“Of course,” Ali assured her.
“We always got your back.” Jess gave her a thumbs up.
Brynn had recruited her friends to be there for the audition and casting process. They were basically there for moral support. She’d asked for backup after receiving several emails from parents asserting that they were sure she’d do a great job and that Mrs. Stein had promised their child a lead which they were sure she would be honoring.
As grateful as she was for the extra cash this gig offered, so far it had been a slightly daunting process. There was a lot that went into a theater production and she didn’t want to let the kids down. She was grateful for her friends’ support. It wasn’t that they were brimming with experience, but three heads were better than one. At least these three heads were.
Brynn stood and turned around to address the crowd. She didn’t have a microphone but the acoustics were so good she didn’t need one. “Thank you all for coming out. I’m happy to see so much interest in the production. I want to remind everyone to be respectful during the auditions. And that means all cell phones need to be turned off or silenced.” She heard a wave of grumbling from the kids seated in the auditorium. “And that goes for parents, too.” That got an even greater reaction. “No texting, talking, or filming allowed. Also, no applause, please. You can congratulate your children after all auditions are complete.” Brynn glanced down at the signup sheet and called the first name.
She took her seat as Ezra Stewart confidently took the stage. For his audition, he chose to do the Alec Baldwin ABC (always be closing) monologue from Glengarry Glen Ross. He wasn’t half-bad. Brynn was excited to see what the rest of the kids brought to the table.
That initial burst of excitement began to wane, though, after the next five auditions.
“Who knew that three minutes could feel like twenty?” Jess whispered beneath her breath after a particularly painful monologue from Steel Magnolias.
Up next was Ali’s nephew Ricky. Brynn knew that they were in for a treat. He’d participated in the Whisper Lake Playhouse teen program over the summer and had delivered a standout performance as Danny Zuko in Grease.
“Hey, do you still have the boys’ costumes from Halloween last year?” Jess asked Ali and Brynn as Ricky made his way up to the stage. “I want to decorate the shop window in horror movie characters for the festival this year.”
KJ, Ricky, and Ryder had been dressing up in themed or matching costumes since kindergarten. They’d dressed up as everything from Rock, Paper, Scissors to the main characters in Three Amigos, Trailer Park Boys and Ghostbusters. Last year they’d gone as Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and Michael Myers.
When Patrick, Ali’s brother, was alive, he hadn’t been too handy with a sewing machine, so Brynn had always taken care of the boys’ costumes.
“Yeah.” Both Brynn and Ali nodded.
“Do you know what they’re going as this year?”
Brynn and Ali looked at each other and shook their heads.
“I hope they haven’t outgrown dressing up together.” Ali’s melancholy tone was contagious and Brynn felt herself getting sentimental as Ricky took the stage.
The boys were growing up. With each day that passed, Ricky was becoming more and more the spitting image of his father. He was already talking about what colleges he wanted to go to. KJ had his first serious girlfriend. Brynn had a feeling that her own son was up next in that department. She glanced to the side of the room where Ryder was waiting to audition. He’d never shown an ounce of interest in plays or acting, but Fiona had suggested that he go out for the play and there he sat.
Ricky began his audition and Brynn didn’t recognize the monologue he was doing. In the piece he was portraying a kid who was getting bullied on social media. When he finished the entire room was silent, sans a few sniffles. Brynn herself had several tears sliding down her cheeks. His performance had been so raw and real, her heart broke for him.
After the twins lost their father, they’d reacted very differently. KJ had gone a little wild and gotten into his fair share of trouble. Ricky had shut down. He’d always been a reserved kid but he’d become even quieter and withdrawn. Every time she’d seen Ricky hanging out at her house, he had his head in a book. She’d tried her best to keep an eye on the boys without being too obvious, since that was a crime punishable by her son not speaking to her.
She’d recommended a therapist that specialized in adolescent trauma to Ali and her friend had made sure that both twins went to weekly sessions. But Brynn had still worried. She knew that Ali did too. She couldn’t count the number of talks they’d had about it.
But over the past few months, both Brynn and Ali’s worries had disappeared. Through acting, Ricky was finding a healthy way to process his grief and express himself. She couldn’t be any happier for him.
As he exited stage left, Jess leaned over her and whispered to Ali, “Holy shit, when did he turn into Daniel Day-Lewis?”
“I know, right?” Ali wiped a tear that had fallen down her cheek.
“What is that from?” Brynn asked quietly as she dug tissues from her purse and handed one to Ali and used another to dry her own eyes.
“He wrote it,” Ali said under her breath. “But don’t tell anyone, he doesn’t want anyone to know.”
Well, they’d obviously just found their Romeo. And since Ryder was auditioning as well, no one could claim that Ricky had gotten the part because Ali was helping out.
“I’d hate to follow that,” Jess spoke quietly without moving her lips.
Brynn turned back to the stage and saw that Fiona was up next.
The girl’s lips were in a tight line and her hands were noticeably shaking as she walked up the stairs. Brynn wasn’t sure if her nerves were due to her overbearing mother who’d spent the last ten minutes coaching her in the corner, or due to her following Ricky. But whatever the root cause of her anxiousness, the second she took the stage she relaxed. Transformed. Took control of the entire room.
Fiona took a breath and spoke directly to the room. She thanked them all for coming. Her voice cracked and Brynn saw a tear fall down her face. For a moment, she wasn’t sure if it was still acting or not. But when she started talking about Tim, her older brother who had won her a teddy bear at the fair, Brynn knew that she was in character. Fiona was the oldest of four children.