I'm thinking about doing a short series about the set of I Never Saw Another Butterfly, because it was REALLY entertaining. I directed the class play, and it went well after two months of disasterous practice sessions!
Here is a story about Mel (a jewish girl) and her boyfriend, Kieran (a Nazi).
Disclaimer: I do not own INSAB
I laughed and scurried down the hallway to my locker to retrieve my costume. I knew that Jane would kill me if I was late for the class play: I Never Saw Another Butterfly. It was a super depressing play about the Holocaust. My boyfriend and I had been cast in such a way that the word irony didn't even cover it.
TEN MINUTES LATER
Jane was rushing around, yelling at people to get ready and trying to create a realistic cut on David's arm using only lip-gloss and eye-shadow. Kieran, my boyfriend, tugged his trench coat tighter around him, trying to get into character. I smiled down at the star pinned to the right side of my chest. I was playing a Jewish child, one of the many who died after a brief visit to Terezin. Kieran, on the other hand, was playing a Nazi. The script hadn't called for them, but Jane had mixed things up and made the play her own.
It was funny that Kieran and I were playing total opposites, not to mention enemies. Jane ran up to me, her hair flying out of her ponytail and her face flushed. "We're all gonna die," she mumbled, laying her head on my shoulder. I patted her on the head and sighed.
"You made my boyfriend wanna kill me," I smiled. Jane's cheeks looked like they wanted to turn up in a smile, but just then the teacher walked in. She took one look at Jane's grey cabby cap, sitting on a chair after Jane ripped it off Zach's head in frustration, and put it on David.
"Much better!" Mrs. Sirrine beamed in self-accomplishment. The director, tired after so many days of preparation with the most attention-deficit class on earth, just nodded, but cocked her head to the side.
"But you can see David's bangs," Jane muttered, frowning. "You should be able to see his face, and the hair is blocking it."
Chloe walked by and silently handed Jane a plastic baggy filled with hair pins. Jane rushed over and began pulling David's hair back. She looked back over her shoulder at the rest of the cast, her eyes frantic. "Five minutes until the first class comes in! Places people!"
"Okay, jeez," Zach said angrily as Jane shooed him back to his seat. David scurried up to Jane and whispered something in her ear. She ran backstage and came back out looking slightly better. Her hair was smoothed back, her eyes were clear and her smile was normal.
"I think she's a little stressed," Kieran whispered in my ear. "What's your opinion?"
"That you've got to be the hottest Nazi that ever lived," I cooed, leaning back into his chest. He sighed and hugged me from behind, kissing the top of my head.
"Alright people, the audience is arriving, places!" Nick, one of the two techies, called to the cast. We darted to our places.
After Jane's brief note about Terezin, the play began.
Such poor casting…