Khayet's Theatre
Lesson #2
Log file from Khayet.
10/4/99 11:47:16
PM
Shainman Rehearsal
Hall
The largest room
in the Istan Harper Hall, save the Ballroom, this room has wonderful acoustics
that make sound bounce off the walls just so. From lessons to rehearsal
to just listening to the marvelous sounds always filling the room, there's
always a surplus of people about, harpers of every rank, and even a few
holders. Tiers fill almost every wall in the room, the choir levels on
the right, the orchestra one directly in and other smaller areas for more
specific group rehearsal on the left. The room is spotlessly clean and
only completely empty in the early hours of the morning when most harpers
have to tear themselves away from their work for a few winks of sleep.
Obvious exits: Main Hall
Linne pads in from
the ballroom.
Filiqua walks in
from the ballroom.
Linne tears her
way into the rehearsal hall, skidding to a stop as she enters. Walking
over to Khayet, and noticing the lack of other appies gathered in his
general area, she queries, "I hope I'm not too late...."
Filiqua approaches
softly. She was just following Linne, not knowing her way around very
well. she nods to express her sentiments, coincidentally agreeing with
Linne's.
Khayet shakes his
head, "I'm running late myself," He's slightly flushed, mildly sunburned
and rebraiding his hair. "I've just gotten in from running an errand to
the Weyr.....Have a seat, please..."
Filiqua takes a
seat obediently, eyes attentive. She's just waiting for this to start.
She decides that her blank book should have /some/ purpose, so she pulls
it out, maybe she should be writing something down.
Linne looks down
at the seats arranged, and picks one near the front, so she can see and
hear better.
Khayet takes a deep
breath and offers his hand to Filiqua, "I'm Khayet, I dont' think we've
met yet..."
Linne watches Khay
in amusement. Good thing he's already in stage composure.....
Indeed. He hasn't
had time to get flustered yet.
Filiqua nods, accepting
the offered hand. "Well met, Khayet, I am Filiqua." She looks a bit perplexed
at being so warmly recepted by the teacher of the class, but all the same,
it's quite welcome.
Perrin prowls like
a large sport cat in from the ballroom.
Perrin says, "Hello!"
Khayet says, "Hullo
Perrin, we're about to start, your just in time....."
Linne looks around
as she hears Perrin walk in and greet. "Hey Perrin. How are you doing
tonight?"
Filiqua smiles briefly
up at Perrin. "Hello."
Filiqua and Perrin
both have to leave OOC'ly.)
Kierna walks in
from the ballroom.
In comes Assel,
doing his usual bustle, and carrying no fewer then a full stack of hides,
as is usual. Seeing he is not indeed too late to join in, he gives a smile
to Khayet, sets his hides down next to his chair, and sits down. Quill
and a writing surface appear mysteriously out of the folds of his tunic,
but then, this harper is never unprepared to wrtie.
Kierna wanders into
the hall eyes wide, arms full of art supplies, she's here to pick them
up but a master ordered her in here so in here she came.
Linne looks up from
a few notes, and gives a little wave to Nherys and Kierna as they walk
in.
Khayet glances around.
"Well, looks like we'll be having class after all....." And then he blinks,
stopping dead at the sight of Fas. Live, in person, walking, and out of
his little cavern! In -this- class??? "Hullo Fasulkad.....long time no
see.....what brings you down here?"
Assel doesn't look
up, intent on some things on his hides. No sense in wasting time before
the class begins, Is there.
A quiet hum warns
of Fas' arrival, before he becomes visible as he walks in, flipping through
hides, and pauses to peer over at Khayet, murmuring in his usual sarcastically
amused tone, "Defrosting."
Nherys peers around
and stops to push her hair out of her face again before grinning at the
sight of her brother. Oh good, she is supposed to be here. And if she
isn't, well too bad. An unfamiliar face catches her interest, and as it
seems Khay knows who it belongs to, she wanders to investigate. "Hullo,
I'm Nher...Khay's sister. Who're you?"
Khayet grins, "Aife's
forced you to take a break, has she?" He peers around Fas to Nher, "Everyone,
this is Fasulkad, one of Aife's apprentices, a rare sight indeed....."
