Stranded Read Online Free PDF Page B

It’s always the same theater, day in and day out.”
    “God, that must be boring,” Juan said with a hint of a smile. “The production team will keep you informed, and of course the director will, as well.” Juan shifted slightly in his seat. “You’ll do just fine. The thing is, don’t let them rattle you.”
    “About what?” Kendall asked and Juan shifted a bit closer.
    “See, there seems to be a… difference of opinion about you. So various people might try to rattle you to see what you’re made of.”
    “Sort of like playing tricks on the new guy?” Kendall asked. He remembered the jokes the cast sometimes played on first-timers. They weren’t malicious, just a bit of teasing. He’d expected that sort of thing.
    “Yeah, probably,” Juan said seriously, and Kendall got the feeling that whatever was going on was a lot bigger and would probably go a lot deeper than harmless pranks. “Like I said, don’t let them rattle you.”
    “I’ll do my best,” Kendall said. He’d spent the past fifteen years around serious theater people with their squabbles, egos, and petty requirements. He figured he could handle whatever these people threw at him. But from the doubtful expression on Juan’s face, the assistant’s assistant didn’t think so. “Don’t worry. I spent years dealing with temperamental directors and costars on Broadway.”
    “If you say so,” Juan said and then reached to the seat next to him. He opened an app on his smartphone. “Like I said, you’re meeting with the producers and the director. Later, you have an appointment with wardrobe so they can take all your measurements. After that, we’ll stop by makeup so they can get a look at your face and skin tone. After that, it’s cinematography, where we’ll get you in front of a camera so they can see the lighting, filters, and other effects that work best for you.”
    “Is there some sort of screen test on the schedule? I sort of figured they’d want to see me in front of a camera before they actually hired me.”
    Juan looked at him askance. “They did. As I understand it, you did a television special a year ago to promote one of your shows. From what I saw, the camera loves you.”
    “Okay,” Kendall said, trying to remember that appearance. It hadn’t been more than five minutes, and all he’d done was talk to one of the hosts and perform one of the songs from the show. It seemed to him they were basing a lot of decisions on a very few minutes, but then again, these people knew what they were doing. At least he sure as hell hoped they did. The car pulled to a stop, and Kendall peered out. They appeared to have stopped at a gate.
    “We’re entering the studio,” Juan said, and after a minute they pulled forward and along what appeared to be a road, but most of the traffic seemed to be golf carts. They traveled slowly, probably stuck behind one of the carts. Eventually they stopped. The door opened, and Kendall stepped out of the large vehicle, followed by Juan. A few people stopped to look, but they quickly moved on. “They’re checking to see if you’re someone.”
    “What?” Kendall asked.
    “They’re checking to see if they recognize you. Many of the people around are studio personnel or extras, and they sometimes stop to see if they recognize someone famous.”
    Kendall obviously didn’t warrant their attention for very long, because everyone moved on. Juan walked around the car and spoke to the driver. Then he walked back to where Kendall was waiting and craned his head to look at everything around him. There was surprisingly little to look at—mostly what he surmised were soundstages, large buildings that all looked the same, painted the same shade of off-white. “I expected it to be more… interesting,” Kendall said, and Juan laughed.
    “Here, the magic happens on the inside, and there are more interesting areas. Some of the studios still retain their backlots, like at Universal, and they rent them