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cornley-amateur-drama-society · 30 days ago

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How Cornley Cast Members Spent Their 25th Birthdays

In honour of my 25th birthday being last week (10/24), here's my headcanons for how the Cornley members spent theirs. As this is me we're talking about, this got. Long. Also, I don't know the ins and outs of each character's canon besides what I picked up on in the show and on their character wikis, so please go through this with an open mind.

Chris — March 7

Oh… Oh, my love…

So he would've been recently out of uni, and I picture him immediately diving into any sort of theatre production he can

So, he's working at a local theatre just outside Cornley

(But nowhere near his home village because he doesn't want to deal with the complex feelings that accompany being an adult in and of his own right, but having Celia and Raymond treating him like he can't make his own decisions as if he's still thirteen-years-old)

But anyway. Back to his 25th, which I picture him being born sometime in the late winter/early spring, perhaps around the beginning of March. So for flavour, let's agree on March 7th.

It's, let's say, around ten or eleven at night, and it's been drizzling on and off the entire week (I am not fact-checking British weather for this post) and he's off rehearsal and had been planning on going out with some cast mates to a pub near the theatre.

When it came time to go, however, they were nowhere to be found.

Picture newly twenty-five-year-old Chris looking around the front foyer of the theatre, in his slightly too-big tweed coat and leather messenger bag thrown across his body. His hands gripping at the strap of the bag nervously as he waits to see if anyone will be arriving, and the gnawing realisation that no one is coming.

His eyes sticking to the floor as he walks to the pub himself, the rain more of a mist than anything else. He got there and picked a small table away from everybody else, and ordered a pint to start.

The rest of the night continued in that way, Chris getting pissed alone in the back of some random pub on his birthday.

He didn't get back to his flat until some time after two a.m., and passed out on the sofa, messenger bag on the floor with the strap loosely in his hand.

The contents were strewn about on accident, a result of his drunken struggle with his bag.

Robert — August 24

Robert's twenty-fifth was spent with his older brother Alex and younger sister Ellie.

Alex's wife Gabi, and their daughter Lucy, were away on a small holiday to Brighton and couldn't make it.

Despite their best efforts, Ellie managed to get her older brothers to go out for a pub crawl to celebrate.

In the middle of August, on a warm night, the Grove siblings went from pub to pub in Ellie's uni town.

The fourth pub they hit, called the Dog and Broom or something similar, is where he met Denise.

She was there on a hen do for a friend of hers she worked with at a small magazine.

Robert was instantly smitten with her, the way her black hair reflected the purple and pink and blue lights of the pub, the way her dark red lipstick stood out against the light brown of her skin.

He hated to admit it to himself, but he knew if he didn't talk to her, he would be thinking about it for the rest of his life. (Ugh, how dreadfully romantic of it all.)

So he pat his siblings on the shoulder and pushed away from the bar top to walk to where she was standing, waiting for refills for the group with another friend.

The two women looked up as he approached, and when blue eyes met dark brown, everything disappeared. (Cliché, I know) He vaguely remembers hearing her friend laughingly say something as she walked away with a tray of drinks, but Denise was already biting her lip in a shy smile, so he was a bit preoccupied.

(I cannot not believe that Robert isn't a secret romantic, esp based on how he broke down on stage during “The Spirit of Christmas”.)

The remaining hours of Robert's twenty-fifth were spent in flirtatious conversation with Denise and a promise of a coffee date later that week.

Dennis — May 2

Dennis' twenty-fifth was spent at the aquarium with some friends of his that he's known since Year Four.

They paraded him around the aquarium with a novelty “happy birthday” fish hat that they'd found somewhere specifically for this.

He was all for it, if we're going to be completely honest.

And the staff, for the most part, were happy to let them walk around with the obnoxious hat and homemade banner strung across his chest.

Dennis and his friends took enough pictures that when they developed them a few days later, even though they binned the rubbish ones, they had enough pictures left over for the scrapbook his Mum and Aunt Dorothy were making.

(This was not the first one they were doing for him, but as he'd got older, it really focused more on things like his graduation and shows and birthdays. It was nowhere near as detailed as his first few were when he was a boy.)

