1x1 - madeth & Consulting_Angel

[madeth]

✧ a theatre club 1x1 ✧
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between madeth & Consulting_Angel

[Consulting_Angel]

Sebastian Orson | 22 | Male | Bisexual

Appearance: Sebastian has short, dark brown hair that is usually neat, brushed back. His eyes are dark blue in colour and have an average eye shape. He stands at 5'10", and holds a rather rigid posture - as if he's tense all the time - with an athletic build. He has a sharp jawline, average set cheekbones, and a fair skin tone.
He usually wears something semi-formal, which only adds to his rigidness.

Personality: Sebastian is an interesting, somewhat unpredictable person. While he is generally pleasant and a warm presence, usually willing to strike up a conversation, he does have a short temper. He does not tolerate sillyness or nonsense, and will be quick to shut down any such attempts as and when he can help it. He is an honest and loyal person, though, which has its upsides and downsides. Sebastian can also be quite controlling, always wanting things that he cares about to go his way, and has less patience than normal - and he doesn't have much to begin with - for anyone that doesn't share or will help his vision. He is quite uptight, and does not seem to have ever been spontaneous or ever let himself loose. Still, he is very passionate about the things he loves, and tries to make the best of a situation whenever he can.

Short Bio: Born in London, with two younger siblings. Sebastian is a theatre lover through and through. His parents often took him to see shows throughout his childhood, and he has always known that he wants to be an actor/director. He is attending a university in America, as advised by his parents, to branch out a bit more (and with the secret hope that he'd become less uptight and rigid). Sebastian is the head of one of the groups within the Drama Society at the uni, and always places himself as the director and usually in a major role for any production they do... as well as taking on much of the technical work, simply because he doesn't trust anyone else to do it 'right'.

[madeth]

Thomas Fletcher - 23 - Homosexual - Male

➢ Appearance: Thomas stands at 6'2", making him much taller than most of his peers. Despite his somewhat intimidating height, however, he always has a very warm and friendly appearance. He has slightly sun-tanned skin, shaggy blonde hair that swoops across his forehead, and big, droopy brown eyes, somewhat like a baby doe. He often wears casual clothing like hoodies, t-shirts, and jeans. His outward appearance isn't too important to him, but he still tries not to look too messy. His build is quite lanky.

➢ History: Born in the country-side, Thomas is experiencing the big university life for the first time. His years in university have been the complete opposite of most of his life. Growing up, he was an only child and lived on a giant, isolated piece of farmland. His parents always loved him and spoiled him as much as they could, and he has little regret about his very rural upbringing. That spoiled and sheltered childhood, however, has led him to always having a lazy and careless attitude. Even in his studies, he just goes for a passing grade and hardly cares about performing well. The one thing he does truly care about, however, is theatre. His childhood memories are filled with him sitting in front of the family TV after school, watching theatre clips his parents would buy him on VHS. Thomas vowed at a young age that he wanted to become an actor someday. In university, he joined a theatre group that was part of the Drama Society, and was soon promoted to being their director due to their previous one quitting. He didn't really want such a responsible role, but he was now stuck with it. He does whatever he can to embrace it in his own little way.

➢ Personality: Since he grew up spoiled, he's still a little spoiled as an adult. The worst trait that Thomas has is his complete and total laziness and lack of motivation. He has a very "laissez-faire" attitude, in which he essentially will let things happen without taking action one way or the other. Never in a million years would anyone think a guy like Thomas could lead a theatre group -- and he didn't either. He has little confidence in his abilities to lead, but his group members seem to think quite highly of him. Besides, nobody else wanted to take the role over, so without him, the group would have fallen apart. He always gives them a little input here and there, but he mostly just wants them to have fun and not worry about being absolutely perfect in their performances. He's as friendly as can be (almost to a fault), but his lazy attitude can frequently bother those around him when things need to get done. Thomas is only really willing to sway from his hands-off attitude when it comes to his drama group, but even then it can be a little difficult to get him to take charge.

[Consulting_Angel]

"Alright, listen up everyone!" Sebastian announced to the small group. Taking over a rehearsal studio on the campus of Ridgewell University, a group of ten students formed one of two drama groups thatwere part of the university. Leading them was Sebastian, director and actor. He liaised with the university officials to prove that there was still a need for his group, and had recently been given an extremely exciting opportunity with some extra funding that the university had managed to secure.
As the other students formed a semi circle around him, Sebastian waved an email that he'd printed out - it was more effective that way. "Since we're all in our final year, the university have granted us some additional funding for our next production. And! There's the potential that we may all be given a huge opportunity after graduation to perform on a more prestigious stage." he paused, watching the excited reactions from the rest of the group, before clearing his throat and continuing. "... Unfortunately, this opportunity is only enough for one group. Which means we will have to work harder than before to prove that we're more deserving than that other group that calls themselves a drama society."

