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Tech and Cast
I knew what I getting into when I joined the Technical Crew. I knew it would be a lot of work, and a lot of pressure. At least, that’s what I was expecting. What I wasn’t expecting, (although I probably should have), was for our play’s leading man, the best looking guy in school, to develop an interest in me, and for my weird relationship with another guy, (also quite the eye-candy) to get even weirder.
Guess that’s what happens when your school puts on a Broadway musical, one that just happens to be a comedic love story. Oh, the joy.
Guys and Dolls was an impressive show. The music, the story, all the fame and hype just added to everyone’s need to pull it off. It’s wasn’t really a surprise to me when Jason was cast as one of the male leads: Sky Masterson. I’d seen him perform once; he was good. But not gonna lie, I was totally jealous of his love interest. She got to kiss him.
The thing about Jason was that everybody knew him. Not him personally, just of him. “The cute one? Yeah.” Add in the whole acting and singing bit, and you’ve got a guy that’s pretty much guaranteed to make any girl swoon. Including me. I appreciated Jason’s fine qualities, but I knew he and I would never have a real conversation. I had long since come to terms with that fact. He was two years older than me for one, and two, he probably didn’t even know I existed.
Just like I explained to a fellow techie—and good friend of Jason’s—Bryan; “I’d love to get to know Jason, and not just because he’s cute. He seems like a nice guy, but there’s this huge wall of hype and expectation around him that’s really intimidating. And he and I have no real reason to interact.”
Which was true. I had met other people thanks to my classes, to tech, friends of friends, but I didn’t have a real, concrete reason to talk to Jason. Sad but true.
Pretty soon I would get a reason to talk to Jason Kane, thanks to Bryan and his “bump”. Actually, a failed bump and a really awkward accident, but I’m totally going to ruin the story if I keep going like this. So I’m going to switch stories, switch boys, and switch completely awkward situations. They’re even the same brand of awkward: The “other girl” brand.
He bothered Sarah the way five-year olds bothered their siblings and baby-sitters. He took her stuff, pulled her hair, knotted her elastics. Andrew, Sarah, and I were all in the same CALM 20 class. Him, grade 11, us, 10. They sat together at one table, and I sat across the aisle. Sometimes I would wonder if there was anything going on between the two, but since Andrew had a girlfriend, I dismissed the idea.
He didn’t come off as the “involved in school” type either, but he was; in the play, on the soccer team. He was also in my guitar class. And I guess that’s where it all started, the weirdness. He and I were walking in opposite directions down the hall during class, when Andrew walked straight up, grabbed my arm and legs, threw me over his shoulder, and kept going. I eventually got him to put me down, but he’s done it a few times since then.
During the two weeks of dress rehearsals and performances, Andrew was quite nice, which was surprising, to say the least. It was kinda funny when he wouldn’t let Julie to his hair for a show, and I had to do it instead. It was strange, but nice when I wished him good luck on opening night; how he’d said “Gimme a hug”, then lifted me of my feet as I did so.
He was sweet, as were many of the boys in the production; Joel; our Sound Head, Peter; our backstage manager, and Albert; the tallest guy I’d ever seen. They left me notes and gave me bear hugs on the last night. And Joel, for the record, was the first boy who’d ever called me pretty. Actually one of the nicest moments of my life.
But I’m going off topic again, getting ahead of myself. I must rewind; back to my somewhat soul-bearing conversation with Bryan, my run-ins with Jason, and the days leading up to opening night. Because for this story, opening night was when a good chunk of the action took place. At least, a lot of the “Jason-Emily interaction” action.
Remember how I said Sky Masterson kisses the object of his affections? Well, it turns out our Sky Masterson has a very jealous girlfriend.
I waved an arm in an almost pleading gesture. Bryan Burke raised an eyebrow at me as we walked down the halls; one of the many hallways at our school that looked exactly the same. I sighed a little, wracking sleep deprived brain for some understandable way to explain how I felt.
“He’s Jason; the guy everyone knows, the one all the girls are crushing on, the guy who can not only act, but sing too. How am I not supposed to be intimidated?”
Bryan nodded slowly. “I know what you mean.”
My shoulders sagged slightly. I knew he’d say that, of course he would. Bryan had known Jason, been friends with him, since the sixth grade. Still, it was better than him looking at me like I was insane.
“It’s not just that he’s cute. Cute and older.” Bryan chuckled, and I shrugged. “What? Just pointing it out.” He shook his head in response, as continued.
“It’s that there’s this...wall. This wall of hype and expectation around Jason that’s impossible to just get around. You need a reason, an introduction, something. Something to get you over the wall.”
I paused the hand gestures that came automatically when I was stressing a point, and glanced sideways at Bryan. “Does this make sense? Or am I just blabbering like an idiot right now?”
The twelfth grader nodded. “Makes perfect sense.” Whatever Bryan was about to say next turned into a greeting as a fellow techie walked by. When she was gone, he turned back to me. “Here. How ‘bout you and me just bump into Jason, and I’ll introduce you? Wall surpassed.”
I blinked, flushed, and nodded. “That’d be nice. Thanks Bryan. For everything.” It had been a long time since I’d had a really personal conversation with anyone. The boy grinned. “Nothing to it.”
We didn’t talk about it much after that, and claimed the “bump” as an inside joke when anyone asked. Because people did. And gave us weird looks.
Ah, good times.
Two heads jerked up as I leaned against the doorframe of the theatre’s cage. The boy’s dark brown eyes widened and he turned a defined shade of pink. Christine, the girl whose shirt, was indeed covering one of Joel’s hands, blushed and rolled her eyes good-naturedly. I smirked at my glowering fellow techie, and watched as Joel returned to the task of removing Christine’s mike from her person.
When he’d finished and she’d walked out, he glanced down at me. “Thanks for that.”
I winked. “Anytime.”
Joel sighed. “How ‘bout I teach you how to unhook the mikes, then Christine and the rest of the girls won’t be totally creeped out by me. Which they probably are now.”
I tilted my head to consider Jacob Keenly’s sound guru. “Even though this totally defies the point of me being the lighting apprentice, sure. Why not.”
Joel laughed as he picked up Jason’s mike from the counter. “Okay, so here’s what you do...”
And so I learned the somewhat complicated process and technique used to put on and take off the brand new system of mikes Joel was to happy to have gotten. I figured it was a useful thing to know, even if I’d probably never have to do it. Just in case Joel had to randomly leave during rehearsal of something. But this skill, this ability that I know had, would soon come in handy.
In more ways than one.
This simple question made me come to two shocking conclusions. One: Jason Kane actually knew who I was, and two: he was talking to me. Of his own free will.
God, I am such a school girl.
Once rid of my inner freak-out, I shook my head. “There’s a problem with the projector; he and Hawks went to get a new plug thingy.”
Tanya Hawks was our Technical Director. Jason sighed. “I don’t suppose you know how to unhook the mikes?”
I blinked. “Actually, I do.”
The teen heartthrob perked immediately. “Really?”
I slid off Peter’s chair in the cage.
“Yeah. Really.”
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Annie
