Summerstock - End of the night, and another unpleasant discovery

The bar closed down at two. All three James were puking drunk at this point, and Marta was the only one who was sober enough to drive the company van back. I could barely stand. There was going to be hell to pay tomorrow. We all piled into the van, which was somehow both harder and easier to manage. Harder; because none of us were actually coordinated enough to get in the van, and easier - because nobody much cared where the ended up.

"Hey, we're missing some people! Coop and umm.... Carissa?"

"I'm here!"

"Katie?"

"I'm here!"

"Shit... umm... Crystal?" No answer. Well that wasn't good. It was a long trek back to the theater. An argument broke out whether or not we should look for them; although nobody was really up for the task. Luckily, while we were still debating who was the most sober besides Marta, Coop and Crystal, both very mussed, came out of the bar.

And into the moonlight. Before any of us could react, Coop transformed. It wasn't pleasant on uneasy stomachs. Sort of like a big wave, followed by a few aftershocks. Those of us who hadn't puked suddenly felt the need to. But when it was all over, Coop was a wolf.

And through my drunken haze, everything made sense - the non-speaking roles, the flea joke, the reason he was at Darkwoods. And then it hit me. He was banging one of the nymphs. And he was a wolf. I wasn't sure which was worse.

Summerstock- Irish Car Bombs and Other surprises

I drained what was left of my Rum and Coke. “Fine. You don't think I'll make it. I'll prove it to you. If I stick it out, you,” and I pointed straight at James. “owe me a bottle of booze. Grey Goose, preferably. I'm a classy bitch. If I don't stick it out, you can have...”

“Your cabin, your fedora and a bottle of Baileys. I think that's about equal.”

“My cabin? Why? I share it.”

“With only Marta. I have to share with Drake and Dan. And Bill. It sucks.”

“Marta? What do you think?” She just shrugged. “Won't that be kind of awkward?”

“Please. With this group I've seen more of the male sex than I ever wanted to.” She made a face and crunched on some ice.

James patted her shoulder. “Oh honey, you just haven't seen the right ones. Troll's dick is enough to make anyone go for pussy.” I couldn't believe a cat, well cat-person, used the word pussy like that. I wanted to say something, but I wasn't entirely sure if it would be considered racist.

“James darling, there's not a dick in the world that could make me go straight.”

“I would say the same about pussy.”

“What about pussies with penises?” And that remark was out of my mouth before I could stop it. My hands flew to my lips, but it was too late. James looked confused for a moment, and then started laughing. Oh thank god.

“You're right Sophie. Alright Marta, I take back everything I said. Just for that, I'm buying everyone at this table a drink.” He stood up, kissed Theo on the lips, and walked to the bar without asking what we wanted.

“Oh lord, he's going to get us Irish car bombs.” Marta put her head on the table. “I don't think I can do another.”

Theo groaned too. “I'm already sloshed. I'm going to have to sleep in the river for a week to recover.” By this point Prixus had either finished his tale, or needed another drink – and the group surrounding him broke up. Coop also went to get another drink, and Minnie sauntered over to our table as James came back with a tray filled with the bits for an Irish car bomb.

“Ooh, what's the occasion?” Minnie asked.

“My new girl Sophie here just proved she's not the goody-goody he thought she was.” Marta said proudly.

“Your new girl? Careful sweetheart, I might get jealous.” Minnie pouted. Marta pulled Minnie into her lap and the snakes went nuts, although they didn't bite Marta. “Are you actually going to drink this, or shall I?”

“Can you? I'm not up for it.” Marta held on to Minnie's waist as the medusa took the two glasses. Theo, James and I did the same.

“CHEERS!” We pounded the drinks. James, Minnie and I managed to drain them, but Theo had to stop halfway before gagging.

“Gross..” Theo said, wiping his mouth. James picked up the curdled remains of Theo's drink and finished it off. I couldn't watch, so I turned to Marta and Minnie.

Who were making out. Or at least I think they were. Minnie had turned around so she was straddling Marta, and you couldn't see faces, only the snakes twining around both of them. I guess I was wrong about Minnie and Coop.

