The rush of walking to the dressing room on my first show,

friendly faces greet me, all with smiles on their face.

The anxiety sets in when I start applying the makeup,

by the time I finished, my face was a cake.

A half hour passed and I had to get dressed,

the thoughts of failure flooded my mind.

What if I forget my lines, what if I mess up the dances, what if my cast mates hate me?

I shake my head to forget these thoughts.

An hour till we open and I start panicking,

this is my first big production.

I enter the cool room,

the coldness is comforting on my burning face.

The whole cast is nervous, I could tell by their faces.

We mess around to calm our nerves and do a simple warm up.

Curtain call, 5 to curtain, I hear,

And it's all back again.

My fear, my excitement,

My anxiety.

I hear the music play and we start walking down the row.

I feel the lights hit my face and all my fear and anxiety melts away.

I am in total bliss and the sounds of actors talking soothe me,

I go along like I'm not even there.

I am happy.