Dennis would always remember the happiness of his eighteenth birthday and the events which were playing out around him. He had crossed the threshold into adulthood with more good things happening in life than most boys his age. But even though his life had changed so fast it was welcomed because it gave him a glimpse of his future.

The changes had begun in Tahoe at the gathering when Jim had made his offer and Dennis found himself sitting beside Ted who was nodding away. Their summer together was assured since neither set of parents would stand in the way of such progress. It only remained to be seen how the semester would treat them.

Mike and Jim had agreed to buy the house on Lakefront Drive. The agent said she would present their offer to the owners, and then called Mike back two hours later with their acceptance. Saturday night was a grand affair, with Frank pulling out all the stops at dinner to show his appreciation for their patronage.

Ted had spent the hours doting on Betty and was sad on Sunday afternoon when she left the gathering to return home. But she had offered them the hospitality of her home should Jim drive them crazy during the summer and Ted promised to visit. It was all said in front of Jim who laughed and said he was known for his crazy moods, but that Betty would get to spend some time with the boys.

Jim took off for Los Angeles as did many of the others; the gathering had come to a close. John was quiet for most of the ride home, but he had to say something.

"Um, I don't suppose you'll say anything about Vince to anyone," He said.

"Say what?" Dennis replied. "Besides, who would believe it?"

"I still don't believe it," John said. "He's invited me to LA after my commitment to Cabot ends."

"Then you'll go, but what will you do?" Ted asked.

"I don't know, I can always find work teaching, painting…whatever. I still have to get my thoughts around what this will mean."

"It means you won't be eating KFC with your aunt, now there's a plus," Dennis said, and they all laughed. "We have some work to do first in case you've forgotten."

John smiled. "Its work we both enjoy…so how did it go with you guys and Jim?"

"Let's just say you won't be the only one working in Los Angeles this summer," Dennis said.

"Awesome."

Dennis dove right in to work on The Cherry Orchard, figuring he had about three weeks to give that show before the musical would pull him away. Brad had already begun to mark, cut and assemble the metal trees for the set so Dennis began working his way into that project.

Mark Johnson called Dennis from the union office and asked him to drop by some afternoon. Ted wanted to head downtown and pick up some information at the offices of the Hispanic Business Association so they decided to go together.

It was certain that Mark wanted to know what Dennis had planned for the year; he might even offer a job at one of the theatres. But working union at this point couldn't happen, and at least Dennis felt he had to be honest with Mark.

Ted dropped him off and said it would take about an hour before he returned; Dennis didn't think he would take any longer. There were two other guys sitting in the lobby when Dennis walked in and gave his name to the secretary.

"Dennis…Hi, I'm Lynn, Mark's wife," She said. "He's expecting you, go right on in."

The door to Mark's office was open and Dennis stepped on through where he saw Henry sitting on the couch and Arthur Pierce in a chair beside the desk.

"Dennis…good timing, we were just talking about you," Mark said, standing to shake Dennis' hand.

Arthur stood as well and held out his hand. "Good to see you, we were just talking about the summer."

Henry gave Dennis a smile and a nod. Dennis took the remaining chair and looked at Mark expectantly.

"Arthur said you had plans in LA this summer, is that still on?" Mark asked.

"It is, I just had that confirmed two weeks ago. I'm going to work for Curry."

"So that came through, how wonderful," Arthur said. "We'll miss you."

Mark nodded. "What will you be doing for them?"

"Production assistant…for now," Dennis said.

"That's good; it won't conflict with your membership. If you get into a technical role just let me know and I'll call Benny at the LA office, he'll check it out for you."

"I doubt that will happen," Dennis said. "Jim Curry and I are friends. I won't be far from whatever he's doing this summer. I'll be back up here in the fall and then I was hoping you might find something to keep me busy."

Mark smiled. "I think we can arrange that. Mike said he'd work you any time you have free, we'll be a lot busier later this year."

"I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting…" Dennis began.

"Not at all," Arthur said. "I was just informing Mark what we have planned. Henry is going to be a very busy fellow this summer, and Gina has already agreed to step in."

Dennis sat there and listened to Arthur go through the list of summer tours and night club acts he had booked. It was a monster season and Henry would have a heavy load, but he could handle it. Dennis knew The Grove had been an excellent place to start, it had brought him this far. But Jim was offering so much more and since Ted was included that was the road he had to take.

Dennis shook hands all around as the meeting ended and thanked Mark for allowing him the freedom to take on new challenges. Arthur walked him out to the parking lot and they stopped to talk.

"Union isn't going to kill you this summer…are they?" Dennis asked.

"I think I have that all budgeted now, that moron Gillette almost killed me. Their agency folded and the Feds are after them all for interstate fraud, so there is some justice in all that happened. You have a good summer; drop in if you get back to town."

Arthur shook his hand and drove away just as Ted arrived. Dennis told him about the meeting and they headed to the Cavanaugh house for dinner.

"You're gonna miss The Grove, aren't you," Ted said.

