Prof. Sky Alton

We're already 10 days into term. Have you picked your classes yet? I know some particularly enthusiastic souls are already busy turning huge amounts of homework in (go you!). If you haven't started yet though, don't worry. Remember that term is a marathon not a sprint. You have plenty of time: relax and enjoy it. If you're looking for something to do that isn't homework (while still earning some glory for Gryffindor) then HOL already has some very tempting options. Stop by the Departments and check out this months projects. The Library Department are inviting you to imagine what your application would look like were you ever to go for the job of Hogwarts professor and then to play swapsies with Harry Potter characters. The Art Department are decking out Platform 9 3/4 in decorations to celebrate the new school year and asking you to depict your favourite chapter from the HP books in image form. Points Available: A maximum of 80 (you can get 40 just for joining in) Deadline: September 30th for Art and October 1st for Library And now some updates from HOL's various newsrooms. Each house newspaper gives you the chance to earn 50 points from regular submissions (like articles, puzzles, recipes, graphics etc) and an 40 by completing their extra challenges. That's 90 points per paper and with 3 papers open for submissions right now that's a whole lot of points (270, if you want to get technical). The Alte Sententiam is almost as fun to say as it is to submit to. It's Ravenclaws paper and they can't wait to receive your submissions. If you have an idea for an article, get in contact with Gail Allen. Check out their Legendary Drabble Babble and Creative Writing Bingo challenges over in The Great Hall on the main forum. Deadline: 30th September Have you paid a visit to the Dungeons yet? Well, their newspaper, the SerpenTimes, is open for business. This issue's theme is Snake Eyes and they can't wait to see what you make of it. Remember to check out the SerpenTimes Exclusives as well for the chance to snag an easy additional 40 points. You'll find all the info you need over in the SerpenTimes forum on the Slytherin Common Room. Deadline: 15th October And last (but by certainly no means least) there's our very own purrr-fect publication, The Paw Print. We're getting into the swing of a new term with a theme of 'Patterns and Rhythms' (though we'll accept any submissions whether they're related to the theme or not). We also have Prose and Cons where you can snag yourself some extra points by captioning pictures, creating a leonine list or indulging in a spot of creative writing. so make sure you quick step your way over to the Quivering Quill and tell us what you'd like to write! Deadline: 23rd October However you're spending your September, I hope it's magical!

To prepare for opening night, let’s try a spot of improv! This is a type of theatre where you have to make up something on the spot based on a suggestion or some other form of inspiration. It can get very wild and fun. Our improv game is simple. The person who posted just before you will give you a Harry Potter character and an event. Your job is to decide what that character would say if confronted by that event (the event can be as serious or silly as you like and please do use muggle ones as well as wizarding ones). Then you leave another character and event for the next person to run with. For example: Person 1: You are Bellatrix Lestrange and you’ve just missed the bus. Person 2: “I will destroy all muggle buses and dance on their smouldering remains for this indignity!” You’re Luna Lovegood and you’re ordering a coffee… And so on You’ll earn 2 rubies per post for your first 5 posts. Please wait for someone else to respond before posting again and make sure you remember to include the character/event for the next person. So, to begin… You’re Professor McGonagall and someone has just managed to transfigure their friend into a kangaroo in your lesson.

I slap Carrie for picking a study spot that involves climbing so many steps. I'm so out of breath I'm not even sure I have energy to slap you.

Passion (Anyone else remember Bratz? Just me?)

That would depend entirely on what the moon was doing at the time. But guilty, if it was safe. Has claimed to have watched or read something when they haven't

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Welcome to the auditions! Are you hoping to wow us with some Shakespeare, show off your juggling or maybe belt out a show tune? Don’t think the stage is for you? No problem, we’re also looking for people to design sets, write scripts, direct, make props and do all sorts of other crucial things backstage too. This task is pretty simple: just tell us (in 100 words or more) which roles you think would suit you and why. You can give us a straightforward explanation, tell the story of how you got on in the audition (what did you do? How did Professor Decibel react?) or even tell us about any previous experiences you’ve had with school shows. Anything goes. For 15 rubies, please post your response as a reply by the 30th of September, 11:59 PM HOL-time

Question 7: What does a dance captain do?

Question 6: This actor wrote and starred in a historical musical alongside Leslie Odom Jr

Question 5: This actress began her career in London's West End, made it on Broadway and then got her Hollywood break starring in Mary Poppins

Question 4: In which ballet is 'Dance of the Flowers' featured?

Sky hurries into the great hall with an immense bundle of Gryffindor timetables under her arm. She spent a little too long trying to get the fall of her lilac robes just right in the mirror this morning. She wants to look the part on her first day as a professor. Of course, it meant she nearly forgot to pick these up from the magical printing press on her way down here.... She smiles absently around at the students before heading over to the Gryffindor table. She juggles with the pile for a second before she's able to read the name on the top one and pass it to the right student. She slowly makes her way down the table, passing pieces of paper to Carrie and Manya with a cheerful good morning as she goes. A fluttering and clattering of wings makes her look up. The first volley of post owls is arriving.

Question 3: Which play is so infamous for being cursed that actors dare not even speak its name?

