Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73010 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73010 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
A guy with floppy brown hair and a tall stature clears his throat. “We have murders in New York without the benefit of ghouls and goblins.”
As the lead, he recites his lines in a strong voice, even if I don’t hear the heart in it. The other characters, however, stand awkwardly around him, seemingly unsure about what to do with their limbs.
My feet take me closer to Ms. Hart as I watch the messy scene play out.
“See what I mean?” she mutters.
“I do.”
“So you’ll help?”
“Not sure what I can do that you haven’t tried already.”
“Extra hands and ideas are always welcome, Mr. Hollywood Actor.”
“Obviously, live theater is different, but I don’t have to tell you that.”
“The baseline is the same. You still have to learn your lines and be on cue.”
“As well as in character,” I add. Though I’ll admit, live theater has always made my heart pump harder because any mistakes are immediately visible to the audience.
Ms. Hart claps loudly. “Attention, students. Let’s welcome Micah Malone to our rehearsal. He’s a former student who lives in LA and has gotten small roles in commercials and film. He’s here to assist me.”
Some look impressed, others bored.
“I’ve been right where you are, so if it’s okay, I’d like to give you some pointers.”
Most of the students move closer to the edge of the stage to listen. “It’s true what Ms. Hart said about memorizing your lines being vital, but setting up the scene for the audience is just as important.”
“What do you mean?” asks the girl who plays Ichabod’s love interest, Katrina Van Tassel.
“What I mean is, you need to envision every scene. Not only where your character stands, but how they react to each line. You must get inside their head, understand their motive and how they might feel in that moment. It’ll help you connect with the story you’re telling and the audience.”
“And each other?” the kid playing Ichabod asks.
“Exactly. Ichabod is a flawed character. In the scene I just watched, he thinks he’s better than the townspeople. That he’s intellectually superior and above their old-fashioned ideas and customs. Including their belief in the supernatural.”
“Micah is absolutely right,” Ms. Hart says. “So how would Katrina, Brom, and the other townsfolk respond to his superiority complex? Feel it in your gut. Show it in your features and words.”
When Ms. Hart instructs them to take the scene from the top, I can’t help feeling energized. And as the students attempt to work off our advice, I’m thrumming with energy. The sort of energy I haven’t felt in a long while.
25
JOHN
“What’s the occasion?” Jack asks as I join him and Aaron on their morning hike in the mountains. That’s the thing about Aqua Vista. You get the best of both worlds. In one direction is the coast. In the other, the Santa Lucia foothills. We’re an underappreciated location, and most find us through the Jack of All Trades service station that used to be run by my parents, then by Jack, and now Frank. It’s the only gas station on a long stretch of highway, so we have lots of people passing through on their way to other destinations.
I don’t take advantage of the beauty of our location enough because I work so damn much, but after tossing and turning last night, I felt I needed to be in nature and also hang out with my brother.
“Needed the fresh air. Plus, the spring flowers.”
We don’t have the type of spring weather that the eastern part of the US is graced with, but we do have an array of spring flowers that pop up as the temperatures begin warming.
“Glad to have you.” Jack lifts his camera and snaps away at a field of lavender, and just beyond, I notice poppies and calla lilies.
“These photos are gonna be great,” Aaron says as we traverse the trail.
“I have no doubt,” I reply. “Which reminds me. Any snags with the sale?”
Jack sold his business to his best friend, Frank. Aaron’s business partner, Rocco, invested in it. It’s currently undergoing renovation to add a snack counter, updated bathrooms, and bolder colors to match the quirkiness of the town. Jack had no desire to change the plain aesthetic left over from our father, but Frank appears to be all in on Rocco’s ideas. I fall somewhere in the middle. An update is probably long overdue, but most travelers only pass through town, so the vision would be lost on them.
“All the paperwork has been signed and filed, so I think we’re all set.”
“Yep, smooth as butter,” Aaron adds, and Jack rolls his eyes before wrapping an arm around him and kissing his head. It’s certainly strange to see my grumpy brother so affectionate, but Aaron seems to bring it out of him.
“And the space in town?” Just like I started with a completely blank slate opening the bar, Jack is doing the same in the former butcher shop on Main Street, where he plans to open a retail business to feature his photography.