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The New Talent

When Sikowitz told Jade that she'd be shadowing him at the Weston Theater, she thought it meant being something of a teaching assistant for his acting classes. While she didn't necessarily enjoy every class he taught at Hollywood Arts, there was no denying the occasional brilliance behind Sikowitz's directing and how he sometimes knew just what everyone needed before they even did. Jade even resigned to believing that the loony teacher was a big part of her and Tori becoming the couple they are now. All of those served as Jade's motivation in this new job; a first step to teaching and directing plays of her own someday. Her first days, however, felt nothing like that.

Today, like every day since she started work, was spent with Jade behind an old desk in the managing office, sorting through paperwork while Sikowitz taught his class of roughly a dozen in the main stage. The papers she was filing ranged from city permits and safety inspection certifications to budget reports, available licenses for performance rights, student applications, and more necessary evils that Jade had to read thoroughly; lest she risk missing something essential to the theater's already low-end means of staying afloat. Once she managed to finish skimming a 12-page report, Jade set it down on the desk with an exasperated groan and stared at the ceiling to readjust her vision. As her mind cleared, she could faintly hear Sikowitz's booming voice from the stage. She got up from the desk, deciding it was time for a much-needed break, and quietly made for the stage area.

As she stepped out of the office door, Jade noticed the stage curtains were all opened and Sikowitz stood behind a small podium with his back to her. In front of him were about twelve people, of widely varying ages and appearances, seated in folding chairs and listening intently to instruction.

"Alright, class! So far, only half of you have managed to get The Bird Scene down on your first try! I have to say, I expected just a little more from you after three days!" Jade rolled her eyes upon hearing that exercise's name after so long. The Bird Scene was the easiest assessment in all her time at Hollywood Arts, but it was a real struggle for many of her classmates; especially, Tori. It didn't surprise her that this gaggle of young adults—and even grown adults—were having the same troubles with it.

"So, that leaves us with one more brave soul to tackle the scene for today...Tara, you're up!" Sikowitz dramatically waved his hands toward a young tan-skinned woman wearing a dark-green checkered button-up shirt and jeans with both factory-made and actual tears along the legs.

This Tara was sitting quietly with a very neutral expression, even as her classmates applauded her as she got up in front of them. Jade raised an eyebrow, noticing the girl stood significantly shorter than Sikowitz and probably most of the other students, yet her face indicated a maturity greatly contrasting her stature.

As Tara stood over the X marker made with colored tape on the floor, she briefly glanced in Jade's direction before turning her back and facing her audience. "Just so you know, it's pronounced 'Tah-rah', not 'Tare-uh'." Her tone was firm, but without malice or attitude, which Sikowitz accepted with a silent thumbs-up in one hand and a 'rolling' motion with the other. Clearing her throat, Tara began to recite:

"It was 1934 when my...husband...left me alone. Living on the prairie was a dreary existence. No telephone, no radio; only a large, majestic bird with whom I shared my feelings."

Jade couldn't see Tara's expressions from far behind her, but she could hear her tone remaining even through the initial exposition of the scene. Jade's eyes narrowing at the unusual pause around the word "husband"; perhaps to emphasize that this man was no longer "husband" in her character's mind anymore. Tara's hands rose up, gently cupping an imaginary bird above her as she continued: