Dominic a flippé à travers sa copie du script avec peu d'enthousiasme. Oh, la pièce était un bon choix, étant assez difficile pour se produire et politiquement assez chargé pour être considéré comme un risque. C'était juste qu'il s'agissait d'un court jeu avec un seul emplacement et il faudrait donc très peu de réécriture pour s'adapter à la scène de l'entreprise. Ajoutez à cela l'absence de n'importe quelle musique dans la pièce et l'absence de joueurs de fond et les semaines à venir semblaient très vides pour lui. Il finirait assis à l'avant de la scène avec une copie du scénario dans sa main, prêt à inciter tous ceux dont la mémoire avait besoin à faire du jogging pendant que l'Art s'étire de haut en bas parmi les joueurs, écrivant sa vision parfaite de la pièce avec des gestes de main extravagants beaucoup.
Pourtant, ce qu'on pouvait attendre, ce n'était pas comme si l'Abracadabra! L'entreprise pourrait choisir les productions qu'elle met avec beaucoup de souplesse ou de délicatesse. Ils ont pris ce qu'ils pouvaient obtenir et en sont reconnaissants, en particulier dans des circonstances si réduites qu'ils souffrent actuellement. Et en outre, il y avait pire sort à souffrir que de passer les prochaines semaines à regarder Art et les autres aller au travail. Les grands théspiens que le groupe pourrait ne pas être, mais personne ne pouvait leur reprocher faute d'effort ou de capacité à multitâches. Aucun d'entre eux ne laisserait les choses aller alors qu'ils pensaient encore qu'il y avait de la place pour s'améliorer, rester longtemps en dehors du temps passé, ou faire plusieurs travaux à la fois pour maximiser le temps de répétition. Mémoriquement, Noa et Billy avaient déjà répété une scène en travaillant sur une partie instable de la scène, regardant leurs scripts entre marteler et parler des lignes sans laisser tomber les clous dans la bouche.
Il a posé le script sur le piano, s'est assis soigneusement à côté de lui et a donné à la vieille chose battue une pat douce. Quand il a remarqué l'Art à propos de lui quizzically, il a donné un shrug subtil et un petit clin d'œil. Les deux ont travaillé ensemble pendant quelques années maintenant et le directeur savait que Dominic était plus apte à souffrir silencieusement que de permettre à ses préoccupations de voir le jour. Il avait l'habitude de vérifier l'autre homme, regardant derrière le visage du poker, pour s'assurer qu'il était à bord avec tout ce que le plan était. Et, dans presque tous les cas, Dominic l'était. Autant qu'il aimait jouer du piano et former les autres à travers des numéros musicaux, il faisait confiance au jugement d'Art plus qu'assez pour passer par quelques semaines sans air si le réalisateur décidait que c'était le bon chemin.
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Noa, pendant ce temps, a levé les yeux de sa copie vers l'Art avec un sourire. N'ayant pas beaucoup étudié les arts dans sa jeunesse et étant sur la route depuis longtemps, il ne pouvait rivaliser avec le répertoire des scripts que d'autres connaissaient. Mais ça ne l'a pas rendu inutile, juste excité de voir ce qui allait apparaître. Derrière ses yeux chauds, son esprit s'enfuyait déjà avec des plans et des calculs, ce qu'il fallait faire et comment le faire. Il y avait encore ces planches sur la scène à droite qui grinçaient et tremblaient de façon inquiétante quand ils marchaient, ils auraient besoin d'être réparés. Et une meilleure installation d'éclairage, le courant était sur ses dernières jambes. Et une table de chaises assortie serait agréable pour An Inspector Calls, pour évoquer cet aspect de la salle à manger familiale moyenne. Les premières choses d'abord, cependant...
"Il a l'air d'un grand homme, mais probablement pas aussi bon que toi dans une robe. Juste une question;" et il se tourna pour faire face à l'autre figure qui domine la compagnie, Billy Halford. "Tu vas me laisser avoir la part de l'inspecteur ou dois-je te frapper le pouce pour ça?"
Male | Thirty-Four | Pansexual
𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗖𝗘
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Something about Noa's appearance brings to mind short, sharp adjectives, blunt one word descriptions; feral, wild, imposing, rugged, rocky. It's something about his untamed hair, impenetrable gaze, 6'3" form and built frame that leaves people needing something direct to describe him, like a label to help you deal with all that... thatness. After all, it's not every day you encounter someone who dresses like a fashion conscious 18th century fur trapper, talks like a particularly charming stand-up comedian and moves like a punch-drunk bear.
The first thing you notice is just how damn big he is, towering over most people and constructed like a a Biology diagram meant to illustrate where all the muscles are. Then you register that majestic mane of flowing hair, clearly too powerful to be tamed by scissors, clippers or any mundane tools. Depending on the time of year, Noa's locks might be longer or shorter (he likes to cut it down in the summer) but his mighty beard is constant. Then there's his eccentric dress sense that ranges from vaguely sensible, if a bit hippy, right up to gear that mountain hunter would be proud to wear. Years of living on the road have given him a taste for hard wearing clothes that can survive a few scrapes and hold a few patches, and he's yet to find a reason to change styles.
