He shakes his head. “What do you mean? We have the best view of the set, the actors, and the audience. The audience is very telling. And look,” he says, directing my attention to the armrest. “We each have our own. Every other row has to share.”

I guess the back row has its perks. Armrests. Full views. Talkative strangers. “It’s not so bad,” I confirm.

My seat neighbor smiles. “That’s the attitude!” He’s got a cool-dad vibe. “Mind if I get nosy?” he asks.

“Sure,” I say, hoping this doesn’t get weird.

“I’m curious why a young guy like yourself would be here on a Sunday afternoon?”

That confirms it; he’s one hundred percent going to kidnap me. My palms start to sweat. “Um,” I finally say, wondering if I can change my seat.

“Sorry, sorry,” he says, holding up his hands. “I’ll explain myself. I’m a producer, and if you can keep a secret, I’m thinking about investing in this show. Maybe taking it to Broadway.” He shrugs like it’s no big deal. “I’m always curious about the audience. How did you hear about this show?”

I’m sitting by a producer who can nonchalantly take things to Broadway. I’ve watched The Producers and know that producers are the ones with the money and the power, but I’ve never met one. And now I’m sitting by one. “My aunt gave me the ticket. And I’m studying acting,” I say, hoping he will cast me immediately.

His eyebrows rise. “Where?”

“School of Performing Arts,” I answer with pride. This gets another eyebrow raise. “I’m a junior at SPA,” I repeat, mostly because I want to say it again.

“Good for you,” he says. “Lot of talented actors came from that school.”

“It can be intimidating,” I admit.

He smiles. “It should be inspiring.”

The lights go down, and the audience quiets. As the actors take their places, I replay our conversation in my head, wondering if I could’ve been more charming or funny, and if he’ll give me a job someday.

The lights go up, and we’re in a women’s shelter in New York. The characters have rough lives and dirty mouths. The group is planning a talent show, which leads to several fights, mostly with the main character, Fresco—a retired army vet suffering from PTSD. Fresco is fiery and quick to take someone down verbally. And maybe physically. I think about how I would play that part. I don’t think I could scream that much.