Chapter 16

WE CELEBRATED Shelly’s third birthday by going to the zoo. The celebration was for Billy, too, but he hadn’t yet realized that his birthday was any different than any other day. Shelly had it figured out.

“Next year we could go on a vacation,” Daphne mused. “I think the kids would be old enough for some fun experiences without completely running us ragged trying to look out for them.”

“This is a good time of year to go. I’ll tell June to keep my schedule clear for the last half of August. I have to be back for freshman orientation, which is either Labor Day weekend or the weekend before. Labor Day isn’t until the seventh this year so it will be the weekend before and we’ll have a full week of classes before the holiday. Last year, classes started the day after Labor Day.”

“It seems strange to be organizing things around school years instead of theatre seasons. But in another year, Shelly will start preschool and be on much the same schedule as you,” Daphne said, hugging my arm as we walked. Shelly and Billy were so exhausted from our day at the zoo they were both asleep in the stroller. Daphne just glowed with the joy of motherhood. There was nothing in her life more important than raising our kids.

“What are you going to do with yourself once the kids are both in school?” I asked.

“Teach.”

“What?”

“I figure if you can teach, it can’t be that hard,” she giggled. “I’ve been taking online courses to get my degree. It will be a little tight on schedules in the beginning. I’ll need to do internships and student teaching. I figure whoever is my mother’s helper then will have to be responsible for the kids right after school and you’ll need to help get them off to school if I have to go in early. But you never have early classes anyway.”

“I’m glad you warned me! I think it’s cool that you want to become a teacher. God knows we need more teachers. I was almost sure you’d want to homeschool the kids.”

“We talked about that but I think school is important to their socialization and leadership ability. You should see how Shelly organizes the playgroup. And she’s always teaching Billy some new trick she learned. He’s going to be very upset when she goes off to school a year before him.”

“That will definitely be a problem. Just watching them look at the zoo was an experience today.” We reached the car and I loaded the two sleepy kids into their car seats.

I had only a small part to play in freshman orientation. I made a presentation about the theatre department and recited the St. Crispin’s Day speech from Henry V. It’s a rousing motivational speech from Act IV, scene iii. I used it both to inspire the students and to show a sample of Shakespeare as I announced we would be producing The Taming of the Shrew for our spring show. In addition to that, I was the host at the theatre table and as we gathered students, I assigned some of our veterans to show them the department.

“You’re getting on fine here,” Jon said when he got to our display table. “I guess it’s my turn to host the table. I don’t want new students to think all we do is Shakespeare.”

“I hardly think they’d believe that.”

“Nice job on the St. Crispin’s Day speech. Oh, by the way, I’ve tapped Traci to play Laura in The Glass Menagerie. We start rehearsals next week.”

“Oh. I was going to...”

“I know. You plan to use her in Shrew. But I don’t want a talented actress to leave our school thinking she is only a comic character actress. We have few students who pull such a range of talents together. Don’t forget that. Still ... I have to ask: Do you think she’s ready to play Kate?”

“No. Never intended her to. I have her down as my choice for Sly.”

“Really? I thought you would want her for a much larger role.”

“By the time I’m done with it, she’ll think she had the lead.”

“This I’ve got to see. Hurry on home to your wife and kids. Classes start Tuesday and none of us will get any rest then.” Jon motioned me away and I headed home for the rest of the holiday weekend.

“Hey, Terry. Unless you have an objection, you get me as your TA this year.” I turned to greet my new assistant. I wouldn’t be confusing him for anything but a teaching assistant.

“Richard. Welcome. Can’t think of anyone better for the job off the top of my head. As long as you keep me supplied with coffee in the mornings and don’t let me get lost or late, we’ll get along fine. Here. I’ve filled a Starbucks card for my coffee. It will be much easier than keeping track of petty cash.”

“You’ve got it. I’m really looking forward to being your AD on Shrew. I hope you’ll let me do that.”

“Really? I assumed you would be one of the five hundred auditioning for Petruchio.”

“You gave me a shot at a Shakespeare lead as Valentine in Two Gentlemen last year. I love the acting, but I was really impressed by the way you choreographed the show. I can let someone else have a shot at the lead in Shrew if I can watch how you direct this one.”

“It should be interesting. We’ll be working on concept and production notes starting now. I’d like you to set up a meeting with Jim Mason who’ll be designing and tech directing the show. Order the scripts this week. We’ll use the Samuel French edition.”

“How many?”

“Look it up and count. Make sure we have a few extras. If you see Traci ask her to stop by and visit me at her convenience. If you don’t see her this week, post a note on the call board.”

“Right. Got it. Set a meeting. Order scripts. Find Traci. You sure don’t waste time before tossing a guy into the deep end.”

“It’s only just begun, Richard. I need to get to class now.”

“Terry! Help me!” Traci burst into my office, looked frantically around, and flopped back into Richard’s chair. “I don’t know how to act! How can I play Laura? She isn’t funny. She’s such a dweeb.”

“Wow!” I started laughing.

“What’s so funny? I thought you wanted to talk to me to rescue me from the clutches of that awful director!”

