The Backstagers and the Ghost Light by Andy Mientus

Author:Andy Mientus
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abrams
Published: 2018-10-10T16:00:00+00:00

If you’re up there listening, Jory thought, I could use some help right now. But then, sensing Reo just behind him, having his own private conversation with the night, a new friend who had literally appeared in the darkness, he knew help had arrived before he even had to ask.

CHAPTER 10

Holy crap, Chloe had been right.

The candelabra set piece exploded gorgeously, and all of the pieces fell neatly into the pallet that Aziz had constructed at her suggestion, making for an easy transition into the next scene.

Rehearsal was about to begin and actors milled about the stage, performing strange facial stretches, doing vocal sirens, and drinking what seemed like excessive, possibly dangerous, amounts of water.

Aziz, working alone in an upstage corner, had a private moment of celebration as his final test of the effect went perfectly. Or what he thought was a private moment. A voice behind him cut his celebration short.

“Aziz, that looks fantastic!” It was Chloe, her silver hair framing the glow of her smile.

“Thanks. Your idea was a great one.”

“Oh, you would have figured it out; you were almost there. But I’m glad I could help.”

“I don’t know, man, a pallet with a lip on it? That’s really good thinking. You ever think about Backstaging?”

“I have my place onstage.”

“Maybe you should get out of your bubble sometime,” he joked.

“Touché. What about you, would you ever try Onstaging?”

“Me?! Oh gosh, no. That would be a disaster.”

“Why? You love theater.”

“I love working on theater.”

“That is loving theater, weirdo. You love theater, and you demonstrated the other day how much of a leader you are, taking responsibility for that prop mess-up.”

“That was nothing.”

“That was amazing, Aziz! You should take more credit for all the work you do around here. I get that being a Backstager is about being invisible, but I don’t know, for me, I think it’s nice to get some credit for my hard work every now and then. I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. Otherwise, your work just happens under the cover of darkness and no one ever stops to think about who made it happen. You’re like a ghost.”

Aziz’s ears pricked up. Before he could think too hard about what she had said, Blake McQueen swept onto the stage, eclipsing all the energy in the room with his dramatic entrance.

“ACTORS!” he bellowed. “Today we are tackling the climactic sewer scene, in which the dashing Rupert, played by yours truly, duels thrillingly with the Phantasm as the townsfolk descend into his lair, torches blazing. We will need everyone’s best work for such a complex scene—a real sense of risk and play! Thus, for today’s warm-up, I propose we . . . PASS THE IMPULSE!”

The room squealed with excitement as the actors formed a circle. Chloe’s eyes flashed as she looked at Aziz the way a cat looks at a mouse just before it pounces.

“Yes,” she said. “This is perfect. You’re trying it.”

“WHAT?!” Aziz would under no circumstances be trying it.

“Warm up with us. You’ll love it.

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