Sing for Their Supper - 29

"It's time to show you the theater," Tuck said when everyone had had their fill of pizza. They'd eaten in the guys' cabin, the adults at the table, and the kids on the sofa or sitting on the floor.

He led the way through the theater's front door into the lobby. "The ticket office," he said, gesturing to it. "The refreshment bar." Again, he pointed. "We'll have chairs along one wall, when we remember to order them."

"On my list," Brent told him with a laugh.

"And this," Tuck said, when they entered the auditorium, "is where you'll be performing."

"It's not as big as I expected," Sam said, looking at the stage. "It's still great," he added quickly. "Intimate, I guess you'd call it."

Ricky stood, hands on hips, as he surveyed the stage. "No curtains?" he finally asked.

"Not yet," Norm replied. "We thought maybe, since we're going for minimal scenery, due to the size of the stage, the changes could be done in the dark"—he paused, grinning—"by elves."

The kids laughed but Tuck had the feeling they half-believed Norm. "Not really," he told them. "Norm has a crew of, what? Three people, at this point?"

"Yep. Guys I've worked with who are very interested in this project. They'll be building the set pieces, painting, and be the stage crew, too. Any of you who want to help out with the construction, when you have free time, are welcome to join us."

"Me!" Mace said, waving his hand. He lowered it seconds later, looking embarrassed.

"That would be great," Norm told him. He jumped up on the stage, gesturing for the kids to follow. "On your right is the lighting board, and through those doors is the scene shop." When they'd all trooped down the ramp into it, he showed them where everything was stored—or would be when the supplies arrived—and explained a bit about what it took to build scenery.

"I didn't know any of this," Jolie whispered to Sam.

"You're not the only one." He turned to ask Tuck, "What about costumes?"

"Come on. I'll show you."

Tuck took them down to the basement. "Here's where Peg will work her magic," he said when they were in the costume shop. "You'll meet her sometime soon."

"What's the big table for?" Dena asked.

"To cut the fabric for the costumes. The racks are for storing fabric, and we should have sewing machines and a couple of dummies by the end of the week."

Back in the hall, Tuck opened one of the doors across from the costume shop. "This is the Green Room. There's also two dressing rooms, male and female, and a laundry room."

"Green Room?" Dena and Jolie said at the same time.

"It's where you can hang out when you're not on stage. It's not really green." He showed them. At the moment, the room—with its white walls—had a sofa and two chairs, but he assured them there would be more seating in time.

"It's on my list, too," Brent said, getting laughs in response.

When they were back upstairs, Tuck asked, "Are there any questions?"

"Can we use the laundry room?" Evie wanted to know.

"Of course. That's the reason it's there, for you and for the costumes."