The Boards, Wednesday Evening - Auditions!
It seemed like damn near forever since Jonothon had held one of these. That was, yes, in part because the Boards hadn't done anything through the summer. It was also because, with Glacia moving at double Fandom's pace, summer had been a long ordeal that had involve a good portion of winter, too
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Karina nodded, took a breath, holding it for a few seconds, and then let it out, drawing up her shoulders and carrying herself like she was a Lady with a capital 'L'.
When she spoke, it was with a very fine genteel Southern accent, which was pretty far off from how she usually spoke.
"You see, Ma, it wasn't that I didn't love you. Daddy, too. But I wanted us to be acceptable, Ma." She reached her hands out, like she was talking to her mother and pleading for her to listen, her face open and earnest. "And we weren't." She sighed, turning away and looking down, clasping her hands at her front. "I wanted us to be middle class. Educated. I wasn't ever going to be laughed at again."
Karina spun, taking a step forward, and asked, "Did you know I was laughed at, Ma?"
She let shoulder slump as she continued implacably on. "First for my poverty, then for my accent when I went to college." Karina gave a short, sharp laugh. "Oh, yes, we all had accents, Ma, but I sounded like poor country folk." Karina took a breath and admitted painfully, "Which we were. My words were different. And if I hadn't been so goddamned beautiful, Ma, and so smart, I never would have been accepted."
With a shake of her head, Karina took a few steps to the side. "And still it wasn't easy. When I married Aaron, I said it made no difference that he was Jewish." She dropped her voice to a near whisper, ashamed, as she said, "But it did, Ma."
Her shoulders straightened then, as she steeled herself and looked determined. "I did what I had to do. I made you rich, elegant." She gestured at the stage around them, like they were in an elegant home, and then continued on, a bit of shame creeping into her voice, "I said Daddy was educated. I know you think he was, and I suppose compared to you he seemed so, but he wasn't really, Ma." The apology was in the tone of her voice. Karina smiled, the expression pinched. "Oh, the world is not an easy place; you have to fight to live in it. And it wasn't pure invention, just exaggeration... a little distortion here and there. But," her voice became fierce, "I always loved you."
She nodded, once, like she was listening to something, then said solemnly, "I will never mention this again, Ma. I will tell our story the way it should have been, the way it is. I will set you free."
Karina walked in a wide curve, her expression softening, and the hardness in her eyes sliding away. When she spoke next, her voice seemed younger, having lost some of its polish. "There's something I've been wanting to tell you, Ma. A dream I keep having, and it's so strange." She gazed out over the seats where the audience would sit. "You see, in this dream I'm all alone on a summer's night, and there are little breezes blowing around me. I hear crickets and smell honeysuckle drifting in the moonlight. My hair is silky, and I feel it on my shoulders. And then..."
She laughed, a note of apology in it, then carries on, slightly embarrassed, "...I realize I'm naked and standing on a barn roof." Karina lifted her hands up, as if to say 'well, that's what I dreamed' and then let them fall. "Well, there's no one around to see me, but I feel so lovely I wouldn't care anyway. I move around a little, but I'm very careful not to fall off. And then..." Her voice went dreamy. "I look up, and I see you, Ma, dancing in the clouds. You look so beautiful, Ma."
With her hands she reached out, trying to catch someone. "I... I call: Ma! But you don't seem to hear me, so I reach up to you, and I... I force myself to rise up, up to where you're having such a good time, because I want to dance with you, but..." Tears filled her voice, making the last words choked and despairing. "…before I can get there, I always wake up."
Karina let her hands fall, and held her silence for a moment, still gazing yearningly into the distance.
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"Very well done," he told her, clapping a few times before leaning back in his seat. He'd leaned forward a little while she had been speaking, engrossed in her performance. "You emoted convincingly, which is something a lot of people have trouble with, I've found, while performing their monologue. And your accent, if I may, was impeccable."
Jono had been with the X-Men. It was difficult not to know your way around a Southern American accent, among that lot.
... Especially around Paige.
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"Practice," Karina admitted in her normal voice. "And tutors. Accents are one of those things that, no matter how good an actor you are, if you're terrible at them, everyone is going to talk about it. Usually over how good you can actually act."
