Practice Makes Perfect! |OPEN

[NICOLE CATHLEEN MAYBERRY]

Although she had been in Russia all of 2 days, Nicole still found herself hating the country. It was rather cold, despite it being only September, and there really wasn't a lot of sunshine. Guess I won't be working on my tan here... she thought as she unpacked and got settled. It was not her idea to come to Russia; who ever chose to come here? Her mother made her go on the exchange after she couldn't go to Spain. Nicole's mother thought it would be a good thing for Nikki to learn another language and to meet different people; it would prepare her for the real world.

Whatever. Nicole decided to go see what kind of acoustics the auditorium had and what it would be like on the stage. She shouldered her bag, re-applying her make up before going out to try and find the bloody place. After 15 minutes, she had finally arrived, though with a scowl on her face. It seemed awfully small on the outside, but as she had learned before, looks can be deceiving.

Once inside, Nikki found herself on stage, standing right in the middle. It felt good to be back; she focussed on her modelling career more back home, so she did little acting now. Nikki felt more at home on stage, a place she had been on since she was a young child of 6 years old. It was second nature for her to act, to be a character in a play tht she missed it. Now's my chance.

Nicole had been working on a vocal piece for some time now, a trick song that pushed her to the upper limits of her range. It was Nightwish from 'Phantom of the Opera.' This song featured an ear-shattering last note- an E two octaves aboe middle C. It was a challenge for even the most eperienced vocalist. Nikki had been singing since she was 4, so she had the talent. Unfortunately, that note was abouve her comfortable range, and she often strained for it.

Withdrawing her mp3 player from the bag, she set it down next to her, setting the volume on max and finding the song she wanted. It was her vocal coach singing the male part of Nightwish so she could practice along with it. She began her warm ups, stopping after 10 minutes or so. It was time to see if she could sing it.

She listened to the opening strains of the oh-so-familiar song, taking a deep breath, her voice projecting to the very back of the aud as she sang. Her voice was very sweet and pure, though Nikki did go into her head voice on the higher notes. At last it was time for the run up to the note that caused her so much trouble. You can do this... she thought, her pitch climing higher and higher, until it was time.

Nicole nailed it. Her voice was unbelievably high, but she was on key and with the correct pitch. When she was finished, she could not stop smiling. "I did it!" she shouted out to nobody, jumping up and down on stage.

ATTIRE

[/color] HERE CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless . Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS you're gonna go far, kid - the offspring. NOTES Things will get interesting sooner or later! WORD COUNT 536 [/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[obviouschild]

But I'll be true to the song I sing

There were a few places that Pasha Moskowitz would always be drawn to, no matter where and when, and they were libraries, synagogues, and concert halls. They represented his three great loves in life; they were places of magical stillness and tremendous power. Pasha had already seen the school’s library, and he knew, sadly, that there was no synagogue in town. So on the afternoon of his third day back in Russia, it became clear to him that there was something he still had to see before he could begin to call this town home.

Stepping inside the auditorium, Pasha automatically liked the look of it. It wasn’t as big, nor as impressive, as Moishe Hall, where his old Savoy Society had performed, but its lines were good, suggesting fair acoustics, and the backstage was nicely sized and kept up. That much, he remembered, had never been true of the Moishe, where everyone backstage had to get pretty intimately acquainted while waiting for their cues in the dark, cramped wings. The place appeared completely deserted. Pasha sang a few bars of I am a Pirate King, from The Pirates of the Penzance, testing out the acoustics. His own rich baritone was rounded out and amplified by the empty space, emphasizing its best qualities. Though he did have some classical voice training, Pasha’s singing was good mostly because he knew music so well. It wasn’t impressive so much as it was enjoyable.

When he’d had a chance to test the acoustics, Pasha ducked backstage and opened his violin case. He hadn’t had a chance to rosin his bow or retune his strings after since he’d last played, almost two whole days ago, so he switched on a small lamp in the wings and set to work. It didn’t take him long to retune his strings – like many musicians who specialized in fretless stringed instruments, Pasha had perfect pitch. Rosining the bow took a little more patience. As he sat, gently rubbing the length of the horsehair with a small puck of pine rosin, he heard the far stage door open. Pashe got to his feet, and was about to emerge from the wings and greet the newcomer when a high, pure voice resounded through the auditorium. She was singing.