A reasonable initial reaction would be to feel a little intimidated by this gargantuan bearded behemoth, cowed by his size and rough appearance. But any such reaction is quickly undercut by how welcoming, warm and wholesome he is. The thick beard is almost always split by a smile, the dark green eyes always marked with a twinkle and the deep booming voice constantly shaking with laughter. It's most obvious in children, who tend to shrink back from Noa when they first see him but after a few minutes of being talked to, mercilessly tickled and tossed in the air (often in front of semi-horrified parents) they're giggling and demanding more playtime. Almost the same thing happens with adults, though there's not as much tossing, tickling or playtime. For the most part.
Many years of travelling have given Noa both a hard to place accent (a little brogue here, a little cajun there, a dash of drawl and more than a pinch of husk) and a varied vocabulary. He's never stayed in one country long enough to properly learn the language but he's picked up words and phrases here and there, some of which have crept into his everyday parlance. Despite taking up so much physical space, he tends towards taking up very little verbal space, as his deep voice carries well even at low volume. When enjoying himself a little too much or wrapped up in the moment, it gets louder and louder, to the point it rattles the rafters.
𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗦𝗢𝗡𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬
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Noa looks like a bear and, in a sense, he is one. Not one of the wild ones that mauls hikers though, more like one of the massive stuffed cuddly ones that doting parents buy their children. Upon meeting a person, he sizes them up with a frown, a firm handshake and a firmer stare. If he likes what he sees, and he almost always does, he roars with laughter and claps them on the back. And from that moment on, he treats people like they've known each other for years, trading jokes and stories, rough housing ruthlessly and lovingly poking fun. It's a 0-to-100 transition from stranger to friend that some people find terribly disconcerting or even a little alarming. It's very difficult to hold anything against Noa though, especially when he's grinning at your from under his beard and his eyes are daring you to top whatever outrageously false story he's just told.
At his core, Noa is a simple man, a man who wants what we all want. He likes having friends around him, laughing loud and long, enjoying those pleasures life has to offer and keeping responsibilities at a distance. If anything, it's that last thing that separates him from other people the most. Your average person doesn't like responsibility, doesn't love being tied down or depended on, but accepts it as a part of life and takes it on the chin. Not so for Noa, who has carefully sidestepped every responsibility more arduous than a supporting role in a failing theatrical company for the better part of a decade. After all, it's hard to be obligated to do anything if you don't stand still for long enough to be asked. His mother imparted much of her own personality onto him and it was her encouragement to be free and happy that Noa took to heart most.
It's not commitment phobia, exactly, he's just found it easier to move on than deal with the complicated messiness that comes with being a functioning member of society. As a drifter, you answer to yourself, work when you need money, eat when you're hungry and move when you're bored. When you take root, as he put it, you've got to work all day and answer to everyone from your boss to your spouse to your kids. It would be pretty accurate to attribute this immature view of society to unresolved grief and guilt over the death of his mother, as his wanderings started only a few days after her funeral, but Noa tends to sidestep that sort of question with just as much ease as he does everything else. He'll deflect it with a shrug, a grin and a shove before turning the conversation sharply elsewhere.
𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗦 & 𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘𝗦
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✓ Children, dogs and dogs that are children.
✓ Strong ales, beers and ciders, best with snacks.
✓ Working hard, working out and pushing himself.
✓ The outdoors, the sea, the open road.
✗ Boredom, hunger and discomfort in general.
✗ Airplanes, too small and cramped to ever use.
✗ Juice, sweets and overly sugary foods.
✗ Dust, stale air and the smell of decay.
𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬
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Born in Hawaii to a native mother and an American-Irish father, Noa grew up near Honolulu in relative comfort. His father, David Wilson, had an office job and his mother, Alanna Inoke, was a school teacher so their little family was well looked after. The younger brother to two independently minded sisters, Noa spent a lot of his youth either joining in with whatever games they wanted to play or finding his own entertainment. The happy family was displaced when Noa was six, however, by a job offer. His father accepted a new position in St. James, Indiana, and packed up the family with him. The new town wasn't as warm, as open or as friendly, at least from the viewpoint of the children, and they initially found it hard to forgive their father for disturbing the fragile balance of the family unit.
Still, the kids were all rich in moral fibre and soon bounced back, each finding their own unique groove in their respective habitats. Kimi, the oldest by four years, was full of sass and sarcasm and soon found herself a comfy niche as one of those judgemental popular kids while Inoa, older than Noa by two years, was more of a studious sort. She was hard working and dedicated, rising the top of her class by a mile spending her spare time on the running track. Youngest of the three, Noa was always his mother's favourite and she passed on her adventurous nature to him most of all, making him a ringleader and troublemaker. Many was the time Alanna whisked the family off to some new unknown place for the weekend, leading them off into the wilderness or into the depths of an avant garde art gallery.
