Once Penny was finished being touched in strange places for the purpose of getting her measurements, Rosa instructed her to follow. Together, in silenced, they walked to a smaller room. It was had light tan wood floors, the same beige colored walls as the rehearsal space. The room was taken up by a large table with chairs surrounding it.
Sitting in the chairs was the cast and some of the crew.
It was time for first impressions. She was going to meet her coworkers.
Please God, Please! I have never asked for anything, but please, I hope these people like me!
Diane and Yoora are sitting right in the middle, a huge box in front of them. Diane notices the shy redhead at the entrance of the door. It was a similar scene to earlier that day. She was baffled on how shy she is compared to when she is acting. It was like to different people.
"Everyone! I would like to direct your attention to Penelope Marshall, our wonderful lead," Diane stood and gestured to her.
"You forgot beautiful," Corey said under his breath, staring at her with a cocky smirk. Little does he know that Penny is a married woman. The specific detail on that relationship, however, are not important.
Penny heard the comment, but chose to ignore it. "Hi, everyone!" She said, trying to sound optimistic and not let the anxiety come through.
"Come to the table," Yoora this time addressed everyone, "so we can hand out scripts and get to know each other."
All of the people in the room, which wasn't that mean, sat down around the table. Penny just found an open seat at random and sat down. Corey decided to slide in next to her. She could help but roll her eyes
"Penelope Marshal playing Scarlet, a waitress at Club Cabaret who takes an interest in taking out toxic men," Yoora reads the character description. Penny walks up to the desk and takes her scripts. It already has her name in it as well as a number one. She also grabs a pencil and highlighter to mark up her script when the time comes.
"Corey Patton playing Sam, an undercover cop and love interest to Scarlet." He walks up and grabs her scripts. Not before whispering in Penny's ears:
"I am so excited to work so closely with you."
A shiver went down her spine. Not the good kind... the uncomfortable kind.
"Adam Hall playing all of the strippers boyfriends, therefore has man different names in the show. Those are Roger, Dick, Chad, Micky, and Rafael."
This man, Adam, was quite handsome. He had a natural deep, bronze, brown skin tone and loosely coiled hair where the ends where bleached. He wasn't the tallest, maybe an inch or two taller than Penny. He had rich brown eyes and full black eyebrows. She saw something catch in the light, and that was a septum piercing, just a simple good hoop.
"Thomas Olsen playing Club Owner, who is given no name and treats the girls terribly."
This was the last man in the room, and surely the oldest. Well, not too old. He had pale, fawn skin tone and a thin wired mustache and a balding head. He had piercing blue eyes that made Penny a little uncomfortable. He grabbed his script and hurried back to his seat. He looked a little unsettled to be there. He was clearly not like everyone else.
"Now on to the strippers. I am just going to call the actors out and then the character name. Anastasia Allen playing Gigi"
This was the first "stripper" to step forward. She had one of the most naturally blonde and brightest blonde hair that Penny had every seen. She can't tell if it was genetic or from a box, but either way it was stunning. It was styled medium length with gentle curls. She also had sun-kissed golden white skin and small little freckles that spread across her nose and up her cheek bones. Her brown eyes were a chestnut color and her lips were a soft reddish-pink. She was slightly curvy, similar to Penny's body actually, but nothing out-of-the-ordinary.
"Marisa Samson playing Destiny."
Now this was a woman with out of the ordinary curves. She had a full chest and wide hips. She also was very tall, possibly six-feet. Penny could help but compare her to an Ancient Greek Amazonian woman. If she wasn't interested in theater, Penny believes that she could be a successful plus-sized model. She had an olive skin tone, darker than Anastasia tan but not as deep as Adam's. She also had a short medium bob of thick brown curls.
"Kristen Owen playing Crystal"
Kristen was the skinniest woman in the whole room. Not that Penny was comparing herself to others, but it was just a fact. She had lanky arms and legs, showing that she had a thigh gap. Her hair was cut in a pixie, messily shuffled on top, and dyed a vibrant green color that closely matched her eyes. She had extremely pale skin with a blue-red undertone.
"Isabella Perez playing Lola"
This was another woman with thick dark brown hair, but unlike Marisa it was long and straight. Her hair even had a beautiful shine to it. She was the shortest woman out of all of them, possibly five feet one inch. She had sharp features, her lips painted a bright red and her eyes complimented with black winged eyeliner. Her skin color suggested that she had some Latina or Hispanic roots.