After their outing, they went to a birthday dinner at a restaurant that Dennis had been saying he wanted to go to, but had never had the time.

They had pre-arranged for there to be a whole song and dance, literally, when the server would bring the cake out at the end of the meal.

Dennis ended up leaving the restaurant with his friends and the phone number of one of the servers in his pocket.

(He and Emma would go on to date for about six months after, breaking up just after Hallowe'en.)

Sandra — March 7

So, she and Chris share a birthday.

(I'm sure you can tell where this is heading…)

She and Chris were in the same company, but she had a larger part in this show than he did, and the two of them really didn't have any scenes together, so they just knew each other in passing.

(The same way you know someone in one of your classes, but have only talked to them in group discussions, and even then, not that much, really.)

But she, being Sandra, is a magnetic person and knows how to work a room.

And even though she didn't have a lead role, she still got on with the leading cast members.

So much so that, when they found out it was her birthday a few days before, they promised to take her out after rehearsals.

I don't think that she's cruel enough, even as a mid-twenty-year-old, to have let the cast take her out if she'd known that they promised to go out with Chris, so she didn't know about any of it. Not even that they're birthday buddies.

She didn't notice the cloud of guilt that hung over some of the cast members as they walked to a bar on the north end of Cornley square, a bit more high-end for their budget, but hey. You only turn twenty-five once, right?

She's just flush with excitement about going out, since the last few years she'd been too busy and focused with/on other things. She had mainly celebrated her birthday with a friend or two, or whomever she was roommates with at the time, by drinking some wine and re-watching movies like Pride & Prejudice (2005) or The Importance of Being Earnest (2002).

Once they got there, a posher place called The Thistle's Roundel, the cast promised Sandra that she wouldn't be paying for a drink tonight. They had her covered.

She was touched, though she didn't take outright advantage of their promise. After all, they still had rehearsal tomorrow and the last thing she needed was a hangover.

But she's not a saint, so she did indulge a little in the drinking.

There was dance music being played by a live DJ, and a space in the middle with coloured, light-up tiles to comprise a dance floor.

She and several of the other gals in the show spent quite a lot of time on it, laughing about how the blues and greens of the floor would make them look haunted, but the oranges and pinks made them look sunburnt.

It was on one of her water breaks that she made eye contact with a guy a few seats away from where she was standing by the bar.

He wasn't drop-dead fit like Hugh Grant or Jude Law, but there was something about his smile that made her cheeks flush pink for a reason other than her dancing.

After a few minutes of glances and coy smiles, he made his way over to her, breaking away from the two men that he was with.

She sat her water down on the bright purple napkin and subtly wiped her hand on her skirt, drying it off from the condensation and sweat.

Once he made it, he stuck out a hand with a smile. “I'm Jonathan.”

She took it, a matching smile blooming on her face. “Sandra.”

Annie — November 24

Annie spent her 25th with her partner, Sher; her older sister, Alice; and Alice's partner, Bren, along with their parents.

Mr. and Mrs. Twilloil took the four of them to an ice skating version of the ever-classic The Nutcracker.

It has been a tradition for the Twilloils to go see a performance of The Nutcracker every year around Christmastime. When the sisters were little, they took part in community ballet classes, which is why the tradition was started.

(Mrs. Amita Twilloil would've taken them regardless of them being in ballet or not. She adored Tchaikovsky's music, and was a professional ballet dancer when she was younger.)

(Alice was dancing in the role of a Snowflake for three years in a row, and Annie was a Sugarplum Fairy once.)

Annie had been dating Sher for a little over two years by that point, the two of them having met in an improv class a few years before, and started a solid friendship.

Sher, actually, was the one who introduced Alice and Bren on a blind date.

But, I digress. Back to the birthday celly, lol

The Nutcracker on Ice was something that everyone was looking forward to. Everyone all bundled up in their coats and scarves and gloves, huddling togerther against the rail of the outdoor ice skating rink.

Hot chocolate vendors hovered at the edges of the crowd, selling spiced nuts and baked sweet potatoes as well.

