Rhapsody Theater: Part 1
"Um...excuse me?" A timid voice said from backstage.
"Yes, can we help you?" A voice more powerful this time, more intimidating spoke from onstage.
"I would...er, I'm here for...an audition..."said the timid voice again.
"Well ok, come out here and we'll see what you can do." A silence fell across the entire theater, not even a pin from the costumers backstage could be heard. Slowly, nervously,the timid girl walked to the center of the stage. The intimidating man, the director, sat at a table off to the side of the stage near the curtain. He was relaxed, his face expressionless. "What are you going to sing for us?" he asked blandly.
"I'm singing...er, Over the Rainbow, from the Wizard of Oz?" She took a deep breath, as if glad she had simply remembered the name of the peice.
"Ok, start whenever you're ready." The director leaned forward, resting is chin on his folded hands. The girl took one quick look at her surroundings, clearly noticing the dozens of stagehands and seasoned preformers watching her every move. Then, she began. She started quiety, the words barely understandable due to the quivering in her voice. After a few lines, she began to get more confident, getting used to the stage and her audience. By the time she was at the second chorus, she was loud and outgoing, with no sign of quivering. She smiled and started to have fun with her song, moving a bit and changing it from an audition to a preformance. As she sang the final line, she smiled and stood tall, awaiting whatever the reaction of the director. "Ok, good. Now, here's a script, we're going to try some reading. Alexandra!"
"Yeah Mark?" A tall teenage girl apeared onstage. She was completely at ease around the director, clearly a seasoned preformer at this theater.
"Read with this girl please," said the director, handing her a script, "Go down to the end of the page and stop." Alexandra nodded and walked over to where the girl was. The confidence she had gained singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" left her when paired with a regular.
"Now Anne, don't you dare speak to me like that!" Alexandra spoke her first line with the skill and confidence expected of a regular preformer. The girl was terrified, speaking her lines quietly and quivering. At the end of the scene, Alexandra smiled and shook the girl's hand.
"Very good," said the director, "we're hoping to be done casting by the end of the week, we'll call you then. Have a good week, thank you." The girl's eyes dodged back and forth. Confused, she wondered if this was it. The director began talking to a stagehand, and the girl sighed and walked off the stage and through the theater. Alexandra watched her as she left. The girl walked quickly, almost running up the aisles of the theater. Once she reached the doors, she took one more look at the theater as a whole, the stage, the seats, the balconies and everything. She sighed, and left the theater.
"Mark," Alexandra shouted across the stage to the director, "what'd she sing?
"Over the Rainbow," he shouted offhand. Alexandra smiled.
"A classic." she said under her breath, "Mark do you need me anymore?"
"No, that was the last one for today, you can go."
"Thanks!" Alexandra shouted back, knowing full well that she couldn't leave yet. She had a rehersal in an hour, if she left now, she'd just have to turn right around to come back. But then, wasn't that how it always was? Going back and forth between home and the famed Rhapsody Theater. She was there almost everyday, including weekends. She spent more time at the stage then she did at her apartment in Cassady. The theater should start charging her rent.
"Alexandra!" A young man in loose jeans and a red t-shirt came up behind Alexandra, he smiled at her and put his arm around her waist.
"Hello David," Alexandra rolled her eyes at him, "what's up?"
"You got any more auditions today?" he asked
"No, that girl was the last one, why?"
"Want to do Othello's? Rehersal's not for an hour, right?"
"Yeah sure, let me go get my bag though, and check my costumes..."
"...and disinfect your dressing room, and scrub the hallway, and put up iron barracades infront of your dressing room..."
"Shut up," said Alexandra, lauging and walking backstage, "give me five minutes,"
"Five minutes," said David, "and I wasn't kidding about scrubbing the hallway, someone spilled somehting down there, I think I it was orange juice!" Alexandra laughed as she reached the door to the downstairs cast center. It was located underneath the theater through a door backstage. It consisted of a long hallway, on one side were twelve dressing rooms, the first of which was Alexandra's. On the other side, across from the dressing rooms, was a large room with costumes and couches and vending machines which acted as the cast lounge. A smaller room connected to that was the official costume room, though costumes seemed to have a habit of living in everyroom of the theater, including the bathrooms. Alexandra opened the door to her room and walked in.