"Yes, I'll probably remember all the fun when Jim works us into the ground. So what's all that stuff in the back seat?" Dennis asked.

"Research," Ted said. "I'm writing a comparative analysis of the Hispanic business community and the African American business world. It's a project for my history class, but I plan to use it as part of my application to UCLA next year. What do you think?"

Dennis laughed. "Baby, those poor people down there won't know what to do with all your ambitions. I think our little summer education will alter the course of our future. I'm going into this with an open mind, but I may not be a simple set designer when we're done."

Ted smiled. "Somehow I knew our contact with Jim was going to change things, or at least redirect our plans. Let's wait and see what we figure out."

"Agreed," Dennis said.

Those thoughts were still in his head as Dennis watched The Cherry Orchard take shape and Lynch held the auditions for Annie Get Your Gun. It was a foregone conclusion since his speech last fall that Lynch would direct the show as a tribute to his friend Ethel Merman. Todd Meriwether would conduct, and Dennis learned through John that Todd was going to pull in some professionals to flesh out the orchestra.

The energy for the musical was building, Dennis could feel it. Ted was busy working on his project as Dennis poured over the script and made notes to share with Lynch. For his part Dennis spent every spare moment he had on his laptop, determined to finish his academics before Annie picked up speed.

Ted had watched this intense mind set settle in on Dennis. He could only imagine the pressure a senior felt and knew his time was coming. But the day after the cast list was posted Dennis was sitting in Ted's room on his laptop when he shrieked.

"Oh My God…I'm done…I'm fucking done," Dennis exclaimed and then he broke up laughing.

Ted turned from his desk and saw Dennis hold up his laptop. There on a small window was a graph and the words one hundred percent, the academic side of Dennis' high school years was over.

"Now it's just exams, huh?" Ted said.

"Nope, not even that. My final grade for the year won't surface until I finish my work on the musical, but I'll ace that. The best part is that Lynch will give me that grade, and if he's kind I'll be a four point two when I'm done."

"Jeez…I'm only carrying a three point eight," Ted said.

"You have another year to go and you've been on the honor roll since the beginning just like I have, you'll get there," Dennis said.

"So…no more homework for you?" Ted asked.

"Yeah, isn't it great?"

Ted gave back an evil leer. "I'll think of something you can study."

The quality time Ted craved had been there ever since he started junior year. Sometimes they were only stolen moments of the evening, but even those served to satisfy the cravings they both had. Ted got up and locked the door, tonight's moment had arrived.

No matter what was on Dennis' mind, these intimate moments purged all worry about the commitments he had to a show. Once his eyes locked on Ted's there was no other imperative in life, just the boy he loved. The tides of passion always carried them away, and with practice they returned to this world fulfilled.

Outwardly Dennis was the pragmatic one, but Ted knew he harbored the deepest romantic feelings and pulled on that hidden reservoir to make love. Other boys might wander, but not Dennis. Once committed Ted knew theirs was an enduring love, one that would always be there.

They each had so many things to accomplish, and not having to worry about the other was a source of strength people could only envy…if they knew, which most didn't. Ted had decided the best way to approach his father about working for Jim that summer was to keep it a straight up business deal.

"This is something you and Dennis cooked up, isn't it?" Mr. Cavanaugh asked when Ted laid out his plans for the summer.

"Dennis is going too; in fact he introduced me to Jim in the first place."

"Lord, son…Jim Curry is a giant in the film industry. And he's asked you to do this research about one of his films?"

"Not one, three films. They're all oriented towards young people. I think he wants our perspective of the idea."

"That will definitely keep you busy, and you won't be alone…I trust Dennis."

"I get paid for doing something I love, and this will be a huge boost to my resume," Ted said. "Which reminds me, did you read that report I gave you about the minority businesses?"

"I'm working on that now. I deal with a lot of Hispanic farmers; they're a well organized bunch. So when do you leave for Los Angeles?"

Ted smiled. "I have to be there the first of June."

"Good, that means we still have some time together."

It was a different kind of discussion at Dennis' house, but the result would be the same.

"Jim Curry? Goodness, honey…when did you meet him?" Dennis' mother asked.

"In Tahoe, Bobby got my foot in the door and the result was meeting Curry."

"Does this mean you'll be going into films next?" His father asked.

"I don't have any experience in film, I'm not sure that's why he wants to hire me. What I do understand is production values, and that's where I'll begin."

"I find it a bit unusual that he's offered to let you stay at his place," His mother said.

"Mom, Ted and I will probably live in an apartment Jim owns down in Culver City. Jim has that big mansion up in the hills; you saw pictures of that in one of your magazines. But I don't know when we'll get to see his estate, production assistants work like twelve hour days."

"The long hours won't bother you," Dennis' father said. "I just hope he pays you what you're worth."

"He will, we start on June first."

"Good, that's right after you graduate," His mother said.

"I'm looking forward to that," Dennis said.

But first there was an entire production in the way. Dennis thought that Lynch had made some excellent choices in the casting, including Jimmy as Charlie Davenport the manager of the Wild West show and Eddie as the lead male dancer. Becky Turner had the title role, a big voice for a junior; she would only get better with age.