Things were disrupted again, a decade and a half later, when the results of a long overdue medical test came in for Alanna. She had pancreatic cancer and it was further along than most people recovered from, the young pale faced doctor told them. Kimi had left home and Inoa was on her way out but both returned home with all speed after the diagnosis arrived, flocking to their mother to comfort her. Alanna, however, had other ideas and sent them running back to their lives with a terrible scolding. She wouldn't let them come home to wallow in self-pity and grief, not while they had jobs and families that needed them. She maintained she needed nothing but fresh air, some good food and to be allowed a little peace.
Over the next few years, her health slowly left her and the wild spirit that had raised three proud children withered away. She spent a lot of time with her only son in that period, her care entrusted almost entirely to him. Having finished an apprenticeship as a carpenter at the time, he decided to ignore her commands to go out and find something more fulfilling than looking after a dying old woman and stayed by her side. Sometimes she seemed grateful, sometimes she seemed disappointed but she always enjoyed his company. For his part, David kept working long hours and doing all he could to make his wife comfortable. He had always been follower in their relationship and now it seemed he could not follow Alanna any further, leaving him lost.
When Alanna died, the funeral was an informal affair that was practically rushed in order to get to the wake. It was what she would've wanted, after all, and the party was one to remember. But within a few days, Noa had bade goodbye to St. James and hit the road, a lightly packed rucksack on his back and endless wanderlust in his heart. His mother's commands that he get going and see the world had been heard, no doubt, and now he was living them. As a big man in good health, he found it wasn't hard to find short term jobs quickly, so long as you didn't mind doing the dirty ones. And so he made his way across the North American continent and then over to the Europe and then Asia. He never stayed still long, only long enough to earn what he needed to make the next leg of the journey before moving on further east, chasing the rising sun.
Three years ago, he arrived back in the states, tanned, bearded and bone-tired. His father saw him at the front door and let him in without a word. The two didn't speak much, neither having found the intervening decade's activities particularly effective in dealing with the loss of Alanna. Noa's sisters came and visited, alternating between scolding him for his long absence with nothing but sporadic postcards to reassure them of his good health and asking him to share stories of his adventures. Eventually the conversation turned to what he'd be doing now and they didn't find any of his answers particularly satisfying. One of them, Inoa, told him that things would be the worse for him if he didn't find a job by the end of the week and knowing she wasn't kidding, he grumpily set off to find something.
What he found was a struggling theatre company named Abracadabra. He'd never acted before and had no training but he knew how to make things out of wood, could lift whatever needed lifting and had more than enough self confidence to strut the boards once someone taught him the words. Since then, he's spent most of his time with the company, though he's disappeared with little warning a few times and spent a few weeks on the road. Recently, he's abstained from doing that for one reason; a burgeoning relationship with the new set designer Zdzisława "Ziggy" Gniewek.
𝗧𝗔𝗟𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦
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● Confidence: Noa has no qualms about putting himself out there, making jokes at his own expense or doing something that takes guts. It helps on stage when playing a role that's more pantomime than theatre or just to overcome the initial stage-fright.
● Strength: Years of hard labour and an enjoyment of the great outdoors have given Noa a herculean physique that he'll happily use for the benefits of others, like helping Billy with the sets or Dominic with moving the piano.
● Charming: Obviously no one person appeals to every other person but Noa comes pretty close. His friendly nature, laid back attitude, lack of shame and, more importantly, lack of fear regarding humiliation make him a hard man to resist liking.
● Crafts: Before deciding that travelling was easier than standing still, Noa was trained as a carpenter and his experience in the years since have given him the gift of putting stuff together on a shoestring budget and in fifteen minutes, if necessary.
𝗪𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦𝗘𝗦
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● Restless: Noa has a hard time sitting still for long periods of time, both literally and metaphorically. He's a fiddler and a mover but also has a string of spontaneous 'trips' to his name that speak to his dislike of stillness or stagnation.
● Rowdy: While he treats everyone like a friend, Noa's version of friendly back and forth isn't suited to everyone. He's physical and loud, so those who prefer not to go close to others or like the quiet are probably going to avoid him.
● Singing: You can sort of act through confidence but getting up on stage and singing takes training, time, skill and dedication. Noa hasn't put in the first two and doesn't have the second two, so he's been barred from singing roles.
𝗥𝗢𝗟𝗘𝗦
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Handyman – If something needs lifting, chances are that Noa can probably lift it. Apart from lifting, moving and other low skill labours, Noa still remembers most of his training as a carpenter from years ago is a dab hand at fixing up the stage or the props.
Character Actor – Although he has no training or education, Noa's got enough confidence and sense of humour to play any of the less subtle characters needed for a show. He's got ambitions towards more nuanced roles though, and would like to be a leading man at some point.
𝗠𝗜𝗦𝗖.
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He would love to play Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet and thinks that after some more time in the company that he might make a good Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire.