Believing & Knowing

In the Theater World, the word “historical” is code for super haunted. Though not having ever believed in ghosts herself, Maesie learned this fact after being invited by her upperclassmen friend, Kenzie, to the end of summer Theatre Troupe 6730 slumber party. Little did she know that come the fall play,  she would quickly learn that believing is one thing, and knowing is another.  

The theater auditorium is the oldest building at Lakedale High and has always been said to have been plagued by the ghost of the first-ever theater teacher. The slumber party guests filled Maesie in on how Miss Carwick tragically passed away after the opening night of “The Tempest” back in the 70s. Since then they call her lingering spirit, The Lady of Lakedale. Super creepy. Rumor has it she seeks revenge on all who dare try and recreate a show she put on during her reign.

Which made the news of our troupe putting on “The Tempest” for only the second time in the school’s history all that much more exciting. 

After Miss Chadbone announced the Fall play, the drama club bubbled into whispers & small gasps. Each student knew of the stories of the Lady of Lakedale & looked for each other's reactions to decide how they should feel about the news.

Maesie worked to keep her face neutral, but flashes of stories told at the party of the many attempts to repeat plays throughout the years played over in her mind. The incident of the class of 1987’s rendition of “Noises Off” where the set caught fire opening night. Or in 2001, when the entire cast of “Death of a Salesman” all came down with a mysterious flu. Which in hindsight sounds very explainable. BUT, how do you explain the suspicious activity throughout the rehearsal process for “StreetCar Named Desire,” recounted by our very own eyewitness, Miss Chadbone? 

When auditions began a few weeks later, Maesie had set her, doubtful, sights on the role of Ariel, a spirit of air. It seemed fitting, but underclassmen hardly ever get speaking roles. The day of the auditions the whole troupe was buzzing with audition nerves, paranormal facts, and several stories where they, “Swear, the Lady of Lakedale was in the wings during their audition.” Much to Maesies surprise, Miss Chadbone was impressed with her audition and immediately cast her for the role of Ariel. 

By the time rehearsals began, Miss Carwick & her threatening haunts were the very last thing Maesie was worried about. She was far more concerned by the 45 lines to memorize, and the glaring looks from bitter upperclassmen stuck in the ensemble. That was, until the second night of rehearsals kicked off. All was well until the lights cut out right in the middle of Maesies first line. She had barely gotten through, “All hail, great master! grave sir, hail! I come

To answer thy best pleasure; be't to fly,...” before it went dark.

Dramatic shrieks from backstage and audible gasps from the tech crew caused Maesie to freeze.

It wasn’t until Miss Chadbone called out, “Everyone calm down,” that she let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding in. After a few very long minutes the lights flickered on and rehearsal continued. 

The next night brought more chaos as several props went missing. Kenzie, recently put in charge of props, swears she placed them in their respective spots last night. The whole cast participated in an extensive search until each and every prop was found. After a lecture from Miss Chadbone,  Kenzie confided in Maesie that she didn’t know what happened.

“I specifically remember putting them where they belong last night. It’s like, my only job.”

Maesie comforted her friend and noted the strange occurrence, still shaken from last night's incident. 

Each rehearsal brought a new mystery and instilled more fear into the cast members and tech crew. Any downtime was spent over analyzing noises, double-checking that things were left where they left them, and swapping stories of ghost sightings. It wasn’t until the final weeks of rehearsal that things started escalating. One night while waiting outside for their rides, Maesie opened up to Kenzie about the whispers she’s been hearing on stage, the cold air in the dressing rooms, and the frequent visions of an older woman in clothes from another decade. Kenzie listened to these instances without judgment and a fearful look in her eye. She knew the full story and was debating on filling Maesie in.

Maesie immediately noticed the shift in her friend and said, “Kenzie, you look like you saw a ghost. Like you saw the Lady!” Kenzie let out a nervous, breathy giggle and revealed what she had stayed silent about this whole production.   

“Miss Carwick was the teacher here when my grandmother was in school,” she told Maesie. 

“What?? She knew the wicked Lady of Lakedale?” Maesie practically yelled in return. 

“More like I knew of her,” Kenzie went on, “She was a talented, but very strict teacher. After her disastrous opening of “The Tempest” she had a nervous breakdown. She mysteriously passed away the same night in the theater. My grandma said she was walking around after the show promising to seek revenge on anyone who attempted to put this play on in her theater again.” 

With Kenzie’s words ringing in Maesie’s ears the whole ride home. She had to know more about Miss Carwick. Why was the production a disaster? What really happened to her? Why was she haunting the theater? Once in her room Maesie spent her normal line-study time reading up on the mysterious death of a once beloved theater teacher. She searched through tens of articles with clickbait headlines and embellished story lines, before coming across an old archive from the local paper.

The news story details Miss Carwicks' struggle both personally and professionally. After suffering several personal tragedies, the article revealed she began to get some professional setbacks as well. Turns out, Miss Carwick was on her last leg with the school district after some bad reviews and “The Tempest” was her only hope of renewing her contract.

 “So, her breakdown was triggered by the insane amount of stress she was under? I can relate to that.” Maesie thought out loud. 

