Days like today were few and far between at the Shanachie, thankfully. But days like today were Mataya's worst nightmare.
One - the wine delivery for the foyer bars was four days overdue. Two - three members of the cast, including Luke, their Macbeth, had gone down with food poisoning and were going to be out of action for at least a week. Three - the same food poisoning had hit the backstage crew, so they were working short-handed. Four - there was a health inspector somewhere on the premises, and no one had told her about it. And then there was number five - with the prompt currently vomiting copiously into his own toilet at home, a problem had come up regarding Juno.
"And I wondered why people don't put the Scottish Play on more often," she muttered to herself, walking into her office to find Ludo Von Eschenbach, her director, already waiting for her. "Hey, Ludo. Come to make my day better?"
"Mataya, darling, you're looking lovely as always," he declared, rising to his feet to kiss her cheek, though the look on her resident luvvie's face wasn't encouraging.
"Oh, you flirt," was her accustomed response as she gestured for him to sit down with her, taking the seat next to his rather than the one behind her desk. As always with Ludo, it was best to cut straight to the chase. "Juno's a problem?"
"Well, not a problem, as such," the usually effusive director assured her, taking one of her hands between his. "She has extraordinary command of the stage, beautiful presence. Even in this minor role, she is shining."
'Taya nodded slowly, recognising a softening blow when she heard it. "But?"
"But ..." Ludo shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Mataya, darling, I don't think she has actually learned the role."
The actress-turned-theater-owner blinked slowly, absorbing this with a certain amount of incredulity. She'd seen Juno at the rehearsals and on stage on the first night; the girl had been word perfect. "What makes you think that, Ludo?"
"I believe she has been reading her lines off the inside of Harriet's mind," the director plunged ahead. He'd been in Rhy'Din long enough by now to be able to say this without even a hint of incredulity, either. "Relying entirely upon the prompt, as it were. You told me yourself she had this particular skill, and I believe she has been using it so as not to disappoint you or Max."
'Taya groaned, rolling her eyes. "And with Harriet off sick, there's no one consistently reading the lines, so Juno's struggling," she finished the thought. "I can't believe I missed that. There's no way she could have learned the lines so completely so quickly."
"Now, don't be angry, darling," Ludo insisted. "She is a wonderful little actress, and with further coaching, that raw talent could become something truly amazing. However, not learning her lines will be a problem for her. Not all theaters employ a prompt, and she cannot work purely at the Shanachie for the rest of her lifetime."
'Taya bit into her lower lip, frowning to herself as she thought this over. How did I miss this" she wondered, berating herself for failing to notice something so important to her foster daughter. How do I fix it" "Ludo," she said slowly, squeezing her friend's hand gently. "What do you think the problem actually is" Is she just lazy, or is it something more?"
Ludo sighed, a mournful expression on his face. "To be frank, Mataya, I don't think your Juno can read," he told her bluntly. "That is quite a handicap, and not one she will be able to hide for long."
"So ....you think I should pull her from performing until she can learn her lines the conventional way?" 'Taya asked quietly. "Get her a tutor?"
"Oh, no, there is no need to pull her from this production," Ludo insisted, shaking his head. "We've lost enough of the cast as it is. If necessary, I will sit in the wings and prompt until Harriet recovers. But I do believe that getting her educated in reading and writing will be a great boon to her in the coming years."
Mataya sighed, leaning back in her seat. So on top of everything else, she had to find a tutor who was prepared to take on Juno and all her little foibles, a tutor who would be able to teach the little woman to read and write without her simply pulling the information from their mind. Yet another challenge for the Yako/De Luca household.
Chalk one up for the supposed curse of Macbeth.
One - the wine delivery for the foyer bars was four days overdue. Two - three members of the cast, including Luke, their Macbeth, had gone down with food poisoning and were going to be out of action for at least a week. Three - the same food poisoning had hit the backstage crew, so they were working short-handed. Four - there was a health inspector somewhere on the premises, and no one had told her about it. And then there was number five - with the prompt currently vomiting copiously into his own toilet at home, a problem had come up regarding Juno.
"And I wondered why people don't put the Scottish Play on more often," she muttered to herself, walking into her office to find Ludo Von Eschenbach, her director, already waiting for her. "Hey, Ludo. Come to make my day better?"
"Mataya, darling, you're looking lovely as always," he declared, rising to his feet to kiss her cheek, though the look on her resident luvvie's face wasn't encouraging.
"Oh, you flirt," was her accustomed response as she gestured for him to sit down with her, taking the seat next to his rather than the one behind her desk. As always with Ludo, it was best to cut straight to the chase. "Juno's a problem?"
"Well, not a problem, as such," the usually effusive director assured her, taking one of her hands between his. "She has extraordinary command of the stage, beautiful presence. Even in this minor role, she is shining."
'Taya nodded slowly, recognising a softening blow when she heard it. "But?"
"But ..." Ludo shifted awkwardly in his seat. "Mataya, darling, I don't think she has actually learned the role."
The actress-turned-theater-owner blinked slowly, absorbing this with a certain amount of incredulity. She'd seen Juno at the rehearsals and on stage on the first night; the girl had been word perfect. "What makes you think that, Ludo?"
"I believe she has been reading her lines off the inside of Harriet's mind," the director plunged ahead. He'd been in Rhy'Din long enough by now to be able to say this without even a hint of incredulity, either. "Relying entirely upon the prompt, as it were. You told me yourself she had this particular skill, and I believe she has been using it so as not to disappoint you or Max."
'Taya groaned, rolling her eyes. "And with Harriet off sick, there's no one consistently reading the lines, so Juno's struggling," she finished the thought. "I can't believe I missed that. There's no way she could have learned the lines so completely so quickly."
"Now, don't be angry, darling," Ludo insisted. "She is a wonderful little actress, and with further coaching, that raw talent could become something truly amazing. However, not learning her lines will be a problem for her. Not all theaters employ a prompt, and she cannot work purely at the Shanachie for the rest of her lifetime."
'Taya bit into her lower lip, frowning to herself as she thought this over. How did I miss this" she wondered, berating herself for failing to notice something so important to her foster daughter. How do I fix it" "Ludo," she said slowly, squeezing her friend's hand gently. "What do you think the problem actually is" Is she just lazy, or is it something more?"
Ludo sighed, a mournful expression on his face. "To be frank, Mataya, I don't think your Juno can read," he told her bluntly. "That is quite a handicap, and not one she will be able to hide for long."
"So ....you think I should pull her from performing until she can learn her lines the conventional way?" 'Taya asked quietly. "Get her a tutor?"
"Oh, no, there is no need to pull her from this production," Ludo insisted, shaking his head. "We've lost enough of the cast as it is. If necessary, I will sit in the wings and prompt until Harriet recovers. But I do believe that getting her educated in reading and writing will be a great boon to her in the coming years."
Mataya sighed, leaning back in her seat. So on top of everything else, she had to find a tutor who was prepared to take on Juno and all her little foibles, a tutor who would be able to teach the little woman to read and write without her simply pulling the information from their mind. Yet another challenge for the Yako/De Luca household.
Chalk one up for the supposed curse of Macbeth.