The theatre seemed calm during the light hours of day, but activity was alive and well inside. Decorated up for Carmen were still up, but posters reading "Living Pictures: Interviews --->" were set up outside the theatre and along the lobby to direct interested persons into the theatre and right up to front of the stage.

Several long, rectangular tables sat various patrons and performers, all organizing their paperwork and stations before people would begin to arrive. Katarina spent her time practicing for her role by taking pictures of her model, Andy, on stage to make sure that she could get all the pictures needed. A full-body picture and head-shot would be required of each participant, regardless if they wanted to work or be a model.

"Tha's perfec', Andy." Finally happy with the results, she set the camera down on the last table where her station was located. "You'll do it fer me though, yeah?" With the clock finally striking ten, Katarina made her way to the first table and declared, "I'm gonna be th' firs' person!"

The first table required a sign-in sheet and for her to pick up a packet of paperwork. Refusing to be dismayed over the relatively small packet, she took a clipboard and pencil and started to flip through the papers.

The first sheet was a brief questionnaire:

Name?
Katarina Smith

Height?
5'9

Weight?
124 lbs

Ethnicity?
Human

Any dislikes, limitations, or requests for either your modeling artwork or modeling partners?
No nudity preferred.

Any preferences for solo or multiple people artwork?
No

Any previous experience on or backstage? Rather than answer the question to it's fullest, Katarina just put down her profession.
Ballet Dancer

Special skills related to potential modeling?
Extremely flexible

Would you be interested in being a Master of Ceremonies for different artwork?
Yes

Any allergies, particularly to cosmetic products? Living Pictures may require extreme appearance manipulation with cosmetics.
No

Living Pictures as stated above, may require physical alterations. Each participant needs to consent to non-permanent alternations, including but not limited to: hair dying, contacts, hair cutting etc. If you have any special requests please state below before signing.
No hair cuts. Katarina Smith

Living Pictures also requires the consent of each participant for all pictures or media devices to be released for publication and marketing.
Katarina Smith

The following pages were questions and surveys for job applications for artists, hair stylists, make-up artists, tailors, directors, musicians, carpenters/construction, light technicians or any other job that could be used for the program. The application required basic job experience information, references, as well as subject to portfolios, if necessary.

With the paperwork taken care of, Katarina went to the second table, where she turned her packet in to receive a sticky name-tag and a paper number that correlated to the number on the upper right-hand corner of her packet. Naturally, her number was 1.

Bounding up the stairs of the stage, Katarina held the number in front of her chest as Andy took several pictures so that her face could be linked to her packet. When the picture-taking was done, she returned down the steps and went to the last table where her station was at, setting down the paper with the number 1.

With the first participant going through the process smoothly, everyone waited in anticipation for other to come and offer their services to the program.

Lirssa poked her head inside and looked at the growing queue. On the good side, no one turned around to look back at the tail of the line. In fact, no one looked at her at all until she arrived at the table to pick up the paperwork packet. That was the first look. But with a quick survey of the questions, she had to grin. No where did it ask for age and nowhere did it ask for permission of a parent. "Yes!" She whispered in a shooting star smile, and she started to fill out the paperwork.

Name?
Lirssa (thoughtful pause before she wrote) S. Helston al Amat (then erased that and left just her first name)

Height?
(She hadn't ever thought to get measured, but thinking back she remembered Fionna saying while fitting some clothes to her -- ) Little under 5 feet.

Weight?
(Completely stumped, she wrote down --) Sorta skinny, but sturdy.

