40


Role playing turns up the heat for Deborah


When we left off last time,


Kenneth Henderson had been admitted into the hospital after being extracted from the tractor following an encounter with the barn and Deborah was on her way to a costume rehearsal of the play. Rural Redemption, part 101, continues:


Chronicles by BOB COLLINS


Doug McLeod was barely out of sight when a text message chirped onto Deborah’s phone. It was from Val Zimmer asking if Deborah and Doug could come to the community hall a half hour early for a costume fitting before their stage rehearsal. Val had enlisted the costume design talents of one of the youngest of the many talents she had worked with during her life-long obsession with community theatre. Lily Golubev was a dynamic 23-year-old with a costume design diploma and an artistic flair that landed her steady employment in film and theatre productions. Val had mentored her for years and her influence opened the door for Lily’s first film credit and paycheque. Lily jumped at the chance to pay her back. Val had sent measurements to her several weeks before and Lily crafted several of the costumes in her studio. No one had met her face-to-face. Doug’s truck was already


parked when Deborah arrived at the hall. Val greeted her when she walked in. “Thanks for coming early. Lily and Doug are in the kitchen. They should be out in a jiffy.” The words were no sooner out of her mouth when the door opened and Li’l Abner himself stepped into the hall. He was followed by a petite young woman who circled him from five feet away, her eyes darting over every inch of him. Finally, she stopped, cupped her right elbow in her left hand and appraised him through narrowed eyes as she drummed her cheek with the fingers of her right hand. She began to nod her head. “What do you think, Val?”


said Lily. “It’s perfect!” “I think so, too.” “Amazing,” said Deborah, as she soaked in the manly


visage of Li’l Abner. Lily turned and extended her hand. “You must be Deborah. Hi!


I’m Lily. Come with me. I’m dying to see how you’re going to look.” Lily led the way into the


kitchen and closed the door. She held out two hangers. “Here. Let’s


Woodshed


get you to try these on.” Deborah


looked from one hanger to the other, then locked


eyes with Lily. “You’re kidding, right?” “Trust me. You’re going to look fabulous.” “Scandalous, more likely.” “It’s theatre. Everything has to be a little over the top.” “That’s exactly what I’m


afraid of,” said Deborah. “Let’s just see how it fits.


We can always change things a little if we have to.” Lily held out the short


black skirt with the scalloped hem. Deborah shook her head. “Look, it’s just a pair of spandex shorts with the dress added over.” “The blouse won’t fit,” said Deborah. “It’ll fit you like a glove.


Look, just think of it as a frumpy two-piece bathing suit.” “It’s just not me, that’s all.” “But it’s not supposed to


be you. When you’re on the stage, YOU aren’t supposed to be you. It might not be Deborah Henderson, but I can guarantee it will make you a very convincing Daisy Mae Scragg.” Deborah gave a resigned nod and took the costume. “I’ll just pop out and give


you a minute to put this on.” said Lily. “Then we’ll see how it fits.”


Lily stepped out of the


room. Deborah sighed, then donned the hillbilly outfit. The shorts were a perfect fit. The polka-dot blouse was a snug but reasonable fit. Lily knocked and came


back in. She re-arranged the


hemline, tugged this way and that on the blouse, then pulled the puffy sleeves down over Deborah’s shoulders and undid the top button.


“Bear with me for a minute


and I’ll show you what I had in mind for the blouse,” said Lily. “It will have a lot more impact if you wear the sleeves down. You would


Seasonal pastime Makin’ hay while the sun shines, near Forest Grove, east of 100 Mile House. MYRNA STARK LEADER PHOTO


need to be strapless but that’s easy enough to do. And you could roll up the shirt- tails like so and tie them in a knot just above your waist, so there’s an inch or two of bare tummy showing.” “I don’t think so,” said Deborah, as she tucked the blouse back in and pulled the sleeves back up over her shoulders and refastened the top button. “I feel half naked.” “That’s…kind of the point.”


said Lily. “You need to ask yourself how it feels to Daisy Mae, and what kind of a reaction it would get from Li’l Abner.”


“I suppose we’ll find out soon enough,” said Deborah. “Wear it that way for now


but take it home and try it out the other way in a mirror. I bet it will grow on you. “Costuming is a lot like


make-up. It can turn you into someone you never thought you could be and to be effective on stage, it has to be a little exaggerated.” “Are you ready, Deborah?”


called Val. “Jade is here and I’d like to run through a couple of your numbers.”


Deborah hesitated but Lily swung the door open with a flourish and stepped into the hall.


“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to introduce, The flower of Dogpatch womanhood, Miss Daisy Mae


Scragg.” “It’s fabulous, Lily! Deborah, you look absolutely stunning! What do you think, Doug?” asked Val. “I think that pretty much sums it up,” said Doug. He was reminded of the first time saw her, swimming in the river at Hap and Edna’s. Val led them up the stairs to the stage and suggested they run through the dialog leading into their signature duet. They retreated to the wings and waited for her cue. “What do you think of these get ups?” whispered Deborah. “I think yours explains why none of those hicks ever wanted to leave Dogpatch,” Doug whispered back. Deborah blushed in the


darkness and gave him a gentle elbow in the ribs. Val called for them to


enter. They nailed the dialog convincingly and arrived at their spot just as Jade Song tickled out the first notes of Namely Me. Daisy Mae began: “You deserve a gal who’s


willin’. Namely me. You deserve two arms to hold you. Namely mine.”


When Daisy finished her


verses, Abner took over: “You deserve someone good


lookin’. Namely me. You crave arms to make you tingle. Namely mine.” As the song concluded, the


two came together on the stage, held hands and looked into one another’s eyes. Together they sang: “And who could I be truest to? Namely you.” As the music ended, Daisy laid her cheek against Abner’s chest and Abner wrapped his arms around her. Their embrace lasted several seconds after the music ended.


Lily was dumbstruck. She turned to Val. “How did you get something like that out of them? I feel like I’m going to pass out or something. If you could bottle whatever that is, you’d be filthy rich in a week.” “I can’t take any credit for it


at all. They just came that way, right from the first rehearsal,” said Val. “Thank you both and thank you, Jade,” she called. Jade Song turned her palms up and swung her arms toward Deborah and Doug who parted clumsily. Deborah changed in a


hurry and excused herself on account of Kenneth’s hospitalization.


Later that night, she took


Lily’s suggestion to try the costume at home. She put it on and stared at Daisy Mae in the bedroom mirror. She knotted her shirttails under her ribs and tugged the sleeves down her arms, then smiled in spite of herself. ... to be continued


COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • AUGUST 2018


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