Tiberius found his boyfriend alone in the theatre. The lights were off and the blackout curtains were drawn tight. It was like entering a cave.

Or a tomb.

“Great show tonight,” he said by way of greeting.

“You say that every night,” Aurius laughed, running a hand through his shoulder-length blond hair.

Tiberius smiled shyly, adjusting the strap of his messenger bag. “Are you ready to go?”...

The theater empty. No more cheers echoing from the balcony, no more excited conversations of those leaving. Simply, silence.

The young woman peeked out from behind the heavy red curtain. Her childhood dream had been accomplished, but it had disappeared too soon.

She had finally gotten to experience being on stage in front of hundreds of people, singing and performing her heart out. Yet, it was...

The lights dimmed and the chattering voices and clapping died as the theater emptied out. The cast ran to get their mics off to talk to the audience and crews ran to put away stuff and talk to their friends. In a few moments there was only one left on the stage. Not necessarily one person left, but instead a ghost, sitting center stage looking out at the empty seats and still wings. The only movem...

The cast strolled on stage to bow at the end of the show. The crowd cheered loudly and clapped their hands.

“A great success!” said Susie, a crew member. “Now to clean up.”

“I’ve always wanted to be a Princess,” said Jenna another crew member.

“You have ?” said the stage manager, Maggie with a smile.

“I heard they’re doing Princess and the Pea next month. You should audition,” said Maggie.

...

“Films, not movies.” That’s the only thing I remember my friend Paul saying during the hazy year we spent hanging on each other, intoxicated by our own intelligence, drunk off whiskey. Nothing like dark liquor to give even the dullest of dolts a false sense of wit, sexual prowess, just an all around inflated sense of self importance, which may be why going through the world as a drunk day to day i...

No one knew as their hands cooled from the slapping applause and their ears calmed from the whistles and shouts of ‘encore—encore’ that the last act of the play was ready to be released. The silver boxes with red silk brocaded tassels were quietly being placed in the corners as the audience pressed itself across the rows and down the aisles and out the doors. Even with the doors open and the side ...

(Not Perfect Strangers, but semi related…)

After the curtains closed, the lights came up in the theater and people began filing out. I had heard that if you hung around after a show that you might get to meet some of the actors. Honestly, there was only one actor I had any interest in meeting.

It was a cool night but not cold. I had stayed inside until the last of the people filtered out. I gla...

Grace and her friend sat in the second row clapping as the curtain closed. She was so excited to see to get good seats at a bargain. It was a big theatre that was brightly decorated. The ushers were dressed in red as they watched the people leave. The actors and actresses have returned to take a final bow as someone gave the actress a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Grace and her friend allowed t...

“My boy! That was an amazing performance!” said Dawkins, whom I was their understudy.

“Same can be said for you sir!” I replied back

Dawkins is one of these Shakespearean actors, has acted in Macbeth and Hamlet many a time in many theatres so it comes as a surprise when he calls my performance “amazing”. I’m a bit more contemporary I guess, I come from a background of cartoons and Netflix Origina...

He sat on his seat patiently till the audience cleared themselves out. The curtain had fallen after the final scene, and he was brimming with excited commentary that was waiting to roll out his tongue.

As the seats began to clear, he grabbed his jacket and made his way towards the stage. Actors and stage crew were now starting to appear and gather props and belongings. He stood patiently by the ...