It wasn't a large room, but it wasn't small compared to the others. It had one window, next to a large mirror on the wall across from the door. The mirror had a long counter attached to the bottom, with a chair infront of it. On the counter, makeup and hairspray and combs were spread about everywhere. Alexandra made a mental note to clean the desk next time she had a break. Her purse, a black bag with stars on it, sat on the counter next to an enormous bottle of hair spray. She grabbed it quickly and after quickly scanning the walls where her costumes hung, locked the door and started up the stairs.
"Alexandra!" she heard someone say behind her. She turned around quickly, and saw that no one was there.
"Did someone want me?" she yelled down the cast center corrider. No one replyed. She shrugged it off, and walked up the stairs and across the stage to where David was waiting for her.
"You look shaken," he said, "What's wrong?"
"I thought I heard someone calling me," she said, "But when I turned around, no one was there. And when I asked if anyone wanted me, no one answered."
"Weird," said David, "but not entirly impossible, I mean we're in a theater. People shout things all the time that have no meaning. Maybe one of the stagehand's name is Alexandra. Though, I think we know most of their names..."
"Let's just go," said Alexandra. She took David's hand and the two walked out of the theater and out the doors to the streets of Star City. About two buildings down from Rhapsody Theater, was Othello's Italian Resteraunt. The owner was a huge fan of the Rhapsody and gave it's regular preformers a discount. Needless to say, it's where most of the Rhapsody actors spent their break times.
"Alexandra! David!" The owner was behind the counter today, he greeted the two regulars with open arms, "How you two doing? You on a break?"
"Hi Tony," said Alexandra as she and David took their usual seats up at the bar, "we had an hour before our next rehersal, we though we'd do lunch."
"Of course! Of course!" Tony took out a pad of paper and a pen from his apron pocket, "Now, what can I get for you two today, big plate of spagetti? Chicken parmigan? That's one of your favorites David."
"Just a pizza for now," said David, smiling, "half pepperoni, half mushroom."
"Anything to drink?" asked Tony.
"I'll have a coke and Alexandra..."
"I'll take the same," she finished quickly, "thanks."
"Ok," said Tony, "I'll be back." He dissapeared into the kitchen, while another employee got Alexandra and David their cokes. The waitress was clearly new, as it took her two tries to get the fountain to work. When she finally got them their cokes, she looked suprised to see Alexandra.
"Um...you aren't by any chance...Alexandra Beller, are you?" the waitress asked. Alexandra smiled, she was used to this in Star City.
"Yes I am," she said. The Waitress gasped.
"Ohmygoodness! I love your shows, I saw "Beauty and the Beast" over my vacation and I thought you were an amazing Belle!"
"I remember that one," said David, "I was the beast."
"Oh you were?" the waitress turned red, "I'm sorry, I didn't notice. You always had all that make-up on."
"No worries," David laughed, "Alexandra was an amazing Belle though, did you see anything else of hers?"
"Oh God yes," said the waitress, "I'm a huge fan. I saw "A Christmas Carol" at Christmas, you were a great Christmas Past. I saw "West Side Story"..."
"Not my best one," said Alexandra, "I could never quite get Maria's accent down."
"Well I thought you were brilliant," the waitress gushed.
"Yeah," said David, "Most people do." Tony returned at that moment, and the waitress scurried silently away to get someone else's drink.
"Talking to the new help?" asked Tony as he put Alexandra and David's pizza on the counter, "she's nice ain’t she?"
"She's very...er...excitable," said Alexandra.
"Alexandra's got groupies." said David.
"Oh yeah, speaking of groupies," said Tony, "Someone came in here earlier asking for you Alexandra, a little girl."
"A little girl?" asked Alexandra.
"Yeah, she looked about eight or nine," said Tony, "wanted to know if "Alexandra Beller" had been here at all today. I told her that you hadn't yet but if she waited around you'd probably show up. Then she said thank you and left."
"Did she leave a name or anything?" asked Alexandra.
"Nope, just asked for you and then left. She went in the direction of the Rhapsody, I thought maybe she went looking for you there. I guess though, she didn't?"
"No," said Alexandra, “The only little girl I saw today was the one I auditioned and she was at least thirteen or fourteen.”
“No,” said Tony, “this girl was at most maybe nine years old.”
“Well, I haven’t seen any nine year olds today,” said Alexandra, “but if I do, I will make sure to ask her what she wants.” The door to the restaurant opened and Tony left them to speak to the new customers. David and Alexandra talked between bites about anything they could think of, the Rhapsody, the director, dance shoes, stage lights, anything that popped into their heads. They finished the last of the pizza just in time to make it back for rehearsal.
“Back to the stage?” Tony asked as they got up from their seats.
“Where else do we ever go?” David asked laughing. They said goodbye to Tony and again, they were off. The Rhapsody Theater was currently performing the Tragedy of Macbeth with David in the role of Macduff and Alexandra in the famed role of Lady Macbeth. Macbeth himself was played by a man named Tom Wright who was nearly ten years older then Alexandra, who was suppose to be playing his wife. Alexandra liked the role of Lady Macbeth, but was rather anxious to have it over with. She had played the part for almost three months now and was tired of it and wanted to move on to something different.
The rehearsal she was attending today was for the Rhapsody’s latest production, Peter Pan. The show was in extremely preliminary stages, and many of the parts had yet to be cast. Alexandra herself was unsure what part she would be playing, though she had a strong suspicion that she would be playing Wendy.
“Why Wendy?” asked David as the two walked into the theater.
“It’s the kind of part I always seem to get,” Alexandra answered, “The lead female. The lead male’s love interest and full time damsel in distress. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing those kinds of parts, but it would be nice to just once in a while play something different.”
“What about Lady Macbeth?” David pointed out, “She was different, she’s all seducing and manipulative and stuff, she even gets to go crazy at the end.”
“Yeah but she’s still just the main man’s wife,” Alexandra sighed, “I just want a part that’s not attached to a guy that’s all.”
“Alexandra you’re here!” Mark, the director came walking down the isle, “I want to talk to you, backstage.” He turned, midway in the isle and walked quickly towards backstage, “Now!” he shouted back. Alexandra ran up the isle to follow him backstage.
“What’s up Mark?” asked Alexandra once she finally caught up to him.
“It’s about the play, Peter Pan? It’s not cast yet and…”
“Yes Mark, I’ll play Wendy.” Alexandra sighed and laughed, “God you’re so predictable. I was just talking about this with David…”
“Actually,” said Mark, “I was kind of hoping you’d play Peter.”
“Peter?” Alexandra was shocked. Why on Earth was Mark doing this? Was it a joke, or a test of her acting skills? To say the offer was unexpected would be an understatement.
“The part is usually played by a woman,” said Mark, “and I thought it might be interesting to have you give it a try. What do you think?”
“Er..well…it’s very different from what I play…” said Alexandra, “but I’ll try it.”
“Good,” said Mark, “I took the liberty of having the costume sent down to your dressing room. Go down and try it on and talk to the costumer if there’s any problems. After you’re done, come up and join everyone else, ok?”
“Ok Mark. I’ll be downstairs.” She walked across the stage, attempting to mouth the words “I’m playing Peter” to David with little success. She walked down the stairs backstage right, and into the first dressing room of the hallway. She closed the door and threw her bag onto counter. The green Peter Pan costume hung on the back of the door. She stared at it a moment and sighed. “Peter Pan,” she muttered, “What is Mark thinking?”
“You did say you wanted to play a different kind of part.”
“Yeah I know, but I…wait a minute.” She turned around quickly to discover that a little girl had somehow gotten into her dressing room. She was standing across the room from Alexandra, wearing a small, and flowing pink and purple dress that looked like a nightgown. She had strait brown hair, put up into pigtails. Overall, the girl was quite cute; Alexandra had to stop herself from saying “Awww…” when she saw her. Of the many questions going through Alexandra’s mind at the time, the only one that managed to come out of her mouth was, “How did you get in here?”
“I walked through the door,” the girl replied.
To be continued...
"Yes, can we help you?" A voice more powerful this time, more intimidating spoke from onstage.
"I would...er, I'm here for...an audition..."said the timid voice again.
"Well ok, come out here and we'll see what you can do." A silence fell across the entire theater, not even a pin from the costumers backstage could be heard. Slowly, nervously,the timid girl walked to the center of the stage. The intimidating man, the director, sat at a table off to the side of the stage near the curtain. He was relaxed, his face expressionless. "What are you going to sing for us?" he asked blandly.
"I'm singing...er, Over the Rainbow, from the Wizard of Oz?" She took a deep breath, as if glad she had simply remembered the name of the peice.
"Ok, start whenever you're ready." The director leaned forward, resting is chin on his folded hands. The girl took one quick look at her surroundings, clearly noticing the dozens of stagehands and seasoned preformers watching her every move. Then, she began. She started quiety, the words barely understandable due to the quivering in her voice. After a few lines, she began to get more confident, getting used to the stage and her audience. By the time she was at the second chorus, she was loud and outgoing, with no sign of quivering. She smiled and started to have fun with her song, moving a bit and changing it from an audition to a preformance. As she sang the final line, she smiled and stood tall, awaiting whatever the reaction of the director. "Ok, good. Now, here's a script, we're going to try some reading. Alexandra!"
"Yeah Mark?" A tall teenage girl apeared onstage. She was completely at ease around the director, clearly a seasoned preformer at this theater.
"Read with this girl please," said the director, handing her a script, "Go down to the end of the page and stop." Alexandra nodded and walked over to where the girl was. The confidence she had gained singing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" left her when paired with a regular.
"Now Anne, don't you dare speak to me like that!" Alexandra spoke her first line with the skill and confidence expected of a regular preformer. The girl was terrified, speaking her lines quietly and quivering. At the end of the scene, Alexandra smiled and shook the girl's hand.
"Very good," said the director, "we're hoping to be done casting by the end of the week, we'll call you then. Have a good week, thank you." The girl's eyes dodged back and forth. Confused, she wondered if this was it. The director began talking to a stagehand, and the girl sighed and walked off the stage and through the theater. Alexandra watched her as she left. The girl walked quickly, almost running up the aisles of the theater. Once she reached the doors, she took one more look at the theater as a whole, the stage, the seats, the balconies and everything. She sighed, and left the theater.
"Mark," Alexandra shouted across the stage to the director, "what'd she sing?
"Over the Rainbow," he shouted offhand. Alexandra smiled.
"A classic." she said under her breath, "Mark do you need me anymore?"
"No, that was the last one for today, you can go."
"Thanks!" Alexandra shouted back, knowing full well that she couldn't leave yet. She had a rehersal in an hour, if she left now, she'd just have to turn right around to come back. But then, wasn't that how it always was? Going back and forth between home and the famed Rhapsody Theater. She was there almost everyday, including weekends. She spent more time at the stage then she did at her apartment in Cassady. The theater should start charging her rent.
"Alexandra!" A young man in loose jeans and a red t-shirt came up behind Alexandra, he smiled at her and put his arm around her waist.
"Hello David," Alexandra rolled her eyes at him, "what's up?"
"You got any more auditions today?" he asked
"No, that girl was the last one, why?"
"Want to do Othello's? Rehersal's not for an hour, right?"
"Yeah sure, let me go get my bag though, and check my costumes..."
"...and disinfect your dressing room, and scrub the hallway, and put up iron barracades infront of your dressing room..."
"Shut up," said Alexandra, lauging and walking backstage, "give me five minutes,"
"Five minutes," said David, "and I wasn't kidding about scrubbing the hallway, someone spilled somehting down there, I think I it was orange juice!" Alexandra laughed as she reached the door to the downstairs cast center. It was located underneath the theater through a door backstage. It consisted of a long hallway, on one side were twelve dressing rooms, the first of which was Alexandra's. On the other side, across from the dressing rooms, was a large room with costumes and couches and vending machines which acted as the cast lounge. A smaller room connected to that was the official costume room, though costumes seemed to have a habit of living in everyroom of the theater, including the bathrooms. Alexandra opened the door to her room and walked in.
It wasn't a large room, but it wasn't small compared to the others. It had one window, next to a large mirror on the wall across from the door. The mirror had a long counter attached to the bottom, with a chair infront of it. On the counter, makeup and hairspray and combs were spread about everywhere. Alexandra made a mental note to clean the desk next time she had a break. Her purse, a black bag with stars on it, sat on the counter next to an enormous bottle of hair spray. She grabbed it quickly and after quickly scanning the walls where her costumes hung, locked the door and started up the stairs.
"Alexandra!" she heard someone say behind her. She turned around quickly, and saw that no one was there.
"Did someone want me?" she yelled down the cast center corrider. No one replyed. She shrugged it off, and walked up the stairs and across the stage to where David was waiting for her.
"You look shaken," he said, "What's wrong?"
"I thought I heard someone calling me," she said, "But when I turned around, no one was there. And when I asked if anyone wanted me, no one answered."
"Weird," said David, "but not entirly impossible, I mean we're in a theater. People shout things all the time that have no meaning. Maybe one of the stagehand's name is Alexandra. Though, I think we know most of their names..."
"Let's just go," said Alexandra. She took David's hand and the two walked out of the theater and out the doors to the streets of Star City. About two buildings down from Rhapsody Theater, was Othello's Italian Resteraunt. The owner was a huge fan of the Rhapsody and gave it's regular preformers a discount. Needless to say, it's where most of the Rhapsody actors spent their break times.
"Alexandra! David!" The owner was behind the counter today, he greeted the two regulars with open arms, "How you two doing? You on a break?"
"Hi Tony," said Alexandra as she and David took their usual seats up at the bar, "we had an hour before our next rehersal, we though we'd do lunch."
"Of course! Of course!" Tony took out a pad of paper and a pen from his apron pocket, "Now, what can I get for you two today, big plate of spagetti? Chicken parmigan? That's one of your favorites David."
"Just a pizza for now," said David, smiling, "half pepperoni, half mushroom."
"Anything to drink?" asked Tony.
"I'll have a coke and Alexandra..."
"I'll take the same," she finished quickly, "thanks."
"Ok," said Tony, "I'll be back." He dissapeared into the kitchen, while another employee got Alexandra and David their cokes. The waitress was clearly new, as it took her two tries to get the fountain to work. When she finally got them their cokes, she looked suprised to see Alexandra.
"Um...you aren't by any chance...Alexandra Beller, are you?" the waitress asked. Alexandra smiled, she was used to this in Star City.
"Yes I am," she said. The Waitress gasped.
"Ohmygoodness! I love your shows, I saw "Beauty and the Beast" over my vacation and I thought you were an amazing Belle!"
"I remember that one," said David, "I was the beast."
"Oh you were?" the waitress turned red, "I'm sorry, I didn't notice. You always had all that make-up on."
"No worries," David laughed, "Alexandra was an amazing Belle though, did you see anything else of hers?"
"Oh God yes," said the waitress, "I'm a huge fan. I saw "A Christmas Carol" at Christmas, you were a great Christmas Past. I saw "West Side Story"..."
"Not my best one," said Alexandra, "I could never quite get Maria's accent down."
"Well I thought you were brilliant," the waitress gushed.
"Yeah," said David, "Most people do." Tony returned at that moment, and the waitress scurried silently away to get someone else's drink.
"Talking to the new help?" asked Tony as he put Alexandra and David's pizza on the counter, "she's nice ain’t she?"
"She's very...er...excitable," said Alexandra.
"Alexandra's got groupies." said David.
"Oh yeah, speaking of groupies," said Tony, "Someone came in here earlier asking for you Alexandra, a little girl."
"A little girl?" asked Alexandra.
"Yeah, she looked about eight or nine," said Tony, "wanted to know if "Alexandra Beller" had been here at all today. I told her that you hadn't yet but if she waited around you'd probably show up. Then she said thank you and left."
"Did she leave a name or anything?" asked Alexandra.
