The King's Players - Discussion/Planning Thread

[Thinlómien]

Fea, Therian makes me laugh. I was wondering though if it's intentional Branor is sometimes called Branor and sometimes Brandor when you're describing what's happening because that makes the reader about as confused as Therian. Meaning for example:

"I would fight gallantly!" Branor boasted.

"No doubt you would, Brandor," Sam said. "Some did. Princess Eowyn fought better'n most, and that Witch King was dead as they come!"

"Branor," Brandor corrected.

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

Fea, Therian makes me laugh. I was wondering though if it's intentional Branor is sometimes called Branor and sometimes Brandor when you're describing what's happening because that makes the reader about as confused as Therian. Meaning for example:

Quite intentional. I was riffing off of a few posts up when Boro had Branor call Amdir 'Amdil' and doesn't care when he's corrected. Therian called him 'Brandor' when talking to Sam just to see if Branor would pick up on it and cause a scene.

[Thinlómien]

Originally Posted by Feanor of the Peredhil

Quite intentional. I was riffing off of a few posts up when Boro had Branor call Amdir 'Amdil' and doesn't care when he's corrected. Therian called him 'Brandor' when talking to Sam just to see if Branor would pick up on it and cause a scene.

Haha, I figured he's doing it intentionally but was not so sure about you. Anyway, great post.

[the phantom]

All right then.... A reference post for plot agreement! (Some bits copied and pasted from the previous page.)

Initial War of the Ring Drama Character Roles & Important Bits

ROLES IN WAR OF THE RING DRAMA
Brinn- Hobbits in Shire, Orcs in Moria/Anduin/Rauros/Rohan/Gondor/Mordor, Sorceress of Lothlorien
Asta- Mary the Elf of Rivendell, Gollum the Orc
Rollan- Saruman the demented wizard, Denethor Steward of Gondor, Orcs in Moria/Anduin/Rauros/Mordor
Branor- Aragorn the returning King of Gondor
Therian- Eowyn, various Orcs in Moria/Wilderland/Rauros/Mordor
Amdir- Pippin the Hobbit Prince, various Orcs in Mordor
Coldan- Gimli the Dwarf, Sam the Hobbit servant, Orcs in Mordor
Harrenon- Legolas the Elf, The Witch King
Sereth- Frodo the Warrior Hobbit, various orcs in Rohan/Gondor
Aldarion- Boromir prince of Gondor, the evil King Butterbur, King Theoden, Prince Imrahil

