Enthusiasm by Polly Shulman

Author:Polly Shulman
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Of the actors, the most talented by far were Ravi, Alcott, and Kevin, who turned out to be a surprise comic genius. As Butthead, the boorish boy playing Romeo in the play within a play, he overacted with such flawless control that he never once overdid overdoing it. When Yolanda’s Tanya drank Rob’s love potion and fell for Butthead, Kevin turned into a parody of Chris Stevens subtle enough that Chris himself never noticed, yet broad enough to keep the rest of us choking back laughter. Yolanda deepened the impression by putting a touch of lovesick Erin into her Tanya, but only a touch. Either she didn’t want to be cruel to her old friend, or she was acting unconsciously, not quite aware of her influences.

Ravi was a delight to watch and listen to: handsome, lithe, with a voice like honey and butter. I could see why Yolanda had a thing for him. Ash, I thought, was lucky to have her heart already occupied, or after their first kiss in rehearsals she would have been as bad as Erin with Chris. But although Ravi clearly knew the impression he made, there was nothing wolfish or manipulative about him. He accepted admiration as his due and repaid it with friendly attention, as if to suggest that a warm admiration for Ravi was a pleasure that you and he could share.

Tensions ran high between Benjo, the director, and Barry, the playwright, who attended every rehearsal and held strong opinions about how we should deliver his beloved lines. Young Emma—as Chloe, the middle schooler playing Juliet in the laughable play-within-a-play—had an uncontrollable tendency to giggle. Unable to curb this habit, Benjo used it as a way of showing up the silliness of the middle schoolers’ production. But Barry couldn’t stand it. He snapped, “Stop giggling!” at poor Emma whenever she so much as smiled, which made her giggle even more.

“I can’t—I can’t—I c—I can’t help—!” gurgled poor Emma.

“Barry, quit messing up my actors! I mean it! You’re making her choke,” said Benjo.

“Your so-called actors are messing up my play. Can’t you control them?” said Barry, stepping closer.

“What needs controlling is you need to control yourself. Leave now, please!”

“Leave? Leave this mess with you?”

Both guys, I saw, had clenched their jaws and fists. Any minute they would come to blows. Fortunately, Parr saw it too and stepped in. “Hey, Barry, do you have a sec? I rewrote the chorus to ‘Queen of the Ice,’ and I want to know what you think.”

Benjo was still glaring at Barry, so I decided to distract him too. “Benjo, can I ask you a quick question? Should I exit while the dean is still singing, or should I wait till he’s done?” Benjo seemed annoyed at the interruption, but Parr repaid me with a grateful look.

Because my part was so small, I had plenty of time to observe all these offstage dramas. When not rehearsing my scenes, I made myself useful as a page turner, prop fetcher, and prompter.

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