The King's Players - Discussion/Planning Thread

[Mnemosyne]

Taken by the numbers...

Galadriel55, that's a shame. I do hope you'll read the RP, though, and if you're following the general planning discussion as we try to zero in on theatrical culture and you have any ideas, feel free to continue.

That goes for everyone else who might be looking on with interest--obviously the people who are playing the game will ultimately decide what we are and aren't going to do, but I, at least, would not mind having more ideas to toss about than I can come up with on my own.

Fea, the Dread Dragon was not my idea--it was Nerwen's. Consequently I have no problem with your becoming our resident dragon operator, as long as she wasn't planning to do anything with it.

Dimturiel, welcome to the Players! At the moment we're much more in need of players who can commit to posting regularly, so I'm really pleased that you've expressed interest. Do you have any ideas for a character yet?

The nature of theater at this time is actually our current source of debate. Given attitudes towards women in Middle-earth in general, I don't see any reason that women shouldn't be allowed to act. (Gondor is remarkably sanitized from the kinds of professional women that actresses were often mistaken as or expected to be.) On the other hand, how many of the shows that the Players put on would require a large number of female parts? Of course, in a pinch, any of the actors (I think) would be comfortable enough playing someone of the opposite sex, especially if actresses take on the part of "youths" like any good mezzo-soprano.

Estelyn, depending on how long the planning takes, you may be able to hop in anyway... That's actually something for everyone to keep in mind--the two weeks of gameplay are going to start in the future... hopefully only two to three weeks from now, but maybe longer, depending on how long it takes for us to fill up our cast, get better acquainted with our characters, and come up with enough of a plot so that we're not floundering away.

Boro - If we can all make sure to plan things out now, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to take on a main part. Now that we're discussing the extent to which people can write others' characters on the Measure of Success thread, this could be a way of determining whether the sky will, in fact, fall down if someone takes over someone else's character for a few days. Of course, one of the weekends your character could get a bad stomach virus*, or, depending on how much we have outlined, you could give a player, in advance, a post of what your character might be doing during that time. The point is, as long as we have enough people keeping the plot rolling, having to miss out on the weekends isn't terrible. After all, any one of us could fall sick, or suddenly have to spend the next three days on the road because our job was cancelled early due to a swine flu outbreak.

*If, in fact, you decide to be our Leading Ham, getting ill right before the performance would make an even better plot twist, would it not?

The chorus - an interesting idea, and not necessarily limited to the Greek style. Having someone to serve as a narrator of sorts could easily work. As far as poetry goes, another model that we might want to keep in mind are the extended nights of theater that were so popular in Victorian times, in which you have a farce, some singing while the set is changed, and then a tragedy, etc. I was actually looking online last night for the video of the 1980's stage Nicholas Nickleby, in which the characters do put on such an entertainment--Romeo and Juliet with a sudden surprise happy ending, and I think the whole thing ends with a patriotic song. The point is, there are a lot of styles to choose from and mix and match.

When I get back to my computer tonight, I'll put up a post with some more concrete questions so that we can begin to narrow some things down. At the very least I'll need these answered so I can get a better feel for my character.

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Originally Posted by Mnemosyne

Estelyn, depending on how long the planning takes, you may be able to hop in anyway...

Perhaps I could come in toward the end, if the game is still going after March 15 - would I be allowed to take on a canonical character like Ioreth? She would be considerably aged by that time, of course, and her memory *might* not be entirely accurate, but I can certainly reproduce her voice! She could be approached by one of the troupe members for first-hand information...

[Mnemosyne]

Esty, if it's possible, that would be delightful.

And one other thing that I had wanted to put in that earlier post but quite forgotten about:

PANTOMIME!!!

Discuss.

[Mnemosyne]

Okay, some questions, the answers to which will (I think) help solidify the game or at least my character:

1). Where, and how, did the Players get their start? I'm planning on playing one of the founders, so--how many people started the group, and how did they know each other beforehand?

2). Do we have a patron at the moment? If so, who?

3). Where is our current circuit?

4). What sorts of real-world styles are we going to borrow, if any? In what ways?


Finally: currently, this is what I'm thinking for my character so far: 1). she's married to one of the founders. 2). She's in her 30's? 3). If we have another female Player, she takes the older female roles when necessary but prefers not to act, instead running things backstage, prompting, and (if necessary) ad lib entertaining (see 5.) if the players need to stall for time. 4). She's in charge of the finances and logistics of running the troupe. 5). She has a fiddle and a decent singing voice.


