(Written by a Chinese girl studying in England)
As I waited in the wings - just before going on - my nervousness grew, and anxiety took over. Out there the crowd of parents was waiting like a pack of hungry wolves - poised to pounce. Their muttering and occasional coughing, the screeching, scraping noise of chairs being moved back-stage made me more apprehensive. Biting my lips, a stale, chalky taste was left in my mouth. My tight little costume felt itchy on my skin - like ants crawling across my flesh.
Peeking through the curtain again, I saw the audience in the chairs, waiting like a flock of cultures anticipating the kill. On the stage, they'd stirred up dust that whirled about aimlessly like fairies. Without direction or purpose, those dust clouds seemed to be mocking me as I stood there nervously, filled with tension. I glanced at the star of the show, and he was chewing his cheek in his anxiety - like a camel chewing his cud.
The muttering of the people out there swelled to a crescendo like the roaring of the sea as they competed with each other to be heard, and behind me members of the c ast were frantically practicing their lines. I could actually hear my heart in my ears as it pounded like a grandfather's clock - tick-tock-tick-tock-tick...
The tension was growing by the second. It would soon be time to go on, and the audience was quieter now. I could just catch a low susurrus as they coughed, whispered and yawned. There was a humming in the atmosphere, a buzzing like a swarm of hornets in a haze.
My heavy stage makeup started to cake as one of the stagehands turned the spotlights on, and I could feel perspiration slipping down the cracks as I stood there waiting. I felt caged in my crazy costume - like a chicken in a coop - hemmed in by the rest of the cast as they stood too close to me. My pounding heart was pumping like a piston.
The makeup upon my lips was unpleasant. It had a metallic tang, and the powder on my face needed to be redone. There were streaks in it now from the perspiration, and when the drops reached my mouth, they tasted salty. I chewed my lip nervously, and could taste warm blood spurting into my dry mouth, as I'd actually bitten myself. The humidity and moisture back-stage was a sharp contrast to how dry I felt inside.
The twoo sweet aroma of my makeup started to bother me, and I got a whiff of salt and vinegar crisps emanating from the audience. I sniffed my shirt to see if I was okay and instantly drew back, as there was a stench of stale sweat caused by my fears. Quickly I inhaled a lungful of air even though it was filled with dust, and I started to cough and sputter. My dry mouth was finally relieved as saliva poured in when I got the scent of the crisps the people out there were eating.
As the lights faded into darkness, a moment of silence fell, and then - suddenly - there was a burst of noise on the still air as the band struck up. At the first chords, I took a deep breath and made my entrance.
The show had begun