Shakespeariance: Chapter 7

Rounds Begin
We board Le Bus with all the scenes and monologues from both the Junior High and High School and we drop off at the Auditorium where we were the previous evening. We discuss times and locations for rounds and I could only say one thing the entire time. "Ah! I'm so excited!" I would say to Nick. By the end of the day, I'm pretty sure that this was the greatest thing in the world most recently to happen to me. It's fine.

Nick and I went off on our adventure to run through our scene in various locations. The first was outside. In the cold. It's okay-it's just a nipping and an eager air. We ran through our scene and spoke about what we could improve on. The next was in the actual room. We went through it several times before it was even 8:45 a.m. When we felt warmed up and ready, we took a step outside and waited for the Judge to arrive.

The Documentary Team shows up and we all just start talking. Nick and I talk about everything and nothing all at the same time. What we're going to do about life after Shakespeare. Funny things that have happened to us. We start talking about Prom.

"Annekkeh did my hair this morning. Prom hair! I hope I get to use it someday," I say.
"You will," he said with absolute confidence in his voice.

Finally the Judge comes and we come into the room. He starts announcing the order of things... everyone was in Westminster Division... we were Oxford.... We were at 9:45. Not 9 a.m...

We booked it downstairs to Mr. Shelley and he tells us our correct times. The monologues had their times correct, it was only the scenes and we were all fourty-five minutes later. We had time. A friend of Nick's wanted to see our scene and we go outside to perform it. I am careful not to lose the words and to keep the meaning. If I lost the words and the meaning, then it would ruin everything.

We go back upstairs and we sit and wait. We talk some more, when McKay comes up. (McKay is a boy that has liked me since.... two summers ago. I was fourteen. I told him 'sorry. not looking for that. move on.' basically.)

"Nick, this is my friend McKay from EFY-two summers ago," I said uneasily, "McKay, this is Nick. He's my friend and scene partner."

You know that moment in Twilight where Edward and Jacob size up each other, trying to one-up the other? This was that.

"How old are you?" McKay said, looking down on Nick in every sense of the phrase.
"Seventeen." Nick said with a smile. (How old have you been seventeen?) (A while... it'll be a year next week!)
"Oh," McKay said, looking quite defeated.

I joy I felt in this occation was quite substancial.

I talk to Nick, but I feel McKay glaring at us the entire time.
(insert awkward male glaring at you awkwardly right this moment as you talk to your best man friend trying to avoid this awkward moment.)

Finally, Westminster is finished and we are allowed in. At this point in time, Nick and I have a super secret hand shake that I am pretty sure everyone and their grandmother's cat know. It calms my nerves as we go through that handshake, laughing each time I mess up. Which is often.

A hilarious Midsummer Night's Dream scene begins all through texting and hushed whispers. A Richard III goes on with great intensity. A Love's Labor Lost goes on with laughter and soon it is our turn.

"First in, last to perform," the judge says, chuckling.
"Yeah," we laugh breathlessly.

We slate. We perform. We are in France and Henry is wooing me. Chick-flicky.

We get laughter and audible 'aw!'s. We've told our story and made them feel something new. That is wonderful.

The judge gives wonderful feedback and we eat up every word. He turns to Nick and me, and I think my heart stopped as he paused.

"Wow," he began, "That was really, really lovely."

The breath that we didn't even know we held was finally released in a sound of relief and laughter. We're told to act Royal and how the chemistry began and was noticable from the very beginning of slating. This was spectacular.

The entire duration of our performance and judging, McKay was directly behind Nick the entire time.

We leave the room in jubulation as we shake the judge's hand and meet new actors/actresses. Nick and I just look at each other and smile. Part I was done. We did what we needed to. Now we had to make it better.