Uncomfortability

Is it just me or is it uncomfortable in here? I'm sitting here on a stool, swinging my legs back and forth like Canadian stand-up comedian Jon Dore as he transitions from his joke on date-rape drugs into his bit about Hitler. My voice is shot and every time I try to sing my part my ears snag onto other people's voices and I lose it, my own voice fading away to nothing.

Oh, and my voice isn't lost due to singing or talking or what have you; I lost my voice due to being hideously sick. I periodically sniff loudly and cough a couple (two or three) of times into my sweatshirt. My head feels a little hazy, and I shake it back and forth violently as if by doing so I can fling thin threads of cloudy thoughts out my ears.

Physical ailments aside, I feel constantly surrounded by strangers. These people have clearly worked together before, and they show it. At the very least they're all on the same wavelength humour-wise, right? I try to sight-read my parts while simultaneously sorting out social dynamics, figuring out who I'd want to talk to, if the time ever comes to use our vocal chords for conversation and not pour le chant. I also wonder about how I'm supposed to memorize lyrics and lines while continuing to learn French vocabulary.

In a way, I'm feeling extremely in sync right now. Sniff, cough cough cough. My legs swing back and forth in time, and I look from face to face back and forth, back and forth. The soft buzz behind my eyes, inside my head, is like a softly shaken tambourine. In the distance, high up on the wall, the clock ticks in time with me, bringing me ever closer to my exit, stage left.