Act I: The Quiet Life
I sit alone all day
Far removed from center stage
I memorize my lines
A thousand words I’ll never say
Preparing for the big audition
I call you on the phone
In the morning Saturday
You ask if everything’s okay
And wait so patiently
Through the awkward silences
I never have the nerve to ask you
Childhood wishes
Dirty dishes
I will show you everything
Act II: The Butterfly
They typecast me as dull
I deserve a better role
An understudy to the man
That sleeps inside of this cocoon
I will rise above this stage fright
Still I have the butterflies
In my stomach
In my heart
Life is a performance art
Someday soon I’ll speak my soul
Shed my skin and fly away
Free of every inhibition
A reversal through rehearsal
I want some understanding
I want some understanding
An acting class will teach me
To be myself completely
I want some understanding
I want some understanding
Nobody knows for certain
What lies behind the curtain
Act III: The Final Bow
Class is beginning finally
Three units of group therapy
Twenty people in a room
Wearing many different lives
Like picking clothes
For an important party
Still I have the butterflies
In my stomach
In my heart
Life is a performance art
Someday soon I’ll speak my soul
Shed my skin and fly away
Free of every inhibition
A reversal through rehearsal.