This caused some murmuring amongst the group, and one of the actresses asked, "Well - what are we going to be performing?"
"That... I've not chosen yet. But I have my eye on an excellent murder mystery that I think could really cinch it for us." Sebastian replied. He wanted to be sure that he picked the perfect production. One that he could really show his own skills off, as well as those of the actors that were actually good - and to give him an excuse to push out those that weren't quite as talented early on in the show. Though he wouldn't admit that, of course. And - the play he had his eye on had a very interested role in the form of the Inspector, which he could easily see himself playing.
"What about something classic?" suggested another actor, who received a sharp glare from Sebastian in response, and they quickly fell silent.

With no more questions or suggestions dared to be asked, Sebastian put away the printed out email, and set about getting ready for the meeting - taking out some monologues from his bag that he'd chosen, deciding that they would be an excellent way to have the group memorise lines and work on effectively holding attention for an extended scene.

[madeth]

Thomas sat at a table surrounded by his fellow drama club members, nervously awaiting the moment to tell them all some major news he had received. The group met frequently for rehearsal, but this time was different. Both drama groups had been given an incredible opportunity -- but only one could receive the benefits of that opportunity. "I have an important announcement to make, I guess," he spoke with a slight tinge of nervousness in his voice. Thomas wasn't used to having to take charge, so he couldn't help but sound somewhat off.

"The university has gathered extra funding for drama productions, meaning we could put on an even more amazing performance than we usually do," he explained. His group members eyes lit up with excitement as he continued, "We'd even possibly be able to do a major performance, like, seriously huge!" Just as his group members were going to celebrate, he quickly added on, "...Only if the university picks us over the other drama group." Thomas let out a deep sigh of relief having spat out the news, and his group members quickly started throwing questions his way.

The main concern was how on earth they could ever compete with the other group. Thomas knew how their rivals were: they had an extremely strict, seriously passionate director. Thomas could never compare in terms of organization and motivation, and he knew that -- they all knew that. All his group had was passion, and he wondered if they could pull this off with him as director. "We gotta find something that'll blow our audience out of the water," he spoke, trying to sound enthusiastic despite his uncertainty. Everyone agreed with him, and they began to come up with different ideas.

Comedy? Mystery? Romance? Musical? He never thought there would be this much pressure before, and he could really feel it now as the director. In the end, he wanted to have fun with his fellow actors, so he proposed a comedy. At least, if they lost their rivalry, they could go out with some good fun. Plus, maybe the other group was already taking on a more serious genre. With a repository of different comedic scripts ready, he sat down a notebook full of them and pointed out different plays to the group, practicing lines from various ones to see what might click.

...........
The group didn't make a decision on a specific performance, but that was okay for the time being. Thomas said his goodbyes to his group members, leaving them with the promise that he would do what he could to make them succeed. He wasn't sure they believed him. Thomas considered if he could propose a friendly alliance with the other group, as he would rather not have an extremely harsh rivalry. Outside of his groups' private meeting room, one of two reserved for the drama groups, he leaned against the wall with his notebook still in hand, skimming the pages as he thought deeply to himself.

[Consulting_Angel]

After the meeting came to an end, Sebastian gathered up the monologues, quite convinced that they'd made some good progress. "Next week I'll reveal what I've chosen as our production, and then we can get right into casting and rehearsals." Sebastian announced, as the group started to leave. Naturally, he'd already make the cast list based on his own opinions, but he'd let everyone take a look at the characters and the script and see what might resonate with them. Though, of course, Sebastian would have the final say. If he let everyone argue about who was going to be who, then nothing would get done.

He remained in the room for a few minutes longer, thinking. This had to be perfect. This had to be better than anything the group had already done, anything he'd previously directed. Maybe he'd up the rehearsals to... well, as much as possible. Make everyone be off-book by week two. Or three, to be generous. Ignore all other responsibilities that didn't involve university work. If he was lucky, perhaps he'd get five hours of sleep a night. The pressure was on, and Sebastian could feel it and the high expectations of the university practically crushing him already. But... he would make it. It would all be worth it. With a smile to himself, Sebastian turned and left the room, making sure the lights were off and closing the door carefully behind him.

As he walked down the corridor to go back to his accommodation, he slowed when he spotted the director of the other drama group leaning against the wall of another room, looking through a notebook. Sebastian hesitated, unsure as to whether to acknowledge the other leader or not. He did not particularly like Thomas, finding his way of directing to be too chaotic and laid back. Perhaps he was too uptight himself, but directing had to be just that - direct, strict and firm. It was the only way to make sure everything went right and according to plan.
Deciding to be polite, but curt, Sebastian sailed past the other director with a short, "Thomas," in acknowledgement.

[madeth]

Lost in thought, Thomas disconnected himself from the outside world. He may have been somewhat irresponsible and disorganized, but if he really wanted to, he had the capacity to truly ponder things. His entire life had been pretty easy up until this point, but he tried to keep reminding himself that it would be fine no matter what. He tended to live by the motto of "what will be, will be," but he also wondered if that was really enough to get his group to succeed. Thomas continued skimming through his notebook until he heard someone say his name.