You step inside the Great Hall to see morning sunlight pouring through the windows and fluffy white clouds scudding across the ceiling. The enticing smell of breakfast is in the air and the room is full of excited chatter. It’s the first morning of term. The situation: It’s the first morning (back) at Hogwarts. Everyone had fun at the feast last night and is on their way from the dormitories for a good breakfast to set them up for a day of classes. It’s time to collect your timetable, catch up with friends (or make new ones), eat some yummy food and work through any start of term jitters you might be having. Watch out for low flying packages, the post should be arriving soon! The Location: You may roleplay in the great hall and the entrance hall only. You can talk about classes but don’t actually move to the classrooms. Make sure you've read the guidelines before jumping in. Have fun!

My goodness, we have a fine crop of classes this term! That's great in one way, of course, but it does make the process of whittling your list down to 5 (or less!) a little more difficult. Have you managed it yet? Are you still agonizing about what to take? Is there anything you're particularly looking forward to? I'd love to hear about it.

Question 2: Which smash hit movie musical had a sequel released 10 years after the original?

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I slap Adaleine for helping me run around after Professor Decibel

Welcome to the Den, Jasper!

Question 1: Which Broadway star turned Disney actress had her name wildly mispronounced at the 2014 academy awards?

It’s time to test your theatrical know-how! Every day, we’ll post a trivia question about the world of performing arts (musicals, plays, ballets, actors and so on). Your job is to find out the answer. You’ll have 48 hours from the exact time the question was posted to submit your answer. Please create a group PM with Adaleine Shuster and myself (Prof. Sky Alton) with the subject line ‘Trivia’. Submit all new answers as a reply to that particular message, rather than creating a new one for each answer. If you’re not sure how to set up a group PM, just ask one of us and we’d be only too happy to help. You’ll earn 1 ruby per correct answer submitted within the 48 hour window (that’s 30 in total across the month). Break a leg!

Costumes are very important. They aren’t simply something nice for the audience to look at: they can really help performers to ground themselves in a character. (And let’s be honest, swanning around in feathers, sequins and capes looks like fun… *coughs*). Professor Decibel is taking a group to go and explore the costume department at WADA to pick pieces for our show. I can’t wait to see what you come back with…. For this task, you need to design a costume (the more outlandish the better). It could be for the show idea you’ve already written about or something new (make sure to tell us what it is and which character the costume is for). you have a few options for how to do it: 1. Create a costume using a doll maker (please put effort in for full credit) 2. Create a graphic of your own 3. Tell us about your design in 80 words or more. For 15 rubies, please post your costume as a reply by the 30th of September, 11:59 PM HOL-time

Welcome to the writers room for our magical masterpiece. Finding a show to put on has been proving tricky to say the least. We need something exciting, easy to act and with lots of different parts so that everyone can have a try. Ada and I have been running in circles trying to find a play that will suit Professor Decibel’s exacting standards but we just can’t do it. We need your help. We’re asking you to make suggestions of stories we could bring to the stage. It could be an adaptation of a wizarding story we already know, a re-enactment of a notable incident in wizarding history or something entirely original. You can complete this in a few ways: 1. explain why you think the story/event would lend itself well to being performed. Are there enough parts for lots of people to have a go? Does it have a dramatic finale? Would it be best as a play or do you think songs could be worked in to turn it into a musical? 2. Write a short snippet of a script for the production. This should include dialogue and any stage directions the actors will need. If you’re adapting a story that’s already been written elsewhere, make sure the words are your own. 3. You could do a mixture of the first 2 options. Whichever option you pick, please make sure your response is at least 100 words long. To earn 15 rubies, please post it as a reply by the 30th of September, 11:59 PM HOL-time.

This September, Gryffindor is playing host to a very distinguished guest. Professor Titania Decibel is a former Hogwarts graduate who now teaches at the Wizarding Academy of Dramatic Arts (WADA). She has returned for a visit to (as she puts it) ‘Reignite the spark of theatrical endeavour at Hogwarts that has so long been dimmed.’* By which she means (as we worked out after several minutes of confusion) that she wants us all to put on a show. So, dust off your dancing shoes, get over your stage fright and join us for a dazzling month of treading the boards. It’s going to be dramatic! There will be 3 tasks per week for 4 weeks, released on Mondays (the 31st of august and then the 7th, the 14th and the 21st of September). These will be a mixture of puzzles and creative tasks, all with a theatrical twist. There will also be daily trivia and a improvisational forum game to help you warm up those performing muscles. (No actual performing is on the cards though, so don’t worry if you can’t soliloquize on cue). Each task will be worth 15 rubies, the forum game is worth 10 and there will be a further 30 available for trivia. That’s 220 in all! The curtain goes down at 11:59 PM HOL-time on September 30th, so make sure you have all of your tasks turned in by then. Now, we better not be late to rehearsals. Titania has a steely glint in her eyes…. *Some of you may remember that Hogwarts has avoided staging performances ever since a disastrous production of the Fountain of Fair Fortune resulted in a duel and the Great Hall sustaining serious fire damage. Titania thinks it’s time we try again, other people are less sure… Regardless, the show must go on!