"Lastly, Malia Kawai playing Daisy."
Malia had beige skin with hints of earthy undertones. She had beautiful almost-black brown hair styled in perfect beach waves, and a tropical flower pushed behind her ear. She certainly was a mid-size young woman, with larger breast and a curvy bottom. When she smiled upon taking her script she revealed a perfect set of teeth. She had a delicate black mole off to the side of her nose and slightly above her lips.
"Okay," Diane started to speak, "Let's get started on the script and listen to the music when it comes. I'll read the stage directions, Yoora will start the music. The curtain opens to a gentleman's club. Five poles line the backstage..."
They all started reading the script together. This was the first time Penny was learning the plot and she was truly drawn into the story.
It follows Scarlet, a waitress at the gentleman's club: Club Cabaret. The owner of the place is cheap, never playing the girls what they deserve and taking there tips for there own. If that wasn't enough, each girl has a boyfriend they constantly complain about. Roger is with Gigi, a truly vile man that hits the poor girl. After seeing the young girl with red lashes on her back from a belt, Scarlet has to take action. She invites the man for a free dance/show. She takes this opportunity to murder the man, and the now ex-girlfriend helps. She does this will all of guys, but there sins against the girlfriends get less worse over time. Destiny's man, Dick, was emotionally abusive and toxic, telling the girl he will kill himself if she leaves. So Scarlet kills him. Crystal's man (Chad) was cheating on her, but he didn't cheat life. Lastly, she kills Micky for leaving Lola for her younger sister. Realizing the damage that she has done, she decides that it was her last kill.
This was the end of act one.
Act two starts with Penny meeting a man at the club. He is an undercover cop, trying to get the girl to expose herself as the murder. She swore previously that Chad was the last one she would skill. So she focuses her time on Sam, the undercover cop, who is taking her on dates and giving gifts. He is doing anything to gain her trust. Coming into work the next day, she find's Daisy in tears. Her boyfriend, Rafael is leaving her...for a man. Overcome with rage for her friend, she decides to kill him as well. However, she had to get clever this time. She has to sneak into his room and kill him there. Overcome with many different emotions, she starts to sing about her love for Sam, showing her psychotic nature. Another day into work, the club owner makes a pass at her, sexualizing her. Scarlet has never killed for herself, and she wants to makes a big deal out of it. So she prepares and invites Sam, who comes in instead with a gun pointing at her. Thinking he was going to kill him, she runs towards him. He tackles her to the ground arresting her. In the holding cells is when the monologue from the audition comes into play and transitions to a slowed, down sad version of the opening song to end the show.
It is quite a dramatic show, but Penny felt connect to it. She has been hurt for years by her father and one day took actions. She only hopes that it doesn't come to bit her in the ass like her character.
They read the script a few more times, the actors feeling there characters more and started to sing along to the words. When they finally ended, it was basically dinner time. Penny and her neighbors could certainly hear her stomach rumble. She felt more comfortable around her cast members, only have small opportunities to talk while on breaks. So far, the only one she didn't like was Corey, with his lingering looks and uncomfortable comments. Even Thomas Owen, who looks very unnerving, turn out to be a complete sweetheart who talked about his son, daughter, and new grandchildren. He also expressed to Penny his opinion's on his character and how he never wants the girl to feel unsafe around him. He was a good man.
"I want the script memorized by next week!" Diane ordered as everyone cleaned up.
Penny was finally able to leave. She was exhausted after a long day and was ready for a good dinner. She almost got out her phone to text Ms. Birdie but realized that she wasn't home. Hopefully, Quentin has either cooked or waited for her to come home to order take out.
She walked out of the building, holding her purse close to her body. She remembers how she got there and needed no help getting back to the Penthouse. A feeling washed over her body. A pair of eyes hiding in the shadows pierced her back. She sharply looks behind her to see...nothing, no one. She was close to running at this point. For the first time in the city, she felt unsafe on the streets. She couldn't shake the feeling someone was following her, but the sidewalks were clear.
Upon seeing the familiar doors, she sighed in relief. Inside the warm building, lit by elegant sconces, she felt like she was home.