Four members of the Gargoyle staff — senior editor Anna Gooler and junior editors Kahlilah Cooke, Adam Joseph, and Katy Metcalf — are involved in this year's fall play, "The Miser." This week they will take us backstage to get a sense of what goes into putting on a school production. What happens in tech week doesn't always stay in tech week. Today: Katy Metcalf.

URBANA — What can I say? Opening night happened. So.

JUST KIDDING. IT WAS AMAZING. There was stress and stress and stress and lots of awkward laughter before. Our makeup got smudged and we would run to fix it before there was hair to do and skirts and shoes and OHMIGOD. Two minutes before curtain, the two people meant to open the scene were not fully clothed. And yet we still started on time.

I must point out here that this is my first Uni production … my first production with any lines at all, really. Yesterday at our final dress rehearsal, I dropped a line and ended up missing half a page, which had left me petrified and nervous all day.

But not today. Today, I got all my lines. Every single one. I did accidentally scream … but I can work on that later.

And not just me. Monologues were finally in place, costumes were completed, everything went wonderfully. Taking the final bow was dreamlike. And then, there were pretty flowers (thank you, Buck!) My momentary loathing of theater has been replaced by 10 seconds of adoration and now a grudging approval. The costumes are wretched and the hairspray is dire and I rather dislike all the lights. But having people watch you not mess up is a nice feeling.

Speaking of not messing up: Major props go to Kahlilah on tonight's performance. Her skirt fell down twice in two acts and she kept going and it was wonderful. She was, of course, wearing pants (breeches?) underneath, but it was a nice bit of improv all the same. Hopefully, tomorrow her skirt will be differently fastened, but even if it isn't, we know she's prepared.

I, however, am not prepared! I have no improv talent, and if I drop a line … things will go quite badly. There is, as a point of fact, a red light rigged somewhere on the set in case of an irreconcilable omission. If there is more than 10 seconds worth of unplanned silence, well …

"So. Isn't Mars bright tonight?"

We're ready.

However, we're not going to have to use it. Everyone knows their lines. Everyone knows their entrances and exits. We've perfected everything from the first line of the first scene to the final bow of curtain call. It's all good.

So come and see "The Miser"! Come and bring your friends and your parents and some random people off the street and your history teacher (because the English department has already seen it?). Come tomorrow and Saturday. You'll have fun.

FALL PLAY '09: Molière's "The Miser," directed by Barbara Ridenour

CAST

• Harpagon (the miser) — Zack Goldberg (sr)
• Cléante (Harpagon's son) — Ethan Schiller (sr)
• Elise (Harpagon's daughter) — Stefanie Senior (jr)
• Valère (in love with Elise) — Ben Zehr (jr)
• Mariane (in love with Cléante) — Vivian Robison (sr)
• Maitress Simone (a moneylender) — Maia Gersten (so)
• Frosine (a scheming woman) — Anna Gooler (sr)
• La Flèche (Cléante's servant) — Andrew LaPointe (sr)
• Jacqueline (Harpagon's servant) — Kahlilah Cooke (jr)
• First Servant (Brendavoine) — Stirling Hobgood (fr)
• Second Servant (La Metluche) — Matthew Meyer (fr)
• Justice of the Peace — Katy Metcalf (jr)
• Clerk to the Justice — Arch Robison (su)
• Seigneur Anselme — John Garvey

CREW

• Stage Manager — Tianna Pittenger (sr)
• Costumes — Mary Stasheff
• Set Design — Margarita Mouschovias (jr)
• Lighting Design and Operation — Adam Joseph (jr)
• Sound Operator — Adam Joseph
• Poster Design — Tianna Pittenger
• Program Design — Tianna Pittenger
• Set Crew — Kahlilah Cooke, Maia Gersten, Greta Goldbart (su), Zack Goldberg, Anna Gooler, Stirling Hobgood, Andrew LaPointe, Diana Liu (sr), Katy Metcalf, Matthew Meyer, Margarita Mouschovias, Charlie Newman-Johnson (jr), Arch Robison, Vivian Robison, Ethan Schiller, Stefanie Senior, Fiona Weingartner (jr), Ben Zehr