IMPORTANT CHARACTER POINTS OF THE RING DRAMA
Gandalf- Gandalf flits in and out of the tale, sometimes walking slowly behind a scene and back offstage without saying a word. We try to give an impression that he is a great mover of important events without making his role in anything clear- he is very mysterious! He can be played by nearly anyone in the troop, as we use heavy makeup and costume for him. His most active scene is battling a giant flame-breathing tentacle monster in the mines of Moria, where he appears to fall to his death only to reappear later.
Frodo- He is basically a more active version of Gandalf, and is said to be Prince Pippin's trusted general and friend. During most fights he merely watches as the rest of the group battles, but towards the end he usually inserts himself in some grandiose fashion. (E.g. In Moria during a fight he bursts out "Stop!!" and when all turn to look at him he declares, "With this ring I command the very breath in your lungs!" at which point all the goblins fall to the ground gasping and die.) In general non-human characters receive fewer lines in the drama, as they are less relatable and more mysterious to both the audience and the King's Players.
Aragorn- The returning king is commanding, loud, and over the top- a perfect fit for Branor. During fight scenes he often pauses the action to pose heroically (which the troop doesn't mind terribly) and sometimes to adlib something Branor thinks is clever ("If your quaking spirit manages to get back to your dark master, tell him The King is returning!" *stab*) Aldarion has been trying to get Branor to stop deviating for months, with very little success. As far as Aragorn's "romance" with Queen Arwen- it is treated instead as an arranged marriage (made at the council in Rivendell) to ensure the support of the Elves in Rivendell and Mirkwood.
Boromir- Aldarion's Boromir never challenges Aragorn openly, but in several soliloquies he expresses his true feelings. In the first, at Rivendell, he doubts Aragorn's claim. Later, while boating the Anduin, he agonizes over whether or not to move aside for Aragorn at all since he himself is such a great captain and knows Gondor better, and even if he should move aside he doubts that during a great war is the time to switch leaders. In his third speech he acknowledges his overriding love for Mary and decides that the throne means little to him in comparison, and so he will let her decide his course. It is then that the Fellowship is attacked and Boromir falls defending Mary from capture in a marvelously choreographed fight scene. The killing blow is struck by the Witch King (adds to WK's villainy and makes the later confrontation more powerful).
Mary- She is an Elf from Rivendell, and carries a magical elf sword which she uses well against the various monsters and orcs we face. It is made evident early on through meaningful glances and awkward pauses that there is a great deal of romantic tension between Mary and Boromir. It finally comes to a head at Rauros with the pair declaring their feelings and kissing just as the forces of Saruman and Witch King attack. As she is carried away by Saruman's henchmen Mary sees WK strike down Boromir and declares that she will avenge her lost love (at this time WK gets driven off by an unexpected visit from Gandalf). After Mary and the Hobbit Prince Pippin escape from the Orcs, she convinces the trees of Fangorn to grow over Isengard. She then joins the Rohirrim and rides with them to the rescue of Minas Tirith. Upon the battlefield WK descends to kill Theoden, giving her a shot at him. As WK moves in to slay Eowyn, declaring "Prophecy has declared that no man can kill me!" Mary cries "For Boromir!" and leaps at his back, but he whirls around and impales her. Mary tosses her magic sword to Eowyn (now behind WK) and pulls herself further onto his sword, getting close enough to hurl her magic cloak over him. As he staggers, vision obscured, Eowyn declares, "But I am a woman!" and brings the magic blade down upon WK's head. Both he and Mary die.
Eowyn- See latter portion of Mary's entry above. (It should be noted that every time Therian yells "But I am a woman!" Brinn can be heard chuckling backstage.)
The Witch King- See Mary's entry above.
Pippin- He is the strong, wise, and merry ruler of the Halflings, and has the most lines of all the non-humans, plotting and planning the route with Aragorn and Boromir and fighting bravely in all encounters.
Denethor- Since he is played by Rollan, Denethor is played in a comic fashion. He is grumpy and clumsy (always injuring those around him), and in the end he is doomed by his klutziness as he accidentally spills oil all over himself and sets himself ablaze.
Saruman- Another typical Rollan character, Saruman is an utter loon and overreacts to everything. Watching him dash about Isengard screaming in a panic with a bucket of weed-killer is often the favorite scene of the children in attendance.
Butterbur- The evil ruler of Bree is the first major obstacle encountered by Pippin, Frodo, and Sam. In their travels they are invited to rest in his gargantuan house, but during the night they are attacked and discover Butterbur has invited a Nazgul to stay with him as well, and also he has killed their ponies. They are attacked again while trying to escape, and this time WK and all the other Nazgul are there. With the element of surprise WK and friends are able to gain the upper hand, but Aragorn comes dashing into the tale for the first time and manages to help the hobbits escape.
Gollum- He is an orc scout from Mordor. He is captured by Frodo somewhere in northern Ithilien and forced to guide the hobbit into/through Mordor. He nearly gives away Frodo's position several times, and finally as the journey nears its end Frodo decides he can do without him and slays Gollum.
Legolas- Harrenon's primary job as Legolas is to look graceful and shoot an endless stream of imaginary arrows (and make the sound effect with his mouth).
Gimli- The dwarf is a very flat character, doing little except expressing love for gold and jewels and lust for battle.
Sam- Depending on the number of available cast and crew, Sam is either killed at Weathertop or left out completely.

