A/N Nothing really. Trying to get an extra chapter done in first draft to publish three chapters every two weeks. But for now, every Monday at a minimum. BTW, I don't own much of any of these characters, except most of the production crew for the show.

Chapter 24

Studio 44, 6 PM, Friday, August 24th 2012

Penny walked down the stairs, heading for the directors office. She had told Jeanie to go on home without her, because she didn't know how long it was going to be before she left. Penny felt touched that Jeanie said she would wait for her, that Penny should just come by Jeanie's dressing room and get her when she was done with Steve.

Penny now stood before the director's door. She had a strange urge to knock three times and say the directors name, but she resisted and simply knocked once.

"Come on in," said Steve.

Penny opened the door, walked in and said , "Hi Steve, you said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Hold on a second Penelope, err, do you want to be called Penelope or Penny?"

"When were alone like this," said Penny, "or just talking, Penny is fine. Save Penelope for when we are actually working. I don't want you to get confused and call me Penny if there is someone around who wouldn't know who Penny is."

"Ok," said Steven, "that sounds like a plan. I'll bet you're wondering why I wanted to talk to you."

"Well, yeah," said Penny. "To tell you the truth, I'm nervous and worried."

"Worried about what?"

"That you might get rid of me."

"Why would we do that?" said Steve.

"Let's face it," said Penny, "I'm not doing the greatest job here. I miss my marks, I forget my lines, I'm not following your suggestions. Overall, I'm pretty much useless."

"Well, you're right, all that is true," said Steve with a laugh. He saw the now frightened expression on Penny face and added quickly, "Only kidding. You have a presence when you are on screen and I don't think I've ever met someone who has such command of their facial expressions. Look, Jim and Kelli tell me this is your first series, right?"

"True," said Penny. "I have a commercial and a couple of plays that weren't the greatest, but as for any series work, I have none."

Steve nodded, "I understand that Jeanie is helping you with some of the mechanics of your blocking and where to look."

"Yes, she is," said Penny. "She helped me for the pilot, and now she's explaining how to record what I'm supposed to be doing in my script."

"That's good," said Steve, "and she's a good one to learn from. She's always on her marks…wait, you just now working on writing your blocking in? I am surprised you didn't learn that in any of your acting classes…er, you have taken some acting classes?"

"Yes," said Penny, "but we never covered that. I'm starting to suspect that they may not have been some of the best classes."

Steve chuckled, "Since they obviously didn't teach you production mechanics, you may have something there. Er, I asked you here to talk about some other things they also should have covered."

Oh God, what haven't I learned now, thought Penny. Out loud, she said wearily, "What am I missing?"

"I don't think you've learned how to be directed," said Steve.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you seem to blow off any direction I give to you," said Steve.

"I'm sorry," said Penny. "I thought as the actor, I was the one who decided how to interpret the words in the script. Oh, no offense, I'm not saying you're wrong, just what I thought."

Steve smiled, "No offense taken. Before I go into this, I want to stress, that you are the actor, it is up to you to interpret your lines in the script. But, I'm supposed to make sure what appears on-screen, is your best performance."

Penny looked puzzled.

"Look, I can see what you are doing, you can't," said Steve. "So, when I give you a suggestion, I'm trying to make the overall scene picture better. It may be that you are supposed react one way to Jeanie in the script. So you react that way, and I don't think it works, so I give you something else to try. See, I'm trying to tweak your performance, trying to make it better. That's my job."

Penny considered that, and she had to agree. Sometimes, she didn't know if her expression was correct, and obviously, Steve could see it. "I guess you're right. I really hadn't thought of it that way."

"You probably don't know that I'm involved in just about everything having to do with the show, do you?"

"No, I thought you just did the blocking, make sure everyone is where they are supposed to be."

"Hehehehehe, no, everything," said Steve. "Look, Penny, when I want to place you somewhere on the set, you have to have a light on you, right?"

Penny nodded.

"So, if I don't know where the lights are going, then I may place you wrong. If I want to use props, where the mics might be placed, all of that I have to know. See, that is the directors job, to see the overall pattern, the overall picture."

"The lighting guy will know lights, the prop person will know props, makeup, hair, sound editing, all of that has an expert running that department. But, I have to know it all, or at least have a pretty good idea of it all, otherwise, I might not be able to make a change."

"Ok," said Penny, "I guess there's a lot I don't know yet about acting."

"I would say it's more you don't have a lot of experience in production, you do well with most things concerned with acting. However," said Steve, "there is one thing I want to talk to you about, that you don't do very well, your body language."

"I don't understand."

