The Show Must Go on

The Show Must Go on

I was about to walk onstage and conquer my stage fright. My heart was pounding faster than I knew it possibly could. Everyone participating in the show seemed anxious, but not nearly as anxious as me. I was very nervous, but at the same time excited, and confident; I had been attending rehearsals four times a week for the past three months. I had four parts and couldn’t mess any of them up. Failure was not an option. This is the night I have been waiting for, “Encore: Celebration of the Arts”.

“Please welcome act four, Nancy Toussie,” the announcer said. My heart was racing. I walked to the center of the stage and sat at the large black piano. I looked at the crowd and saw hundreds of eyes watching me. I took a deep breath and placed my sheet music in front of me. I started to play the piano and after a couple of seconds, I began singing the opening verse to “Human” by The Killers. As I sang, I slowly became less tense. I reassured myself that everything was going as planned. However, this did not last so long. When it was time to sing the second verse, I sang the first by accident; I had messed up. I stuttered for a few seconds and then began singing the correct lyrics. I wondered the entire time if people knew I made a mistake. I started to become tense again. My heart was still beating but not nearly as fast as before. When I finished singing, I rose from the bench and bowed. As I walked off the stage, the crowd gave me a huge round of applause, making me smile. Although I was smiling, I was mad that I made a mistake. The stage director tapped my shoulder and said, “That was amazing. You did a great job covering up your mistake, which is a talent in the performing arts!” She made me feel better. My friend Sarah was performing next. I wish I could have stayed to watch her but I had to be back onstage two acts later, in a different costume.

I ran downstairs to the rack of costumes and took the hanger labeled “Nancy Toussie Pink Panther Dance.” I changed as quickly as possible and ran back upstairs to get in line with the rest of the dance group. I was not as nervous for this act because I was performing with a group of people. We waited for the young lady dancing on stage to finish. She was performing Swan Lake so beautifully and confidently that I forgot where I was for a few moments.

I snapped back into reality when I heard the announcer’s voice, “ Please welcome act six, ‘The Pink Panther.’” The lights flickered as the Pink Panther theme song began. We crawled onto the stage and began snapping to the sound of the pink panther running across the stage. We all danced