RP: The Arts Festival - Day One

[shh_su]

Date: 10 August 2005
Characters: Su, Rabastan, Caradoc, Ernie, Marietta, Kingsley, Cedric, Slughorn, anyone and everyone
Location: Streets of Stoatshead Hill [Arts Festival Area]
Status: Very Public
Summary: It's Day One of the Arts Festival
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

Performance Area

[shh_su]

Things looked ready to go at the performance area. Some members of the dance acrobatic troupe were around, warming up. Su checked the performance schedule, pleased at the variety of acts they had found. She was looking forward to seeing the Shakespeare troupe's version of Love's Labour's Lost, and the flamenco dance troupe following that was sure to be excellent. There was a Scottish folk group, an Irish Gaelic harp player, and even Beijing Opera. Su was delighted at how many Stoatshead Hill residents would be performing as well. Today there was a jazz quartet, and two of her former classmates would do a selection of Muggle music, among other performances.

Performance Area - Jazz Quartet

[shh_caradoc]

Ralph and Delores Pickney played clarinet and alto sax normally, but they also played a number of other instruments. Tonight, they would take turns handling piano -- actually a muggle electronic keyboard, which took up a lot less space than a piano and was much more portable -- as well as their usual instruments. Caradoc himself was playing both his trumpet and a borrowed bass. The fourth in their quartet was a young man who played drums. Jazz wasn't his favorite music to play, but he had the talent for it. Rose Zeller would be adding her vocals.

They took the stage and set up. At 3:30, the curtain went up and the small band began with Rose belting out an Ella Fitzgerald tune.

Re: Performance Area - Jazz Quartet

[shh_cedric]

Cedric had wandered by the musicians several times, listening as the different groups played, but when he heard someone singing Lady Ella, he stopped and turned to see a small girl with corkscrew curls and brown skin. Somehow, she looked far too small to have a voice like that. But he paused to listen, also recognizing Caradoc on the horn, and clapped enthusiastically between songs.

Performance Area--Ernie and Marietta

[shh_ernie]

Ernie'd taken Marietta's thoughts on their attire to heart. While he was wearing denims, he was also wearing a shirt and tie. However, his collar was undone and his tie a bit loosened. He'd also spent a lot of time, mussing his hair just so.

He peeked through the curtain. There were people out there. Who were going to sit and listen to them play. Feeling a bit queasy, he turned to Marietta. "With what are we opening again?" Oh, good Merlin, what if he forgot the chords? Or the words?

[shh_marietta]

Marietta stood with Ernie "backstage" in the performance tent, waiting to go on after Rose Zeller. Ernie had surprised her, quite pleasantly, by wearing a shirt and tie. He had on denims too, but that wasn't a problem, as Marietta herself had decided against wearing anything too dressy. The weather was cloudy and a shade on the cool side, so she decided against wearing a sundress. Instead, she wore a long, clingy top above charcoal capri pants. Not only was it comfortable but she looked and felt good in it, and she thought that would help her onstage.

"We're opening with Cauldron, Ernie," she said, trying to calm him down. "Don't freak out now. We'll be fine." Nudging him gently aside, she peeked out past the stage and was relieved that she didn't recognise anyone in the small audience. That had always made it easier when she sang at karaoke clubs in Paris, the fact that she literally knew no one in the crowd. She was always more worried about singing in front of people she knew. But today she was going to push that out of her mind.

Re:

[shh_ernie]

"Right. Cauldron." Ernie knew that. Then Tiny Dancer and then Superstar. They could do this. He could do this. Hopefully, without passing out. Or vomiting.

Showtime. He pulled the guitar strap over his shoulder, and absently strummed a chord or two, as he waited for the curtain to go up. When it did, he tried not to look at the crowd. He assumed that Eleanor was somewhere in it as she'd said she would be. Instead, he focused on a spot in the far distance and began playing the first few notes of Cauldron.

Re: Performance Area--Ernie and Marietta

[shh_cedric]

Cedric had been sure to come in time to hear Ernie's performance and when he saw Ernie look out from behind the curtain, he offered a thumb's up.

Re: Performance Area--Ernie and Marietta

[shh_marietta]

As Rose Zeller and the jazz band left the stage, the small audience applauded and Marietta and Ernie assumed their places, waiting for the curtain to rise again. As the curtain went up she noticed Cedric in the crowd and gave him a tiny smile. She was not going to embarrass herself in front of Cedric, nor would she let Ernie embarrass himself in front of Cedric or Eleanor.

