Logs:Empty Stage

Empty Stage
Dramatis Personae Nanami, Naomi
In Absentia	2021-01-30 "This is like for real kine show."
Location '<XAV> Auditorium - Xs Grounds'
This building, its elegant stone exterior coordinating with the nearby athletic center and the manion itself, contains the largest single indoor space on campus: the theatre. It can seat just over 300 in a mult-section wide fan arrangement, is accessible to mobility devices and a range of physical mutations, and has state of the art lighting and sound systems. The tech booth is fully computerized and the backstage is shockingly capacious, connecting directly to a series of dressing rooms. Beyond these, wrapping around the outside of the building, are a number of other spaces for the use of performing arts students and staff: a scene shop with access to the back of the building via a loading dock, a rehearsal room, a break room, and a number of office and storage spaces. With no other demands on the space, the auditorium is slowly transforming. Where once there were only pieces of colours tape, now there are the beginnings of a part Ancient Greek, part modern New York City backdrop. About half of each Ionic column has been assembled so far, dominating the upstage boards in front of the cyclorama. Behind the proscenium, sketches and plans of the completed sets have been pinned to the wood in large posters, along with a chart of the lighting grid delineating which pipes will have lights and which will support flying pieces of set. At the foot of the stage, Naomi is looking over the lip of the open band pit with an expression of distaste. She’s pulled on earbud out, tinny sounds of The Campfire Song blaring. She’s wearing a thick green flannel, black t-shirt peeking out from under the collar, black jeans and faded red hi-tops. She’s hugging the drum book for the musical close to her chest, glancing between the sawdust filled band pit and the situation on stage. Backstage there's been some heavy thumping sounds, a quiet "ufff", a muffled whump. Nanami is dusting her hands off when she emerges, dressed in sneakers, black jeans, a Xavier's sweatshirt unzipped over a pink and black babydoll tee, hair in two long braids. There's a tape measure in one hand and a pack of strawberry Bubblicious bubblegum in the other that she's just unwrapping a piece of with her thumb, popping it into her mouth. She wanders toward Naomi, offering the bubble gum out with a lift of her brows. "Pit do something to you?" “Not yet,” Naomi says. Her eyes flicker up, pulling a piece of the offered bubblegum from the pack and giving Nanami a quick smile. “Jus’ tryna see how we all gonna fit in there.” She glances at the tape measure, at the dust lingering on Nanami still, then to the back of the stage and the columns, eyes wide. “Y’all been busy,” she says, sounding impressed. Nanami tucks the bubblegum back into a sweatshirt pocket. "Yeah-yeah. This a fun one too. Not some boring living room walls, huh?" She taps the tape measure against the palm of her hand, eying the pit critically. "Maybe they think you can bring one of those kine --" Her hand gestures, low to the ground. "Playskool drum kit. Oh!" Her eyes brighten, a smile flashing across her face. "Think one the middle school kids she warps space. Long as you not so fussed about getting back the way you started." Naomi snorts, the corner of her mouth twitching up in a smile. “What ‘bout Rock Band. Bet a Rockband kit would fit, no space-warping required.” Naomi unwraps the bubblegum and pops in into her mouth, chewing contemplatively. “But… maybe a small warp. Imma hit my head down there.” Naomi looks around the stage again with wide eyes. “This shit so cool,” she says. “My old school didn’t do musicals.” Nanami hops down into the pit, stirring up a small flutter of sawdust as she examines the surroundings. Sits, heedless of the dust, stands, tips her gaze up towards the lip of the stage. "Figured out your problem, you should try being real short." She wanders back, leaning up against the edge of the stage. "Mine too. Too small, no money. This is like for real kine show." She glances to the book Naomi holds in her arms. "You having fun with that?" Naomi sits on the edge of of stage, legs dangling into the pit. “Oh shit, didn’t think o’ that.” She sets the music book next to her, opening the large print book to a random page and setting it flat along the plastic coiled binding. “Yeah the music is fun fun have you listened to it yet?” Naomi pulls her phone from her pocket. “Hard, though. Ionno I can play all o’ this by showtime.” "Caught bits here and there when people are rehearsing but --" Nanami shakes her head, giving the phone a curious look. She hoists herself