The role of Frank Butler was given to Steven Trent who had played Giles Ralston in Mousetrap, an experienced actor and singer. So with the cast set Lynch began rehearsal and Dennis would be there every step of the way.

At first they worked with just a rehearsal pianist, a rotating duty Todd Meriwether assigned to his advanced piano students. Dennis had his big book prepared, the script formatted onto a large sheet that was half blank where he would take notes. He would follow Lynch around and listen to every word the man spoke to the cast.

The process would take weeks as each scene was blocked out on the floor of the rehearsal hall and then carried onto the main stage. But Dennis was no fool; he knew he couldn't do it alone. The moment he had been given the stage manager's position he had chosen his assistant, and in this case it was Brandon.

They had spent so much time together in lighting shows that Brandon was a natural choice, fortunately Lynch and Brady agreed. Besides the boy needed the credits towards his requirements and what better way to get them? Timmy Newsome would be running the control board after Mike Edwards designed the lighting. A whole new generation of students was moving up, it was the Cabot way.

John Moore had produced a sheaf of drawings within a week of the school commencing the spring semester. Brad and his new helpers, Frank and Tony from the sophomore class, immediately sat down and figured out their material order. Cabot had a room full of stock flats and two thirds of those would be used with a new covering.

The color renderings came rolling in one by one as John stayed up nights with his watercolors and a brush. The shop was in full swing as The Cherry Orchard came to a close. Brady was happy with what he had done, but knew enough to get out of the way as the musical took over.

Dennis sat through rehearsals with a yellow legal pad and his script, jotting down notes as Lynch threw them at him. Ted appeared most afternoons to make sure Dennis had food and a little rest before the rehearsal. But even as Dennis worked on the show, Ted did homework, determined to finish out the year with a bang.

By the third week of rehearsal the cast was off the book, their lines memorized. Dennis and Brandon had the unpleasant chore of prompting the actors when they forgot where they were, it happened a lot at first. And then the guns arrived.

The whole point of the show was the rivalry between Annie Oakley and Frank Butler. Each was supposed to be the best shot around and there were several shooting contests to prove their abilities. Unfortunately Becky was scared to death of the rifles, a problem Dennis was assigned to overcome.

The Winchester .38 rifles were rented from a prop house in Burbank and they had six of them, along with a muzzle loading musket used at the beginning of the show. Annie was supposed to be a backwoods girl who could shoot a bird out of the sky with her musket. The Winchesters would be introduced later.

The rifles held seven shots, all blanks with only a half load of powder to give the sound they needed. The musket held the same charge, the same blanks, but they could only be fired one at a time…and it sounded like a cannon going off.

Standing on the loading dock, Dennis showed Becky how the musket was loaded. Not that he was any great marksman, but Dennis had read the manual which came along with the rental.

"You're supposed to aim at this imaginary bird, track it a little with the musket and then pull the trigger. You want me to show you?" Dennis asked.

"Please," Becky said.

Brandon was standing there, as was Brad and Perry, their prop man. Everyone was curious about the new toys.

"OK," Dennis said. "I can shoot any bird I want, you say and then you see one and raise the musket." Dennis did just that and swung the musket a few inches before he pulled the trigger. Wham, and a small amount of smoke shot out of the muzzle along with the paper wadding.

"See that's all you have to…where did she go?" Dennis asked.

"She ran back inside shrieking, didn't you hear her?" Brandon said.

"Hear what?" His ears were still ringing. "Damn that sucker is loud. Go find Becky."

Brad test fired one of the Winchesters and for some reason it wasn't as loud. They had a hundred shells to fire off in rehearsal, Brandon was told to keep count. Dennis talked to Lynch and he agreed, they called the prop rental place and asked for a few boxes of one quarter load blanks for the musket.

Becky was dragged back to the loading dock and handed a Winchester rifle, which she held in her trembling hands.

"Calm down, Becky…we'll get back to the musket after we reduce the powder load. It won't make as much noise when that happens. Remember, you're supposed to be an expert with this rifle. You stand right there and watch closely while I fire off three shots."

In the shooting contest they were supposed to be shooting at clay targets thrown in the air by a machine. On stage they would mime all these things. The signal for the target to be thrown was when they said "Pull."

Dennis raised the rifle and yelled, "Pull." He then pretended to track the target and pulled the trigger. Wham again, only much softer. Becky was still standing there, only now she had her fingers in her ears. Dennis cocked the rifle and repeated the move, firing two more shots and cocking the lever action in between.

"So…do you think you can do that?" Dennis asked.

"I…I guess," Becky said.

"Let's try it," Dennis said.

After an hour of practice Dennis was able to report to Lynch that his leading lady could finally fire a rifle without flinching or screaming…this must be what progress felt like. Steven took the rifle and fired off a few shots, it didn't even make him flinch.

