Tamora

“There’s someone with a delivery for the play director around back of the theater, Jerry,”

“Thanks, I’ll be there in a sec,” replied Jerry.

No matter his preparation or instruction, show days always proved to be the most chaotic and hectic on the schedule. The delivery being referenced was a day late, assuming Jerry was guessing correctly what he’d find behind the building. Samantha, the female lead portraying Tamora, was already half an hour late for make-up. He’d caught two stagehands, Zach and Eddie, firing up a spliff in the bathroom earlier. To top it all off, a leak appeared in the ceiling directly above the stage overnight, and of course, it decided to rain today. Jerry was about the furthest thing from a handyman, but luckily he had a couple of friends in the trades that could rig a temporary patch. He didn’t need anything permanent — it’s not like he owned the theater, it shouldn’t have been his problem to deal with in the first place.

Besides, he had bigger problems. Where was the heck was Samantha? 

She’d come out of nowhere — no one knew who she was when she auditioned for the lead female role of tonight’s show: Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. But that didn’t mean she hadn’t belonged. The black-haired beauty was stunning to behold, but she was every bit as talented and professional as she was attractive. It had been a tight race for the top female role between her and the more experienced Regina Reynolds. Jerry was familiar with Regina from a plethora of previous shows he’d directed, plenty of which featured her as a lead actress across a variety of parts and characters. Despite Samantha’s unheralded arrival, as well as Regina’s talent and experience, Samantha had earned her spot, fair and square. It had seemed an easy decision for Jerry at the time, but had he made a mistake?

A dark hallway connected the dressing rooms area to a staging and shipping bay. Jerry hustled toward the rear exit to see about the delivery and reached to open the door. As his hand was about to make contact with the handle, it opened from the other side, revealing a disheveled Samantha.

“Where have you been, Samantha? You’re 35 minutes late!”

As she opened her mouth to respond, it became evident to Jerry that she was fighting back tears.

“I’m so sorry Mr. Mortheim— there were these guys— and then I was trying leave— and then—” Samantha tried to explain frantically, partially sobbing as her eyes filled and began to overflow.

“Easy, easy. Take a breath. Relax. One thing at a time. What’s wrong?” asked Jerry, who had swiftly altered his outlook of the situation.

“There were these strange men following me,” she began.

“They’d be strange if they didn’t,” replied Jerry, snickering at his own joke before it had even finished leaving his mouth.

“Then my car wouldn’t start. I went back into my house to call a cab and my phone line was down. I don’t know what’s happening, it’s like someone was trying to keep me from coming here.”

“Look, it’s OK. You’re here now. You’re safe. Nothing’s going to happen while you’re here, OK?” replied Jerry, trying to comfort the distressed young lady.

“Thanks, Mr. Mortheim,” sniffled Samantha.

“Please, it’s Jerry. Now look, I hate to bring it up, but it is kinda my job: are you going to be able to do the show, or do I need to make some kind of other arrangements? Regina might be able to take the role on short notice if you can’t.”

“No, I’ll do it, Mr. Mortheim,”

“Great! Head over to make-up and start running lines, we’re already well behind schedule. And seriously, you can call me Jerry. I prefer it, really!”

Samantha smiled, a grand piano seemingly removed from her back by some unseen crane, and headed off toward the dressing rooms.

Jerry was imbued with a similar feeling of relief as he continued outside to deal with the delivery. The shipment contained exactly as he thought it had, props needed for tonight’s performance, as well as a few exotic items he had plans for with future productions. He had hoped to have the shipment in hand for the dress rehearsal yesterday, but he had been powerless to do anything about it. He grabbed a couple of stagehands, Zach and Eddie, to help him unload the truck. 

He worked his way back toward the dressing rooms to check on the progress of the talent for the evening once he felt Zach and Eddie had things under control. He opened the door to find Regina, dressed in her Lavinia costume, on the other side.

“Did Samantha show?” asked the voluptuous actress, golden locks glowing around her small, delicate face.

“Yeah, and the props just arrived as well. The show should be all set,” replied Jerry. “Now it just comes down to execution.”

Regina frowned.

“Well, maybe your star will still be around by the time you come to your senses,” she said coldly as she turned to walk away.

Although Regina could be rough around the edges, making her irritating to work with on occasions similar to this, Jerry did so admire this spunk, this zest, this fire. Not to mention, her natural talent and demeanor made her consistently brilliant on the stage.

