Life did not end when the most embarrassing thing in my acting career finally happened. I had written the script, directed the actors, rehearsed for weeks then boom the presentation day came. I woke up that morning feeling unsettled, as though something was going to happen. I told myself it was my mind playing tricks on me, but even I did not believe that lie. I knew there was more to it and no matter how I looked at it, something was going to happen. It felt like Deja vu, especially when one of my actors suddenly decided he was no longer coming on the day of the presentation. I could not even get angry because it was beginning to show what my day was going to look like. I started to improvise, my mind in an emergency mood, recalibrating all the acts and scenes, trying to see who I could erase an entire character without changing the story or making many changes in casting.
I finally found a way, and I was happy I did. But then I discovered a terrible oversight, we never rehearsed with costumes. This brought another dilemma, but I knew I could not panic, not yet, it was my show, I was the director, and I must make it work. The reason why costume mattered in this case, was because it was a gospel drama, we were acting in a church with a large congregation watching. I knew something in my guts, we were going to make a mistake. It was becoming inevitable, the question was How much would it be noticed? Now my prayer was simple, let’s not make a gracious mistake. It would be better if we made mistakes only we knew, but I also knew that was too much to ask for. A lot of the actors were first time actors, and I could see their nervousness behind the scenes. I was nervous too, but it wasn't the reason people thought. I was nervous for them. I was part of the drama, but I made sure I was only acting in a single scene which would come up at the end. Enough to watch and correct any mistake.
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Then our names were called, it was time to showcase what we had been practicing for the last three weeks. Immediately my team stepped up on that stage, I saw the first mistake very clearly. It was one so noticeable even by the hierarchy. In a church where decency was everything, the ladies wore mini skirts, I could see the looks on the faces of the pastors. I saw the looks on the faces of the old women. The youth however did not mind, but these set of people did a great deal. I could see some going outside, definitely looking for who authorized this drama, but I did not pay them any mind, in fact, I had already braced myself for what came next. This was expected I said to myself and I would gladly take the heat. The drama however was going well, more than I expected. My actors were on point, to be honest even delivering more than I could have asked for, I could see the determination in their eyes, they really wanted to do this, and they were doing it.
But then the unexpected happened. A variable I never accounted for, it was not a character miss, no one missed their lines, no one forgot to do what they were told, in fact they were almost perfect if only one person did not decide to over act. Behind the scenes, we never talked about how the person who died in the drama would leave the stage. How did I miss that? But then this guy decided to take matters into his own hand, he decided to carry her. But she was too heavy and her clothing was too short. Carrying her became a hassle, until her wardrobe malfunctioned in front of nearly 5,000 people. And suddenly the dead rose up and ran out of the stage. I was next but the whole church was already in an uproar. Being professional, I came in, said my lines and ended the drama. But then, the damage was done, the people would remember the error more than the drama, and the girl would not want to show her face again, at least so I thought, but when it was time for us to bow and go, there she was, close to me, smiling like it never happened. I guess at the end of the day, she was even more courageous than me.
THIS IS MY ENTRY INTO THE INKWELL COMBINED WRITING PROMPT #48
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