Most of the men in the show would wear hats and Marsha had a wagonload of them. Lynch had various cast members try on hats, and then told them to wear them in rehearsal. There was nothing worse than watching a chorus member fidget with their hands, the hats helped immensely.

Piece by piece the scenery fell in place. Doors that actors needed to use were important, things to climb on, move around…all that appeared on stage. Perry had chairs, tables, crates, barrels, shovels, rakes, ropes…an endless list of props that moved on and off stage in various scenes. And then there were the Indians.

Ten of the chorus men were assigned to play the role of the Indians who worked Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show. Considering the musical was written at a time when Indians were such stereotypes, each of them wore a large chief's headdress of feathers. That took some practice along with carrying all the bows, arrows, tomahawks and drums.

Jacob Stein had the role of Chief Sitting Bull, a nice Jewish boy who could have passed for an Indian in the costume he was given. But his was the comedic role and he had a lot of funny lines to say. Fortunately he was a natural comedian in real life.

Scene by scene John and several others painted on stage during the day, followed by the evening rehearsals. What had been white walls became circus tents, brick walls, a ship's deck and several interiors. The rodeo arena for the Wild West show was actually three dimensional with an audience painted in the stands.

The rehearsals got louder when the guns were introduced. By that point Becky had more confidence and only cringed a little when she fired the musket. During one of the rehearsals her aim was true and a piece of colored lighting gel dropped out and floated to the stage floor. Buffalo Bill picked it up and chewed on the edge. "Doesn't taste like pigeon," he adlibbed and Lynch laughed the loudest of everyone.

The cast was comfortable in their skins, a way of expressing how the actors had finally assumed their roles. This was always a time when actors worked in their own little bits of business on stage and the director had to pay close attention. It was here Lynch would turn to Dennis and say yeah or nay to something a character did. Dennis would write it down and present it at notes following the rehearsal.

"Mr. Wright, hands in pockets will only get you so far," Lynch would say, reading off Dennis' notes. "But picking your nose is nasty, stop that please."

"Miss Newcomb, pulling on your sleeves and fluffing your blouse are good bits, but not in every scene. If the costume doesn't fit please tell Marsha."

"And Mr. Burton, if you require a larger dance belt please get one. I don't want to see you digging a hole in your pants with all those adjustments you keep making."

"Mr. Fields, watch your hands. Real cowboys don't talk with their hands."

Eddie was rather flamboyant at times, it was not endearing in the show. Lynch's note was politely said, he was not in the least bit homophobic.

The first rehearsal with the lighting put Dennis on the headsets out at the production table. He had spent the afternoon going over cues with Mike and now the two of them were talking Timmy through the show as they ran an Act One rehearsal.

Mike had preset his lighting levels for each dimmer and scene into the computer assisted lighting board. If specials were needed in a scene they were assigned a cue number, but the instrument and intensity were already preset in the board. Now as they ran the lights along with the scenes Mike fine tuned the image and Dennis made notes to adjust the cues.

By now the production was in a frenzy of activity. The set painting continued every day, the rehearsals every night. Dennis was lost in the swirl of activity and Ted became his anchor on reality.

"Take me away, Ted," Dennis said one afternoon when the boy arrived at the theatre.

"Away?"

"Outta here…go anywhere," Dennis said.

They had three hours to rehearsal; Ted took Dennis out to eat. They sat quietly and chewed on their sandwiches, Ted didn't want to disturb the mood. If Dennis wanted someone to unload on he was there, it would happen.

"You know I love most of the gay boys at Cabot," Dennis began, and Ted nodded. "But I don't need the cat fights. Jimmy and Eddie…again."

Eddie had Brandon, Jimmy had no one at the moment so he flirted…with Brandon. That had been a long time ago, but obviously Jimmy wasn't over it. Jimmy and Eddie were on stage together in so many scenes. The body language alone said they hated one another. Fortunately Lynch hadn't picked up on it yet, but he would.

"Jimmy is a close friend, what do I say to him?" Dennis asked.

"What happened to the boy Jimmy had last semester…was it Neil?"

"That was over months ago, Neil left the school during the holiday break, his family moved to San Fran."

"Jimmy and Brandon used to be an item and since Eddie's younger I imagine he's feeling intimidated," Ted said.

"Both dancers, I don't want them to fight it out in the parking lot."

"What does Brandon say?"

"He loves Eddie. He's going back to work for Gina at The Grove just so he can stay close to the boy this summer. That's sweet, but it's going to trash his career objectives if he's not careful."

"Jimmy needs a boyfriend," Ted said.

"That's obvious. Something needs to change; we only have a week until the show opens."

One of Dennis' many chores as stage manager was to tour the dressing rooms before a rehearsal. The actors needed to see his face and learn to respect his authority. It was also a time when they could ask questions, and comment about problems as they saw it.

Marsha and her crew prowled the dressing rooms now that various pieces of costume were being worn in the rehearsals. There were sixty cast members and that made for a crowd lining the make up counters down each wall. Each actor had a mirror surrounded with strong lights, a chair and a three foot wide hanging closet behind them for the costumes.