With new knowledge in tow, Maesie was eager to get back to rehearsals and share her findings with Kenzie. 

“Oh my gosh. Poor Miss Carwick! No wonder she broke down,” Kenzie replied after Maesie filled her in. 

“I know. I would haunt the theater too if all I cared about was being threatened.” 

“I break down if I get home from school and see that my Mom is making something in the crockpot for dinner! I can only imagine the stress she was under. I wonder if anything will happen tonight. Thursday is our last dress rehearsal before opening night,” said Kenzie. 

“As if I wasn’t nervous enough.” Maesie replied. 

With two days until final rehearsal, Maesie turned all her focus into perfecting her character & delivering her lines perfectly. At least, she tried to. It seemed like with opening night approaching, Miss Carwicks activity intensified. From lights constantly flickering and random gusts of wind on stage, to damaged costumes, the entire cast was on edge. The activity seemed to turn personal when Maesie was pushed to the ground while alone on stage. Then, when she went to refresh her stage makeup, her entire makeup kit vanished. Fed up, wired from nerves, and desperate to do well at her first ever speaking role, Maesie turned to Kenzie desperately for advice. 

“This is ridiculous, Kenzie! I am being punished because some teacher couldn’t keep it together. Miss Chadbone always says, “Leave your outside problems off stage!” Why should I have to deal with the repercussions of someone who couldn’t?” 

“Have you ever considered that maybe she is hurt and angry? It sounds like the article you found showed how unfairly she was treated,” Kenzie offered. 

Maesie had to use every muscle in her body to keep from dramatically rolling her eyes.

“Kenzie, give me a break,” she replied, but the thought stuck with her throughout the rest of rehearsal and carried into the night. Unable to sleep, Maesie reread the article depicting the immense tragedy and struggle Carwick endured before her life fell further apart. A new wave of emotions washed over Maesie. Any clouded judgment she had dissipated and she could only feel sympathy. A new sense of compassion for what seemed like a kindred spirit. No pun intended. 

Maesie arrived at the final dress rehearsal scared, focused, and determined. The paranormal activity didn’t start until the final run-through of the show. Once again, during her first line in the show, the lights cut out. Any good actor knows to stay calm and stay in character. Although that message didn’t seem to get through to her fellow actors. She watched them drop character, their faces turning terrified. A chorus of loud gasps and shrill screams came from all sides of the theater. With the lights continuing to flicker on and off, the activity continued to get worse. The curtains began to shake, and our Miranda who was being played by senior Maddie Thompson fell to the ground, yelling she was pushed.

Maesie was nervous, watching her cast, crew, and even director freak out. Maesie’s eyes shifted around the theater, finally landing on her friend standing wide-eyed at the prop table. Kenzie locked eyes with Maesie, offering only a slight nod. Somehow Maesie knew exactly what to do. 

“STOP!” she yelled. Suddenly, the flickering lights stayed off, the shaking curtain ceased, and all eyes moved to Maesie. 

“You were wronged, Miss Carwick!” she continued despite the judgmental stares from classmates. She was never going to live this down.

“You deserved better. You were being punished for things so far out of your control. I am-we are all so sorry. We hope you can see how your legacy has lived on. Through the stories shared about your work here and through this production. You are a big part of why we are doing this show,” Maesie shouted to seemingly no one. 

“I don’t know if I would go that far,” Miss Chadbone started to say. She quickly shifted gears at the look Maesie and the rest of the actors on stage gave her.

The judgmental faces had turned into confused looks as they joined Maesie in her efforts. 

“We are sorry Lady Laked- Miss Carwick.” one cast member said.

“Yeah! Screw everyone who did you wrong!” the stage manager shouted. 

“Hey! Language,” Miss Chadbone said before continuing, “Yes. We apologize to Miss Carwick. Please allow us to honor your legacy through this show. These kids worked mighty hard to do it justice.” 

And just like that, the lights turned back on. The run-through continued without another incident. Maybe showing her spirit, and kindness & remembering her for more than her ending helped her move on. 

The next day, Maesie could have sworn the air felt lighter, but that could just be opening night jitters. She delivered every one of her lines perfectly, and production ran through without a light flicker and zero missing props.

However, at the final bow, Maesie could have sworn she saw the Lady of Lakedale in the back of the auditorium. Giving them a standing ovation before disappearing. Surely she imagined it, but she secretly hoped she didn’t. 

Kenzie gave Maesie a ride to Denny’s that night. The whole cast went out to celebrate the show’s success. Still in her stage makeup and high off the applause, she almost missed Kenzie talking to her. 

“You really saved the show, underclassman!” she giggled. 

“I don’t know about that,” Maesie laughed in return. “Truth be told, I wanted nothing to do with the spirit of Carwick until you gave me a new perspective.” 

“Who knew that forgiving someone and helping their unresolved emotions could help so much?” Kenzie asked. 

“I think you did! I am glad we could play a small part in reclaiming our theater.” Maesie smiled at her friend, feeling like a true Ghostbuster.

She pictured the ghost stories she would tell at future slumber parties, now knowing what else was out there. The two spent the rest of the night talking about pancakes, setting up future ghost investigations, and the dreaded Winter Musical auditions next week.