Roberta’s Theatre 101
Date: 2025-06-27 05:02
(Roberta’s Theatre 101)
[Fri Jun 27 2025]
Inside a Shadow–Draped Drama Studio/span
The drama studio occupies a spacious rectangular room with high ceilings
supported by exposed wooden beams that have darkened with age. Black painted
walls absorb most of the light from the overhead theatrical fixtures,
creating pools of shadow in the corners where old props and costume racks
gather dust. The polished hardwood floor bears scuff marks from decades of
rehearsals, with tape lines marking various stage configurations. Along one
wall, a bank of mirrors reflects the room’s depths, though some panels have
developed a clouded, mottled quality that distorts reflections in unsettling
ways. Folding chairs stack against the far wall near a small raised platform
that serves as a practice stage, while heavy black curtains hang from ceiling
tracks, ready to partition the space or block the tall windows that face the
campus quad. The air carries a persistent mustiness beneath the sharper
scents of paint and sawdust, and certain floorboards creak in a rhythmic
pattern even when no one walks across them. A door in the northwest corner
leads to Plymouth House, its frame slightly warped so that it never quite
closes properly, allowing drafts to whisper through the gap./span
It is about 60F(15C) degrees. The mist is heaviest At Maple and Lake/span
Kurt inclines his head towards Roberta, Eloa, and Zaiya in turn, the faintest of smiles crossing his lips. “Good morning, you th-” He cuts off at the new arrival, “Four.” Turning fully to Constance, he extends a hand. “Kurt Steiner. The pleasure is mine.”
Eloa waves with small movements at Constance.
“Mister Steiner, I’m glad to see you here,” Adelaide tells Kurt upon his arrival, already seated as though she’s sat upon a throne instead of a dingy little folding chair. To Roberta, she says, “He’s quite in need of a lesson regarding theatrics – drama, flair, panache.” Hopefully the man in question doesn’t get high school flashbacks to being singled out.
Zaiya looks over at Constance after claiming one of the folding chairs for herself, a little started at her presence.
As the clock ticks its inevitable refrain to the dawn’s breaking over New Haven, Roberta begins to speak.
There’s a time given for each dolerous tolling, each chime met with a step across the aged boards of the practice stage, and each is joined by the theatrical clack-clack-clack of Roberta’s opera cane.
“Good morning.” the albino greets the gathering, gaze sweeping across Adelaide, Zaiya, Eloa, Kurt and Constance. “Today, as the memo suggested, we will be looking at the craft of theatre. More specifically, we’ll be focusing today on character.”
Stepping out onto the apron, Roberta continues, cane set before Roberta, one hand atop the other. “This is the fundamental aspect of a good piece. Oh, certainly the stage is issential, though as you will all know by now, a performance can be staged where ever a troup can find space. No.” The shake of the head– A brief uptick of an engaging smile. “The core of every single production is the characters you find within them. Their origin, their motivations, their flaws, abilities, their overall story– The tale we wish to tell with them.”
Turning her attention to Roberta, Eloa settles her hands in her lap, listening quietly rather than taking notes.
Constance quietly places her hands in her lap, smiling as she listens to Roberta.
Zaiya tucks her feet in under the chair, crossed at the ankles as she, like the others, turns her attention to Roberta up there on the stage.
Kurt lowers his hand, turning to instead face and listen attentively to Roberta, his hands coming to rest crossed behind him.
“In this class, we’ll address that fundament of the craft, and we’ll do so interactively, because sitting your asses down as I lecture is uninteresting. In future classes, we’ll address the set, the costume, lighting and what else brings the illusion of creativity to life. But today, the bedrock– The character.” Roberta smirks then, easing up, beginning to pace the stage as though this were something far more elegant than the low-rent staging area of an educational establishment. “So to begin, I’m going to ask each of you to give me your favourite character, be that film, television or literary. Tell me why you like them– What draws your interest. What is it that makes them compelling to you.”