"Penny," said Steve, "putting some kind of emotion in your lines isn't all there is to acting. Earlier today, your body language made it look like you were happy, when you were supposed to be sad. Using your body to convey your mood, or how you feel is a very important tool. Didn't you learn that in your acting classes?"

Penny was a bit embarrassed, "Steve, I was struggling as a waitress, barely making enough to live on. If it wasn't for my boyfriend, I'm not sure I would have made it through a couple of months. The acting classes I took, were what I could afford, so I have to think some of them weren't teaching me everything I needed."

She paused, "At one point I was thinking about leaving to go back to Nebraska, I thought I might teach acting. Now, I'm wondering if my classes were taught by someone like me, a failed actor, who didn't really know what they were doing. So, please, if I'm doing something wrong, let me know and I'll work on it."

"Well," said Steve, "the big thing to remember is this, actor's lie to everyone."

"What?" said Penny, sounding puzzled.

"Actors lie," said Steve. "Look, it's important that the public sees you as Jessica Rogers. But, that is not who you are, you are Penelope Jensen. To get people to think of you as Jessica, you have to lie to everyone, to get them to believe you are the character."

"To do that, you have to lie to them. Your words, your vocal tone, your facial expressions, your body language, all of it, are nothing more than lies to get people to believe you are Jessica. You have to rehearse it, practice it over and over, you have to perfect it, so when you're seen on the screen, anyone who sees it, thinks of you as Jessica."

"I never thought of it that way."

"And, see, this is where the director comes in," said Steve. "I can help you with those things you might not be able to see, or know how or what to do, to make it believable. So, please, when I suggest something, give it a try."

"I don't want to look foolish."

"Penny," said Steve, "do you think I would make you look foolish? After all, if I do that, the show is going to look foolish, and if the show looks foolish, there is a good chance we get cancelled. And, I want to keep working, so don't worry about me making you look foolish. Not to mention, if I make things look foolish, how much do you think I would be working?"

Penny considered that, and had to admit, it made sense. "Ok, I'll try to take your suggestions. It may take a while, as it's not something I'm used to doing."

"Just write it in your script," said Steve. "You have your blocking and lines. You have where you are supposed to look…err Jeanie did give that to you, didn't she?"

Penny sighed, "Yes, she did. How am I gonna remember all of this?" Penny held up her hand and said, "Don't answer, that was rhetorical." Penny looked off to the side, and said softly, "Where the hell did that a come from," She turned back to Steve and said, "Steve, I'll do my best, I'll study, I'll do what you tell me, I'll do all of that, but I can't tell you it's going to work right all the time. I'm still learning."

"Penny," said Steve, "you, doing your best, is all we can ask of you. If you struggle, you struggle. I think you can do this, when you do get things, it turns out great, but I will work with you, OK?"

"OK Steve, thanks," said Penny. "I'll try to do what you ask, but if I forget, don't yell at me, but do let me know."

Steve chuckled, "No, I won't. If I can see you're working hard to get this, that's all I can ask, for now. Have a good night."

"I will," said Penny rising. "You have a good night too, see you Monday."

"Goodbye Penny,"

Penny walked out of the office, heading for Jeanie's dressing room. A few seconds after she left, the door to the left of Steve's desk opened and Jim and Kelli came in.

"Well," said Jim, "do you agree with our assessment?"

"I have to say, I do," said Steve. "I know I was getting frustrated, but I really didn't think the poor kid was so raw. I get the feeling she was regularly getting cheated on her classes, there's so much she doesn't know."

"How about her willingness to work?" said Kelli.

"She does have that," said Steve. "And, I love how self-depreciating she is, she's not diva-ish. She thought she new about acting, but when you explain how things really work, she understands she's doing things wrong, and realizes that she may not have been taught everything. Indeed, after explaining it, she now knows she wasn't taught a lot. If you explain the way things work, and what she has to do, she really works at it."

"And her facial expressions and vocal tone?" asked Jim.

"Those are her specialties and she nails them every time," said Steve. "She would be good for voice over work. Animated, commercials, that kind of thing. And of course, her facial expressions are made for comedy. She's learning, and she's trying, that all I can ask."

"So, we keep her?" said Jim.

"Yes, of course," said Steve. "Like I said, she's trying and learning. She's going to get better and better, and I have a feeling she's going to be the breakout star of this show."

Kelli chuckled, "So does Jim. He pushed to get me to accept her for the role, and I now have to say I agree with him and now with you. I think Penny, er Penelope, playing Jess, is going to be the big breakout character and star of this show."

Apt 602, 10 PM, Sunday August 26th 2012

Penny and Jeanie were giggling. They had put two bottles of wine away tonight and were feeling good. They had been working at night, starting on Thursday, even before her talk with Steve. Jeanie was trying to help Penny understand the details behind working on a weekly series.

