Ember Island Players


 * For the episode with the same name, see: The Ember Island Players

"fire"

- Ugh! My mother used to take us to see them. They butchered 'Love Amongst the Dragons' every year.

The Ember Island Players are a local acting troupe who perform at the Ember Island Theater, which is Ember Island's only theater. They do not have a reputation for quality acting, but they take themselves very seriously and almost always pack the house (though this is probably because the theater is one of the only sources of night time entertainment on the island).

The Ember Island players are all professionals, however their pay is relatively low. Almost all of them wish to advance to a greater stage. Their plays feature very overly-dramatic acting, and dazzling special effects. They recently performed The Boy in the Iceberg, written by Earth Kingdom playwrite Pu-on Tim. They also frequently perform (or "butcher", according to Zuko) the play, "Love Amongst the Dragons". When Zuko was young, his mother used to take him to see their plays.

They appeared in the episode of the same name.

Characters interpreted in "The Boy in the Iceberg"
A list of the characters interpreted by the actors in the play, in order of appearance:

Actress Katara
Actress Katara is an actress who played Katara in the play about Team Avatar seen in "The Ember Island Players". She is much fatter than the real Katara and quite unattractive. It can be assumed by Aang's look on his face that Actress Katara is somewhat repulsive to him, unlike the real Katara, whom he shares feelings for. Unlike the real Katara, Actress Katara is always crying and is preoccupied with hope. She has a more masculine voice than Katara, and expresses herself greatly towards everyone (especially Aang) about her feelings and is madly in love with Zuko. She also over reacts almost mundane things such as crying and looking for enemies whilst the Invasion scene. Although Team Avatar displayed dislike for her acting skills (primarily Katara), the Fire Nation locals did express much enthusiasm towards her and the play in general.

She is voiced by the real Azula's voice actress, Grey DeLisle.

Actor Sokka
The actor who played Sokka served as the comic character in the play, is much thinner than the real Sokka and has buck teeth. He makes many jokes about food, particularly meat, something Sokka loves, and his hunger. While the real Sokka seemed to like his performance, he didn't like how the script delegated him to comic relief. Most of his jokes were centred on hunger and meat, a comic exaggeration of Sokka's love of food, particularly meat. With the help of Suki, Sokka sneaked back stage, and gave the actor some jokes that he felt were more himself. The actor liked them, and spontaneously used them in the play, to the delight of the audience and to the annoyance of the other actors.

He is voiced by Scott Menville

Actress Aang
The actress who plays Aang is a young woman (much to the real Aang's dismay). She is acrobatic, and her catchphrase in the play is "Yip-Yip!" but it's used as a trigger for the Avatar State rather than a command for Appa to fly. She is much more perky and outgoing than the real Aang and she seemingly enjoys playing pranks on other people. Aang being played by a woman is a reference to a common practice in animated shows to select an older woman to play young boys, as well as a reference to the fact that, in most live plays of Peter Pan, Peter Pan is played by a woman. She appears to be bald, but her two-toned head indicates that she was most likely wearing a bald cap.

She is voiced by Rachel Dratch.

Actor Zuko
The actor who plays Zuko is a fairly accurate representation (though the real Zuko thinks he is too "stiff and humorless"), except his scar is on the wrong side and at one point his hair has grown ridiculously long in comparison to the real Zuko. First his hair is shown as tied up, then very long and finally it is made very spiky. He wears a sort of skull cap covering part of his head to replicate Zuko's scar. His portrayal of Zuko revolves around his search for honor. He took a crash course in kung fu in preparation for his role. Actor Zuko dies during the final scene of the play, screaming "HOOONOOOOOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

He is voiced by Derek Basco, brother of the real Zuko's voice actor Dante.

Actor Iroh
The actor playing Iroh is used exclusively for comic relief, and he portrays Iroh as a useless glutton. He has a strange obsession with cake instead of tea. He is violently betrayed by Zuko, who feels that the play's portrayal wasn't very far from the truth. Nick.com uses a screencap of actor Iroh for Iroh's main profile picture rather than a screencap of Iroh himself.

He is voiced by John DiMaggio.

Actor Toph
The actor playing Toph is an enormous, muscular man. Unlike the others, Toph actually likes this portrayal of her very much, claiming "I wouldn't have cast it any other way!". Actor Toph 'sees' by releasing a sonic wave from her mouth while the real Toph 'sees' by feeling the vibrations in the Earth. Her actor is a reference to Toph's earliest character design.

He is voiced by John DiMaggio.

Actress Azula
In the play, Azula is portrayed as actually being one of the two "good guys". She appears to not be very evil or conniving at all. She has a more masculine voice, and is clearly older. Actress Azula wears pink clothing and some of her features are exaggerated like her fingernails and makeup. As Actor Zuko, she took a crash course in kung fu in preparation for her role.

She is voiced by Tara Strong, who also plays Governor's Wife.

Actress Ty Lee
Actress Ty Lee is seen only for a couple moments and is depicted as an overweight ballerina. The only notable differences between her and Ty Lee is on her wider frame, her lack of acrobatics and her fighting methods (she blocks peoples chi by kissing them).

Can someone fill in the kiss and touch part, I don't recall how she did it exactly

Actress Mai
Actress Mai is seen very briefly. Her outfit greatly resembles Mai's, though the actress' has a sad face on it. Unlike Mai, she keeps her stilettos in her buns, and her hair covers her eyes. Her hair buns are also much larger and possibly reminiscent of Mickey Mouse ears.

Actress Yue
Actress Yue is seen very briefly. Unlike Princess Yue, this actor has her braids attached to her hair-loopies. Her dress has many bows on it and is a darker rose color. Actress Yue is seen riding on a moon-shaped prop off stage while the real Sokka breaks into tears.

Actor Ozai
Actor Ozai apparently has a longer beard and face paintings on his own face. He wears a crown that looks similar to the one the real Ozai wore in "Sozin's Comet, Part 1: The Phoenix King", when he pronounced himself as the Phoenix King.

He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, who also plays Appa and Momo.

Actress Suki
Actress Suki is only seen once without any lines. She is portrayed the most accurately in the play although some of her features, like her headdress, are exaggerated. Actor Sokka is shown asking her if his dress makes his "butt look fat".

Actor Bumi
Actor Bumi is seen for a short while. He wears a body suit over his own body to match the muscles of the real Bumi and dons a large hat decorated with colorful feathers. Unlike the real Bumi who tended to speak in riddles, he seems to have a rhyming scheme.

He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker, who also voices Appa, Momo, and Actor Ozai

Actor Jet
Actor Jet is seen in only two scenes. He is shown flooding a village in an attempt to impress Actress Katara whereas the real Jet did it to rid the valley of the Fire Nation. Then he is going up on a rope with Katara, who comments how bad he is. He dies later on when a hollow rock lands on him during his frenzy under Lake Laogai. In the Lake Laogai scenes he is made to seem as if he has hooks for hands (instead of his usual Hook Swords) and is wearing glasses to make his eyes look big, to give the impression he is hypnotised. He is also seen chewing on a flower rather than his trademark piece of wheat.

He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker