HRDC Publicity Coordinator Marjorie B. Ingall '89 has been standing behind the table in the Loeb lobby, shouting out actors' names, for two hours now. She will continue to do so for four more hours tonight. "The stress is so much," she says, "that I am indulging in an extra half a packet of Sweet 'n' Low in my coffee." Salovaara has already lost track of how many cups of coffee he has purchased for his crew tonight.

Equally busy are the "runners," who save time for their directors by fetching the actors. They often serve as stage manager for the show, says veteran runner Sophfronia M. Scott '88, the stage manager/runner for Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night.

The directors and producers run on a tight schedule, seeing new faces every five minutes. Many, such as "Philadelphia Story" Director Rachel Pulido '89 and Producer Sarah V. Kerr '89, share the actors' anxiety, as they must choose 15 actors from the hundreds they will see this week. They combat their anxiety by "passing crib notes," says Pulido.

The moment of truth arrives. A runner leads another novice and me into a room with a booming echo, from which the whole building is likely to hear me. I try to act blase before the other actor and the director, who in a friendly manner explains what the play is about and what is happening in the scene we are to read from. He asks the dreaded question: "Which of you would like to go first?"

Terror strikes us both. He offers to go first. I let him, hoping I can study his reading and improve upon it. But my turn comes, and I am sure my reading is just as bad, only I stumble in different places. The director, of course, compliments us both. The entire ordeal lasts less than five minutes.

Thus, I survived the test of fear known as Common Casting Week, but the anxiety persists, at least until Tuesday, February 10, when cast lists go up. For me, it would be almost a relief not to be cast; at least I wouldn't have to face stage fright again.