As Ernie began playing the opening notes of A Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love, Marietta let the lyrics roll through her mind. Ernie strummed a bit harder, leaning into the bluesy song, and Marietta joined in at the right bar, breathing an internal sigh of relief while she belted out the lyrics. Unlike at a karaoke club, this tent had no microphones, so she assumed that Mr Dearborn had done something to magnify the singers' voices magically; she had a fairly strong voice but assumed it wouldn't reach the back of the performance tent without a Sonorous charm. When she reached the end of the first verse, Marietta launched into the chorus:
Oh, come and stir my

[shh_ernie]

People were clapping. Along with his playing. Feeling himself relax a bit, he looked at the crowd. They were enjoying themselves. This wouldn't be so bad. He nodded at Cedric as he and Marietta finished out the song. The clapping got even louder. Glancing at Marietta, Ernie let himself smile. When the applause died down, he took a deep breath and began the opening chords of Tiny Dancer.

For a split second, his mind went blank, but when it was time to sing, he opened his mouth and...

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band,
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man

Thank Merlin, the correct words came out. The crowd looked a bit confused as they'd likely never heard of Elton John before now. The audience seemed to be with him by the time he sang out:

Hold me closer tiny dancer
Count the headlights on the highway
Lay me down in sheets of linen
you had a busy day today

He was also very glad to hear Marietta hit the high notes.

[shh_marietta]

As they finished Cauldron, the crowd applauded, not just politely but almost enthusiastically. Their response apparently had given Ernie the confidence he needed, and Marietta couldn't help smiling. Once the tent had quieted down, Ernie began playing the introduction to Tiny Dancer and sang the opening words faultlessly and, by all appearances, without breaking a sweat. This was his song, she knew, the one he wanted to sing mostly on his own, and she held back until the chorus, when she sang along with him, hitting the high notes that he couldn't reach.

Ernie's singing and guitar playing were close to flawless. His voice wobbled a tiny bit at one point, but not enough to be noticeable to anyone but Marietta, who had practiced the song with him several times in the last few weeks. As they neared the end of the song, she turned toward him, smiling as she sang:

Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand
Ernie strummed the final chords and the applause this time

[shh_ernie]

Was all that applause for him? A large smile crossed his face. Which grew even larger when he spotted Eleanor, clapping harder than anyone else. It hadn't even dawned on him to introduce them so he was a bit surprised when Marietta did. But they were doing well, he didn't care if people knew his name.

He started playing Superstar. Marietta sounded good. Not that she hadn't during the Warbeck song, but this suited her voice much better. His mind went back to their--brief--conversation about the meaning of the lyrics and he wondered if she was thinking of anyone in particular. That'd be a shame as he thought she was a nice person. Plus he just thought that everyone should be as happy as he and Eleanor. When it was time for the chorus, he chimed in, loud and strong:

Don't you remember you told me you loved me baby?
You said you'd be coming back this way again baby.
Baby, baby, baby, baby, oh, baby.
I love you, I really do.
When they came to the end of the song, there was a moment of silence before the applause started. Louder than it'd

[shh_marietta]

They'd done it. They'd made it through their three songs, and the crowd, though small, seemed to have loved them, or at least liked them enough so that the applause got louder after each song. Ernie grinned at the crowd, then at Marietta, and when he held out his hand and gestured to her, she grinned like the Cheshire cat, curtseying to the crowd. The she raised a hand toward Ernie, encouraging the crowd to cheer him as well. Ernie blushed but didn't run away and soon Marietta had taken his hand and they bowed together.

"Thank you!" she called out to the crowd as she and Ernie left the stage.

[shh_cedric]

Cedric didn't recognize some of the song they'd done, despite the fact he'd listened to Muggle music, although he did recognize the name Elton John. Apparently he failed at music from the 1970s.

But he was pleased that everything had gone off without a hitch, as he knew Ernie had been nervous. Not that he was really any sort of judge when it came to music. Unless something was obviously wrong, and with the rhythm, he'd never know. He gave Ernie another thumbs up before his friend left the stage, then headed off again into the crowd.

[shh_rabastan]

"I recognize him from your sweat. Ernie, wasn't it?" Rabastan smiled at Cedric. "How are you Cedric?"

"It is going well so far for a first time festival. A bit slow getting started, but I think things will pickup over the weekend. Has the museum been busy?"

[shh_cedric]

Cedric stopped at a familiar voice and turned, grinning when he saw Rabastan. "Hullo! And yes, that's Ernie MacMillan." He offered Rabastan his hand, "And I'm well, more or less. At least people aren't head-hunting me for mum's mural. Right now, I'm just mucking about, looking at stalls and listening to people. How are you? Well, I hope. And the museum is doing ... I can't say a brisk business, but that's not really what it's about. It definitely isn't a mausoleum, either."