| abstract
| - Buster: And...action. Arthur: Hi, today's show is...um, I forgot my first line. Buster: Cut! Acting, today's show is all about acting. See? Arthur: I got it. You don't have to shout, "Cut!" We're the only ones here. Buster: I like shouting, "Cut!" It makes me feel professional. Arthur: Today's show is all about acting. Today's SHOW is ALL about... Buster: Arthur and Buster's homemade show opening, take two. And...action. Arthur: Hi, today's show is all about... D.W.: You and Buster have to move. Nadine and I are building a pillow fort in here. Arthur: No way! Use the den. D.W.: I can't, those pillows aren't right. Anyway, I wouldn't be building a fort if you played with me once in a while, but you never do. [SHE SOBS] You hate me. Arthur: What? D.W., that's ridic... CUT! Cut. We'll move into the den, all right? [SHE SOBS] Nadine: You were wonderful. D.W.: Now that's acting. Muffy: Fern! The sparkling butterfly barrette or the sparkling bow? Fern: Um, I dunno. They look the same to me. Francine: It's an acting audition. They won't pay attention to your hair. Muffy: It's for William Filmour Toffman, THE William Filmour Toffman. I have to look my best. Fern: Who's William Filmour Toffman? Muffy: True East, Jimmy Hopped The C Train. He's only the most famous theatre director in Crown City. He directed his first play in Elwood City. It Began With The Whistle. He's back for a revival of the play's 20th anniversary. Francine: We're trying out for Little Lucie, the only kid in the play. Wanna come? Fern: Me? Audition? I can't act. Muffy: So. Come for moral support. Besides, you might see a star be born. William Filmour Toffman: Bravo, bravo. Gritty, but with a hint of ennui. Muffy: Nice work, Francine. You'd make a great understudy. Toffman: - Next! Fern: - Good luck. Muffy: [SHE GASPS] What did you say? Francine: It's bad luck to say, "Good luck" to an actor. You say break a leg, or something in French. Fern: Oh. Bonjour. Toffman: Next, please. Muffy: But, Grandma, can't you he-e-ear the whistle blowing? Toffman: Thank you, Miss Crossmyer. Muffy: Actually, it's Crosswire. Thank you, Mr Toffman, I'm a huge fan. Toffman: What's this? Muffy: My headshots, some postcards, a DVD of my most dramatic work, oh, and chocolates. Toffman: Ah, we have one more. Fern: Oh, I'm not auditioning. Toffman: What a pity. You look perfect for the role. Thin, round shouldered, a certain hunger in the eyes. Fern: Actually I just had a frozen yoghurt. Toffman: Ha ha ha, and a wit, to boot. What did you say your name was? Fern: - Fern. Toffman: - Fern. Beautiful name. Well, Fern, are you sure you don't want to climb the boards and give it a shot? Fern: Well...OK. Muffy: Good...luck! Muffy: [SHE GASPS] Finally, the cast list. You can't be serious? Fern: I'm Little Lucie? But I didn't even act the line. Maybe it's a mistake. Muffy: Nope. Daddy's in the play too, he spoke to, he spoke to William Filmour Toffman. Apparently you were just right for the part. Fern: But all I've ever played at school is a tree in the Arbour Day Extravaganza. I'm gonna say no. Muffy: You can't say no, this could launch your acting career. Fern: I don't want an acting career. Muffy: I worked for hours having Bailey put together those headshots and you want to walk away? Francine: Fern, there's gonna be great costumes, a cool set, it could be really fun. Toffman: Welcome to the magnificent world of It Began With A Whistle. A tragic tale of love and loss. Redemption and more loss. Behold... a model of our set. It shall be your home for the next three weeks. Nigel Ratburn: Evocative! Ed Crosswire: Stunning! Fern: Depressing. Toffman: Exactly. This play takes place during the Depression, so the set must therefore be...depressing. Fern: Um, Mr Toffman, I think I might be missing some pages. I've only found one line for Little Lucie. Toffman: And what a line it is. In fact, I feel the whole play revolves around that line, Fern. Fern: Oh, cool. Nigel Ratburn: "Then in the dust storm of 22, we left Amarillo, taking just what we could carry on our backs." Thora Read: "Even