Surviving Retirement

"I've been waiting for you. Abby, how were we?"

"I just got through telling Joe that I was jealous that it wasn't me on the stage with you. The two of you were just great. I wouldn't change a thing that you do, but I have a suggestion for Joe to consider. I'll tell him when we get back."

Cindi turned to me and asked the same thing.

I replied, "Honestly, I saw a little bit of rust that will be gone by tomorrow night. More importantly, how do you feel and how did Megan and Bob feel about it?"

"Megan and I both agree that there were a couple of rusty spots. Bob was so over the top, he couldn't wait to get Megan in bed. Now I need someone to help me unwind."

I looked at Abby and said, "I was going to stay in the camper..."

"Not on your life. We will both take care of her. I told you that we used to take care of each other on the road. Sometimes it was a guy, sometimes a girl, and sometimes it was one of each. You take the bottom half and I'll take care of her up here." She leaned in and kissed Cindi on her lips and Cindi didn't even flinch.

September 3, Week 18, At the college

Things are changing here. I can't yet say for better or worse, but things are changing. Cindi broke up with her boy friend. I hope that sticks and she moves on. She has too much going for her to be held back by an idiot like him. The relationship between Abby and Cindi got bolder and I think better. The big thing though was in the change in Abby and my relationship.

The night after our opening night, Abby and I slept with Cindi to reduce her stress. In the morning, I went down to get a carafe of coffee for us. When I got back, Cindi was gone. Abby said that she went to breakfast with Megan and Bob. Abby told me to pour us each a cup and sit on the bed next to her. For the record, she was topless, but had the sheet pulled up above her waist. I was wearing my shorts and a tee shirt.

I opened the conversation by asked if she wanted to tell me about last night. She responded by telling me that she went to New York after she graduated from college with big dreams and wide eyes. She was fortunate because she got cast in a play her first week there. She worked steadily for a couple of years, but never quite making enough money to support herself in New York. As most actors did, she had a roommate or two. Usually it was with another girl or two but once she lived with a boy friend who she thought she would marry. However, when he got cast in a touring play, he disappeared and she had to get over her sadness alone.

Six months later, she was cast in her first touring show. It was a musical and the tour group was twenty performers and another ten technical crew people. They would recruit background people and crowds from local sources. The traveling group got fairly close to each other and only occasionally got close to the locals since they usually went home each night. They usually did eight or nine shows in seven days and each performer had one day off. They usually took two or three days to travel between cities. Her paycheck wasn't much larger than it had been, but with room and board being provided, she had actually been able to save a good portion of her check. It was during this tour that she first began sleeping with other girls. As she had said, it wasn't about emotional bonding as much as human contact and sexual release. She came to enjoy it, but still considers herself basically straight. After this second tour, she decided that she needed to put down some roots and took this job at the college.

Then she refilled our coffee cups and asked me what I was expecting. She asked, "The girls told me that you were separated from your wife, but that was all they knew. Can you tell me what is going on with you?"

I knew that with her, I needed to tell her the whole story. Her attitude was accepting and understanding and I felt a maturity in her that wasn't there yet in Megan and Cindi. I told her the story and only left out what company we had owned and the amount of money involved. She listened carefully and patiently and I could tell that she understood at least some of the depth involved.

When I finished, she said simply, "I think that you two made a wise choice. I will enjoy having you in my life for a year." I asked her what she meant.

This is more or less what she said. "For the past ten years, I have been around performers. We understand each other. We also had our crew and we couldn't do what we do without them. But I have never had a support crew in my personal life except my parents. One of the things that I didn't say was that I was never cast as the primary lead in the plays I did; I was always the second female lead. I got reviewed of course, but never in the lead paragraph; I was always mentioned in the last half of the review. I am thirty one and I will never be the "star," but I am content in what I have done and my role in the overall scheme of things." She sipped her coffee before continuing.

"My need to put down roots is very real and this job looked like a gift from heaven. The problem is that I have never done this before. I have directed a couple of small things, but nothing like the scale of what I need to do here. In short, I have the experience and skills to do half of what I need to do. I am on a one year contract and at the end of this year, I want them to offer me a full-time position to continue building this program. That is what I want; those are the roots I want. You are part of this gift; you provide all of the experience and skills that I don't have. I need you to help me reach my dream. In return, I think I can help you reach your dream. I want us to be working partners as well as lovers. I would like to think that our run might be extended after this tour but if not, I will be content and happy. Will this make you happy?"

I thought about that for a moment and realized that it would make me very happy. The only thing was that I couldn't promise her anything more than the rest of the year. When I told her that, she smiled and said, "That is all I can ask for now. Come here lover." I hate to admit this, when Ellen and I made love, it wasn't just sex; it was a melding of two bodies, minds, and souls and we became one. I felt this same sensation with Abby. It wasn't about me; it was about us and I loved it. There was no demanding or wanting; it was giving and sharing. For better or worse, I am in another relationship until at least May 1.

