More on the Concert on Cascade Hall

Manfred Bulla

November 26, 2008 6:00 PM

Prefect Meeting (Prefects, Head Boy, Head Girl, HoH's) by Manfred Bulla

The Cascade Hall had its doors quite firmly closed, which didn't happen all that often. Really, the only time it seemed to occur was when there was a test or a meeting taking place inside. In this case, it was the latter.

Manfred took his seat at the head of the table. The Prefects, Head Girl (the Head Boy was also a prefect, and thus was also there) and Heads of Houses had taken their own seats - there was no enforced order, so they picked their own places. With a glance at the time, Manfred set up his dictating quill to take the minutes of the meeting and cleared his throat.

"Thank you all for making sure you could be here for our first meeting of the year. I'm sure you're all eager to get started so... We'll start with the things that are up for discussion this meeting. The End of Year Concert. The Council's investigation of Sonora. Transfers from Salem. Are there any other matters that people would like to have discussed?"

Manfred paused, giving the others present the opportunity to add their own matters to the agenda. He nodded as they joined the list of things to be discussed.

"Alright. Well, we'll start with the End of Year Concert. There will be signs going up in each of the common rooms soon and we're going to be very dependant upon you prefects to run this situation. Please remember that this is going to be a great chance for all of our students to come together and work on a performance for the concert. It's going to require teamwork, compromise and ingenuity. Everyone who wants to participate needs to be brought into the final performance, whether it's by taking part on the stage, playing the music, making the costumes or scenery or props - whatever is needed for your house performance. There are two actual categories, I should mention at this juncture. There is the one that encompasses everyone from the house who wants to be involved, but there is also a solo spot available for each house. You," he looked at the Prefects, "will have to decide upon who will represent your house in that capacity. If one of you wants the spot, you'll have to give up the power to choose, however. I'm sure you all understand how we need to keep as much bias out of that as possible. If there are any problems, you can go to your Head of House, the Acting Deputy Headmistress," he nodded at Sadi, "or myself. Preferably in that order, but obviously dependent upon the gravity of the problem. I greatly look forward to seeing you showing the leadership and other qualities that led to you all being chosen to be Prefects, as well as to seeing what each house chooses to do for our Concert. Were there any questions, suggestions or comments about the concert?"

Once the concert had finished as the topic of discussion, Manfred moved onto the next item on the agenda.

"The Council has seen fit," he frowned, "to send one of their own among us. Mr Patrick Jenkins, to give him a name. I'm sure that some of you have probably seen him around. I am informed that he will be interviewing students, sitting through some classes and generally investigating the situation at Sonora Academy. This in fact ties in with the next item on the agenda, but I will endeavour to keep the two subjects separate. Salem Institute, the school near Salem Massachusetts, was closed at the end of last year. This was a sad result of several years of bad luck. I'm sure that many of you may recall that several years ago Salem was betrayed to the Muggle public as a part of a power grab in the Magical Cabinet. While steps were taken to reduce the impact of this problem, it was a far reaching one. There was even an incursion of Muggle vigilantes into the school grounds within months of the original betrayal. Efforts were made to remove this knowledge from the Muggles, but as I'm sure most of you know it is a very difficult thing to cover up knowledge once it has made it out into the general sphere of modern understanding. There is print media, which of course we have our own, but there are also phones, computers and, I believe they call it the 'World Wide Web'. An apt term, as, like spiders, they capture knowledge and trap it in their web, so that anyone can see it. I'm sure you all understand the gravity and breadth of the problem facing the Magical Cabinet, and, to a lesser extent, the Wizarding Council. Security scares and a general lack of faith in Salem resulted in less students accepting their invitations, or sending in applications to attend the school, to the point where there was no choice but to close it down.

"Mr Jenkins is among us as part of, I am assured, a greater Council manoeuvre to be sure that such a fate does not await Sonora and the Western American Magical community. I would ask that you all co-operate with him to the best of your ability, and report anything strange to your Heads of Houses, the Head Boy and Head Girl or myself." Manfred did not appreciate the Council interfering with his school, and hoped that it would not cause too much of a fuss. Or backfire. Close tabs would be kept on the man. "Is there anything you have seen or want to mention about him? Or anything you can think of that needs to be brought to his attention?" At least he had been convinced to honour the sanctity of the Prefect meeting and keep his nose out.