Summerstock- swearing up a storm

I'm not scared of theatre. Theatre I know. Crazy actors I know. Grumpy techies I know. Diva directors know. Sets falling apart, audience members dying, people puking onstage, I've seen it all. But this.... I couldn't believe that someone would do this to me. As soon as we bid goodnight to our director, I turned to my so-called production manager.

“What the hell?”

“I know, who would believe Paul Grayson is still directing shows? He works under an alias of course.”

“What the hell?”

“I probably should've told you this before, but Darkwoods is a supernatural theatre.”

“What the hell?”

“I know.... it's hard to believe, but the supernatural does exist.”

“The hell?”

“I thought if I told you before, really told you anyway, you'd think I was crazy and you wouldn't want to work here. I scared off three other potentials that way.”

“FUCK!”

“Do you want some sleep? We have limited space so we share cabins – you're with me.”

“SHIT!” Now Marta looked really hurt.

“I thought it would be nice – I mean yeah, we'll see a lot of each other, but at least we can keep everything consolidated.”

I snapped out of my shock just a bit. “No Marta, I'm still... well. The director is dead!”

“I know. He's not even the worst you're going to meet.”

Summerstock - The Library

When I finally dusted myself and walked into the bar, it was empty except for the cast and crew. Empty wasn't really the right word since we took up roughly three quarters of the tables, but there wasn't anybody outside of our group. The bartender looked bored; clearly he was used to scads of weird looking people coming in on a slow night. I made my way to the bar, and squished in between two of the elves.

“What do you want?” He ignored the two elves – sometimes it pays to be female. And human.

“Rum and Coke.” I wasn't about to piss anyone of by ordering something more complicated, at least not until the crush died down.

“Starting a tab, or pay now?”

I handed him my card. “Keep it open.” I took my drink and headed towards the largest table. Coop was there listening to Prixus expound on some bit of choreography, and how it represents something-or-other in context of the show. In other words, shop talk. I listened for about two minutes before getting really bored. So I turned to Coop.

“Do we have to talk about the show?”

He laughed. If Coop had one flaw, and I wasn't about to admit that he did, his laugh was not sexy at all. It was short and high-pitched. Not cute. “I know. You can take the actors out of the theater, but you can't take the theater out of the actor. Especially us.”

“Why's that?”

“Because we're in the middle of nowhere. There's nothing to do except shows, so it's all we can talk about.”

“Why are you at Darkwoods? I mean everything is so... weird.”

“You know James? The fairy? We went to school together and his family has been involved with Darkwoods for years. I auditioned, and apparently they liked what I could do. I've been working here ever since. This is my first lead though.”

“Is it? That's fantastic!” I leaned in closer, or at least I was about to when Minnie cut in. One of her snakes hissed at me so I backed off a couple of feet.

“Hey Coop, what are you drinking?” She leaned an elbow on the table and coyly twirled her hair. The snake didn't seem to mind, only occasionally nipping her finger. Coop cocked his head towards her. Suddenly I felt like an intruder, so I wandered off to find Marta. She was sitting in a corner with James the cat person, and Theo.

“Hey Sophie! How's it going?” I shrugged. “Enjoyed your first week at Darkwoods?”

“It's been interesting.” An understatement, to be sure.

James laughed and took a sip of his cream-based drink. “I told you Marta, you should've stuck with one of the local kids. Sophie here looks like she's going to walk out and never come back.”

“Yeah, but do you know how hard it is to find a decent assistant from among you weirdos? There's not a supe or myth in the world with the skills to stage manage. And I can't run this asylum by myself.” Marta waved her arms, indicating the who bar. James took another sip, and looked pointedly at me.

“So kiddo, you gonna quit?”

“Yep. I just came over here to tell you just that.” I managed a straight face for about five seconds before Marta's shocked expression was too much for me. The others joined in slowly, even Marta, although her laughter was definitely tinged with nerves. “No, I think I'll stick it out. I mean, how bad could it get?” Their faces seemed to indicate that it could get very bad.

