A change performing on stage

A decorative masquerade mask with a pink flower adornment, placed on a dark wooden surface.
Photo by Ibolya Toldi on Pexels.com

“Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech?” – Daily Writing Prompt

I performed on stage when I was a kid. In school plays. I would never give a speech, no way. I hate public speaking. When I was on stage, I preferred to have no speaking parts. I don’t like people looking at me, waiting for me to make a mistake. I don’t want that much attention. I got that enough from home. I even hate doing presentations in front of a lot of people. If it were with one or two people, it would be different. I leave the performances to those who like doing them. School plays were enough. That’s a change I’m going to keep.

Advent Calendar 2024 – Day 12

Christmas balls, stars and light part 12
Made with Canva

Day 12

Have you ever performed on stage or given a speech?

Daily Writing Prompt

The first time I was on stage or performed was when I was 6. I played Mary in a Christmas play in kindergarten. Josef was played by a boy named Tom. He also went to the same class as me. He used to live opposite my building. Unfortunately, he died in a moped accident when he was 16. Anyway, I don’t remember anything about the play, but I have photos of it. In school, we had plays, but I didn’t want to have any speaking parts. In secondary school, when I was in a smaller class, one of my classmates’ dad worked in a local theatre, and he helped us with the productions. We had spring plays, and once, we had a musical and one scene in English. It was fun because we were a small group of different ages. There was no nuisance behaviour from others if you weren’t good. After all, they were school plays and not Broadway.

I never had speeches unless you count presentations. Those are nerve-wracking. I only want to say my things and leave. I try to avoid speeches, and I decline if I ever have to give one. Even if I got paid, I still wouldn’t do it. One-on-one is OK, but not in front of a crowd. Someone says you get used to talking to an audience, but I don’t want to get used to it. I don’t want to have the feeling of my mouth being dry and my heart beating faster. Let those people who like to make speeches do it. I’m not meant to do them. My skills lay elsewhere. We can’t all become speakers.

Last concert I went to

Pet shop boys on stage
Pet Shop Boys concert in Helsinki 2023

What was the last live performance you saw?

Daily Writing Prompt

In the year 2023, I went to two concerts. The first one was on March 5 with Robbie Williams. You can read it over here. The other was Pet Shop Boys on July 5. It was a lucky year when it came to concerts. The duo had been to Finland before and will return this year. But it’s a festival and I don’t do them. I prefer concerts. When I was younger, I didn’t participate in big crowds. I didn’t have money either. I have no one to go with, but I like doing things independently. I go to events to see bands and don’t socialise with others. The sound at concerts is loud, so it’s not the same as listening to music at home. But you don’t go to concerts to see something similar. You go for the atmosphere and see your favourites on stage.

Pet Shop Boys performed their old hits, such as It’s a Sin, West End Girls, and Rent. But they also had new songs, like Monkey Business. If you’re unfamiliar with their songs, you probably don’t know the new ones either. If you’re not, I suggest you do because their music is incredible. If you like pop music, that is. They have shown that you don’t need a lot of things happening on stage to have a great show. All they had was the band and a female singer. In their earlier concert that I have seen on screen, they had dancers on stage too, but now it’s simpler. I had a great time at the concert; I might go again if they return for a concert.

I have really become a fan of concerts. I’m going to see Bryan Adams in July. I’m looking forward to that. I’m a late bloomer when it comes to performances. My first concert was in 2017, and that was Robbie Williams. After that, I’ve seen Duran Duran, Toto, Robbie again, and Pet Shop Boys. I could have gone to two more, Elton John and Take That, but both got cancelled. Maybe they didn’t want to come because Finland is too close to Russia. Either way, it’s a shame I’ll never see them live again. Especially Take That. The last time they were here was in the 90s when my mother didn’t let me go and see them. Even then, there were only about 4500 people in the audience, so they weren’t that big over here, after all. At least I’ve seen Duran Duran, the band I didn’t want to miss to see live. It’s not the end of my world if I don’t see certain bands and artists’ performances. But if I didn’t see DD live, I would feel disappointed. I have ticked that box now, so life can go on.