Once there was nothing else that anyone wished to discuss about Jenkins and the Council, Manfred moved onto the third item on the agenda.

"I'm sure you've noticed some new faces amongst the upper years at the start of term. These are students who came from Salem. We, like some other schools, have taken on some of the students who needed somewhere else to go after Salem closed. Off the top of my head, I think they have been distributed amongst all the houses, except, I believe, Pecari. I would ask that those of you with new students in your house, please make certain to make them as welcome and comfortable as possible. Help them find their way to their classes and other activities. Perhaps nudge some of them towards Quidditch - although I believe signups should be just about over... Have there been any problems so far?"

Once the topic of the transfers was dealt with, Manfred looked to his right.

"I believe you had one of the items added to our agenda," he said. "Would you like to summise and start the discussion?"

OOC: I've tried to make this as inclusive as possible, and we can thank fuzzy time (and almost certainly some inspiration from Saul Pierce's guiding post) for the ability to have so much encompassed at once. Please write the agenda item you're addressing in your subject headline and we'll see if we can keep each separate item separate for the discussion purposes. The Concert, for all those interested, is going to require a lot of working together. This is one of the main reasons why there will be one main performance from each house. As things stand, this will almost certainly mean a joint post from everyone who wants to participate, and having multiple categories as has been discussed, would only make it more complicated, as well as taking away from the understanding that this is a concert, not a talent contest. Think of it as a great opportunity to get to know and work with your fellow writers, if you haven't already ventured into doing so.

Subthreads:

A little confused: addressing the definition of the Concert. by Paul Tarwater with Manfred

On Mr. Jenkins. by Connor Pierce with Manfred, Thaddeus Flatt

More on the Concert by Saul Pierce with Manfred, Simon Tellerman & Saul Pierce

39 Manfred Bulla Prefect Meeting (Prefects, Head Boy, Head Girl, HoH's) 2 Manfred Bulla 1 5

Paul Tarwater

November 26, 2008 7:08 PM

A little confused: addressing the definition of the Concert. by Paul Tarwater

Paul wasn’t the youngest one at this meeting, he wasn’t the only boy or the only Aladren. He didn’t stand out at all at this meeting, or rather he shouldn’t have. But Paul’s twitchy nature got the best of him as he found himself looking at every person in the closed off room, his heart jumping as he also tried to look away. Then look up again. He shouldn’t have been a sore thumb in this meeting, but he felt like everyone was paying attention to him. How selfish, though, what was he doing thinking that? The Headmaster was talking, and Paul was listening to something about a concert. It was obvious, they should be looking at the Headmaster, they couldn’t be looking at Paul. He had to try and get his mind out of this craziness.

The craziness he shouldn’t even be here for, Paul reminded himself. He would only come off as some strange rambler if he tried to talk to this Jenkins guy. He wouldn’t dare. Ragnarok was definitely coming, and it would start here. The influx of students from Salem just added more to Paul’s crazy ideas about the end of the world. The Muggle world starting to see the Wizard world? If that wasn’t a sign... but no, Paul was just being crazy. Nuts. He’d lost his head in all this. He tried to push everything down, to make room for what the Headmaster was saying. Concert? What was this concert, pulling one knee to his chest Paul leaned his mouth on the black fabric. He couldn’t be the only one to not know! Paul was the kind of boy who caught onto things very fast... why was he losing that now?

Concert? Would it be all music? But there were people that weren’t musically talented (to say the least), how would that make it a group effort? That wouldn’t be fair. The concert was probably something Paul wasn’t getting, did anyone else get it? But wait, nobody was asking questions about it yet. And as much as he didn’t want to really be a part of this, he didn’t want to be the only one not knowing (since when did that happened, he was never the only one... why was this happening to him?). Bulla was silent, and Paul took this as the time to ask. Stupidly, as if this was the wrong gesture, Paul raised his hand, calling the attention that he didn’t want to himself when he spoke up, “Uhm, yeah,” Paul murmured nervously, trying to make his voice louder. He tried to look his Headmaster in the face, feeling his neck and face warm in return.