"Nope, just asked for you and then left. She went in the direction of the Rhapsody, I thought maybe she went looking for you there. I guess though, she didn't?"
"No," said Alexandra, “The only little girl I saw today was the one I auditioned and she was at least thirteen or fourteen.”
“No,” said Tony, “this girl was at most maybe nine years old.”
“Well, I haven’t seen any nine year olds today,” said Alexandra, “but if I do, I will make sure to ask her what she wants.” The door to the restaurant opened and Tony left them to speak to the new customers. David and Alexandra talked between bites about anything they could think of, the Rhapsody, the director, dance shoes, stage lights, anything that popped into their heads. They finished the last of the pizza just in time to make it back for rehearsal.
“Back to the stage?” Tony asked as they got up from their seats.
“Where else do we ever go?” David asked laughing. They said goodbye to Tony and again, they were off. The Rhapsody Theater was currently performing the Tragedy of Macbeth with David in the role of Macduff and Alexandra in the famed role of Lady Macbeth. Macbeth himself was played by a man named Tom Wright who was nearly ten years older then Alexandra, who was suppose to be playing his wife. Alexandra liked the role of Lady Macbeth, but was rather anxious to have it over with. She had played the part for almost three months now and was tired of it and wanted to move on to something different.
The rehearsal she was attending today was for the Rhapsody’s latest production, Peter Pan. The show was in extremely preliminary stages, and many of the parts had yet to be cast. Alexandra herself was unsure what part she would be playing, though she had a strong suspicion that she would be playing Wendy.
“Why Wendy?” asked David as the two walked into the theater.
“It’s the kind of part I always seem to get,” Alexandra answered, “The lead female. The lead male’s love interest and full time damsel in distress. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing those kinds of parts, but it would be nice to just once in a while play something different.”
“What about Lady Macbeth?” David pointed out, “She was different, she’s all seducing and manipulative and stuff, she even gets to go crazy at the end.”
“Yeah but she’s still just the main man’s wife,” Alexandra sighed, “I just want a part that’s not attached to a guy that’s all.”
“Alexandra you’re here!” Mark, the director came walking down the isle, “I want to talk to you, backstage.” He turned, midway in the isle and walked quickly towards backstage, “Now!” he shouted back. Alexandra ran up the isle to follow him backstage.
“What’s up Mark?” asked Alexandra once she finally caught up to him.
“It’s about the play, Peter Pan? It’s not cast yet and…”
“Yes Mark, I’ll play Wendy.” Alexandra sighed and laughed, “God you’re so predictable. I was just talking about this with David…”
“Actually,” said Mark, “I was kind of hoping you’d play Peter.”
“Peter?” Alexandra was shocked. Why on Earth was Mark doing this? Was it a joke, or a test of her acting skills? To say the offer was unexpected would be an understatement.
“The part is usually played by a woman,” said Mark, “and I thought it might be interesting to have you give it a try. What do you think?”
“Er..well…it’s very different from what I play…” said Alexandra, “but I’ll try it.”
“Good,” said Mark, “I took the liberty of having the costume sent down to your dressing room. Go down and try it on and talk to the costumer if there’s any problems. After you’re done, come up and join everyone else, ok?”
“Ok Mark. I’ll be downstairs.” She walked across the stage, attempting to mouth the words “I’m playing Peter” to David with little success. She walked down the stairs backstage right, and into the first dressing room of the hallway. She closed the door and threw her bag onto counter. The green Peter Pan costume hung on the back of the door. She stared at it a moment and sighed. “Peter Pan,” she muttered, “What is Mark thinking?”
“You did say you wanted to play a different kind of part.”
“Yeah I know, but I…wait a minute.” She turned around quickly to discover that a little girl had somehow gotten into her dressing room. She was standing across the room from Alexandra, wearing a small, and flowing pink and purple dress that looked like a nightgown. She had strait brown hair, put up into pigtails. Overall, the girl was quite cute; Alexandra had to stop herself from saying “Awww…” when she saw her. Of the many questions going through Alexandra’s mind at the time, the only one that managed to come out of her mouth was, “How did you get in here?”
“I walked through the door,” the girl replied.
To be continued...