Stage Fright on a Summer Night (4 page)

Will led Jack and Annie through a door into the back of the Globe Theater. Then he led them up a dark stairway.

As they headed upstairs, Jack heard laughter coming from the audience. His legs felt like jelly.

“This way,” said Will.

He led Jack and Annie into a crowded, dimly lit room. Actors were rushing about everywhere. Each seemed to be in his own
world. One was pulling on a cape. Another was tying a rope around his waist. A third was whispering words to himself.

“I'll find your costumes,” said Will.

As Will dug through a large basket of clothes, Jack and Annie looked around the costume room. It was crammed with fancy gowns, purple and blue capes, gold and silver wigs, stacks of hats, and masks.

“Cool,” whispered Annie. She touched a donkey mask and a lion mask. “These would make good disguises, huh?”

Jack was amazed she was acting so calm. Didn't she know they were about to stand in front of three thousand people? The thought made him break into a sweat. His stomach felt fluttery.

“Here!” said Will. He handed them green
tunics, hats, and slippers. “Put these on! No time to dally! Your parts come up soon!”

Jack and Annie slipped behind a curtain and changed into their costumes. As they put on their hats, Annie hid her pigtails.

When they came out, Will handed them each a small scroll. “Here are your rolls,” he said. “They have only
your
lines on them, no one else's.”

Jack unrolled his scroll. He had two long speeches to read.

“Wait a second,” he said. “I thought I just had a few lines. I didn't know I had a ton.”

“Don't worry,” said Will. “Just remember—speak very clearly and with feeling. And above all, act natural.”

Act natural?
thought Jack.
How do you
act natural when you're about to have a heart attack?

Just then a short, chubby man burst into the costume room. He had curly hair and bright red cheeks. He was dressed all in green, too.

“For goodness' sakes, Will!” he said in a frantic whisper. “What will we do?”

“Don't worry! Look who I've found! They both can read!” said Will. He pushed Jack and Annie forward. “Jack and Andy, meet Puck, ‘merry wanderer of the night.' He'll take you to the stage. Good luck!”

Annie smiled. Jack groaned.

“Come, boys!” said Puck. “Follow me!”

Puck led Jack and Annie out of the costume room into the hallway. Then he guided them to a dark area at the back of the stage.

Actors stood silently nearby, waiting to go on. One wore a beautiful white gown. Others wore tattered brown rags.

Through an arch, Jack saw the roof of the stage. It was blue with stars and a moon. A huge crowd stood directly in front of the stage. More people watched from the galleries above.

Every single person in England is out there!
Jack thought with horror.
How did I let Annie talk me into this?

“I'll take
you
onstage first,” Puck whispered to Jack. “When I say, ‘How now, spirit! Whither wander you?', start reading your lines. Understand?”

Jack barely nodded. His mouth felt dry. He tried to swallow, but he couldn't.

Puck turned to Annie.

“You go onstage with the fairy queen,” he
whispered. He pointed to the actor dressed in the beautiful white gown. “When she tells you to sing her to sleep, you start your song.”

“What's the tune?” asked Annie.

“Just make it up,” said Puck. “Now, if they yell rude things, do not stop. Just—”

“If
who
yells rude things?” Jack broke in.

“The groundlings get a bit wild,” said Puck.

“Groundlings?” said Jack.

“The rowdy folk who don't have seats,” said Puck. “They're standing close to the stage. If they throw rotten fruit, don't stop, either. Just keep going.”

That does it
, thought Jack. He couldn't go onstage—not with groundlings throwing things, not with three thousand people watching, not with a million lines to read—and not when he was about to throw up!

While Puck and Annie watched the show, Jack slipped away. He looked for the exit. Just as he found the stairs, he bumped into Will.

“Where are you going?” Will whispered.

“I can't stay,” said Jack. “I'm sick!”

Will sucked in his breath. But then he put his hands on Jack's shoulders and spoke calmly.

“Close your eyes for a moment, Jack,” he said.

Jack closed his eyes. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

“There is nothing to fear,” Will whispered. “Imagine you are a fairy. You're in the forest, on a summer night. See the silver moon overhead? Hear the owls?
Hooo-hooo.
”

Will's deep whisper seemed to cast a spell
over Jack. He felt calmer. He could picture the silver moon. He could hear the hooting of the owls.

“Are you in the forest, on a summer night?” asked Will.

Jack nodded.

“If
you
believe that, the audience will believe it, too,” whispered Will.

“We're on!” whispered Puck. The chubby actor ran to Jack. He grabbed his hand and pulled him along.

Before he knew it, Jack was onstage!

Jack stood onstage in the bright sunlight. He felt three thousand pairs of eyes staring at him.

“How now, spirit!” Puck said in a loud voice. “Whither wander you?”

Jack looked down at his scroll. He pushed his glasses into place. He opened his mouth. No sound came out.

One of the groundlings hissed.

“How now, spirit!” Puck shouted even louder this time. “Whither wander you?”

Jack closed his eyes. He
felt
the summer night. He took a deep breath. He cleared his throat. He looked at his speech.

Then he began to read:

As Jack read, the audience grew quiet. Jack forgot he was Jack. He was in the forest, in the night, talking to Puck.

When he finished, not a single groundling hissed or threw things.

Jack took a deep breath as Puck started his lines. Jack knew he had one more speech. His heart pounded. But it was more from excitement now than fear.

When it was time to start his second speech, he was ready. This time, he spoke very clearly and with feeling. He tried to be as natural as possible. When he finished his speech, the audience clapped and clapped.

Jack hardly remembered leaving the stage. Will was waiting for him.

“Hurrah!” said Will, slapping Jack on the back. “You were brilliant!”

Jack blushed as he gave Will his scroll back. He couldn't believe he'd just performed,
acted,
in front of all those people! And he'd actually had fun—just like Annie had said.

Jack waited in the shadows for Annie to
do her part. He watched her go onstage with the fairy queen and the other fairies.

When the queen asked the fairies to sing her to sleep, Annie stepped forward. Reading from her scroll, she sang out clearly—and with
lots
of feeling:

Annie waved her hand as if shooing away the snakes and hedgehogs.

Annie shook her finger at the newts and blind worms. The audience howled with laughter.

Annie kept singing. She made funny movements and silly faces to go with the words. She even added a little dance to her song.

By the time she finished, the audience clapped and cheered and stamped their feet.

“Wonderful, job, Andy!” Will said when Annie left the stage.

“You were brilliant!” Jack told her.

“Thanks!” said Annie. She gave her scroll back to Will. “Do I go on again?”

“Not until the end, when we all bow,” said Will.

Just then Jack heard the audience laughing again. He really wanted to see the play. So he found a shadowy spot at the back of the theater and watched from there.

Jack couldn't understand everything people said, but he could understand the story. It was about people in love. But none were able to marry the people they loved.

The funniest part was about the fairy king and fairy queen. The king was mad at the queen. So he put magic juice on her eyelids to make her fall in love with the first person she saw.

Puck worked for the king. He wanted to make the king's trick even funnier. So he put
the head of a donkey on a funny man. When the queen woke up, she saw the donkey-man. The magic made her fall madly in love with him!

The fairy king finally broke the spell. Puck turned the donkey-man back into a human while he slept. When the man woke up, he looked about in wonder.