All apart of the act

Life is like a grand stage. When you were born you were thrust upon the stage with no monologue, no dialogue, no script and you have to act out what you feel, what you see, what you believe, what you know, and the audience has to laugh. It is important for the audience to be amused you're not quite sure why. But this knowledge is so engrained in your head that you give your best jazz square and smile. The stage lights heat up and you start to sweat. The audience sits grinning, awaiting your monologue. You speak, stumbling at first, observing the audience and how they react. You say a funny line and they laugh. This delights you and you decide to continue. The funny story turns into a happy story and the aww and coo at you. You are delighted. You keep up this act for hours. This whole time you've been sweating and becoming dehydrated from the stage lights. You fumble with your lines, the audience stops laughing. You try desperately to keep the act up but the lights are SO DAMN HOT you gasp for air. You are lost for words. The audience turns grim. You are not pleasing them anymore. You decide to turn your pain into a joke and laugh over how stressful and hot it is and how you just want a goddamn cup of water. No one brings it to you. The audience shifts in their seats. You feel the gaze of a thousand judging beings on you and you freeze. Don't cry. Don't break character. This is all part of the act.