Thrill of the Stage…written on April 16, 2005 by Mlle. Daae

Ten minutes to curtain and the cast is quite jittery

Ladies brush blinding rouge over pale cheeks

Actors run to-and-fro, searching in vain for their missing props

Assistants search around happily, wishing to all good luck

The lights dim and silence sets in as the audience waits in apprehension

The gay music strikes up, bringing up within all, a sense of excitement

As the first scene passes without trouble, and a second begins, the actors feel any nervousness wiped away as joy takes its place

Intermission begins, and the cast is left to discuss quickly any matters that may have come up, and to laugh over petty mistakes

The blinding lights fade into darkness a second time as another type of music begins to play

It is eerie this time, and as the actors wait for their cues, they shudder in apprehension

As the second half of the play passes wonderfully, the actors fall into place as their characters, they become someone else

And as brilliant grins light up their faces, the actors bow dramatically for the ecstatic audience

Though it is only for a few hours a night, magic is worked upon the stage

And as actors fall back into place as themselves, wiping off the fire engine-red lipstick and removing their costumes in the crowed dressing rooms, with the cigarette smoke-tinted air and scrawls of graffiti from past shows on the wall, they feel a thrill

For they know that the next night, it will all happen again

The magic will be relived, and the thrill of the stage will be back again