TYPICAL OR PREFERRED ROLES IN GENERAL FOR THE PLAYER'S
Brinn- minor roles if necessary (manager, props, effects, etc)
Asta- minor roles if necessary (mechanical, costumes, props, etc)
Rollan- comic roles
Branor- major roles, primarily dramatic
Therian- prefers warriors & kings, but always plays ladies
Amdir- minor roles if necessary (set design, construction, etc)
Coldan- minor roles (prompting)
Harrenon- semi-minor roles, usually young
Sereth- child/youth roles
Aldarion- dramatic, tortured soul, romantic lead (playwright)

TIMELINE OF THE PLAYERS
F.A. 12-
*The father of Brinn & Asta constructs a second Robo-Smaug for Dale's Feast of the Dragon
F.A. 13-
*Brinn, Rollan, and a few friends put on performances in Laketown, Erebor, and other small villages near Dale
F.A. 14-
*Brinn and Rollan marry
*Asta joins the group
F.A. 15-
*Branor joins the group
*The Players perform for the first time in the Iron Hills and in Thranduil's hall
F.A. 16-
*Therian joins The Players
*The Players cross Mirkwood to perform for the Beornings
F.A. 17-
*The Players make their first visit to Minas Anor
*Amdir joins The Players while they're in Minas Anor
F.A. 18-
*Coldan joins the group in Dale
*The Players visit Minas Anor again, and also perform quite a bit in Lossarnach
F.A. 19-
*Harrenon joins The Players during their third trip to Minas Anor
*The Players hit Lossarnach again, and Lamedon for the first time
*While in Lamedon they are joined by Sereth and Aelin
F.A. 20-
*The Players visit Minas Anor for the fourth straight year
*Aelin leaves the troop
*The Players go to Dol Amroth for the first time and have run-ins with The Swan Players and its members
*Aldarion defects from The Swan Players and travels with the group to tour in Rohan
F.A. 21-
*After performances back home in Dale and for the Beornings and Rohirrim, the group makes their fifth trip to Minas Anor's Cormare celebrations

[Boromir88]

I'm afraid my post crossed with you Dimturiel. The approaching winter storm is making my internet connection go fritzy, but we do have some work to make the two stories flow together. I'll try to work in Harrenon's post, but ideas would help...?

Edit: silly me didn't think about the simplest plan, by just cutting out Sam's reply about Eowyn to Branor, and having what he tells Harrenon about Mary the Elf lead into my last post. Making the edit now.

[the phantom]

Nice job of picking up on Asta's role involvement with Boromir, Pitch. I was hoping you might do that.

Are you guys after your visit with Sam still going to be unclear that Merry & Mary are the same person, and thus think we need to add another character to the cast, or are you planning to discover the completely mistaken identity in full at this time?

[Pitchwife]

Everybody abroad in the city, your scenes with Sam are gorgeous! Rock on!

phantom, your character points about Mary, Boromir and the WK were quite helpful for my post, and I've briefly summarized them there. (Hope you don't mind Coldan's less than flattering opinion of Aldarion - it's all jealousy, of course.)

Nerwen, when you write dialogue for Coldan, would you mind giving him just a hint of an accent? And if you'd like anything about Asta modified, just say so.

OK everybody, I'm under the impression our rehearsal should start soonish, is that right? I'm off to bed now and won't be back until tomorrow evening real European time. If you need Coldan to do anything at the rehearsal, go ahead.

[Boromir88]

Thanks Pitch, I've had a lot of fun with it, and thanks to Mnemo and the 3 travelling companions for making this whimsical playfulness possible.

So, we do need to get back to rehearsals, which I will work on and finish now. There should be enough confusion and panic caused by this meeting with Sam, and well the 3 will have to get an intoxicated Branor back safely.

For myself, phantom, Branor is completely obsessed with trying to convince you that Aragorn's part needs drastic revision, and so obviously when he returns all he's going to inform you about is himself and Aragorn. He'll completely forget the business about Sam actually not being dead, Mary or Merry...so that will be up to one of the others.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

phantom, your character points about Mary, Boromir and the WK were quite helpful for my post, and I've briefly summarized them there. (Hope you don't mind Coldan's less than flattering opinion of Aldarion - it's all jealousy, of course.)

Nerwen, when you write dialogue for Coldan, would you mind giving him just a hint of an accent? And if you'd like anything about Asta modified, just say so.

Nah, that's great. And I've edited Coldan's previous dialogue to bring it in line with yours.

And Mnemo, my apologies for not doing more with Asta yet, but the last 24 hours have been quite difficult IRL. Although anyway, we at the Inn are just marking time, pretty much.