back up to sit beside Naomi, legs swinging and her heels thumping at the side of the stage, setting her tape measure down in her lap. "Whaaat. You look cool as hell doing the --" She pantomimes drumming in the air in front of her. "I mean, I'm no judge. Obviously more to it than looking badass. Oh shit I'm not distracting you or nothing am I? You come here fo practice time?" “Oh shit you gotta listen to it I can —“ Naomi taps pause on her phone screen, yanking her earbuds our of the AUX, “I can send you the soundtrack or jus’ play it in the room or something.” She scrolls through the music player for a moment, landing on one song in particular. “Your sister gotta big solo song it’s cool as hell.” She looks up, giggling at Nanami’s air drums. “Hah, it do look cool as shit. But I gotta like, get the beats right too.” She points to a particularly chaotic measure in the music, crowded with short notes. “Like, the hell is that?” She shrugs. “Imma go practice in a bit but not just yet. I just kinda wanted to see what was goin' on.” "Yeah! Be some good study music. Some good pretend to study music. History been losing the battle to TikTok every time lately." Nanami's bubble-gum covered tongue pokes out of her mouth, too-bright pink for a moment before she blows a bubble, pops it. "Damn. That looks wild. But on the other hand by the time you learn all this you are gonna be like. Legit. Ready to start your own band and everything." Naomi nods, blowing a smaller bubble of her own. It deflates and disappears back into her cheeks without popping. “You think?” Naomi tilts her head. “Ionno ‘bout my own band… but it would be cool to like. Do drum TikToks.” Her cheeks darken a touch. “I was tryna film something for the sea shanty thing? I didn’t post or nothing but it was kinda fun.” "Didn't post it? I bet a drum shanty was a whole vibe. Why not?" Nanami pulls one leg up onto the stage, the other still swinging. "You got anything up on your channel now?" She's digging her phone out of a thigh pocket, already opening up the app. "You some bit shy about it, I bet Gae he'd team up make some slick like thing. His shit look practically pro." Naomi shrugs. “Didn’t think it was good enough. Uh, there’s some stuff, mostly dance videos.” Her phone screen goes black in her hand - she swipes up, pulling up her channel page and showing it to Nanami. “It’s all old trends though, like 2019, early 2020.” The flush grows a bit darker. “Gae’s real good, that would be cool I just, Ionno if I wanna put the —“ she taps her scaled forehead “— this online, yet.” "Put the --" For a second Nanami's own forehead scrunches in confusion before her eyes widen. "Oh -- yeah, I don't even notice the --" Her cheeks darken, her head bowing. "No, that's not what I -- shit. Yeah. No. I mean. People can be real jerks online. That's gotta be." She's fumbling a little awkwardly, now, snapping her gum as she looks back to the pit. "Whole next level of weirdo commenters." “Don’t even notice?” Naomi frowns, blowing and popping another gum bubble. “Like you ain’t looking at ‘em or you think they normal?” She kicks her legs out, head still twisted to face Nanami. Her scales shift, slowly, with the same soft grinding sound on the edge of her hearing. “Yeah, it is. Ionno if I’m ready for that kinda bullshit.” "Well." Nanami chews her gum slowly, curling her arm around her shin. "When we met I try fo not look at em so much but. Now -- they just look like you, yeah? Like you're cool and you always look amazing and I just." She gestures with her phone in the air. "Sometimes don't think bout what it's like to go out in the world like. With other people being -- other people." Naomi’s cheeks flush another hair darker. “Aw, nah, you think so?” Her legs kick out again at the empty space of the pit. “It’s kinda, easier, to forget ‘bout other people here, right?” She glances at her phone. “An’ I jus’ dunno if its worth dealin’ with them, even if —“ the corner of her mouth curls up into a half-smile, “— Wellerman would sound sick with drum fill.” "Guess that's why this place is here, yeah? Some place that's -- kinda easier?" Nanami folds the bubblegum around her tongue again, pressing the tip of her tongue up beneath her lip. "No way I can say if that's worth it or no but if you do decide to deal with 'em I yell at every asshole in your comment huh?" “Really?” Naomi’s half smile blossoms out into a full one. “Aw man, you don’t gotta.” She taps her fingers lightly on top of the music book. “I better get better if you gonna waste that kinda time on me.” The music book snaps shut, and Naomi hops down off the lip of the stage, taking her belongings with her. “Soundtrack study party in the room later. You gonna love it."