Ethnicity?
Human (--though that didn't seem to quite cover the truth of it)

Any dislikes, limitations, or requests for either your modeling artwork or modeling partners?
(Well, she didn't want to be too particular, and looking over another's shoulder she wrote down --) No nudity, no snakes

Any preferences for solo or multiple people artwork?
No

Any previous experience on or backstage?
(This sent her pencil to scribbling) Not as specific stage, but been acting and acrobating since I can remember all around at fairs and tourneys and in the Marketplace

Special skills related to potential modeling?
Can be really still when I put my mind to it, and can twist myself all around

Would you be interested in being a Master of Ceremonies for different artwork?
No, thank you. (Never hurt to be polite. Well, most times)

Any allergies, particularly to cosmetic products? Living Pictures may require extreme appearance manipulation with cosmetics.
No

Living Pictures as stated above, may require physical alterations. Each participant needs to consent to non-permanent alternations, including but not limited to: hair dying, contacts, hair cutting etc. If you have any special requests please state below before signing.
Not sure what contacts are, but as long as they don't hurt all times, I'm okay with whatever ya got to do. Lirssa

Living Pictures also requires the consent of each participant for all pictures or media devices to be released for publication and marketing.
Lirssa


Lirssa bolstered up her confidence turning in the paperwork with a chin raised up and got her number to get her picture captured by a magic box. Oh, it all was so very exciting, and wouldn't all the grown ups she knew be proud!

She needed to drum up some more business. Free publicity was never a bad idea; though, she really had no idea what any of this meant. She followed along gamely enough - somewhere along the way she'd become a real pro at paperwork.

Name?
Fiora Shantalaine.

Height?
Short.

Weight?
A buck ten.

Ethnicity?
No thank you.

Any dislikes, limitations, or requests for either your modeling artwork or modeling partners?
No orcs.

Any preferences for solo or multiple people artwork?
No orcs.

Any previous experience on or backstage?
Acrobatics: Tightrope, trapeze, floor. I'm good with poi.

Special skills related to potential modeling?
I'd lie but you'd figure it out quick enough. Nothin special bout me.

Would you be interested in being a Master of Ceremonies for different artwork?
Sure! Though I have no idea what that means.

Any allergies, particularly to cosmetic products? Living Pictures may require extreme appearance manipulation with cosmetics.
I'm allergic to orcs.

Living Pictures as stated above, may require physical alterations. Each participant needs to consent to non-permanent alternations, including but not limited to: hair dying, contacts, hair cutting etc. If you have any special requests please state below before signing.
Sounds fun.

Living Pictures also requires the consent of each participant for all pictures or media devices to be released for publication and marketing.
-F.



She waited in line for the picture thingie to do its work, liberally sprinkling the area with her business cards.

Everett submitted to the pictures, blinking quite a lot at the flash. He had never, to his knowledge, been photographed before. The man had never even sat for portrait. After that, he sat to fill out the questionnaire in his careful tidy script.

Name?
Everett Ogden

Height?
1.8 Meters

Weight?
11 Stone

Ethnicity?
English

Any dislikes, limitations, or requests for either your modeling artwork or modeling partners?
No mortal danger, please.

Any preferences for solo or multiple people artwork?
Not in this context.

Any previous experience on or backstage?
I have been near a stage. I am writing for the stage, presently.

Special skills related to potential modeling?
I follow directions precisely.

Would you be interested in being a Master of Ceremonies for different artwork?
I am interested in anything that is within my capabilities. I could speak, if it were necessary.

Any allergies, particularly to cosmetic products? Living Pictures may require extreme appearance manipulation with cosmetics.
Not to my knowledge.

Living Pictures as stated above, may require physical alterations. Each participant needs to consent to non-permanent alternations, including but not limited to: hair dying, contacts, hair cutting etc. If you have any special requests please state below before signing.
I have one leg that is still quite wounded, and healing. I will need to be seated, or given use of my cane (or a reasonable stand-in). You may otherwise do whatever you like with my hair. I can grow a full beard, if it is required of me.

Living Pictures also requires the consent of each participant for all pictures or media devices to be released for publication and marketing.


http://i809.photobucket.com/albums/zz12/EightBitPlayer/Everett/Evsig.gif

After the poet signed the front, he flipped through the rest of the packet. There wasn't any other paperwork that indicated a want for writers, but he thought that it couldn't hurt to demonstrate his capabilities. He turned one of the sheets to the back and scribbled there, including it with his application:

I am a poet and aspiring playwright, by trade. If words are needed in this endeavor, I should humbly submit mine, were it required of me. Below is a poor sonnet in the English style, composed spontaneously to indicate some semblance of my capabilities.