Post For Yesterday

3 more shows. That's it. It makes me so happy. Also. I feel like a bad person. Trying so hard to keep up, and failing miserably - SIGH. Oh well. No story, just me writing. and apologizing. and running out of steam. At least I got more than 5 hours of sleep.

Summerstock- A night out

There's more... I just didn't feel like doing it tonight.

I don't know why I agreed to go out. I mean, with all the nymphs around, who would even look at me. But Coop asked if I wanted to go to The Library with the rest of the cast, and I couldn't turn down those gorgeous brown eyes. I stared at the mirror, it wasn't pretty. Dark circles under my eyes, a total lack of make-up, schlubby clothes, and I really needed my roots done. I put my hair in a ponytail, threw on a clean shirt, and made a quick stab at covering up the circles under my eyes. That's about all I had time to do before I heard honking outside.

Prixus was sitting in the drivers seat; Minnie was in the passenger's seat – presumably to give her snakes room. Everyone else was piled in the back, luckily The Library wasn't that far. Even Marta was in the back, so I didn't feel so bad about fraternizing with the actors. I apparently was the last one to be picked up and there were two spots left – on the floor or on Bill the faun's lap. I optioned for the former. I figured it was safer. Prixus sped off, or at least as fast as he could with roughly 20 people in a single van. The dirt and gravel road made for a very uneven ride, but we were so packed in, none of us were moving. It was a shame really, I was kind of looking forward to “accidentally” falling into Coop's lap. It didn't help that one of the nymphs, I think it was Carissa, was already occupying that sacred place.

It was a long drive to The Library, and despite being packed in like sardines, we still managed to end up in a even larger tangle. I wasn't entirely sure where my arms and legs were; all I knew was that my face was squashed up against the door. When we finally stopped, Prixus had to come around to open the van door for us. The second my head was no longer stuck to metal, I fell ingloriously out of the vehicle. About four others followed, landing on top of me. As the rest of the party clambored over us, I realized that my chances of getting Coop interested in me were dwindling with each foot on my back.

Summerstock - First rehearsal.

He was the most beautiful man I'd ever seen. Black hair with auburn highlights, large soulful brown eyes, a wide feral smile and a tall, powerful body. His button-up shirt was clearly short a few buttons so everyone could see his well-defined pecs and his ever-so-slightly furred chest. And he looked human. I stopped in the doorway and just stared. It was like a sock to the gut.

It was actually a slap on the back - Marta really wanted to get by.

“Marta.” I nudged her. “Who's that?” I pointed over at my new boyfriend and she merely groaned.

“Oh, that's Coop. He's playing..... what show are we working on right now?”

“Princess Bride the Musical.”

“Right. He's playing Wesley. Stay away from him.” I was taken aback. Did he have a jealous girlfriend, a jealous boyfriend? Was he that much of a jerk?

I tried to sound nonchalant as I asked “Why?” I think I failed.

Marta grinned. “He has fleas.” Oh, that was informative. I didn't really have a good comeback, so I went over to our shared table and started setting up my computer, notebook, script, pencil jar, tissues, and other necessary items. In about thirty seconds our table went from spotless to 'where did all this crap come from?'. In that time the room started filling up with various members of the company. The vast majority weren't human. I'd never seen so many mythical people in my life – elves, trolls, a centaur, a woman with snakes in her hair... it was insane. Considering I didn't believe these creatures a week ago, I was impressed that I was still standing. Well, sitting anyway. It seemed like the only ones who were human were Marta, Coop, the translator and me.

Our director stood up. “Rmhereharwa Wreh. Frehhgrahh garb hermrah. Rfrorgh GRAH grehfrmgh.” The speech went on for a good five minutes. Marta was taking notes, most of the cast was falling asleep. Finally Paul stopped for a bit, and the translator took his turn. Frankly, it still sounded like gibberish, mostly about true love and fairy tales, epic adventures, families, good and evil, and All That Jazz, but I took notes anyway. You never know what might come up later; the director says true love, and next thing you know there's heart confetti everywhere. But I kept stealing glances at Coop. And from the looks of things, I wasn't the only one. All of the nymphs kept jostling each other to sit next to him. For his part, he ignored everything around him; his major concern seemed to be a persistent scalp itch.