Read Online Waiting in the Wings by Melissa Brayden - Free Book Online Page B

I’ve ever experienced. Hearing the audience laughing and reacting to the lines was such a rush. You didn’t get that in rehearsal.
    It made me want to give them more, but I reminded myself to stick to the direction I’d been given and not get carried away.
    For the rest of the show, I allowed myself to get lost. I threw myself full force into each emotion Alexis would feel, even if I didn’t always agree with her actions. It seemed to work, as the audience gasped at all the right shocking moments and cheered when Evan triumphed over Alexis in the end.
    Before I knew it, the show was over and it was time for the cast to take their bows during curtain call. The ensemble bowed in groups of six, with featured actors coming out in pairs. The only singular bows went to the actress playing Evan’s doctor, me, Ben, and of course, Adrienne, who had the final bow of the night. Having witnessed the curtain call many times, I knew that a performance was deemed successful if the audience stood for Adrienne when she took the stage.
    I waited in the wings as the ensemble and feature players took their turns bowing. As the actress who played Evan’s doctor entered, the audience erupted into cheering. I made sure not to allow too much time to pass between her bow and mine, as instructed by Craig, and began my high energy run to the downstage portion of the set. I was caught off guard by the number of people beginning to stand as I approached. I took my bow and smiled as the ovation cascaded down to the front row. It was a great moment, but one I knew I couldn’t dwell on and quickly jumped to the side for Ben’s entrance. After his bow, the orchestra struck up the melody to Evan’s comeback number in the show just in time for Adrienne to appear. The cheering in the Cadillac Theater turned to rock star status as Adrienne bowed before the audience. It was as if they couldn’t get enough of her. I applauded along with them. As the company joined together and we took our final bow of the evening, I knew I would never forget this day.
    The curtain went down and my eyes were moist with tears. They were tears of excitement, tears of exhaustion, and tears of relief. I returned to the dressing room and began the transformation back into myself. The girls were excited for me but quickly fell back into their usual routine. They’d done this show many times and this
    was just another in the series for them. They did remark on the crazy audience reaction to the show, however, and hoped for more of that from Chicago.
    The only thing that could make this experience more complete would be sharing it with Adrienne. It felt like we were in it together on that stage. I’d looked around for her after curtain call, but she’d disappeared to her dressing room fairly quickly. I looked at the flowers she’d sent and thought how much they reminded me of her. Beautiful, unique, and elegant all at the same time.
    Kyle came by our dressing room to let us know the name of the restaurant where everyone was meeting. I realized I was starving. I hadn’t eaten dinner and had only an apple for lunch. I told the rest of the group to go on ahead, as I needed a moment to decompress. I sat at my dressing table and opened one card after another from the company. I heard the door behind me open and glanced in the mirror. Adrienne was leaning against the doorjamb, looking thoughtful. Her long hair fell around her face in slightly curled tendrils after being pinned back from the wig she’d worn for the show. I loved how it looked when she’d just taken it down. I studied her in the mirror. “I hope that face isn’t a reflection of my performance tonight.”
    She laughed, but only briefly. “No, of course not. You were wonderful tonight. I’m in awe. You blew me away and it was only your first performance.”
    “Thank you,” I said. “I was beyond nervous, but hearing the applause, the laughter, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it.”
    “I hope you