Finn's next class was, sadly, not theatre. His was history, so seeing what part he got would make or break that class. Getting ensemble would definitely destroy all hope of ever doing theatre again. Turning the corner, he saw the large crowd of high schoolers, all of wildly different reactions and emotions to what parts they got. Feeding off the energy of the crowd, Finley picked up his walking pace and, with some effort, pushed through the crowd. Scanning the cast list he panicked for a second, unable to see his name. But with a closer look, he saw his name. Looking across the page, he saw his role, 'Horton The Elephant'. His eyes and smile grew wide. "Yeaahh!! Fuckin' broadway you'd better watch yourselves, here I come!" He didn't say it to anyone, in particular, mostly just to put it out there and for himself.
And then he was consoling another girl. She had auditioned for every role under the sun, but the director didn’t exactly like her or her attitude, so she was stuck in ensemble again. He and a small cluster of other people huddled around the girl, trying to calm her down. Note that Abe was not a fan of her, but he needed to kick off the show on the right foot with everybody. “Oh, shoot- did, uh- did Ms. Nobles post the rehearsal schedule yet? I gotta tell my boss.”
Finn was one of the many trying to calm the girl down. He was always jumping around different groups, trying to be friendly to everyone as well. He never had a set group to be with, at least in theatre. "It's okay, Sarah, you're only a sophomore, so I bet you'll get a bigger part next year, senior year for sure. You should get to class though before you're late and make yourself feel even worse, okay?" He tried to convince her. He was also saying that because he really had to go. Before she said anything, he stepped back and backed away from the crowd, catching sight of Abe, he smiled at him and started heading off to his class.
“Just work your ass off this show, and show the stage managers and directors that you have a good attitude, okay?” Abe patted her shoulder, sending Sarah off to class. He and he friends went into the drama room, joining the many people beginning to dissipate from the bulletin board. Before he left, though, Abe snatched up a rehearsal schedule. He hadn’t seen many others do that. Rookie mistake.
He flopped down in his desk, stashing away his books and still talking excitedly about the show. Their school gave theatre a larger budget than most, so their shows were always as over-the-top as they could afford.
(since you mentioned that they may not like each other, what if Finn is a few minutes late to the first rehearsal? Abe takes theatre hella seriously, so this would definitely leave a bad taste in his mouth!)
(Ooo that sounds good :)
Finley prefers taking pictures of documents, like the rehearsal schedule. So he had done just that before speeding off to class. He wished he hadn't spent so much time trying comfort Sarah, but it was just part of theatre he decided.
A second or two after he sat down in his class, the bell rang, a rush of relief washing over him. Of course, the only thing he could focus on was the musical and the first rehearsal which was right after school. He had to do something else after school, which was a bad mixture, but he hoped it was possible to be quick then head straight to theatre.
That day they weren’t doing much besides finishing missing work and a project, but Abraham had gotten both of those done already. So he spent his time pouring over the script, highlighting his lines, his songs, his entrances and exits. Each thing had been color-coded in different colors of Sharpie. This script, because he had just gotten it, was held together by a bulldog clip. He would put it in a binder when he got home. Abe had a binder for every show he was in, even the ones where he just did tech. In all.. roughly 15 binders filled a bookshelf in his room.
The class seemed to drag by, like always. History was always the slowest seeming class, every single year Finn had it. It was lecture day, so it was full of historic rants from the teacher and the know-it-all student claiming everything was 'historically inaccurate' even though the information was from a textbook that had been made the year before. In a way, these days were Finn's favorite since he didn't have to do any work.
The bell rang, leaving students in a scramble for their books to hustle out the door. Abe, luckily, had his locker right next to the drama room. Convenient. He may have asked around a little bit to get it. He got his backpack in no more than two minutes, already beginning to set up the desks into the familiar circle for the read-through. He was chatting and joking along with their director, Ms Nobles, as he did so. Cast members began to scuttle in, dropping their stuff and taking their seats next to friends. Abe sat down as well, tugged into a conversation with a handful of freshmen.