the kettle don't work in this house." Ed: "I am Big Daddy Booth." Nigel Ratburn: "Because it would be the last I'd see of Oklahoma..." Thora Read: "It's got a broken heart, it don't whistle no more. Cos it forgot how. Like we forgot how." Fern: "But, Grandma, can't you hear the whistle blowing?" Toffman: This is why I am in the theatre. To hear the music of words the way you just read them. And Fern, I love the way you made Lucie seem as if she were awaking from a deep psychological sleep. Genius! Fern: Wow, maybe I am a natural. Toffman: And the award for best dramatic performance of a single line goes to... [HE GASPS] My protégée...Fern! [APPLAUSE] Fern: I wasn't expecting this, I mean, I know I've had rave reviews from every newspaper in the world and my fan mail needs its own dressing room, but still, it's such a shock. Thank you. Thank you so much. - Thank you... Muffy: - Fern! Fern: - Huh? Muffy: Will you quit thanking the ketchup and pass it, please? Daddy told me Will said you were a genius. I'm just curious, what method do you use? Fern: Method? Muffy: Yeah, you know, how do you prepare? Fern: I don't, I just say the line. Muffy: You're going to be performing in front of hundreds of people. You have to do more than that. Here... Some material I thought might help you. Books on technique, warm-up exercises, stuff like that. Thora Read: It's funny they call you the stranger, cos you seem familiar. Fern: Red leather, yellow leather, red leather... Nigel Ratburn: Folks always say I seem strange, but familiar. Strange that. Toffman: Stop, stop, stop, stop. Grandma, nice work. Nigel, I need you to be stranger. You seem...not strange enough. Nigel Ratburn: Yes, right, of course. Toffman: - And, Fern... Fern: - Yes. Toffman: Do you know what acting is, Fern? Acting is reacting. And you can't react unless you... Fern: Prepare. And learn your lines really, really well. Toffman: You can't react unless you listen. Little Lucie is a listener. Take it from the top of the scene. Thora Read: It's got a broken heart. Like all of us. - It don't whistle no more cos... Fern: - But Grandma, can't you hear the whistle? Toffman: Ladies and gentlemen, take five. Fern, let's you and I take a stroll. When I think of Little Lucie, I think of this tree. Fern: I can do that. I've played trees before. Toffman: "Do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus." Shakespeare. Hamlet's instructions to the players. Fern, I don't want you to BE a tree. I want you to be LIKE this tree. Fern: It doesn't move much. Toffman: Yes, but you can't help but notice it. Ed Crosswire: I am Big Daddy Booth. I am Big Daddy Booth. Fern: But Grandma, can't you hear the whistle blowing? But Grandma... Toffman: Places everyone. Places. D.W.: Why is he saying, "Places"? Thora Read: It means the show is about to start and YOU have to go back to your seat. Thora Read: Even the kettle don't work in this house. It's got a broken heart. It don't whistle no more cos... - c-c-cos... Fern: - Cos it forgot how. Like we forgot how. Grandma, can't you hear the thistle blowing? I hear thistle blowing out there on the dusty plains, but I also hear a whistle blowing. Don't you, Grandma? Muffy: Fern! Fern: Hey. I guess I wasn't such a genius, after all. Muffy: What are you talking about? Fern: I only had one line and I messed it up. Muffy: That wasn't in the script? I thought they just expanded your role. Fern: You're not just saying that? Muffy: William Filmour Toffman was right, you're perfect for that part. I could never play someone so dreary. Nice work. Toffman: Brava, Fern. Have some sparkling cider. Fern: I'm really sorry I flubbed the line. I promise it won't happen again. Toffman: You improvised. The dusty plains bit, genius. And most importantly, you were really listening. I was thinking, for tomorrow's show, we might restage the last scene. Perhaps have you sit on the floor with a rag doll... Fern: Hey, could we give Little Lucie another line or two? Toffman: I'm not the playwright, Fern. I'm just the director.
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