The Glass Penny

Molly and I showed up at the restaurant early. We were both wearing knee-length dresses with professional necklines. I was wearing a light purple dress with a boxy neckline and pencil-style skirt. Molly was wearing a navy dress with a circle skirt and straight scoop neckline. We awkwardly stood amongst crystal artwork in the foyer wondering if Zeke was here or if we should wait but a waiter showed us to a large round table with a white tablecloth where Zeke was seated.

It was so weird to see Zeke actually wearing business-y type clothing. I’d never seen him wear anything fancier than some cargo shorts and a plaid shirt but this was over the top. He was wearing a freaking tie and a suit jacket! And he trimmed his beard!

“Hi Zeke.” I said as the waiter pulled my chair out for me (so fancy!).

“I’m glad you guys were able to come, we’re just waiting for a few more people.”

“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?” I joked.

“When everyone’s here.” Zeke laughed.

We were poured glasses of sparkling water and offered menus embossed on heavy, cream paper.

I broke out into a cold sweat…there were no prices listed on the menu and I knew enough that that meant they were A LOT of money. I eyed Molly and she was equally concerned.

“Uh, Zeke…” She began.

“Don’t worry, it’s covered, ladies.” Zeke said slyly.

Just then our waiter brought another person to our table; a severe-looking man with an intricately trimmed goatee, dark features, and thick black glasses. He looked to be in his late twenties.

“Hi, I’m Nick Costas.” He shook my hand and then Molly’s before sitting down.

Almost as soon as he sat down a young, doe-eyed woman was shown to our table and the waiter pulled her chair out. She had beautiful auburn hair and a pouty mouth. Her eyes were a vibrant green and she looked a little younger than me.

“This is Ashley.” Zeke said. She waved meekly while everyone introduced themselves.

Finally, two more people were shown to the table; a man with dark red hair, stark glasses, and a strong chin. He looked to be in his thirties. The woman accompanying him, though, was elderly and wearing an expensive looking brooch with a fur wrap and a purple tweed dress suit. She had a tiny little hat with peacock feathers and crystals on it.

The man with red hair sat down while the older woman was helped by a waiter.

“This is Riley Montgomery.” Zeke said motioning to the man with red hair. He nodded and Zeke moved on to the older woman, “And our guest of honor here is Hazel Harrison.”

We went around the circle and introduced ourselves. Hazel seemed to eye us all closely but she was hard to read. I had no idea what was going on. Once we completed the circle of introductions, Hazel’s face softened and she nodded approvingly at Zeke.

“Well, I’d like to thank all of you for being here. We’ll get to business soon enough but first, please order whatever you’d like. I want us to get to know each other over a good meal before we get into any negotiations.”

Well then. Molly and I shared an impressed, curious look before shrugging our shoulders and digging into the menu. And because I’ve never eaten at such a fancy place before, I’ll tell you what we all had; Lord knows I may never get the chance to describe such a decadent meal ever again.

I ordered a cheese and mushroom stuffed chicken breast with rosemary mashed potatoes, herb-crusted green beans, and a roasted heirloom tomato tart with goat cheese. Zeke ordered a butter braised ossobuco that came with rosemary mashed potatoes, a dinner roll with herb butter, and a baby green salad with a red wine vinaigrette. Molly got a pan-seared filet of cod with a medley of roasted tomatoes, squash, and red potatoes and lemon butter sauce. Nick and Ashley both had a salmon filet with fresh asparagus, lemon butter sauce, and roasted fingerling potatoes. Riley ordered the same thing as me but instead of the tomato tart he got a baby green salad with a red wine vinaigrette. Hazel ordered a grilled chicken salad with truffle shavings and goat cheese with a garlic herb baguette roll and a platter of cheeses, meats, crackers, and spreads for the whole table as a starter.

It was seriously amazing and I’ve been having dreams about that meal since the meeting. I’m thinking about it now and wishing I could back and eat it again.

Anyway, once all of us were served and somewhat into our lunch, Hazel began talking.

“I know most of you don’t know why you’re here so let’s get right to it. You’re here because you’re being offered an opportunity, a big one. I want to hire all of you.”

