Page 70 of Sweet T

“Yes. It is conceivable for an audience member to not only run into a cast member in the bathroom during a performance but, also, God forbid, make a wrong turn and wander onstage themselves.”

“Hilarious.”

Sebastian pointed beyond the stage. “There’s another stairwell and a larger chunk of attic backstage that is reserved for costumes. It’s a little bigger, but still extremely claustrophobic because we’ve had a lot of donations over the past twenty years. There’s also a small makeup area and a tiny green room back there. Both double as everything else, including costume changes, prop storage, construction tools, and whatever else we need because, if you hadn’t already noticed, it’s a little tight up in here. There are also two newer exterior doors back there that I insisted on because the whole damned place was a firetrap.”

Evan was onstage now, spinning slowly, looking up at the lights and the empty risers, imagining how it would be when filled with people, the front row so near the stage.

“Well,” Sebastian said. “You’re awfully quiet. What do you think?”

Evan beamed. “It’s wonderful.”

* * *

They did three readings of their scenes–once onstage, once outside, and the final reading lounging around on the risers. Evan had never done a play with private rehearsals and it was both a blessing and a curse. He loved being able to home in on only his scenes, but he missed the fraternal aspect of bonding with the rest of the cast. Many directors would be hesitant to isolate performers this way, but he suspected Sebastian liked the idea. What sparse lines Evan had with other characters were cut, in order to support the whole does the Fool even exist angle. Evan was playing Lear’s alter ego, and rehearsing alone with Sebastian gave him ample time to study Sebastian’s methods and mannerisms.

After the second read-through, they talked character motivation, eventually digressing into general conversation.

“Are you from Spoon?” asked Evan.

“No. I’m from Macon originally. When I was a teenager–somewhere around the Paleolithic Era–I went to a production of Dames at Sea by The Cherry Blossom Troupe. I was mesmerized.”

“Got the bug, huh?”

“Not really. I was obsessed with the actor playing Dick, though. You should have seen him... so hot in that tight little sailor suit.”

Evan chuckled.

“Laugh all you want. But it’s up here still.” Sebastian pointed at his temple. “I can see his thick mustache, those firm forearms, and that tight little rear-end in white bell-bottoms. Powerful image, you know. Enough to make me audition for the next show, The Crucible.”

“Whoa. Heavy drama.”

“Yeah, I just had a bit part, but that’s when I got the bug.”

“What about Dick?”

“He was in it too–the lead, John Proctor.”

“And?”

“Turns out he didn’t just play Dick, he was one. Total prima donna. I looked forward to his hanging every night. Last I heard, he was a used car salesman in Perry.”

“That is not at all how I wanted this story to go.”

“I met my partner, Gerald, the following year,” Sebastian said, a twinkle in his eye. “I was Charlie Brown, and he was Snoopy. Love at first sight. Is that better?”

“Yes, much.”

“Gerald passed a few years back. But he was the one. And it all happened because of a dick in Dames at Sea.”

“How did y’all end up in Spoon, of all places?”

“That’s the funniest of stories. You won’t believe it.”

“Try me.”

“I answered an ad.”

“No way.”

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