A leash clenched in my left hand, I led a peevish camel through the harsh desert. Behind me, Bedouins wrapped in long scarves trudged along the well worn trade road. All together, we made up a caravan of dehydrated travelers and tired livestock. After arriving in an oases on the Arabian Peninsula, I had joined forces with the nomads. So far, it had just gotten me a face full of camel spit.
The flat, sandy, plain of the desert stretched out in all directions. I was getting really tired of the same old scenery. The air was over 120 degrees and bone dry. Suddenly, a hot wind blew in my face. The subtle difference almost knocked me over. The breeze culminated into a roar, and a giant wave of sand loomed in the distance. "Sandstorm!" a Bedouin yelled over the din.
My companions immediately hunkered down behind their camels. I thought it was awful to use an animal as a shield, but camels are the boats of the desert. They are built to block sand. I pressed my self against George (my camel), who had already sat down. I buried my face in my scarf. The minute I had got into position, the storm caught up with us. Even though I was covered, the grit worked it's way into my mouth, ears, and nose. Huddled for dear life, I tried to keep breathing.
After about five minutes of 0 visibility, the wind died down to a low moan. I could see the sky! I surveyed the rest of the traders. We had all shifted backwards 10 feet. Standing up shakily, I shook about 20 pounds of sand from my clothes. Assembling back into caravan formation, everyone carried on as if nothing had happened. I was very confused. Didn't people die in sandstorms? Why were they all so indifferent? I asked a kind man named Muhammad. "That little thing? That was just a breeze." he replied with a laugh.
I had the caravan drop me off at the closest town. Even though Muhammad had assured me that we had been in no danger, I was still kind of freaked out. I rushed to my Porshe and zoomed off. I really didn't want to face another wall of dirt. If I did ever encounter another sandstorm though, I knew to locate the nearest camel. In an instant, I was greeted by New York. I noticed an identical face peering through the crowd. Linking arms with Glimmer, I walked away from the barren Arabian Peninsula.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Friday, December 2, 2011
M3: I'm an Actress!
As soon as I arrived in medieval Europe, I noticed the troop of actors meandering along the dirt road. One held up a sign saying "Actors Wanted". Interested, I approached the group of unique individuals. "Hello." I said to a fat bald man in a robe.
"Are you, by any chance, an actress?" He asked hopefully. I decided to take a chance.
"Uhhhh, not exactly," I started, "but I was a tree in our fifth grade production of A Midsummer Nights Dream." He looked quite puzzled, but he must have realized that a crazy actress was better than no actress, because he handed me a paper full of scribbled text. I accepted the script and followed the group along.
After seeing that I was at least literate enough read a my lines, the actors had promptly given me a lead role in their mystery play. A mystery play, in case you didn't know, is a play about a story from the Bible. This particular play was about the story of Noah's Ark. The leader of the troop had explained to me that there were many theatre groups, and so one needed to be unexpected to gain notice.That was why, instead of the men playing the male and female roles, they wanted a women to play the main male role. Noah. I was not very thrilled, because just the mention of an audience had me sweating through my tunic.
The next two weeks were full of rehearsing, rehearsing, and more rehearsing. The play was an hour long, and we were going to perform it at a merchants festival in a nearby village. I had 123 lines, and so far I had memorized 23. Basically, in the play, Noah hears god telling him to build a boat with two of every animal to save all the species from a big flood. I was sure some other stuff happened, but I had only read that far into the script. The director was acting really peevish, because we had only successfully ran through the first scene. We were so busy that I almost forgot to be nervous about the actual play. Once and a while though, I remembered the thousands of people that were going to see me make a fool out of everyone. Even though I was terrified, I stuck it out, and eventually, opening night came.
It was one hour until curtain, and the butterflies in my stomach had turned into a herd of elephants. After I paced backstage and chugged 2 gallons of water, the play started. There was an introduction, and then finally my cue. A few uncomfortable seconds passed, until someone used a cane as a goad. I said my lines without a hitch. In fact, everything ran smoothly. Well, except for someones robe slipping, but that wasn't my fault. At the end of the performance, I took a final bow while loud cheers assaulted my ears, then I removed my beard. The crowd was completely silent, and I was quickly pulled out of the limelight.
No one seemed to like our controversial casting, but at least they had liked me when they thought I was a man.The rest of the night was a blur of congratulations from fellow actors. It seemed that I hadn't crashed or burned. Although I only got payed about enough to buy a subway pass, I had faced my fear, and that was what mattered. The theatre troop had also asked me to continue on with them. Considering I had to get back to college, that wasn't an option. It was good to know I had a career to fall back on though.
"Are you, by any chance, an actress?" He asked hopefully. I decided to take a chance.
"Uhhhh, not exactly," I started, "but I was a tree in our fifth grade production of A Midsummer Nights Dream." He looked quite puzzled, but he must have realized that a crazy actress was better than no actress, because he handed me a paper full of scribbled text. I accepted the script and followed the group along.
After seeing that I was at least literate enough read a my lines, the actors had promptly given me a lead role in their mystery play. A mystery play, in case you didn't know, is a play about a story from the Bible. This particular play was about the story of Noah's Ark. The leader of the troop had explained to me that there were many theatre groups, and so one needed to be unexpected to gain notice.That was why, instead of the men playing the male and female roles, they wanted a women to play the main male role. Noah. I was not very thrilled, because just the mention of an audience had me sweating through my tunic.
The next two weeks were full of rehearsing, rehearsing, and more rehearsing. The play was an hour long, and we were going to perform it at a merchants festival in a nearby village. I had 123 lines, and so far I had memorized 23. Basically, in the play, Noah hears god telling him to build a boat with two of every animal to save all the species from a big flood. I was sure some other stuff happened, but I had only read that far into the script. The director was acting really peevish, because we had only successfully ran through the first scene. We were so busy that I almost forgot to be nervous about the actual play. Once and a while though, I remembered the thousands of people that were going to see me make a fool out of everyone. Even though I was terrified, I stuck it out, and eventually, opening night came.
It was one hour until curtain, and the butterflies in my stomach had turned into a herd of elephants. After I paced backstage and chugged 2 gallons of water, the play started. There was an introduction, and then finally my cue. A few uncomfortable seconds passed, until someone used a cane as a goad. I said my lines without a hitch. In fact, everything ran smoothly. Well, except for someones robe slipping, but that wasn't my fault. At the end of the performance, I took a final bow while loud cheers assaulted my ears, then I removed my beard. The crowd was completely silent, and I was quickly pulled out of the limelight.
No one seemed to like our controversial casting, but at least they had liked me when they thought I was a man.The rest of the night was a blur of congratulations from fellow actors. It seemed that I hadn't crashed or burned. Although I only got payed about enough to buy a subway pass, I had faced my fear, and that was what mattered. The theatre troop had also asked me to continue on with them. Considering I had to get back to college, that wasn't an option. It was good to know I had a career to fall back on though.
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