Jimmy and Eddie were in the same room, albeit at different ends. Unfortunately there was only one door in and out and Jimmy sat near it because he was on stage so much. Dennis was out in the hall when he heard the yells and headed for the dressing room.

"Just stop it you little shit," Jimmy was saying when Dennis came through the door.

Eddie was backed up against the counter with a smirk on his face.

"What's going on?" Dennis asked.

"My place here is not the trash dumpster and this little shit keeps throwing his trash on the counter. I come back from the stage and it looks like a trash can was dumped on my table," Jimmy said.

Dennis looked at Eddie. "Are you dumping trash on Jimmy's place?"

"I may have thrown a few cotton balls there," Eddie said.

Dennis looked at Jack who sat next to Jimmy and the boy imperceptibly shook his head and rolled his eyes, Eddie was lying.

"You know something, Eddie? You have three more years here if you don't get your ass kicked by the end of this one. We need you in this show, you have a commitment to the school, but if you keep disrupting this show I'll be sure to see you don't get cast in another one. You're being childish…stop it." With that Dennis turned and left the dressing room.

Dennis gave it about fifteen minutes before Brandon would corner him and ask what was going on, it would take Eddie that long to find his boyfriend and complain. Jimmy should have come to him, stage managers were the problem solvers, but this was a problem that Jimmy had started.

Ten minutes later Brandon was breathing down his neck. "What did you say to Eddie?"

"I told him to stop harassing Jimmy; he has a responsibility to the show."

"He said Jimmy called him a shit, I ought to take it to Lynch," Brandon said.

"Yeah, he'd like you to. Look, your little buddy is acting the fool here. Dumping trash at Jimmy's station when he's on stage is not going to solve this issue. This has gone way beyond Eddie's little jealousy; it's become a power play. Will you remind him he's a freshman and that picking on seniors is not the way to survive in this school?"

"He says you threatened him," Brandon said.

"And so I did. If we take this to Lynch the boy will never get cast in a show again, he's in a fragile position. So rather than be nice about it I said what I did, he just needs to chill out. Jimmy has enough on his mind without that problem. And you are the main distraction in this case, you need to tell your boy to calm down, Jimmy is no threat. Do that, please."

Jimmy was on stage much of the show, his role as the manager of the Wild West show put him on stage every time Buffalo Bill was there. The character was also instrumental in arranging the shooting contests and so he handled the rifles, it was a big responsibility.

By the weekend John had the set completely under paint and it looked wonderful. Mike had been paying close attention to the paint and had spent time with John discussing colors. The set was all about earth tones and John had used ochre, yellows, deep reds, pinks and pale blue in his color scheme. Mike had to compliment those shades and light the cast without washing out the set.

Sunday the orchestra was introduced to the pit and the cast had another obstacle to overcome. It was easy to take a cue from the piano, finding your pitch from a clarinet was different. But Dennis could tell that Todd had been working his musicians hard. They had four days to get it right.

Monday was their first full technical rehearsal with Brandon sitting backstage right and Dennis beside Lynch at the production table. From here he would call the cues when Brandon told him everything was in place. It was the boy's only opportunity to run the stage for this show, Dennis would take over when they ran their first dress rehearsal.

By the time rehearsal was over Dennis had five pages of notes, the issues never seemed to get fixed. But they were striving for perfection, something to be desired but never achieved. Even thought the cast was focused they were still teenagers, high school students, and thus very fallible.

Tomorrow they would pull off the first dress rehearsal at which Dennis expected more notes, but very few technical glitches. The crew knew its part, now it was a matter of making it second nature. Dennis looked at his pages and shook his head; three of the errors tonight were his own slow calls for lighting cues. He couldn't have that because tomorrow the show became his.

The show had reached a point where the director could do little to change the image; his vision of the show was complete. Lynch seemed satisfied and so Tuesday he sat at the production table alone, well almost. John was there even though his work was essentially done. Ted was there taking notes for the article he was going to write, and Lynch seemed to enjoy their company.

Dennis was perched on a stool stage right, sitting at the stage managers console. The dim blue light that allowed him to read the script also revealed the controls for the intercom that connected him throughout the backstage and dressing room areas. There was a phone with no ringer that would allow for emergency calls if needed and the headphone system that connected him to the control booth, orchestra pit, fly system gallery overhead and stage left positions.

He could see Brandon at his post by the stage left proscenium, and the actors awaiting their cue to enter.

"Conductor in the pit," Timmy said in his ear.

"Thank you," Dennis replied. He leaned over and clicked on the intercom. "Places people…final call for places. Overture has begun."

And the opening strains of the overture filled the theatre. The main drape pull was right beside him and Dennis looked up and saw the crew station on the overhead bridge that controlled the fly system. Theirs was a busy job, and the biggest job they had was assuring the safety of the cast and crew on stage.

Dennis' book now consisted of both the musical score of every song and the script for dialogue. Reading music wasn't one of his accomplishments but he could follow the words, except here in the overture. But he knew the musical moment when the cues began.