Pasha paused, bow still in hand, and stood listening for some time. He didn’t want to interrupt her and make her nervous, not when she was doing so well. It was Nightwish, of course; he’d have recognized it in his sleep. A challenging piece. His little sister particularly loved this one, and he imagined that if she kept working at it, this was how she’d sound in a few years; a pure, very youthful voice, possibly a little too in the head and lacking in richness, but very strong nonetheless. Pasha closed his eyes, listening for harmonics, and found them at one and two octaves above her pitch – probably because she was entirely in head voice during all the high bits. He wanted to tell her what he always told his sister; place the sound deeper, root it below the chest and direct forward, rather than up.

She was coming up to the highest note, a magnificent E. Two tones higher, and it would have been the top pitch of a professional operatic Soprano. Pasha tensed unconsciously, dreading a flat note for her sake. But when it came, it was as true and pure as the rest of the piece – not cohesive with the fullness of her lower registers, perhaps, but that kind of unity of tone could take a lifetime to achieve. And then, to his amusement, he heard a cheer of “I did it!”, one of the first pieces of English he’d heard since he got here.

Pasha took that moment to step from the wings, getting his first look at her. For a split instant, seeing that she was a slim, pretty brunette, he was reminded of Val. But no, her face had none of Val’s innocence. “That was excellent,” he told her, in English that was accented with both Yiddish and Russian. “I’ve never actually seen anyone get that E before, not live. I hope you don’t mind me listening in.” An apologetic grin, in case she really did mind. "May I make a suggestion?"

notes: I happened to find this charming version of the song Pasha is singing, performed by a young man who reminds me very much of Pasha. Take a listen, if you're interested.

[NICOLE CATHLEEN MAYBERRY]

Nicole barely had time to take a breath after she had finished when a male voice was heard behind her. Nikki whipped around, coming face to face with a man who appeared to be a bit older than she was. He was a bit chunky, but his face was soft and his eyes were warm. She smiled, flicking her blue eyes up to see him. In this light, her eyes were even brighter blue than normal.

He spoke English, though she noticed he had an accent. What that accent was, she was not sure, but she could tell that English was probably not his first language. "Thank you. I've worked hard to get that note. I'm a trained vocalist, but I recently have undergone training to become a professional operatic soprano. I don't mind you listening in... she said, not knowing that man's name. "What's your name? I'm Nicole, but feel free to call me Nikki," she offered, extending her hand for him to shake. "Where are you from? Your accent sounds almost... Russian," she offered, smiling, unsure of what the language was, but being in Russia, it was her best guess.

After a moment of silence, Nikki looked at the stranger, giving him a small smile. "If you could tell that was an 'E' I was trying to get, then I know you are a musician. Tell me, are you a singer? Do you play any instruments?" Nicole asked, shooting him a dazzling white smile. Thinking for a moment, she got an idea. "I've been working on something else, something that is better suited to my range as it is right now. Care to listen and give suggestions?" she asked, looking through her mp3 player to find the song. Once it was found, she stood up, preparing to sing Ave Maria, one of the first songs she learned to sing.

Once the sound of the harp started, Nikki prepared herself, taking a deep breath and letting her voice ring pure through the auditorium. Throughout this piece, she managed to hit every note flawlessly, whether it was high or low, her voice taking on a very sweet tone. Nikki flicked her pale blue eyes over to the boy, looking at him as she sang.

When the harp plucked its closing melody, Nikki smiled and took a deep breath. "Well, what did you think?" she asked, wondering what his honest opinion was of her favourite song.

ATTIRE

[/color] You already know. CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless . Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS you're gonna go far, kid - the offspring. NOTES Ooh! Loving the voice! <3 I want him and Val to sing together now! LOL. Anyway, here is the song that would fit Nicole's voice best. WORD COUNT422[/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[obviouschild]

But I'll be true to the song I sing

The girl’s eyes flicked towards him, catching the bright stage light. Pasha got the impression she was sizing him up, but he couldn’t be sure what her final impression was. This past week had contrasted so much with his general life experience that he really had no idea how attractive he was any more. This girl, on the other hand – he got the impression that she really knew how got she looked, and that put him off very slightly.

He nodded. “That doesn’t surprise me,” he said, in reference to the training. “It’s going well, I take it?” The fact that her operatic training was recent made sense, given her tone; he’d always thought of vibrato as the hallmark of a longtime classical singer, and she had almost none. That was why her voice was so pure. It would be interesting to hear traditional pieces sung with a more contemporary technique. Pasha stepped forward, centerstage, and offered her a handshake. “Pasha. It’s a pleasure, Nikki.” He chuckled slightly at the question. “That would be because it is Russian. I grew up here, though I’ve been away for a long time.”