The sounds of the crowd while the orchestra warmed up gave the Twilloils and their guests the warm feeling of Christmas in their hearts.

Annie ended the night of her 25th with a snog under multicoloured fairy lights decorating one of the lampposts along the pavement.

Max — June 15

Max spent his 25th on his family's country estate with his family, cousins and nieces and nephews running about over the Bennett grounds.

Because the Bennett family is so large, they have a tradition of celebrating all the birthdays of a given month at the beginning of that month.

(This tradition started with Max's great-grandmother after the War. It eased her mind to have all the family with her after the loss of her husband and eldest two sons.)

Other than himself, the month of June in the Bennett family had the birthdays of Aunt Elsie who was celebrating her 67th; Uncle Joseph who was celebrating his 56th; Margot, his older cousin who was celebrating her 34th; Adelaide, his younger cousin who was celebrating her 22nd; Marcus, another younger cousin who was celebrating his 18th; and the twins June and May, his nieces, who were celebrating their 12th.

The day was spent with various events around the estate, such as the younger kids playing around in the swingset and fort setup, and some of the teenagers taking the horses for a ride.

The older members of the family sat under the shaded patio with their spouses (if they were present), drinking tea and other, potentially more alcoholic, drinks.

Those Bennetts who were in their twenties through forties were found in various places throughout the estate. Several were with the younger kids; these Bennetts were the parents of some of the children there.

Others joined in on horseback riding, taking one of the trails with a drink as well. These brave members were almost all in their late-thirties and in their forties.

Max hung out with his siblings—Hugh, his older brother by three years, and Caroline, his older sister by two years. They were also joined by Adelaide and Marcus, and Jax, Hugh's eight-month-old son.

The day ended with a large birthday cake with everyone's names for the month of June, and a tonne of presents and cards that were opened and gushed over.

His Nana Claire owned the Bennett Estate, and since it was so large, everyone was able to stay the night there in the country, if they were so able.

Max's Uncle Charles (40), Aunt Angela (53), cousin Algernon (32), and cousin Nikki (24) were unable to stay as they had early shifts at the hospital in the morning.

All in all, it was a typical Bennett birthday event, and Max was content to be celebrating with everyone.

Trevor — September 2

Trevor hated his birthday.

Hated celebrating it, hated being reminded of it, hated everything about it.

Every year, something seemed to go wrong on his birthday.

He broke his arm when he turned 12. His girlfriend at the time turned out to be cheating on him with some posh prick in the Year above who played rugby, and he found out when he saw them kissing behind the bleachers at the pitch on his 15th. His Grandad passed away on his 18th. He found out he was supposed to be a twin on his 23rd.

And those were just the ones that sprung to mind instantly when he thought about September 2nd.

So, suffice to say, Trevor rarely ever discussed his birthday with anyone who didn't already know it.

He was already involved in Cornley's stage crew program at this point, and had been working with the theatre since he was old enough to.

He liked to work with his hands, but he also loved learning the ins and outs of how a theatre worked. Especially the lighting tracks and cues.

This past year, he had been working as an unofficial assistant to the Lighting Manager, an old man named Ralph who reminded him of his Grandad in a way.

The show that they were working on was for the Children's Theatre Program, a stage version of Frog and Toad.

Opening night was September 2nd.

When Trev got to the theatre, he found out that Ralph had called-in sick.

(He wasn't, really, but his granddaughter was in the show, and he wanted to be able to watch little Izzy on stage without having to worry about timing things right.)

So, Trevor was promoted on the spot that night to Lighting Manager.

He took to it like a duck takes to water, helped on, of course, by the fact that he'd been learning the cues now for several weeks.

Though he was slightly nervous, the show went off with only a few minor hitches that were more to do with the kids being kids and waving to their parents whilst on stage, or getting their costumes caught on props, than anything serious.

There was a standing ovation for the kids, and Trevor found himself genuinely smiling and cheering them on from the booth. The Sound Manager, Missy, next to him was gushing over her son's titular performance as Toad.

After curtain call, as Trevor was cleaning up the booth and making sure things were set for the Saturday showings, Ralph came back and introduced little Izzy to him.

