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Spencer, Madeline, Teddy, and Travis were rifling through excitedly.
    I was thrilled to see a handful of newcomers as well. These included three kids from my class at Chappaqua Middle School, who’d introduced themselves to Austin and me at the pool. They were Nora Standish, Brady Greenberg, and Joey Garcia. Joey had brought along his acoustic guitar, and he and Austin were hunkered down in the far corner, plinking out chords.
    Another new recruit was Gina Mancuso, who would be going into sixth grade with Susan this year. Her dad was a well-known local builder, and everyone knew Gina had every intention of following in his footsteps. Rumor was last summer she and her three older sisters had built themselves a two-story tree house with real working windows and aspiral staircase. I looked at her eager smile and could think of only one thing: master set designer.
    Brittany Simpson was another of Susan’s besties from Chappaqua Elementary. She had the reputation of being the best artist in the entire school. Visions of stunningly painted backdrops danced in my head, and I was sure Brittany and Gina would make a great team.
    My arrival brought the happy chatter to an immediate hush as seventeen pairs of eyes (make that sixteen—Sophia continued to gaze adoringly at her own reflection in the mirror) turned to me.
    â€œHello, Random Farms!”
    I was greeted with shouts of “Hi, Anya,” and “Good morning, Madam Director,” which made me smile.
    Susan handed me an updated roster, to which she’d added the names and ages of our new cast members.
    Just holding the list gave me a thrilling sense of possibility. So much talent!
    But so little time.
    â€œLet’s get started,” I announced. “Time for auditions!”
    Just as we’d done with the auditions for the first show, the plan was for everyone to perform both a song and a dance combination today, and then memorize an acting piece to perform tomorrow.
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    CAST/CREW ROSTER: NAMES, AGES, ETC.
Mackenzie Fleisch: Twelve; Dancer         
Deon Becker: Twelve; Tech genius
Sam Carpenter (baseball conflict)
Maxie Hernandez: Eleven; Costumer
Mia Kim (family vacation)
Travis Coleman: Ten; Dancer
Eddie Kim (see above)
Gracie Demetrius: Ten
Elle Tanner: Ten
Madeline Walinski: Eleven; Gum chewer
Jane Bailey: Eleven
Teddy Crawford: Eleven; Professional actor
Spencer O’Day: Eleven
Sophia Ciancio: Twelve; Approach with caution
Nora Standish: Twelve
Brady Greenberg: Twelve
Joey García: Twelve; Musician
Gina Mancuso: Eleven; Set design
Brittany Simpson: Twelve; Scenery
 
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    After reading The Odd-yssey script, I was superexcited to see how my actors would interpret the various characters. For example, would Teddy read for the Cyclops in full-on comedy mode? If Spencer auditioned for the one-eyed monster, perhaps he might choose to play him more frightening. Maybe Gracie would decide to perform the goddess Athena monologue as a ditzy airhead, whereas Jane might give the lines a more sober, classical spin. To me, this was what made theater so fascinating—actors making interesting choices and bringing their own creative sparks to every role.
    For the first show, Austin had preselected audition sides,but today we were going to be a little daring and allow the actors to choose their own scenes.
    I explained this to the cast. “Pick anything you like, from anywhere in the script, as long as it’s at least a minute long. Girls can read boys’ parts and vice versa. Feel free to add accents or quirks to your characters. If there’s a role you think you’re suited for, that’s the dialogue you should read.”
    Sophia, who had finally pulled her attention away from her own face in the mirror, snatched up a script and flipped through the pages. “I can’t decide if I want to read for Penelope or Athena. Penelope is such a romantic beauty, and the goddess is . . . well,