FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The show must go on.

Normally that phrase is meant for a live performance, not the first day of rehearsal. But I was feeling it to my core, after working so hard in my auditions for third billing, only to find my name, Natalie Larson, down at ninth. To be fair, I got the second best role for a lioness - and I could hardly expect to win the role of lead hyena before an actual hyena!

And sure, the other girl fit the historical role better - two legs rather than four. But Snakespeare often cast males in female roles, or swapped two-leggers for four or vice versa. It's not unheard of. To top it all off, the girl who beat me out for the role of (adult) Nala was only thirteen.

But I couldn't back out now. My parents wouldn't be too impressed by sour grapes, and besides, Sarabi was a pretty good role. The whole play was based on a well-known folk tale that probably actually happened in Medieval Africa, with some dramatic and supernatural elements added by Snakespeare - his most famous tragedy: The Lion King.

The perfect time for a classic, our director said. Tom Ward had been trying to boost attendance at the community theater for years, and if this play didn't do well, this might be it. But he had a secret weapon - our ringer. Sir George Meredith Esquire the III, an old standby in England known for his portrayals of King Lear, Oberon, Mufasa, and Scar. Even I'd heard of him, and I couldn't wait to pick his ear.

And so I sucked it up and warmed up beside the other youth actors. I was the oldest, at sixteen, a full-blooded, four-legged, two-hundred-and-forty pound lioness, playing Sarabi, followed by Paula Berkshire at fifteen. She fit the role of Pumbaa well enough as a four-legged hog, even though she wasn't African or red-furred in the least. She'd long ago learned that hogs had to accept comedic roles and she was pretty funny.

Next up was young Simba, who was actually older than adult Nala, at fourteen and thirteen respectively. It was going to be so odd watching Audrey Gillum play the jungle love scene across from adult Simba who was more than twice her age... Young Nala was played by an adorable eleven-year old girl named Jilly, and the youngest cast member was Ed, played by Murray Mickles. He was Banzai's son, the two four-legged hyenas a perfect pair, and Murray was going to steal every scene he was in despite having no actual lines.

The six of us did some physical and vocal warm-ups, while the adults in the production were rehearsing in another room with Tom. We were stuck being babysat by the director's Samoyed girlfriend Angela. She was nice enough, but how was I supposed to learn from Sir George if I never got to see him? Instead, I got to watch as the three two-legger actors who got all the best parts stretched and ran lines. Young Simba and both Nalas were giving each other massages, an ice-breaker that a two-hundred-and-forty pound lioness, three-hundred pound sow, and a hundred-pound hyena couldn't really do.

I couldn't help but stare at Audrey Gillum. They could have cast me instead. There was nothing in the play that required Nala to have hands, even though it was historically more accurate. I had a louder voice and more experience. I didn't dare complain to Tom - you don't question the director's casting - but for God's sake, he'd cast a four-legged tiger for the role of Mufasa.

"What're you thinking about?" Paula grunted next to me.

Even though she was heavier than me, the big pig was much rounder. I flattened my ears and said, "I feel like we should be practicing with the adults." We were the oldest, after all.

"We will, soon enough. I mean, basically all my scenes are with Cillian, and you play across from Mufasa and Scar most of the time."

She was right, but that didn't make me feel any better.

But time heals all wounds. Once we started really getting into the scene breakdowns, I never really had to interact with Audrey. Adult Nala was one of the main actors in the third act, but I played mostly in the first and second act. The only scene I had in common with Audrey was the triumphant conclusion, when the two of us and Sarafina team up to push Scar off the cliff. Instead, I got to play alongside Phil (young Simba), Jilly, and Monte Bourdain, a local favorite playing Mufasa - despite being a four-legged tiger. He'd be in fur paint and sporting a mane for the production, of course.

"Really lick, Natalie. I don't want jitters on opening night! Remember, he's your infant son!" Tom directed, holding up his fingers in front of his face like a camera lens. The Beagle could be frustrating, but he had good ideas.

This wasn't one of them. Gritting my teeth, I licked the small of Phil England's back. Need I remind you, he was only two years younger than me. Fourteen. He sure looked smaller, since I was feral and he wasn't, but that didn't change that fact that I saw Phil around school, and here I was lapping his actual fur just above his shorts (a stand in for the loincloth he'd be wearing live). It was hard to picture him as my son!

"Okay, okay, I'm clean. Can I go, now?" Phil delivered, trying to squirm out of my paws. I could have held him there if I wanted, but my job was to give him a wry smile and let him out. I lifted my paws and he popped out of my grasp.

"So where are we going?" Jilly asked. She was also getting licked, but she was 11, and Sarafina was played by a twenty-four year old named Diane. Not nearly as awkward.

That wasn't the only awkward scene that Tom wanted me to commit to. I was supposed to give Mufasa a loving pep talk after he chides Simba for taking Nala to the elephant graveyard. Monte was an adult male tiger, almost twice my size, and fully three times my age, yet I was playing his loving wife and queen. Snakespear wasn't one to shy away from the more risque aspects of history and drama, and this was a classic fade-to-black. The set wasn't finished yet, but we'd have a long, grassy hill. He collapsed with a heavy sigh.

I padded over to him. "I know it's tough," I said with my best, low rumble.

"He put her in danger, Sarabi. That's not how I raised him -"

I tried not to look to Tom to see if he approved - just play the role. I leaned over and put a paw on the rock beside the fifty-year-old actor and licked his cheek. "I remember when you took me to -"

"That was -"

"Cut!" Tom exclaimed. "C'mon Natalie. It's not Monte. It's your husband, Mufasa. Run it again."

I don't know how many times I had to kiss him before Tom was satisfied, or experience the way the large tiger reached over and pulled me up on the rock alongside him. At least Monte spoke to me after our longest day of practice, gave me a few pointers, and talked about stage jitters. He was a big softy, really, and it helped put me at ease with him.

But there was one scene that_wasn't_ fade-to-black. It was my biggest scene, just after Mufasa's death at the hands of a horde of okapi, and Simba's self-imposed exile. Scar replaces Shenzi with me as his queen.

"You have to hate me, darling," Sir George explained, his mane already flecked with grey from age. "You suspect my hand in Mufasa's death, even if you can't prove it. Try it again."

Acting with Sir George Meredith (Esquire) (the III) was totally different. Tom didn't dare direct the actor Vanity Fair says "defined the role of Scar", and Sir George got whatever he wanted. Bagel run? Angela was on it. Adjusted lines? No problem. Rerehearsal for the sixteen-year-old actress to learn how to hate? Done.

It was getting a little easier to hate Scar when he had Sir George's face. "Mufasa would never have made peace with the hyenas," I spat, glaring as much as I ever had at my parents.

He was a great actor, that was obvious. His grin split his face, eyes opening just wide enough, ears perked just right, tail flicking. Even though he was a two-legger, he was a two-legged lion, and that meant he was big. Standing seven-feet tall and weighing nearly three-hundred pounds of mostly_muscle_, he towered over me. I rarely felt intimidated by anyone - I was a lioness after all. But Sir George was a specimen. He said, "They have their uses, and now we can live in peace," he chided, voice dripping with deeper meaning.

I channeled my impudent teenager. "Why not make it official, then? Marry that hyena, not me."

He paused, frozen just slightly. "Shenzi...is not queen material. If the lionesses are to listen to me, you know I need a lioness. You know I need you, cousin."

"YOU WILL NEVER HAVE ME," I snarled. "Damn the customs!"

"No, no, no. Again, Natalie. Again!" Sir George groaned.