The Play is the Thing
The Play is the Thing
Summary: A meeting in the Library reveals a plan that may boost morale.
Date: PHD 143
Related Logs: Related Logs (None)
Players:
Timon..Castor..Marissa..Kitty..

All's quiet in the library this morning, not thirty minutes after the mess' doors have opened: only so many people aboard this ship would choose a meal for the mind over a meal for the body, which might be why the room is pretty much deserted except for the exhausted-looking PO checking in a whole stack of books. Oh, and Timon Stathis is in here too, half-eaten protein bar in hand, ensconced in an armchair with a veritable legion of legal pads around him. He's got a book in his lap — a thick one, its margins covered with annotations — and a pen clutched in his teeth. The faint smell of coffee wafts up from the metal mug balanced quite precariously on his armrest.

Castor Leda has been sitting in the library quietly in a corner, he is reading a book on grief and loss, odd thing for Castor to be reading but then again these days when everyone around him has developed the nasty habit of dying maybe this isn't such a strange subject for him to read on. Now, the odd thing is Leda would normally be three shades of drunk but no one has seen the man near booze in a few weeks. He was even sober during the bachelor party. Leda then closes the book it would appear he is trying to make a quiet exit when the book he just put up falls off the rack and onto the floor with a loud *BANG* which is followed by a loud, "FRAK!" from Castor, well, good going Leda now everyone will know what he has been reading. He looks over a Timon and says, "Sorry."

Castor then looks over at Timon and he notices the pen has indeed been bent. He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a nice pen, one of the metal kinds, he offers it to Timon, "Sorry about your pen." Where did Leda get the pen, who knows, where does Leda ever get anything from. He then says, "How are you, sir?" He asks curiously since he just made an utter ass of himself a moment ago and so he is going for the whole distraction route.

Timon waves off the gift with, well, a wave, a couple of crumbs breaking off from his protein bar to dribble down the front of his sweats as he does. A few more sips of coffee and he'll set the mug down; then, precise fingers are grabbing at the granola on his chest, popping bite-sized chunks into his mouth. "Not drunk," he says, after a moment of consideration. "Or hung over. So there's that."

Castor smiles, "Well, that was one hell of a party." He then chuckles, "And you had a very good time, sir." He says remembering EVERYTHING that he saw since he was sober, "And I still can't get over Martin as a stripper." He then remembers all of the stuff he was able to scrounge from cleaning up after that party which brings a smile to his face since he will be able to use that little cache to trade for things for a long while yet. He then says, "Though it was good to see people cutting loose, I think we all needed it and Willem needs a proper send off out of bachelorhood."

Through the door comes a frustrated-looking Marissa, holding several books under one arm and her forehead with the other. Her Midshipman escort seems to have peeled off at the door for a change. She pauses to look for a table, giving the two officers a casually curt wave with her forehead-holding hand.

"That was Dash?" Timon's eyebrows shoot up. "Go figure." He takes a bite out of his protein bar, foil crinkling as he makes another tear in the packaging. "It was intended to be a private party — an informal affair, really — but, well." Ivory chuckles ruefully. "There's no such thing as privacy aboard this ship. Better it became what it became, I think. Mayhem is more fun when it's shared." Marissa's curt wave is returned with a brief nod.

Castor nods his head, "Yeah that was Dash." He says as he chuckles softly, "Crybaby was pissed at him, will, not really, but it was a scene when she found out." He then says, "Anyway, things were funny. I don't think I've ever seen people drop off like that." He then looks back at Marissa and smiles warmly, "Mimi." He says, "It looks like you've been catching up on you reading." He then turns to l ook at Timon, "Really, though, it is funny to see your higher ups drunk beyond all reason." He then ammends, "Not that you lost control, sir, but a few other officers were funny."

Mimi moves to the table next to the two officers. "Not really… I've been giving myself a headache trying to read in the Mess," she replies, hints of declining testiness in her voice. "I talked over an idea with Ensign McKale last night, which we both think is good, but I have no idea how to go about it."

