With dusk approaching, the Rhydin Theatre and Opera House sprang to life. Set aglow to set a dramatic ambience, posters were displayed, and some stamped with ?sold-out.? The exterior of the theatre was decorated in large and long garlands of flowers.

The lobby also had posters of the play that were displayed on the walls next to large dark colored candles, and different themes and props were cleverly collaborated to give subtle clues to those that did not know the story. More garlands of flowers and greenery were placed inside the lobby to give the feeling of an enchanted forest set aglow. Waiters came around to several groups of people with complimentary drinks of simple flavors and hor?dourves.

A new addition to the lobby was a merchandize table. Everything was sold from graphic t-shirts, jewlery, and tote bags. Shirts either supported the ballet troupe, or the current ballet theme. Some even supported the dancers' themselves. The designs were simple but elegant, and the prices reasonable. Aside from the apparel, candies and bottled beverages were sold as well.

Candles of varying sizes brought illumination inside the theatre and down the aisles. Ushers were dress in simple but tailored tuxedoes. They appeared polished and patient, waiting for the doors to open and guide people to their seats. The walls and ceiling were made of both dark wood and light marble; designs both simple and bold that naturally drew the viewer?s eyes to the stage.

Programs were handed to each guest as they were seated. The programs had various pictures of the performers, and well as small biographies for the principle dancers. A few articles were written about the theatre, the process of putting together the current ballet, and about the ballet itself. Right in the middle though, was a synopsis of each act for the wordless performance. After those that came on time were all seated, the lights went dim before the curtains parted and the ballet began.

Act Three, Scene One

The rustics and artisans arrive in the woods and discuss their play, Pyramus and Thisbe. Bottom is afraid that if Pyramus commits suicide with his sword, it might seem too real and cause the ladies to be afraid. As a result, they agree to write a prologue which tells the audience that Pyramus is really only Bottom the Weaver and that he does not really kill himself.

Next, Snout becomes afraid that Snug's role as the lion will cause a similar fear. Thus, they undertake to write another prologue to tell the audience that it is not a lion, but only Snug the joiner. The men further decide that Snug should speak to the audience directly and that half his head should be visible through the costume.

Finally they start to rehearse the play, with the puck eavesdropping in the background. Each of the actors makes several word mistakes, giving the phrases completely different meanings. The puck leaves when Bottom goes offstage, and reappears with Bottom, who now wears an asses head which the puck put on him. Bottom is blissfully unaware that he is transformed into an ass, and humorously asks the others why they run away from him.

At this point Titania wakes up and sees Bottom, with his asses head, and falls in love with him. She begs him to keep singing and making jokes for her, and entreats him to remain in the forest with her. She then calls four fairies in to take care of Bottom and lead him to her garden.

Act Three, Scene Two

Robin Goodfellow, the puck, returns to Oberon and tells him what has happened to Titania. Oberon is overjoyed that Titania is being humiliated in this way. He then asks about the Athenian he wanted to fall in love with Helena. At this point Demetrius and Hermia enter the stage.

Hermia is convinced that Demetrius has killed Lysander in his sleep, and in her fury she curses Demetrius for his actions. She finally storms away, leaving Demetrius to fall asleep in front of Oberon. Oberon, furious that Robin has ruined his plan to make Demetrius love Helena, sends Robin off to get her. The puck soon returns with both Helene and Lysander.

Helena believes that Lysander is only mocking her with his words of love, and tells him that his phrases have no substance. Inadvertently she wakes up Demetrius, on whose eyes Oberon has applied his pansy juice. Demetrius sees her and also falls in love with Helena.

In the midst of this quarrel over which man loves Helena more, Hermia arrives. She is shocked by Lysander's words and does not believe that he could possibly love Helena. Helena assumes that Hermia is part of the mockery, and chastises her for violating the close friendship which they have enjoyed since childhood.

