Crotalus Solo Act Auditions on Cascade Hall

Lila St. Martin

February 05, 2009 4:46 PM

Crotalus Solo Act Auditions by Lila St. Martin

Because she had - very foolishly - made herself the leader, it had fallen to Lila to obtain use of an empty room for an hour so the prefects could watch and evaluate their House's would-be soloists. It was not a scenario that pleased Lila. She had never liked to ask for things, because asking meant accepting the possibility that she would be told 'no'. That was not a word Lila St. Martin liked to hear. She also felt increasingly in over her head, and her normal strategy - to avoid the situations that caused the stress - couldn't very well be used now.

Given her own way, Lila would have made the contenders all perform in front of the entire House. It was not as if the winner would not be doing it in front of a larger audience than that, and it would have ensured that non-Crotali were not spying. Since the other Houses all seemed to be moving out of their commons, though, she'd felt obliged to follow suit. So here they were, prefects and performers, all in a room that probably hadn't seen a class since Lila's father was in school.

At least Geoffrey and Helena had no say in this matter. She had realized recruiting them as support staff was a serious mistake some time earlier, but there was no way to get them back out of the business without admitting she'd messed up.

Since it was an official audition, she had added in as many official touches as she could. The prefects had clipboards, the desks sat up for them were covered in a long tablecloth to make them look like one table, and the chairs set up for contestants to wait in at the very back of the room had all been numbered. It was as much as she could do; her father's willingness to pay for ostentation in this affair had limits he'd explained to her over Christmas, and auditions weren't important enough to spend money on.

When her watch said the time she'd set for the auditions to begin had arrived, she stood up with a bright smile for the hopefuls. "Welcome to the Crotalus House Soloist Audition," she said in her best hostess' voice, ignoring the real size of the gathering. "On behalf of the prefects' council, I'll thank you for coming and wish you luck. Number One, you may present your act now."

OOC: For the sake of keeping things moving smoothly, just make your try-out posts without waiting for the prefects to tell you to go. Soloists can be in the group act, so don't let that stop you from auditioning. Good luck to everyone!

16 Lila St. Martin Crotalus Solo Act Auditions 80 Lila St. Martin 1 5

Charlotte Abbott

February 06, 2009 6:56 AM

Doing what I do best by Charlotte Abbott

It had been a long time since Charlie had auditioned for anything; she had been too late for the Christmas show back home, with the auditions being held in November (although she did perform a couple of nights to make up numbers for the chorus). his wasn't even an audition as she was used to, because the students weren't competing for the same part - the soloist position could be anything. So in short, it didn't matter whether Charlotte was the best dancer there, because the prefects might be a singer, or a juggler for all she knew.

At least Charlie was prepared; she'd been practising in that empty corridor that Lita had found. It was a simple routine, but one that she could do perfectly. The music was from The Nutcracker, of course - Charlie's favorite ballet in the whole world. The piece she'd picked was just two minutes long - the perfect time for an audition. Luckily her parents were able to acquire a record fairly easy, which Charlie now had with her to play on the grammophone borrowed from the school. All that had been left to decide was her outfit. Pink was naturally her first choice, but Charlotte didn't have much dancewear with her. She had her pink leather ballet slippers - they came everywhere - but had to wear them with a loose pair of pale blue jogging trousers and a white vest top. She would, of course, have to procure a better costume for the concert itself.

There weren't a huge number of people at the House audition, and Charlie wished once again that Oliver would have signed up. He could play piano and violin really well, even if his singing voice wasn't so good these days. Boys were so dumb sometimes. Anyway, Charlie was given the number one, and after only a very short while, she was called forward to begin.

Charlotte placed the record ready for playing and stood in fifth position in the centre of her allocated space. Her music dance was mostly classical ballet, with some contemporary thrown in just to make it more exciting. When the music began, she bent right over in a bow, spreading her arms wide, into second, when she stood back up. Then with a petit battement on her right leg, she quick-stepped to the right, and ended her position with a neat pirouette. A couple of change pieds jetes later and she did a plie into arabesque and held for that longer note. Then when the music changed key to its deeper sound, Charlie repeated the movements from the quick-step over to the other side of the space, and with more exagerrated arm movements to accompany the passion in the tune.

