progresscity | ♕ little town — it's a quiet village, every day like the one before

Who: Princess Evie and you (and Count Olaf?!)
What: Evie's first performance as Belle in Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage at Hollywood Studios is sure to go swimmingly, right? Right?
Where: Theater of the Stars — Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood Studios
When: Post-jobs announcements.
Warnings: Nada.

♕ BONJOUR.
( closed to count olaf )

( it's been an incredibly stressful few days, what with all the rehearsals for blocking and singing and learning all of her lines — but the day has finally arrived, and it's evie's big opening night as belle.

well, if an opening night can begin at 11:00 am and repeat itself at 1:00, 2:00, 4:00, and 5:00.

her makeup's set, her blue hair is tucked away beneath her brunette ponytailed wig, and she smooths out the white apron atop her iconic blue dress as she peers at herself in the mirror and gives herself a big, award-winning smile. she's got friends here and a job that she knows others would probably kill for (ahem, audrey, but not in the freddie kind of way); maybe this place isn't so bad, after all.

or maybe it is, evie quickly amends as she spots the iconic red-and-yellow gaston attire in the mirror behind her, whirling around to wish her fellow actor a good show, and — it's that man. that truly wretched man who told her that her outfit was terrible the day they'd arrived. that man who triggered more than a few of evie's internal stranger danger alarms. her wide smile crumbles into something like disappointed shock and all she can say is: ) You—

♕ THERE MUST BE MORE THAN THIS PROVINCIAL LIFE.
( open to all! )

( okay, so maybe that wasn't the most ideal first day of performances, but The Powers That Be have granted evie yet another opportunity: meeting guests as belle after the final performance of the day — just to dip her toes into the waters of character meet and greets, to start giving her experience staying in character and practicing her incredibly extra autograph.

she's clad in the show's iconic final golden ballgown, which feels twice as wide as she is and perhaps three times as heavy, but evie-as-belle is all smiles as she greets her first visitor with a warm, ) Hello there — thank you so much for coming to see our story today!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Eclipsa, the reputed evil Queen of Darkness, is absolutely approaching with some visibly tear-stained makeup and an autograph book.]

O-oh my no, it was an absolute delight. We should really be thanking you.

( evie has to try her very hardest not to squeal in utter delight at the woman's reaction, from the evidence of her tears and her open autograph to her kind words. but belle wouldn't squeal in delight, or at least evie doesn't think so.

her teeth tug at her lower lip for a moment as she tries to contain her overbright grin as she takes the autograph book, taking a moment to ensure that she doesn't write her own loopy Evie with a heart over the i on accident. )

Oh, goodness, you're too kind. It's very important to share with the world that we shouldn't always judge a book by its cover.

( that sounds right. belle likes books. right? )

Yes, yes, of course. [She dabs her cheeks a bit with with a tissue.] Just an... incredible story. I've never seen anything like it. It was wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

Really!

( has eclipsa heard the amazing story of the evil queen and how she poisoned snow white, though???

no matter, evie-as-belle simply beams, smile overbright. ) And what was your favorite part, your majesty?

Oh goodness, ahhh... [She struggles to choose.] I suppose... oh the ballroom scene, what an utter delight. Or, no, maybe the kiss? Oh, no, maybe when that atrocious man got thrown off the cliff. Oh, it was all so much! Barely any hiccups!

( evie's practically blushing beneath her stage makeup and stage persona, because surely this means that this woman thought evie's dancing skills were on par, and her — stage kissing!

goodness. thankfully, the final scene mentioned earns evie's attention the most, even if she nearly slips out of character, gleeful as she agrees emphatically, ) Oh, I love that part with Gaston, too!

( whoops, sorry not sorry. reigning herself back in as belle, she asks, ) What is your name, your majesty?

Ah- Eclipsa Butterfly, former Queen of Mewni. Or of Darkness sometimes, either/or really.

Edited 2018-04-30 01:31 (UTC)

Oh, so you are royalty!