They had also slid into conversations about themselves, bringing the two of them much closer as friends. Jeanie spent much of Friday and Saturday nights going over the notes in her script, and helped Penny go through her script. Jeanie had given up both nights to help Penny, although they did take time for some personal conversations.

On Saturday, Jeanie explained some more details about production, then they went to an Indian Restaurant, a couple of blocks from their apartment building, for dinner. They both got silly drinking wine, and decided they didn't want to work on anything that night. Penny was still feeling tipsy when she called Leonard Saturday night, suggesting a they move to a "Skype" session.

Sunday afternoon, Jeanie started helping Penny understand how using body language added to her character's moods and emotions.

She had Penny do various positions, while facing a mirror. This way, Penny could see exactly what Jeanie meant, when she told Penny to move or position some specific body part. Penny was happy with the way things were going, but Jeanie warned her, it was a long process as there were a myriad of different positions an actor could use, whether trying to be obvious, or subtle in their appearance.

They had stopped for dinner around six, Jeanie making some stuffed peppers, and they started drinking the wine. They made small talk over dinner and afterward they cut the actual positioning out and just talked for a bit about how to convey moods. Finally, around nine PM, they gave up entirely and just continued talking about their lives.

Penny finally told Jeanie the full story of her and Leonard. How she had felt when they first met; how she started having feelings for him, without telling him; her inability to tell him she loved him, and her distress at breaking up with him. How they had managed to stay friends, her futile attempts to date others and her despair when he started dating Priya. Finally, how he had broken up with Priya, and how they got back together, the only thing she left out was the night with Raj.

Jeanie was enthralled by the story, and told Penny, she had thought Leonard was a pretty nice guy. It was then nearing ten and they started cleaning up, because Jeanie said she needed to get to sleep. Penny helped her clean up, then headed back to her apartment.

She was thinking about everything Jeanie had tried to teach her, everything about production they had talked about and Penny started feeling overwhelmed with all of it. So, she poured another glass of wine, drank that while she thought, then poured another. She finished that one around midnight, and decided to have one more. By then, she was no longer concerned about all the information she had gotten, and she headed off to bed.

Apt 314, 8 AM, Monday August 27th 2012

Her phone alarm went off at eight AM, and she groaned as she rolled over to shut it off, and could feel her mouth was dry. She tried to sit up, but a wave of pain flashed through her head. She kept her eyes closed, until the pain subsided. Finally opening her eyes, she felt a bit light headed, but managed to stand up.

She stumbled out to the kitchen and turned on her coffee maker. She grabbed the bottle of Tylenol and opened the fridge and got a bottle of water. She took a swig of water to lessen the dryness of her mouth, and then popped two of the tablets into her mouth, taking another couple of swigs of the water. She took a last swig of water, put the bottle back in the fridge, and then headed for her shower.

She let the hot water run on her for several minutes, because it felt so good. Finally she got her loofah, washed up, washed her hair and rinsed off. Stepping out she dried herself, and got dressed. She then went to the kitchen pour herself a cup of coffee, and taking it with her, went back and dried her hair.

She got a second cup of coffee, then sat at her table trying to look at her script. She struggled with that until she finished her second cup of coffee, because by that time, she felt at least functional.

At 9:15, there was a knock on her door, and she gathered up her script, pencils, makeup and computer, put them in her bag and opened the door. Jeanie was waiting and they left, heading to the studio.

They started the run through right at ten. They had gotten some changes before the run through, and Penny tried to match them with her previous pages, but they didn't quite match up, and she was struggling again during the first run through. The hangover didn't help her, and after the first two scenes, she ask Jeanie to help her after the run through and Jeanie agreed.

Cal Tech, 8 AM, Monday August 27th 2012

Leonard was sitting at his "desk", really nothing more than one of the experimental workstations he had set up as something to work on, in the small laser lab, sipping on his coffee. He was going over the student records of each of the four grad students he would be working with this year.

This was the first day of school, and he would meet with each of them for an hour today. They would be going over what each of them hoped, experimentally, to accomplish this year, a brief explanation of their experiment and what they were planning to write their thesis on next year. While he wasn't their actual advisor, and he would talk with each students actual advisors over the next week. He was their experimental advisor, and would guide them through their experiments.

He finished up reading the last record and put them in order, for the interviews. He had a half hour to kill before the first student showed up. Since they hadn't talked on Sunday night, he was wondering if he could call Penny, then realized that she usually went in at 10 AM and since it was now 11 AM, her time, there wasn't any sense in calling. He smiled as he thought about how their Skype session on Saturday and was looking forward to their call tonight.