The rest of the dance continued in a similar fashion, with the lighter sections of music full of small, more complicated movements, which were then mirrored by grander versions in the darker parts of the song. It was only a short dance, but Charlie was pleased with it; she was disappointed to not be able to include any pointe, but her parents were adamant she was too young to learn it.

With a pirouette and a return to fifth, mimicking the beginning of the dance, Charlie finished. She courtseyed at the end, then thanked the judges for their time before returning to the sidelines to watch the rest of the audition.

0 Charlotte Abbott Doing what I do best 135 Charlotte Abbott 0 5

Anabel McIntosh

February 19, 2009 6:12 PM

I'm Ready for My Close-up by Anabel McIntosh

Anabel would just die if she was beaten by a first year, let alone a first year who danced. Dancing was easy. It took little talent if one had any rhythm and poise, which, of course, Anabel was overly gifted with both. Yes, she might have had her doubts about signing up. She might have questioned the intelligence in the move, but in the end she had made up her mind, especially when she had found the perfect song. Holly, she knew, was doing something from some Muggle movie about a mermaid. At first Anabel had been against the idea of using something that wasn’t from the Wizarding world- what if the audience just didn’t understand? - but then she had remembered this one time her cousin Leslie had taken her to New York to see this Muggle Broadway play- why Muggles had decided to name plays after a stupid street she’d never know but Muggles tended to make stupid decisions- and the play had had this one character that had grabbed her. Also, the play had been about witches, which had been kind of cool.

Finally the silly first year finished her dismal performance. Anabel clapped blandly to show her sportsmanship, smiling brightly at the girl as she passed by. Smoothing her hands over her delicately-made pink robes, Anabel moved front and center, placing a chair. A copy of the instrumental version was ready in the small recorder she had placed on the corner. Removing her wand from the pocket of her robes, Anabel activated the recorder. Anticipating that she would need a bit of time to get ready, the room was silent for a few moments as she replaced her wand and got into position. As if on cue, Anabel crossed her legs in a petite motion as the first note of the song cued.

Hands primly placed upon her neatly crossed legs, Anabel began, “Whenever I see someone less fortunate than I-“ Anabel leaned forward slightly with a sly grin on her face. “-and let's face it - who isn't less fortunate than I?” In a dramatic flair, Anabel’s hand raised to her chest as she continued on with the next line, “My tender heart tends to start to bleed.” Uncrossing her legs, Anabel quickly pushed off of her chair and to her feet as she moved forward with each beat of the next line, her hands spread nearly to jazz fingers. “And when someone needs a makeover, I simply have to take over, I know, I know-“ At the second ‘I know’ Anabel pointed knowingly to herself, a pert grin. “- exactly what they need.” As she drew out the note, Anabel moved closer to the judges. Her voice was clear and on pitch. She had practiced in one of the abandoned classrooms daily, making sure that she had every movement, every note ready to perfection. She wasn’t about to embarrass herself.

“And even in your case,” she sang slowly, as though judging a particular person in the room. A grimace quickly came over her face as her hand rose to her chest, “tho' it's the toughest case I've yet to face.” Her hand dropped neatly to her side as she shook her head as though she questioning the success of her mission. “Don't worry - I'm determined to succeed!” Her hands rose quickly in the air on each side of her body, her feet moving to second position before she put one foot in front of the other and wheeling her entire body around before facing front again. She waved quickly to the audience, “Follow my lead, and yes, in-deed you-“ She paused for dramatic effect. “-will-“ An inspirational look came to her face. “-be…”

Biting her lip in anticipation, she winningly sang out the next line, “Popular!” She winked winningly as she pointed to one of the judges, “You're gonna be popular!” Nearly bouncing on the balls of her feet, a sense of enthusiasm seemed to creep over her body as she started to sing about how she would help the person in question, “I'll teach you the proper ploys when you talk to boys. Little ways to flirt and flounce.” Moving stage right Anabel’s hand moved as though she were beginning to make a mental list, “I'll show you what shoes to wear, how to fix your hair. Everything that really counts!”

