This is the third part of a series, so if you haven’t done so already, you might want to read Part I and Part II before continuing.
“I though I might find you here,” Angela said as she dropped her bag on the shop floor.
“Busted,” said Eliza. “I thought I’d come in and help them finish painting the sets.”
“I thought you’d already completed all your shop hours.”
“I did. I got them all out of the way early so I wouldn’t have to worry about it, but the painting is my favorite part, and they could always use the extra help back here this close to tech week.”
“You’re weird. I can’t stand painting. The fumes give me such a headache.”
“Me, too, but as long as I make sure to take regular breaks to get fresh air, I find the actual act of painting to be very soothing. You just color in between the lines and let your mind go blank.”
“You know that whole frame is crooked, right?”
“Yeah, but it’s too late to fix it. Mr. Fitz said it looks more authentic anyway. You know, like how all the old houses in London tend to be a little crooked?”
Angela screwed up her face. “What? Has Fitz ever been to Europe?”
“Who knows? But at least he’s not making me do the whole thing over again.”
Angela sat down cross legged next to her friend. “You know, this is really cool of you to do this.”
“Nah. It’s no big deal.”
“No, but it is. I won’t name names, but you know there are certain cast members who won’t even put in their hours back here, much less do more than what’s required of them.”
“I know. I’m kind of trying to make up for it. Like, maybe if I spend enough time back here, the shop people will realize that not all actors are completely self-absorbed morons.”
“Good luck with that. They love their generalizations back here as much as every other member of the human race.”
Eliza snickered at Angela before returning to her painting. “I don’t understand actors who think they’re any better than the people who do all the other things it takes to get a show up and running. It’s not like we could do any of it without them.”
“Sure we could. People put on plays without sets or props all the time. You remember we did that 24-hour play fest.”
“We had props.”
“That we brought ourselves. We didn’t need anyone to build a set for us and we still put on an awesome show that everyone loved.”
“Not everyone.”
“You know what I mean. Besides, those people don’t count.”
“We still needed people to work the lights for us so people could actually see our acting.”
Yeah, but those aren’t always necessary either. Remember that twilight production of The Tempest they put on outside the student commons?”
“Yeah, but they were still using the lights that surround that area.”
“Exactly. My point is all you really need to put on a show is a group of talented actors. Not even that. Sometimes you just need one or two actors. The rest is nice but it’s superfluous.”
“Whatever. I still find that painting relaxes me.”
To be continued …
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