“Have you been in his clutches?” I was a little concerned.

“No,” she sighed. “He’s really nice. And he’s patiently trying to coach me through this stuff. I just feel so out of my depth. How was your summer?”

“Wretched,” I grinned. “I played Petruchio for a director whose ideas for the character are polar opposite of mine and then, while I was performing, I had to teach high school students the rudiments of acting. How was yours?”

“I waited tables at IHOP.”

“You can’t be a real actress if you don’t wait tables at least once in your career.”

“What did you want to see me about?”

“I want you to take a part in The Taming of the Shrew that will take you longer than the rest of the cast to prepare for. I’m wondering if you are up to it with the production schedule for Glass Menagerie. And, of course, if you are interested.”

“I’m interested. It would be hard to put any real time in on it until we open on the fifteenth next month. I could meet for a briefing, though. Then I could start thinking about what you want. Do I get to clown?”

“More than you’ve ever done before.”

“Oh, goody! When can we meet?”

I agreed with Jon. Traci needed to play some straight roles. I even had one in mind for next year’s Shakespeare that would challenge her. But this year, I wanted to break new ground. I started off meeting with Jim Mason the next week. He was deep in construction for Menagerie, but his concept was pretty simple, so he had no difficulty working with me at the same time. Richard sat in on the meeting.

“What I’ve got in mind is a kind of gypsy show cart. We’d have some limited scenery representing the pub, but all the other roles will be played by the traveling troupe. When they spot Sly, they immediately start opening their cart up into a stage. All the props are in the wagon and it is set up as they transport Sly to the bedroom, which I envision is downstage and easily removed when Sly moves to the Lord’s chair onstage. I’m going to use Sly throughout the show as a participant in the action, often getting in the way of the actors or executing a bit of stage business that is called for. The letch will constantly be trying to get his hands on the women of the play, not just the one playing his wife.”

“That could be hilarious. What ever inspired you to think of this?”

“An invisible dog.”

“Traci. You’ve already cast her?”

“If she’ll take the part. She’ll be maneuvering a huge puppet, not actually doing the action herself. I’m meeting with her Friday.”

“Do you want props to work on the puppet?”

“Let me talk to her before we decide that. She has quite a range of puppets she’s created herself. She might want to at least do the design and will probably need a workspace in the props shop. Of course, she won’t be able to do much until Menagerie is down.”

“I think this will be fun. I’m going to put Tom Blankenship on designing the cart. He is to me as a designer what Traci is to you as an actor. He’s a senior and I’ve been trying to figure out a good graduation project for him.”

“If you’re satisfied with him, I am.”

“I’ll keep an eye on what he designs and make sure everything works. I’m going to have him sketch some plans and do at least one rendering. We’ll plan to meet with you in two weeks. After you review and approve a sketch, I’ll have him build a scale model and draft blueprints. Since it is going to be an integral part of the action, I’d like to have it ready to work with when you start rehearsing. The bed and backdrop we can do afterward.”

“Thanks, Jim. Richard, coordinate the appointment with Jim and Tom in two weeks. Check Traci’s schedule and see if she can make the same meeting.”

“Yessir.”

I have to admit I was a little disappointed that I’d drawn a male as my TA this year. I had no excuse for that aside from wanting a sexy girl to share my office. How shallow can I get? Nonetheless, I had to hand it to Richard. He was johnny-on-the-spot with everything I asked, including having my coffee for me in the morning.

Of course, there were plenty of other pretty women in the department and around the college. This whole college was not much bigger than a good-sized high school. As a result, I got a few kids in my classes who weren’t even theatre people but thought an acting or movement class would be fun. One of those was Ashley.

Ashley was an Amazon princess. Tall, busty, and fierce. In fact, think Lucy Lawless as Xena: Warrior Princess. That was a show I seldom missed if I could swing it. I was in lust for Xena. As was half the male population of America. Ashley came to my very physical stage movement class and she was ready. She wore yoga pants and a crop top that hugged those boobs like I wanted to. And she was ripped. Flat stomach and muscles that rippled in her arms and legs. Fuck me!

“What brings you to this class, Ashley? It’s unusual to have a graphic design student in a stage movement class.”

“Oh. Sorry about that. It has nothing to do with the stage. I needed a workout and this class is the closest thing to a PE class as you can get on campus without being a dancer. And I’m not a dancer.”

I laughed. She really put it in perspective. I was essentially a gym teacher. Well, I wasn’t going to let her down. In fact, she might have inspired a little tougher workouts than what I’d normally give students in that class. I’d definitely make sure everyone was sweating when they left class. Fortunately, the class was late in the day and most of them could get back to the dorm for a shower before dinner.

What I was discovering, though, was that even if she wasn’t a dancer, she could move as directed. I also saw some positive interactions in class. There seemed to be a competition regarding carrying out my instructions and expanding their physicality.

“Richard,” I said one afternoon. “Why are people so much more intense this year than last year? I’m seeing it in all three of my classes. Beginning Acting, Stage Movement, and Audition Preparation. Last year people were stumbling around a lot.”