Izzy glowed at Trevor's review of her roles as Cattail #3 and Egret #2, her frizzy red hair only making her blush that much more vibrant.

On their way to the rest of their family, Ralph and Izzy stopped and gave Trevor a dark blue envelope, his name written on it in Ralph's hand in silver ink.

Ralph winked at him and touched the side of his nose, wishing Trevor a goodnight, and he and Izzy disappeared into the crowd.

Trevor had a small, slightly confused frown on his face, but he opened the envelope on the spot.

Inside, there was a "happy birthday" card that was signed by the rest of the crew and Izzy. Little frogs and toads and other show related doodles appeared in various spots of the card throughout. Some were obviously done by the wee girl, but others he recognized as being done by his fellow crewmates.

It's still on display in Trevor's flat to this day.

Vanessa — October 31

Hallowe'en baby!!! We love to see it <333

Soz, the favouritism LEAPED out of me, lmao.

I know Hallowe'en isn't as big a deal across the pond, but this is my headcanon so fuck it, we ball <3

Nessa spent the morning of her 25th chaperoning her niece Alyson's class Hallowe'en party at school.

Aly insisted her Auntie Nessie dressed up as the Loch Ness monster, and since Aly was eight, she won the argument.

Nessa showed up at Aly's Primary school at the same time as the other chaperones, slightly embarrassed about the stuffed felt head on top of her own head.

That lasted until she saw Aly's friend's Mum wearing what looked like the child of a clown and old French mime.

The combination of black and white colouring on a clownfit did a lot to help her mood.

Aly greeting her with a delighted scream of, "AUNTIE NESSIE!" while wearing a mini scuba diver outfit lifted it even more.

The party at the school was fun, all things considered.

The Primary teacher for Aly's class, Mr. Thoms, had arranged for the kids to decorate Jack-O-Lantern cookies as one of the classroom activities.

Aly suckered her Auntie into helping her decorate, making a winking Jack-O-Lantern with a sharp-toothed smile.

After that, the Primary school had a trick-r-treat event in which all the kids got to walk around from classroom to classroom to get candy and show off their costumes. Nessa took many photos for her brother and sister-in-law, David and Wendy, of Aly going around with her little plastic mummy's head.

The school day ended early, and Vanessa took her niece back home to her flat. Aly was going to hang out with her until David came to get her after work.

Vanessa, as an early 25th birthday gift to herself, had got a new cat a week and a half ago.

The cat was older, around seven or eight by the vet's guess, and she was a lovely dark tortoiseshell colour. Her orginal name was lame, in Vanessa's eyes, and she was always rather a fan of Shakespeare.

So, despite the cat being a middle-aged lady (in cat years, of course) Nessa named her Othello.

Aly adored Thello, and the affection was reciprocated. As soon as Nessa's niece's voice was heard outside, the two Wilcock-Wynn-Carroway gals heard Othello's loud meowing.

The cat curled up underneath the chair that Aly was sitting in at the dining table as she worked on her homework, purring loud enough to be heard from a few feet away. Nessa smiled fondly at them and took candid photo to send into the family groupchat.

After David came to get his daughter, Vanessa got changed out of her Loch Nessa cosume and into a pair of fuzzy pyjama bottoms with a comfy long-sleeved shirt and a dressing gown thrown over top it all.

She planned to spend her 25th with Thello, her favourite takeaway from that Indian place down the way, and a marathon of Midsomer Murders. She had a cupcake and a pint of ice cream in her freezer for afterward.

Yes, Vanessa's 25th birthday would be spent with her cat and feeling cozy and taking time for herself.

Jonathan — May 18

Jonathan, on his 25th birthday, was at an event that his company was hosting, ringing in the new summer catalog.

He didn't really have a choice in going or not going because his two best friends, Ben and Davy whom he's known since they were doing kids' modeling, dragged him to it.

While Jono himself stuck mainly to hand and wrist modeling, Ben and Davy had delved into full-body photographing. Ben tended to be called up for more athletic shoots, while Davy was more elegance and class.

As a wrist model, Jono could do any of the above and then some.

