Character Flaws

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Walking into an auditorium full of people was an entirely different experience to walking into one that was mostly empty. A dull roar came from the crowd as they chattered amongst themselves in the dim light. It was a little disconcerting how different it was from rehearsal. I went to go sit down, Nugget close behind me, and we pushed through a row of people to get to a few open seats. A few minutes after we had sat down, the few remaining lights that had been on were cut off but no one came on stage. When another fifteen minutes passed I grew concerned that this wasn’t a normal delay, that something was happening. I told Nugget that I would be right back and stood up, pressing my way back out to the aisle. I staggered to the door that led backstage and crept inside, looking around but seeing no one. I froze when I heard Walt’s voice and then attempted to follow it through the maze of set designs and props. I found them in the very back corner, some people huddled around Walt, who seemed agitated , and others hustled around the outskirts of the room frantically. I saw Kate and made my way over to her, my heart beating a little bit faster in my chest. I did my best to ignore it. 

“What’s going on?” I asked her quietly. Startled she spun around to face me. 

“What are you doing here?” She hissed. I was taken aback by her sudden anger.

“Are you mad at me?” I was puzzled at what I could have done to offend her. 

“No, I’m not mad at you, you just bailed on us right before the show started.” I stared at her dubiously.

“Are you sure? It seems like you’re mad.” I said. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

“What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in prison?” She asked. 

“Nope. And my friend and I came to watch and it seemed like ya’ll were having technical difficulties so I thought I’d come back and see what I could do.” I answered shrugging. “So what’s going on?” 

“You’re replacement flaked out.” She said, glaring at me accusingly. I thought for a moment. 

“Well, who needs a replacement when you’ve got the real thing? Let’s suit up!” I fist-pumped mockingly. She looked at me, surprised. 

“Really?”

“Totally. Where’s my costume?” Maybe, I should have told her that I was out of my mind drunk, but then she wouldn’t let me help. It would work out fine. She went to tell Walt that I was here and had solved all their problems while I changed. I would be a guy for the first few scenes, so the dress was unnecessary. When I was properly clothed I exited the dressing room. Kate was onstage, pining for Lance Oliver as Daisy Orsino. She was very good. When she came back I complimented her as the deck crew switched the scenery for the next scene. When they were done I went on stage for the first time. The spotlights were bright and white hot, and being in front of the audience made my heart pound but as I began reciting the familiar lines my fear and unease melted away. I was conversing with the captain of the ship who had rescued me, asking him to help me with my plan of disguising myself as a woman when someone in the back of the audience started whooping. Looking back, I saw Nugget cheering excitedly. He was quickly shushed and I continued, learning about Lance Oliver’s seclusion from the world because of his sister’s death. The scene ended and I went backstage once more where Kate and Walt were discussing the interruption.

“Good job Mary!” Kate said when she saw me. “I’m so sorry you were interrupted like that.” I waved her off. 

“I’m actually the one who should be sorry, considering I brought the idiot.” I said. “That’s my friend...Natasha.”

“Oh.” She said. “Well, do you think she’ll be doing that a lot?” I shrugged, knowing the answer was probably yes but not wanting to get Nugget kicked out. He’d just be wandering the streets until I could go find him, and I’d rather save myself the trouble, thank you. In the next scene, Mario and Tammy are speaking when Agnes arrives to court Lance Oliver. Agnes doesn’t believe that Lance Oliver will fall in love with her, an accurate deduction, but Tammy convinces her to persevere in her courtship. When they were finished Kate and I walked onstage. She was asking me to flirt with  Lance Oliver for her and I was resisting because, as I revealed in an aside, I had fallen in love with her. I eventually agreed, reluctantly, and we exited the stage. In the next scene, Mario scolds Scott as Feste for disappearing and Lance Oliver orders him to be fired but he changes his mind with a few jokes. Maggie asks Lance Oliver why he wants to keep Feste around and advises him to fire him, a wise decision in my opinion, and is rebuffed. I then came onstage, disguised as a woman, and attempted to deliver Daisy Orsino’s love message to Lance Oliver, who refused to listen but I convinced to hear me out with my insane eloquence. Lance Oliver tells me he will never love Daisy, but that I can come back if I want and sends a servant after me with a ring when I leave. The next scene is between Sally and Antoinette, my not-so-long lost twin sister and her benefactor who we learn has been caring for her since she washed ashore. Sally expresses her desire to wander throughout the country and Antoinette says that she will accompany her. Sally says that she would rather go alone because it may be dangerous and departs for Daisy Orsino’s court. Antoinette, despite her numerous enemies in that area, follows her. When the two women walked off stage and the deck crew replaced the set, I came back on stage. Maggie, the servant who Lance Oliver had sent after me, came to give me the ring that Oliver had said I had given him and I realized that we were stuck in a bit of a love triangle, Lance Oliver in love with me, me in love with Daisy Orsino, and Daisy Orsino in love with Lance Oliver. Quite a predicament. Of course, in real life, the only predicament that could possibly occur would be that Daisy and Lance were both in love with me. In fact, we could just go ahead and assume that everyone involved in the triangle is in love with me. Daisy loves me, Lance Oliver loves me, and I love me. Not much of dilemma on who I should chose though. Mario, Tammy, Agnes, and Feste came on stage next and devised a rather brilliant plan to exact revenge on Maggie for being an uptight prude, one I wouldn’t mind trying out on someone myself. In the subsequent scene, Daisy Orsino and I discuss love, with me dropping several hints of my feelings for her. Feste came onstage sining love songs halfway through. It was all I could not to pummel him. In the final scene of this Act, Tammy, Agnes, and Mario began to enact their plan, ensuring that Maggie will make a fool of herself in front of Lance Oliver. At this point in the play we had decided to take a brief intermission. As the lights came back on in the main room, we gathered backstage for a pep-talk from Walter. He wasn’t very good at pep-talks. I was zoning out when someone stumbled into me. As I came back to reality, I realized that my fellow actors had fallen silent and were staring. Nugget had found his way back here. He was staggering around, until he came back to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and planting a sloppy kiss on my cheek. I shoved him. 

“Hey, there. I like, I like your play.” He slurred. I sighed and grabbed his shoulders, steering him away from the group. 

“I’ll take hi-her back to her seat.” I called over my shoulder. By the time I had deposited Nugget in his seat and returned the stage, intermission was over and we began the third act. I went to Lance Oliver’s house to deliver more love messages from Daisy Orsino. I met Feste and Tammy, and Agnes before Lance Oliver appeared and told me he loved me. It wasn’t my favorite scene. Agnes then tells Tammy that she is going to leave because Lance Oliver is clearly in love with me, but is convinced to stay. Mario comes in and tells them that Maggie is falling for their prank. Antoinette and Sally arrive in the city, and Antoinette gives Sally her purse to go shopping as she wanders about the city. The rest of the play passed in a blur of mistaken identities and gender-confusion until the truth is revealed and the characters are paired off in holy matrimony. Afterward, we celebrated backstage with a bottle of champagne someone had provided. I would have stuck around to enjoy the after party but Nugget found me once again, this time reeking of vomit and moaning. I departed, knowing that this was probably the last time I would see these people as ‘Mary’. 

“You all better get my replacement in line.” I said as I pulled my drunken friend outside. I had decided to take him to my place, not wanting to spend that much time or energy walking between our two apartments and was heading down the sidewalk when I happened to look back at the theatre. Kate was walking out, hand in hand with Lance Oliver, laughing and smiling. I felt my heart sink in my chest. It seemed I had been successful in my attempt at playing cupid after all. Damn.