The curtain before my entrance

Text: an original contemporary personal-account-style practice extract.

From the wings, I could see a strip of the stage floor and the front row beyond it. The audience had settled, but their faces were only pale shapes beneath the lights. In the corridor behind me, someone turned a page. The small sound seemed louder than the applause that had greeted the previous performer.

I held my script by its corners, careful not to crease the page with my thumb. My first line was underlined twice. I had learnt it at home, in a room where I could stop and begin again; now the stage manager lifted one finger, and the next minute seemed to stretch towards me. I tried to remember the whole speech, then returned to the opening words.

When my cue came, I stepped into the light. For a moment I could not find the face I had picked out in the front row. Then the first sentence came, not loudly, but clearly enough for the room to listen. Afterwards, people said I had looked calm. I knew how much waiting had fitted inside that single step.

Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to interest and engage the reader.

In your answer, consider:

• language features and techniques
• structural techniques
• the effect on the reader.

Support your views with detailed reference to the extract.