Penelope by Rebecca Harrington

Author:Rebecca Harrington
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Literary, Humorous, Coming of age, Fiction
ISBN: 030795031X
Publisher: Vintage
Published: 2012-08-07T00:00:00+00:00

“Bad news,” Henry Wills-Mather intoned like a bass bell. The cast was just starting to get into places for Act 4, Scene 1. This was one of the few times in the play that Penelope was offstage. She was glad of the respite. In this scene, both Caligulas were to be clad in matching bloody tutus and dancing ballet to the recorded sound of barking dogs. It was not one of Penelope’s favorites.

“Gather ’round, everybody,” said Henry Wills-Mather. He motioned everyone to sit on the front of the stage. The cast sat down obediently. Henry Wills-Mather stood on a chair in the front row. He stared into the distance sadly. Then he spoke.

“Craig dropped out of our dear little production.”

A collective groan went through the assembled cast members. Penelope was trying to think of who Craig was. She believed he had a line in Act 4, Scene 1, but she was not sure about that. Perhaps he was a senator. It was hard to tell what was happening really.

Henry Wills-Mather cleared his throat.

“I just want you all to know that what we are doing here is important. It may not seem like it is. It may seem like we are just a small theater company, trying to do the best job we can with a notoriously difficult text. But, in fact, we are doing something important. We are doing something terrifically important. We are staking a claim for independence in a world full of soulless conglomerates. Because this is a dangerous time in experimental theater. A very dangerous time. Thirty years ago, people didn’t need spineless iterations of Disney musicals in order to keep Broadway afloat. They wanted real shows that engaged with the very real political climate of the time. Now people want to see Shrek onstage. A huge, lumbering Shrek yelling at Princess Fiona onstage.”

Henry Wills-Mather looked almost as if he was about to cry. Penelope wondered why Craig dropped out of the play. It was probably because of homework. Penelope couldn’t really imagine it was for any other reason. Her hazy memories of Craig did not indicate a revolutionary spirit.

When Henry Wills-Mather recovered himself, he spoke again.

“I’m afraid we are looking for a replacement for Craig. Emma is on it, of course, but until then, I want one of you to take over Craig’s role, just for the time being. We are running Act Four, Scene One today. Who is offstage in this scene?”

Penelope raised her hand to mid-height. Five other people, including Catherine, did as well.

“Good,” said Henry Wills-Mather, pointing to Penelope. “You can take over Craig’s lines.”

“No, that’s OK,” said Penelope.

“Just temporarily,” said Henry Wills-Mather.

“I am just getting over this ear infection,” said Penelope.

“This really isn’t a very big deal,” said Henry Wills-Mather.

“OK,” said Penelope.

“It really is temporary,” said Henry Wills-Mather apologetically. “You’ll just be reading a senator’s lines. Let’s start from the beginning of the scene.”

Catherine was looking at Penelope in a surprised and not necessarily pleasant way. Sometimes Penelope wondered if Catherine suspected something about the dead fish incident.

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