THE FIRST STAGE
Growing up before an audience can be overwhelming. As soon as the inky darkness engulfed the frail light, the notes of the rusty old piano keys ascended in a magical flight to the heavens, in a breath-taking melody of orchestral exuberance. I struggled to adjust the dusty, variegated leaves that had been obstructing my view, which Mrs. Gomes had so cautiously fastened to the rest of my ensemble. Amongst the myriad of faces, I noticed those of my parents seated in the isle, their palpable excitement buzzing through the charged air. It was my first school play.
“I offer you these succulent apples, child, to quench your hunger”.
I muttered my only lines in the five-part play with an air of self-adulation. I turned to the audience, expecting their cheers to erupt like an auditory volcano, but all I received instead was the frantic applause of my parents. This however was not enough to dampen my spirit. I guess I was surprised that I even received a part in the class play, given my sheepish nature, notwithstanding that all students got a part. Eight years down the line, my passion for theater has only escalated. It was in those fleeting moments on stage, before an exuberant crowd, when I was intoxicated by a rush of emotions, that I identified my proclivity for performing.
In fact, my upbringing had numbed me into unpredictability and disarray, qualities essential in any persuasive actor. Having grown up in a family of five, my siblings arguing, the espresso machine whistling and my neighbors’ bulldog barking, all meant that my household was functioning normally. But it was not easy for me to step into the role of a fictional character and breathe life into a form that is not physical. I would spend hours before the mirror, rehearsing lines for upcoming plays, attempting to perfect each character I was chosen to portray - be it a vexatious relative or a capricious acquaintance - and would even garner inspiration from the movies in order to hone my skills, whether it was a highbrow tearjerker on the life of a high-school student or an operatically delirious 007 adventure. At the time, even the idea of performing before a mammoth crowd would make me quicker with anxiety.It was, however, this fear which eventually drove me to explore my skills in other domains, which gave me courage to voice my opinions, in an auditorium packed with impatient spectators and which eventually shaped my childhood. All through high school, I have savored the intellectual stimulation and pressure-filled competition of Public Forum Debate.
Growing up in a generation where your personality is somehow determined by the lifestyle you portray through a trendy filter or a whacky camera angle, in a sea of people mindlessly conforming to the latest fad, carving out an identity apart from my peers was overwhelming. But debate managed to do just that and much more. The thought of people being invested in your ideas as you proceed to demolish the arguments of the opposition was exhilarating, almost like the peak of a rollercoaster just before it dips. Fortunately, I was very frequently presented with opportunities to hone my debating skills in the warm confines of my home. I would use my years of experience as a Member of the Debating Society to manipulate my mother into believing that “eating healthy” was an overrated concept, but with her bookshelf heaved under the weight of old volumes of health articles, I had to learn the hard way, that my mother was not as gullible as a room full of debating enthusiasts.
When I look back today and recall the fondest memories of my school life, I am enveloped with the blissful evocation of my time spent on stage. Whether it was while voicing opinions on a socially relevant issue such as the “American elections” or “the new Christopher Nolan movie”, or while singing in the school choir, or while, reciting lines from Shakespeare’s Macbeth before the British Council, I had realized that my growing up on stage, was of paramount importance in shaping me as an individual.
And those fleeting moments before the exuberant crowd in the inky darkness during my first school play might have been just another theatrical performance for the rest, but for me, it was the inception of a glorious journey.
