Chapter 13: School Play
Disclaimer: I mentioned Subway in an earlier chapter and I don't own that, nor do I own "The Wizard of OZ" or the game Twister which are mentioned in this chapter.
When auditions for the school play rolled around Miranda convinced Lizzie to audition for the play with her. The school was going to be putting on a production of "The Wizard of OZ". Miranda was auditioning for the lead, she had a lot of experience in the school's plays. Lizzie was just auditioning for whatever role she could get. The drama teacher, Miss Brown, was able to get the nearest elementary school to cooperate so that their students could play the munchkins. The rest of the parts would be going to the high school students. Gordo, who felt the need to take part in the play somehow, volunteered to be the official cameraman. He could film auditions, practices and the play to make a video for the school to sell.
Two days after auditions, all the students were called back to hear who would be playing which parts.
(Hillridge Auditorium-After School on a Friday)
"All right, this could take a while so I'm just going to read the part followed by who will play it," Miss Brown said," please stay until the end, I have an announcement to make after:
Dorothy - Miranda Sanchez
Aunt Em - Veronica Salmon
Uncle Henry - Patrick O'Neal
Good Witch of the North - Elizabeth McGuire
Wicked Witch of the West - Kate Saunders
Scare Crow/Farm Hand - Ethan Kraft
Tin Man/ Farm Hand - Andrew Davids
Cowardly Lion/Farm Hand - Tim Martinez
Wizard/Travelling Fortune Teller - Danny Kesler
Various Characters in OZ- Samantha Krudwig, Darby Greene, Carissa Hendrickson, Fred Lee, David Campbell, Lucina Gomez, and Charles Allen
So that's the main parts, the extras for OZ will be playing munchkins, but doing the speaking lines so the younger kids don't have extra lines to learn. For the rest of you who didn't get a part, you are welcome to pick someone to be an understudy for or to help us out with building the set and making costumes. That's all for today, practices start next Monday. Have a nice weekend." (A/N: If I forgot any major parts in the play, please forgive me, it's been a while since I've seen the Wizard of OZ)
"Miranda, congrats on getting the lead," Lizzie hugged her best friend.
"Thanks, and hey I'm glad you got a part too. This will be great with my friends working with me. We can all spend lots of time together," Miranda said, excitedly.
"Yeah, this will be fun," Gordo agreed, putting his camera down," I get to film, you guys get to be in a play, we will have lots of time to hang out after school together."
"Yo Sanchez, congrats on getting Dorothy," Ethan gave her a high five.
"Thanks, you got a pretty big part too," Miranda said.
"Yeah, I get to play the scarecrow. I hope I don't have to wear straw in my costume though, that might be itchy," he ran off to find Miss Brown and ask her about his concern.
Kate spotted the three and walked over to them," Hey girls, good job on landing your parts."
Lizzie laughed," Your role is kind of fitting Kate."
"Ha ha, I'm not like that anymore," Kate glared at Lizzie.
"Oh I'm just teasing you," Lizzie said," it's pretty funny that you're a witch though."
"Yeah, you have to admit that's pretty coincidental," Miranda ducked as Kate tried to smack her.
"You guys laugh it up," Kate said.
"Come on Saunders, you know it's funny," Gordo said.
Kate threw head back and laughed," Come on you guys! I'm not really mad. You know I'm cool now."
"You're fun to pick on though," Lizzie smiled.
"Of course I am, it's because I'm so popular," Kate flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"Okay, you are full of it," Miranda told Kate.
"It's been great guys, but I have to be off," Kate said, spotting Ethan across the auditorium.
"Bye Kate," Miranda called to her as she left.
"See you Monday," Lizzie said.
"Later guys," Kate returned.
(Dress Rehearsal- Middle of December)
Gordo sat several rows back in the auditorium focusing in on the stage with his camera as the Munchkins sang their "Welcome to Munchkin Land Song". He laughed as the little kids danced around in their costumes. They were pretty funny looking, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves. He focused in on a little blonde girl for a moment, as she swung her arms wildly in the air.
"Oh no," he mumbled.
The little girl hit the scenery behind her and it toppled over backwards.
"Cut!" Miss Brown shouted.
The young blonde began to cry," It was an accident. I didn't mean to."
Miss Brown hung her head and muttered," We'll never get this thing right in time for opening night."
Lizzie saw the girl wailing and ran to her. Gordo zoomed in on them as Lizzie kneeled to the girl's height.
"Sweetie, it's okay," Lizzie patted her back," we know you didn't mean to. It was an accident."
"I'm so sorry," the girl hiccuped.
"What's your name?" Lizzie asked.
"My name's Carly," the girl said quietly.
"Well Carly, look, the set piece is okay," Lizzie gestured to the scenery which was being placed back into it's spot on the stage," see, you didn't hurt it."
"Okay," Carly sniffled," it was an accident."
"I know, let's get you to the bathroom so you can dry your tears," Lizzie lead the young girl off the stage.
"Wow," Gordo said," Lizzie's great with kids."
He followed Lizzie and Carly out to the hallway. He handed his camera off to the guy who was supposed to be his assistant. Lizzie was in the hallway as the little girl got a drink of water. She had some Kleenex and was wiping the girl's face off.
"All better," Lizzie patted her head.
"Thanks, Miss um..." the girl looked at her questioningly.
"Lizzie, my name's Lizzie," she said.
"Thank you Lizzie," Carly smiled.
"It was no big deal. I used to be really clumsy myself," Lizzie told her.
"Used to be?" Gordo asked causing Lizzie to jump.
"Okay, so I still am," she blushed lightly.
"That's what I thought," Gordo said," I was watching you two on the stage. Carly, that's your name right? You should try not to swing your arms so much when you're dancing. That's how you knocked the set piece over."
"I'll try not to next time. And I'll stand farther away from it," she said.
Miss Brown came out to check on the missing actors," Carly, are you ready to try that scene again?"
"Yes Miss Brown," she said obediently.
"Okay. McGuire, nice work," Miss Brown said leading the child back to the stage," hurry up out here."
"I'll be right there," Lizzie said, sensing Gordo wanted her for a minute.
Once Miss Brown was gone Gordo said," Lizzie, I was watching you handle that little girl. You were amazing. I never knew you were so good with kids."
"I don't know, she just looked really upset, so I thought someone had better calm her down," Lizzie explained.
"Well you are great with kids," Gordo kissed her.
"Okay, I better get going, I'm in this scene," Lizzie gave Gordo a loving look as she returned to the stage.
(Backstage-after final night of play)
"Good work people! I'm so proud of your work, this all went amazingly well," Miss Brown smiled at her cast," give yourselves all a hand."
Everyone erupted into applause. Several of the cast had flowers from their parents or friends. Everyone was smiling and proud of their performances which went off without a hitch.
"Now I hate to break up all the fun," Miss Brown started again," but I think we can all pitch in and clean up the stage so that we can get to that cast party later!"
The entire cast and crew rushed around cleaning up the set and putting things away. Kate Saunders was hosting a party for all the cast and crew members after the cleanup. The little kids were invited as well for a couple of hours, since it was a Saturday night. Then all the big kids would be able to stay longer with all of the adults gone. Everyone wanted to hurry up and get to Kate's house.
(at Kate's House, 30 minutes later)
"Okay," Kate yelled to get everyone's attention," would you rather play pin the tail on the donkey or Twister?"
About half the kids shouted Twister, while the other half shouted pin the tail on the donkey. Lizzie decided to improvise. She would supervise the game of Twister while Kate ran the game of pin the tail on the donkey. All of the kids were having so much fun, but it was nearly time for them to go home, so Kate had to get out the cakes to serve to them. Of course the cake ended up being pretty messy, but Kate's mom had the foresight to line the floor with plastic and remove the expensive furniture when she head about the little kids.
The little kids were sad to go. They'd had so much fun hanging out with high school students. They were all cool at their school for hanging out with older kids. Their parents came to pick them up right on time. Then the big kids got to have their party.
"Kate, it was so sweet of you to have a party with the elementary kids too," Ethan said.
"Yeah, they loved it," Lizzie agreed.
"I figured they were part of the cast too," Kate smiled.
Gordo walked up and put his hands over Lizzie's eyes," Guess who? And don't you two say anything."
"Gee let me guess, is it David Gordon?" Lizzie threw his arms back and spun around to face him," did you honestly think you could fool me?"
"Not really. Want to dance?" he asked.
"Oh yeah, we need music," Kate ran to her fancy stereo and put in some dance music.
The high schoolers started to dance until Kate slipped on a glob of frosting that someone had dropped on the floor. She fell flat on back and everyone got silent for a minute.
"Hey Kate, are you okay?" Miranda called out.
Kate's eyes were huge for a moment, then she started to laugh," I'm fine."
A collective sigh of relief went out and everyone returned to dancing as Ethan helped Kate clean the frosting off the floor. Everyone had a good time and most of them went home around midnight. Some of Kate's closer friends were invited to stay the night. Kate's parents had gone to stay at a hotel for the night after the elementary kids left. The remaining people decided to watch the DVDs Kate had rented. Some of them went off somewhere to make out.
