“But I thought it was moved to tomorrow,” Louise said.
“There was a conflict in schedules and we got bumped to today. Go down to the theater with Mr. Howe.”
He held up his hand to check them and stepped into 502. “Behave!” Mr. Howe growled at his class. “I’ll get a full report, so don’t think I won’t know.”
With that warning, he led them downstairs. The twins followed, exchanging glances that spoke volumes. The flying instruction was a full day affair. Jillian was better at lying but she was going to be strapped into a harness and suspended from the ceiling all day. Louise would have to be the one to call Lain.
* * *
The flying instructor was a giant. He towered over the twins and was nearly a foot taller than even Mr. Howe.
“I’m Rob Noble. I’m with Flights of New York. In the next two days I’ll teach you how to operate the equipment and help you choreograph the entire play. I’ve done hundreds of productions of Peter Pan, so I know the characters and I know the scenes. I can give you complete blocking instructions or I can just make suggestions. This is your production, not mine. Today we’ll get you comfortable at flying and then choreograph everything but the fight on the Jolly Roger.”
He held a harness that was a belt with wide suspenders and straps that looped through the legs. The reinforced back had one large ring. “We’ll be using these flying harnesses, and only them. Safety is very important, so never try to hook the wire to something like a belt or a piece of clothing and expect it to hold. The harness goes under a costume. It can’t be dyed or painted, because that might weaken the material. You’ll want a T-shirt on under it; you don’t want it up against your skin. Stage manager?”
Louise put up her hand when she realized he was asking who was acting in that position.
“Okay. Before any practice or performance, it’s your responsibility to check the harness for wear. If it looks like it’s fraying or breaking in any way, you have to tell your teachers that it can’t be used. I’m leaving lots of spare harnesses with your teachers, so don’t try to jury-rig something. Do you understand?”
Louise nodded.
“I will be double-checking the equipment too.” Mr. Howe said.
“The more eyes on it, the better.” Mr. Noble pointed to a dangling rope. “Yesterday we installed the equipment and tested it. This here is called a flying wire.” He took out a flashlight and pointed it up to the ceiling to show where it connected and then followed its path down to a complex set of pulleys and cams. “It’s controlled by what we call a lift line. It used to be that for every flyer, you would need one or two humans on this line. We now have these robots that we will be programming in the choreography. It will be a little tedious, so you have to be patient, but once we have the movement entered, it’s actually easier and safer for the flyers.”
He tucked away the flashlight. “Who is Peter?”
“I am.” Jillian moved up to lean against Louise.
The instructor did a double take. “Oh! Twins! I think you’re going to be the smallest Peter I’ve worked with.”
Jillian put her hands on her hips, jerking Peter’s boldness up like a shield. “Size has nothing to do with talent!”
He grinned. “Of course not. Have you ever taken dance classes?”
“Yes.” The twins had taken a variety of dance classes at the YMCA.
“I take classes at the Dance Conservatory.” Elle stepped forward with ballet flourish. “I’m playing Wendy.”
“Good, good, that will help. Let’s get you into your harness.”
Louise took her place at the lighting board. She needed a stool to reach the array of monitors and switches. Mr. Noble had linked the lift operator robots to the stage’s computer. By design, the board was out of sight from anyone in the audience. Half-blinded by the lights on the stage, the teachers wouldn’t be able to see her if they stayed with the actors. Louise took out her phone and dialed Lain’s number. The call went through but the line was busy. She hissed out a swear word. Until she got hold of Lain, she needed to multitask and learn the software that controlled the robots. She tucked her phone among the various buttons, switches, and slide controls. She hit disconnect and then redial.
* * *
She found a rhythm to her work. The action suggested a melody to her, so she would write a section of song, dial Lain’s number, program in the newest flight movements, check her phone’s screen, tweak the lighting, and disconnect from the busy signal. Carlos and Darius as Michael and John Darling were going to stay comic relief as they struggled with the flying. Jillian and Elle astounded Mr. Noble at the speed with which they learned the basics. He shifted them from the simple single harness that they started with into a three-point harness that would allow more complicated movements.