What If... All the Rumors Were True (11 page)

CASTING CALL

Take the lead, follow or get out of the play.

“H
aley, come here.” Coco waved Haley over to a bench in the rotunda. Haley had time to kill between classes, so she obliged. “I've got news you'll be interested in—the cast list is official!”

“So did I get a part?” Haley asked.

“I'll tell you in a minute,” Coco said.

Typical,
Haley thought.
She has to lord it over me until the last possible minute.

As assistant director, Coco was reveling in her power over her actors' fragile egos. “First I have to call all the losers who didn't get parts and break the bad news to them,” Coco enthused.

“Won't they find out when you post the cast list?” Haley said.

“Sure, but this is sooo much more fun.” Coco flicked open her cell phone and started punching numbers.

“But what about me?” Haley practically screamed.

“Chillax, Miller,” Coco said dismissively. “You'll find out your fate soon enough. Hello, is this Candy Davenport? Hi, this is Coco De Clerq, the director of the fall play?”

“Assistant director,” Haley corrected.

“Shhh.” Coco covered the phone and hissed at Haley. “Anyway, we've settled on the cast list and I thought you'd be anxious to hear—”

Even from where she was sitting Haley could hear Candy's excited screams. “I got the lead? I got the lead?”

“No, sorry, Candy darling, you didn't get the lead,” Coco said. “You didn't get any part at all. Not even a nameless fairy just standing around in the background flapping her wings. Nope, nothing. I knew you'd want to know right away. So that you don't waste any more of your time fantasizing about an acting career. Thanks so much for auditioning. Maybe next year. Buh-bye!”

“Coco, that was so mean,” Haley said as Coco dialed the next number.

“I know, wasn't it? But if you think about it, I'm being considerate, not keeping them in suspense—Hello, Tessa?”

Haley fidgeted as she waited for Coco to finish running through her list of “Sorry, you lose” calls. Had she gotten a part or not? She really wanted to play Helena, but Hermia would be great too. She tried to sneak a peek at the cast list, but Coco kept it covered in her burgundy leather bag.

“Fine, I'm leaving if you're not going to show me that cast list.” Haley was seething.

“Oh, all right,” Coco said as Haley was about to storm off. “You'll be the lucky girl who gets the good news first. But don't tell anyone—I want the chance to tell the others myself.”

“Okay, okay! Just tell me!”

“Haley, I'm happy to inform you that you will be playing the part of…Helena.”

Haley sighed with relief. “That's fantastic! Now, who's playing Demetrius?”

Coco took a long pause, deliberating on whether or not to reveal the choice to Haley. “Devon McKnight,” Coco said finally. “Not my first choice, but what are you going to do.” She scanned the list for the highlights. “Let's see…Spencer's playing Puck, of course—I think he'll be fabulous, don't you?”

“If you say so,” Haley agreed.

“And Shaun is playing Nick Bottom.” Coco made a face. “Against my wishes, but Mr. Lyons insisted. I think the fact that he auditioned wearing an ass's head sealed the deal.”

“Shaun was really funny in his tryout, you have to admit,” Haley offered.

“I admit nothing.”

“Who's playing Titania?” Haley asked, wondering who would get the most coveted role in the play.

“Mia, of course,” Coco said. “Titania has to be a regal beauty. And there aren't too many of those in this school. Present company excepted, of course.”

“Of course.” Haley knew she meant that the exception was Coco, not Haley.

“I would have been a dynamite Titania, but my talents were needed elsewhere,” Coco said. “I'm happy to make the sacrifice.”

“We're all thrilled too,” Haley said. Nothing Coco said could bother her now—she was too excited. She'd gotten Helena! And Helena would have her Demetrius, meaning Haley was about to start seeing an awful lot of Devon.

Awesome news! Haley got the part she wanted, and Devon will be her love interest. But will the romance continue offstage? This is a fascinating development that could change the course of Haley's love—and social—life for the rest of the year. The play is a big production involving all kinds of kids, from the popular Cocobots to the geeky stage crew and the artsy set designers. As part of the theater crowd, Haley can move in so many different directions.

If you think she should stay on Assistant Director Coco's good side and spend more time with the beautiful people, go to
"FIRE AND ICE"
. If you think hanging with Devon, Irene and Shaun will have a better effect on Haley's acting ability, go to
"SET DESIGN"
.