"House to half, cue one…go," Dennis said and Annie Get Your Gun was all his.

He remembered watching the fabulous Miss K at this moment in Romeo and Juliet. She always appeared so calm and collected during rehearsal. And yet on opening night he remembered looking across the stage at her and seeing that huge smile, now he understood. Being stage manager was what piloting an aircraft must be like, the high was like nothing else Dennis had ever experienced.

The overture was coming to a close and Dennis turned the page. "Standby house out, cue two." And as the music came to a climactic ending Dennis nodded. "Cue two, execute." Five seconds later came the response he was waiting for. "House out," Timmy said, and Dennis reached for the curtain pull.

Raising the main drape was a slow smooth operation and Dennis watched his hands on the three quarter inch hemp until he saw the first red marker, which went down and under the floor pulley before it started back up. The second red mark appeared and Dennis slowed down until the two marks aligned, this meant the drape was up and out of sight behind the proscenium.

Some stage managers let the fly crew raise and lower the drape, but never a technical student. There was something about revealing the stage to an audience that was thrilling, Dennis wouldn't have it any other way.

"Cue three…go," Dennis said and as the lights came up he watched Betsy make her appearance on stage with that damn big musket in her hands.

By intermission Dennis' black shirt was soaking wet. It was warm backstage but the pressure made him sweat. He brought the curtain down and then ran into the back hallway where he ducked into the costume shop and reached for his backpack. Marsha looked up and smiled.

"That's one," she said with a smile.

Dennis laughed. "They got me going during that act; it might take me three shirts tonight." He changed shirts and threw Marsha a kiss as he flew out the door and ran up the stairs to the dressing room level.

"Fifteen minutes, people…fifteen minutes, please," Dennis announced as he hit the upper hall. He knocked on dressing room doors and yelled fifteen minutes through each of them. Then he scooted down the stairs and walked in backstage left. Here he also announced fifteen minutes, only much quieter.

Brad was standing there with Brandon. "So how does it feel?" Brad asked.

"Good tonight, see anything?" Dennis asked.

Brandon shook his head. "They're being careful, they must be afraid of you."

Dennis stuck out his tongue and Brad laughed. John appeared from the front hallway doors with Ted in tow. Dennis looked over at Brandon. "Would you call ten minutes?" And the boy left to fulfill the request.

"You guys are running fast tonight," John said.

"Yeah, they want to get through it and go home to rest, but it will slow down a bit tomorrow," Dennis said. "I think Todd has a hot date, he seems in the biggest hurry."

John grinned. "I didn't tell you, Vince is coming opening night."

Dennis laughed. "Incognito I hope."

Ted slid up beside him and handed Dennis a juice and a towel. "I can tell, you've been sweating again. It looks good so far."

Dennis nodded, looking across the stage at the wings. "It does, now remember, my last name is spelled K-I-N-G for that article you're writing."

Ted grinned but he could tell Dennis was distracted. "I'm going back to the house; see ya in sixty-five minutes."

Dennis squeezed his hand wishing it was a kiss, but the moment Ted was gone he walked across the stage. Brad had the Act Two opening all set up, the deck of the ship. Once the main drape went up the gangplank would slide off the right front of the stage covering the steps into the house and the actors could make their entrance.

Lynch was standing stage right and Dennis walked over and set his headphones in place.

"Brandon?"

"Yes?"

"I have Lynch over here; would you call five minutes…aw hell, make it places."

"Done deal," Brandon said going off the headset.

Dennis moved the headset down around his neck. "Hello, Doc…trying to find your show?"

Lynch smiled. "I didn't misplace it; I gave it to a worthy successor."

"Thank you, sir," Dennis said.

"Well…I better get back out front, I only have one page of notes," Lynch said.

"Good," Dennis said. "It has to end somewhere."

"It does…thank you, Dennis." He looked out across the stage. "Ethel would be so proud." And he turned to go.

Dennis watched the man leave and realized that this one show held more emotion for Lynch than anything he'd ever done. That 'thank you' had come from the heart and Dennis felt elated.

"Conductor in the pit," Timmy said, and Dennis put his headset back on.

The final dress rehearsal ran flawlessly on Wednesday night. The house held most of the faculty and several hundred students from the school. The rehearsal would be discussed in classes the rest of the week, a teaching tool for the other students at Cabot.

Dennis spent the night at Ted's, the only place he thought he could get any sleep, and he did fall asleep, around three in the morning. Ted got up at five-thirty, padded downstairs in his bare feet to say good bye to his father. It wouldn't do to have the man find Dennis asleep in his bed.

"You're coming tonight to see the musical aren't you?" Ted asked.

His father folded the newspaper and put it down on the breakfast table. "I just finished reading your article, I guess I better. Dennis stayed over last night, how's he doing?"

Ted shook his head. "He feels the pressure, I'm gonna make sure he sleeps until noon."

Ted's father put his hand on Ted's back and gave the boy a pat. "You take care of him very well. Hell, you take care of me too. This house has a lot of love because of you."

