As Brave as Annie

As Brave as Annie

Eleven year old Annabelle loved acting. It made her feel like she was soaring over vast oceans and towering mountains. Soaring carelessly. Her only issue was fear. Annabelle was terrified during her performances. She would often just stand back stage shivering. Tonight was Annabelle’s opening night performance of Annie, and Annabelle was playing the part of Annie. She was terrified. She had so many singing solos (Which she was even more terrified of than the acting) and she was in almost every scene.

She sat on the floor of the dressing room an hour before the production was to start, silently staring at the floor. Brielle sat beside her. Brielle was sixteen and was playing the part of Miss Hannigan. Brielle seemed to never be really worried and Annabelle thought she was amazing.

Annabelle was suddenly startled by Brielle’s gentle voice asking “Ready for the show?”

Annabelle looked up and saw Brielle smiling at her. She couldn’t smile back, “No,”

Brielle took Annabelle’s hand “You’re going to be so good. I’ve heard you up there, I can’t act like that!”

Annabelle nodded, then she added quietly “Thank you,”. Brielle started to talk with the other older kids and Annabelle left to go play with some of the younger kids in order to get her mind off the play.

Within about twenty seconds of being in the costume room she had three little kids clinging to her legs; Sydney (A little seven year old girl who always wore pigtails), Miles (An eight year old boy who loves dogs and has long curly hair), and Kayla (A five year old blonde girl with freckles and the cutest little raspy voice ever). Annabelle heard her name called from the opposite corner of the room, it was Rosie-Jewel, the youngest kid in the play (She was just barely five years old and was playing Molly). “I’m coming!” she called out, then Annabelle tried to walk with three kids clinging to her legs, (which isn’t very easy) slowly inching towards Rosie-Jewel. As she continued trying to walk the children clinging to her legs jumped off, then her legs were free and she walked at a normal pace over to Rosie. Rosie ran and jumped onto Annabelle, hugging her like a sloth baby clinging to it’s mother.

“Are you excited for the performance?” asked Annabelle

Rosie shouted her reply, “Yes!”.

Kayla started running in circles around the room saying “Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness!”over and over. Annabelle laughed and started singing the Sandy song. All the little kids joined in on their parts.  “Sandy, Sandy who’ll always be there!” they all ended together.

Then Miles pushed Annabelle and she made a dramatic fall so she was lying on her back on the costume room floor. Miles, Sydney, Rosie-Jewel, and Kayla all piled on top of her and started shrieking and laughing. “Be quiet, I’m trying to practice my lines!” someone shouted from the corner of the room. The kid’s squeals got a little less loud and Annabelle’s mind went back to the play she was about to perform, and her stomach went back to doing somersaults.

A couple minutes later an announcement sounded saying “Ten minutes to places”. Annabelle decided she would just go sit down behind the curtain to wait because she had nothing to do. She sat for a few minutes and then Avery came down. Avery was fourteen and shy. She was playing Pepper. Avery sat in the corner across from Annabelle and then Brielle came down. “Still worried?” she whispered

“Yes” Annabelle answered faintly

“But you’re going to be so good!” Brielle said for about the sixth time that day. Annabelle looked at the floor, it was hard to believe that she would be good in the play. Brielle sat down right in front Annabelle. “Annabelle,” Brielle continued gently “Nobody cares if you make a mistake, they usually don’t even notice, and if they do notice they never care because mistakes kind of make the play seem more real. Just sing Maybe with all your heart, and all the other songs, too. There’s nothing you need to be afraid of,”. They both stood up and Brielle embraced Annabelle in a warm hug.

Then one of the stage hands told them two minutes until places and Annabelle looked into Brielle’s eyes, Brielle repeated for the seventh time “You are going to be so good,”, Annabelle nodded and headed on to the stage.

On the way Avery patted her back and whispered “Break a leg!”. Annabelle silently sat down on the windowsill that had been placed on the stage. Rosie-Jewel lay down on the bed closest to the window. Sydney, Kayla, Miles, Sadie, and Avery lay down on the other beds and Annabelle’s stomach lurched so hard that she thought she might throw up, but she didn’t. The music for Maybe started to play and the curtains opened. “Maybe far away, or maybe real near by” Annabelle sang. She drifted into the song and she was no longer the worried Annabelle Emily Searfon, now she was the orphan Annie, longing for her parents and living in a orphanage. She sang with all her heart, just as Brienne had told her to. Molly started to whine and call out her name, Pepper got up, they fought with pillows, and she sang with Molly. The scene continued until the end.

When the scene was over she was Annabelle again, leaning against a wall breathing slowly to calm herself. Brielle walked up to her “That was so good!”. Annabelle grinned, she realized she had done well, and she was proud. Now the rest of the play would be easy.

When it got to the scene where she sang Dumb Dog, she came in late on the first line of the song. She couldn’t catch up with the beat. She felt awful, but she continued to the end anyway. After that song she sat backstage and she felt like crying, she had ruined the play. But Brielle told her that it had still sounded good and gave Annabelle another huge hug. The next scene she sang Sandy and got everything right in it.

Annabelle felt that Brielle had congratulated her so much that it was her turn to tell her how amazing she was (She was an amazing actor and singer). So when Miss Hannigan’s song Little Girls was over Annabelle walked up to her to tell her how amazing it had been, but for some reason what came out of her mouth was “Yay, that was awesome!”. Disappointed at her ability to compliment people and embarrassed, Annabelle ran to the other side of the stage and away from Brielle.

Annabelle managed a better compliment after Brielle sang Sign. After the play everyone was hugging everyone else in a huge clump and Annabelle was right in the middle. They had done one night, now for three more!