( and here evie was simply using one of the in-character titles she's supposed to use to address "guests"; she'd thought princess seemed a little undignified for eclipsa, and it turns out that she was right. she's utterly delighted by this news, entirely unfazed by the notion of anything possibly unsavory.

if anything, it makes evie like the woman more. )

It's wonderful to meet you, Eclipsa, Queen of Darkness. I'll have to tell my friend Princess Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen that we met today.

( there's a rather unsubtle wink that accompanies that thought. )

Its always delightful to meet new people. Tell her I'd be absolutely charmed, especially if she knows such talented people. [WINK]

[ Audrey is SO JEALOUS of Evie's job.

Rather, she was until she saw who was playing Gaston. Was it actually possible to have a creepier creep playing Gaston than the real one? This was a bit much, to be perfectly honest, and as soon as she saw him on stage she was moving down to the front row to watch him with a stink eye only a princess was capable of...

And to support the VK starring as Queen Belle.

After the show, she might not be the first person in line to greet her, but she was up there. In a soft voice first: ] You are a queen for working opposite him.

[ Then, louder with a bright smile: ] The story was enthralling, very beautiful.

( evie's so focused on her performance that she doesn't even notice audrey in the audience, but once she sees her afterwards —

it takes all the princess has to not rush over to her in an instant, squeeze her tightly and thank her profusely for coming to see her. it must be strange, evie thinks, to see her portraying the queen of auradon that audrey may or may not be more than acquainted with considering — ben. it's why the gesture means so very much, makes joy practically seep through her pores.

evie-as-belle gives a bashful laugh at the first remark, tries not to let her disdain for the count show so obviously while in character. she offers a deep curtsey, quite the feat in such a large golden ballgown. ) You're too kind, princess.

I'm very glad you came to see us today.

[ It's so weird- but the suspension of disbelief had no prayer of happening with that horrid old man playing Gaston. It was all enough to keep this princess's attention on Evie and to make sure she was okay.

This was, like, super weird. But at least Evie could speak, even if only in code. Another small smile- ] Are you kidding? I wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Yes, I know. It's me, you can hardly tell, with the pads.

[Count Olaf has opted to keep his facial hair, despite all attempts from the other cast members to shave it, but his eccentric hair is kept in a black wig kept back in a ponytail. His costume is padded and he has two perfectly normal eyebrows painted on, so as to present the illusion of muscles and handsomeness where there is none.

He addresses her with a smirk, taking her in, and posing.]

Seems as though I shall be bringing class to your favorite dribble after all.

( somehow, for the daughter of a batty, evil queen who was raised on an island full of the worst of the worst, garbage and castoffs and deprived of all things Nice and Good, this feels like maybe the cruelest thing that evie's ever had to face. this strange, terrible man, of all people —

it's instinctive, how evie just so happens to find herself pressing backwards against her vanity — anything to get even the slightest bit away from him, arms folding over her chest like they might shield her from his mere existence. )

And it seems as though I'll be jumping right into method acting onstage, ( she counters, her voice wavering a little and not holding quite the same bite as her earlier retorts may have. this recent development has deflated nearly all of her initial excitement, and now the opening night jitters feel stronger than ever. )

Tch! You're not even classically-trained, are you?

[He smirks, exposing those terrible teeth of his. How'd he even get cast for this role? He must have bribed someone, the fiend. At this point, he's solely here to intimate her further, because he can't be humiliated by working against a talentless actress like this.]

You're hardly fit to serve as a lead, you know. You'll need to up your game if you intend on acting against moi.

[Wendy wouldn't have taken up the job of performer with nearly as much gusto as Evie, but that didn't mean she couldn't appreciate a good show. The lest she could do to show appreciation for the arts was to show up afterwards to give the lead a thumbs up.]

Gotta admit, it was pretty cool. I always kinda wanted to know how that story went.

♕ little town — it's a quiet village, every day like the one before

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