"Cast List"- Jlaire Fanfiction
The next day, Jim sat in the large auditorium, a few people sat around him, and Claire sat in the seat next to him. The director introduced himself and described how auditions would work. First, they would all individually walk onstage, state their name, and perform their monologue. They would go by characters, Romeo for males and Juliet for females. Then, after everyone had performed, he would have people read small excerpts from the show together, reading different parts to see who meshes best. And finally, the cast list would be out within the next week.
Jim found his leg bouncing with anxiety, hands laying flat on the tops of his thighs. Claire saw this and gently grabbed his hand, squeezing in solidarity and comfort. She was just as anxious as he was, even though she had been through many auditions.
"Alright, we'll be auditioning Juliet's first. Who would like to go first?" The director asked. A freshman girl in the front row sacrificed herself and from there, they went row by row. They moved through girl after girl, and even a few non-binary actors who wanted the part. Claire was the last to audition and so far, all of the previous actors had prepared Juliet's monologue on the balcony. Claire had another monologue in mind.
She had prepared one that was less well-known than the infamous balcony scene. She felt that she could fill this monologue with more emotion than simply desperation. She mounted the stage quickly making her way to center stage. She centered herself and said, "My name is Claire Nunez and I will be auditioning for the part of Juliet." Claire stood for a moment, taking time to once more center herself and calm her pounding heart. "Thou know'st the mask of night is on my face, Else would a maiden blush bepaint my cheek for that which thou hast heard me speak to-night…" She continues with grace, poise, and elegance, "O gentle Romeo, if thou dost love, pronounce it faithfully; Or if thou think'st I am too quickly won, I'll frown and be perverse an say thee nay… In truth, fair Montague, I am too fond…" She was incredible, "My true love's passion: therefore, pardon me, And not impute this yielding to light love, which the dark night hath so discovered." She was out of breath by the time she had finished from both work and anxiety.
Jim thought she was breath-taking. She was his favorite Juliet by far, although he might just be biased. "Thank you Ms Nunez, now if we will for Romeo. Who is first?"
"If I may suggest a choice Mr. Roll? I would love for you to see James Lake Jr. for the part next." She looked at him. She was extremely sincere and looked extremely excited.
"Alright then, Mr. Lake if you will." The director motioned towards the stage, inviting him to perform his monologue.
"Uh yeah…" He made his way towards the stage, trying to look confident, at least slightly. He passed Claire on his way, she shot him a double thumbs up and an excited smile.
He made it to center stage, taking a moment to compose himself and still his shaking hands. He made eye contact with the director saying, "My name is James Lake Jr., and I will be auditioning for the part of Romeo." He widened his stance; he had studied the part extensively and decided to do a different monologue than previously. "'Tis torture, and not mercy: heaven is here, where Juliet lives; and every cat and dog and little mouse, every unworthy thing, live here in heaven and may look on her; But Romeo may not…" He continued to make a show of anger and love, how unfair it was that he was not permitted to see his love. He kept his eyes on either the director or Claire as he spoke, "O friar, the damned use that word in hell; Howlings attend it: how hast thou the heart, being a divine, a ghostly confessor, a sin-absolver, and my friend profess'd, to mangle me with that word 'banished'?" When he was finished, he tried his best not to show the small tears gathering in his eyes. Man, that hit him harder than he has thought it would. He made his way offstage, he even walked out of the theater. Jim headed to the bathroom, taking time to compose himself before making his way back to the auditorium.
He ended up running into Claire on his way back, "I didn't know you were so well versed in Shakespeare, Jim."
"Well, I'm not really but I did do some extensive research into Romeo and Juliet since you said it was your favorite." He scratched the back of his neck nervously.
She giggled at this, trying to hide her smile behind a hand, "That's so sweet. We should get back in there before Mr. Roll decides who he wants for 'callbacks.'" She leaned closer to his ear, "You were incredible by the way." She left a small kiss on his cheek.
"Thanks Claire, you did too." They both left with a blush on their cheeks.
