6548/Behind The Music

Behind The Music
Date of Scene:	23 June 2021
Location:	Madison Square Garden
Synopsis:	Students take a tour of an arena before several concerts and get a surprise in the end
Cast of Characters:	Michael Hannigan, Madison Evans, Irie West, Hank Pym, Damian Wayne

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Michael Hannigan has posed:
The inside of Madison Square Garden is eerily quiet as no events are currently going on. The house lights are on to the fullest setting, casting a daytime feel to the massively sized interior. The jumbotron that keeps score at many sporting events is hauntingly dark save for the building name.

There is no court laid down but instead a bland gray assortment of panels adorn the floor of the arena. To the back two fourths of it, there is a small cluster of temporary seats situated stadium style, granting stairway access from the floor to the more permanent ones anchored into the concrete. The next fourth of the floor area is empty save for a set of stand alone barriers that mark off a square perimeter where tables are set up on the inside with several reels of cable. A floor panel near the reels is slightly out of line with the rest of the panels. To add to this, a set of barriers are positioned separating that area from the seat area. To the other side of it, there are a few more barriers but more simply running parallel to the edge of the main stage allowing for a buffer zone for certain types of pyrotechnics.

The main stage appears a little less than standard, the main stage looking to be several decks. The tallest point towards the back. The distance between levels seem minor, allowing for an easy transition for those walking upon them.

A walkway that extends out from the main stage is also multi-leveled, seemingly providing the musicians a way to walk out amongst those in standing room without getting swallowed up by the expected crowd. The lowest end of it does bring one close enough to where if they were to crouch down upon it they might be able to shake a few hands. There's a set of stairs leading down to a barriered area should they decide to get even closer.

To the back of the stage area, Two massive screens are set up, angled together to form a collective picture with each other There is enough of a gap between the screen and the stage to allow for steps and a ramp to access the stage level without being too visible to the audience side save for the railing.

While incomplete, the stage setup does look to be a massive undertaking and likely would seem even larger if the tour group was looking at the setup from the ground level. But instead, they are looking at all of this 94 feet above the floor, almost level to the darkened scoreboard.

The Chase Bridge is one of the newer additions to the arena, branching out from the more traditional seating area, several rows of seats extend off of the walkway with glass walls allowing for some of the best upper level views the stadium has to offer as well as give a rather close up view to the ceiling area where some spotlights are situated. Due to the high positioning, this may be the only place in the building where members of the public can have a catwalk height type experience without the danger. Which is perhaps one reason why the group has been led up here.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "This is... this is really high," Madison remarks in an awed avoid from their current vantage point, turning full circle to take in the entire arena. For once, her voice is actually relatively hushed. "HELLO!" she suddenly booms out - testing to see if it will echo within the space.
    Well. That didn't last for long.
    "Man, I wouldn't want to fall from up here. But you would see eeeeeverything up here! When do we get ot come back and see a real show?" She bounces up onto her toes - wearing an eager smile and a T-Shirt that reads 'Sith Academy: Come for the Magic,' on the front, and 'Stay for the Cookies' on the back.

Irie West has posed:
Irie has her hands and face pressed up against the glass as she peers down into the main stage area. "Cooooooool..." she breathes, watching the people work on the set. She's currently wearing a pair of yellow shorts, and a white tee that has a picture of a cheetah in full sprint printed on it. "Everybody's so tiny!"

Sure, she's been higher. Even in an airplane! (Boy did she hate /that/.) But here she's got solid ground beneath her and she is safely behind glass and can appreciate the view without fearing that she's going to fall to her death.

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym, standing next to Irie says, "I've seen tinier. The set up is quite a feat in itself. And without Pym particles or giant ants. Amazing what people can do with their hands and minds. No powers. I'll keep mine though."

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Damian had stayed a little back from the main group, as was his custom. Heights were not a big deal to him. "You should see the view from Wayne Tower." And totally not because he regularly jumps off of buildings on a nightly basis. "But the set looks...interesting." Not exactly the most flattering of adjectives. But high praise from the mid-teenager. Damian was dressed in a raglan tee, with the Gotham Knights logo, the scion of the First Family of Gotham had to show support for the local teams, but he did admire any sport where bats and speeds of over 100 mph were involved.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
With the lack of crowd and plenty of empty seats. Madison?s voice does indeed carry to the point that the pair of stage hands in the act of rolling out ONE of the drum sets positioned backstage pauses briefly to look up. A wave is given. "HELLO!" A response is thrown back. A few seconds go by and the continue rolling the set in place.