But he worked with these people nearly 24/7. He just wanted one day, just one, where he could not have to see Mandie, Brandie, Sandie, and all the other -ie's he worked with.

Davy and Ben promised him that he'd only need to stay there for an hour before they'd skive and go on a mini-pub crawl.

He was holding them to that no matter what.

But that night, Elsie Harris, a writer for an online magazine who sometimes worked with him, was also there.

He'd fancied her for several months now, and she seemed to feel the same. He wasn't positive, but Sandie and Davy kept pushing the two of them together, and Elsie didn't look all that upset by it.

Once he saw her, Ben and Davy knew that any chances of the mini-pub crawl happening were over.

They still smiled and chatted with her when she and Jono came over, of course. Though the two men were disappointed about the way the night changed, they were thrilled to see her leaning into Jono's space.

And they were even more thrilled several minutes later when Jonathan said something about grabbing their stuff and heading out.

Ben looked at Elsie and then back to the birthday boy with a question in his eyes, and Jonathan answered, telling his best friends that he had mentioned what they were planning on doing, and that she wanted to come with them.

She'd never been on a pub crawl on purpose before, and she wanted to try it out.

The more the merrier is how Davy took that news, and the four of them set off into the night.

Elsie, as it turned out, knew how to hold her drink and did so, drinking Davy under the table accidentally.

Ben jokingly complained about having to carry Davy's deadweight back to their flat, but when Elsie apologised, he brushed it off.

Ben asked the bartender to call a cab for him and Davy because David was in no way fit to continue partying.

When Elsie and Jonathan saw them off, Ben and Davy drunkenly wished Jono a happy birthday for the nth time that night, getting into the cab. Jonathan ended up having to tell the cabbie where to go, seeing as the three of them lived in the same flat.

Elsie and Jonathan ended up going back to her place and celebrating his 25th a... let's say in a different way.

He woke up the next morning with her hair spread across his chest, and their hands locked together.

**Bonus**

Lucy — April 17

Lucy spent her twenty-fifth birthday with the Cornley Amateur Drama Society, rehearsing for A Trial to Watch.

They had just started to act it out on stage, reciting their lines rather than reading from the book, and she was excited.

She loved working with Cornley and her Uncle Robert, even if her Mum and Dad weren't especially keen on the idea.

(Which, to be fair, was understandable. The last two times she'd been on stage with them, she'd suffered from several broken bones and two concussions.)

But Uncle Robert, along with Max and Chris, assured them that since all she had to do was simply walk on stage and sit in a jury box, surrounded by several other people, the possibility of her breaking anything or getting a concussion was nearly impossible.

She wasn't a child any more, of course, but even though her parents were divorced and frequently disagreed on many things, the one thing they always agreed on was her safety.

The rehearsal went smoothly, even on Dennis' behalf which was a surprise. He hadn't really forgotten any of his lines, though he still did mess some phrases up, but he did well.

They needed to work on physical cues, but it would be easier with the set when it was built.

After rehearsal, the cast took her out to a pub that was near the theatre for drinks and a show.

It was drag night at the pub, and Lucy adored every second of it.

Several queens flirted with Chris, much to the casts' general amusement, and a king or two did hit on Sandra and Max, much to the casts' great amusement.

After the show, Lucy received gifts from each member, and she may have cried a little a lot into her cocktail.

Her Uncle Robert took her back to his and Dennis' flat after she had one too many and started to fall asleep at the table.

Robert set her on his bed, made sure her phone was plugged in to charge overnight, grabbed some pain meds for her head in the morning and a water bottle, and set it on the bedside table.

He texted his brother Alex and his ex-sister-in-law Gigi and let them know that their daughter was fine and would be sleeping off the celebrations at his flat.

He made sure that his niece was safe and on her side, just in case, before going to the couch in the living room and piling pillows and blankets on it to sleep.

Lucy woke up the next morning, her official second day of being 25, to the sounds of Robert and Dennis chatting in the kitchen accompanied by the smell of French toast and coffee.

(She was also joined in bed by a headache, but thankfully the meds Robert left out the night before were right there, and she solved that issue rather quickly.)