I looked at Molly who was sitting listening intently. Then I looked at Ashley and she looked equally confused.

“Zeke, why don’t you elaborate for me?” Hazel opened the floor.

Zeke put his napkin down and leaned in towards the center of the table.

“I’ve been working with Eddie at his theatre company for the past 6 years. He’s interested in selling it and Hazel wants to buy it. Because the company has no regular staff except for Joe, the current technical director, this is an amazing opportunity. Hazel is willing to purchase the company from Eddie and be our main financial backer…along with some very influential-”

“And RICH.” Hazel interrupted.

“And rich friends.” Zeke finished smiling.

“What do you mean OUR backer?” Nick asked.

“All of you are here because of the skills you possess. When Hazel buys the company, it’s her intention that it be permanently staffed by in-house artists. YOU are those artists.”

All of us looked at each other, even Molly looked like she didn’t expect such a turn.

“I would be the technical director. We would keep Joe on as the construction shop manager. Faith would be the production manager for all the shows we’d put on every year. Molly would be an in-house costume designer for all the shows we produce. Ashley would be the General Manager of the company and oversee many day-to-day functions and needs for the front of house, facility maintenance, and any other needs. Nick, you would be the PR and Marketing Director. Riley would be the Artistic Director.”

Zeke sat back and let it all sink in before he realized he forgot something.

“Of course, all of you would be considered in-house artists and would be welcome to audition for any and all shows we put in or even direct them.”

Ashley and Molly smiled at each other. That certainly seemed to sweeten the deal for a few of my new friends. But Riley didn’t look convinced.

“And what would Hazel’s role be?”

“Simple.” She said smiling, “I’d provide the money…Along with all of my friends who would make up the board of directors.”

“I mean artistically.” Riley clarified.

“We want the theatre to be profitable. We see it as an investment but we aren’t going to pretend we know the first thing about theatre and putting it on so all of that is up to you. Of course, we would want to have SOME input on the pool of shows that we choose from every year. But in terms of a director’s vision or how something should look or be performed? We’ll be completely hands off.”

A silence came over the table. Personally, I couldn’t believe what had just fallen in my lap. This is exactly what I’d been looking for career-wise, but I had A LOT of questions.

“What about the theatre’s current status with the union?” I asked.

Eddie’s theatre was currently in the process of becoming a union house. It was tedious and could take years to get the actual union category rating and if we had to start over because of the sale it could mean even MORE time had to be put in.

“Or salaries?” Ashley added.

“And support staff hirings?” Nick said.

“You all have a lot of questions. This is good. It shows interest.” Hazel said.

I wasn’t sure how to take her. She was very hard to read. She reached into a bright red bag purse with a gold chain and pulled out several folders.

“Faith, is it?” Hazel asked me. I nodded, “The current union procedure wouldn’t change. We would have to file some special paperwork indicating that we would like to continue seeking union categorization and provide a good faith effort to follow all rules and procedures, which would obviously be under your job description. As for salaries…I’ve brought some contracts for you all to look over. They’re negotiable, of course, and I don’t expect you to sign them immediately, but I think you’ll find them very generous.”

She slid the folders to everyone. I opened mine and skimmed the contract. It guaranteed a permanent employment position but also left room for me to leave and do other shows if I wanted as long as it was limited to one show with a different company per season. I would have to make a five year commitment to work for the company and if I ended up leaving prematurely I would forfeit any union progress I had made and have to forfeit any kind of severance or benefits. That worked nicely for me but I wondered if Molly’s contract said the same thing, such an agreement would be a deal breaker for an actor; one show per season out of this theatre company would limit an actor astronomically especially if it was for a minimum of five years.

I turned to the next page of the contract which detailed the various union rules and regulations, what kind of employment rights I had, hospitality budgets I would be entitled to for stage managing, etc. The final page listed my salary and I almost peed my pants. It was more than I had EVER imagined. Not only that but it was a livable freaking wage. I could afford groceries! I could afford to pay more than the minimum on my student loan payments! I could begin to replace the clothes, the furniture I lost in the fire! I could even afford a car payment or my own apartment with an OFFICE! I could buy a La-Z-Boy and regular haricuts! I could have a savings account with more than five hundred dollars in it!

