SilkyShine

Lights. Camera. Action. Three simple words that bring such a large bout of nerves. On the 18th of October, each person in our Drama class was to choose a script for a commercial and told we’d be presenting them on the 21st. It seemed easy enough. I chose ‘SilkyShine Shampoo and Conditioner’ as my product. I memorized my lines as advised, repeating them over and over until I was saying them in my sleep. Next I had to get my product. It consisted of a shampoo bottle with the old label peeled off, and my very own “SilkyShine” label placed on. I had my lines, and now I also had my product. I needed my costume: to go with the hair product theme, I chose a light, breezy summer dress in a lovely shade of purple. I’d need the splash of color if we were performing in front of the black curtains – the last thing I wanted was to blend into them. All that was left now was the actual performance.

One of the twelfth graders from the Acting Academy class came in to film our commercials, and we were set. As luck would have it, we were presenting from the bottom of the list up – that meant I was first! No pressure, right? Wrong. My old hard-fought stage fright returned twice as hard. My first take seemed horrible from my point of view: I knew I was speeding through the lines faster than a racecar. I was supported and advised to take a deep breath, and so I did. It definitely helped. My previous experience in dealing with things unpleasant to me helped to cap the lid on my negative emotions and project my positive. My second take was okay from my point of view and although my friends told me it was good, I personally believe I could have done much better.

This experience definitely proves that acting is not easy. It can be extremely hard to step out into the lights and perform because you have that inner voice telling you that you’re setting yourself up for failure and embarrassment. Maybe I’ll never get over the nerves; maybe the first few moments will always be like that for me. Either way, I got out there and I did what I could do, and that for me, is something to be unfailingly proud of.