The Boards, Thursday [Rehearsal]
Troy sat on the edge of the stage, gesturing for everyone, once they'd come in in their costumes, to gather in the front rows of the seats. "I want to tell you all a little story," he said, smiling a little, lips twisting up at one side. "See, once upon a time, there was this guy. The Basketball Guy. All he did, all he was, all anyone expected of him was that he play basketball, and that he win. It wasn't about the team so much, although many of them were just as good, and they were his friends, his teammates, he could count on them on-court and off. Still, the Basketball Guy was all anyone talked about, the one they expected to lead the team to victory, time after time after time. Win or lose, it was all on him.
"But the Basketball Guy, he wasn't happy. He didn't realise this, though, not until someone took a chance on him, someone willing to stand up with him when she was just as afraid, to stand up against their friends when all their friends wanted was for them to sit down, shut up, and keep doing what they were supposed to do -- no matter how much the Basketball Guy and the Science Girl wanted to do something they'd never tried before: get up on stage and sing."
Troy jumped to his feet, easily keeping his balance at the stage's edge, walking back and navigating through where the stage was already set for scene one. "There were problems, but eventually their friends came around, and the Basketball Guy was able to stop being the Basketball Guy. For once, he just got to be a guy. And even when he was the lead in the show, when he expected everyone to be watching for that first misstep, he learned that maybe he could just be a guy. Being the lead in the show didn't mean that everyone was relying on him, and only him. Everyone around him would hold him up when he stumbled, catch him when he fell, and if something went terribly, horribly wrong, hey, that's live theatre! You do your best, and you make sure it's your best, and that's enough, no matter what happens.
"This is it, guys," Troy finished. "When I did my first show back in high school, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, and look at me now."
From off to the side, where he was fiddling with his guitar, Jono snorted. "He still doesn't."
"Exactly!" Laughing, Troy continued, "You're all in a position to do something spectacular here. And maybe things go wrong -- maybe someone forgets a prop, or a line, or someone's corset comes undone in the middle of the floor show. The motorcycle may not work the way it's supposed to, or the lights don't work, or, hey, I was in a show once where the music cut out mid-song -- and we just kept going, and no one cared, because that's theatre. Do your best, guys, no matter what that is. That's all anyone can ask of you."
He hopped down off the stage, waving everyone up onto it. "Places, everyone, for the top of the show. This is your dress rehearsal, so one time, straight through.
"And... curtain."
[ Cast List | Script (with AP, multi-page, colour on black) | Script (no AP, single page, black on white) | Wait for OCD is up!]
"But the Basketball Guy, he wasn't happy. He didn't realise this, though, not until someone took a chance on him, someone willing to stand up with him when she was just as afraid, to stand up against their friends when all their friends wanted was for them to sit down, shut up, and keep doing what they were supposed to do -- no matter how much the Basketball Guy and the Science Girl wanted to do something they'd never tried before: get up on stage and sing."
Troy jumped to his feet, easily keeping his balance at the stage's edge, walking back and navigating through where the stage was already set for scene one. "There were problems, but eventually their friends came around, and the Basketball Guy was able to stop being the Basketball Guy. For once, he just got to be a guy. And even when he was the lead in the show, when he expected everyone to be watching for that first misstep, he learned that maybe he could just be a guy. Being the lead in the show didn't mean that everyone was relying on him, and only him. Everyone around him would hold him up when he stumbled, catch him when he fell, and if something went terribly, horribly wrong, hey, that's live theatre! You do your best, and you make sure it's your best, and that's enough, no matter what happens.
"This is it, guys," Troy finished. "When I did my first show back in high school, I didn't have a clue what I was doing, and look at me now."
From off to the side, where he was fiddling with his guitar, Jono snorted. "He still doesn't."
"Exactly!" Laughing, Troy continued, "You're all in a position to do something spectacular here. And maybe things go wrong -- maybe someone forgets a prop, or a line, or someone's corset comes undone in the middle of the floor show. The motorcycle may not work the way it's supposed to, or the lights don't work, or, hey, I was in a show once where the music cut out mid-song -- and we just kept going, and no one cared, because that's theatre. Do your best, guys, no matter what that is. That's all anyone can ask of you."
He hopped down off the stage, waving everyone up onto it. "Places, everyone, for the top of the show. This is your dress rehearsal, so one time, straight through.
"And... curtain."
[ Cast List | Script (with AP, multi-page, colour on black) | Script (no AP, single page, black on white) | Wait for OCD is up!]