Smile for the tired panel,
show them you're ready.
I am NOT nervous...
Present your piece, then
sit and gather yourself.
Plunge into your character,
filling the silence of
this hall with the sound.
Of your voice becoming another's.

Listen to the silence,
as the last words
of your monologue
dissipate into the air.
Wait, as they grasp
the emotion conveyed.
You've left them stunned.
One of them remembers,
that you were acting.
And claps to acknowledge
your performance.
The others snap out
of the spell and join in.

You remember that what
you just said is not true.
So you smile. And proceed.
The song comes next.
Your voice starts soft,
but rises in pitch and volume
until the air reverberates.
The entire hall is filled
with nothing but your song.
You cut your last note,
and this time the applause
is instantaneous.

You smugly smile,
knowing you didn't mess up.
And they ask you to cold sing.
A song by a lead in the play.
It is dangerously close
to the bottom of your range.
But you try your best and hope.
You casually walk out of the hall.
And as the door closes, behind you,
you throw a three sixty off the stairs
and fist-pump the sky...
"Nailed It."

01/26/2004

Posted on 01/27/2004
Copyright © 2024 J. P. Davies