2010-04-14: Sinking Into Character

Starring:

Hallis_V4icon.png

Guest Starring

Stuart Templeton Davenport (NPC'd by Sydney)

Date: April 14, 2010

Summary:

Stuart gives Hallis some coffee and a few compliments on her acting skills.


"Sinking Into Character"

Afterlife Set

It's too early to be up, especially since George stayed over the night before. With very little sleep, Hallis dragged herself out of bed and hopped in the town car to be chauffeured to work. She bypassed her usual Starbuck's stop, it's just too early this morning. Why? Because she wanted to be safely in her dressing room and squirreled away before any of the more serious actors got to the set. Yes, she's avoiding someone.

A few minutes after vacating the black car, Hallis is in her dressing room and staring at the mirror. There are dark circles under her eyes that she begins to pat away with makeup, hopefully no one will notice. No one important anyway. The rest of the place is deserted, for now.

Down the Afterlife set a certain vampiric male walks towards Hallis' trailer, whistling all the way. Oh no. A morning person. But don't worry — he brought coffee! Well, his assistant did. Stuart (and his assistant in tow) trail down, providing coffee to various stage-crew-type people. And not just any coffee STARBUCKS coffee! Yes, Stuart is the rescuer of the peoples (or rather, his assistant is).

Finally after having provided caffeine to various people on set, the blonde New Zealander pads up to Hallis' trailer and raps gently on the door — still whistling a rather merry tune while he waits for an answer.

Of course the door opens and Hallis blushes deeply at the sight of the man on the other side. But he brought coffee! She didn't promise George not to have coffee with him, did she? Licking her lips, she takes a deep breath before greeting Stuart, "Uhm. Hi." Short, sweet, and very… awkward.

In a feeble attempt to break the ice, she steps down from the trailer, rather than ask him inside. Without the aid of the steps, she's close to a foot shorter than he is. So she cranes her neck to look up at him and then one of the cups of coffee is liberated from his hand as she smiles up at him. "Thank you, how did you know?" It really only takes one look at the tabloids to know. She seems to always have a Starbucks cup in hand when she's caught in a candid shot. "I hope your night last night was.. good? Did you do anything exciting?"

"Hello," Stuart chimes with a bright smile. He's not at all embarrassed about last night's reading, in fact, as far as he's concerned, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. He grins as the coffee is liberated, "Everyone needs a pick-me-up at these early morning shoots, you know?" His speech drips with his New Zealander accent. "Besides, a birdie told me you liked coffee." Birdie = US Weekly.

"May I come in?" he glances at the door of the trailer. "Last night was wonderful. I ran lines with my assistant, and I really feel like I'm getting a grasp on Archer, you know? It's so important to really connect with your character."

Her blue eyes brighten up a bit as he talks about his character and Hallis nods emphatically. "Oh! I know! Do you know how hard it is to find books on were-golfish?" She chatters as she leads the way into the trailer. "They're practically non-existent! I asked at the book store near my house though and the man said that they're supposed to be coming in Thursday's shipment. So I reserved one."

Once inside she places her paper cup down on the coffee table and flops down on the couch. It won't be long until makeup, hair, and wardrobe are all here to get her ready for her scenes for the day. "Can you believe that he didn't even know what the title of the book was? Oh well, I'll just be happy when it gets in."

"I can imagine," Stuart runs a hand through his hair before adjusting on the couch. "I'm sure that reading the book will really help you connect with Ora." He offers her a lopsided grin before leaning back against the couch and sipping at a coffee all his own. With a wave of his hand, his assistant disappears, effectively leaving the pair alone in the trailer.

"So… are we going to talk about last night?" the question is quiet before his grin broadens significantly. "The way you got swept into character was remarkable! I think your skills are getting honed significantly! You just need to find moments like those on film — you know?"

The assistant may have disappeared from inside the trailer, but she hasn't left completely. Whether by design or by her own volition, she is actually standing guard outside the trailer door, guarding it from any who might wish to enter. Makeup, hair, and wardrobe are all shooed away, starting a little buzz that there just might be something going on inside.