"Not counting the boxes and courtside seats, the Chase Bridge has some of the pricier tickets due to the demand for these seats." A voice near the group speaks up. Positioned on the back walkway, hanging near the opening of one of the aisle rows, one of the building employees acts as a guide. The bartop of the back row serves as a resting place for a tablet with the Madison Square Garden insignia on it.

"Before the change in approach, it would take several days to convert the arena over to a different type of event. But now by simply padding up the ice and insulating it, the process of switching out the paneling takes only about four hours." The guide remarks. ?This allows for the venue to be able to hold more events in a year and keep transition costs low.?

The tour guide pauses, watching the expressions of the attendees. The man, who the name tag has graciously dubbed him to be named 'Sid T.', smiles, taking up the tablet into his hands, swiping the screen open, "Now RATHER than have you sit here for four hours to watch that. We have a timelapse video here so you can see the amount of people and materials that get moved around." Eyes look down to make sure the file is open before he turns it towards the group. "Now remember. All this used to take DAYS because they used to remove the ice."

Irie West has posed:
Irie rolls her eyes at Hank. "I'm sure you have," she says with a bit of snark. Her attention turns to the tour guide and listens raptly. She then shuffles over to watch the time lapse video and reiterates, "Coooool."

Hank Pym has posed:
Hank Pym's helmet slithers into place from under his shirt, covering his scalp and eyes. Just to be safe, em scanners, thermographic imaging. Everything seems perfectly fine. He takes a minute to admire the wiring and wifi beams filling the space. As Irie walks away he calls, "It had to be said. I was standing right by you. Hunh."

Madison Evans has posed:
    Madison giggles as some of the stagehands call back to her - and she hurries forward to watch the video with a curious, eager expression. "Is there another timelapse?" she asks. "Of what they have to do to take the ice off? Can we watch both? And how do they put ice back? Does the ice stay here year round - even when it isn't hockey season? (Is there a hockey season?) Can people ever come just, you know, ice skating in here?"
    There's no break or pause - at all - between any of Madison's many questions.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Damian took to watching the helmet place itself on Hank's head, things like that almost never get old.

  Though the timelapse does catch his interest for a bit. Lots of moving to get things taken care of. But, before he could ask his own question, Madison beat him to it...and then some to grow on.

Irie West has posed:
Irie stares at Madison with an open mouth. She only knows of one other person who can ask so many questions without breathing and that person is herself. Since this is the first time she's really met the other student she decides to introduce herself.

"Hi!" she says. "I'm Irie. I'm another student but you probably would have figured that out since we're both here on a student field trip. I haven't met you! Have you been at Happy Harbor long? Ooh! Did you just transfer in? Where were you before this? Hopefully it wasn't anywhere that was boring like Kansas. I've run through Kansas before and it's nothing but cows and wheat fields. Have you been to Madison Square Garden before? I have, once. That was when..." and here Irie pauses for the first time, catching herself before she ends up spoiling the future. "Nevermind when that was."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
"They no longer take out the ice." Sid answers Madison. "Everything?s laid on top. Which, when you're on the floor you might feel some cold spots every so often. That's normal. There's enough insulation to protect the majority of the ice. And the cabling. The ice IS here year round and gets used for more than just our New York Rangers playing hockey. We have Ice skating shows as well that get booked here."

Sid looks down to Madison, giving an uptilt of the chin. Do. Your. Worst.

When the video finishes, Sid hits the mute button to queue it up once more for those who would like to see it again. Head lifting up he starts to open his mouth but pauses as he sees Hank looking around with his helmet on. Blinking he glances down to Irie who is returning Madison?s inquiries and then to Damian who is... pretty well behaved. At least Sid won't have to worry about him.

"Now, not every venue has the same type of situation as ours does. Each one of them presents different challenges. This also includes the time it takes to switch out between bands. Because of that, most performing acts have different types of setups they do depending on the venue and event type. For instance, Pyrotechnics. A venue like ours CAN support them. But for a more closed in setting, that can be a danger. We have the space AND knowhow to ensure people are not in danger and things that aren?t supposed to won?t go up in flames. Stunt Work is another one. Smaller venues may not have the proper rigging to make that happen. So with that in mind, smaller venues tend to lean on more towards video screens, or even old fashioned backdrops for the visual effects. Which, We ALSO use."

Video completed, Sid lowers the tablet. "Alright guys, we have a few minutes up here. Feel free to wander around the Bridge area but do not go past either of the door sets. We'll meet up over at the North door." He gestures over to it, "Where we will continue our tour at the VR Stage experience area."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Irie!" Madison repeats brightly - like her mother has always insisted that she do. "Hi, I'm Madison. Gosh - no, no where boring, actually, I'm from California - near LA, you know? And Disneyland! But my mom got a job out here, so she had me transfered to Happy Harbor, and so far it seems pretty cool - have you met Bo? I met Bo, and Doctor Pym is helping me do a science experiment where we measure the biting force of different sizes of carpenter ants - I've been charting the data, and it's //wild// - certainly never did anything like that before at my old school." The pauses for a moment - then seems to realize she missed a question and hastily adds, "Never been here before, no, but I mean - it's Madison, and I'm Madison, so it sorta feels like I shouldda done, you know?"

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Damian put his hands in his pockets as he approaches the others, Irie and Madison. "Carpenter ants huh? Have you ever wondered how Doctor Pym circumvents the square-cube law?" A general shift of his bright green eyes toward Hank on that one, perhaps a wry smile from Damian.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
As the kids are left to explore the bridge hanging HIGH UP, Sid moves off to the side, seemingly taking Dr. Pym aside to discuss matters. Oh boy! The adults are distracted!

While the tour guide may have taken five, the people down on the floor have not. Over towards the barricaded off table a worker crouches down, looking over to the partially open floor panel. It slides a bit further away, providing more access to underneath. She turns towards the reel and grabs an end of cabeling, pulling a bit of length loose.

Irie West has posed:
"Disneyland? Cool!" Irie says, her eyes bright. "I've never been to Disneyland before. I always wanted to go but my family was always busy fighting cr... uh... doing stuff. I like it here! There's never a dull moment, and Happy Harbor always does cool stuff like this. Did you manage to go on the field trip to Rome? I didn't see you there, but maybe you were hanging out in the back or something. Oh! Bo! Yes! I love Bo!" Irie says, nodding enthusiastically. "Oh! That science project sounds neat! I can't wait to see it at the science fair."

She sighs, and looks kind of dejected. "I entered into it, but I can't figure out what it is that I want to do. I may have to withdraw if I don't come up with something soon." She turns to Damian. "It's probably has something to do with the Pym Particles," she answers. "Who knows how it really works? It's like the speed force that way."

Madison Evans has posed:
    "The Square-oh yeah! Doctor Pym said it had to do with the particles," Madison confirms, nodding her head. "Something about how the particles are able to, umm, store some of the extra mass in... in- okay, he explained it, but it didn't make a lot of sense, you'll have to ask him," she admits - looking a little embarrassed. "I'll have to ask him again."
    As for the trip to Rome - she nods her head eagerly. "I went. But- well. I mean, I didn't really know anyone yet, and I was just- I don't know. But me and Greg - we came back with all that focaccia that one day - remember?" Or perhaps Irie wasn't in the hotel when they came back with the treats.
    "Maybe you can fly out with me to California next time I visit my dad - and we can both go to Disneyland together," she suggests. "It's a lot of fun. And you can play a lot of jokes on the 'Cast Members.' There's all these rules they have to follow... I mean, nothing mean or anything. I figure it just gives them something, you know, a little different in their day."
    Yes. She's so excited about chatting with Damian and Irie - that she seems to be paying very little attention to the actual *purpose* of the field trip.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "Hmm." Damian responds to the answer to the question he proposed.

  "Well that would help explain it." He looks over the railing to the stage. "Rome is fun. Didn't go, had to do things in Gotham." He shrugs off the comments on Disneyland, never having been exposed to the cult of the mouse.

Irie West has posed:
"Yeah, I don't really understand how the Pym Particles work," Irie admits. "I'm too busy trying to figure out how the Speed Force works, and how it influences relativity and time and... uh... stuff like that."

"Oh! /you're/ responsible for the focaccia? Boy, that was delicious. The bread there was /amazing/." She smiles and her tummy grumbles a bit as she remembers just how different the bread in Europe is different than the bread in America is.

"Oh! I'd /love/ to go with you to Disneyland! What about you, Damian?" She says, turning to the other student. "I'd bet even /you/ would have fun going over there."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Over to the stage area, the workers from before rotate around the patform of the drumset before pausing, looking over to a man standing between the front barrier of the table section and the back barrier of the stage greeting area. The man in the center shakes his head and makes a rotating gesture towards the right. The drums are rotated slowly. "That's good!" The man shouts.

The stage hands shift their feet, apparently hitting a locking mechanism to keep the platform in place before the start for the back steps of the stage.

Behind the screens, near the ramp, another drum kit is being assembled with a black and red tinted look to the pieces.

