Backstage

Text 1: The First Line, by Maya Venn

An original novel extract.

The corridor behind the school hall was cool, but Sam’s costume collar scratched his neck and his cheeks felt hot. Through the wall, the audience laughed at somebody else’s joke. The sound was muffled but enormous, like the sea behind a door. Sam pressed his folded script flat against his chest, although he had memorised every word. “Not yet,” he whispered. “Not yet.”

At the end of the corridor, the stage manager raised two fingers. Two scenes. Then one. Around Sam, the other actors whispered and adjusted their hats, but he noticed only tiny details: a silver safety pin on the carpet, dust trembling on the curtain, the bright strip of light beneath the stage door. He read his first sentence again. The words seemed to rearrange themselves on the page.

“Sam.”

The door opened. Light spilled across the floor. For a moment, he could not move. Then he heard the applause fading, leaving a space that only he could fill. He placed the script on a chair and stepped towards the light.

How does Maya Venn use language and structure to make Sam’s anxiety clear as he waits to go on stage?

You should use relevant subject terminology to support your answer.

You could write about:

• the descriptions of sounds and physical feelings
• changes in sentence length
• how the extract moves from waiting to action