Then to Fas again, "I'm about to teach theatre, your welcome to sit in
and try to warm up in here if you like....."
Kierna plops herself
into a seat, well guess her dragon ride can wait for a bit.
"Who am I?" Fas
questions, idly shuffling his hides, before putting his arm and the distraction
at his side. "Name's Fas. I'm not often back here in Ista, but way back,
I was daily mentioned." A polite nod passes from the man, and he puts
out a hand, looking the girl up and down quietly. "Nice to meet you."
Gaze lingers for a moment, before Fas returns to looking at Khayet. "I
see you're still practicing your diplomacy..."
Assel actually takes
the time to look up at this, giving a brief nod before returning to his
studies.
Linne smiles at
Fasulkad, giving a small nod of greeting.
Nherys nods, then
turns her attention back to Khayet, pondering whether it's better when
he's just her brother, or when he's the teacher too.
Khayet chuckles,
"Aye well....someone has to.....IN the mean time....I'm already late,
and now very late and it's starting to make me a bit mad so....Everyone
seated?" Not angry mad, it seem. He claps his hands together and backs
up to face everyone. "This is part two of Introduction to Theatre. A good
philosophy for any harper that does performnaces, no matter the kind is
'Let me entertain you.'....Why is it worded like that?"
Nherys seats herself
somewhere up in the front, pulling her knees up so she can rest her chin
on them. She chews on her lip a while, then shrugs and raises her hand.
Might as well give it a shot, right?
Khayet nods to his
sister, "Nherys....?"
Linne looks up at
the ceiling for a few moments, pondering on that. This is something to
be considered, especially since she's interested in being a performer.
Seeing that the
lesson is finally starting, Assel puts down the hides he was studying
and takes up a blank one. Looking up, he begins to take fastidious notes
on whatever he thinks might be even vaguely relevant. Not just the material,
but also interpretations and random thoughts. His charcoal moves at almost
amazing speed, and reams and reams of text flow down the hide
An idle yawn passes
from Fas, before he moves over to one side of the room, and takes a seat,
peering over at the teacher. "Mmm. Might as well pass the time," he says
simply, before becoming silent. "Besides, any excuse for warmth..." Grin
slides onto Fas' lips, and nothing more is said.
Nherys grins, then
offers, "Because what someone finds entertaining may vary from person
to person, see, and so you want to entertain the audience of the moment.
Does that make any sense?"
Linne, getting a
sudden idea, raises her hand.
Khayet nods, smiling
slightly, then motions to Linne, "Got more to add, Linne?"
Linne puts her hand
down, putting in her opinion, "Because part of the entertainment for the
person is just leisure and relaxing, and so you're putting yourself in
the frame of mind, 'let me do all the work. You just sit back and be entertained.'"
She sort of trails of towards the end. It sounded a bit better in her
head than out loud.
Khayet nods, "Anyone
else have anything to add?" He looks from Assel to Fas, just in case.
Realizing that he's
almost beginning to run out of room, Assel's notes become even smaller,
until the point when he's the only one who'd have a prayer of reading
them. Giving a quick glance up in the pause of conversation, he gives
a little shake of his head and leans back down towards his hide.
"Just because you're
playing doesn't mean it's entertaining," Fas adds quietly, idly pushing
a stool in front of him, and putting his feet up on it. "Make sure you've
got the right mood and talent to be playing." A quiet shrug, before Fas
looks over at Khayet. "Means be appropriate, basically."
Khayet nods, "You
all hit on part of it. If you try a serious song about the evils of say.....Fax
in the middle of a gather, people are going to walk away. Some might listen,
but don't confuse listening with entertaining. People don't like to be
forced into things, sometimes its for their good, sometimes it's appropriate,
but not always. Most people, for instance, are attentive when threated
with a weapon, though -most- will not feel entertained. Coersion isn't
entertainment.....This is why we say -let- me entertain you, rather than
I -will- entertain you....."
Linne nods in understanding
and comprehension. A small "ahh" escapes her lips, before she realizes
it.
Nherys grins and
nods, "And sometimes things you don't really intend to entertain end up
getting more of a chuckle than those you do."
