In Love With Alex Brightman

chapter eleven

We sat in that room for about two hours until Timbers—the director—finally arrived. He was much taller than I imagined, definitely the tallest in the room. He congratulated us multiple times within his speech and assured that wouldn't be doing any physical rehearsing on the first day. Luckily, the bench I was sitting at had cushions on them.

Alex, Rob, Kerry, and I were sat in the back, and I was perfectly fine with my company. We all became good friends in a matter of minutes and I was already feeling at home.

The first hour of being in that room, everyone got to know each other and their roles. I was always pretty good with remembering names, so it didn't take me long to learn some of them. It felt so weird to stand up in front of everyone and say that I was going to be Lydia Deetz. And the cheers afterwards made me even more shy.

Timbers laid down the main concept of the musical. It definitely didn't follow the story of the movie, but all the same characters were there. In the musical, Delia was Charles fling instead of being Lydia's mother. Emily Deetz was Lydia's mother and she died, so that was the reason Lydia became so melancholy.

It was also noted that some of the script's dialogue was still in the works. The directors and book writers wanted the cast to act out those scenes and do some improv so they could visually see and decide on what we'd say. Timbers said it would take some time to complete it, but there were still a lot of other things for the cast to focus on. With how busy and hectic everything was going to be, our schedules were already looking a little jumbled. But with all of that, I was ecstatic.

"Now that we got that part out the way, I know you guys want to get a move on, so we're just going to get started," Timbers clapped his hands. Everyone cheered loudly and began conversing with their neighbors. I felt Alex shake my thigh in excitement. "First, I would like everyone to find their dressing room and settle in. They'll all be upstairs in two hallways," he explained.

Eddie—the songwriter for the show—was also in the room as he stood up to grab everyone's attention before we left. "The right hallway is for the main six characters. The doors will have your name and character's name on them," he stated, looking over at us sitting in the back. It was surreal to think that I was a member of the main cast. I'd be on the marquee and the sides of buildings when we started doing promo shoots. I'd even get some pictures with Alex, which I was very excited about.

"The left hallway is for ensembles. There are multiple dressing rooms, separated boys from girls, so look for your name on the doors as well," Timbers added. A few 'cool's and 'okay's scattered around the room in response, along with quick nods.

Timbers walked over to three people standing in the other corner behind him. "Everyone, this is William—the costume designer; Charles—the hair and wig designer; and Joe—the make-up designer," Timbers quickly introduced them as they all waved in sync.

"After you get your rooms, they'll come in and have a private talk with some of you about your character and show off some ideas of how you'll look," Eddie explained. "But, not everyone will be met with today, It's only the first day, so don't worry." Everyone nodded, also giving a quick 'hello' to the designers.

"In an hour or two, an announcement will go off for everyone to meet back together in the house," Timbers spoke. "I'll see you all soon and congratulations again. This'll be a great journey for all of us." In unison, we all stood up and made our way out the room.

As people began to leave, Alex grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him. "Come on, our rooms are probably close by." I nodded and followed him out the door. I felt Kerry's hands on my shoulders behind me as I tried not to get lost in the crowd that had gathered at the door.