Disclaimer: I mentioned Subway in an earlier chapter and I don't own that, nor do I own "The Wizard of OZ" or the game Twister which are mentioned in this chapter.
When auditions for the school play rolled around Miranda convinced Lizzie to audition for the play with her. The school was going to be putting on a production of "The Wizard of OZ". Miranda was auditioning for the lead, she had a lot of experience in the school's plays. Lizzie was just auditioning for whatever role she could get. The drama teacher, Miss Brown, was able to get the nearest elementary school to cooperate so that their students could play the munchkins. The rest of the parts would be going to the high school students. Gordo, who felt the need to take part in the play somehow, volunteered to be the official cameraman. He could film auditions, practices and the play to make a video for the school to sell.
Two days after auditions, all the students were called back to hear who would be playing which parts.
(Hillridge Auditorium-After School on a Friday)
"All right, this could take a while so I'm just going to read the part followed by who will play it," Miss Brown said," please stay until the end, I have an announcement to make after:
Dorothy - Miranda Sanchez
Aunt Em - Veronica Salmon
Uncle Henry - Patrick O'Neal
Good Witch of the North - Elizabeth McGuire
Wicked Witch of the West - Kate Saunders
Scare Crow/Farm Hand - Ethan Kraft
Tin Man/ Farm Hand - Andrew Davids
Cowardly Lion/Farm Hand - Tim Martinez
Wizard/Travelling Fortune Teller - Danny Kesler
Various Characters in OZ- Samantha Krudwig, Darby Greene, Carissa Hendrickson, Fred Lee, David Campbell, Lucina Gomez, and Charles Allen
So that's the main parts, the extras for OZ will be playing munchkins, but doing the speaking lines so the younger kids don't have extra lines to learn. For the rest of you who didn't get a part, you are welcome to pick someone to be an understudy for or to help us out with building the set and making costumes. That's all for today, practices start next Monday. Have a nice weekend." (A/N: If I forgot any major parts in the play, please forgive me, it's been a while since I've seen the Wizard of OZ)
"Miranda, congrats on getting the lead," Lizzie hugged her best friend.
"Thanks, and hey I'm glad you got a part too. This will be great with my friends working with me. We can all spend lots of time together," Miranda said, excitedly.
"Yeah, this will be fun," Gordo agreed, putting his camera down," I get to film, you guys get to be in a play, we will have lots of time to hang out after school together."
"Yo Sanchez, congrats on getting Dorothy," Ethan gave her a high five.
"Thanks, you got a pretty big part too," Miranda said.
"Yeah, I get to play the scarecrow. I hope I don't have to wear straw in my costume though, that might be itchy," he ran off to find Miss Brown and ask her about his concern.
Kate spotted the three and walked over to them," Hey girls, good job on landing your parts."
Lizzie laughed," Your role is kind of fitting Kate."
"Ha ha, I'm not like that anymore," Kate glared at Lizzie.
"Oh I'm just teasing you," Lizzie said," it's pretty funny that you're a witch though."
"Yeah, you have to admit that's pretty coincidental," Miranda ducked as Kate tried to smack her.
"You guys laugh it up," Kate said.
"Come on Saunders, you know it's funny," Gordo said.
Kate threw head back and laughed," Come on you guys! I'm not really mad. You know I'm cool now."
"You're fun to pick on though," Lizzie smiled.
"Of course I am, it's because I'm so popular," Kate flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"Okay, you are full of it," Miranda told Kate.
"It's been great guys, but I have to be off," Kate said, spotting Ethan across the auditorium.
"Bye Kate," Miranda called to her as she left.
"See you Monday," Lizzie said.
"Later guys," Kate returned.
(Dress Rehearsal- Middle of December)
Gordo sat several rows back in the auditorium focusing in on the stage with his camera as the Munchkins sang their "Welcome to Munchkin Land Song". He laughed as the little kids danced around in their costumes. They were pretty funny looking, but they seemed to be enjoying themselves. He focused in on a little blonde girl for a moment, as she swung her arms wildly in the air.
"Oh no," he mumbled.
The little girl hit the scenery behind her and it toppled over backwards.
"Cut!" Miss Brown shouted.
The young blonde began to cry," It was an accident. I didn't mean to."
Miss Brown hung her head and muttered," We'll never get this thing right in time for opening night."
Lizzie saw the girl wailing and ran to her. Gordo zoomed in on them as Lizzie kneeled to the girl's height.
"Sweetie, it's okay," Lizzie patted her back," we know you didn't mean to. It was an accident."
"I'm so sorry," the girl hiccuped.
"What's your name?" Lizzie asked.
