CHAPTER 69

 

Nine days later, the Shakespeare Down the Shore production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream has its opening performance at the same outdoor amphitheater where they held the Battle of the Bands.

Which means it’s my professional stage debut. I’ve performed a thousand times since then, but the memory of acting in front of a huge crowd on a summer night by the ocean is something I’ll never forget.

The show is fantastic! Better than I imagined it could be. I don’t stutter or miss a line. I also earn a few laughs, which, as you know, is my favorite thing to earn in the whole world. Laughter is always better than money. Seriously, it is!

I’m also onstage with my friends and the teacher who, more than once, has, more or less, saved my life—or at least helped guide it in the right direction. Ms. O’Mara is terrific as Titania.

And my new friend, Schuyler? He makes an awesome Tom Snout and Wall!