First Position: Opening Night Jitters! (Malice)

It was easy to say the show must go on until several members of the cast were de-aged into their teens, well before any relevant acting experience developed. Marisol, thankfully, was not caught in whatever happened at a small cast party. It was a close call; if not for a visit to her mother in California, Marisol might have been an awkward fourteen-year-old again, in the closet and terrible at being around people. Well, more terrible.

The opening day of First Position was delayed so cast members could be replaced and the new cast could be trained up. Ironically, despite being one of the newcomers on the cast, Marisol was also someone the director had relied on as the lead who survived from the first cast. That helped the rookie performer feel confident, even going into her first Off-Broadway production ever.

After all those trials and tribulations, they had made it to opening night. After the press heard about the bizarre incident, the show earned plenty of gossip and attention, proving there was no such thing as bad attention. The hype led to a packed opening night, which was exciting and terrifying.

Fortunately, Marisol was able to request a few tickets for friends and family to attend in the balconies. This was the biggest night of Marisol’s life so far, so she wanted to know she was not doing it alone.

Some guests had already dropped by backstage to quickly say hi and wish her luck, which was sweet enough that Marisol did not mind breaking her pre-performance rhythm. Makeup had already gotten to her, so she sat at her dressing room mirror and reviewed her lines, mentally adding the dance steps in her head, in her zone. She would keep running parts through her head until they forced out any lingering nerves. This was going to be her night, she just had to believe that.