Tossing her hair over one shoulder, Karina shrugged. "I like the monologue but, honestly, it wasn't my first choice. I'm glad it came out well though."
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Because Jono was just nosy like that.
"Though I'm sure you had good reason to choose another one."
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She had no idea if he knew it or not.
“Anyway, since I wasn’t sure, I figured I’d go with something less upsetting, just in case.”
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It was... intense. And heartbreaking. And it hit a very personal note with him, as well.
"I'm curious to see how you'd perform that one, though. Perhaps another time, without an audience, you can show me your interpretation." A beat. "Have you prepared a song?"
Did he have to ask?
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“I’d like that sometime,” she said, smiling slightly. “And, yeah, I’ve got a song. Did you want the music for it or should I do without?”
Karina was fine either way.
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Because... guitar.
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Because what better time to show off her than an audition?
Pulling out the music, she paged through it, then offered the guitar part to Jono. “Do you need a few minutes to go over it?”
Hopefully you didn’t mind Faith Hill’s Wild One, Jono. Because Karina was going to sing that.
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He gave his shoulders a shrug.
"Just a minute to give it a looking-over," he replied, reaching for his guitar. "It looks straightforward enough, at any rate."
Really, he could probably just play it cold, but he didn't want to risk it when it was somebody else's audition on the line. He looked at the music, noodled about on his guitar for a short while, and then nodded to Karina.
"Ready whenever you are, luv."
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Besides, the song was so her. He could cope.
“Alright,” she said, as soon as he gave the go ahead. “Let’s go.”
She bounced a bit during the introductory measures and then, her voice an octave lower than she usually sung, because it sounded better, began to sing:
“They said change your clothes, she said no I won't. They said comb your hair, she said some kids don't. And her parents' dreams went up in smoke!” So sue her, she was getting into it, dancing, her voice as sassy as the lyrics.
Be a stubborn teenager? She could absolutely be one-especially while singing. The best part was, the song worked super well with tons of sass.
"They said you can't leave, she said yes I will. They said don't see him, she said his name is Bill!" Which was, of course, the only answer to that. "She's on a roll and it's all uphill."
"Ooooooooh she's a wild one! With an angel's face, she's a woman-child in a state of grace. When she was three years old on her daddy's knee, he said you can be anything you want to beeee!" She drew the note out and then, with a grin, continued with, "She's a wild one, runnin' free."
"She loves Rock and Roll, they said it's Satan's tongue." She rolled her eyes because, yeah, that sounded about right for her parents and her voice clearly conveyed that. "She thinks they're too old, they think she's too young. And the battle lines are clearly drawn!"
Always!
Karina liked them that way.
She dove into the chorus a second time, practically glowing as she sang. There was nothing Karina loved more than singing on a stage. "She's a wild one! With an angel's face, she's a woman-child in a state of grace! When she was three years old on her daddy's knee, he said you can be anything you want to beee!" And wasn't she the product of that? "She's a wild one, runnin' free!"
Now her voice went softer, gentler, though no less enthusiastic for the next two lines: "She has future plans and dreams at niiight. When they tell her life is hard," her voice gained power again as she belted out, "she says that's alright! Yeah!"
Because, seriously, without a challenge what the hell was the point?
For the final chorus she held nothing back. "Oooooh, she's a wild one! With an angel's face, she's a woman-child in a state of grace! When she was three years old on her daddy's knee, he said you can be anything you want to be!"
One last smile and then:
"She's a wild one, running free!"
And done!
Karina beamed.
She was a good actress, but Karina knew she was a better singer. Would he think the same?
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"Good lord," he breathed. "Can I just cast you for all of the roles?"
... Granted, she was the first to audition, and there was no telling who else would show up for this thing, but wow.
... Wow.
"I wasn't expecting the dancing, too," he admitted. "You're one hell of a performer, Karina. You'll definitely be getting a role."
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Karina was many things: modest was not one of them.
"I'd be willing to try doing all the roles," Karina said brightly, once she'd straightened. "But I think that might be a challenge even for me."
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It would be a challenge.
"Let me know when is good for you to hear the other monologue?" Karina checked. "My schedule's relatively slow right now." Because there were only a few more days until the end of the Heroing season and while a few more points would be nice, she'd secured second place already.
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Easier said than done.
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