“Easy now, Regina,” Jerry said. “I want to show you something.”

He guided her to the next room, a staging area that Zach and Eddie were currently unloading props into. He walked up to a tall, narrow piece of furniture that’s identity was hidden by a tarp draped over the top of it. Jerry had just unloaded it from the truck moments earlier, a prop for an upcoming play. He ensured Regina was standing directly in front of it, as he stood just to her side.

“Do you know what this is?” He asked.

She shook her head.

“It’s a mirror that reflects its user’s true identity. You might not even recognize yourself.”

With that, Jerry ripped the tarp off. It was actually a trick mirror and was currently displaying a distorted reflection of Regina that hyper exaggerated the size of her waist.

“Oh, Regina! You really let yourself go!” Jerry joked.

“Oh my God, shut up!” Regina cried as she smacked Jerry on the arm.

Jerry roared with laughter and a cheap smile couldn’t be hidden from Regina’s face as she slipped away to continue her own preparations.

Jerry had been unaware of his lead actor’s presence in the room through this practical joke.

“You really put that broad in her place,” laughed Cecil von Klausen, who emerged from the shadows once Regina was out of both sight and earshot.

“I thought you were pursuing a courtship with her yourself, Cecil,” Jerry said. 

Cecil was starring in the role for which tonight’s play was named after: Titus Andronicus. Jerry wasn’t overly fond of Cecil — he had found his behavior deeply conceited, to say the least. Still, he couldn’t deny Cecil’s talent. Plus, he was Grade-A beefcake, and Jerry needed for his female spectators what Samantha and Regina brought his male viewers.

“I can’t deny I once had eyes for her, but now I’m looking at upgrading to a newer model,” he replied, glancing suggestively at a showbill of tonight’s performance that prominently displayed the faces of him and Samantha, as he did.

“I hope you’ll at least wait until after tonight’s show before you make any moves. I want everyone focused on the task at hand.”

“No promises,” Cecil said with an arrogant smirk as he strode confidently past Jerry.

“I have a question for ya, Cecil,”

Cecil stopped. 

“Go ahead,”

“What do the ladies say to guys that are good in bed?”

“I don’t know, what?”

“See, I knew you wouldn’t know,” Jerry said, bellowing laughter after the joke sank in.

Evidently, Zach and Eddie had moved within auditory range, as they also burst into laughter from just outside the shipping bay’s door.

Cecil wasn’t impressed, letting out an obviously fake laugh before his face returned to its classically rigid expression as he departed.

“What a freakshow,” Jerry whispered to himself once he was finally alone.

ACT I

The first act started without a hitch. Jerry was very pleased with the performances of all involved. No forgotten lines, no miscues — in all it was very clean. It was just after the first act had come to an end that Jerry became concerned.

As the actors disappeared behind the curtains, a spotlight crashed into the stage, missing  Samantha by mere inches. The stage floor cratered, the light all but smashing completely through. 

Nothing seemed to have caused it, speculation was that it was a freak accident. 

Cecil made a snide remark to Jerry as he walked off the set.

Jerry wanted to crack a joke to lighten the mood, but it didn’t feel quite appropriate.

ACT II

The second act had started out pretty smoothly. The third scene was coming up, and the actors and actresses briefly headed to the dressing rooms for minor make-up tweaks or costume changes. Cecil was noticeably missing, but it didn’t concern Jerry. The lead actor had plenty of time before his next entrance. 

Jerry helped the stagehands set up the next scene, during which Scotty, who was portraying Bassianus, would fall through a trap door as Demetrius and Chiron, played by Dave and Johnny, disposed of the body of the murdered Bassianus.

Zach and Eddie were preparing the trapdoor, and as Jerry walked over to perform a final inspection, he overheard them talking.

“I didn’t know you were dating Samantha, bro,” said Zach.

“Apparently neither did Cecil, he asked her out in between acts,” replied Eddie. “But yeah, we’ve been hanging out for a little while. I was the one that told her she should audition for this play. I didn’t know she’d get the lead role, but I figured she’d get a part. She’s too talented not to, she just needed a break, probably.”

“I can’t imagine Cecil took it well.”

“Certainly not, but what’s he gonna do? Fight me?”

They both began laughing loudly and abruptly at this.

“He talks a big game, but he’s such a chicken,” Zach remarked. “Time for him to go pout and blame someone else for being rejected again.”

They both laughed again.

