Rise - Season 1 Episode 7

It's technical week and both Lou and Tracey are happy with the production at this stage of the process, although Lou, having never gone through technical run-throughs, is overly optimistic that there will be a minimal number of issues. Beyond those technical issues which number more than Lou could have even imagined, he finds that other things are happening to the cast negatively affecting what happens on stage, the backgrounds of which he may not be fully aware. In using the tactic suggested by Lou to deal with the matter, Robbie is benched by Coach Strickland. Not being as natural a musical theater performer as he is a football player, he cannot turn to the show as the replacement for football, and may see Lou as the cause of his problems. And the connection that existed on stage between Simon and Jeremy is no longer, as Jeremy feels betrayed upon learning that Simon and Annabelle are having sex, although reality is not quite as Jeremy is told. Other issues with the cast include Michael and Sasha, once best friends, working through their strained relationship in light of Michael's gender expression, Sasha feeling abandoned as Michael dealt with that transition, and Michael learning about Sasha's current predicament, his action on the matter which is viewed by Sasha as solely an overt expression of his chosen gender. And despite his grand gesture in getting the Stanton Steel sign for the show, Gwen continues to have problems relating to her father. In being all alone, Sam may fall to the temptation that is Vanessa who is now working at the motel where he is living. Through it all, ticket sales are going poorly unlike previous years, as Lou learns the budget for future shows is dependent on the revenue generated by this production. Meanwhile, Maashous learns some news about his foster situation. Coupled with an incident at the Mazzuchelli house leads to Maashous too feeling like his world may be further crumbling around him. And Gordy has started group rehab. His seeming progress and what is really happening within therapy may be totally different from each other. Gordy deals with his problems with the one thing that calms him down.