“That’s it,” Chuck cried. “That’s the quality I want.”
A pretty local girl, Mary Hopkins, who was playing the part of the maid, Dora, didn’t come in on her cue. Everyone looked at her as she nervously rattled her papers, looking quite lost.
“That’s your cue, Mary,” Chuck said patiently. “Miriam says, ‘We can use anybody we can get,’ and you enter.”
“I don’t see it,” Mary replied helplessly.
“Right here.” Rita was sitting beside her and pointed it out. “Anybody we can get.”
“But that’s not the whole line—oh, I see.” Mary blushed.
“We’re using sides, Mary,” Chuck said kindly. They were half sheets of paper bound like a small pamphlet. “I have the master script here with the whole play, but you’ll find only about four or five words of the preceding speech printed on your sides. You can fill in the other words if you find it easier.”
Peggy gave Mary an understanding smile. She had been busy writing in speeches herself, as she found the short sides difficult to work from. Peggy liked to think of the play as a whole, but she knew that some actors worked better from short cue lines, and that for stock, with so many different parts to learn each week, sides were often faster.
Rita read the part of the mother with assurance and humor. She made a perfect partner for Howard Miller, and one could tell that she was used to this type of part. Miriam made her exit, and then Ruth appeared for a short scene with her father and mother. Before her next cue, Peggy had time to examine, with a certain fascination, their leading lady.
Alison Lord had arrived that morning, making a grand and breathless entrance at exactly nine A.M. Her luggage was still stacked in the patio, and peering at it, Peggy raised her eyebrows. “And I thought I had a lot!” She wondered how many costumes Alison expected to wear on stage, but judging by the stunning outfit she was wearing for rehearsal, Alison must intend to dress as glamorously off stage as on. Her bright auburn hair was caught up under an eye-catching sun hat of fringed red straw. The color exactly matched the sleeveless blouse she wore over a beautiful pair of beige, basket-weave slacks. With her enormous straw bag, gay sandals, and dark glasses, she looked like a visiting star. And a really beautiful girl underneath all that, Peggy thought, noticing the careful make-up that enhanced Alison’s features.