Status: Updates Eventually.
It's Been a While
Showtime
“Headsets on techies, I’m going to check on the actors. Georgia, do a sound check when you have a chance,” I was running from the back of the theater to the other back, lighting booth to dressing rooms and back again. I walked into the girls’ dressing room (well, girls plus Oliver,) to see if anyone had mascara streaming down their face quite yet. Luckily not, things were looking good. I sent someone to check on the guys for fear of seeing an abundance of boxers, and then headed to the supply closet to retrieve my stash of chocolate covered pretzels. I opened the door, only to see two of my actors sucking face. (Thankfully, clothed.) “Oh,” I said to Molly and Travis, ignoring any sort of embarrassment I would have felt in front of anyone but my actors. “Sorry. Carry on then. Just be dressed and backstage in fifteen.” They smiled at me rolled their eyes, and moved back toward each other as I shut the door, pretzels in hand.
“Curtain in five, lovelies. If you fudge up you do your curtain call in the dark. Have a good time!”
And so it went. The curtain parted to reveal a beautifully painted backdrop and a pacing Oliver. I turned around and walked back to the booth. Staring at my actors wouldn’t help them act any better. Not that they had to. Each one of them was talented and professional, my ridiculously long and tedious interviewing process was well worth it. It had taken three years, but I’d built up a perfect troupe that could handle anything I threw at them, from Shakespeare to Mary Poppins.
Sigh. And they told me this was a stupid job.
Georgia and I sat, whispering to each other and stupidly quoting each line that was said. We sometimes had too much fun for our own good.
“Boo!” Someone whispered deeply.
“Huzzah! You came!” I hugged Aiden’s neck. I loved it when he came to shows. It was nice for him to see what came of all the time I spent at the theater. We watched in silence for a while. I loved seeing my cast in character. When the curtain closed and they all took their bows, I left no one in the dark, true to my word.
“Yay! Cast party! C’mon.” The audience was gone and my actors were changing out of their costumes. We always had our cast parties on the stage. Yes, there was alcohol, but there were rules. Once you finish your can or bottle you had to put it at the foot of the stage. This discouraged anyone from getting too drunk. The stage had a five foot drop, and falling on beer bottles did not soften the fall. It really was a good method.
When the party was over, and everyone was gone, (No one was any more than tipsy. The pile below the stage started to be frightfully large, so I made them all switch to apple juice. I still made them get rides home, though) Aiden and I started packing for Jersey. We’d leave the next afternoon, it was only about an hour drive. Honestly? I didn’t even know how long we’d be there. I figured two or three nights, enough for everyone to catch up with each other and promise to call once a week or so.
“Aiden,” I said to him as we were drinking coffee on my couch. “Would you consider me a successful person?”
He put his cup down on the table. “You adorable piece of shit. You are twenty one years old, and on your way to becoming an audio lighting engineer. You got into the college of your dreams, you own a goddamn theater, and you’re engaged to be married. If that isn’t successful, the President is an underachiever.”
“I guess you’re right…I’m just afraid of going back to see my family and them expecting differently of me. Like maybe to become a doctor, or to have been a little more adventurous. You know, gotten drunk once or twice, visited an exotic country, bought an obnoxious sports car…”
“Stop stressing, kid. They’re your family. They’ll be proud of you no matter what, especially since you’re actually independent and working, which is more than can be said for a lot of people your age.”
I guess I was stressing over nothing. I mean, family is family, right?
Aiden left back to his own apartment. I couldn’t wait til we became a family and I moved into his (much nicer) apartment. I went to sleep, drifting off while thinking that maybe Frank had gotten a job as the guy who stood outside the fast food place dressed like a hotdog. For some reason, I thought it would suit him, you know?
“Curtain in five, lovelies. If you fudge up you do your curtain call in the dark. Have a good time!”
And so it went. The curtain parted to reveal a beautifully painted backdrop and a pacing Oliver. I turned around and walked back to the booth. Staring at my actors wouldn’t help them act any better. Not that they had to. Each one of them was talented and professional, my ridiculously long and tedious interviewing process was well worth it. It had taken three years, but I’d built up a perfect troupe that could handle anything I threw at them, from Shakespeare to Mary Poppins.
Sigh. And they told me this was a stupid job.
Georgia and I sat, whispering to each other and stupidly quoting each line that was said. We sometimes had too much fun for our own good.
“Boo!” Someone whispered deeply.
“Huzzah! You came!” I hugged Aiden’s neck. I loved it when he came to shows. It was nice for him to see what came of all the time I spent at the theater. We watched in silence for a while. I loved seeing my cast in character. When the curtain closed and they all took their bows, I left no one in the dark, true to my word.
“Yay! Cast party! C’mon.” The audience was gone and my actors were changing out of their costumes. We always had our cast parties on the stage. Yes, there was alcohol, but there were rules. Once you finish your can or bottle you had to put it at the foot of the stage. This discouraged anyone from getting too drunk. The stage had a five foot drop, and falling on beer bottles did not soften the fall. It really was a good method.
When the party was over, and everyone was gone, (No one was any more than tipsy. The pile below the stage started to be frightfully large, so I made them all switch to apple juice. I still made them get rides home, though) Aiden and I started packing for Jersey. We’d leave the next afternoon, it was only about an hour drive. Honestly? I didn’t even know how long we’d be there. I figured two or three nights, enough for everyone to catch up with each other and promise to call once a week or so.
“Aiden,” I said to him as we were drinking coffee on my couch. “Would you consider me a successful person?”
He put his cup down on the table. “You adorable piece of shit. You are twenty one years old, and on your way to becoming an audio lighting engineer. You got into the college of your dreams, you own a goddamn theater, and you’re engaged to be married. If that isn’t successful, the President is an underachiever.”
“I guess you’re right…I’m just afraid of going back to see my family and them expecting differently of me. Like maybe to become a doctor, or to have been a little more adventurous. You know, gotten drunk once or twice, visited an exotic country, bought an obnoxious sports car…”
“Stop stressing, kid. They’re your family. They’ll be proud of you no matter what, especially since you’re actually independent and working, which is more than can be said for a lot of people your age.”
I guess I was stressing over nothing. I mean, family is family, right?
Aiden left back to his own apartment. I couldn’t wait til we became a family and I moved into his (much nicer) apartment. I went to sleep, drifting off while thinking that maybe Frank had gotten a job as the guy who stood outside the fast food place dressed like a hotdog. For some reason, I thought it would suit him, you know?