The beaming kids in Arabian shirts
With messy veil-worn hair
forget the too-tight shoes that hurt
And the itchy socks they wear
The lights burn bright on my smiling face
The butterflies in my stomach do flips
Looking into the crowd, my heart starts to race
But my nervousness slowly slips
The glasses glare from the guy in row c
Is the only thing in sight
From the great big mass of people in the
theater tonight
The notes from the night before
are running through my mind
and that plot twist in scene four
gets the audience from behind
Intermission comes and goes
A game of mafia backstage
Grandma’s opening night rose
Wilts. Showing how we’ve turned the page
The cast gets better with every laugh
A little sweaty hand squeezes mine
My tights rip right down the calf
In the receiving line
“If it’s not your prop don’t touch it”
“Always pause for laughter”
“Hey, those wings cannot be hit”
“Hang up your costume after”
Despite the long tech week nights,
that note unachieved in a song,
And those silly audition frights.
I still know that like Iago to Jafar,
On stage is where I belong.
MTVarts has helped me in utilizing every tiny little bit of creativity within me in everything I do, making even mundane tasks in life a little more colorful and right brained, and forced me to work harder, push myself, and love theater more than I thought anyone could ever love anything. Doing MTVarts IQ Workshops like The Little Mermaid Jr. and Aladdin Jr. helps theater buffs, and budding young actors alike fine tune their skills, and have tons of fun with other amazingly talented kids who love singing, dancing, acting and hamming it up just as much as they do. It makes my heart happy to know that in both of the IQ Workshops, and through the support of MTVarts and every amazing, patient, and loving volunteer, I’ve seen kids find their voices, come out of their shells, and become truly amazing performers!