Nerwen, I couldn't tell by your initial post whether you were interested in joining the game as one of the Players or as a side character.

Dimturiel, any ideas yet on what sort of a character you'd like to play?

At any rate, anyone who's thinking of being one of the Players, please give me some feedback on the questions above, and suggestions as to how your characters could (or couldn't) fit into the framework for my character.

Oh, and she clearly needs a name. But that'll depend to an extent on where she's from, which might in turn depend on where the troupe was founded. Whew!

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

Would it perturb anybody if I was a mostly minor character (depending on my free time) with the role of Dragon Puppeteer? I don't wish to confiscate this brilliant idea from its owner, though. Nerwen?

As long as you're extra-nice to me...

Originally Posted by Mnemo

1). Where, and how, did the Players get their start? I'm planning on playing one of the founders, so--how many people started the group, and how did they know each other beforehand?

Are you thinking of the founders as coming from a place that already had a traditional drama, or do you suppose theatre had died out altogether, and only been revived in the last few years?

Originally Posted by Mnemo

2). Do we have a patron at the moment? If so, who?

This is just my suggestion, but I think we might have named ourselves, "The King's Players" out of hubris, either not knowing, or not caring, that in Minas Anor this would be taken as meaning we actually had royal sponsorship. Or maybe there's been a recent edict that you can't call yourself "The King's" or "The Royal" anything without official sanction, and we only just found out, much to our consternation.

Oh, and I'll be one of the players, if you please. I'll get back to you on the details. For the moment, I feel somebody other than Fea the puppeteer needs to be passionate about the need for a dragon, so I think I'll play one of the leads, and have made a great hit either slaying or being rescued from the beast.

[Dimturiel]

Dimturiel, any ideas yet on what sort of a character you'd like to play?

I have some ideas, yes. I've thought of a slightly over-enthusiastic young actor - perhaps around twenty or so - from somewhere in Gondor. I only have a rough sketch in my mind but I'll do some more thinking and come up with more information - and a name - by tomorrow.

1). Where, and how, did the Players get their start?

Somewhere around Gondor, maybe? While I agree with what some of you said that the theatre could not have flourished in Denethor's times, I think dramatic arts could have existed in Gondor before, if we take into consideration their level of civilisation and the fact that it was a society that vallued knowledge quite a lot. Usually such societies are the ones more artistically inclined. The way I see it, Gondor must have had theatres before the Stewards came to rule and things started getting nastier with Sauron, when it understandably started to decline. Maybe our troup was intending to reinstate that tradition?

[Boromir88]

Originally Posted by Mnemosyne

Boro - If we can all make sure to plan things out now, I don't see why you shouldn't be able to take on a main part. Now that we're discussing the extent to which people can write others' characters on the Measure of Success thread, this could be a way of determining whether the sky will, in fact, fall down if someone takes over someone else's character for a few days.

Would that make me a guinea pig?

But, yes we can work around the not being here for the weekends thing, which means I'll be the troupe's Ham. I like the sound of a severe stomach virus, or tragic (depending on who you ask ) loss of voice, right before the performace. That is fitting.

Basic outline of what I'm thinking then...Ideal stage voice and passionate. However, he never gets out of character. He remains boisterous and annoyingly dramatic, even when he's not performing.

I'll be one of the founders then, which leads me, when was the troupe founded? If we're a relatively new troupe, are we talking 1 to 2 years? Under a year?

2). Do we have a patron at the moment? If so, who?

I've got no problem with Form's character as our patron. And with regards to patronage...

Originally Posted by Nerwen

This is just my suggestion, but I think we might have named ourselves, "The King's Players" out of hubris, either not knowing, or not caring, that in Minas Anor this would be taken as meaning we actually had royal sponsorship. Or maybe there's been a recent edict that you can't call yourself "The King's" or "The Royal" anything without official sanction, and we only just found out, much to our consternation.

I like. "The King's Players" gives the impression that we're legit, and could be interesting as we stumble around curious people asking what King sponsors the troupe.

3). Where is our current circuit?

Can't go wrong with Gondor. Bree is a cultural, lively hub, that would be a good place too. Or if we are going with the dragon-idea, perhaps Dale? They're familiar with Dragons and that sparked the need to insert Puppet-Dragon into the act.