Nikki had him figured already, it seemed. Pasha nodded. “Ah, guilty of both charges. Yes, I do sing, though not as well as I’d like. But I would say my main instrument is violin. And you, do you play anything?” Pasha tilted his head, unconsciously adopting a slightly older, more professorial manner – the way he acted when he was teaching his sister. “Here is something my sister was told by her vocal coach, which she passed on to me. If you’re having trouble getting a note in rehearsal, try bending your knees at the note, like you’re sitting in it. It would look silly in performance, but it extends your windpipe and forces your diaphragm to engage, so afterward, the note comes easier.” He shrugged and smiled, hoping he hadn’t overstepped his boundaries.

She asked him to listen to a piece and give her suggestions, and Pasha nodded eagerly. He’d been worried about coming off as superior and presumptuous, but in truth, Pasha just loved to teach. Music especially. What could be better than passing on what he’d been taught about the subject he loved most? He recognized the harp line before the first bar was finished; it was Bach’s Prelude in C. If she was singing over top of it, that meant she was doing the Charles Gounod Ave Maria, which had been posthumously transcribed over the Bach and fitted it like a glove. You didn’t need to be Christian to appreciate the beauty of the piece. His face attentive and serene, Pasha watched her carefully, determined to give an earnest opinion.

When she had finished he let the silence extend until the last harmonies had faded, then gave her his answer. “Well. I know I don’t have to tell you that a vocal performance is also a dramatic performance. Your presentation, your use of emotion, is excellent. Now, your technique is not particularly classical.” Here he paused, holding up his hands to soften what might have sounded like a criticism, but wasn’t intended as one. “Most people, doing that song, would use a big, thick vibrato, and you don’t. Normally that would concern me a bit. But I think in your case that may even be a good thing, because your pitch is perfect. The lack of vibrato emphasizes that. In a word, it’s pure.” He grinned. “Which is only fitting, since you’re singing about someone who was supposedly immaculate. So… really, all I can advise is to be careful not to sing from the throat and keep doing what you’re doing. Oh, and careful with the vowel ‘e’. Don’t let it get too forward.”

All this talk of singing was making Pasha anxious to sing something as well, but he didn’t want to steal her spotlight. An idea occurred to him, and he glanced down at her with a slightly sly smile, not an expression that was typical to him. “Know any duets?” She’d been singing Phantom earlier, which gave him another idea. “All I Ask of You, maybe?” Raoul’s tenor part was slightly higher than what he usually worked with, but he knew his range would accommodate it.

notes: I study classical voice, and the knee-bending trick is one of the least-known gems I've ever come across. It works SO well.

[NICOLE CATHLEEN MAYBERRY]

Nikki offered Pasha a tiny smile when asked if her training was going well. ”It's going quite well. I was trained as a soprano before, but never really was taught opera. So far, I am really enjoying it,” she said, returning the handshake. ”Pasha...it is a Russian name. Makes sense since you say you're from Russia.” Nikki took a small step back, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. ”How do you get used to the cold, Pasha? I find it cold already, and it's only September!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in exasperation. ”I'm from California, and it never gets this cold, even in winter!” Nikki told him, smiling briefly.

She raised an eyebrow when he said he was a singer and a violinist. Pasha just didn't strike her as the singing type, but she supposed it was true, given his thorough knowledge of music. ”Really? If you want, I could help you, though I must say I am more comfortable at higher pitches,” Nikki offered, chuckling when asked if she played any instruments. ”No, I only sing. I wish I took piano or some other instrument, but with my dance lessons, I was too busy to take more than vocals,” she stated, chuckling softly.

As Pasha gave her a tip, Nicole smiled, happy to learn something useful. ”Thanks Pasha. I was never taught that trick, but I suppose it would work. Thanks,” she said, silencing to hear his critique of her singing. What he said was right; she did not have the vibrato that most used with that piece. ”Thank you. I was never taught to use vibrato when I sang that piece, so I use it only when necessary.” What Nikki said was true as well; her vocal coach taught her to only use vibrato when necessary. It would be hard to transition to opera, a style that was very heavy on vibrato a lot of the time.

When asked if she knew of any duets, Nikki's face lit up. She knew only one that she could potentially want to sing. Now, she was never usually a fan of country music, but the song 'Whiskey Lullaby' was one of her favourites, and one that she loved to sing. ”While your suggestion is excellent, Pasha, I don't think my vocals are up to par for that piece. What about the song 'Whiskey Lullaby'? I love it, and I know for a fact that I can sing that song,” she said, returning his seemingly sly smile.

