Nicholas at Auditions

Nicholas was auditioning for his next production.

His theater group was just about ready to debut Gore Vidal's The Best Man in a tiny little auditorium at a local high school.

He could have secured a better space, but it would have been outside Rome, and that was the same as doing a production in Tanzania.

If you weren't doing something in Rome, you might as well not be doing it.

The stress over the production and the impending auditions led him to do something rather rash less than twenty-four hours earlier.

He had made love to a stranger.

They met at a local bar, and when they got to talking it was revealed that they had a shared interest in theater. The other man was new to town, and had absolutely no idea who Nicholas was--this was appealing.

Back to Nicholas' house they went, where they proceeded to go at each other for several hours only to fall onto Nicholas' kitchen floor--your guess is as good as mine or theirs as to how that happened--exhausted and giddy.

The other man's name was--

NICHOLAS: Ritchie. That's a cute name.
RITCHIE: I'm a cute guy.
NICHOLAS: Are you a cute actor?
RITCHIE: I can be. But I can also be a real bitch. Why? Are you a director?
NICHOLAS: I am now.
RITCHIE: Where?
NICHOLAS: I just started my own company. The Nicholas Bennington Group.
RITCHIE: Cool. Maybe one day we'll work together.
NICHOLAS: Well we're actually having auditions tomorrow, and since you've already climbed onto the casting couch--

Ritchie laughed but inched away slightly.

RITCHIE: Thanks, but I already have a job here in town.
NICHOLAS: Where?
RITCHIE: Potter's Theater. I'm their new resident actor.

The position Nicholas was fired from a few months earlier.

NICHOLAS: That's great.

He chose not to share this with Ritchie...not yet.

ETHAN: Are you ready to begin?
NICHOLAS: I'm never ready.

Ethan was Nicholas' new right-hand man. Ethan had been Nicholas' intern at Potter's Theater and they had stayed in touch over the years. When Nicholas went off to start his own company, he called Ethan right away, and Ethan--who had been working at a law firm doing workthat would make 80% of the population kill themselves--promptly accepted the position.

ETHAN: What show did you see last night?
NICHOLAS: Oh, that piece of crap at the Minx. Something about iguanas.
ETHAN: Bless the Frogs and Toads.
NICHOLAS: Right, that.
ETHAN: So it was bad?
NICHOLAS: It was worse. It was boring. I found myself reciting the alphabet to make the time go by.
ETHAN: Anybody good in the show we could steal?
NICHOLAS: No, Trevor has no head for casting. He just uses whoever he wants to fuck.
ETHAN: And you?
NICHOLAS: I cast people I've already fucked.
ETHAN: On that note, let the auditions begin.

Within the first hour, they saw twenty-five people.

ACTOR: Hi, I'll be doing a monologue from Hamlet.
ACTRESS: Hi, I'll be doing Ophelia from Hamlet.
ACTOR: Hi, I'll be doing Claudius from Hamlet.
ACTRESS: I'll be presenting Gertrude from William Shakespeare's masterwork--
ACTOR: Hamlet.
ACTRESS: Hamlet.
ACTOR: The Imaginary Invalid.
NICHOLAS and ETHAN: Really?
ACTOR: Actually, let me just do Hamlet.

Nicholas wanted to kill a small child by feeding it to a wolverine.

NICHOLAS: Don't they teach anything else in school these days?
ETHAN: This isn't exactly a cultural hub, Nick. It's Rome, New Hampshire.
NICHOLAS: But we're not even doing a classical piece. We're doing The Dazzle. It's contemporary! It's Richard Greenberg for godsakes!
ETHAN: We could reuse some people from The Best Man.
NICHOLAS: Those idiots? Are you kidding? They're theatrical left-overs.
ETHAN: Well until we get a good reputation behind us, that's who we're going to get.
NICHOLAS: That little twit Lili doesn't seem to be having any trouble getting people.
ETHAN: Well it's easier to get people to do The Tempest than some obscure play nobody's ever heard of!

Ethan was the only one allowed to talk to Nicholas like this, because Nicholas needed to be brought down occasionally. Usually he'd still put up a good fight, but he could feel himself beginning to doubt his choice.

NICHOLAS: I want to do stuff that matters. Relevant pieces!
ETHAN: You can be relevant after you're rich. When you're poor, you cater to the masses!
NICHOLAS: And that includes actors? You want me to cast tater tot thespians?
ETHAN: If that's what it takes!
NICHOLAS: God I wish someone would take the community out of community theater.
ETHAN: Is that what we're here to do?
NICHOLAS: No, but that's sure as hell where we're headed unless--

Nicholas had a spark of genius.

NICHOLAS: Get me a phone.

He knew that a good director could draw in good actors, but he'd need a pretty big name to get talent through the door. And it was that idiot Lily who gave him an idea.

Her mentor was one of the biggest names in town.

ALEX: No way.
NICHOLAS: Alex, you love this play. You've told me you love this play.
ALEX: Which is why I'll buy tickets to it just like everybody else.
NICHOLAS: I don't need you in the seats. I need you in the director's chair.
ALEX: Why don't you direct it?
NICHOLAS: I would, but people hate me.
ALEX: I hate you.
NICHOLAS: I'm willing to ignore that if you'll come help me.
ALEX: You just want to take a jab at Lili.
NICHOLAS: Yes, but I also want good actors and you can bring them to me.
ALEX: And what do you think Lisa the Artistic Hitler would say about this?
NICHOLAS: She can't stop you from directing somewhere else, only acting somewhere else.

Alex realized this was true, and he had always wanted to tackle directing.

Upsetting Lisa was just the frosting on the cake.

But Lily had already asked him to direct and he said no. If he said yes to Nicholas, Lili might never speak to him again...

ALEX: When do we start?

Before leaving the school, Nicholas saw a young man sitting outside the auditorium.

NICHOLAS: I'm sorry, who--?
RITCHIE: Forget me already?
NICHOLAS: Ohhh hello. Sorry, you had your back to me.
RITCHIE: Familiar position for us, no?
NICHOLAS: So I'm guessing you didn't come for a second date?
RITCHIE: Did you trick me into sleeping with you as some sort of weird revenge on me taking your old job?
NICHOLAS: No, but I have to admit, I find the irony delicious.
RITCHIE: If Lisa finds out--
NICHOLAS: So, don't let her.
RITCHIE: I was going to say she might want me to be a double agent and give me a raise.
NICHOLAS: Would you do it?
RITCHIE: I'd consider it. Do you want to grab a drink?
NICHOLAS: Sure. I like a little danger.
RITCHIE: Any preferences?
NICHOLAS: As long as you don't do Hamlet when we get there.

A thought popped into Nicholas' head.

We'll just see who you end up working for...