Demetrius and Lysander begin to quarrel over Helena even more intensely, at which point Hermia breaks in and tries to stop Lysander. He spurns her, calling her a serpent and a dwarf, and finally leaves with Demetrius to fight over which man should get Helena.

Oberon and Robin step forward, having watched the entire spectacle. Oberon is furious about the mess that Robin has created and orders him to separate Demetrius and Lysander. He then tells the puck to make the men fall asleep, and to rub the juice on Lysander's eyes and make him see Hermia when he awakes. Robin mimics the mens' voices, causing them to follow shadows and sounds and effectively separating them.

Act Three, Scene Three

Robin leads both men until they fall asleep on the ground. He then finds the two women and brings them close to their "lovers" before letting them fall asleep as well. His last act is to sprinkle the juice into Lysander's eyes so that he will fall in love with Hermia when he awakes and sees her.

Act Four, Scene One

Titania and Bottom, still with an asses head, enter the stage followed by Titania's fairies. Bottom asks the fairies to scratch his head, and is hungry for some hay. Titania, completely in love with him, orders the fairies to find him food. Together they soon fall asleep.

Oberon enters and looks at his sleeping Queen. He tells the puck that Titania gave him her young boy earlier in the woods, and so it is time for him to remove the spell from her eyes. He orders Robin to change Bottom back to normal, but first he wakes up Titania. She at first thinks she dreamed about being in love with an ass, but then sees Bottom still asleep by her side. Oberon helps her off the ground and tells her that tomorrow they will dance at the weddings of Theseus and the other two couples.

Theseus, Hippolyta and Egeus arrive where the lovers are sleeping. They are in the woods to celebrate the May morning with hunting hounds in preparation of the day's ceremonies. Theseus sees the lovers and has them woken by sounding the hunting horns.

The lovers tell Theseus what they remember from the night before, and Lysander declares his love for Hermia while Demetrius speaks of his love for Helena. Theseus decides to override Egeus' will and have all three of them get married in Athens that day. They eventually all depart for Athens.

Bottom wakes up and realizes that he has been abandoned in the woods by his friends. He recalls what happened to him only as a dream. Bottom then returns to Athens.

Act Four, Scene Two

The artisans are lamenting the fact that the Duke Theseus is already married, as well as the other noblemen, which means they missed their chance to perform Pyramus and Thisbe at the wedding. Bottom finally arrives and tells the men to hurry to the festivities since there is still enough time to perform the play.

Act Five, Scene One

In the palace where Theseus and Hippolyta reside, the guests are waiting for some form of after dinner entertainment. Theseus has Egeus read him a list of possible performances, and Theseus finally settles on 'A tedious brief scene of young Pyramus and his love Thisbe: very tragical mirth' as the play he wants to see performed. Egeus tries to dissuade him, telling him that the actors are workingmen will no talent, but Theseus is adamant that he watch them perform.

The play is then performed, with numerous linguistic errors and incorrect references making it into a complete farce. Hippolyta condemns the play as being "silly" while Theseus defends it as being nothing more than imaginative. During the performance, Theseus, Lysander, Demetrius and Hippolyta add commentary which criticizes the action, and makes fun of the antics of the laymen.

At the end of the play both Bottom and Flute get up from where they are lying, supposedly dead, and offer to perform an epilogue or a bergamask (a type of dance). Theseus quickly intervenes and tells them they need no epilogue, but rather should only perform the dance, which they do.

Act Five, Scene Two and Epilogue

Puck enters with a broom and sweeps the stage. In a monologue he informs the audience that not even a mouse will disturb the lovers, and it can be inferred that he is protecting their bedchambers. Oberon and Titania arrive in order to bless the union of Theseus and Hippolyta. They perform a fairy dance and depart, leaving Puck alone on stage. Puck's epilogue begs forgiveness of the audience and says: If we shadows have offended, Think but this, and all is mended: That you have but slumbered here, While these visions did appear; (Epilogue, 1-4) indicating that if someone did not like the play, then he or she should imagine that it was all a dream.