ATTIRE

[/color] You already know. CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless . Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS you're gonna go far, kid - the offspring. NOTES Really? Nice! My vocal teacher taught me that one too. ;P (I'm trained as a soprano, though I started opera when I was about 14 [19 now]) WORD COUNT419[/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[obviouschild]

But I'll be true to the song I sing

Pasha had to laugh at the question. He’d been asked the same thing concerning Montreal, which boiled in summer and plummeted below -30 Celsius in the winter. “Natural insulation,” he told her, patting his gut with a grin. “Though a good coat helps.” Hearing she was from California shocked him a little. No wonder she found it so cold. “California? Whatever possessed you to come to Russia from California? I don’t think I could take how warm it is, living there.” Not that he’d ever been anywhere near it, of course.

Pasha nodded eagerly. He was used to singing in choirs, where although they had been taught proper technique, no-one really got individual attention or advice. He got by on that and his own general musical background. “That would be lovely. I’ve never had the chance to have proper lessons. I’m… sort of a low baritone, but I’d value any advice. Ah, shall I do something for you now?” He paused for a moment, wracking his brains for a suitable song. “Got it. One moment.” Pasha ducked backstage for a few seconds, retrieving his violin. He didn’t have any accompaniment tracks, as she did, but he could always play his own. The accompaniment part was originally written for a full orchestra, but the prominent part, the harp, was really just arpeggiated chords, easy enough to pluck on the violin while he sang, holding it like a small guitar. It was Stars, from Les Misérables. While it didn’t match his personality well – it was sung by the cold, unforgiving antagonist of the show – it matched his range impeccably.

Pasha hardly had to think about what his hands were doing as he sang, which left him free to add emotion to the song. Pasha was a born dramatist. He tried to capture Javert’s complete, almost maniacal faith and the anger that burnt under the otherwise contemplative lyrics. When he had finished, his signature idiotic grin slipped back onto his face. “I didn’t overdo it, did I?”

He raised an eyebrow, surprised at the coincidence. Val was a dancer as well. “Is everyone around here a dancer but me?” he asked, with joking bewilderment, before resuming a friendly, relaxed expression. “Do you ever do musicals, then? You’ve definitely got the voice for it and if that piece was any evidence you’re quite an actress as well.” It was probably too much to hope that she was intimately familiar with his beloved Gilbert & Sullivan, but it would be nice to have somebody to sing musical theatre with.

Pasha wasn’t normally very keen on country, but he couldn’t write off a whole genre and still call himself a musician. That song was one of the examples of what he thought of as genuinely good country. He nodded. “I think I know that one well enough. Do you have a backing track, or shall I fumble it out on violin?”

The first verse began with a male solo. Pasha’s classical training prevented him from using a full-on country twang – he simply couldn’t make himself slide like that; it went against his instincts - but he softened his technique, adopting a much more natural style. As he came to the chorus, he glanced over at her, knowing she was about to join in.

notes: Haha, crazy. I’ve been doing it almost that long. And I just turned 19 today. ;) Here is Pasha's song, and that's about what he'd sound like.

[NICOLE CATHLEEN MAYBERRY]

Nicole had to laugh when Pasha asked why on earth she would come to Russia when she was from California, especially with the climate difference. ”You get used to the warm weather. It’s nice to not freeze when going out,” she said with a chuckle. ”My mom wanted me to come to Russia. I had originally tried to go to Spain, but my application was denied. The only one that had spots was an exchange to Russia. So I decided to just come here and see what it’s like,” Nikki answered with a small shrug of her shoulders.

She barely had time to respond when she saw Pasha duck backstage, returning with a violin. This earned him a raised eyebrow from her, but that expression faded when he started to sing. Nikki stood there, blue eyes transfixed on the man standing before her. Now, Nikki knew stars since it was form on of her favourite pieces from Les Misérables. The emotion Pasha poured into that song was amazing. His range was flawless and it seemed to be a match made in heaven.

Nikki shook her head when asked if he had overdone it. ”Oh Pasha…that was wonderful! That song suited you perfectly!” she exclaimed, giving him a large grin. She laughed when Pasha joked about everyone being a dancer. ”Well, you’re the only one else I know, so I can only assume there is another dancer around. I got into it young, mainly so I could be flexible for any stage roles,” Nicole, said, a contemplative expression on her face appearing when Pasha asked if she did musicals.

”Well, I’ve done one or two musicals. Mainly small stuff. Wizard of Oz, Grease, Wicked, and most recently, Mary Poppins. So I am familiar with it, but I like acting in plays, and I like singing too.” Nikki gave him a smile, silently thanking him for the compliment.