Humble, artless, hopeful English writer;
Pray pardon this fool in his motley coat,
Forgive the haste and mess that is his note.
He longeth but to shine a touch brighter.

My lady goes, for nothing can excite her.
But if you could, by charity, promote
The wishes carried in the words I wrote.
My muse may come, for here shall I invite her.

Though outwardly I must look pale and nervous,
How thrilled this man would be to be of service!

I cannot offer strapping male perfection.
The easy choice would be to have me go.
Choose me, anyhow! I, in turn, will show
That directed, I am a fine selection.

-e i o


It wasn't his best work, but it would have to do.


((For those unfamiliar with metric measurements, Everett is 5'10" and weighs a scrawny 155 pounds. If reference photographs are required of him for this storyline, I can hunt some down at a later date, just PM and let me know.))

She was late and she knew it. Blustering up to the table, the workers clearly packing up, she held out her hand for the application parcel with a defiant tilt to her chin.

"Sorry, miss..." The title rang out hollow from the nasal man's voice. ".. but the auditions are over. You should have been here earlier."

Her shoulders still heaved from her mad sprint to the theatre from Stars' End. Face flushed, Alice bristled and fought back any sign of weakness. There had been too much hassle to get this far to fall short now. Dropping the bag hanging from her shoulder with a thud, hands resting on the table before her. "Listen, tyen tsai, don'tcha think I woulda been here earlier if I coulda been? 'M here -now-."

Heaving a sigh of disdain, the man gave a glance to the others at the table and shrugged his shoulders, turning over an application reluctantly. "Be quick about it. You have five minutes."

Swiping a pencil from the table, she scribbled madly, holding the clipboard where she stood. She was going to do it in four if it killed her.

Name?
Alice Merryweather

Height?
5'10

Weight?
135 last I checked

Ethnicity?
One that produces redheads.

Any dislikes, limitations, or requests for either your modeling artwork or modeling partners?
I say no to naked.

Any preferences for solo or multiple people artwork?
Nope.

Any previous experience on or backstage?
Community productions, dance crew, ballerina.

Special skills related to potential modeling?
Can duplicate just about anything I'm shown.

Would you be interested in being a Master of Ceremonies for different artwork?
Nah.

Any allergies, particularly to cosmetic products? Living Pictures may require extreme appearance manipulation with cosmetics.
Wool, zinc.

Living Pictures as stated above, may require physical alterations. Each participant needs to consent to non-permanent alternations, including but not limited to: hair dying, contacts, hair cutting etc. If you have any special requests please state below before signing.
Keeping things natural -- no dye.


Living Pictures also requires the consent of each participant for all pictures or media devices to be released for publication and marketing.
Alice Merryweather

Dropping the clipboard back onto the table, she waited to be handed her number. The man scanned the clipboard and snickered outloud. "Ballerina, eh? You sure don't look the part." A thumb jerked over his shoulder. "Andy'll take your picture."

Taking the number with a forced smile, Alice did a curtsy and then executed a arabesque pench?e to pick up her dropped bag. A smug grin as she caught his open stare, she muttered to herself as she moved on to the photographer's station. "Jen duh sh tyen tsai..."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translations:
tyen tsai = genius
jen duh sh tyen tsai = an absolute genius

With a touch of giant in his blood Sydney Carlotta looked like the last person capable of micromanaging the minutest details required to run any production in RhyDin. His hulking frame seemed better suited for a life of clubbing both enemies and potential mates alike over the head and dragging them back to his cave. Kazzy mentally reminded herself over and over again not to snicker, snort or smirk at the sight of Syd hunched over his too-small desk in his too-small chair working over a too-small budget with an itsy bitsy puppy-patterned pencil.