"Oh my god. Look at him!" Stefen's face lit up with excitement. "Why must he be straight?"

Mason laughed as he stepped into the hall, dressed for the ballet, and gave his neighbors a turn, Stefen and David looking on with a combination of admiration and jealousy. Mason's classic double breasted black tuxedo was neatly buttoned over the matching black vest and tie beneath.

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Stefen clapped. "Look, I got him to use some product in his hair. Good job, Mason."

David surveyed Mason's hair which was brushed back, the waves still hinted at, resulting in a cosmopolitan look. "Did you cut it? It looks good."

Mason glanced back inside for Eva, checking his pocket for the tickets again, then he smiled.

Eva blushed as she stepped into the hallway, and smoothed her hands down the skirt of the new black dress Mason had bought for her. The small ruffles on the narrow straps gave way to a low scoop neck, and then fitted close until the flare of the short skirt made up of gauzy, lightly ruffled layers. Eva shifted her black clutch, and raised a hand to touch the silver St. Christopher medallion that hung in the center of her chest. At the last minute, she had swept up her hair in a loose natural bun, held in place by a variety of hard to spot bobby pins.

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"Hi..." She reached shyly for Mason's hand, letting him guide her out of the apartment.

In the hallway, Mason lifted their joined hands and urged her into a slow spin. He was showing her off. Stefen and David applauded. "You look divine!" David looked at Stefen. "Breakfast at Tiffany's moment." Both neighbors nodded.

Eva blushed and mumbled. "Thank you. It's new." She glanced towards Mason with a little smile.

Mason smiled too, looking as if he was standing a bit taller, his chest out. Proud was the best word to describe him at the moment. He pulled the door closed and locked it. The key ring spun once on his finger and then dropped into his pocket. "Don't wait up boys." Mason gave them a wolfish grin and escorted Eva to the stairs and out.

Mason was smiling as the usher led them down the aisle to the front row. The seats were already starting to fill, and, as with most crowds, those being ushered to the very front always got inquisitive glances and looks. Mason straightened as they walked. Like he had in the hallway of their apartment building when Eva had come out. He was walking proud and showing Eva off to the crowd.

They took their seats and the smiling usher gave them both their programs. Mason leaned towards Eva. His head tilted to look at the program in her lap even though he had his own. In front of them they could hear the orchestra taking their seats and a few of the stringed instruments being tuned. More and more people were filling the seats. The posters in the lobby had said the opening night was sold out and it appeared that way. The noise level was rising as the crowd was seated. Mason squeezed Eva's hand, the anticipation of the start of the show building. He grinned at Eva and whispered "Promise to wake me if I start to snore?

She laughed softly, and then turned the program towards him - the photo and bio of Katarina. "Look!"

His head tilted to look at the program in her lap. "Ah, there she is!"

Eva smiled, and then looked up towards the stage, eager for the show to begin.

Out in the lobby the lights flickered on and off three times to tell those lingering that the show was about to begin. Music started to rise from the orchestra pit as they began to play the prelude of the show. Mason squeezed Eva's hand as the lights went down. Eva smiled softly, the darkness a comfortable space to forget her troubles. She lifted their hands and gently kissed his before the music began, the curtain lifted, and the lights lit up the stage for the being of Act 1.

The performance was prompt, with the candlelights going out in the seating area, and actual lighting taking over the stage. Despite the full house, the audience went completely silent once the curtains lifted and the ballet started. Despite any nerves that the dancers held, the performance was near flawless, each dancer being animated and accentuating along the music for more humorous moments. With an intermission in between the middle acts, the ballet seemed to entertain despite the audience having to sit for a long period of time. When it was finally over, the dancers came on stage once more to give their finals bows, before the curtains fell again. Most patrons left, but some stayed in the theatre or the lobby to meet and greet the troupe members.

