The Little Mermaid Monologue

Listening, I could hear them, the persistent sound of chatter and laughter. The roar of ambient joy rang from the house and into the ears of everyone behind the scene. You never know what to expect when you're standing backstage; you never know what's going to happen. Thousands of thoughts and worries are bouncing around your head. What if I mess up my life? What if I miss my cue? What if I forget how to speak? It isn't until that very precise moment when the audience's voices have hushed to a whisper and directly before the curtain has opened that your mind becomes clear. You forget all about the hundreds of people that came to see your show. You forget all about the friends you have in the audience just waiting for that moment when you have to do some embarrassing stunt on stage to capture it on film. You even forget all about who you are and all your worries. In that moment, you are an actor.

Some people have their yoga and meditation, for me, it is acting.

Whether it is on the stage acting out roles in a school musical or up in the booth working the lights when I am part of a show I feel at home. It wasn’t until eighth grade until I began to enjoy acting. Our school had a mandatory eighth-grade play in which all eighth graders were required to participate. At the time I wasn’t too sure about the play. The show was The Little Mermaid, and being a typical eighth-grade boy, I thought the show was too “girly.” It wasn't until I received a call-back that I became interested in the show. I remember I ran home to my dad and after asking him what a call-back was, I asked if he could help me in any way possible to get the role of Prince

Eric.
I ended up getting the role of Prince Eric and this is what fueled my ambition for theatre. Since eighth grade, I have had many different directors and been in a variety of shows. I’ve been in shows that have made the audience laugh, and others that have made the audience cry. My favorite show was Delaware All-State Theatre’s production of Titanic. Contrary to popular belief, this was not the Jack and Rose story, but rather the story of all the people who traveled on the Titanic. Prior to the show, the cast had to do research on each individual character’s biography, family history, and even accent. I didn’t realize till I was in this show how many types of British accents there were! Before this show, I had only done traditional musicals, of the comedic and high-energy type. It wasn’t until I did my production for Delaware All-State Theatre that I realized what theatre means. Theatre is just like a movie or a book, you have a plotline filled with ups and downs and character development. The difference between the musicals and other storytelling techniques are that there is music going along with the story. This adds to the emotion that can be portrayed throughout the show. This energy from character’s word as well as orchestration, influence emotions and make theatre powerful. Even though it started out as just a fun experience, Theatre has transformed for me into a rollercoaster of emotions that help me relate to my life better while still being an enjoyable program which I am passionate about.