His brown eyes darted up from the notebook, unsure of how much time had even passed with him lost in his own head. He quickly realized who had spoken to him -- it was the other director, his polar opposite. He even felt like the air in the hallway had changed with the presence of Sebastian, although that may have just been him feeling a little intimidated. Sebastian certainly had a powerful aura, something Thomas both feared and admired. He decided to respond as Sebastian was still nearby, calling out, "Hey Sebastian, uhh..."

He paused for a moment, unsure of how the other director would react to even the briefest of conversations. Sebastian didn't seem like he wanted to linger around and was heading past him without much hesitation. They both received the same news, so he was certain Sebastian was taking every second of his day to prepare for what was coming. "Crazy that the university gave us this chance, huh?" he asked, trying to maintain a friendly tone, hoping Sebastian wouldn't just continue on his way and ignore him. In his mind, Thomas thought it would be better for the two of them to have a civil relationship, even if they were technically competing for the biggest opportunity they had ever received in the performance world.

[Consulting_Angel]

He would have kept walking, his mind filled with a hundred ideas and plans that would require the use of a pinboard to help organise his thoughts - having something he could use to physically arrange his thoughts would help alleviate some of the pressure he could feel building up in his kind. But, Sebastian, hearing Thomas reply, trailing off as though he was going to add something else, stopped, and turned on his heel to face Thomas. Indeed, the other director had continued, noting the opportunity that the university had given them. Sebastian narrowed his eyes slightly wondering if this was meant to be something to throw him off. Maybe he was just thinking into it too much. It wouldn't do to start an argument in the middle of the corridor of a univerity building - even if they were currently the only two there at the moment - but still.

Sebastian nodded, deciding to remain civil - it was the least he could do, and Thomas hadn't necessarily done anything to him personally to warrant anything else. Yet. "Certainly. The pressure is on, isn't it?" he replied, raising an eyebrow. It was quite an unusual situation for anyone to be in, but he considered it as a group audition of sorts. A way to prove he was the better of the two. He wondered if they'd end up picking something similar for their production. Something high-brow and pretentious? No, he doubted that. That sort of thing didn't appeal to even Sebastian. But he certainly wanted something compelling and engaging, a serious play.

[madeth]

Thomas could tell that Sebastian was on the move, but appreciated that he took the time to acknowledge him. His worst fear was that the two groups would have an unbearably tense rivalry -- one that would suck all the fun out of theatre for him and his group. He knew their greatest strength was their genuine enjoyment of what they performed, so if they lacked that, they were certain to lose out. A look of relief washed over his face as he smiled softly at Sebastian's response.

"Yeah, I've definitely been feeling it," he replied honestly before continuing, "It's a huge deal, but, y'know..." He wondered if he should really be admitting the pressure he felt. After all, Sebastian almost certainly knew that he was the more 'proper' director of the two. Maybe, though, honesty wasn't a bad idea. It may benefit both parties in the end. Thomas continued after a brief pause, "We're both gonna have awesome performances, even if something goes wrong." He hoped that maybe his words could even bring Sebastian some relief, though he wasn't sure they really would.

He realized that he really shouldn't make Sebastian feel obligated to speak to him. Thomas looked down for a moment before looking back at his rival director, saying, "Don't let me keep you here too long if you're busy!" with a nervous laugh. He wanted to ask questions, but Thomas feared he would come off way too strong. For example, he was curious if they would be doing a really intense, serious play or not. It would help him a lot to know his group wasn't doing the same thing as them. As much as they didn't seem like the type of group to have a special strength in comedy, perhaps they would try to do something different this time. He kind of hoped Sebastian would volunteer the information himself, though he didn't really expect it.

[Consulting_Angel]

He scrunched his nose slightly at the smile. He didn't consider this to be a friendly conversation, just a civil one. Especially with the opportunity that they've both been presented with. But, perhaps, he was the only one that saw the rivalry between the two groups. The only one that felt a need to compete constantly. Sebastian wasn't sure what to make of that.
Still, he couldn't help but let out a scoff when Thomas spoke, mentioning how their shows would be awesome, even if something went wrong. The perfectionist in him was already telling him that he would be making sure everything went right, even if it broke him.

"For you, perhaps." Sebastian replied, a little coldly, although he did lighten up slightly as he added, "Yes... I still have to decide the play we are going to do." Though he was almost certain that he'd be choosing a murder mystery, with lots of twists and enough roles to ensure everyone had a part, with no one having to double up or split a role. He was already getting a vision for the set. He was almost about to mention it, and warn Thomas against choosing the same thing, when his phone chimed, indicating a text message had come through.

Sebastian glanced at it, his expression taking a downturn as he read it.
'Hey Sebastian, I didn't want to say before because I wasn't sure, but I've been cast in a TV series. Only as an extra, but the filming will overlap with the play, so I'm really sorry but I'll have to drop out. Best of luck though!'
Uh oh. Okay, he could make this work. Figure something out. Glancing at Thomas, Sebastian hurriedly said, "Well I should be off." and walked quickly off, almost at a light jog.