"My name's Carly," the girl said quietly.
"Well Carly, look, the set piece is okay," Lizzie gestured to the scenery which was being placed back into it's spot on the stage," see, you didn't hurt it."
"Okay," Carly sniffled," it was an accident."
"I know, let's get you to the bathroom so you can dry your tears," Lizzie lead the young girl off the stage.
"Wow," Gordo said," Lizzie's great with kids."
He followed Lizzie and Carly out to the hallway. He handed his camera off to the guy who was supposed to be his assistant. Lizzie was in the hallway as the little girl got a drink of water. She had some Kleenex and was wiping the girl's face off.
"All better," Lizzie patted her head.
"Thanks, Miss um..." the girl looked at her questioningly.
"Lizzie, my name's Lizzie," she said.
"Thank you Lizzie," Carly smiled.
"It was no big deal. I used to be really clumsy myself," Lizzie told her.
"Used to be?" Gordo asked causing Lizzie to jump.
"Okay, so I still am," she blushed lightly.
"That's what I thought," Gordo said," I was watching you two on the stage. Carly, that's your name right? You should try not to swing your arms so much when you're dancing. That's how you knocked the set piece over."
"I'll try not to next time. And I'll stand farther away from it," she said.
Miss Brown came out to check on the missing actors," Carly, are you ready to try that scene again?"
"Yes Miss Brown," she said obediently.
"Okay. McGuire, nice work," Miss Brown said leading the child back to the stage," hurry up out here."
"I'll be right there," Lizzie said, sensing Gordo wanted her for a minute.
Once Miss Brown was gone Gordo said," Lizzie, I was watching you handle that little girl. You were amazing. I never knew you were so good with kids."
"I don't know, she just looked really upset, so I thought someone had better calm her down," Lizzie explained.
"Well you are great with kids," Gordo kissed her.
"Okay, I better get going, I'm in this scene," Lizzie gave Gordo a loving look as she returned to the stage.
(Backstage-after final night of play)
"Good work people! I'm so proud of your work, this all went amazingly well," Miss Brown smiled at her cast," give yourselves all a hand."
Everyone erupted into applause. Several of the cast had flowers from their parents or friends. Everyone was smiling and proud of their performances which went off without a hitch.
"Now I hate to break up all the fun," Miss Brown started again," but I think we can all pitch in and clean up the stage so that we can get to that cast party later!"
The entire cast and crew rushed around cleaning up the set and putting things away. Kate Saunders was hosting a party for all the cast and crew members after the cleanup. The little kids were invited as well for a couple of hours, since it was a Saturday night. Then all the big kids would be able to stay longer with all of the adults gone. Everyone wanted to hurry up and get to Kate's house.
(at Kate's House, 30 minutes later)
"Okay," Kate yelled to get everyone's attention," would you rather play pin the tail on the donkey or Twister?"
About half the kids shouted Twister, while the other half shouted pin the tail on the donkey. Lizzie decided to improvise. She would supervise the game of Twister while Kate ran the game of pin the tail on the donkey. All of the kids were having so much fun, but it was nearly time for them to go home, so Kate had to get out the cakes to serve to them. Of course the cake ended up being pretty messy, but Kate's mom had the foresight to line the floor with plastic and remove the expensive furniture when she head about the little kids.
The little kids were sad to go. They'd had so much fun hanging out with high school students. They were all cool at their school for hanging out with older kids. Their parents came to pick them up right on time. Then the big kids got to have their party.
"Kate, it was so sweet of you to have a party with the elementary kids too," Ethan said.
"Yeah, they loved it," Lizzie agreed.
"I figured they were part of the cast too," Kate smiled.
Gordo walked up and put his hands over Lizzie's eyes," Guess who? And don't you two say anything."
"Gee let me guess, is it David Gordon?" Lizzie threw his arms back and spun around to face him," did you honestly think you could fool me?"
"Not really. Want to dance?" he asked.
"Oh yeah, we need music," Kate ran to her fancy stereo and put in some dance music.
The high schoolers started to dance until Kate slipped on a glob of frosting that someone had dropped on the floor. She fell flat on back and everyone got silent for a minute.
"Hey Kate, are you okay?" Miranda called out.
Kate's eyes were huge for a moment, then she started to laugh," I'm fine."
A collective sigh of relief went out and everyone returned to dancing as Ethan helped Kate clean the frosting off the floor. Everyone had a good time and most of them went home around midnight. Some of Kate's closer friends were invited to stay the night. Kate's parents had gone to stay at a hotel for the night after the elementary kids left. The remaining people decided to watch the DVDs Kate had rented. Some of them went off somewhere to make out.