling small. Thinking of how the magical world felt like a whole different world, one that she still barely felt as though she belonged in, but perhaps some people would see the worth in her and want to help her be something more. Her legs were trembling by the time she was done, so much so that she had to hold onto the chair to stand up and smile at the audience. Dahlia was relieved, though. It hadn't felt bad to perform at all, it had really been something of a relief that despite everything, this was still something she had the opportunity to do.

the monologue is from the play Chewing Gum Dreams by Michaela Coel!

 

[Sky Eriksen]

Sky stood by and watched the last act, Dahlia perform a dramatic piece. A monologue about an unknown boy. Sky couldn't help herself she peeked out through a gap in the curtains her eyes scanning the audience until they fell on Ngawaiata she watched her for a few moments from the cover of the curtains thinking about kissing her not that she thought they would kiss for eight minutes that seemed like far too long, she also thought about how maybe they should have done something together. but she stopped herself she knew Ngaiawaita wasn't the kind of person who made a show of her music. if anything she usually hid it. she couldn't get much further with the thoughts as Dahlia finished her piece and left the stage. she headed on "that was great, so you get into her head" she said she had almost forgotten that she had been acting. "and that was Dahlia Doherty with a performance" she said. "un fortunately that was all we have the for tonight. I hope that you enjoyed it. can we get one more round of applause for everyone who performed and helped today." she said. She wondered if she should invite everyone back in stage to bow. But decided against it. thank you Eugene and marnie and to the conglomerated arts club who helped organise the event. Everyone is welcome at the arts club, and you don’t have to be a member to use the rooms. Though if you want to join just let me know. It doesn’t matter what type of art you use or tallent. There are no mistakes in art. Thank you and goodnight[/b] she said before bowing one last time and leaving the stage to find each of the performers. She had a small goodie box from honeydukes for each of the performers that she had bought on the last brightstone weekend for each of them.