THE EXTRAS:
M.C. (MASTER or MISTRESS OF CEREMONIES):
Known simply as M.C., this character serves as the host and facilitator of the evening, as well as the stage coach caravan conductor or guide for the audience’s arrival in Good Measures. Dressed in black and white with a bold splash of color, M.C. leads the caravan of stagecoaches and welcomes the audience before the story begins, cheerfully explaining the rules of melodrama—when to cheer, when to boo, and why everything is delightfully overstated.
M.C. introduces the world, presents the characters in a formal tableau, and gestures the audience across the threshold from everyday life into theatrical play. Part narrator, part conductor, and part showman, M.C. sets the tempo for the evening and ensures that everyone—on stage and off—knows exactly how to have a good time.
THE STAGECOACH DRIVERS (WHIP, CHARLEY, and JEHU):
Dusty, road‑worn, and unmistakably of the trail, Whip, Charley, and Jehu are stagecoach drivers by trade and mischief‑makers by inclination. Dressed in the grimy, battered clothes of their profession, they seat the audience and invite them to imagine they are embarking by stagecoach on a journey through Eutopia County toward the town of Good Measures. With broad gestures, tall tales, and a willingness to play along, they set the tone before the story even begins. One should know that a historically famous stage coach driver by the name of Charley Parkhurst was actually a woman. People didn’t know until after she retired; she was that good.
Once the journey is underway, these drivers seamlessly double as stagehands, moving scenery and props as needed throughout the show. Ever‑present and endlessly useful, they belong as much to the mechanics of the production as to the world of the story, blurring the line between performance and practice with cheerful good humor.
SHOW BOYS and SHOW GIRLS:Flashy, elastic, and brimming with theatrical flair, the Show Boys and Show Girls are the most overtly performative figures in town. Dressed in cowboy and saloon costumes they serve as both visual punctuation and active participants in the melodrama’s fun.
They hold up prompt cards—“CHEER,” “BOO,” and the like—to guide audience participation and burst into a lively can‑can dance number to start the show. Equal parts chorus, carnival, and crowd‑whisperers, the Show Boys and Show Girls keep the energy high and the audience joyfully complicit in every twist, turn, and outrage.
Some of them can make cameo townsfolk appearances during the scenes.
And everyone gets to sing the town anthem of Good Measures.