Once more, Roberta pauses, facing outward toward the student body and visiting outsiders. Again her gaze sweeps as she waits, at ease, ever the consomate unprofessional– They do say drama teachers are unconventional, and in this case, that’s very true.
“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t,” Adelaide says immediately with a faint curve of painted lips, not raising her hand to answer. “Lady Macbeth, of course. Ambition, pride – and ruin. A lesson worth remembering.”
Kurt pauses thoughtfully, mind obviously drifting some as Roberta paces, fingers tapping behind him. His response, when it comes, seems almost as much a surprise to him as anything. “Paul Atreides. Dune. The dichotomy between his narrative and his fact, both subjectively from the view of the character, and objectively as the reader on the narrative.”
“Is the rabbit from Zootopia. Officer Potts.” Eloa comments softly once the other two have answered. She reaches up nervously to run her fingers through her curls.
Zaiya hmms softly, tapping a finger at her chin while she looks up at the ceiling to think. She glances aside at Adelaide when she speaks, nodding thoughtfully, familiar enough with Shakespeare to know who that is. After listening to Kurt she adds her own offering, “Goldmund, from Goldmund and Narcissus by Herman Hesse. He just… sees to much beauty in the world even if he cannot understand it. He feels it, lives it, embodies it.”
Constance remains silent, but when it’s clear an answer would be welcome from her, she taps her chin and goes, “Well, I’m mostly here for security and to back up the Professor if needed, but I suppose I could participate, that sounds fun. How about…um…”
Constance snaps her fingers and states, “Columbo! I love how he pisses people off and drives them into a psychotic breakdown while pretending like he’s nice the whole time.”
Zaiya shifts restlessly in her seat, glancing at the others.
Eloa resettled her feet, crossing her ankles the other way as she glances around her.
Lips twitching up again, Roberta points to Adelaide, the gesture expansive, that of flattened palm. “Lady Mcbeth.” she echoes. “Such a poise, a background of nobility only to be braught low. Not by her own machinations– Though it could be, but by sinister intervention by external hostile forces thanks to her hubris– And that of the eponimous Lord Mcbeth himself– An unlucky choice for the theatre, but I think we’re all adult enough,” and some of them too dead to care “To not cave to such superstition.”
“A classical example, but all the more meaningful for it.” A nod to Adelaide, then aturn to hear Kurt’s example.
“Ah Paul. A child groomed for greatness. An inevitable tale truly. One where he was cultivated to convey a narrative of social, political and monarchical cleansing through the lens of the man-who-has everything. Contemperary, yes.” Roberta allows with a nod to Kurt, “But again meaningful. Both are prime examples of period pieces to convey a point through ficticious ideologies.”
a gesture to, and nod to each Constance and Eloa next. “Columbo and Goldmund. Again fantastic examples.”
A measured pause and the albino snaps her fingers, the sound echoing through the staging area. “Some of those characters present with their flaws face forward. Others are subtle with it– If we were to look at them, some would fill antagonistic, protagonistic or even sidekick labels, but each of them are deep, with well rounded, well established motivations, Be that Columbo in his criminal squashing enterprises, or young Paul, who ends up being the messiah for a people so starved of basic necessities that his inevitable end should have been seen from a mile off– You see,” Another flash of a smile. “All have their origin, their troubles, their overcoming of those, and their conclusion. That is the nature of the story. Glory or inglorious ends, the narrative throughout is told in full. Their purpose is established and deliberate, with their existance serving a purpose to drive the tale ever onward.”
Beginning to pace again, Roberta looks out over the student body, accepting answers from a couple of others with equal refrains, be those Captain America, Batman or Oliver Twist. “But here’s what we must establish from our characters. They must be compelling, be that to revile, beguile or charm.”