It's an innocent coffee and Hallis is sipping it quite gladly. As Stuart pops the dreaded question, she nearly drops the hot beverage but quickly recovers when he makes the addendum. "Oh, yes, well… It's something I picked up in high school. It's easier to be better if you lose yourself in the moment than if you're just pretending it's happening." She does have a slight blush to her cheeks and she's not exactly meeting his gaze, not yet anyway.

"Well, it's impressive. I think that Ora would be pleased, and I think it's a credit to your skills that you managed to find her so easily. I imagine it'll get even easier in time." Stuart sips at his coffee and shrugs a little. "You don't need to worry about those moments, in fact, it's better you give yourself over to them — they'll help you refine your skills, hone them, in fact."

Hallis is issued a jovial wink as Stuart stifles a yawn. "So, anything fun last night for you? Did that fiance of yours make an appearance?"

"Well after Sydney caught us… running lines…" Blush. It's much more awkward for the young blonde because her costar doesn't even realize what she did. Or does he? Clearing her throat, she looks toward hte window and treats him to a view of her fabulous profile as she takes another drink of her cup. After swallowing, she looks toward him again and her lips twitch at one corner in a small smile. "She drove me home. We had a little talk in the car, I suppose she just doesn't understand what it means to be an actress."

"And yes… thank you for asking. George did come over last night, like I said, he's been very busy with his work." Another sip before her smile widens just a touch, "It wasn't until later of course, but he's doing government things…"

"Of course. Government things," Stuart nods sagely before taking another drink. "I suppose we can't all be so important, can we? Of course, I think of actors as pseudo-heroes, rescuing the masses from their otherwise mundane, boring lives, you know?" He watches her profile intently and observes, "You're very beautiful — especially in profile shots, I suggest that you try to accent your profile even more in scene if they let you. I bet it could launch a movie career for you."

Turning quickly, Hallis' eyes widen and her lips part as she sucks in a gasp of air. Apparently, Stuart said the magic words. "Really? You think so?" The breath is let out in a whoosh and her eyes flit around the room. Her mind is traveling at light speed as it imagines all of the possibilities. "I don't know, I mean Soleil is always telling me about the work she does, I don't know if I could do that. I mean, she's a fairly big star… I'm just television." Or so the brunette keeps reminding her.

"Soleil is a second rate two-bit actress who doesn't know her Shakespeare from her Stephanie Meyer," Stuart retorts before bringing his coffee to his lips again. "Child stars are almost NEVER talented. They're just notorious because they grew up in the spotlight. She's not even good-looking." Rolling his eyes he sips at his coffee again. "Big star or not, she hasn't any talent. NONE. I guarantee you, you could be an incredible moviestar."

"Really?" The compliment is met with a giant smile from the petite blonde. She places her coffee cup on the table and she adjusts herself into a more comfortable position on the sofa. Rather than keeping her legs crossed at the ankle as they have been, she whips up one the left one to cross over the right at the knee and she folds her hands on her lap. "Don't ever let her hear you say that, she compares herself to Angelina Joli."

"Ha. Soleil is small potatoes, she's got nothing on Jolie. Or your talent for that matter." Stuart shifts in his seat. "She's not actually talented at all. In fact, she's one of those people that's only famous for being famous. Like Paris Hilton. She hasn't done anything noteworthy other than make a spectacle of herself. But there needs to be talent to be a truly great actor. You know."

Another deep breath of pride is taken in as Stuart takes a shot at Hallis' silent rival for the attention of the masses. She is more talented than both of them! Maybe even both of them put together! "I'm glad you think I have talent," she murmurs, perhaps a little too softly as it sounds rather flirtacious and breathy. "I'd hate to think of what you'd say about me when this is all over." Her large blue eyes actually sparkle and shine from the compliments.

Outside; makeup, wardrobe, and hair are all getting a little antsy. It's almost time for the two inside the trailer to be on set and Hallis isn't even ready yet! Checking her watch, makeup points at it and to Stuart's assistant as she tries to convince the latter that she really must get inside.

"I'm a good judge of talent too, you know. I've thought about going behind the chair and directing, but right now I really enjoy acting. If I decide to go behind the chair, I'll make sure you get cast," Stuart winks before sipping at his coffee again. "And your talent is obvious. Your beauty even moreso. No matter what Soleil says, don't let her rain on your parade. You're good in this role — everyone can see that. Hell, even Soleil can. Probably makes her feel inadequate. It should."

There's a swift rap on the door and the three women who were being held outside make their way in. It eases their suspicion when they find the pair innnocently sipping coffee on the sofa, though the damage has already been done since the whispering outside continues. Quickly, Hallis is ushered to her chair, not even given a chance to reply to Stuart's comments. As wardrobe shooes him outside, the young blonde's eyes follow him in the mirror. "He really is something, isn't he?" She asks makeup.

About an hour later

Hallis emerges from the trailer, looking quite pretty in the pink chiffon dress that was picked out for her. Taking her mark on set, she stands in front of Stuart and gives him a little smile just before closing her eyes and falling into character.

"And Action!"

"Archer, you know Chris is important. He'll keep them all at bay while we finish off Morgan." Ora says quickly as her hand reaches up to touch the man's cheek. Turning her head slightly, she weaves to look around him as the vampires make their way on set. They're coming after the goldfish, weres are on the plate tonight, even if she's supposedly on their side. "Please… we have to hurry."

Today, Stuart has been stripped of some of his dignity — well, stripped some, anyways. Shirtless, and somewhat shameless, Stuart nods at Hallis' words. "Of course — we will escape them! We have to — and I wouldn't, I couldn't let them touch you. You know that." His eyes are soft, like always. His lips curl into a very small pout, expressing utmost sincerity. "I will protect you," his hand now reaches downwards to cup her face.

Hallis tilts her head toward his hand, closing her eyes most of the way. It had been decided previously that to add to the dramatic effect of the shot, the young woman's already full lashes would be added to. Thus fake lashes were glued in with her real ones, providing quite a full set indeed. "Oh Archer, please help me — I'm afraid." Then her eyes open just slightly as she gazes into his. Her words aren't as sincere though, as it is a calculated risk she's taking. Entering the cemetery at night to beg her enemies' to help her rule the night. Of course, she would be their queen and with the promise of free hunting rights without legislation, they would be her servants.

"Fear is only what we let it become, my darling~" Archer's voice is almost musical in a low raspy kind of way. He stares at her long lashes as his own eyes close gently as he leans and then lingers just shy of her lips. His breath is warm against her lips as he whispers softly, "Don't be afraid. I will protect. These people will follow you, they'll adore you, they'll listen to your every word. This is my sworn promise and you have my sworn protection." His lips brush lightly against hers as he utters each word.

"You are my dark angel of the night," Ora breathes as her lips brush over his in response. Her hand slips into his full head of hair as her body draws ever closer to his. Just as the woman's lips were about to meet his in a passionate kiss, she is gone. A scream of anger, frustration, and fright echoes through the set as she finds herself in the clutches of the hated vampires. Then she turns to look at the one on her right and she catches his eye. Staring into his blackened orbs, her blue eyes nearly penetrate what little soul the monster has left and his grip loosens.

"I — " and then Ora is taken. Gaping at his comrades, the shirtless Stuart clenches his fists. "Release her! I implore you!" His gaze moves from one to the other, watching each in turn. Straightening, he cranes his neck to view each. "You must release her! She is beloved by all who work with her and for her!" Swallowing hard, Stuart's expression turns to despondence. What can be done? "She deserves your loyalty. Your respect. Your service." He pauses dramatically, "She deserves your all."

Indeed, she does deserve it all. The vampire whose eyes she is gazing into releases her immediately, as though burned by fire and drops to the ground in a knight's kneel. Then she turns her head to the other gripping her arm a little too tightly and narrows her eyes at him. This one is easier, with one glimpse of her piercing gaze, he allows her arm to slip from his grasp as he stands there.. stunned.

"AND CUT!" Skip yelles out, "That was a beautiful take. Stuart, Hallis.. take a break while we shoot a few other scenes. You're back in two hours."

Hallis looks up at Stuart with a pleased smile, "One take, I think we're getting better as a team." Her soft purr lingers just a little longer than it should and a slight flush comes to her cheeks. Then she turns and stalks her way to the trailer.

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