The Saturday and Sunday shows were exactly what Cindi and Megan were capable of and Abby was even more thrilled. I slept with Abby both nights and we made love each night. One night Cindi was with us and watched; the other night she stayed with the musician. She thought he was cute.

Over breakfast this morning, the six of us talked about getting back to school in time the next day. It was Abby who suggested that I ride back with her and that Bob drive the camper after they loaded up. If they left around eleven, they would be there at one. They could all come to the house and stay and we could all get to class on time. Part of me wanted to say no because I needed to take care of my responsibilities to the girls, but when I looked at Bob, I saw a man who was eager take on this responsibility and support his lover. When I saw that, I agreed; he was ready to take of my job and I needed to focus on my new one. I would support him and he would take care of the girls.

Abby and I left shortly after lunch for the two hour drive. It started simply enough with her handing me the keys to her car and kissing me like lovers do. We were now a couple. As we drove, she told me that she and Cindi had a talk while they were packing. Cindi suggested that they swap rooms at the house. That way Cindi would be on the first floor and could more easily be involved with the students who were at the house and Abby and I could go upstairs and get away from everyone.

I nodded because I had already tried to figure out how to make that happen. When we got home, we moved Abby's clothes into my bedroom. When Cindi moved her things downstairs, Abby and I would move the unpacked things into that room and use it as a study. That night, Abby cooked dinner for two and we went to bed early and spent a long time exploring each other. I heard the camper arrive at about 1:30 and got dressed to help them get inside and settled for the night. Bob and Megan said that everything had gone very smoothly and there were no problems at all. I was expecting that and congratulated Bob. He beamed with pride.

It was surprising how easily Abby and I worked out our schedules. She had a ten o'clock acting class along with one and three o'clock classes. Four o'clock would be the start of rehearsal time when the productions started. I didn't have a rigid schedule, but we went in together at nine after a nice quiet breakfast. She went to class and I went about taking care of my business. We would meet at noon for lunch, usually in the faculty dining room and then go our separate ways for the afternoon.

One of the first things we agreed on was a schedule for the fall musical which turned out to be Guys and Dolls. I had heard of it, but had never seen it. Abby explained that it was a period musical set in the '20s or '30's. It wasn't one of her favorites, but it had been selected the prior year because there were a lot of men available in the music department. There were only two main women's roles although there were several other women involved. She would hold auditions during the third week and I would promote that. After auditions and call backs, she would work out the rehearsal schedules when we knew what the student's schedule were. During the second week over lunch one day, she asked me if I would consider being the stage manager for the production. Having never done that before and not knowing what was needed, she told me that for the early portion, it would be to attend rehearsals and take notes. Then when things came together, I would be in charge of everything. She said that she would assign a student to help me during that phase. I saw no conflicts, so I agreed.

September 17, Week 20, At the college

This will probably be a short report. So much has been going on, but few things stand out as noteworthy. School has started and now I am remembering the excitement the students bring to a campus. This time, I am an adult though. Their enthusiasm is contagious, but I can also see their lack of experience showing through. I am mostly around the Fine Art Department kids and I can see how vulnerable many of them are. Romances are started and ended within a week. Hardly a day doesn't go by that there isn't a world ending drama going on somewhere.

Cindi moved downstairs and settled in. Megan half way moved into the bedroom next to her. Her roommate had developed a habit of having her boy friend of the moment stay overnight with her and Megan couldn't study there. On those nights she stayed with us. As a result, Bob was there almost every evening, but he didn't stay over except on weekends. Cindi had one more drama with her ex. He tried to get her to go out with him again and when she refused, he got pissed off and started yelling at her. I had to forcibly take him to his car and tell him that he wasn't welcome here anymore. He left, got drunk, and tried to crash a fraternity party. They beat him up and he dropped out of school the next day and moved back home. That night Cindi slept between Abby and I again.

Abby held the first round of auditions this week and I found it interesting to see all of the different types of people and different talents that showed up. Abby was very professional with them even if they had little talent. She knew that to destroy a young dream was wrong. Some kids would naturally find other outlets to fulfill their dreams while others would develop slowly over time. In the end, Cindi was cast as Adelaide. Megan would have been perfect for Sarah, but couldn't audition because she was preparing for an opera showcase to be held two weeks after our production. There was a little grumbling about Cindi being cast but for the most part, everyone knew that she was right for the part.

It was during this time that we began having a regular stream of students come over on Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed having them there. I would get a large number of burger patties and hot dogs to have available and Abby would make a big pot of beans and potato salad. No one went home hungry.

This coming week, rehearsals start in earnest.

I did what Abby told me to do. I had a script and it appeared to be just words. As she gave directions for how the scene was to play out, I wrote it down. Slowly a picture began to build in my head of what the scene would look like. I could see the props and the settings. It was beginning to come to life for me. After our first read through which she held very loosely by having the actors just move around in ways that felt natural, I could almost envision the entire play in all of its detail. By the end of the first week, I realized something very important. In my life, I had started something new many times. Once I set things in motion, it took weeks or months to come to life. People who didn't know each other became co-workers and then friends. Procedures that felt awkward at first were refined over time. But here in the theater, all of this was happening in minutes and hours rather than weeks and months. We were creating a whole universe of people, places, and things that in about six weeks the world would get to see and enjoy. Nothing like that had ever taken place in my life so quickly before.