When asked if she had a track, Nikki nodded, changing the song on her mp3. ”I usually always have karaoke or instrumental versions of songs on here. It helps to practice,” she said, turning the music on and moving closer to Pasha. It would help her get her pitches and harmonies right when they both started singing.

Pasha did not have any of the “twang” that Nikki always associated with country. It didn’t surprise her, since he did sound like he was classically trained. His voice was very good for the song, and as the chorus approached, Nikki prepared herself, ready to add her voice into the mixture.

At the chorus, her sweet voice rang out over his, the harmony impeccable. Nicole remembered learning how to sing this song with plenty of emotion, and as the lullaby portion neared, her voice was pure and steady at the high parts. Once the solo started, however, Nicole really began to shine.

She sing her part strong and sweet, her voice ringing out through the auditorium, her blue eyes transfixed on Pasha as she sang. As the song progressed, the harmonies were fantastic; just as she always envisioned it to be.

Once the last lullaby had been sung, Nikki turned to Pasha, a large, almost stupid-looking grin on her face. ”That was amazing! You sounded great!” she told him, resisting the urge to hug him. After a brief moment of silence, she turned back to him, a sly smile on her face. ”Anything else you want to sing? Solos or duets both work,” she said, chuckling softly.

ATTIRE

[/color] You already know. CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless . Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS you're gonna go far, kid - the offspring. NOTES Sweet! Happy belated birthday, then! (: (By the way, with the way you spell 'favourite' you must be Canadian, right? 'Cause I am too! LOL) WORD COUNT580[/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[obviouschild]

But I'll be true to the song I sing

Pasha could hardly blame her for wanting to go to Spain over Russia. He’d never really been patriotic. Not for a long time, anyway. “I understand. It’s not a glamorous place.” He smiled. “I wish I could give you an inspiring speech about the rugged beauty of the land and so forth, but I’m not really the person for it. All the same, I hope you enjoy your time here.” A sheepish smile. “I don’t know if you speak much Russian, but if you need a translator, just say the word.”

Nicole offered him a huge smile, complimenting him on the piece. Pasha bowed, still grinning sheepishly. “Ah, thank you. Well, I hope it didn’t suit me too well, I don’t fanatically pursue escaped convicts or anything like that. But I think it’s a good match for my range.” He glanced over at her with wide eyes, surprised. “Really? I’m the first person you’ve met? Az och un vai, I apologize. What a terrible first impression.” Pasha grinned. He’d always had a habit of making fun of himself casually. Pasha knew what he wasn’t, but he also knew what he was, and he liked it. “Yes, my… roommate. A girl named Val.” He wasn’t quite sure he ought to be telling people they were together in some sense, not yet. It was still fragile and early. But the affection was still clear in his voice.

“That’s more than one or two,” said Pasha, prodding verbally at her modest comments. “Ah, Wicked. Wicked is my sister’s single favourite thing on earth right now. I believe I know the whole thing by osmosis. Who did you play?” He knew the other ones too, of course, though not quite as well. On top of the lyrics, he’d learned large segments of the complex piano parts – everything that wasn’t utterly beyond his skill – to help Talia practise. At first he’d had mixed views of the show, but inevitably it had grown on him until he loved every song.

Pasha held her gaze throughout the song, brown eyes meeting blue, reading her every little signal so that he could follow her phrasing and dynamics impeccably. He had complete trust in where she was taking the song; she knew what she was doing. Of course, he was only acting the emotion that was apparent in his voice and face, but there was nevertheless something intimate about it. He had always thought that playing music together was one of the most bonding things you could do with someone. Naturally, he being Pasha, any kernel of it that could have been taken as romantic sailed miles above his head.

As the last notes of the backing track faded, Pasha bowed to her again, less embarrassed and more sincere. She was mirroring his idiot-smile now, though it didn’t look quite as derpy on her. Close, but not quite. “Thank you, but I think we have to credit you with that one. I just followed your lead. You were sublime.” He paused, frowning with thought, then strummed a jazz chord on the violin. “What do you think of jazz? I’ve had ‘Can't Take That Away from Me' stuck in my head for days now. Do you know that one?”

notes: Thank you! Yeahhh, I'm from Ottawa. Canadian 19-year-old sopranos ftw! Here is my favourite (lookit, a u, where it belongs!) recording of 'Can't Take That Away from Me'. Obviously Pasha doesn't sound like Louis. Nobody sounds like Louis.

