Sing for Their Supper - 42

 

 

The afternoon read-through went better than Tuck expected. Some of the kids had already begun memorizing their lines. They were far from perfect in remembering them, but they were trying hard, which was what counted, as far as he was concerned.

 

After sending them off for supper, he met with Norm, who had come up with preliminary sketches for the sets. Or set-pieces, as he pointed out.

 

"There will be two backdrops—one of Victorian London, for the scenes involving Brownlow, and one of the slums. They'll roll up and down at the back of the stage. We'll need to have a bridge for the one scene with Sikes. When it's turned around, it will be part of Brownlow's house. The top level will be the second floor bedroom, where Oliver watches the flower-sellers out of his window and sings his song. That's the biggest movable piece. Other than that, we'll use furniture and large props to let the audience know where each scene is taking place."

 

He laid out sketches for Tuck to look at.

 

"With the exception of the furniture, can everything be built in-house?" Tuck asked.

 

"We should be able to handle that. The two major jobs will be painting the backdrops and building the bridge. My men are good, so, barring catastrophes, everything will be ready well before tech rehearsals. Speaking of which, Brent asked me to look for someone to do the lighting. I called a guy I went to school with and he gave me the name of a man who he thought might work. I called him, and he's not only willing, he's probably already packed and on the road by now, he's that eager to help out. He should be here in the morning."

 

"Tell him he's welcome to bunk in the guys' cabin until he finds a place to stay."

 

Norm grinned. "Already did. As it turns out, it won't be necessary. He said he'd rather stay at a motel, so I gave him the names of a couple of them not too far from here.

 

*****

 

"Try again," Ricky said, checking his script.

 

Sam closed his eyes then repeated the lines. This time he got them word-perfect, according to Ricky.

 

A few yards down the lake shore, Mace and DJ were doing the same thing. DJ was pacing, a scowl on his face. "I'm going to get it right if it kills me."

 

"It better not. We don't have anyone else to play Oliver."

 

"This isn't funny," DJ muttered.

 

"DJ! Calm down," Evie said. She'd been watching them run lines while waiting for Roma, so they could do the same thing,

 

"You calm down," DJ retorted. He took a deep breath when he saw the hurt look on her face. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be taking it out on you or Mace. It's just… Remembering song lyrics is easy. This?" He waved the script.

 

Roma appeared, sitting next to Evie on the log she was using as a bench. "DJ, do you get why Oliver's saying what he's saying? Are you, as corny as it sounds, feeling what he's feeling?"

 

"Well…" He shook his head.

 

"I thought so. You're trying to remember the words, but not the reason behind them. I said something to Tuck about the problems I was having and—."

 

"That was my fault," Tuck said, joining them. "It didn't really occur to me that this is the first time doing this for most of you. I mean, I know that, but it didn't sink in until talking with Roma. What she told you, DJ, is one way to help you remember. Another trick is to write out the parts you're having problems with. You mind connects with the words you're writing. I do that when I'm having trouble with a speech. When it's only a few lines, listen to the other character, or characters, involved in the scene. That's why we're doing the read-throughs. So you know what comes before your lines and you can react to it. Later, when all of you have a better feeling for the flow, we'll move on to actions and reactions to what's being said."

 

DJ took a deep breath. "So I'd better start figuring out if he's pissed, or scared, or happy when he's talking."

 

"It'll help. Yes." He looked at the others who were standing there, listening. "It doesn't matter if you have two lines or a thousand, they're all important or the playwright wouldn't have written them. Remember that."

 

"There are no small parts, only small actors, as they say," Vin said.

 

"Exactly. And on that note, I bid you good night." Tuck gave a sweeping bow before heading up to his car.

 

"Are you ready, Evie?" Roma asked. When Evie nodded, they went to the cabin, as it was getting too dark outside to see their scripts. They ended up on the porch. DJ and Mace took over the living room in the guys' cabin. Dena and Jolie, who had many less lines to learn, decided to call it a night, while Sam and Ricky ended up in the room they were sharing.