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Back Stage Before the Show: An entertainer's nervousness before the show, as he gets ready to entertain his fans
Posted by Jeorge, Oct 11, 2007. 692 views. ID = 149
 
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Back Stage Before the Show

Posted by Jeorge, Oct 11, 2007. 692 views. ID = 149
This post was written in 11 minutes.
This post has been awarded 21 stars by 6 readers.

Back stage everything is quiet. The heavy velvet curtains hush the sounds of the crowds in the arena. But I know they are there. If I peek through the curtain, I can see them - row upon row of stadium seating, filled with eager, anxious fans waiting for me to begin. In these few minutes before the show begins they are talking to each other, calling out loudly to friends who are seated three or four rows away, laughing, joking, and waiting in eager anticipation.

But I'm not laughing. I'm not joking. My stomach is tied up in knots and I can think of nothing but the possibility of failure. What if I drop the ball? What if thousands of adoring fans watch me stumble and fall?

I can't think these kinds of thoughts. I'm an international superstar. I've never been a flop, never had a failed show in my entire life. And I'm not going to start now.

Suddenly the music flares into a dramatic fanfare. Trumpets blare loudly over the sound of the stringed insruments that provide the backbone of the prelude music. The audience hushes, and I hear the footsteps of the Master of Ceremonies, as he makes his way to center stage. With a grand flare for the dramatic, he introduces me, piling superlative adjectives one upon the other as he speaks of me to my adoring fans.

Then the footsteps recede again, and the trumpets blast once more. That's my cue.

I grab my props and push through the velvet curtains into the spotlights. Now the music has a driving beat, and my toes begin tapping in rhythm as the crowds begin to cheer. And in the midst of all the cheering, I hear the one thing I always love to hear. The voice of a single child crying out in delight:

"Look mommy! Look at that funny bird balancing a ball on his nose!"

It just doesn't get any better than this.

Copyright 2007 Jeorge. All rights reserved. FifteenMinutesOfFiction.com has been granted non-exclusive rights to display this work. For permission to reprint this item, please contact the author.

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This post has been awarded 21 stars by 6 readers.

Comments


Katie
Oct 11, 2007
Aww! What a nice story Jeorge! :-)
   ~Posted by Katie, Oct 11, 2007


Josiah T.
Oct 11, 2007
Since when did you become international? ;-)
   ~Posted by Josiah T., Oct 11, 2007


Douglas
Oct 11, 2007
I think the real question would be...since when can you balance a ball on your nose and tap your toes?

*thinks Jeorge is having delusions of grandeur*
   ~Posted by Douglas, Oct 11, 2007


Jeorge
Oct 11, 2007
And I think that someone is forgetting that I've performed in both Canada and Argentina. I think that qualifies as international! :P
   ~Posted by Jeorge, Oct 11, 2007


Katie
Oct 11, 2007
So if you've performed in Canada and Argentina, when are you coming to Kingfield? We might start to feel left out you know. ;-)

Hmm. Canada and Argentina, huh? Does that mean you perform in other languages as well?
   ~Posted by Katie, Oct 11, 2007


Trent
Oct 19, 2007
I don't know what to say.
It seems as though you have surpassed Doug in your ambitions. I think you need to think about a manager that is more, how shall we say, international himself.

Give me a call. We'll talk.
   ~Posted by Trent, Oct 19, 2007




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The first in a series of fantasy novels set in an alternate history of the United States.
 
 
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