“I’m, uh, sorry,” he said, his voice turned slightly hoarse, as if it was warning him against speaking. Don’t do it, go with the flow, but no that wouldn’t work. “I don’t get the idea of this... concert. I mean, I get its for each house, and the whole performance...” stop babbling he told himself, and Paul’s voice cut straight to the point. Surprisingly, in his hurry to stop looking like the fool, his voice dropped to the curt politeness from his younger years (he hoped it didn’t sound disrespectful, that was the last thing Paul wanted to give the Headmaster of all people), “What, exactly, is it that we’re performing?” he asked. Back to the nervous meltdown, “I–I mean, I keep thinking music, like a band but... I’m not sure I’m understanding correctly.” Pause, longer than Paul wanted it to be. “Sorry,” he muttered, his face burning with embarrassment. He wished he had his long hair again, he needed a black sheet to hide under...

0 Paul Tarwater A little confused: addressing the definition of the Concert. 0 Paul Tarwater 0 5

Manfred

November 27, 2008 7:45 PM

Giving a definition by Manfred

It was good that Paul felt confident enough to be the first to speak, Manfred thought as he nodded gravely in encouragement to the boy. It took all sorts of different qualities to be a Prefect, and the fact that Paul wasn't afraid - or perhaps, was afraid, but still forged ahead - to ask intelligent questions to help himself gain a greater understanding of a situation told Manfred that Paul would do well in his new position.

"No," Manfred said with a slight shake of his head. "Don't be sorry. It's a valid question. I apologise for not explaining properly in the first case." He paused, to give a moment's thought to how to explain the idea properly.

"What the performance will be, is really up to each house," he started. "It can be anything, and is one of the things that you're going to have to discuss with your housemates as a group. Did you attend elementry school?" He paused for a moment to check Paul's response. "At some schools - quite a lot really - there will be an end of year concert. Or a Christmas concert before the Christmas break. Unlike those, ours will not be mandatory, but the more people who sign up, the merrier. What they are, is a performance. I want you prefects to take into account the different ideas and talents of the people who sign up from your houses, and come up with something from there. I suppose the best way to describe it is to say that it's about showcasing your houses. It might turn into a play of sorts, with music and songs by house members, or it could be something entirely different. It isn't a static thing. Does that make it any more clear?" he asked looking at Paul.

39 Manfred Giving a definition 0 Manfred 0 5

Connor Pierce

November 27, 2008 11:34 PM

On Mr. Jenkins. by Connor Pierce

Even with three years of prefects, the Head Girl, the Heads of Houses, and Headmaster, the Cascade Hall felt too empty. These meetings didn't happen often enough for Connor to get really used to them and the oddity of just having a handful of people up front instead of a crowd filling up the entire room, and since last year he'd felt kind of bad for the new fifth-year prefects. He wasn't the most imaginative, but he had found it slightly creepy at first.

Headmaster Bulla brought up the matters for discussion and asked the group for additional ones, but since he couldn't think of anything he knew about that needed attention from the prefect's council, he didn't contribute to the subject list. In fact, he mostly just listened until they got to a government guy investigating the school.

Since he didn't live in the wizarding world when he wasn't at Sonora, Connor had barely heard of any other schools in America for wizards. Salem Institute was one he'd heard of before, but most of what the Headmaster told the group was news to him. The description of the Internet as some great spiderweb, with the slightly sinister implications of one, that ensnared information was both mildly amusing and just a bit frighteningly accurate; he'd often wondered just how the problem of Muggleborns like him existing in government computers was dealt with.

It was scary. His family had managed pretty well with what he was, and he had to assume most families like his did so as well, but what about Muggles without magical relatives? Maybe it wouldn't come to witch-burning, but...Muggles had intelligence fully equal to that of wizards, and they'd be displeased to know that a secret community had known about them for centuries without them knowing about it. If - or, if knowledge of the magical world got fully out, when - it got to them that their government had known and had been a partner in hiding it from them, things could get messy. It would be stupid to forget about radical groups, too...

He seriously did not envy the leaders of the country, and that included the magical and the Muggle alike.