Assel nods, finishing
off another sentece. There, now that part is just in one part of the page,
as opposed to all over it.
Foot idly taps on
stool, while Fas quietly listens to what's said, and says nothing himself,
merely observing in silence.
Khayet nods, "Ineed,
but that's usually slapstick." He grins, "Or just me trying to walk across
a perfectly flat floor......This class gets a little more into the theory
of performance, why we do it....And speaking of that, why do we get up
and do things that are at times utterly rediculas?"
Nherys rolls her
eyes and murmurs, "'Cause we're drunk..." under her breath, then grins
and gives a real answer. "Because sometimes you're in a funny mood, and
decide to just do something....odd?"
Kierna listens quietly
in her seat a little distance from the other, shy young girl prefeers
to watch than to participate.
Khayet narrows his
eyes at the murmer, otherwise ignoring it though. "But why do you perform?"
A quiet sniff passes
from Fas as he grins over at Nherys, "Why do you think we're in a funny
mood?"
Nherys giggles and
sticks her tounge out at Fas before turning back to Khay and cocking her
head. "Because it's fun, and it makes you feel good, and other people
too."
Khayet says, "Any
other reasons?"
Nherys shuts her
mouth and settles back, figuring she should let some of the others get
a word in as well.
Khayet looks to
Kierna....."Anything?"
Kierna gulps visibaly
and softly says "To make other feel good"
Khayet nods, "There's
the thought that it's three basic things, for harpers and other performers
alike....The first is to be the centre of attention.....Not all people
like to be the centre of attention all the time, and harpers are no diffrent
in that. The second reasons is for either payment, or for advancement.
The third is to communicate.....and by communicating, sometimes we entertain."
Nherys grins, "That
makes sense, actually..."
Still grinning unrepetantly
over his earlier comment, Fas gives a playful chuckle as a new thought
enters his head. "For example, while speaking -- or should I say, communicating
-- with Khayet, I could easily distract him enough so he wouldn't notice
me putting my foot out to trip him, which would be entertaining to watch...."
Nherys' eyes narrow,
and she glares at Fas. "No, it wouldn't. But it was funny when Master
Caramak came in in the middle of a lesson, and I tried to turn around
to look and get up at the same time, and ended up falling out of my seat.
But tripping Khay would /not/ be funny..." And don't test her on that,
either.
Khayet nods, "It's
ammazing how much of this does, in my research, I've gotten a abit more
into the phsychology of theatre, the need for it. But that brings me back
to communicating. Actors, weather harpers or not are communicators. Through
this art, beauty and ideas are expressed in a fashion generally agreeable
to the audience. Anything can be expressed, morals, feelings, satire,
thoughts, and experiances. Though, Fas, you'd have as good a chance for
-me- in particular to trip over mine own foot with out the aid of yours
to trip me up...." He grins wryly. "But slapstick is not the order of
the day. Can anyone tell me the most important part of the Theatre?"
Nherys chews on
her lip, Fas forgotten for the moment. "To....to....to express an idea,
a feeling, to get a point across?"
Khayet shakes his
head.
Kierna raises her
hand as she states her idea "To enjoy yourself and help others enjoy themselves?"
Khayet shakes his
head again, and looks to Fas, "What say you, oh sage of the Frozen North?"
A quiet chuckle
passes from Fas. "My, you two lack humor," he notes idly, before he shrugs,
leaning forward a bit. "I'd say the most important part would be to do
it in a place where the actors wouldn't be too frozen to move. Naa. 'Sbeen
a while since I've been in any real class, but, perhaps the most important
thing would be for the actors to be good, so they're remembered, and not
forgotten in an instant, along with anything else they were trying to
get across?" A shrug, and Fas admits easily, "I dunno'."
Nherys does too
have a sense of humor, just not where Khay being put in peril is concerned...
Khayet shakes his
head. "Think on this....I've a wonderful, witty, beautifuly written monolouge,
the most handsome costume, a fabuleous set....I give the most moving performance
of my life....and I'm the only one in the room. No audience. Is there
a point to going through all that trouble, with no audience? Who's going
to know I actually did this? Who's going to care? The audience is the
most important, most integral part. With out them, there is not point
to the performance in the first place. Everything is done for the audience,
and in return, they give us their attention and understanding, sometimes
their approval and praise."
