♫Erica♫
“How now! who calls?”
No, no. That’s not right. That’s not Juliet’s character at all. Juliet’s only thirteen, and so she would be timid.
“How now! who –?”
No, that’s too shy. She is talking to her nurse here, someone who raised her since infancy. She would be more comfortable with her. Don’t forget, even though she’s only thirteen, she’s headstrong.
“How now –”
No, no, no! That was completely wrong!
I ran my fingers through my hair. Why the hell can’t I do this?! It’s one line! It’s only one line! I can say it.
“How –”
I closed my eyes, and hugged the script to my chest. I though I would be able to do it. I thought the dancing and the singing would be the problem. I had no idea…this would the thing that stops me.
“How now! who calls?”
No.
“How now! who calls?”
My voice was growing higher and shriller.
“How now! who calls?”
Why the hell can’t I do this?
I felt a tear slip out of my eye, and I brushed it away, impatiently. I couldn’t break down. I had to be able to do this.
“You look like you’re having some trouble.”
I spun around, my heart beating wildly. I clutched the script, about to use it to hit the attacker. I relaxed my grip.
“Oh, Daniel, it’s only you. I just…can’t seem to get the character right. I’ve never played a girl before.”
That wasn’t a lie. I’ve never played a girl before.
Daniel was standing there, leaning against a wall, his arms crossed. The stage lighting shadowed most of his face, and so his expression was unreadable. He was wearing jeans tight enough to get my heart racing, but loose enough to look good. His t-shirt showed off his muscles perfectly.
“So?”
“…so what?”
“Well,” he said, taking a step towards me. Suddenly, his face was thrown into light, and he was smiling. My heart thudded even harder. It had to be illegal to look that good. “You seem to you think you can’t do it.”
“I…”
“You should believe in yourself,” Daniel said, smiling his cute little smile. How did he pull off these cheesy lines? “What’s the problem?”
“When I was a kid,” I blurted out, “I got a really big part. As in, astronomically big. Very big. And I…kind of got absorbed into that part. And so whenever I act…”
“He comes out,” Daniel finished. “Right. I get it.”
“So…how do I fix it?”
He was silent for a moment. “That character will always be a part of you. You won’t be able to escape him.”
“Right…”
“Why don’t you pick a part of Juliet you like, and try to expand that?”
“What?” I said, surprised.
“Isn’t that what they taught you in acting school?”
“Yes, but…Would it be that easy? To simply…create a character?”