?Yeah, I?ll be ou? ?n a bi?.? Katarina finally scrubbed the majority of her performance make-up off so that she wasn't entirely dramatic looking once leaving backstage. Comfortable once more in her own clothes and normal shoes, she glanced around, and quickened her pace. Most of the performers had already made their way out to greet and thank the large group of patrons that still hadn't immediate left the opera house. Katarina didn't want to be the last one out.

Gathering her things, she started down the hall that led to the lobby, and quickly stopped to pull out her frivilous-looking hankie to catch her sneeze. Somehow her performance looked good despite feeling under the weather.

Finally, she made it out into the hall and into the lobby, where patrons and performers alike were buzzing about the performance. ?Yeah, thanks. Glad ya liked it.? It seemed to be a phrase she repeated over and over again, going from one person to the next and shaking multiple hands. Usually, she didn't mind, but tonight, she wasn't much in the mood to perform after the show was already over. So with free opportunities she looked around for Locke, only he was no where inside. Maybe he was still in his seat, waiting? Finding an escape, she turned and went through the doors that led patrons to their sits. It was mercifully less crowded, and she started for the front.

Knowing where Locke's seat would be, she found it empty and frowned. About to turn on her heels, she just glanced to the other tickets she had given away, and found Mason and Eva still there, looking like they were about to leave, ?Oh, Eva!? She called out first before weaving through a row to get to their aisle.

It took her a moment to register that the woman moving towards them was Katarina, after having gotten used to seeing her in costume. Then she smiled and waved, waiting instead for her to join her and Mason, ?Hey...? Happy surprise in her eyes as she waved the hand holding her clutch and program. Mason looked over as he heard Eva's name called. Another reason he had been slow about leaving was approaching them. He smiled at Katarina's arrival.

?Glad ta see tha' ya'll could make it.? She made her way down the aisle and stopped when she was close enough, ? Hope ya had a nice evenin'.. sure look like ya did.? She gave a warm smile to the pair.

She exchanged a look with Mason, her suspicions also pretty much reaching critical mass. She looked back at Katarina, her warm smile holding steady, ?Yeah, it seems we lucked into some tickets... really... you know, excellent seats.... you or Locke wouldn't happen to know something about that, would you??

Mason started to chuckle as he looked between the pair. Finally settling on Kat to hear the answer to that.

?Oh, well...? Katarina cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck. Really, she didn't know why she was surprised. Who else would send people ballet tickets? ?Yeah, I migh' ta been given some real good seats an' passed 'em 'long ta some otha people.?

Eva laughed softly and nodded, glancing to Mason, then back, ?We were planning on going anyhow...? just a tad defensive, ?though maybe not on opening night... and not these seats but... ? then realizing that she failed to say the most important thing, she smiled again and nodded, ?but thank you... I mean... it was great...? then laughing, ?You were great!?

Mason squeezed Eva's hand gently and looked to Kat, ?You were wonderful. It was a lovely adaption.?

?Thanks,? Katarina?s cheeks flushed as she looked between the pair, ?I uh... I had no use fer th' tickets, mahself, yeah? An' well... yer friends o' mine, yeah?? She realized that she was trying to justify a kind thing, and just gave a grin.

Mason started to laugh, ?Kat, babe. You may want to take that ballet slipper out of your mouth.?

Eva laughed too, leaning against Mason slightly, ?It was very thoughtful... thank you for thinking of us, really.? Then she laughed again, ?Plus, I got to see you pretend to be in love with a donkey. Mason seemed on the verge of making a comment but stopped himself and chuckled some more.

?Ain't lived until ya hav'.? A playful wink to Eva, before giving Mason a distinct look. Her grin was playful, but she didn't add to the comment, and instead addressed the one he gave her, ?An' trust me, I ain't nearly so graceful wit' words than I'm wit' dancin'. So,? for once, she didn't want the spotlight on her anymore, ?How's th' new place comin' 'long? Er, Locke told me.? This by explanation of her knowledge