Their problem, though, was Mr. Jenkins, who was supposedly trying to prevent it from coming to that. 'Supposedly' was the key word, there. His Aunt Tricia, who taught Art at an elementary school in Dallas, had been complaining that the government should keep its nose out of education for years and years, and something of her skepticism had rubbed off. Maybe Mr. Jenkins would save them all, but Connor found he had an issue with him straight off.

"Sir?" he said, getting the Headmaster's attention as soon as the matter of Mr. Jenkins was open for discussion. "Are we allowed to tell the other students about this? I know a few people're already talking about something in Professor Flatt's class, and I was thinking it might not, uh, go too well if some people just had some guy walk up to them with a notebook and start asking questions."

0 Connor Pierce On Mr. Jenkins. 68 Connor Pierce 0 5

Manfred

November 28, 2008 6:00 PM

A point well made by Manfred

Manfred nodded in acknowledgement to Connor, as the Pecari sought his attention. And then he nodded again, soon after, when the young man's question had been asked.

"That was one of the reasons I wanted to bring this up at the meeting," he said. "I think this is something that the students should definitely know about. The main reason I didn't make an announcement at the Opening Feast this year was because I was unaware at the entent to which the council was taking steps at Sonora until later. Although," he said with a hint of wryness, "I did notice Mr Jenkins there, after the speeches were done. If you've noticed the increase in owls coming and going from my office you now know why there has been an increase in correspondence."

It was one thing to think that the council was going too far, and overstepping itself, and another to say so. To which end Manfred did not tell the others present the contents of the owls, some of which had bordered on inflamitory. Particularly those addressed to his older brother, who held a high position in the Council.

"What have you heard?" he asked Connor, and by default everyone else there. He raised his brows at Thaddeus, as a thought occured to him. "You didn't decide to antagonise him with your class did you, Professor Flatt? And yes," He returned briefly to answering the actual question that had been addressed to him. "Please feel free to make sure that the students are aware of the current situation."

39 Manfred A point well made 0 Manfred 0 5

Thaddeus Flatt

November 29, 2008 12:33 AM

Offering a reassurance. by Thaddeus Flatt

Thaddeus Flatt was not pleased with the subject at hand, and his expression, as mirthless as ever, reflected this aptly. His concerns regarding the Headmaster's subject points were narrowed to one alone; it didn't help either that that Jenkins fellow still had him in a fine temper. History told of the same story time and time again: fear drives a government's power. The less fear in a community, the less power a government has over it. The Headmaster might call the fiasco that was Salem Institute's downfall an unfortunate byproduct of a Cabinet power struggle, but Flatt knew full well what really happened.

Things had been too peaceful. The North American continent hadn't seen hide nor hair of a potential despot, terrorist plot, or villain extraordinaire in decades. The community was growing complacent and wealthy in its lack of dangers, which translated to a greater amount of time being spent paying attention to the happenings of the Cabinet and Council. People were beginning to question budgeting details and certain pieces of legislature. People were beginning to invoke their right to govern. History had shown it before: a government's only recourse to such developments was the introduction of a new danger- an enemy to invoke and declare threatening. The only thing necessary was the invention of such an enemy.

Muggles were always an easy answer.

Boom, presto, bang- and once again, after an alleged Muggle uprising, the Cabinet and Council were calling all the shots. They were even sending their little emissaries into the schools- private educational facilities at that- to nose about. Conspiracy theories aside- and Circe knows, Flatt had many- this spelled trouble.

In hindsight, perhaps it would have been more prudent to not provoke said emissary by encouraging his third and fourth years into an open debate of the single largest piece of Wizarding legislature ever passed. Good thing Flatt's sight had always been poor; the glasses were certainly not for show.

Flatt turned in his chair, his hands folded and balanced on his bulging stomach, when the Headmaster addressed him directly. "Hardly, Headmaster. All the miscreants did was engage in a bit of friendly discussion regarding the antiquated practices and mis-management of the Code of Secrecy. Orreltown was discussed briefly. I'd scarcely categorize that as antagonism. If I'd wanted to antagonize the man, I'd have given my opinions."

Despite having intended his words as a reassurance, between the scowl and general tone of satisfaction, Flatt managed to imbue only further worry concerning Jenkins's forming opinions of the school. It didn't help either that in between his words, he continued to drink from his habitually present coffee mug, its liquid contents most certainly not of the color, consistency, or odor to suggest a more typical beverage.

0 Thaddeus Flatt Offering a reassurance. 17 Thaddeus Flatt 0 5

Connor Pierce

November 29, 2008 7:41 PM

Offering information by Connor Pierce

Connor nodded when the Headmaster said the students needed to know about the Council agent among them before making a note to have a word with Saul and Anne and maybe Dalila if he got the chance. The Quidditch teams didn't include huge numbers of students - even Aladren had more members off it than on - but telling seven people the news at once took a chunk out of the number who needed to hear it and put more people in a position to quietly spread the word to friends and roommates. He wasn't acquainted with Geoff Spindler to speak with him, but he figured Anne would tell that Helena girl, who could pass it along to her team.

As the Headmaster spoke to Professor Flatt, it hit him that Bulla had never actually said they should keep distributing the information covert. He couldn't point to what had given him the idea Jenkins wasn't to know they were spreading the word about what he was doing, presumably because nothing in the Headmaster's explanation had implied it. If things like this became regular parts of this year, he'd start seeing a conspiracy around every corner and have to go into politics or something. That would be a show, though only that piece of the population with a twisted sense of humor would probably find it entertaining.

He did, however, keep his Quidditch captain scheme in mind.

Once Professor Flatt finished his just-slightly-misfiring defense of his class, Connor answered the question put to him. "All I heard was that there was a wizard taking some notes," he said. "Anne Wright's cousin saw him and wanted to know why he was there, so she asked me about it before we left Muggle Studies the other day."

0 Connor Pierce Offering information 68 Connor Pierce 0 5

Saul Pierce

December 01, 2008 11:08 AM

More on the Concert by Saul Pierce

While Saul had doubted the sanity of the professors who appointed him to the position of prefect (at least until he realized their only other option was Morgaine Carey), he'd taken on the role with all the enthusiasm and dedication he put into his Quidditch Assistant Captaincy and any of the duties his family or his family's employers assigned to him.

Now in his second year as prefect, he took a seat among the other Prefects and the Heads (Boy, Girl, of Houses, and Headmaster) with the ease of someone who firmly believed he belonged there. In all truth, he though the other fifth and sixth year prefects were among the most likely to vote for him as Head Boy (assuming, of course, they weren't running against him). Quite unlike in class, when his only responsibility was to his own report card (something that he didn't particularly care one way or the other about), Saul sat attentively through the Prefect meetings and only spoke up when he actually had something useful to offer.

This meeting was slightly different in that his cousin, Simon, was present as he'd been appointed the position of MC for the concert - a fact which Simon had confided in Saul shortly before the meeting began, when Saul had questioned his presence in the Hall - but he was just as uncharacteristically quiet as Saul while the Headmaster opened the meeting and explained about the Concert.

He even waited politely for Paul to finish asking for clarification before speaking up, though Saul was fidgeting noticeably in his seat in his eagerness to ask his own question. Only when he thought Paul was done, though, did he allow himself to burst out with the many questions he had. Performance, after all, was the one thing he could claim some authority and expertise in.

"So the prefects are responsible for casting, arranging rehearsals, and generally organizing everything to do with our Houses' two performances? Do scripts or performances have to be approved by anyone, or are we the final authority? What are the stage dimensions? Is it an inside concert or out in the Gardens? Can we be in the group one without looking biased? Is there a time limit for each performance? Are we to provide stage hands from our house, or can we recruit elves? Do we have a budget for props and costumes and backdrops or are we limited to what we have lying around? Is -"

Simon cleared his throat and Saul stopped talking as if hit with a silencing spell. His cousin's expression advised that he should give the Headmaster a chance to start answering his slew of questions.

He was sure of one thing though. Working backstage and being trained as a stage manager for the California Pierces for the past sixteen years was going to come in really useful. How perfect was it that this Concert came up the year he was running for Head Boy? This was so awesome.

In the back of his mind, he was already going through every member of Pecari and trying to decide what their best performance strength would be, and coming up with a short list for potential solo acts (he never once considered himself - he didn't like being alone on stage any better than he liked being alone anywhere else). He, Connor, and Elly would have to meet up, too, to discuss their plan for tackling this project.

This was going to be the best year ever.