Turning on a heel, Roberta poses another question, “The same question- The same characters you’ve chosen. They’re not perfect. So what are their flaws? A perfect character is unlikable– Rae from Star Wars, Captain Marvel– Every Garry Stew and Mary Sue who’s ever existed– Humanity is drawn to flawed characters, because they remind us of ourselves.”
Kurt lets out a soft laugh, inclining his head. “Insofar as faults are concerned, Paul’s are… Many. Ultimately? He’s a boy thrown into a role he’s unprepared for. His obsession with his own ‘terrible purpose’ made him unable to rely on those around him in any meaningful sense, to let himself be human around them. And so, when his end did come, it was unexpected by all… Because his own resignation to some intangible fate made him appear infallible to those around him.”
Roberta snaps her fingers, pointing to Kurt. “Saviour complex.”
Kurt clucks his tongue, nodding. “There it is.”
Constance frowns. “I guess he’s full of boomer humor, misogyny, horrible etiquette and probably smells like shit. And if there was ever an emergency his refusal to carry a gun – whew, he’d just be fucked, woudln’t he?”
“Didn’t Paul commit mass genocide? Kill off many planets? Kill billions of people?” Eloa asks with a squint towards Kurt.
Zaiya looks around the room, listening to the various answers. Lady McBeth and Oliver Twist appear to be the only two she recognizes and when Roberta rattles off the next list of characters the girl sinks back against her chair, chewing on her lip lightly.
Kurt flashes a faint grin towards Eloa, nodding. “Once again, savior complex slash terrible purpose. Same as Hari Seldon from the Foundation books. Asimov?”
“Too much ambition, too little foresight,” Adelaide replies coolly. “Lady Macbeth wanted the crown but never learned to wear it. The flaw wasn’t hunger, it was haste.” That said, she doesn’t seem to recognise most of the other characters herself, so Zaiya may have a companion in her aloneness. “I, on the other hand, have all the time in the world, to plan my tragedies more carefully.”
“Rabbit is too niave. And slightly racist. Is like say vampires are carnivores and we all herbivores.” Eloa comments with a glance towards Roberta.
Zaiya finds a little bit of comfort in Adelaide likewise not seeming to recognize all the names and it gives her enough courage to offer her opinion. “Goldmund lives too much in the moment. Like a leaf on the stream, which means that when things go well he is very happy, but when things go badly, he is also very sad. But still, he turns his tragedies into beautiful art, immortalizes the women that he loves and has to leave in his sculptures.”
Kurt mutters softly, “I am like a leaf on the wind, watch me soar.”
“And you can survive the daggers.” Roberta notes to Adelaide easily.
to the matter of Paul, Roberta motions between Eloa and Kurt. “Paul’s flaws are such that they generate debate, which is the mark of a well written character. But let’s also not forget that he has -cool- blue eyes and can ride giant worms. That’s what sells him as our protagonist, and not a monster to the audience. Because that’s what also matters. Framing is everything.”
“Ebenezer Scrooge was a hideous person who’s purpose was to engender the aesthetic of change through love and the magic of christmas and the intervention of some ghosts who wouldn’t piss off.” Roberta waves that off. “But before the -good- change, there are those who would claim him to be the hero. Heake made wealth in abundance and his books were always in the black. It’s context that shows us what the framing of the narrative wishes to convey.”
Smiling to Zaiya, there’s another snap of the fingers. “Very true. Which can be said to be the artistic temperament of a lot of artists. Hubris- It’s a repeating theme throughout the ages.”
“But Paul author tried to frame him as asshole because Paul author no like hero worship and wanted to say people who worship asshole deserve their pain. So is badly frame?” Eloa asks with a turn of her head towards Roberta and Kurt.
Zaiya tilts her head to the side at Roberta, looking confused. “Hubris? I would not associate that with Goldmund at all. If anything, Narcissus begins with that flaw but loses it as he matures. Goldmund just… is. He does not think he is great or special in any way.”
“And I can survive the daggers,” Adelaide nods back to Roberta, amused, and leans back in her seat – only for theatrics, for her untiring muscles certainly do not need the support. One leg gets crossed over the other, and a hand goes up to her cheek while she listens, refraining from debate for the time being.
Kurt hums thoughtfully, shaking his head. “I don’t think Paul was framed as an asshole, I think the perspective changes. For the first book, yes, we see Paul as Paul Atreides. Muad’dib is, ultimately, a title. But, we still see him as him. With Messiah, yes, we still see through his eyes… But we’re not looking at Paul Atreides. We’re looking at Muad’dib, the messianic figure created by Bene Gesserit manipulation of the Fremen. That, I think, is where Herbert started making the anti-hero worship claim. At a certain point, Paul *did* start believing his own hype, on top of the savior complex.”
Spreading her azure blue dress skirts a little on her lap, Eloa idly plays with one of the lace trails that ripple down the dress while she looks at the others. “I just thought writer failed to write him enough of asshole and saw everyone like him, so decide to write him more asshole and genocide many civilizations to try make him more asshole.” The latina comments towards Kurt with another shrug. “But people go ohh power fantasy I want and no care about assholeness. And ride worm.”
“Now.” Letting her cane clatter to the stage, Roberta beams. “We have some examples of flawed people. We have some characters in mind. We’ve even established that a well made character can cause conversation beyond the original intent.”
Dropping down, Roberta snaps up her cane, setting it across her knees as she sits on the edge of the stage. Roberta’s posture is engaging, attentive, leaning in to converse with the group.
“This leads us to what comprises our character. We’ve established that there is always objective for them to achieve– Lady Mcbeth and the crown, Their obstacle– Columbo’s various nemesis, their backstory– Paul’s being raised to be the sudo science witch messiah of a galaxy at large, and the subtext– What is the character to convey, Goldmund in a social statement on beauty and the inevitability of changebility.” A pause to allow Zaiya’s point. “Yes, that’s me miss speaking. I of course meant Narcissus with Goldmund as the framing point. Thank you for correcting that.”
“Now we have our basics, let’s consolidate it.” Roberta suggests. “Let’s round robin ourselves a little creativity. From Madame Carrow and along the line, let’s see if we can generate our own original character.” A finger bounces from Adelaide, to Eloa, to Constance, to Kurt and finally to Zaiya.
“Let’s create a medieval noble. Madame Carrow, if you could create an objective for our noble to achieve. Eloa, a backstory, Kurt, a subtext to play beneath our story, and Zaiya, if you could offer an obsticle for our character to overcome. I’ll give you a few minutes to think something up.”
Zaiya nods her head slowly after listening to Roberta. She glances over to the clock on the wall then shifts from her seat. “My apologies, but I have to go and meet someone soon. I hope the rest of the class goes well.”
“An objective?” Adelaide muses, only for a moment – she barely has to think about it. “To take up the sword and earn her knighthood. Not for honour or war, but for the chance to win her lady’s hand – a princess far above her station.” Maybe that’s stepping a tad bit past her boundary of ‘objective’, but she’s said what she said.
Constance comments, “Guess I’ll provide the obstacle since Zaiya’s tapping out.”
“The background is she was born as third child of woman who no longer could get pregnant after birth. But her mother hate her because she not boy. So she grow up not feeling loved and not believing she can be loved because horrible parents want boy knight instead.” Eloa adds on with a shrug of her shoulders, glancing at the door as the other woman leaves, “Guess hot date.” The latina adds on with a nod towards Constance as if greatful the woman is volunteering.
Roberta nods to Constance. “Please, Sister. What is our narrative issue our aspiring female knight from a family who hated her for being born with a vagina encounters on her way to greatness?”
Constance taps at her chin. “The princess she wants to marry isn’t gay, and the person she IS interested in is her bumbling oaf of a childhood friend, and if it’s ever her fault he dies then the princess will hate her. Except he’s also training to be a knight so he’s in danger all the time and she has to save her romantic rival.”
Mirabel ambles into the drama studio to look around, smiling placidly. “Don’t mind me,” she says and goes to sit next to Eloa. “I just thought I’d come by and have a look.”
Eloa turns to flash Mirabel a small smile as the other woman walks over to her and dips her head welcomingly as Mirabel takes a seat next to her. She siddles a little bit closer in case Mirabel wants say something.
grins. “Oh dear. Our noble is in for quite the trouble. Unloved by family, an up-hill battle to gain the hand of the straight princess who isn’t interested even vaguely in her, and having to protect a rival in love. I wonder. Kurt, how do we subtextualize this in a compelling way that wont detract from the overall story. A comic piece, dramatically, melodrama. I look forward to finding out.”
Roberta offers Mirabel a welcoming nod as she enters, motioning to one of the free seats. “Of course. Make yourself at home.” A glance to her phone, where Roberta’s notes are recorded and the albino tells the gathering. “A few minutes more and we’ll wrap up for the week. Once we have our character idea in one piece, we’ll revisit it with setting, lighting and casting in future lessons.”
“I’ve got some notes from yesterday’s class if you’d like them,” Mirabel mentions quietly to Eloa and looks up at Roberta, adjusting her glasses. “Oh, are we having a play at our esteemed university? How exciting.”
“Oh yes that would be wonderful thank you.” Eloa flashes Mirabel a greatful smile before turning to look at Kurt when he’s put in the spotlight by Roberta to somehow tie this all in together.
Kurt hums thoughtfully, eying Roberta and the others present, lips tugging to the sides. “Given everything said so far, the traditional fantasy tropes lose their punch. Princess Bride’s moral falters, ‘true love conquers all’ falls apart, even ‘duty at the cost of self’ feels like the wrong moral here… But.” He trails off, evidently going for the Shatner pregnant pause, “We frame it through the narrative lens of self-acceptance. Gay or not, everyone loves a ‘I’m comfortable in my own skin’ story. A ‘I know the mold I’m supposed to sit in, but I’ll do it on my own terms’ moral.”
“We’re not planning a play just yet.” Roberta explains to Mirabel as an aside. “For now we’re reviewing the basics of theatre. Of course we’re beginning with character, with each lesson after using what we’ve established to generate a complete piece. Come the end of this series, the aim is for our drama students to have a functioning working knowledge of the craft which we can expand on in future.”
“All her problems would be fixed if she would simply undergo a fleshforming to turn herself into a man,” Adelaide suggests callously, rising from her seat and brushing off invisible lint from her dress. “I, for one, look forward to witnessing her journey. Now – please excuse me. I have some matters to attend to.” There’s a polite nod at Roberta, before she’s brushing past the gathering – Eloa, Mirabel, Constance, and Kurt all – and making her way off and away.
“I suppose one must learn to crawl before one can walk,” Mirabel ventures and smiles sedately at Roberta. “But if you *can* whip them into shape and get a play going by the end, that would be wonderful.”
Accepting the notes, Eloa carefully tucks them into her bag as if they’re precious. She gives Mirabel another bright smile as she latches her bag closed and turns back towards the stage. “Is true maybe she just ritual sex change herself into bad ass knight. And sustain ritual entire time and the play can be about her trying not to let ritual go when being hit by lance or something.”
nodding to Kurt, Roberta claps again. “Perfect. And that’s where we’ll leave our lesson this week. We’ve got a character with motivations and troubles to overcome. Next lesson, we’ll dig into that a little deeper and see where we take this.”
“Homework,” the albino calls out so that all of the students can hear. “Think over what we’ve established. Consider where we want to take this, and likewise review your favourite characters. I want an essay on your chosen character, their backstory, objective, their obstacle and the subtext. And.” Roberta creates her own Shatner pause, “You’re free.”