Ahh.  Utterly perfect rehearsal moment this evening.  Made to be shared!

So we three nasty ladies get to snaffle a tenor late in the first act.  We sneak up behind him, catch a net which drops from the sky, throw it over him and drag him to the back of the stage, dumping him in an entangled heap, which is where he is found when the curtain rises on Act II.

Except the usual catching arm was absent due to illness...  T, being all Canadian and athletic and whatnot, can be trusted to catch and throw without batting an eyelid.  We remaining two on the other hand, well, let's just say, not so much.  (Get well soon, T, get well soon!!!)

So we approached the moment with fierce concentration, *determined* that this was going to work even without T's sure hand.  We hit our mark bang on, held out our arms arrogantly and full of energised confidence, and the net dropped exactly on cue... several feet to the right of us.

Apparently our heads whipped round in perfect unison, faces displaying the sort of semi-amused horror that is generally only found either on stage or when attending important social occasions in the company of outspoken children.  We froze for a good second, listening to the roar of laughter from the wings (someone later told us he would have given anything for a photo, our faces were such a picture), before hastily scooping up the net, chucking it over the tenor (now speechless with giggles) and bustling him backwards, emitting odd little squeaks and ignoring the tears of laughter coursing down our cheeks. 

I'm still inclined to snort a little as I am writing this, a couple of hours later.  Such moments are absolutely to be treasured - great for the mood of the rehearsal, relations with one's colleagues, and the state of one's stomach muscles.  Just PLEASE don't let it happen during an actual performance!!