Ted didn't know how to take that, did his father know? "I love you too," Ted said, and he gave his father a hug.

"Go on back to bed, son, I'm leaving in a few minutes. Show's at eight?"

"Yes, I'll look for you in the lobby," Ted said.

Dennis was fast asleep as Ted slid back into bed beside him. Noon, he wasn't even going to set the alarm. Tonight would tell Dennis a lot about himself, he was ready for this. Ted smiled, happy that his father had read the article.

"The Cabot Performing Arts High School is presenting one of America's finest musicals starting this week. Annie Get Your Gun is one of the most treasured and often repeated Broadway shows of all time, but this presentation is special.

"The show opened on Broadway in 1946, a year after the end of WWII. The rush to present Americana was on and this was the show that beat them all. Based on the life of the Ohio sharpshooter Annie Oakley, Irving Berlin gave audiences what they wanted to see, including Ethel Merman in the starring role. Ms. Merman revived the show time and again until her death in 1984.

"What makes this Cabot production so very important is the special relationship the director, Dr. Arthur Lynch, has with this show and its biggest star. He was Ms. Merman's close friend for many years. In tribute, the students at Cabot have brought together a stunning production to honor her and the legacy she left us.

"With musical direction by Todd Meriwether, and a novel set design by John Moore, the students of Cabot High School have set a high standard for future productions. This will be the final production for many of the seniors. Marsha Wheeler who has costumed so many fine shows, Dennis King who stage manages and Brad Abrams in charge of scenic construction…"

Ted had everything he could think of in that piece, giving credit where credit was due. He had become more than an impassioned reviewer; it was this right combination of people that had seduced him into loving this production. Dennis was just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the students at Cabot who were committed to their art. Everything he saw only reinforced the respect he had for them all.

Just after eleven Ted awoke and saw Dennis staring down at him.

"You let me sleep late…thank you." And that was followed by a kiss. It would take them a while to get out of bed, passion always started with a kiss. They stood in the shower together and then dressed before walking downstairs to raid the refrigerator.

"Mr. Ted, you want I should fix you some lunch?"

"No, Mamasita…we're still on breakfast time," Ted replied.

And breakfast it was, a large helping of eggs and waffles with a side order of ham slices. Dennis knew he'd better stoke up on the calories now, he might find himself too busy to eat before the show. Ted threw together some ham, turkey and cheese sandwiches, pulled four cans of fruit juice from the refrigerator and placed it all in a cooler.

"I know you, you'll be hungry later," He said.

"Always lookin out for me," Dennis laughed. "Thank goodness someone does."

"You have an intense evening scheduled. Take the cooler and leave it with Marsha, I'll check to make sure you ate something."

They stopped in the front hall for a quick kiss, and then Dennis was gone. Ted went back up to his room to finish some homework and make sure his suit was ready for the evening. They had a long night ahead.

Dennis arrived at the theatre around three-thirty, three hours ahead of schedule. Marsha was there finishing up the laundry.

"What's that…food?" She asked.

"You didn't eat?" Dennis asked.

"Nope, I had to rush in here," Marsha said.

Dennis gave her a sandwich, noticing Ted had made four…how thoughtful. He helped himself to the coffee and took his cup on a tour backstage. Under the work lights everything looked different; the magic moment hadn't arrived yet.

By five o'clock the crew began to arrive. Marsha's people were in the dressing rooms checking costumes and laying out the laundered items. The prop crew was busy setting things out on the tables backstage, only the guns would remain locked up until show time. Timmy was in, the dimmers being checked one at a time.

These were comforting moments to Dennis. Everyone knew their job and the relentless pursuit for excellence continued. In just a few hours there would be an audience and they would have just one chance to capture the imagination of those people. The magic was beginning to take on shape and form.

Laughter resounded in the hallways; the cast had begun to arrive. Theirs was the greatest satisfaction after weeks of hard work. The accolades they received would be their reward, but it had to be earned. The crews knew their own level of satisfaction. They drove the bus, shifted the gears and listened to the well oiled machine hum. A show went nowhere without the techies.

Dennis had worn his class outfit, black head to toe even though he would never appear on stage in a blackout. The uniform was an important part of the edge, the tie spoke of power. Sixty cast members, twenty -three crew members and all of them were Dennis' minions. It was powerful, daunting and the most thrilling moment of his life.

Dennis sat on his stool and turned on his blue lamp. He opened the book on his desk and looked at the yellow envelope inside. He smiled, thinking that Ted had left him some good wishes. He pulled the envelope open and inside was a telegram, something he'd never seen before.

"To Dennis King, Cabot Performing Arts Theatre. Best wishes on your opening night, break a leg. Enjoy the glitter while you can." It was signed Betty.

Dennis stared at the words and felt the emotions well up inside. This meant more to him than anything. What a sweet thing to do…but that was Betty. And he remembered her words from the first time they had met. 'Even when your star shines brightest you don't own the glitter.'

