Clown Violet in the Chocolate Factory scene

Barbara smiled as she saw Humphrey expertly lifted into the air by near invisible cords. She would have to thank her Uncle Barry for that one; he was a wizard with tech. Back onto the topic of the production, the lights and SFX crew had to begin their part of things.

Barbara stretched a little and went through her lines one last time. Sitting down on a crate, Barbara memorized each detail of her part. Elsewhere, her siblings and cousins did the same thing.

"Hey Barb." A soft,feminine voice called out. Looking up Barbara could see the strong woman of the Cobalt Theater standing before her.

"Hello there Professor!" Barbara greeted.

The strong woman smiled and Barbara studied her closely.Professor Beatrice's face possessed a subtle beauty that drawn men's eyes. Youthful enough that the younger guys could love,while have a mature aura about that older men could appreciate. This wasn't ruined in any way by the expertly applied orange face paint and the green wig over her natural brown locks.

That all being said, one could've been forgiven by the professor's body. She stood over eight feet tall--which in and of itself a miracle--and didn't seem to suffer any medical problems. Most people at that height were also thin as rails,barring a few exceptions, Beatrice was one of those exceptions. She was ripped, her muscles easily seen beneath her skin. And it wasn't all for show either, Barbara had seen the woman lift an two-hundred pound weight over her head. But that was nothing, Barbara once followed the professor .While following her, the duo ran into a brown bear. Whether by something they did, or by luck, it charged. Instead of becoming meat for the grinder, Beatrice shot forth and wrestled the thing towards the ground,managing to subdue it. Barbara didn't mention it to the others when they came back,but she knew the strong woman was playing off her real strength.

"Don't call me that when I'm not teaching! Beatrice is fine with me," Beatrice jokingly stated. "So, you're getting ready for your scene?"

"Yep."

"Good;I need this cleared up though. This is my role,right? I'm the Oompa-Loopma whose going to get you off stage when you're done blowing up?" Beatrice questioned. Barbara rolled her eyes.

"Beatrice, please, people don't expand into balloons like Violet. This is real life!" Barbara said the "balloon" portion in her deepest voice to make fun of the fact. Beatrice nodded,but Barbara could see a sense of recognition in Beatrice's eyes. The woman soon walked away,leaving Barbara alone once again.

"Barbara, our scene is up!" Peggy called out. Barbara nodded and began to hype herself up. She soon saw the others and all together the cast walked into the spotlight.

===

"Gah!" Barbara said as the seltzer water sprayed her face. She made sure to tumble at the correct moment and the audience roared with laughter. Barbara's rear was pointed into the air, but the clown girl stayed down just to hear the laughter for a few more minutes.

Standing back up, Barbara looked at her father, or Wily Wonka in this case, and began to speak back.

"Hey. What type of prop invention facility is this?"

"The type where one doesn't touch the obviously experimental kind." Her father shot back. Barbara held back a smile at her father's performance.

"All right, all right, i get you. But I do say that this 'Blueberry Seltzer' was delicious." Barbara responded. Her father's eyes grew into dinner plates as he heard what she said.

"Oh dear. Oh dear."

"What? What is it?"

"That was supposed to be locked down." Her father exaggerated his movements. The other clowns looked at her dad with confused expressions. Suddenly, the lights turned a subdued blue and all turned towards Barbara.

"Looks like my swell time is coming up." And Barbara didn't know the half of it.