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We Were Rehearsing A Play
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"Oh, hey. We're rehearsing a - a scene for the upcoming company play called uh, Put That Thing Back Where It Came From Or So Help Me. It's a musical."
Two characters are caught in the middle of doing something they do not want others to know about, like talking openly about the Masquerade, fighting among each other or making out. Since the situation is blatantly obvious, the only option is to claim that it was all just an act. Probably for a School Play.
Bonus points if this gets taken so far that the play actually ends up being written.
A subtrope of Blatant Lies. Compare Hurricane of Excuses. Compare It's for a Book. See also All Part of the Show, Film Felons.
Examples
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Comic Books
- In Dramacon Derek says it at the beginning at a customer who caught Chris and him arguing.
Film
Live Action TV
Web Comics
- El Goonish Shive: A pizza delivery boy walks in
 on Male!Susan and Male!Nanase discussing skirts, and transformed Tedd tried to explain it away. The problem is, this guy's also the head of the student council in Tedd's school. Okay, not a big problem...
- Later Ellen and Nanase are caught kissing by Nanase's "Scary Homophobic Mother", Ellen claims "We're rehearsing a play about CPR!" while Nanase decides to come out.
Western Animation
- Inverted on The Simpsons. Homer was once heard shouting, "I'm going to kill you" in an angry tone, and Marge thought he had snapped. It turned out that Homer and Bart are rehearsing for a play, and Homer was just reading the play's title, I'm Going To Kill You, aloud.
- Which gets double inverted: seconds later, Homer appears to be reading from the play and says "Professor Van Doren — so good to see you." Then Professor Van Doren appears in the doorway and says "Ah, rehearsing a play, I see."
- Another Simpsons episode has Bart getting paranoid about a series of threatening letters from Sideshow Bob. One scene (part of a montage of similar Bait And Switch Comments) has Mrs Krabappel telling Bart, "You're going to be my murder victim, Bart - in our school production of Lizzie Borden, starring Martin Prince as Lizzy."
- The trope is mentioned in the episode where Bart sees Principal Skinner and Mrs. Krabappel making out at a party. Skinner tries to convince Bart that he (Bart) just imagined it, prompting Bart to say "That's the best you can do? You could have at least said that you were giving her CPR or rehearsing a play!". Skinner then asks if it's too late to say that.
Video Games
- During a task in Grand Theft Auto IV, Niko has the job description described to him, in a roundabout, not really implicating way, in a car that his employer's other agent (the man explaining the job) thinks may have listening devices in it. Niko then bluntly sums up the assignment to be sure he understood, leading his co-worker to quickly state, for the benefit of anyone listening, that he does not really know Niko, and that they are rehearsing for a night school drama class they attend together.
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