She quickly moved back to center stage, “To be popular. I'll help you be popular!” She pointed her thumb to her chest before moving her hand to her chin as though in thought. “You'll hang with the right cohorts; you'll be good at sports.” At this she mimicked the motion the actress in the play had made, a motion that looked minutely like a Beater swinging a bat at a Bludger. In practice she had had to remind herself that it didn’t mean that she truly agreed with the words. It was just a song, after all. “Know the slang you've got to know. So let's start 'cause you've got an awfully long way to go.” As the note drew out, Anabel quickly moved her way back to the chair, sitting back down daintily.

Placing her elbow on her knee and her chin on her hand, she frankly observed the audience. “Don't be offended by my frank analysis. Think of it as personality dialysis,” she sang the line as she sat back in her chair, her hands moving in a flippant manner. She then leaned forward her hands pressed firmly on her knees as she addressed the group once more, “Now that I've chosen to become a pal, a sister and adviser. There's nobody wiser.” She brushed her shoulders off, as though letting the audience know the importance of her merits. She then quickly pushed herself back to her feet, “Not when it comes to popular! I know about popular.”

With every other beat, she placed one foot in front of the other, performing a quick jazz square, “And with an assist from me, to be who you'll be instead of dreary who-you-were,” she stopped, shrugging her shoulders as a look of impatience covered her face as she stated, instead of sung the next word, “Are.” As though mentally shaking herself, she placed another bright smile on her face as she continued the song, clearly singing out the next words, “There's nothing that can stop you from becoming popu-ler.” Here she shrugged again, “-lar.”

Sashaying across the stage in a dramatic manner, she pointed her toes as she continued singing, “Laaaaaaa la, laaaaaaaa la.” She stopped and pointed at the audience, with another winning smile, “We're gonna make you pop-u-lar!” She ended with a quick ball change.

She performed a little pirouette, before stopping and putting her hands on her hips. “When I see depressing creatures with unprepossessing features I remind them on their own behalf to think of celebrated heads of state or especially great communicators.” She walked forward and across the stage, putting her hands to each side as though weighing the possibilities. “Did they have brains or knowledge?” She stopped, her eyebrow rising. “Don't make me laugh!” She giggled, placing a hand in front of her face.

Her voice was still clear and strong, and though she would never profess to be a great talent- she was much too smart for that! - she knew that she was definitely better than that little dancing twit. At the thought, she grinned. “They were popular! Please-“ She raised her hand up in a knowing manner. Rolling her eyes with dramatic flair, she moved back to her chair and sat on the seat sideways, kicking her legs into the air. “It's all about popular! It's not about aptitude; it's the way you're viewed. So it's very shrewd to be…” She drew the note out for a moment before continuing, “…very very popular…LIKE ME!” She pulled a hand-held mirror out of the pocket of her robes and began to admire herself, running a hand through her hair.

Facing back toward the audience, she crossed her legs once more, the music slowing as it began to come to an end. She placed her hand which was holding the mirror neatly on top of her knee. “And though you protest your disinterest I know clandestinely.” She picked up the mirror and twirled it between her fingers before shaking it in the air at the audience. “You're gonna grin and bear it, your new found popularity.” On beat, she kicked her right leg in the air before switching them and kicking the left as they remained crossed. “Laaaaaa la laaaaaaa la you'll be popular.” She stopped moving, and slowly raised the mirror in the air as though admiring herself. “Just not as quite as popular as me!” As the last note rang through the air, Anabel’s arms rose into the air once more, a wide grin forming on her face. Upon finishing, it almost felt as though the air was alight with electricity, the hair on Anabel’s arms practically standing on end.

With one last grin, Anabel pocketed the mirror and stood, taking a slight bow. She then moved quickly back to her seat. She was so proud of herself; it almost didn’t matter whether or not she won. Almost.

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0 Anabel McIntosh I'm Ready for My Close-up 120 Anabel McIntosh 0 5