(mod's note: remember these giddy players? They're ba-a-ack!)There was nothing to it. They were running out of money. They had decent crowds at the shows, but all prices were racing up. The electricity bill alone was enough to make her woozy. Of course, there was never enough money. It’s like a theatre troupe was a badly oiled machine bleeding money into every direction! But this was way serious. At this rate, they wouldn’t even make the rent in December. So, Ms Victoria called her trusted advisors, and they started devising a plan.
***
“So. Here’s the deal.” Victoria addressed the whole troop. “We need more money. And I have this brilliant idea how we will do it! We’ll put up a Christmas show!”
“A new show? In the middle of season?”
“Bah! Humbug! We can’t do two shows.”
There was general grumbling among the staff.
“No, no, listen to me. Either you come up with huge savings, which in effect would be your pay, or we ARE doing a Christmas show. But I don’t mean an actual new play. We’ll just sing Christmas songs everyone already knows! The audience loves your singing, you know that.”
“Just Christmas songs? So, it’s more like a concert?” Owen asked.
“Yes! Exactly. Just like a concert!” she reassured him. “Except you’ll be in costume.”
“Costume? From our current play?”
(“We certainly can’t afford any new costumes,” Emile interjected.)
“Mmm, not quite. We were thinking that you Owen would be Santa.”
“Santa? As in 'old guy in a red jacket and white beard'?”
“Yes… and a nice chair where the children can tell you what they want for Christmas.”
“Absolutely not!” Owen looked horrified.
“Well, you have the voice for it, and the build, at least in comparison with these two,” she was pointing at Owen’s stick-thin cousin Lawrence, and the lanky and tall Rowan.
“I. Don’t. Do. Children.”
“This”, Michael commented with a smirk, “will be considered a good thing. Even a prerequisite for the role, I should think.”
Owen sputtered. “I didn’t mean that I don’t… I am not… You know what I mean! I won’t do it!”
“As for you, Lawrence…”
“No.”
“Come on, you don’t even know what I was going to suggest!”
“I know it would be something stupid. Or weird. So, no.”
“How about being an elf?”
“Elves are stupid.”
“A reindeer? You know, like Rudolf?”
“Reindeers are weird. Especially if they have a shiny nose.”
“You do realize everyone has to pitch in? There must be something you can agree to?” Lucky was trying to coax Lawrence to cooperate.
“Hmm… I can be a tree.”
“You can be a… tree? Um, how’s that…” Lucky was confused.
“There are songs about Christmas trees! It will work fine!” Victoria was determined to make this work, and if Lawrence Hotchingson singing Christmas songs required him appearing as a tree, then so be it.
“So, you’ll be a Christmas tree,” Lucky concluded.
“Hmph. OK. You can put some ornaments on me. But nothing weird!”
“Oh yes, some lovely ornaments,” Emile hummed dreamily, “and candles!”
“Not live candles, Emile. We don’t want to burn him. Or the building.”
After some back and forth, it was agreed that Michael would play Santa in the wishing chair, and everyone made him promise that he would NOT sing. Owen had agreed to be a reindeer, and Lawrence was the tree. This left them with a problem. Rowan would make a wonderful and extremely helpful elf but there was only one of him.
“We really should have at least three elves! Santa and his elf, that just doesn’t work!”
“Um, perhaps I can help?,” Emile offered.
“Yes, you actually can. But even then, we have only two!”
“No, I was thinking… I have three young cousins who love attention. And Lawrence and Owen’s singing. So, maybe I could ask if they would agree to play the elves?”
“We don’t have any money to pay extras.”
“I think I might be able to get them to come for free. They often beg me to take them along when I go to work. The glittering world of the stage and all!”
“Oh, brilliant! That’s a deal then. Can you ask them to bring their own elf costumes?”.
***
Jitter's note: And here the curtain closes on the Victorious Company and we leave them with their preparations. It will certainly be a magnificent show! After all, what could possibly go wrong?Heh. What indeed? Follow this story with
Act 2! and
Act 3 - Finale 
