Their play treated inebriety as a cue to wave both arms. (inebriety: intoxication, inebriation, drunkenness) Sobriety was a cue to stand stock-still. (sobriety: soberness, sober composure) The director thought the choice too coarse. A tipsy captain could counterfeit nonchalance, while a sober lookout had every reason to shake. (nonchalance: unconcern, insouciance, casualness) The actors' intemperance in gesture made both roles obscure. (intemperance: excess, overindulgence, immoderation; obscure: unclear, indistinct, hard to follow)
They tried again using water. The captain, trying to appear nonchalant, set his glass down too precisely. (nonchalant: casual, insouciant, unconcerned) The lookout put his palm flat on the table. An audience could read fear in the apparently inert hand. (inert: inactive, motionless, unresponsive) Their scene began to thrive on what each actor withheld. (thrive: flourish, prosper, succeed)
Afterward a cast member asked whether this was apropos of every play they might stage. (apropos: appropriate, pertinent, apposite) The director shrugged. For a comedy about a windmill, she conceded, they might still need both arms.