They sat through the remaining Romeos, almost all of them professing their love through monologue. As a general rule the director only had them do either Romeo or Juliet. Other characters like Tybalt, Benvolio, and even Juliet's Nurse even would be chosen based on their monologues.
There were a few different excerpts that the director had different people read through with different scene partners. They swapped out Tybalts and Friars, he tried all different kinds of Romeos, Juliet's, and even Lady or Lord Capulets. There was one time that he had Jim and Claire read together as Romeo and Juliet respectively. They were to perform the iconic balcony scene before their peers and director.
"Mr. Lake you may begin at the line 'O that I were a glove'…" their director instructed.
"O that I were a glove upon that hand, That I may touch that cheek!" Jim began the scene as a young boy in love.
"Ay me!" Claire responded.
"She speaks. O speak again, bright angel… And sails upon the bosom of the air." Jim found that this guy really needed to get out more often. He was very long-winded.
"O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name; Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love, And I'll no longer be a Capulet."
"Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?" Jim mused as an aside to himself.
"'Tis but thy name that is that is my enemy; Thou art thyself, though not a Montague?..." She continued as if talking to the moon herself, dreaming of the boy which held her heart, who just so happened to be close by anyways. "Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name, which is no part of thee, take all myself."
"I take thee at thy word. Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized; Henceforth I never will be Romeo," Jim finally cut in, making himself tall and known.
"What man art thou that, thus bescreened in night, so stumblest on my counsel?" Claire couldn't help but think to herself that they worked well together, they just meshed.
"I know not how to tell thee who I am…" Jim continued to play the hopeless and foolish romantic, almost too close to real life.
"My ears have not yet drunk a hundred words of that tongues uttering, yet I know how the sound. Art thou not Romeo and a Montague?"
"Neither, fair maid, if either thee dislike."
The excerpt they had been given ended at that. Jim and Claire stood onstage, staring at each other as the others applauded from their seats. They were stuck in time staring at each other, sucked into the romance of the scene.
"Thank you very much Miss Nunez, Mr. Lake. As for the rest of you, the cast list will be emailed to you all by the end of the week. If you two would come speak with me for a moment?" Their director phrased it as a question, but it didn't exactly sound like one. It was instead more like an order.
Jim and Claire made their way off the stage and toward the table Mr. Roll had set up for himself. He sat there arms crossed and his eyes closed firmly in contemplation for a while. Claire took a seat facing him, Jim leaning against the back of a seat behind him. "Mr. Roll?" Claire asked after a few moments.
"Would either of you be opposed to kissing onstage. Either stage-kissing or real?" was all he said, opening his eyes and looking directly at Claire. Her face went a bright red and Jim was sure that his looked the same.
"Sir?" was all that Jim could get to escape his mouth.
"You two have an undeniable chemistry, I'm just wondering if you would be comfortable kissing in front of people." Their director spoke directly and bluntly.
"Personally," Claire began before glancing at Jim, "I would be fine kissing onstage." Her blush began to migrate towards her neck and chest.
"And you, Mr. Lake?" The older man looked to Jim, examining his face.
"Yes sir. I would be fine kissing onstage," was his response as he looked at the young woman beside him.
Their director nodded, arms uncrossing to rest on the table in front of him, beginning to take notes. "You two can go… I was yelling at you for something stupid by the way."
"Yes sir." They responded in unison.
When Friday comes, Claire 'sits' on Jim's bed, back against the mattress, legs crossed against the wall as she scrolls on her phone. Jim was seated with Toby, playing a game together. It was a very comfortable silence. Claire received the notification first, immediately opening the email and the document attached to it.
"Holy shit," was all that fell from her lips.
"What?" Jim asked, pausing the game immediately. Claire could only readjust herself to sit normally and toss her phone across the gap between beds. Jim looked at the screen curiously.
His jaw dropped before repeating Claire's earlier sentiment, "Holy shit."
At the top of the page sat the words:
Congratulations everyone, get ready to work!
Juliet Capulet: Claire Nunez
Romeo Montague: James Lake Jr.
