ersatz: cast replacement
Author: Nathalia
Rating: PG-13
Challenge:
Apfelstrudel #08 - ersatz
Flavor of the Day #246 - ersatz
Red Velvet #01 - break a leg
Extras / Toppings: malt (Kelly’s Trick-or-Treat: True friends stab you in the front. - Oscar Wilde), peaches (there are professional opportunities you will respond to with courage and confidence)
Word Count: 1,322
Story: Misfits
Summary: The Dracula play is in danger when one of the lead actresses breaks a leg.
Notes: I’m totally cheating. I had this written for a while now and was going to wait a while longer till I started Apple Strudel and Red Velvet but then today’s FotD came up.
When Stephanie came into the auditorium on crutches, with a big white cast around her leg, Kev knew that he was in trouble. They had three months until the play premiered and now the girl he had cast as Lucy, one of the two female leads, would probably have to be replaced.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Darren,” Stephanie began when she had made her way to him sitting on the table in front of where the rows of chairs started, surrounded by the script, notes, paperwork and all other things he couldn’t work without as he had come to realize shortly after being given the ungrateful job of directing this year’s high school play.
Stephanie, a girl with long dark curls of hair that fell over her shoulders and a big bossom contrasted nicely with the girl who played Mina, a taller girl with small hips but an attitude that fit the part so nicely that Kev kept forgetting her name and referring to her as Mina.
“It happened in gym class. We were jumping rope and I slipped and --”
Kev gaped at her, unsure if he should believe this to be a ridiculous accident and if it was really possible to break a leg while jumping rope.
“You’ve taken the theater idiom of breaking a leg one step too far, Steph,” he finally sighed. “And you just got me into a hell of a lot of trouble. I have to find another Lucy who has to learn her lines and get used to the others and … why did you have to do this to me?”
Stephanie looked apologetic. “I was so excited about it, I swear!” She looked around to the other actors and stage hands slowly filing into the auditorium. “I guess that’s it for me.”
Kev shook his head. “Your work is far from done, young lady. From now on, you are my assistant. You know the script, you know how things are supposed to work out. If I miss a mistake, spot it for me, if you have ideas about how to make something work better, I want to hear it.”
She smiled gratefully and Kev was filled with happiness about this girl actually wanting to be part of the production. It genuinely surprised him because she had been so reluctant at first, complained about how Lucy was just a little too sexual for her taste but once she had gotten into it, she had enjoyed being on stage. Kev had been able to tell.
“Your first job is to find me someone to replace you,” he instructed her. “Someone like you. Someone who doesn’t look too similar to Mina, I’d rather have someone with your built and attitude.”
He had expected her to look thoughtful but instead, her lights lit up and a triumphant smile grazed her lips. “Are you kidding? This is too easy.”
“Go ahead. You know the other qualities I’m looking for in Lucy, right?”
“Make Janna do it,” she said confidently and Kev followed Stephanie’s look over to where Janna was making herself comfortable a few rows away from them. She wasn’t part of the play, more of a forced stagehand because she was in detention very often and somehow, all kids in detention were sent to Kev to look after while he was working on the play.
“She more or less knows the lines and she looks different enough from Gina for nobody to get confused. And she is physically at least close to me, so you still get your dark-haired and your blond lead.”
Kev hadn’t stopped looking at Janna who was spreading herself out on a few seats, taking a copy of League of the Extraordinary Gentlemen out of her bag to start reading. Janna was sassy and confident and felt comfortable in her body. She wasn’t as busty as Stephanie but she wasn’t anywhere near flat either, more busty than the average girl, something the V-shaped sweater she was wearing today made very obvious. The green wool sweater was at mid-thigh length and clung to her full figure in a flattering way, bulging out at her breasts and hips. She wasn’t skinny, had a full, healthy figure like Stephanie, something both girls took pride in. Under the sweater-dress she was wearing thick black tights and black, flat unadorned winter boots that didn’t even reach mid-calf. She wasn’t made up because she never bothered with that and her wavy brown hair had carelessly been shoved over one shoulder the way she usually did it when she was reading.
“I would never have thought of her,” Kev admitted, finally looking back to Stephanie.
“Why not?” Stephanie asked confused. “She is perfect. You’re looking for busty and confident and sexy and Janna is all that. I thought the only reason you hadn’t cast her to begin with was because you didn’t want to make it look like you were playing favorites or something. I mean, with her pretty much living with you these days and stuff.”
That wasn’t the case. Kev had talked about the play with Janna and Jack while he had been picking it and cast Jack as the lead character, sight unseen, but never had he thought to include Janna in the production.
“I guess I just see her in a different way than you do,” Kev winked. “Do you mind hobbling over there and telling her that she is now our second female lead and that she doesn’t get to turn the part down because I’ll cry if she does?”
Stephanie nodded brightly, then started making her way over to Janna. Initially, Kev had promised her that she wouldn’t end up on the stage, no matter what happened, but then again, he hadn’t expected things to work out like this. This was an emergency and Stephanie was right. Janna had the looks for the part and if she approached this the same way she approached most things in life, then she wouldn’t even have to try too hard to portray enthusiastic Lucy.
“Alright, boys and girls,” he called out to the cast that had assembled by now. We’re starting out with the creepy scene with Seward and Renfield and the animals! Cast changes will be announced later when we have confirmation.”
He watched as the actors got on stage, Seward still with his script in hand because he was so bad at memorizing, while Vincent sat down on the weird bone chair on the part of the stage the psychiatry was set up in. Vincent had gotten on Kev’s nerves for days until Kev had agreed to let him play Renfield, partially because he had a few trained pet rats and had promised he could get a sparrow in a cage for the show
sat down on the part of the stage where his room in the psychiatry was set up in. Kev knew that most teachers would have been genuinely worried and tried to talk to Vincent’s parents about this but Kev really didn’t care. Vincent knew his lines and his pet rat Hal hadn’t caused much commotion yet. Besides, he really needed that sparrow.
“You are an ass, Kev. Thanks very much for that little action you just pulled there,” she muttered but Kev could tell that there was a hint of amusement in her voice as Janna approached him. “I hope the costumes aren’t all ready yet ‘cause otherwise, you might have to take mine in a bit in some spots. When do I get to rehearse?”
“We’ll do some Lucy scenes in twenty minutes or so,” Kev promised and Janna sat down next to him, reaching for a copy of the script and leafing through it until she found the scene of Seward proposing to Lucy.
“I think I know the lines to that one pretty well and so does Gavin, so I’d start with that one.”
Kev nodded. “Sure, Ms. Westenra.”