As for over with the cabling, the woman ties off one end to something on the panel before she gestures towards the table. The reel starts rolling slowly in that direction.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Well - my mom tries to bake most of the bread we eat at home. She's reeeeeally into home cooked stuff. Like - she makes the mayonaise, the mustard- everything. She's nuts." There's a brief pause. "Not the ketchup, though. Apparently once was enough for the ketchup. But yeah - the focaccia was me and Greg!" And then looking back to Damian she adds, "You really should come with us - it'd be so much fun! You know. I've never been to Gotham. I see it on the news sometimes, of course. I went to New York - and I met Spider-man and tried White Castle! OH! When you come to California I can take you all to In-n-Out!" Madison says excitedly - bouncing up onto her toes.
    She abruptly turns towards the person who'd been running the tour so she can shout over, "Can we try playing the drums?"

Damian Wayne has posed:
     Damian's green eyes look back to the two girls, giving a shrug. "What's Disneyland?" Yup, nothing at all there. No clue about such a place or company.

Irie West has posed:
Madison's excitement starts bleeding into her own, as Irie starts bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Oh oh! Have you tried Big Belly Burger? They're one of my favorite local places. I'll have to take you out there one day! I've had In-n-Out before! They're okay but I could go there again!" really, for Irie, going to the nearest In-n-Out is only a few minutes away.

Irie gasps! "The drums! Yes! Can we try? Please?" She turns to Damian her eyes wide in horror. "You don't know what /Disneyland/ is? It's only the happiest place on earth!"

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Sid turns his head away from Hank as Madison asks her question and Irie seconds it, "You'd have to ask the drum owners about that." He replies, giving a smile. He glances down, checking his tablet for a few moments. "Alright. We have about two more minutes over here so, get your last pictures of whatever it is you want up here and come on over to the North door!" He lifts up his free hand to indicate towards the stated direction.

The woman with the cable turns her head, looking to the reel. Upon it stopping, she turns back to the panel and takes the tied down cable end starts reaching underneath. Upon finishing she gets up to walk towards the table. The floor panel slides back in place.

The person assembling the drums pauses, glancing upwards at the repeated inquiry that bounces around the seats. Not seeing anyone peering back, he goes back to working on the kit.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "Yeah. What is it?" He asks. Damian never had Disney to watch as a little kid. Nor has he even seen any of the movies.

  "I'm not from America. Or even Europe. Long story." But over the last year he has acclimated to the real world. At least he thinks he has, obviously he has not.

Irie West has posed:
Irie prattles on about Disneyworld. Disney movies. All the princesses, even forgetting once about spoilers and going on about a movie that hasn't even been made yet. She's probably annoying the heck out of Damian but she doesn't seem to notice, (or care really) since it gives her a chance to talk about one of her favorite things. When it's time to queue up for the next part of the tour, she stands in line, still kinda bouncing in place, and will ooh and aah appropriately at the VR experiences.

Madison Evans has posed:
    "Yeah, but- you're from Earth, right?" Madison asks. It's a serious question, too, as she looks between those present. At the reminder to take photos - she pulls out her phone, snapping a few, even as she goes on about Disneyland. "I mean, Disney does the Princess movies, right? Cinderella, Snow White - Frozen. And they have an amusement park! There's roller coasters - they put in a Star Wars Land too! You can ride the Millenium Falcon - pleeeeeease tell me you know about the Millenium Falcon? Or - ooo! What Pirate movies? They have the Pirates ride there!"
    Like Irie she continues to rattle on - the pair seeming to feed off of each other - as they approach the door.

Damian Wayne has posed:
     "Cinderella is a folk tale. Snow White is a Brothers Grim story. Frozen? Whatever that is."

  The group keeps walking down before they get to the door. "I know Star Wars. Barely." He comments, at least before continuing on to the backstage areas. "Pirates do not hold a candle to ninja." Yea, he is one of those. But he's biased. Damian Wayne, the kid who can put a damper on anything.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Once everyone is gathered, they are led over to The VR experience. It's not a room but a series of chairs set out with a VR headset, headphones, and menu selector in each one. From there, they are able to select from several experiences. Being onstage for Billy Joel's 'Piano Man' performance, Being onstage for Nick Drago's 'Monster' performance with zip line introduction, being on the basketball court for a few basketball plays, and being in the hockey rink during a game.

The tour goes as well as one can expect. Along with the Chase Bridge view and VR experience, the students get to see the loading dock area, a closer view of the stage area, a drummer accidentally changing color to blend into the background as the drums suddenly starts playing a beat by a drumstick controlled an unknown source. (MADISON!) Followed by a rimshot. (DAMIAN!) the dressing rooms, and the private box that was set up for Shaw Studios for this event.

Being that it is the Happy Harbor crew in the field trip, and some people in the group may have ... connections, there's an added surprise at the end of the tour.

Sid smiles, "Happy Harbor. I hope you enjoyed your tour with us. Be sure to get the sticker from your chaperone before you leave and put it on your tour badge. That will allow you back to this box during the show. The first band starts at 7. Pizza should be here at 6:30 Have fun!"