1 Saul Pierce More on the Concert 82 Saul Pierce 0 5

Manfred

December 05, 2008 6:25 PM

I must have done something horrific in a previous life... by Manfred

"Thank you, Professor Flatt," Manfred said evenly, making a mental note to organise a private meeting with Thaddeus at the soonest possible moment and have a more detailed chat about things like common sense, the good of the school and just what 'antagonising' indicated. The man was a gifted historian, and knew his subject exceedingly well, but his lack of tact put a gaping chasm in his teaching ability.

The complaints he'd heard...

His attention was drawn back to Connor, as his other question was answered, and Manfred nodded. "Thank you Mr Pierce - Connor." There were two Mr Pierces here, and both of them from Pecari. Sometimes it took him a moment to remember that he needed to use their first names to differentiate. "It's good to hear that the students are taking an interest in what is going on around them."

39 Manfred I must have done something horrific in a previous life... 0 Manfred 0 5

Manfred

December 05, 2008 6:47 PM

Like an Energizer bunny by Simon Tellerman & Saul Pierce

As the third event in the Midsummer festivities wasn't exactly the sort of thing that needed outside entertainment, Paul Simon Tellerman hadn't really expected to be front and center at the Concert, but when he'd been asked to MC the event, he'd jumped at the chance. He wouldn't be doing a whole lot beyond introducing the different acts and filling in the time in between them with enough entertaining talk to let the stage hands set up the next one without the audience noticing there was stalling going on, but any chance to be in front of a microphone was a welcome one.

Once he had a better idea of what the acts would be, he'd start coming up with monologues to fill that time. For now, though, his responsibilities were simply to attend this prefect meeting and, apparently, keep Saul from giving the Headmaster too much of a headache. At the nod of thanks, Simon figured he was doing a fine job of it.

He watched his cousin as Headmaster Bulla went through Saul's questions and gave them answers. The boy nodded along, leaning forward in his seat and wearing a serious and earnest look on his face, as if the words contained the most essential secrets of the universe though partway through, he started biting his lip and gripping the table hard enough to turn his knuckles white. Both were sure signs that Saul was fighting the urge to interrupt and ask more questions.

Sure enough, almost as soon as Manfred stopped talked, Saul burst into another slew of inquiries. "But if we are making our own props and backdrops and stuff, do we need to provide the cardboard and paints, or is there a school supply somewhere? And there won't be any muggles in the audience, right? So we can use real magic in our acts, not just, um," Saul waved his hand vaguely and looked over at Simon, "muggle magician magic? Who is our audience, anyway? The kids who aren't performing? Will there be parents and family?" He paused for a moment, frowning in sudden consternation, "Can we use magic in front of a muggleborn's family?"

Saul looked like he was going to go on, so Simon decided he ought to step in again. "I think ten minutes would be a good upper bound for a solo act, Headmaster. That's more than enough time for one or two songs. They can, of course, take less time if they'd like. The group act, I would think, shouldn't be any longer than half an hour, since we're going to be having four of them, but twenty minutes might be a better length to aim for. If they all take their full time, we're looking at a total concert time of about three hours, once we account for introductions and your speech."

Saul couldn't keep his two last questions in, though, and Simon suspected it was his own words that prompted them: "Is there going to be a finale at the end? Where we all come out and bow?"

1 Simon Tellerman & Saul Pierce Like an Energizer bunny 14 Simon Tellerman & Saul Pierce 0 5

Manfred Bulla

Prefect Meeting (Prefects, Head Boy, Head Girl, HoH's) by Manfred Bulla

Paul Tarwater

A little confused: addressing the definition of the Concert. by Paul Tarwater

Manfred

Giving a definition by Manfred

Connor Pierce

On Mr. Jenkins. by Connor Pierce

Manfred

A point well made by Manfred

Thaddeus Flatt

Offering a reassurance. by Thaddeus Flatt

Connor Pierce

Offering information by Connor Pierce

Saul Pierce

More on the Concert by Saul Pierce

Manfred

I must have done something horrific in a previous life... by Manfred

Manfred

More answers. A <i>lot</i> more. by Manfred

Simon Tellerman & Saul Pierce

Like an Energizer bunny by Simon Tellerman & Saul Pierce