The Show Must Go On Final Draft

 “Not for thy fairy kingdom. Fairies, away!” If I had any understanding of that Shakespearean line before I entered high school, I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t be quite the same today. Performing had always come easy to me, I was a smug preteen who thought I had already won and Oscar. But besides the sophomoric way I acted offstage, on stage, I felt free, constant surges of adrenaline, and overall love for, every second, every moment, every line, everything. I never thought it was possible to love something so much and came with so much ease. Then high school hit, I was sure I was going to sing, dance, and perform my way through it. And whoever said something as simple as a email couldn't change your life was mistaken. I got one from one of my prior directors asking to cast me as Titania, queen of the fairies in Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream". How glamorous, I thought, taking the role without hesitation. Like most things in my life thus far, I assumed the show would be smooth sailing, I was over-confident and oblivious to the challenges I would soon face. Little did I know, Shakespeare was about to teach me a lot more than “Fairies, away!”

I walked into the drama room my heart beating 1,000 times per minute, but not with fear, but agreeable anxiousness, something I always felt before a show. I walked in and listened, “How happy some o'er other some can be! Through Athens I am thought as fair as she...” Helena kept reciting her monologue and then more characters joined in and as if in unison the Shakespearean language they were reciting morphed into whispers of second guessing and fear. They were all so good, and they all wanted to perform just as badly as I did. No longer could I blame anxiousness for my racing heart, I could only blame anxiety. By the time rehearsal ended, I already made up in my mind that this show wasn’t right for me. When I told my mom, she replied, “They are depending on you, the show must go on”. The show must go on, no matter how hard I thought it was or how many Queen Titania’s that Midsummer Night had already lost, the show must go on. And so it did.

Thankfully, those 5 words paved one of the best decisions of my life, to learn words like enamored, and canker blossom, I learned more important words such as appreciation, dependability, confidence, and determination. Along with learning my lines, I was learning that things don’t come as easy as I originally believed. You have to work really hard for the things you want. Everyone in the cast depended on  me, on each other, we were all pulling each other  to the end of the finish line and if one of us stopped moving, then we would never make it. Even though things were harder, it made me want it to get my character down more than any other character I had played before and I finally broke out of my shell.  

There are pros to doing the scariest thing you have ever done in your life. I got more excited about doing things at school, joining in more things, appreciating the little things like “good work” instead of ignoring everything but a standing ovation. And incomparable of all, I met the best friends I have ever had. You know in some small way you have made it when you are doing the thing you love and you look to your left and right, and can’t imagine doing it with anyone else. That isn’t hard work paying off, just a true blessing. A Midsummer Night’s Dream will most definitely be a highlight of my high school career because without it, I would still be the same spoiled pre-adolescent whippersnapper who thought everything in life comes easy. Thank you to everyone, especially my mom and director who helped me finally see that even when things seem too difficult, all seems lost, and you want to give up, the show must go on.  

Concrete Paragraphs

The 99th annual hunger games, Katniss Everdeen had lost the rebellion and President Snow retaliated against the districts with brutality. He rigged the reaping so that over a span of 24 years, the nation had lost all the members of One Direction, Hunter Hayes, and worst of all, Justin Bieber. The girls didn't know what they would do if they lost another heartthrob and the hands of the capital. The only fate that seemed appropriate was if they got chosen the same year as Shawn Mendes or Jake Gyllenhaal so they would get to meet them. Now, the reaping was about to start, Effie Trinket stepped up and announced the tribute, "Nick Jonas!" "Yep it's official", sobbed one girl pushing the hair behind her ears, "Trinket is going in my burn book".

Grandma was off her hinges, her son decided to take a career as an air guitarist and her sister still believed you sallow seven spiders in your sleep. Therefore she demanded someone watch her will she slept to make sure no spiders crawled in. On the death bed of her husband, his final words were, "I hid the money-" then he flatlined, her dog had ran away and her fish had flipped upside down the same day. So during the annual family reunion, when her granddaughter told her she wasn't going to college because she was going to follow her dad to Las Vegas to pursue an air guitar career, grandma had to convince her not to go.

He embraced his family, for the first time in almost one year, he felt his daughters arms wrapped around his chest, the kiss his wife and the soft grass that he tended to every Saturday morning. He was always willing and proud to go fight for his country, but the thought of leaving his family always mad him uneasy about his job. Nonetheless, he hugged them tighter and tighter each second and really believed he could stay in he moment forever, it was a prefect moment. The only thing left on his mind as he started aimlessly at the ground, was wonderment, for he had just farted and questioned if they could smell it. 

The Show Must Go On

        “Not for thy fairy kingdom. Fairies, away!” If I had any understanding of that Shakespearean line before I entered high school, I’m fairly certain I wouldn’t be quite the same today. Performing had always come easy to me, like a cheetah runs or a bird flies with a little practice it all came naturally. On stage, I felt free, surges of adrenaline, and overall love for everything, every second, every moment, every line. I never thought it was possible to love something so much and came with so much ease. Then high school hit, I was sure I was going to sing, dance, and perform my way through it. And whoever said something as simple as a  email couldn't change your life was mistaken. I got one from my old director asking to cast me as Titania, queen of the fairies in Shakespeare’s "A Midsummer Night’s Dream". How glamorous, I thought, taking the role without hesitation. Like most things in my life thus far, I assumed the show would be smooth sailing. Little did I know, Shakespeare was about to teach me a lot more than “Fairies, away!”

I walked into the drama room my heart beating 1,000 times per minute, but not with fear, but agreeable anxiousness, something I always felt before a show. I walked in and listened, “How happy some o'er other some can be! Through Athens I am thought as fair as she...” Helena kept reciting her monologue and then more characters joined in and as if in unison the Shakespearean language they were reciting morphed into whispers of second guessing and fear. They were all so good, and they all wanted to perform just as badly as I did. No longer could I blame anxiousness for my racing heart, I could only blame anxiety. By the time rehearsal ended, I already made up in my mind that this show wasn’t right for me. When I told my mom, she replied, “They are depending on you, the show must go on”. The show must go on, no matter how hard I thought it was or how many Queen Titania’s that Midsummer Night had already lost, the show must go on. And so it did.

Thankfully, those 5 words paved one of the best decisions of my life, to learn words like enamored, and canker blossom, I learned more important words such as appreciation, dependability, confidence, and determination. Along with learning my lines, I was learning that things don’t come as easy as I originally believed. You have to work really hard for the things you want. Everyone in the cast depended on  me, on each other, we were all pulling each other  to the end of the finish line and if one of us stopped moving, then we would never make it. Even though things were harder, it made me want it to get my character down more than any other character I had played before and I finally broke out of my shell.  

There are pros to doing the scariest thing you have ever done in your life. I got more excited about doing things at school, joining in more things, appreciating the little things like “good work” instead of ignoring everything but a standing ovation. And incomparable of all, I met the best friends I have ever had. You know in some small way you have made it when you are doing the thing you love and you look to your left and right, and can’t imagine doing it with anyone else. That isn’t hard work paying off, just a true blessing. A Midsummer Night’s Dream will most definitely be a highlight of my high school career because without it, I would still be the same spoiled pre-adolescent whippersnapper who thought everything in life comes easy. Thank you to everyone, especially my mom and director who helped me finally see that even when things seem too difficult, all seems lost, and you want to give up, the show must go on.