[NICOLE CATHLEEN MAYBERRY]

Nicole nodded, giving him a small smile. "I like Moscow more. The buildings are quite colourful and have a lot of different shapes," she offered, eyes lighting up as he offered to be her tutor in Russian. "That would be really great! I only speak like, two words of Russian. 'Da' and 'nyet' are the only words I know, so I would love any help you can give me," Nikki told Pasha, casually tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she did so.

Laughing, Nicole shook her head. "Pasha, you are a jokester. But seriously, you are the first person I've met here. I have nobody in my rooms yet, so I'm all alone," she said, raising an eyebrow in surprise when he mentioned his roommate was a girl. "Oh? I never expected your roommate to be a girl. But now that I think of it, she had to be the one I heard singing when I went to put my stuff away. She was singing Nightwish and did an absolutely amazing job. I don't think she missed a note...and it was a capella! I wish I had her vocal talent..." Nicole said, a hint of jealousy in her voice. She wished she had a voice like the girl she heard; heck, she wished her voice was half as decent.

When asked who she played in 'Wicked,' Nikki blushed lightly, giving Pasha a small smile. "Well, I was going to play Glinda, but the director had a change of heart. I ended up playing Elphaba in the end," she told him with a small smile. "I don't think Elphaba suited my personality, but I was told I did a good job of it," Nikki told him, another smirk playing on her lips. "Want to hear me sing 'Defying Gravity'?" she asked him, smiling. It was her favourite song from the musical, and she knew that he would certainly appreciate good music.

A slight blush crept over her cheeks when he complimented her. "Thanks Pasha. You did really well. Your voice suited that part," Nikki told him, taking a moment to think about jazz. "I'm familiar with that sing, but I am afraid the female part is a bit low for me. I sound too...manly when I try to sing it," she told him with a chuckle. "But I do love the song. Know any other jazz music that might be in my range? Nikki urged, wanting to see more of what his taste in music was.

ATTIRE

[/color] Same as first post CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless . Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS you're gonna go far, kid - the offspring. NOTES Sweet! I'm actually from Niagara Falls. xD I'm 19 in July, so I'm not technically 19, but I go by the year a lot of the time, so in that sense I'm 19. LOL WORD COUNT 449 [/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[obviouschild]

But I'll be true to the song I sing

“You mean the Kremlin and so on?” Pasha frowned. His family was originally from Moscow, a few generations back – hence the name – but the place had too many political implications for him to ever truly say he liked it. “I don’t know, Moscow still feels strange to me. Too many unfortunate things have happened there. But anyway.” She knew how to say ‘no’ and ‘yes’, but there her knowledge seemed to stop. Pasha smiled. “Do you know ‘hello’? Privyet?”

“Me neither,” Pasha admitted, colouring slightly. The co-ed dorms still felt slightly scandalous to him, especially given his increasingly flirtatious relationship with Val. “Apparently they’re assigned without reference to gender, or something.” Nicole’s final comment actually made Pasha’s jaw drop, and it took him a moment to recover his senses enough to speak. “Val… sings? Are you sure?” It was a confusing and enthralling thought. If it was true, and she was good enough to impress Nicole, then Val would no longer be a mortal woman in his eyes, but a goddess. To a guy like Pasha Moskowitz, trivial things like looks meant nothing in a girl compared to musical ability. It seemed too good to be true. His expression slowly changed from confusing to joy. “But… she never told me she could – oh, that genaivisheh shtiklech, why didn’t she tell me? Nightwish, eh?” Val knew Pasha was a musician; surely she would have told him she sang, unless she was making a special effort to keep it from him – to surprise him, maybe? He would have to trick her into singing where he could hear her.

“I hope he didn’t have his change of heart too close to opening night,” said Pasha, looking slightly concerned. “That’s not an easy part.” He hardly knew Nikki, but if he’d been forced to guess, he would have pegged her for a Glinda rather than an Elphaba. He chuckled. “Well, that’s why they call it ‘acting’, you know,” he said, in a gently teasing tone. “The last lead I played onstage was Tevye from ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ and… oh, wait, that’s more or less me. Never mind.” He nodded, eagerly. “Yes, pease. Can I do the little Glinda bit?”

“Manly?” Pasha made a little ‘pfft’ sound, expressing his disbelief. “Oh, come on, that’s one of the sexiest female parts on the planet, and I don’t normally say stuff like that. But alright. Ah… Dream a Little Dream of Me? I know the chords… actually, if there’s a piano around here somewhere, that’d sound better than the violin.”

notes: Well, you're in your 19th year, so it still counts. tunage!