But.

It seemed too good to be true and as I looked around the table I wasn’t the only one who was skeptical.

“Support staff,” Hazel said, “would be hired on an as-needed basis per show.”

“What’s the catch?” Nick asked. He was direct and I liked that.

“There isn’t one.” I was surprised Zeke had been the one to answer. “I called you guys because I believe in this. I think we could all work together and turn Eddie’s theatre into something that can really BE something. I’ve had a lawyer look over my contract and it is actually as good as it seems. This is how companies are laid out for bigger theatre companies and there’s room for growth here. That theatre space, alone, is a diamond in the rough. We’d be lucky just to rent it but we’d OWN it.”

“Nah, this seems too good to be true. No offense, lady.” Nick said closing the folder roughly.

Hazel shrugged as if to show she wasn’t offended.

“What would convince you?” Hazel leaned in. Nick wasn’t the only one who could be direct.

There was silence again. But then Ashley spoke up.

“I would feel better about it if I actually held a stake in the company, in the form of shares and a position on the board of executives. I feel we should be included in any conversations the board has or any decisions they may make so there’s no possibility for being blindsided by large financial decisions or undercut in decisions that affect us most directly.”

Riley looked impressed by Ashley’s proposal. Everyone else, even Zeke, nodded thoughtfully.

Hazel curtly nodded after scanning all of our reactions.

“I’ll have new contracts written up and couriered to all of you within 24 hours. Now. I have another engagement and must leave. Please feel free to order dessert and talk amongst yourselves. I’m presenting my plans to purchase to Eddie in two days. I’d like your decision within five. Please feel free to have a lawyer look over the contract and contact mine for any negotiations you’d like to add. I’ve included my lawyer’s contact information with the contracts in those folders.”

With that she got up to leave. The waiters swooped in with dessert platters and all of us went for it. We all had a chocolate raspberry mousse with vanilla shortcake wafers and fresh mint.

“Come on guys, what do you think!?” Zeke asked.

“It really does sound too good to be true…even with the shares and board positions.” I admitted, “Although it’s possible we’re all just a bunch of cynics.”

“How exactly do you know this lady, Zeke? She’s kind of…Ms. Havisham creepy. She doesn’t have a giant rotting wedding cake in her house, does she?” Molly joked.

“I met her at a networking event for technicians; she was there giving away an award named after her husband. Apparently her husband was heavily involved in technical theatre, he held several patents for theatre equipment and made more money than any of us could even imagine. He died a few years ago and she’s got all of this money and has no idea what to do with it. So she overheard me talking to some friends at this industry event and wanted to help. She really does just genuinely want to honor his memory and happens to have a lot of rich friends who are bored and willing to throw their money at something to see what happens.”

“Okay, but what are the odds Eddie’s even going to want to sell his theatre to us?” Riley pointed out.

“He’s made a few comments in passing about wanting to sell it.” Zeke replied.

“I’ve heard him make comments in passing about it, too.” I chimed in, “But do you really think he was serious? I always figured it was just something he said when he was stressed because we were opening a show soon.”

“It’s possible.” Zeke said, “But Hazel is going to offer him a really generous sum of money and we’re going to keep Joe. No one is getting screwed over here. Look, guys, just…just really think about it, okay. I’m serious. This could be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’m more than willing to let you use my lawyer if you need to go over these contracts with a fine-tooth comb. I invited you guys specifically because of how harmonious our work histories have been and because I think you’re all incredibly talented and respectable artists. I’m not saying that to butter you up, either. I’m saying that because I believe it and we could really turn this into one of the top theatre companies in the city and get some meaningful art made.”

Zeke was really convincing but I’m still going to have my lawyer look over everything. I feel like that’s just the sensible thing to do. I'm meeting with her tomorrow.

“What’s the name?” Ashley asked.

“The name of the company?” Zeke asked.

“Yeah.”

“The Glass Penny Theatre.”

All of us smiled. It was a pretty charming name for a theatre. Accessible and common like a penny but unique and special like glass.