* * * * *

“Who have we here?” Scotty asked as he entered the stage donning the look of Bassianus. “Rome’s royal empress, unfurnish’d of her well-beseeming troop? Or is it Dian, habited like her, Who hath abandoned her holy groves To see the general hunting in this forest?”

He’d walked out without Regina — Jerry hoped she was right behind him. She’d need to be on stage by the time Samantha finished her next line.

“Saucy controller of our private steps! Had I the power that some say Dian had, they temples should be planted presently With horns, as was Actaeon’s,” recited Samantha as Tamora. She was in the center of the stage, just a step or two away from the trapdoor. “And the hounds Should drive upon thy new-transformed limbs, unmannerly intruder as thou art.”

As she finished her line, she took a step, now putting the entirety of her frame onto the trapdoor. With a scream, she disappeared beneath the stage as the trapdoor opened suddenly.

Scotty moved to the hole in the stage and stared into the depths. He looked at Jerry offstage and simply shook his head.

Jerry ran to the hatch that contained the ladder leading below the stage. It was to one side of the stage, the same side Jerry had already been on as he’d been monitoring and directing the performance from behind the scenes. The hatch was typically completely concealed by the curtains, as it was currently.

He descended the ladder as quickly as possible and made his way down a short hallway that led to a storage area below the stage. The same storage area that was directly below the trap door — Samantha’s most likely location.

As he approached the door to the storage room, he could hear voices coming from the room but couldn’t make them out. He reached for the door handle — he couldn’t breathe, his heart was pounding in his throat — he pulled it open.

Three figures were carrying Samantha’s body toward the room’s only other exit, a door opposite of the frame he currently stood in. Jerry couldn’t determine the young lady’s condition, only that she lacked consciousness. The figures were dressed in costumes from a future scene of tonight’s play: the spirit costumes of Revenge, Murder, and Rape worn by Tamora, Chiron, and Demetrius during the scene when they attempt to deceive the mad Titus Andronicus. The masks of these costumes were mostly simple, hooded black robes, apart from haunting, ghoulish masks covering their faces.

Jerry also recognized some of the furniture from the room, some of which had been stored down here this very day, having come from today’s delivery.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked Jerry.

"As you can see here, I'm the spirit of revenge." replied a female voice from the middle figure.

A moment of silence felt like an eternity before the figure pulled off its ghoulish mask revealing the face of Regina.

"She stole my part! I was supposed to be the star of the show, but you chose her!" Regina declared.

"So you’re gonna kill her? Are you psychotic?" asked Jerry rhetorically.

Regina and the figure to her right stepped toward Jerry, who stumbled backward into a chair and desk behind him. He caught himself in the chair and let himself rest there.

"Whoa, look, I'll just sit here. I'm no threat." pleaded Jerry. "Why don't we just sit down and talk this out? Look, there's a chair right behind you."

To Jerry's surprise, although he didn't reveal it, the figure that had originally advanced toward Jerry turned around to take a look.  After seeing the chair, it looked back at Jerry quizzically. After a moment it walked backward in the direction of the chair. Regina took a relaxed pose, she seemed to be set at ease by this as well. They'd taken his bait — no sooner than the moment the figure deposited the entirety of his weight into the chair, the legs of the trick chair collapsed and the bloke was sent sprawling in a panic, physically and mentally. The male's voice called out in surprised distress.

Though time was dire and Jerry knew he had none to spare, he couldn't help himself but crack into laughter. Regina and the other figure went to the man's assistance, and Jerry took this opportunity to flee from whence he’d come.

"After him!" Jerry heard Regina call out behind him.

He continued on until, at last, the ladder to reach the stage came within view. He could feel someone hot on his heels as he reached the ladder, he threw himself up it. As his hands gripped the stage, he felt a hand grip his left ankle. He instinctively kicked with his right leg, his shoe connecting with something solid — his own other foot — dammit! His left leg was yanked violently down, but Jerry's grip on the stage held by a thread, his fingers slick with sweat. He kicked in desperation again, this time landing a blow against an appropriate target, which responded with a cry of pain. The grip on Jerry's ankle loosened and he ripped himself skyward. 

The crowd gasped as Jerry floundered across part of the stage, bringing on another frightening revelation for him, as he found himself staring into a sea of humanity. The person chasing him made his way through the hatch and moved toward Jerry until he came to a similar awareness. They both froze. A security guard burst onto the stage and tackled the masked figure. The curtain crashed. The crowd applauded.