Finley shot up out of his chair, being the first one out of the classroom. It was also dance season, and today just happened to be auditions that day. He had asked the instructor ahead of time if he could audition first since he also had the first rehearsal. The instructor was kind enough to let him do so. Finley was already in the auditorium, stretching and going through the routine in his head.
The instructor called him out onto the stage, he complied and appeared in front of the instructor, as well as a few more people. As the music started, he started his audition dance. It showcased all of his most difficult and favorite moves, as well as some basic steps. At the start, he was painfully aware of how late he'd be to rehearsal, but he got lost in the music and choreography as it contiued.
The rehearsal began with the cast doing a couple quick warmups, then introductions. Name (some people added their pronouns), grade, and role. Each person was met with claps and a warm welcome. “Hi! I’m Abe, I’m a junior this year, and I’ll be playing the Cat in the Hat!” He grinned toothily and lopsidedly, waving to the rest of the cast. And he was the last one. Besides Horton, of course- and everyone was left wondering where he went. But the reading had to begin, because it was already 3:30 and rehearsal ended at 5:00 that day.
Abe read for his lines and volunteered to read for Horton’s (including his songs), trying not to show the bubbles of annoyance with Finn that built up in him. He barely even knew the guy, but now he knew that he was the one who got a lead fucking role and couldn’t be bothered to show up on time for rehearsal, if he was even showing up at all.
A few minutes after he started, Finn ended his audition, breathing deeply in his ending position. The few people watching him all clapped and excused him. As fast as humanly possible, he yanked on his shoes and scooped up his stuff. The auditorium he went to was not on the other side of the school, but it wasn't close to the drama room. Basically running, Finley got to the classroom pretty quickly. He took a second to compose himself before timidly opening the door and slipping into the room with the least amount of noise as possible.
Finley went right up to Ms. Nobles with a very apologetic look on his face. Instead of declaring to the whole cast and interrupting them, like some people he knew, he told Ms. Nobles why he was late. He apologized about fifty times as well as explaining that he had a dance audition. He knew multiple people in the group would be very unhappy at him for being late, but at least he tried.
Abe was cut off in the middle of a line, distracted by Finn’s entrance. One of Horton’s lines, to be exact. The other students watched his silently as he sat down, a few people exchanging glances and eye rolls. Abe finished the line, more than a little bit irritated. Frankly, he would’ve preferred that Finn not show up at all if he was just going to be late.
“We just finished Here on Who. Page 31 in the script.” Abe muttered to Finn, who was unluckily sat right next to him. He took his glasses off to clean them, taking the short window of opportunity before his next line and song.
Finn felt terrible. He saw how many people were unhappy at his late arrival, knowing that his relationship with many of the cast members had significantly decreased. He had grabbed that last copy of the script, at least that had been put out, and flipped to the page.
Thinking about it all, however, made Finn almost angry as well. It wasn't his fault he was late, it was just bad scheduling on the teacher's and instructor's part. He couldn't help being late, and Ms. Nobles certainly didn't seem to mind. In his mind, all the other students were just being overdramatic. Of course, this was a thing where people have to be dramatic, but not necessarily in real life. After all, it was only the first rehearsal, at least it wasn't a dress rehearsal or any day during tech week.
Finley badly wanted to apologize to everyone in the room, but they had already started on the next scene and the time to even think about apologizing had passed.
Abe quickly pushed the situation out of his mind, reading over his lines with already stellar energy and a slightly modified voice and cadence to his words. It made sense, though- at both auditions and rehearsals, Abe was just bursting with energy and clearly put a lot of effort in straight out the gate.
He only stumbled once, pushing past it while he bobbed his head along to It’s Possible, singing along with the ensemble. The kid playing Jojo, Brick, was doing amazing, already beginning to work on a slightly higher pitch and more “kiddish” tone to their voice. It was something that they tried put at callbacks, and Abe was sure that it was what secured the role for them. He bobbed his head along to the backing tracks, mouthing the words to himself and smiling a little bit.
The first rehearsal was always his favorite, getting to see how everyone managed with their new parts and the very first full read through with the whole cast. Every year, he put in a lot of effort to the first few read-throughs, not simply just reading his part, but saying it as he would on stage. Of course, many people did that, but he sometimes took pride in that, because why not? He sang along with the ensemble as well, enjoying every moment.
