Before the Show

The beginning of the semester was always long. Students thought that professors had it easy, just pull out the same lesson plan from the previous semester. They didn’t understand the time, preparation and effort that went into getting everything ready for the start of the term, not to mention the help that first-year students needed in finding rooms and getting adjusted to college life.

           Anthony certainly didn’t when he was in that position a few years ago. Even if he had known then how much time was spent in preparation for the beginning of classes, he wouldn’t have changed his mind. He enjoyed teaching, sharing what he learned with others. Standing in front of a class also reminded him, and helped him, with one of his other passions, performing on stage.    

           The shrill ring of the phone broke the silence of the evening as he opened the door and entered his house. He grabbed the cordless phone and began walking around the house turning on lights. Storm, his black cat, wound her way between his legs nearly tripping him as he sought his chair.

           “Hello?”

           “Hi Anthony, it’s Jack”

           “Oh, hi Jack, how are you?”

           “Not too bad Anthony. Listen, I don’t have a lot of time to chat tonight, I have more calls to make. I was calling to let you know that you got the part you wanted in Mousetrap. I’ll be sending out an e-mail in a few days with the details, you know, cast list, practice schedules, etc.”

           “That’s great! Thanks for the call, I appreciate it.”

           After a long, tiring day at college, Anthony finally let a big, broad smile cross his face. He had really wanted a role in this play.

           Three days later the promised e-mail arrived. He was looking forward to this. He wanted this role in this play. Why wouldn’t someone want to be in such an iconic play, he wondered. For the local theater scene, it didn’t get much better than an Agatha Christie play. And he was going to be Giles Ralston, one of the lead characters.

Not yet thirty, he was a veteran of the stage. Having been performing on stage for over half of his young life, each play he performed in was a mixture of new faces and old friends. Old friends were always happy to see him involved; they knew that his dedication and enthusiasm were rarely matched. Word had travelled fast after his first performance years before. It was an adaptation of Mr. Roberts and while he didn’t play a lead character, he had quickly earned the respect of his peers. The new faces would learn that his reputation was well deserved.

The day after the e-mail announcing who would comprise the cast arrived, a second e-mail arrived. According to Jack, they would be performing at Theater by the River, one of the larger local theaters in the area. He would be there this weekend beginning to work on the set pieces that would be needed for the show so everyone was welcome to stop by to pick-up their copy of the script. If anyone wanted to stay and help build the set, that was certainly welcome too.

A few of the cast, including Anthony, stayed for a few hours throughout the day as they arrived to receive their copy of the script. Helping with the initial design and construction was always optional, mandatory fabrication days would be held later. For now though, it was nice to get the ball rolling and begin building teamwork and chemistry among the cast as well.

As the weeks passed, one behind the other, steady progress was made. Props and scenes, both small and large, were built, painted and stored in the various rooms available when completed. Theater by the River had at least two, if not three plays going on each month so storage space was always at a premium.

Mousetrap was expected to be their biggest production of the fall season. Bigger even than the annual Christmas favorite, A Christmas Carol. This expectation was not lost on anyone among the cast and crew, least of all, Anthony. Not only had he memorized his lines long ago, he also knew the lines for most of the other cast. Jack was particularly grateful for this because instead of an actor needing to find the line in the script, more often than not, Anthony was able to provide it.

The week of dress rehearsal had finally arrived, along with a chill in the air and passed in a blur for the cast. The days were long and most of the cast worked full-time jobs. When it was time for dress rehearsals, it often meant that they saw little, if any, of their families. Preforming in front of a crowd was a pure adrenaline rush for some while for others, they seemed paralyzed with fear.

Performance day dawned hours ago, but Anthony wasn’t awake to see it. He needed all the rest that he could get because he knew that this would be a long, tiring, mentally exhausting day.  He needed all the rest that he could get. By the time he opened his eyes, storm clouds were blocking the sun, allowing only a few rays to penetrate the random gaps and holes in the clouds.

Arriving two hours before most of the cast, Anthony began his pre-performance routine. He had developed it years before and it stayed with him no matter how often or infrequent he performed. Walking the stage, he would examine the props, remembering when they were being constructed and more recently, when they were used during rehearsals.

He enjoyed the relative quietness of the stage when few were there. This was when he was able to take time and reflect on why he did this, why he enjoyed it. The long hours of set building, line memorization and rehearsal were tough, especially with a leading role. At the end of the day though, it was the applause, the recognition of a job well done that made it so rewarding.

An hour before show time, Jack walked among the cast and crew, checking the stage for the opening scene.

Anthony can feel the excitement in the pit of his stomach slowly turning into a knot of apprehension, but he neither knows nor understands why it happens. This is not his first opening night, that was years ago. For some reason unknown to him, in the hours and minutes before the curtain rises, his gut becomes a bundle of nerves. He has never forgotten a line nor missed a cue, enjoys performing so why he gets jittery before a show makes no sense to him. It never has and it probably never will.

The curtains are thick and heavy yet a slow, steady, increasing murmur permeates them. Not for the first time tonight, Anthony wonders how many pairs of eyes will be staring back at him and his fellow cast members. There will be a few people in the audience that he knows but most, he will not. He doesn’t focus on the audience, an audience that he won’t see until after the show is over.

“Five minutes to curtain” Jack quietly whispers as he takes a last walk across the stage before stepping in front of the curtain to announce the show.

“Thank you, five” Jack hears in murmured responses as he made his way to the front of the stage.

The curtains open, the first scene begins and Anthony’s knot of apprehension is now nowhere to be found. The show has begun; he is in his element.

In the back of the theater a man stands alone, watching Giles. Unseen, a tear falls down his cheek. If anyone had noticed and bothered to ask why he was crying he’d have told them. That man there playing Giles, that’s my boy, he’d say. Those tears, those are tears of pride at the courage his son has and the man he has become.