The Theatre Statues (special preview)

The theatre was being renovated and the owner was going to use my father's artwork. The owner’s wife wanted my father to create statues that would greet guests as they came inside. Her one stipulation was that he use pieces of an old carving that used to hang in the theatre to make them.

My father made three statues for the garden before the entrance. One to stand in the small garden before the stairs, and two more who would flank the stairs. They represented the greatest attributes of the theatre; dancing, music, and acting. My father was skilled and talented, but back when he was first approached, he was up and coming in his craft. His friendship with the owner got him the job, and that made him nervous.

My father told me stories of the theatre when he first arrived. Performers still came to the theatre despite the renovations. My father would study the performers to catch the essence of the theatre. Rumor had it that the stage was good luck to performers, so my father filled pages upon pages with sketches. All used to inspire his statues.

It was there that my father found his muse, a beautiful and fiery dancer who refused to let anything get in her way. Marlena was known for being a temperamental woman, but that didn’t put any fear into my father. He fell in love with her, and would create many works inspired by her passion and fury. One such work was me.

I was born as construction on the statues began. My father began work on the dancing one first, since my mother couldn’t dance after my birth. My first memory is of his hands, though gentle they were rough and covered in dust. He would hold me and show me how the marble would become something more.

As I grew, my mother insisted I dance as well. She gave me my first lesson as soon as I could walk and continued to teach me until I was old enough to join a class. Many times I heard that I was too much like my mother. I had too much fire in me, they said. I treated dancing like a fight for my life, they said.

“Never let them dampen what power you have, Adriana,” my mother said to me. “It is not their fault they are mere candles against your roaring fire. Stay strong, because you will need it in the future.”

“Be careful what you say to her,” my father chuckled. “I don’t want her getting into the fights that you used to.”

My mother crossed her arms and glared up at him. “You do not want our daughter standing up for herself?”

“I don’t want people to have to stand up against her.” He stepped away from his statue. He had started working on music while he waited for the pieces of the old carving to arrive and finish dancing. “I don’t want to raise a bully.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Are you calling me a bully?”

I would say my mother was a bully to anyone outside her family, but my father had her wrapped around his finger. He liked her power and it swayed him as one would with romantic poetry.

“What would you like me to call you?” My father’s dusty fingers left my mother’s black hair gray when he touched it. I thought was so beautiful when I was young.

By the time the statues were complete, I was working in the theatre as a dancer. My mother had become the choreographer for the theatre and looked after the dancers. The night the statues were being unveiled the owners threw a lavish celebration. They invited patrons of the theatre, as well as celebrities from all over. My mother gave me a dress from her youth.

“When I had my first starring role, I wore this for interviews.” The dress was a lavender shade with cream lace. As she laced me up in it, I could see her look of pride in the mirror. “I also wore it for my wedding dress.”

I smoothed my hand down the side. “Why would you wear this for your wedding?”

She smiled into the mirror as she placed her hands upon my bare shoulders. “Because it made me feel powerful. Now, I grant that power to you.”

My father was already at the theatre while we dressed. While it excited him to reveal his work, he had been nervous during the weeks leading up to this reveal. The theatre was full once my mother and I arrived. There were so many people roaming about in the gardens as well as inside. There were waiters walking around with drinks and food, which I indulged in.

“Adriana! Be careful,” my mother warned me. She took the treat from my hand and placed it back upon the tray. “I don’t want you eating so much of the food tonight.”

“But the portions are tiny,” I tried to argue.

“But they are very rich.” She moved me away, turning me from the waiters with food and back outside with the covered statues. “Isn’t this exciting? Your father has been working all this time. Since before you were born. It’s almost like these statues are family.” She then patted my back. “Go out and mingle, stop hiding in corners.”