[NICOLE CATHLEEN MAYBERRY]

Nicole furrowed her brow, trying to remember the buildings she passed on her way from the airport to the academy. “I suppose that would be it. That’s the weird building with the swirly towers, right?” she asked, unsure of where anything was in Moscow. It was a weird city, definitely unlike anything she had encountered before in California. Nikki gave Pasha a confused look, not knowing that word. ”Well I do now. I told you my Russian is terrible! I don’t even know the alphabet,” she told Pasha sadly, wanting to improve her knowledge somewhat before class started. Nikki did not want to be the worst in her class when she did start.

Val. So that must be her name… Nikki thought, smiling softly when she noticed Pasha’s jaw drop. ”It must be her. When I put my stuff away, all of the rooms were open, and there was nobody around. I tried to find the sound, and I heard it loud and clear from room 101,” Nicole told him, resisting the urge to chuckle when he said she never told him she was a singer. ”It was indeed Nightwish. I would have recognized the high notes anywhere,” she told him, smiling. Nicole was still jealous of this Val’s singing ability. She wished her voice was as good as that, and maybe then, just maybe, she could get better acting jobs.

She actually laughed when Pasha said he hoped the director didn’t change the roles too close to opening night. ”No, he did it about 6 weeks before the show was to start. I didn’t mind it too much; I loved the challenge,” Nikki explained, giving Pasha a tiny smile, her blue eyes focussing on him. Her eyes widened when he said he was Tevye in ‘Fiddler on the Roof.’ It was one of her favourites and after thinking about it, she could somehow see Pasha as Tevye. ”Really? No way! I love ‘Fiddler on the Roof’! I can’t believe you were Tevye!” she said, shaking her head as she searched for the song on her mp3 player. Once she found it, Nicole got into position, nodding to Pasha for him to get ready.

Nicole had sung this song hundreds of times before, mostly in rehearsals. Her vocal coach’s voice was in her head as she sang, hitting every not with confidence. After all, this was her song during ‘Wicked’ and Nikki remembered singing it all the time, wanting to perfect the notes near the end; especially the high part. When it was time for her strong part, Nikki stepped forward, her voice full of emotion and power as she became Elphaba in that moment, her voice ringing out throughout the auditorium, hitting the high note with ease as she led up to her final moment, sustaining the last note as long as possible.

”So how was that?” she asked Pasha when she had caught her breath, giving him a dazzling smile as she fixed her pale blue eyes on him once more, raising an eyebrow when he said the “manly” part was really sexy. ”To each their own, but I don’t like singing that low,” Nicole said, shrugging her shoulders. The song sounded familiar, but she just couldn’t remember how it went. ”Pasha, that song sounds familiar, but I don’t remember how it goes. Do you think you could play a bit for me? Perhaps jog my memory?” she asked, trying to flirt with him a bit. Over the last little bit, she found herself liking Pasha. Of course, he was not like the other guys she went for, but he seemed like her type, and she was definitely not used to not getting her way when it came to guys. We’ll see how this goes… she thought, formulating a plan in her mind.

ATTIRE

[/color] Same as first post CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless . Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS you're gonna go far, kid - the offspring. NOTES (: WORD COUNT 635 [/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[obviouschild]

But I'll be true to the song I sing

Pasha nodded. You couldn’t have lived in Russia without knowing most of the buildings in Moscow by sight, even if you’d never been there. “Well, sort of. That’s Sobor Vasiliya Blazhennogo St. Basil’s Cathedral, although the Soviets took it over made it part of the Kremlin.” Thinking about the anti-religious aspects of the Soviet regime always made him slightly sad, so he distracted himself with a more amusing thought. “It was built by Ivan the Terrible, which might explain why it looks so silly.” Hearing that she didn’t know the word, or the alphabet, Pasha gave her a patient shrug. Having two much younger siblings had made him a natural teacher. “Don’t worry, you’ll learn. Most people in Russia speak reasonable English, anyway. But ‘hello’ is a good place to start. Why don’t you say it back to me?”

He could still hardly believe Val could sing on top of everything else. Pasha might have been a little more sensitive to the fact that his outpouring of astonishment and praise at Val’s ability made it obvious that he cared more about Val than he did about Nikki, but he wasn’t used to girls actually wanting his attention. Val was an anomaly, he assumed, but the law of averages had to come into play again at some point. A ten wanted nothing from a five. He’d always thought that rating system was a bit crass, but it was accurate. “Bozhe moĭ, that girl never stops amazing me. Honestly, you have to meet her, she is so awesome.

