Prize Winner

I'm sitting at Morebucks Coffee instead on Café Netto. Which is different for me. The odds of seeing the sweatsuit-wearing dog are much slimmer, for one.

For another, they don't have computers here, so I'm typing this post with my fingernails on my teeny Knackberry keyboard.

Last night was dress rehearsal. It was okay. We got/had to watch everybody else's plays which was surprisingly less painful than I thought it would be. It really took me back to the Friday workshop days at Alma Mater U. Each of the plays are about 10-15 minutes long, and none of them are gonna set the world on fire.

Still, we were all kind of excited about showing off in front of each other.

Our group would probably have been more excited if we weren't missing our leading lady. You know--the one who wants to know how Abe Lincoln got her address.

Our director freaked out. I've never seen anyone smile so wide.

One play after another ticked by. And still, Leading Lady didn't show. No phone call. No text.

Three more plays till our turn.

Two more.

Vvvvvvttttt.

Vvvvvvttttt.

Hark! A cell phone vibrates in the middle of play number three!

"Where are you?!" we heard our director whisper frantically from the "lobby". "I've sent emails! I called you all day long!"

The third play ended and the director came in to give us the news. Leading Lady was just leaving work and would be here in an hour.

Nice. Way to be a team player, LL!

The last play before intermission was frighteningly short.

Intermission began.

We set our set up as slowly as possible.

"We can't wait any longer!" Said the stage manager. "The show must go on!"

Just as we were about to lose our pride before our fellow actors, I noticed that most of them were wearing scarves and hats. They were leaving!

"Hey!!" I shouted internally, "We sat through your crappy show! You have to sit through ours! Even if we ARE missing a fourth of our cast!"

But they left.

The director grabbed a script and sat at the front row to read LL's part.

We started our show...and I got this really sick sinking feeling when I looked up after saying my first line and saw Leading Lady standing in the aisle, all bundled up, hat on her head and mittens on her hands.

For real.

Okay. Time to go. Off-off Broadway waits for no man!