Curtain Call

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

       I don't think I've ever been this excited for the first rehearsal of the play, mainly because I actually have a part in it and I'm not just attending rehearsals to get ideas for the set design. I'm still a bit hesitant about having the lead in the play, but I promised Ms. Salazar I'd give it a chance. That's exactly what I'm going to do.

       We didn't have rehearsal on Friday since Ms. Salazar wanted to sort a few more things. My guess is she had to find a replacement for Patty since Anita quit the play. That's another reason I want to give the play a chance; no one else auditioned for Sandy so if I quit, Ms. Salazar might have to hold auditions again which will only hold back rehearsals even more.

       Monday rolls around and as school ends, rehearsal begins. Since it's the very first one, we're going to be doing a cold read of the play just in case there are some things we have to change with the script. 

       Rehearsal doesn't officially start until three, so Ms. Salazar takes the time to hand out the scripts. Chairs are set up in a circle on the stage, each one having a character's name to indicate where we sit. Once I receive my script, I sit down on the one with Sandy's name. Luckily, Orchid gets to sit beside me so if I need help for whatever reason, my theatre veteran sister can help.

       Especially if I end up getting flustered before Jerome has to sit on the other side of me. Which will probably happen since he's very attractive and he'll be playing my love interest. This is going to be just great.

       As the cast slowly sit down in their seats, I get a good look at who's playing which part. I'm not the only one who got cast in a role that's typically played by a different gender. That, I definitely feel relieved about. It won't feel like all eyes will always be on me. Alan is one of the people so at least one of my siblings has the same type of role as me.

       Once it's three o'clock, Ms. Salazar sits in one of the chairs with a script and a clipboard. "Alright, everyone, welcome to the first rehearsal," she says. "Sorry we couldn't have one on Friday. We were going to do the cold read then but I had things to take care of."

       "Is it true Anita complained to Mrs. Goth about the play?" the girl who's playing Marty, Thea, says.

       "She did," Ms. Salazar says, "but I already ran through the cast list with Mrs. Goth before I posted it. She agrees that there's nothing wrong with changing things around to fit the time we're in. Anyway, first, we'll go around introducing ourselves with your name, pronouns, and the role you're playing. We'll start with Jerome."

       "Hi, I'm Jerome, but I'm pretty sure you all know me," Jerome says. "My pronouns are he/him, and I'm playing Danny. Obviously. There's no one else who's better suited for this role."

       Everyone laughs at Jerome's cockiness while Ms. Salazar just sighs. "There are other people who are fit for Danny," she says. "But you're the best fit for our Sandy's opposite."

       "I said what I said."

       Ms. Salazar ignores Jerome as she looks at me, gesturing for me to go. "O-Oh," I say. "I'm Nolan, my pronouns are he/him, and... I'm playing Sandy."

       We continue to go around the single, introducing ourselves. Once we're done, we get right into the cold read. One of the reasons why we told everyone our pronouns, apart from making sure we don't misgender anyone, is because the characters' pronouns will be matching their actor's. Meaning Sandy is he/him because of me, Frenchy is he/they because of Alan, and there are some other characters, too.

       We've barely started reading the script and I'm already feeling so comfortable being here. There isn't a single person here judging sexualities or gender identities. Or if there is, they're doing it silently, knowing they'd probably get kicked out if they had a problem with it, just like Anita.

       Though I think Anita quit before Ms. Salazar could kick her out. 

       During the cold read, we skip over the songs since we haven't had any practice for them. Not only that, but the cold read is more for us actors to be familiar with the script and for Ms. Salazar to see the chemistry between any actors. She's going to need ideas for blocking and stuff like that.

       While I do feel comfortable being here, I also feel a bit nervous the more I read the script. I have a lot of lines. A lot. And this is my first time being in a play. I'm sure going to be busy this semester with rehearsal and learning my lines and practicing the songs.

       I can do it, though. I have to.

       Once we're done with the cold read, Ms. Salazar smiles and applauds. "Oh, I am so excited for the play," she says. "I can't think of a more perfect cast than the one we have right now. You're all so talented, and I know this is just the beginning. Next rehearsal, we will begin practicing some of the songs. Are there any questions?"

       Nobody has any questions, so Ms. Salazar tells us that we're free to leave. Most rehearsals are longer than this, but she only wanted to do the cold read for today. A lot of us are antsy from sitting in the chairs for over an hour. We had enough of that during our classes.

       As I put my script in backpack, Jerome says, "So I have a question for you."

       "Are you going to ask me who's best suited for Danny?" I ask. "Because I think you're pretty confident that you're the only one who should have that role."

       "Okay, I didn't say I'm the only one for the role," Jerome says. "I said I'm best suited. And no, that's not what I was going to ask. My question is how come you never auditioned before?"

       "Anxiety," I say. "And fear. A lot of things."

       "That's understandable," Jerome says. "Well, either way, I'm glad you're in the play. I'll see you around."

       "Y-yeah, see you," I say before he walks off. I'm glad I don't feel like too flustered around him, otherwise the upcoming rehearsals are going to be a pain. Right now, though, I'm excited for all of them.

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so i had a revelation not too long ago that alan is definitely a he/they. it makes sense so now whenever i have a new protector au, those are his pronouns. thank you.

so yeah alan's pronouns will be alternating between he and they throughout the book.