October 1, Week 22, At the college

I think that we are gods! Not literally, but what we are doing is actually creating a world. Two weeks ago, Abby handed me a copy of the script. I saw a book which had a bunch of words in it. The words weren't even descriptions; they were just people talking. I read it and wondered what you could do with this. Then I watched Abby start to work. She described the place, the time, and the people involved. One of the first things that happened was that she turned a bunch of Washington kids into slang talking New Yorkers. I remember her telling them that New Yorkers don't talk with their mouth almost closed and just moving their lips. They opened their mouth and talked widely. They didn't care if someone a mile away heard them. By the end of the week, the guys were street punks. I watched her lead them though the scenes and work out their movement and timing of entrances and exits. By the second week, we had turned the empty stage into a brick alleyway and were working on making a room for the Bible study center and also for the night club. We went from a book with some words to a New York alley in two weeks. Cindi wasn't Cindi anymore; she was the pouting and pleading Adelaide. It was marvelous to watch this transformation take place.

I started asking Abby about what she was doing and more importantly, why. She patiently explained to me the acting process of putting on the character like a coat. Then she told me something that I would never have guessed. Using Cindi as an example, she said that she let Cindi find the Adelaide inside herself. Cindi knew how that felt and where it came from, but she could not see nor would she ever see herself as she created those moments. That is what the director did.

Abby would watch Cindi closely as Adelaide and leave her alone until she did something that wasn't Adelaide. Then she would step in and tell her what was out of place and they would work out away to change it. I guess that I thought that a director just set the stage and told the actors what to do like I had done as an employer. She really is the eyes of the actor and she must convey to them what they really look like. Some argue with her, but they inevitably lose.

The hard part was making the humor of the play come through. She repeated a dozen times that to be funny on stage, you had to approach the scene very seriously. If Cindi just said her lines to be funny, they wouldn't work. But if she felt like a girl in love who wasn't being given the love back, her laments and words took on a whole different meaning and the audience would see it as funny. A couple of the guys kept trying to be a parody of their character and she had to have several hard talks with them about that.

Besides the rehearsal, everything else is coming together too. The costumer was almost half complete as was the set decorator. I held weekly meetings with all of the people to address any problems which we quickly resolved. I began meeting with the light people. Abby had provided a light map for each scene and he quickly laid out which light should go where to achieve the desired result.

One night, Abby mentioned concern about sound. The two men and Cindi could hold their own with broad area microphone coverage, but the girl playing Sarah had a softer and weaker voice. The school didn't have a wireless mike station unfortunately and they were quite expensive. Miraculously, a control station and four mikes miraculously were delivered to the Head of the Department on Friday after I visited with the sound warehouse in town. The man there said that if one lead was on mike, they all should be so that their voices could be balanced.

The Department Head tried to find out who sent them over, but never did find out. She finally gave up when she realized that this would also be beneficial for both the music and theater departments. She gave them to me and told me to keep tight control over them. Abby was excited and spent half of a rehearsal working with each of the leads on how to use them.

We also got the website up and running along with posters around campus and around town. I arranged for the local and school newspapers to also run articles about the musical to promote it and we began getting reservations. During this week, I looked through the historical files to see what the sales of tickets had been in previous years. When I created a spreadsheet, I discovered something that bothered me. I will try to talk to Abby about this tonight or tomorrow. Now we need to get hamburgers on.

We finally got to bed late that night. A bunch of kids stayed late asking Abby about a play they were studying in an English class. I decided to hold off talking to her until breakfast. Then I laid out the recent history of the theater productions. Our theater sat 250 people. Based on recent history, we would get around 75 people for evening performances during the week and between 125 and 150 people on weekends. Based on rather low ticket prices, we needed to average about 125 people every night to break even.

She explained several things. The variable audience during the week was expected. The main thing was that some plays like Guys and Dolls are now fairly dated and were hard sells. The music wasn't well known to most people and the story didn't resonate with modern people. That was why she wanted to do South Pacific in the spring. Everyone knew the music and the story fit into the feelings of nostalgia. I asked if we could do anything else to promote it and get more bodies in the door. She said that there wasn't anything else they could do with the production itself because of contractual limits, but if I could think of anything to promote it or enhance it, she would be fine with it.

That got my head churning and my first visit that morning was with the Art Department. The teacher of the first year students loved the idea and agreed to work up some designs to look at. Then I went to the culinary school and talked to them and they also liked the idea. I ran the idea through the Department Head and she loved it and said to go with it. Now I went to a local rental company and arranged to rent thirty small table and chairs like I had found for Cindi and Megan. The price wasn't prohibitive and I told them to deliver them the day before our opening.