For their college drama production for 2006, the Spoonerville College Drama Department chose to do Spamalot, the hilarious musical based on the hilarious comedy classic 1975 movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I got involved in this production when Hayden Frosen, the drama studies professor and the director of this production as well as my good friend, asked me for some help with this production in late 2005. He told me about how Spoonerville College had the honor of being the very first college in the wrold to do a college drama production of Spamalot after it was released on Broadway last year and he told me that he was very happy with his cast and the rehearsals were going very well, but he needed extra help with getting the sets, the costumes and the other props ready, so I offered my help which he gladly accepted.
So, in my free time, I went to help the drama production and helped Hayden get everything he needed to be ready whenever I could and he always was very grateful for everything I did and he always told me what a good job I did just like he always did when I helped him get ready for his productions of Company in 2003, Sunday in the Park With George in 2004 and Grease in 2005 and Mr. Trapdoor before Hayden when I was also a drama studies student ever since I arrived at Spoonerville College in 1998. I would help build sets and props like the castles, the trees, the cart, the Trojan Rabbit, God's feet, the sword Excalibur and the actual Holy Grail to sit in one of the auditorium seats among them. Hayden even asked me to record the lines for God when he speaks to King Arthur and his Knights between Knights of the Round Table and Find Your Grail.
Very shortly when Spoonerville College continued in January 2006 after its Christmas Break, a lot of the female extra actors couldn't continue rehearsals because they broke their legs during Christmas by skiing or ice skating or other stuff. When Hayden got desperate, he asked me to find some people willing to be extra actors. I tried to find who I could, but everyone I tried to find were all very busy. Then one day when I went to see Spoonerville College played a basketball game against another college, I also saw Roxanne and her friends cheerleading. As I saw them do it, it reminded me of the Laker Girls cheerleading scene for Spamalot and that gave me an idea. And I remembered when I was in high school and I was acting in drama productions there and Roxanne kept coming to see me, both in rehearsals and the actual show, and she always kept telling me how great I was and how much she wished she could act, but she couldn't even audition due to her dad's strict overprotective rules.
After I told Roxanne what an amazing cheerleading job she and her team did after our college won another successful basketball game, I told her that Spamalot production and they were looking for some actor extras and there will be some cheerleading involved in it. Roxanne was unsure about it first. Like cheerleading, she never forgot that she wanted to give acting a try, but she was very nervous because she never tried it before. She had never even seen the main Monty Python and theHoly Grail movie, let alone the musical. Then after remembering how she gave this college, her lessons and cheerleading a go thanks to my motivation – her words, not mine – she decided to give this acting thing a go.
So, the next day, Roxanne and her friends Vicky and Valeria came with me to the drama theatre. Their friend Kenny, as he was already a drama studies student, was already cast in the show and he had many roles including the Historian, Not Dead Fred, the French Taunter, Sir Robin's Lead Minstrel and Prince Herbert among them.
Roxanne, Vicky and Valeria auditioned by doing the Laker Girls dance with their cheerleading skills while singing their song and they impressed Hayden so much that he immediately had them signed on to be drama studies students and immediately cast them into the show. They were given the roles of Finnish ladies for the Fisch Schlapping Song, the Laker Girls for Come With Me, Laker Girls and The Song That Goes Like This, Camelot maids for Knights of the Round Table, Find Your Grail, the Act Two finale and the Always Look on the Bright Side of Life reprise, the Can-Can Dancers for Run Away and the Knights That Say Ni. For You Won't Succeed on Broadway, Vicky and Valeria were ordinary dancers while Roxanne had the honor of being the girl in naughty tights, which was her least favorite role, before joining the other dancers.
The more Roxanne attended the rehearsals, the more confident she became at acting and she enjoyed it more and she was very happy that she was achieving another one of her dreams. Hayden became so impressed with her acting that he made her the understudy for the role of Lady of the Lake aka Guinevere in case something happened to the actress playing her, which she was very honored. I helped her rehearse outside the main rehearsals to help her be ready for the main show and she seemed to like rehearsing with me the most. I even helped her rehearse the songs that Lady of the Lake sang, including Come With Me and The Song That Goes Like This (with me singing for Sir Galahad), Knights of the Round Table, Find Your Grail, Twice in Every Show and the Act Two Finale (with me singing for King Arthur). And she did a very good performance of Diva's Lament (Whatever Happened To My Part?).
Then the opening night for the college production finally arrived. Thirty minutes before the show began, I went to check on Roxanne, who was already wearing her makeup and in her Finnish lady costume ready for the Fisch Schlapping Song. She was feeling very nervous.
"I know I should be excited because I'm about to achieve another one of my dreams," she said, "but this is the first show I'm ever doing in my life and I keep thinking I'm going to ruin the show."
"You won't, Roxanne," I told her. "You'll be great."
"You think so, Max?"
"I know so. I've been acting since I was very young, so I think I know a great actor when I see one."
"Thanks, Max."
"So, anyway, good show."
Roxanne looked at me very confused.
"Oh, that's the preferred term for telling actors to have fun and do a good show, instead of 'Break a leg' and especially –"
"Say no more, Max," Roxanne said. "I understand what you mean. And thank you. Hope you enjoy the show."
"I will. Once again, good show." Then I left her to get ready to go on stage, while I went to take my seat.