?Just set it down in the back,? was his gruff command. Syd didn?t bother picking his head up at the sound of footsteps approaching his doorway. His dark red hair was cropped close to the skull and his chin benefited from a fresh shave?by the end of production he would find himself fitting the long-haired and bushy barbarian stereotype that much more.

?Got a different kind of delivery for ya, Syd.? Kazzy put on a full wattage smile for him.

Now, to say Syd?s blood froze at the sound of Kazzy?s voice would sound as if the large man felt threatened by the stringbean?s presence. In fact it was more annoyance and perhaps a begrudging amusement that flowed through his wide veins when he picked up his head.

Syd eyed the covered paper cup in her hand. ?Already had my coffee for the day.? He resumed correcting the budget in front of him again.

?But you probably haven?t had this.? Kazzy took a few bold steps closer to show the quasi-giant the contents of the rolled up bag she had been holding behind her back. ?Catch!? She tossed it his way.

?Not on my papers!? Syd?s thick knobbed fingers made a decent grab for the bag without spilling whatever caused the wet stain on the bottom onto his budget. Despite his irritation at having his well-oiled, organized world disrupted his nose began to sniff at the sweet scent emanating from the bag. Kazzy watched and waited with an eager grin when he pried open the bag and removed the honey-dipped cruller inside.

?Just because you remember what I like in the morning doesn?t mean I?m going to hire you, Kaz.? And though he retained the gruff nature of his voice the sticky donut in his hand was already crumbling at the very least his resolve to deny her the satisfaction of watching him devour the treat.

Kazzy took several more easy strides with her stick legs until she stood next to him. She eased the cup of coffee into his free hand. Her voice almost sounded maternal and warm. Almost. ?Aw, but Syd, you know I?m a hard worker.? She closed his fingers around the coffee. He did not put it down when she released his hand.

?There?s a lot of regulations I?ve got to follow. You?re a good worker but you?re a little fuzzy on when to stay inside the lines.? He peeled back the lid of the coffee and took a teeny sip.

?I?ll be good. I?ll do all the grunt work no one else wants to do! You won?t even have to ask me twice to get everyone?s lunch orders or clean the toilets or anything!?

Syd broke off a tiny piece of donut and ate it. He licked his fingers and took a larger gulp of the coffee with non-fat milk and artificial sweeteners. ?I?m serious. I can?t have you running amuck. No skating amuck either.? The last part came as an afterthought.

?Let?s not sweat the small stuff, Syd! Who else remembers what you like for breakfast? You know how important it is to be a stickler for detail.? Don?t snicker. Don?t snicker. Don?t snicker. Crap.

?Something funny, Kaz??

?No!? Really? You need to stop. Think about something sad so you stop almost laughing. Sad like that summer there was a heat wave and all the power went out at Frozen Tonny?s but you got there too late to enjoy any free melty ice cream. That totally blew didn?t it? It so did. ?I?m just soooo excited and I?m going to make you proud of me, you?ll see, Syd!? Maybe the first thing I should do is get him a bigger desk chair. He?s all stuffed in there like some kinda Sydcordian. CRAP.

?Uh huh. You sure something?s not funny?? Syd stared at her. Kazzy balled her fist up and slammed it against her side to find some way to distract herself from laughing. She only shook her head making some kind of grunting noises meant to be a ?no.?

He gave her another skeptical look but shrugged. ?Fine. Come back Monday and we?ll see what you can do. I?m serious about the regulations. No screw ups.?

?Wow! Awesome! Oh you?re gonna be so happy, Syd!? Kazzy would have broken into another minute of exclamations but Syd shooed her off. Poking out a stiff bottom lip she worked not to grin when she nodded. She threw in a full-fledged salute for good measure before turning for the door. She wanted to get out of there before he changed his mind.

Syd cleared his throat with another sip of coffee. ?And Kaz??

Kazzy dared to look behind her having needed only a few more steps to make a hasty retreat. Syd licked some honey from his thumb.

?Make sure you bring my breakfast with you.?