(I'm just gonna pretend I know the plot and the songs… I forgot to listen to it so yeah lol)
(Honestly that’s fine, lmao, I’m really only following the order of everything, jot the plot-)
(Should we TS to the end-ish of rehearsal? I don’t really have many ideas until then, but I can think of a ton of ways to use the last 15-20 minutes or so)
And then rehearsal was over. They had read and sung their way through the entire musical with about twenty minutes to spare. Beautiful. Those minutes would be spent rearranging desks, swapping gossip, and constantly hyping each other up. And Abe was no different as he moved desks back to their original homes.
“I guess what pisses me off is that he came in so late- I mean, it’s the first rehearsal! If you weren’t gonna be committed, why even audition?” He whispered in a hushed tone to Dot (or Gertrude, if you were using their character names).
“Right? This isn’t some little thespian club, it’s a full on production.” She whispered back with a shake of her curly hair.
Abe nodded, making sure they were quiet enough for Finn not to hear. “Plus, I mean- I don’t know, I’m just worried about commitment with him. We can’t have a repeat of How to Succeed in Business, we really can’t.” There, Abe was referring to last year’s behind-the-scenes fiasco, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, where the lead role had dropped out two weeks before the show due to a ‘conflict of interest’.
Finley frowned once they finished early, he realized that he could have very easily asked to audition last and he wouldn't have missed anything. He knew at least a few people were still unhappy about him being late, and they were probably discussing it at the very moment. But he tried to push that out of his mind and instead socialize. He started with the new freshmen, wanting to make a good impression on them even though he had been late.
"I know you're trying to be the super friendly and, like, perfect junior, but you were late to the first practice, so don't act all high and mighty, ok?" Said one of the freshman girls thathe was talking to. Some of the others, even that weren't in the group, agreed with her.
Finn sighed, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. "Okay, first off, I'm definitely not trying to be like that, I just like to get to know everyone and make a good, or decent at least, impression. Second, I'm a human, you know what humans do? They make mistakes. I may be an upperclassman, but by no means am I perfect. And third, I'm in dance, I've been in dance my whole life and today just happened to also be the auditions for it. I specifically asked to audition first so I could get here as fast as possible. So shut your mouth about it already and forget about it."
Abe turned around once he began to hear the conflict arise. He and Dot swapped looks as they headed over to the tense conversation. “Yo, dude, what- don’t get upset at them for being a little pissed. You’re a lead. You’re Horton. Literally half the show revolves around you, it just put a bad taste in our mouths to see you come in late like that.” Abe wiped his glasses off on his shirt, though it was a little difficult given that it was tucked in.
“Yeah, you just don’t look very committed. It’s not a good look for you.” Dot continued, leaning on Abe’s arm. Their height difference was immense- Abe, who was a beanpole at over six feet, and Dot, the girl who was 5’ on a good day.
Finn turned Abe and Dot as they talked. He sighed, not meaning to get angry, but he ended up getting angry anyway. "I know, I know. I just hate how you all dismiss the fact that I have other stuff in my life and conflicts happen. I didn't want to be late for this, I certainly didn't plan for my audition to be at that same time. I hate non-committed people just as much as the next guy, I was pissed last year when the lead dropped out and I would never do that in a million years. So can we all please put this behind us?" He started off talking with anger in his voice, and it had been obvious, but it quickly faded into desperation.
He scanned the crowd that had formed around him. Finn felt exposed, being the one that caused everyone's uncertainty and the apparent drama this early in the musical.
“..Sure.” Abe spoke after a moment of thought. “But here’s my advice: watch the schedule. They’ll drop your ass faster that you can say ‘noncommittal’ if you’re consistently late.” Abe crossed his arms, leaning in a little. “And I don’t know your name. You were in the cast last year, right? I was tech, so I don’t think I ever learned it.”
"Oh I know! I've never been late, not even a minute, in the past and I don't plan on it in the future. And don't anyone get their hopes up about taking my part." Finley had turned all of his attention to Abe, nodding to his question. "Yeah, I was [insert side character here]. As well as ensemble of course. I'm Finn or Finey, either is fine."