A pause from Fas,
before he raises one eyebrow, and notes... "Yeah... But... That's obvious?
At least /warn/ us when it's gonna' be one of those so-obvious-we-miss-it
questions..." Grin and shrug passes from the 'sage of the Frozen North.'
Nherys shakes her
head ever-so-slightly, then decides not to comment. No point in letting
them know how off she /really/ is...
Khayet grins, "No,
because it was one I missed when taking this course from Journeyman Cortat.
And now it's our topic, the Audience.....What do you think are important
factors in an audiences reation to a performance?"
Nherys mmmms, "They
have to be able to understand it. It could be the funniest thing to you
or me, but if it's over their heads, what's the point?
Khayet asks, "But
what's a factor in their understanding?"
Nherys chews on
her lip again, stopping when she realizes what she's doing. "Oh, I know
I know this.....an understanding of the subject matter, things like that?"
Khayet says, "It's
more than that, it's what contributes to the understanding.....Like, if
you do a satire on the rumoured gambling in Bitra in a very small, isolated
seahold that's never even heard of Bitra, do you think they'll truely
enjoy the performance, or will they feel that your either a nutter or
that their stupid?"
Nherys is a nut,
but that's not the point. "The latter?"
Khayet nods, "Aye....so
the location of the performance has something to do with the audience's
potential understanding. Does gender also take a role?"
Nherys nods, "Some
things that are hillariously funny when a guy does them just seem....odd
when a girl is the performer, and vice versa..."
Khayet looks to
Kierna, starting to become conscerned with Kierna's lack of answering,
"Do you think rank or education have any bearing on an audience's understanding?"
Kierna nods slowly
as she considers "Well I'd think so, because they know different things
and like an apprentience might find a satire about a master funny but
the master would find it preposterous."
Nherys mmmm-hmmms,
"Yeah, that too...."
Khayet nods smileing,
"Aye....good. So does an audience's understaning of the performance have
anything to do in reality to it's artistic merrit?"
Nherys shakes her
head, "Not really, because something beautifly written could go right
over their heads, while something less well done, but more understandable,
would be found to be better." SHe thinks over her last statement, "Did
that make any sense?"
Kierna scratches
her head slightly "Well sort of, if they can't understand it it's not
very artistic in their eyes."
Khayet asks, "Or
maybe it's too artistic? Simple people don't feel like their artistic
because their simple. This is not to say that they are dimglows, or any
less intellegent. That some plays, concerts or gathers sporting events
are what one could call a flop is less a comment on the real artistic
worth than on the difficulty of understanding the audience and the process
by which an audience forms a judgment." He looks at the candle mark. "I've
gone over my time, so I'll have to finnish this later.....Next time I'll
talk about how an audience forms that judgement and more."
Nherys clamps a
hand over her mouth to cover a yawn, then grins and stands. No sooner
is she up and taking a step then she's down again, a slightly quizzical
expression on her face. "Khaaaaay...." is wailed, "I think my legs fell
asleep!"
Khayet naturally
dashes forward. Of course he'd try to catch anyone, but this just about
seems to be ritualistic with them. "Looks like....try shaking them out.....Oh,
and class is dismissed...."
Nherys grins and
uses Khay as a support as she 'follows orders,' sighing slightly. "This
is awkward....b'cause my legs are 'sleep, an' I nearly am....."
Kierna slips out
of her seat onto the floor and collects the supplies she needs to take
back to tillek.
Khayet smiles to
Kierna, "Thanks for comming to the class, I hope you enjoyed it...." Before
chuckling to Nher, "No, what's awkward is the two flights of stairs I'll
wind up carrying you up......" Yup, she's got him well trained.
Nherys giggles,
"You don't hav'ta do that...." Her eyes start to close as she slides to
the floor, yawning mightile. "I think I'll sleep righ' here....."
Khayet picks Nher
up, "Aye, I do, I cannot leave you here, silly.....And she knows it too...."
End Log....
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