Ounce has a minion!

Drama the Keetenzlai

break a leg

Glancing at the mirror in front of him, Ounce took one last look at himself, enjoying the leaves and berries intertwined in his short, curly hair, the white designs painted in makeup on his bare chest, and his forrest-green linen breeches with green and brown chiffon leaves sewed on. Seeing how magical he looked, Ounce sighed quietly; it was like this on the closing night of all shows. Much of his time from the past for months had been spent as Puck, from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and he wasn’t ready to abandon the character. Nor was he ready to leave the rest of the cast members whom he’d grown extremely close to. A voice backstage called out “Five minutes to places!” and Ounce dutifully replied “Thank you five minutes” with the rest of the cast who were spread throughout the dressing rooms, the shop area, and the wings.

Despite the quickened pace of his heart and the small butterflies fluttering in his stomach, Ounce only felt excitement, not nervousness. He knew he still had an act to wait before he got to enter and play his part but he couldn’t contain the exhilaration. Finally, a voice called out “Places everyone!” which was met by “Thank you places!” from the actors and actresses who by now were almost all waiting in the wings already. Finally, a slight squeaking noise and a short musical intro heralded the raising of the curtain. Theseus entered from stage right with Hippolyta and Philostrate in tow and said, in a deep, booming voice “Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour draws on apace.” Ounce broke his attention away from the action to hold some brief whispered conversations with the fairies who were waiting in the left wing like he was, but snapped back to attention when he heard Quince say “At the duke’s oak we meet” and Bottom’s reply. It was finally his time.

As the traditional smattering of applause dwindled, Ounce took one lithe step out onto the stage and then another and another. He walked almost on his toes and placed his bare feet quietly on the wood so that he seemed to move soundlessly. Across the stage, he saw a fairy enter dressed in an orange, yellow and coral colored silk and chiffon dress with autumn leaves pinned in her auburn hair. “How now, spirit? Whither wander you?” he asked in his smoothest, most enticing voice. Ounce let go and lost himself in the role as he did every show. He wasn’t repeating memorized lines, he was living in the moment, giving the sensible responses to questions and situations. He was Puck. Intermission flew by him, and he was still lost in the character. Finally, as the play grew to a close, Ounce’s inner self regained consciousness to deliver the last lines of his final monologue: “So good night unto you all. Give me your hands if we be friends, and Robin shall restore amends.”

After the final bows had been taken and the rounds of applause had been given, Ounce headed back to the dressing rooms to change out of his gorgeous costume for the last time. He could feel liquid welling up in his eyes but was determined not to show anyone else how sad he was to be done with the show. Stop it. There will be other shows. Other characters. And you’ll probably even have some of the same people in the cast. You’ll be fine, he reminded himself. He unpinned the leaves from his hair, stripped off his breeches and put on his pair of worn out jeans. After a few minutes of scrubbing, the somewhat intricate designs on his chest were gone and he donned a plain white t-shirt.

Ounce checked the billboard in the shop area to check what time strike was going to be and then headed out the side door to the theatre. Standing there he saw a peculiar lilac ferret with messy hair and a white and grey canine whose clothing looked quite expensive. Ounce tilted his head to the side slightly with confusion; most cast members didn’t go out the left side door so there was no reason for these two peculiar strangers to be waiting here.
“You did wonderfully, Ounce!” the ferret cried out after a few moments of awkward silence. Ounce was taken aback, but recovered quickly and remembered his name was in the program all the audience members had been given.

“Errr, thanks,” he replied, still slightly aprehensive. His gaze flicked back and forth between the beaming ferret and the quiet canine who just stood there staring at him with his mouth slightly agape. “Can I help you with something?”
“No, we just wanted to say congratulations! And...”
“And what?”
“And offer you a role in an upcoming production of The Phantom of the Opera an acting company is putting on in a theatre in Veta Lake.” Ounce couldn’t suppress his surprise. No one had ever thought him good enough to actually solicit him to try out for their play. And it’s in Veta Lake... I’ve never visited there before and it would be nice to have some change of scenery, Ounce mused.