Perhaps (Book 1) | ✔

ACT I - Scene 8

Accent Academy — Gloria's Dressing Room

The following week, our mere script-readings transferred onto the stage.

It was astounding to watch Sean and Layla perform their parts. I could only hope that my acting appeared as impressive as theirs. Luke, the boy who was playing 'Alexander', was also very good: he portrayed his character's pessimism very well. I think his generally serious disposition helped with that; it fit in well with his character. Sam fit 'Ellison' nicely. He was able to integrate some of his own eccentrics into 'Ellison's' behavior, and Professor Baron actually asked to see more of it. Riley gave me chills when I would watch him perform some of 'Lucas's' parts, especially when he would do his evil laugh. It was funny, because off-stage, Riley was a really sweet person and a bit of a goofball—but, on stage, he was every bit the sadist and monster that 'Lucas' was described as.

I sat in my dressing room that Friday, finishing up my afternoon snack (thankfully, Mom had abandoned those horrible nuts and had given me my fruit cups back) as I looked over the scene we were going to be practicing today. It was possibly my favorite scene in the entire musical, and probably the most pivotal scene of Act I: 'Gloria' and 'Daniel's' duet and love theme, "Perhaps".

I had been reading over and practicing my lines for this scene all week, but I still felt so nervous. All of my co-stars seemed to perform so well so effortlessly, and I wanted my performance to be just like theirs. I felt as if I had to put everything I had into my acting to even perform half as well as they did, so I had taken to arriving early and staying after rehearsals had finished to practice some more. I went through the motions of the scenes until they became second-nature, even though I knew they might have to be adjusted to accommodate how Sean played 'Daniel' or how Riley played 'Lucas'.

I stood up and tossed my empty fruit cup in the trash can, grabbed my script, and departed the room towards the stage. The sets were coming together nicely: today, the stage was decorated with an unfinished depiction of a dark street corner, alleyway, and an unfinished building that was supposed to house 'Gloria's' flat. I looked out towards the empty audience, seeing only the vaguest of outlines for the chairs through the stage lights. Before I knew it, those chairs would be filled with hundreds—maybe even thousands—of people...all of them watching me...

I shook the thought from my mind as I felt the palms of my hands begin to sweat. I couldn't get nervous about performing in front of an audience: I wasn't a stranger to performance anxiety, but I also wasn't a stranger to performing. The audience always seemed to melt away when I lost myself in my dance, and I was certain it would melt away when I lost myself in my acting.

I played through the scene the best that I could on my own, imagining 'Lucas's' and 'Daniel's' lines as I attempted to recite mine. It was really awkward, especially since I wasn't sure how Riley and Sean would want to pace things—and the duet part was super awkward because I couldn't hit the lower notes and I had no idea how Sean would want to time his lines. But, somehow, I managed to make this mess work. I went through the scene a couple times, and I was so focused on my part that I didn't notice I had a spectator.

"Well, I didn't realize that you were going to be playing the parts of 'Lucas', 'Daniel', and 'Gloria'. Impressive." I let out an embarrassing squeak as I jumped (what was probably at least ten feet into the air) and dropped my dog-eared script. Heart threatening to launch itself out of my chest, I turned around to see Professor Lee climbing up the steps of the stage. As he approached me, I noticed the amusement lighting up his face. "Did I startle you?" he chuckled. My face burned.

"A little. Sorry..." I squeaked again as I knelt down to pick up my script. I cleared my throat, hoping that would stop me from sounding like a mouse. "I was just so focused on my lines that I didn't hear you come in."