“You’re perfect for it.” Keira’s eyes light up as she looks me over like she’s envisioning me in the role. “There’s a lot of time Desdemona’s off stage, enough that you can still direct. And when Mia comes back, she’ll be able to take over her role. And if she doesn’t, you’re a performer.”
“I don’t—” I cut myself off. I need to think this through. Not just dismiss it because it doesn’t fit what I was thinking.
Of course I know all the words and staging. I know what we’ve tried to do with every step of her characterization, but would that translate into how I would do this role? How would I direct myself differently?
But in this case, I would have play the character Mia and I created for her. Because if she does come back, the transition has to be flawless. So seamless no one could tell the difference.
“You can do this, EvanAnn.” Keira steps back. “When you need to make notes on a scene, we’ll have Jason step in, but he can’t perform on stage as Desdemona.”
“What are you afraid of, Evan?” Cam’s voice carries.
I turn to look at him. Still trying to wrap my head around it. Could I do it? Yes. But, should I?
“It’s a valid option. You’re an actor. You know this thing inside and out. No one would do justice to the role like you would.” Cam grins.
“We’ll know better if Mia will be back by tech week.” Keira touches my arm. “We make the big decision then.”
The big decision, meaning who will perform. The actor who missed two to three weeks of rehearsal or the one who just stepped into the role two weeks prior.
“This may not be necessary,” I say. “Mia could be back at school this week.”
“But we should give our play the best shot, and why waste two or three rehearsals waiting to hear when we could have you learning the part better?”
Keira’s right.
I take a deep breath and glance at Cam. “I’m not going to have time to tutor you anymore.”
Cam holds up his books. “Doing fine, goody. Make your production shine. You’ve got us in your corner. We’ll support you how you need us to.”
I release my breath and get to work.
I havethe script out on the dining room table, verifying the places I need to make any changes when Damon sits in the chair next to mine. He takes my left hand and kisses my knuckle above their ring.
I glance up at him, and he smirks.
We haven’t done the PDA thing in front of our parents before and apparently, Damon wants to. I don’t know how I feel about it. How comfortable I’ll be with it.
“Why are we working at the dining room table?” he asks, releasing my hand. He cocks an eyebrow at my script.
I straighten and meet his eyes. “With Mia gone, I’m down a lead. My understudy was for Hawk, which is Jason, and while he does a fine Desdemona, it’s not really the look I was going for.”
Damon chuckles. “I imagine not.”
“So for the time being, I’m stepping into the role.”
He touches my cheek and sparks light beneath his fingers. “You’ll be amazing.”
I blush. “I hope so, but I have to make sure there’s nothing that needs to be shifted. And I won’t be able to give notes as well for the scenes I’m in.”
“Evan, you can do this. There are directors who act in their own films.”
“Yes, but they have replays to watch. I usually watch as it’s happening. I guess Keira could give me notes.”
“Film it.”
My mouth opens and then closes because he has a point. I can do dailies. I could watch while we go onto the next scene or during breaks.
“You’re a genius.” I lean in and kiss him, barely a peck, but it warms me.