"No need to sugarcoat for me, Leda." Timon kills the rest of his breakfast — for indeed, this is breakfast — and shoves the used foil into the pocket of his trousers. Only now does he grimace at the taste, which he tries to wash out of his mouth with another sip of coffee. He'd look positively ladylike if not for the fact that he's, you know, not. "I have from several reliable sources what I believe to be a full account of my behavior, and — " Cough. "I didn't know I had that much dignity to lose." More coughing. "Idea?" This, to Marissa.

Castor turns to look at Mimi, "Wait, what is it that you want to do Mimi?" He asks curiously, however he then looks at Timon's breakfast and he says, "Sir, you were fine from what I saw." He doesn't go into further detail since a civilian is present. He then looks back to Marissa, "Anything we can help you with? I'm very good at finding things."

Marissa's out of her seat in a second and thumping Timon sharply but not hard on his back, just in case he's choking. "Whoa… easy, Tim. My lifesaver's bag is back on Aquaria somewhere," she says, wishing she were joking.

"I'm not dying," Timon protests, who just barely manages to keep his coffee from spilling all over the legal pads before him. That would have been a total bloody disaster. As it stands, he presses himself back against his seat so as to limit the number of places on his body that can, in fact, be thumped. "Well, not of asphyxiation. Embarrassment, maybe."

Castor watches Mimi and smirks, if he did that to Timon he might end up in hack but here it comes across to Leda as playful and yet honest. He then looks back at Marissa, "No, but seriously, what is your big plan?" He then takes a moment to shift his weight as if to look a little more relaxed. However, he hears Aquaria and he gets a slightly softer look since someone is talking about home a place he hasn't seen in over nine years.

Mimi blushes faintly and stops with the thumping. "Oh… sorry." She reaches down and adjusts her slipping jeans, using the Raptor man's body to hide the motion from Castor. Moving fast has its drawbacks when you've lost weight. "Anyway, Seriy and I talked about maybe putting together a drama group among the civilians. I mean, they have nothing to do for the most part, and they're in the way, and a lot of them feel useless. It might improve everybody's moods, I think. But I have no idea how to run such a thing."

"I wouldn't know," Timon confesses, killing some more of his coffee as he tilts his head backwards: embracing the burn, from the looks of it. It's the only way to wake up. "Though I imagine it'd be as simple as putting a sign-up sheet in the middle of the mess hall with a sign saying 'Auditions now,' unless I'm missing some complex and subtle complication."

Leda considers this for a moment and he has run a successful talentshow on the Kharon and he made a living as a preformer on the streets and so he says, "Well, I think I can help I've had some experience with performing." He then says, "And I have run a talent show here." He considers, "If you wanted it to be a bit more minimalist, just black curtains and basic costumes, you could get something going very quickly." He then says, "What kind of show were you thinking of running?" He says, "And would you need someone with skill in sleight of hand?" He then says, "I'd recomend Thomas Neken mostly the lack of scene changes since he sticks to one location." What the frak, Leda knows something about theatre…well, he lived around grifters and other street performers so maybe he picked something up…or even scary he reads plays.

"I was thinking something simple at first, maybe a children's drama. Something to get people used to the idea of acting," Mimi replies. "And it'd have to be pretty minimal on costumes and scenery both. I don't think much in the way of either survived."
She lifts at eyebrow at Timon. "I have no idea how to hold auditions."

"You'll need an appropriately intimidating panel of three," observes Timon from behind his cup. "None of them should say a word beyond 'Hello' and 'Goodbye,' and none of them should ever be pressed to explain the rationale behind their decisions. Eliminate all transparency from the system and people will simply mistake amateurism for strong and silent professionalism." It's not entirely clear if he's joking.

Castor thinks about this and says, "Well, auditions can't be that difficult. Just bring them in and have them read the lines and pick who you like…." He looks at Timon, "Or that." He then says, "and maybe if you were planning a show for the children you could be a bit creative. Maybe parents could sow costumes together?" He says as he continues to think, "It would give them something to look forward to seeing and it would keep their hands from getting idle which is a good thing." He then continues on in his flow as he hasn't even take a breath, "and it would give the children something to focus on and do which would keep them from growing bored and all of this is to say that this might improve morale around here for everyone." He finally takes a breath, "I know where the things we use for the talent show are so I can get those back to you if you need them." He considers, "What about doing a fairy tale with the children or a play about a famous follk hero?"