Judging by her small, almost secretive smile, Nikki wasn’t the kind of person to be daunted by a challenge. “That’s not too bad. I mean, I’d find it a bit fast, but I’m notoriously bad at learning dialogue. Third language and all.” Pasha chuckled. “I don’t doubt you’d be up to it.”

She looked thrilled to hear about his role in Fiddler, but her apparent surprise made him raise an eyebrow. “That surprises you? I didn’t even have to act. It was the laziest role of my life.” A bit of an exaggeration, since he wasn’t as old-fashioned as Tevye, but it had been fairly easy to tap into his inner Orthodox Jew. He’d also known the music and most of the dialogue line-for-line since the age of twelve. “Seriously, beard, tallis, boom - ‘I realize, of course, that it’s no shame to be poor. But it’s no great honour, either. So what would have been so terrible if I had… a small fortune?’” Slipping into the slightly rough, exasperated style he’d adopted for Tevye took no effort at all. He didn’t even have to fake an accent. Seeing Nikki take out her mp3, he nodded, straightening unconsciously in preparation for the one line he’d be filling in.

Pasha could usually tell how much someone liked a song by the way they sang it. This one, it was obvious, was a great favourite. She sounded like she’d been born singing it. Pasha obediently chimed in, an octave down, for Glinda’s one lyrically clever little line, then stood back and watched as Nikki gave it her all. She seemed so perfectly comfortable with the piece that it fit her like a glove, soaring and powerful in all the right moments, building towards a glorious crescendo – then that piece of melisma that always drove his sister insane, and she belted the final note, holding it for the full sixteen counts.

Pasha actually staggered backwards a pace as if he’d been pushed, surprised by the sound coming out of her small body, even when he’d known it was coming. “Woah. Wow. How is it that you’re half my size and you have twice my volume?” A silly grin, to show he was kidding. “That was just… spectacular. Don’t change anything. And go audition for Broadway, for pity’s sake.”

Pasha sighed, tsk-ing, in a joking show of almost parental disapproval. “Foolish girl. No, you’re right, singing out of your range isn’t much fun. If you need me to, I can probably transpose the song up, though. The benefit of not using backing tracks.” He winked, waving upstage right. “There must be a – aha! Perfect.” Tucked in the corner of the stage, just behind a curtain, was a little stand-up piano and a stage block to serve as a bench.

Pasha took a seat on the block and played a few phrases to test out its tuning – not perfect, but not too bad. He gave the piano a little satisfied nod, then glanced over at Nikki and played the opening chords to Dream a Little Dream of Me. “Does that sound familiar?” To remind her, he sang the first few lines of what was usually the female part, an octave down, accompanying himself with jazz chords. He kept his delivery understated and his tone tender, playing with the rhythm every so often but mostly letting the simplicity of the piece speak for itself.

notes: Hey, want to do that mall thread now? I think perhaps over its course Pasha will ask if Val would like to date him formally.

[NICOLE CATHLEEN MAYBERRY]

Nikki nodded when Pasha explained that the building she had been talking about was not the Kremlin, but St. Basil's Cathedral. When she realized her mistake, a faint blush crept onto her cheeks, though Nikki struggled to keep calm. "Oh. It's still an interesting building. I wonder why there are so many swirls and olours," Nikki mused aloud, turning quiet when Pasha asked her to say hello to him in Russian. "Umm... privyet?" she said, her pronunciation slightly off. Nicole knew her Russian needed great improvement if she was to be able to succeed in her courses; she just hoped Pasha was someone who had lots of patience. Nikki grinned like an idiot when Pasha turned into Tevye for a moment. He fit the role almost perfectly, and it was refreshing to hear one of her favourite parts of all time. Definitely a classic in her book. "Pasha, you are a genius! I loved that! Tevye was always my favourite character and you fit the role perfectly. I'd love to see you perform the whole show sometime," she told him, giving him a large, rather stupid grin. She blushed, giving Pasha a mock bow when he told her how surprised he was at how much sound came out of her. "Thanks Pasha. I guess I was taught to put emotion into everything I sing, and this song was no exception," she told him, smiling. When asked if she wanted him to play the piano, to accompany her, Nikki's face lit up. "If you could play it and transpose it up, that would be great!" she told him, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she listened to Pasha start to play. "It does sound quite familiar to me. Shall we sing?" she asked, placing a hand on the top of the piano, preparing to sing.

ATTIRE

[/color] You already know CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless . Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS you're gonna go far, kid - the offspring. NOTES Not my greatest, but hope you get something. Sorry! And sure! I'll start the thread for you. ^.^WORD COUNT 321 [/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]