The stage is set, the players chosen. Now let the drama begin!

ACTING COACH

There's Method in this madness.

“C
ONGRATULATIONTH, my petth!” Xavier Willkommen, tutor extraordinaire, exclaimed as he grandly swept into his cousin Shaun's living room. As usual, he was ridiculously dressed in a lavender shirt with pearly buttons, a yellow paisley ascot and a black tuxedo jacket. With tails. “My teachingth have been thuthethful beyond even my WILDETHT expectationth. Ath I underthtand it, in thith very room we have three—count, them, THREE—newly minted thtage ACTORTH!”

“And one cowardly stage designer,” Irene offered, raising her hand.

“Nonthense, dearetht,” Xavier said. “Thtage design ith an ART in and of itthelf. Tho ith knowing where your true talentth lie. And Devon, you'll be working both thideth of the thtage, I hear.”

Devon was both playing Demetrius and helping Irene paint the sets. Haley had gotten the part of Helena, a girl who loves Demetrius but is not loved back (until the happy ending, of course), and Shaun landed his dream role of Nick Bottom, the weaver-victim of a fairy's spell, which turns his head into an ass's.

“Dude, I wore a papier-mâché donkey head to the audition, and it totally paid off,” Shaun told Xavier. “Way to channel the Method, am I right?”

“Thatth a good beginning, Thhaun,” Xavier said. “Why don't we thpend part of each tutoring thethion from here on rehearthing your lineth? If you don't mind, Irene. Even though you won't be acting in the play, we can all learn thomething about the human THPIRIT from the CLATHIC acting techniques. Letth begin with thome exerthithes developed by the GREAT and POWERFUL Thanford Meithner.”

Xavier told Shaun and Irene to stand in front of the group, facing each other. Shaun impulsively leaned over and kissed Irene's nose.

Irene jumped back, rubbing her wet face. “Ew. Shaun, no PDA during tutoring.”

“Irene ith correct,” Xavier said. “One of Meithner'th ruleth ith NO TOUCHING. You have to convey everything with your VOITHE. Now. Thith exerthithe ith called repetithion. Thhaun, look around the room and make a one-thententhe obthervathion about thomething you thee. Then, Irene, you repeat what he thayth ath a quethtion. Thhaun, you repeat the obthervathion, emphathithing a different word each time. Ready? Go.”

Shaun looked around until his eyes fell upon one of his favorite things, a banana, resting on the kitchen counter. “What a beautiful yellow banana,” Shaun said.

“Look Irene directly in the eye the whole time,” Xavier said.

Shaun looked Irene in the eye. “What a beautiful yellow banana.”

“What a beautiful yellow banana?” Irene said.

“What a BEAUTIFUL yellow banana,” Shaun said.

“What a BEAUTIFUL yellow banana?” Irene said.

“Good,” Xavier said. “FEED off each otherth emothionth.”

“What a beautiful YELLOW banana,” Shaun said.

“What a beautiful YELLOW banana?” Irene said.

“WHAT a beautiful yellow banana,” Shaun said.

“WHAT a stupid-ass boring exercise?” Irene said.

“No, no, no, NO.” Xavier rose to his feet. “Thtay in the moment, Irene. I know it feelth thilly at firtht, but we're learning that one change in your inflecthion can COMPLETELY alter the meaning of a line. Thith ith ethpethially important with Thhakespeare, my petth. Devon and Haley, your turn.”

Haley stood up, looked Devon in the eye and repeated every possible permutation of “You have a hole in the knee of your jeans” until the subject of knee holes was exhausted.

“Good,” Xavier said. “Okay. You're thtarting to get the githt of it. Letth move on to Uta Hagenth protheth. Hagen and Meithner are both offthhootth of the Thtanithlavthky Method, developed in New York by Lee Thtrathberg. The idea behind the Method is that you draw on your own emothionth and experientheth to find a way to portray your character convinthingly. Uta Hagen took that farther by thaying that ACTHION ith TRUTH. We are ACTORTH, not FEELERTH. We DO. The thimple ith PROFOUND. Be TRUTHFUL in the THIMPLE.”

“Dude, WHAT are you talking about?” Shaun said.

