Uh uh, big problems at work today. I invited Tommy Carter to the Drama Club after school. Not a good move.
We were doing Shaw’s The Devil’s Disciple and I wanted him to read for Dick Dudgeon. I thought he had the touch of devilishness about him which Dick requires, and I was proved only too right.
He picked up on the character right away and, though he had difficulty holding the accent, I was well pleased with him and secretly pleased with myself for unearthing this rare talent.
After the reading was over I gave everybody their notes and called it quits for the night. We’re not doing the production till end of term, so we’ve plenty of time for rehearsals. Everybody drifted off, apart from Tommy, who helped me by collecting the scripts. He asked me how I thought he’d done, though I’d already heaped praise on him during the notes.
“You have a talent, Tommy,” I confirmed, “But what you do with it is up to you. If you decide to take up acting as a career there’s a long road ahead of you, and lots of hard work.”
He gave a little moue, a la Bruce Willis, and said, “I can do it. I want to do it.”
“So why didn’t you come to the Drama Club in first year, instead of waiting so long? You could have had four years of experience under your belt by now.”
“I had to wait ... for you to notice me.”
He was looking me right in the eye, which I found quite disconcerting.
“Don’t blame it on me, Tommy, you’ve not always been in my class for me to notice you.”
I started stacking the scripts in the cupboard as he passed them to me.
“I thought it would be boring. Shakespeare and stuff, like we do in class....”
“We do Shakespeare in Drama Club. Quite often actually. I’m not offering classic training here, but if you can master a bit of iambic pentameter, you’ll have no fears doing the stuff they churn out nowadays.”
He passed me the last script and his hand lingered against mine. “Thanks for taking an interest, Miss, I really appreciate it.”
He winked at me, picked up his bag, and left.
He winked at me!!!!
Call me a paranoid old bag, but I think a certain Master Carter has a crush on his English teacher.
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