Curtain Rising
| Curtain Rising | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| (Book-exclusive) | |||
 | |||
| Published | August 1, 2016 | ||
| Page count | 2 | ||
| Major characters | Sue, Jessica | ||
| Locations | Roseville High School | ||
| Collected in | Volume Four | ||
| Appears between | |||
| |||
Curtain Rising is a book-exclusive chapter appearing in Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume Four. The night before her play opens, Sue takes a nervous peek through the stage curtain. Luckily, Jessica knows a thing or two about handling pre-show jitters, and her method involves a friendly punch to the shoulder.
Synopsis
The night before the show, Sue stands alone on the empty stage, peeking through a gap in the big red curtain and looking worried.[1] From somewhere behind her, Jessica asks “Feeling nervous?” and startles Sue half out of her skin. She insists, a little too loudly, that of course she isn’t.[1]
Jessica lets the denial slide and points out that after all that hard work, the show is finally tomorrow. Sue quietly admits that she supposes it is.[2] Then she looks up and thanks Jessica for “kicking my ass every step of the way,” which softens Jessica right up. The two stand side by side facing the curtain, and Jessica sends her off with a punch on the shoulder and a “Knock ’em dead.”[2]
Character dynamics
- Sue and Jessica: A working partnership with a real friendship underneath it. Jessica came aboard the production back in Casting Call as Sue’s bluntest critic, slamming the audition table over her choice of lead[3] and claiming the rest of the casting for herself.[4] By the eve of the show, Sue openly thanks Jessica for pushing her, and Jessica drops the smirk. Her “Any time!” sounds like she means it.[2]
Trivia & observations
- The title makes a matched pair with the chapter that follows. Curtain Rising is the night before the show, and Curtain Call is the night of.[2][5]
- The chapter opens and closes on nearly the same shot, with Sue facing the closed red curtain, first alone and worrying, then side by side with Jessica.[1][2]
- The wooden stage and big red curtain match the Roseville High School auditorium where the play was rehearsed and opens the next night.[1][6][5]
Related chapters
- Curtain Call: The show itself goes up the very next day, on this same stage. Sue spends its opening pages fretting past the red curtain all over again, and she and Jessica end up kneeling behind it together, running the special effects.
- Casting Call: This is where Sue’s play got off the ground. She holds auditions with Jessica as her blunt co-judge, and buys her cooperation with a bet that Jessica can direct next year if Mike ruins the play.
- Participation Trophy: The roles reverse after Jessica stages her own play the next year. This time it’s Jessica reassuring a doubting Sue: “I was your producer last year and I thought you did a great job in very difficult circumstances.”[7]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume Four, “Curtain Rising”, page 1
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Bittersweet Candy Bowl: Volume Four, “Curtain Rising”, page 2
- ↑ Chapter 53: Casting Call, page 6
- ↑ Chapter 53: Casting Call, page 10
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chapter 74: Curtain Call, page 2
- ↑ Chapter 59: Rehearsal, page 1
- ↑ Chapter 126: Participation Trophy, page 14