“Your character hath the head of a donkey,” Xavier said. “Now, you may not have any experienthe being a donkey. But if you act like an ath all the time, you will begin to know what it feelth like to BE an ath. You will BECOME the ath. And that will make your character convinthing to the audienthe.”

Shaun's face lit up. Irene held her head in her hands. “Oh no,” she groaned. “He gets it.”

“I totally get it now,” Shaun said. “
Hee-haw, hee-haw!
I've got to live like a donkey all the time! Awesome.”

“Just until the play is over,” Devon said.

“Please,” Irene said. “Don't encourage this. Xavier, you don't mean he has to literally be an ass? I mean, even more than usual?”

Xavier frowned thoughtfully. “Well, it doeth kind of mean that. Like when Robert De Niro gained thickthty poundth to play Jake La Motta for
Raging Bull.
You've got to phythically BE the character, and cothtumes alone aren't enough.”

“This is going to be a nightmare,” Irene said.

“Maybe not,” Haley said. “I mean, if you think about it…Shaun pretending to be an ass, Shaun acting normally…what's the difference, really?”

“Right on, Haley,” Shaun said.

“Shaun, she just insulted you,” Irene said. “Not that I blame her.”

“Oh,” Shaun said. “Well, hee-haw. I'm an ass. I don't get insulted.”

“Good, Thhaun,” Xavier said. “You're really LIVING Nick Bottom.”

“Damn right I am,” Shaun said.

“Letth try another exerthithe,” Xavier said. “Haley, your character, Helena, ith pathionately in love, but itth unrequited. I want you to thhow me Helena in love. Dig deep into your own feelingth, your patht experientheth, and find a way to THHOW me that feeling.”

Haley hesitated. “This is getting pretty personal.”

“Exactly,” Xavier said. “Thatth what we WANT. Think of thomeone you love and find a way to expreth that feeling tho we'll all thee it.”

Haley liked the idea of channeling her character through her own life. It made sense to her, and she knew it was the only way she'd be able to pull off a major role onstage. Without that technique she was afraid she'd be wooden. But there was one problem: she had to think of someone she loved passionately, the way Helena loved Demetrius. Whom, if anyone, did she love that much?

“You can trutht uth with your deepetht feelingth, Haley,” Xavier said. “We're your friendth. RELAX into trutht.”

Haley looked at the faces of Irene, Shaun and Devon. She did trust them. It wasn't that.

Had she ever been passionately in love? Was she now?

If so, with whom? Devon was playing Demetrius. Maybe he was the perfect person to think about.

But maybe not. PASSIONATELY in love? That wasn't the right word for her feelings for Devon. Not yet, anyway.

“I'm still having trouble,” Haley said.

“Think of thomeone who, if he died, you'd be CRUTHHED,” Xavier said. “Who ith that perthon in your life?”

Suddenly a face appeared in Haley's mind. Just thinking about that face, thinking of him dying, nearly brought her to tears. Her eyes actually got misty when she thought about him.

That was it. He was the one. The key to Haley's deepest emotions.

“I'm thtarting to thee it,” Xavier said. “Everyone, do you thee the tenderneth in her eyeth? Thay thomething, Haley. Tell uth how you feel.”

“Oh Freckles!” Haley cried. “I love you so much!”

Devon and Irene laughed. “Freckles?” Irene said. “Your dog?”

“It ith not for uth to JUDGE, people,” Xavier said. “Thethe choitheth are HIGHLY perthonal.” But Haley thought she saw him stifling a laugh too.

“I don't think it's funny,” Shaun said. “I mean, I'm an ass. An animal, like Freckles. I can only hope the beautiful Queen Titania will feel about me the way Haley feels about Freckles.” Shaun began to tear up.

“Amen, Thhaun,” Xavier said. “My loveth, today we've theen the birth of an actor.”

Haley is starting to get the hang of this acting business, even if some of Xavier's methods seem silly at first. It's all pretty intense, though. If you think Haley could use a break from the theater crowd and would find an afternoon with Sasha refreshing, go to
"BUYER'S REMORSE"
. If you'd like Haley to stick with her fellow artistes, go to
"SET DESIGN"
.

For serious theater people, acting is a calling, not a hobby. The question is, is it calling out to Haley?