Sanders Sides AU August

Letters of Mystery [Roceit]

AU: Actor AU

TW: Minor Swearing

WC: 2000

Date: 8/2/2021

The applause was deafening in the best of ways; Roman bowed as he fought back tears. This was his first time in a leading role. He had worked so hard for this, all of the showings had gone amazingly. He knew future roles in a lead role were far from guaranteed, but it was a step in the right direction. He was on the right path to making all of his dreams come true and that was a high he knew he would be chasing after his whole life.

A smile lit up his face as he went backstage, ready to take his outfit off. He wasn't expecting any visitors after the show. Remus was still in college in another state, studying to do special effects for horror movies, he would have come if not for finals. Their parents had come to the first showing and that alone had made Roman happy, so he was ready to clean the makeup off and prepare for the after-party.

He wasn't expecting a knock at the dressing room door, most of the other actors were off to find their family.

"Roman?" The director was standing there with an envelope in his hands. "I have something for you."

Curiosity filled him as he jumped to his feet. "Do I already have admirers?"

"Of sorts."

Roman took the letter and opened it.

'Dear Roman,

I am the owner of the Jam Theater. I direct all of the shows there and would like to extend an invitation to my next cycle of auditions, dated one week from your final show.

I was rather impressed with your recent performance, and believe you would make a rather outstanding Orpheus in the musical Hadestown.

I do hope to see you there; I would be rather disappointed if you found something better to do with your time.

Sincerely,

J'

The note was short, and Roman reread it multiple times. He was actually being invited to an audition, an audition for Hadestown no less. This was more than he had expected when he got the lead in "The Play that Goes Wrong", but he also knew the rumors surrounding the Jam theater. The plays that came out of it were always amazing, but the owner/director was known to replace actors mid rehearsal. He was also known for his strictness, and for the mystery that surrounded him. Apparently, though he was the director, he had never shown his face, either to his cast or to the general public. He was cloaked in shadows and mystery, but Roman couldn't give up this opportunity.

"Thank you." He said to his current director, "I am so thankful that you gave me this opportunity."

"It was all your hard work," He answered, patting Roman's shoulder before walking off.

For the time being, he would push the thought to the back of his head. Tonight was about the cast and crew, but in a week's time, he would be auditioning for the next big part of his life.

A week later, Roman was standing at the front doors of the Jam Theater, letter in hand, and stress buzzing around his head. He really wanted this, and he had been practicing almost non-stop for the past week. Taking in a shaky breath, Roman made his way inside, lining up with the others there for the audition. He signed in and took a seat in the audience, listening to each person perform.

It wasn't that Roman didn't have confidence in his own abilities, but listening to all of these amazing actors did deflate his ego a minuscule amount. He took in a shaky breath as his name was called from over the mic, all of their names had been called this way, and their instructions were given without interacting with the director. Roman didn't like mysteries. He liked when the world was shown to him in plain colors so that he could choose what colors he wanted to paint into the gaps. He wanted all of the information so that he could make his own informed choices and decisions.