The glory he felt wouldn't last; these were just fleeting moments in time. After ten performances he would be just Dennis King once again, the glitter would fade. But the memory would last; he would chase the stars again and again in life. He would always be thankful to Betty for making him see a very important truth. Life was not about the glitter, it was about the people around him.

Brandon appeared, looking over Dennis' shoulder. "Best wishes…who is Betty?" He asked.

Dennis smiled and folded the telegram. "The wisest person I know. You ready for this?"

Brandon nodded and looked at his watch. "It's call time; you want me to go count the herd?"

"If you would, I'll make the half hour call," Dennis said looking at his watch.

Brandon snapped to attention and saluted. "Aye, aye, Captain."

Half hour was the first timed moment the cast was given. On opening night it was the signal to assemble in the greenroom. Lynch would be there to thank them and give his final words of encouragement. When it was all done Dennis would call out whatever time was left, usually five minutes.

Dennis checked to be sure the main drape was down and the curtain warmers were on. Then he walked through the house and out to the lobby where he found Ted and his father in the crowd of people gathering to watch the show. The doors would be opening in just a few minutes.

"All set to go?" Mr. Cavanaugh asked.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Dennis said. "I'll give you a tour backstage after the show if you'd like."

"I think you should, Dad," Ted said. "Not something you get to see every day."

"OK, you sold me."

Dennis stayed a few minutes and then looked at his watch. "I have to go."

Mr. Cavanaugh shook his hand, Ted gave him a hug, and then Dennis strode down the hall towards the backstage doors.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the house is open, quiet backstage please," Brandon's voice carried throughout the area. The boy was good, he didn't miss much. Maybe there would be time in the next few years to drop in and see Brandon stage manage a show, but Dennis knew he couldn't promise anything.

"Half hour people…half hour. Greenroom if you please," Dennis called to the first group of cast members he saw. He repeated those words in the back hallway, in the dressing rooms and to the few stragglers he found backstage. And when all looked quiet he walked into the greenroom.

The room was already warm from all the bodies packed inside and Dennis slid up beside John who turned and gave him a smile. Lynch stepped into the middle of the room and held up his hands for silence.

"Tonight I see the faces of people I admire very much. You have given me the very best you have, tonight it's your reward out there on the stage. My thanks to you all…you know what this show means to me…she would be very proud.

"It's warm in here so I won't keep you. Statistically there are one hundred and sixteen students performing here tonight, but you are all of one mind. I know your thoughts are tuned to giving our audience the best performance you possibly can."

And here Lynch grinned. "And what are they going to eat?" He asked.

The cast started chanting "peas and carrots…peas and carrots." And then they broke into applause. John nodded and turned to Dennis.

"Peas and carrots?"

Dennis nodded. "It's what chorus members are told to say when they have to provide crowd noise behind a scene. It's a tradition here at Cabot for a director to ask what the audience is going to eat. Just remember, most traditions are silly."

John nodded. "I think its fun."

Lynch was done and Marsha stepped up to say a few words about costumes, then she turned to Dennis. "Five minutes, people…five minutes to places." He said.

It took him all of those minutes to work his way backstage to the desk where Brandon awaited. "I did a headset check, Timmy is on," He said.

"Thank you, Mr. Stevens…shall we dance?" Dennis asked.

Brandon moved across the stage to his station and Dennis leaned down to the intercom. "Places, people…places, please."

"Conductor is in the pit," Timmy said since he had the bird's eye view of the musicians.

"Thank you," Dennis said.

"Dennis?" a voice said on the intercom, it was Angie the house manager.

"Yes, Angie?"

"Can you give us another five? Late arrivals."

"Can do, just keep 'em moving," Dennis replied.

"We're on audience hold for five minutes," Dennis said into his headset.

"Excellent," Timmy said.

Dennis felt a thunk on the top of his head and looked up. The fly crew had dropped a Gummie Bear on him again, Dennis gave them thumbs up and play time was over. Five extra minutes felt like an eternity, maybe Vince had arrived?

"Dennis, all set," Angie called back.

"Thank you," Dennis said and switched channels. "Places…final call for places. Overture is about to begin."

In less than a minute there was a roll of timpani from the orchestra pit and the overture began.

"Timmy, they ought to be settled in by now, let's have house to half, cue one is a go," Dennis said.

The cast was ready, the crew was ready, they needed to get this show on the road or they would be here all night.

"House at half," Timmy said.

The music wound its way through the overture and Dennis saw the cue coming.

"Standby house out…cue two…execute," Dennis said just before the music ended.

He stood up and grasped the rope for the main drape, waiting for the response.

"Blackout," Timmy said, and Dennis pulled on the rope. The second the marks lined up he smiled.

"Cue three…go," Dennis said…and he waited for it.

The lights slowly came up to a wash and he heard it…the gasp from the audience was quickly followed by applause as Becky made her way on stage. This would be a night to remember, and then Dennis quickly erased that thought. The crew of the Titanic must have said the same thing before they hit the iceberg. He wished no bad luck on this show. But things do happen.


On to Chapter Eighteen

Back to Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Index

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Exit Stage Left is © 2010 by Chris James.
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