"Actually, that's what all this is for," Mimi replies, slipping back into her seat, one hand carefully keeping her pants in place. "I figured something simple would be best, with children in the lead roles, but we don't have any children's plays on board. But having parents sew costumes sounds good. Everybody needs something to do these days, and it couldn't possibly hurt anything. And the stuff from the talent show might come in handy."
Mimi honestly can't tell if Timon's kidding either. She just blinks and looks thoughtful. "I don't know if that'd work so well for kids."

"Do we even have that many children on board?" wonders Timon, who demolishes the rest of his coffee with a long swig — apparently, he only sips it when it's hot. "I only know of one. Last I checked, we were teaching him to throw hand grenades." Ivory does his best to stifle a yawn before closing the book on his lap and reaching for one of his several legal pads, scanning the contents to make sure he's picked up the right chapter.

Castor nods, "We do, sir, in fact I've been keeping an eye on them over in Messville. I was assigned to go down there the other night. I kept them entertained with magic tricks and stories." Leda adds, "It was voluntary and after duty, sir." He then looks back at Mimi, "I don't think we have much in the way of construction but I know that we can turn the general lounge into a stage, or if repairs to the cargo bay are finished we might be able to make some space for a stage there." He then looks back at Mimi and says, "If you need help let me know since this is something I'd like to help with." It would seem that memories of losing his family and everything he had as a child are flooding back to him.

"I'm pretty sure there are," Mimi says confidently. "At least, it sure seems that way. But it might be the sheer number of pilots on board driving down the general shipboard IQ," she adds.
Castor's words draw a smile. "I'd be glad to have your help, Cas. As it is, I know frak-all about this kind of thing, and I don't want to get a good start only to make a hopeless muddle of it. Upset kids are not a pretty sight, and there's enough dischord around here these days."

No snappy rejoinder from Ivory, believe it or not — just a faint smile as he clips his mug to his belt, not minding the fact that a few stray drops of coffee are now soaking into his trousers. With that, he begins to read, skimming down paragraphs of text written in his messy scrawl. He's not volunteering for this one.

Castor looks over at Mimi, "Well, I think the thing is to build up support from the parents first. Before we even start with a play we need to get approval for space, we need to get approval from the parents, and we need to see if any of the parents will volunteer on asssisting. Then we can work on getting the kids to learn the script and given their boredom I doubt this is something you can screw up." He then looks at Timon and says, "And maybe some of Kharon's finest will want to help when they are off duty?" He then says, "I mean, this is one a plus idea, Mimi." He says as his mind begins to think of what they will need. He then looks over at Mimi with a smile, "And this might be the kindest idea anyone has had for these kids." It would seem that Leda has a soft spot for the kids, after all, he has been making a habit out of seeing them and recently he can't stop talking about how he wishes things were better for them.

Mimi winks and grins at Ivory, and turns her attenion to Castor. "Actually, McKale deserves the credit for that. I was wanting to organize a drama group, since we had plays, and she came up with the idea of lowering the age range. If anything, those kids have less to do than the adults around them." She rubs her chin thoughtfully. "We'll definitely need the parents' approval, and you're right, some might want to help with the whole thing. And the space for performances will have to be arranged and gotten permission for… Lords, I had no idea what a headache this could be." She smiles ruefully at Cas. "I think I will need all the help I can get."

Castor studies Mimi and says thoughtfully, "If you want I can work on getting approval for space for the play. Right now the lounge might be the best place." He then takes a second to rub his jaw, "Though, I think I could talk to Engineering and maybe see what help they could give us." He then says, "And lowering the age range is a solid idea." He then stops rubbing his jaw to add teasingly on the first part but more serious on the final part, "Well, if I'm on your side then it will be hard to fail, what with my dashing good looks and ability to scrounge up whatever is needed." He then says, "And I recently came into a bit of…wealth for trading that I might be willing to use to help you get somethings." He adds, "And don't make this a headache, just take it one step at a time, permission for space first."

"I don't know… if we don't get kid interested, there may not /be/ a play. But I guess we'll need a space to hold auditions," Mimi says, agreeing simply because she really doesn't know any better way to go about it. She has to laugh as Castor describes the virtues he brings to the job. "Okay, okay, you're on board! Just having somebody around who knows more about plays than that they're performed on a stage would be great."

Leda looks at Mimi, "Shh, don't blow my cover. I don't want the other pilots to know I read plays or even books for that matter." He then says, "Though, I'll speak with security about finding space for us." He then blushes a little, "And thanks for letting me on board with this. I think it will be good for the kids and besides I'm sure they will want to do it since they ARE bored to tears and scrounging toys around here is pretty frakking difficult." He then says, "And I don't think we can let them invade the lounge since other military folk on board use the lounge for their video game fixes."

The hatch opens and then closes when Kitty arrives, the ECO being quiet as not to disturb those who might already be here. A shelf of books is quickly picked and she begins to go through them, muttering under her breath. A book on the Lords of Kobol is eventually found and she nabs it quickly and then starts to head to a table.

"Okay, your rep's safe. As far as anyone knows, you're completely lowbrow and self-centered," Mimi replies teasingly. "And thank you so much. I was completely lost about this whole thing."
She glances up as the hatch opens, catching sight of a familiar ECO. Rather than shout out her embarrassing callsign, she stands and moves that way while Kitty's looking through the shelf of books. When the woman turns around, she gets a quick and strong hug. "Hi, Kits!"

For his part Leda is holding a conversation with Mimi while Timon sits there quietly reading. It would seem that something is being plotted about not so secretly, but there is a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. He then looks over at Kitty and he winks playfully before he looks at Mimi, "Lowbrow, they will buy self-centered not so much." He then says, "And I've made a career out of doing things to improve morale so this is going to help. This is your show, I'm your lackey…wait, that sounds weak…how about right hand man?"

Kitty looks up and smiles. "Hey gang." The book is looked at and she purses her lips, trying to come to a decision which she eventually does. "You know, I think I'm going to head back out. I…uh, I think I'm going to meandner but will catch up with everyone later." She takes the book and checks it out before turning to look at Castor and Mimi; without knowing what it is they're plotting, she finds herself suddenly worried that she might get volunteered for whatever and she scoots out of the library swiftly before that can happen.

Mimi blinks as Kitty slips out of the hug, making her excuses. "Wait, Kits? We aren't looking for…" But the ECO is already out the door. Sighing, she slips her hands into her pockets and moves back over to the table.
Sitting down, she manages a faint smile for Castor. "Thank you. That'd make Seriy a left-hand girl. She's offering help with writing plays."

Castor looks over at Mimi and he says, "Don't worry, I'll talk to her later." He chuckles, "Kitty is like my little sister, well, the one I never had." He then says, "And Seriy is quite talented." He then says, "Hey, now that is an idea, what if we wrote our own play? I mean, we could tell any story we want, we could ask the kids what they would want to talk about since they have been through a lot. It might be theraputic?"

"I had that in mind, mostly," Mimi replies. "Though I wanted to do a well-known story first, to get the hang of writing. Something like 'The Marvelous Soup-Pot' or 'Prince Arbuthnot's Quest', or something like that."

Castor smiles as he hears the storys that Mimi was thinking about, "You know, those would be good." He then says, "Just remember to write for the age range. How old do you want the kids to be…or you might not even need to have auditions if you write roles with certain children in mind." He then says, "Which if you knew the children would help you write a part that could be acted by a child so long as they just say the lines since you'd be writting the child's personality into the script."

"I think we'll need auditions. I don't know the children that well." Mimi looks down at the books in front of her. "I don't want to go too young, either. Younger children can be very enthusiastic, but they're more prone to lose focus and forget about things."

Castor says, "Right, well, this is your show and you will know what is best." He then looks at the books, "Are you going to need help reading all of these?" He considers, "You should throw one or two younger children in as small parts, just for the awwwwww factor. Besides, the youngest children probably don't have much of a sense of what is going on."

"Could be…" Mimi looks thoughtfully down at the books. "I think I'd better get to it. Thanks so much for you help, Cas," she says, with a smile for the flier. "I'll be thinking about this."

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