It's the feeling you get when the lights go up.You've been working hard; staying up night after night for weeks on endmemorizing. Running the same lines over and over again until you know them likethe back of your hand. Running them until you get to the point where your linescome up in random conversations; until your mind goes numb from all of thehours you've spent saying them over and over again. You've spent countless daysin the theater wearing that costume that makes you feel special, unique. You'vewatched the show grow from cold reads to staging the first performance to doingthe last dress rehearsal. You've seen your fellow actors and actresses growfrom their seeds into beautiful works of art. You know that the performancewill be the best night of your life. But, you have that little voice in theback of your mind saying "What if there's a technical difficulty? What ifyour costume rips in the most embarrassing place possible? What if you dry upon stage? They'll surely laugh at you for that." Your palms get sweatyfrom the nerves. Your heart beats fast and you fiddle with your costume justpraying that everything will be fine. It's your time. You hear the last line ofthe scene before yours. Time to get out there. You step out on the stage, takea deep breath, then the lights go up.
