[items in an airport] chairs carpets benches pillars windows outlets lights restaurants money tickets ticket stubs rushes people suitcases backpacks tired babies lines hurry loud moving walkways stairs elevators conveyor belts tunnels carts kiosks newspapers coffee [... make a story not near an airport using these things] The chairs were set in neat rows, the carpet was rolled down the centre aisle. Benches filled the back, stadium risers set up hastily like giant stairs to seat more people when they got word that the performance was sold out and more wanted to come. The advertising in the newspapers must have paid off for once. Two pillars were erected to either side of the makeshift stage, making a picture frame around the make-believe world inside, like windows into another world. Lights were plugged into outlets, rigged from the ceiling as best as can be done in a building not meant to house a theater. Tickets were being sold in long lines, the attendants in their little kiosks working as fast as they can. Ushers tear ticket stubs off. Rushes of people came to fill the seats, filling every last one, leaving the latecomers to stand in the back until they got tired, then perch against whatever they can. Backstage, everyone is in a hurry -- costumes pulled out of suitcases, props out of backpacks, having moved between cities in a hurry. The roar of the crowd filing in is loud. There are babies crying, and everyone hopes they're shushed before the show starts. Carts selling popcorn and coffee and drinks are set up in the back, and the smell wafts into the backstage. The performers try to ignore their nerves and get going. They make their way through the tunnels of hallways in the lower floor, trying to find the stairs they'll use to make their entrance onto the improvised stage. "Hurry! Curtain rises in two minutes!" Performers are stuffing themselves into costumes, makeup is hastily applied, there's never enough time, and the room to work in is tiny, like trying to host a circus in an elevator. They hear the music from the hall fade away, and the announcer's voice take the stage, standing in front of the curtain. Everyone speaks in a muted whisper, trying not to be heard on stage. Someone trips over a box of props and makes a clatter, and everyone jumps. "Break a leg!" The makeup is done, the announcer is finishing her introduction. The sets are pushed into place just as the curtain goes up. The light is glaring, but you can still see the audience, however barely, past the light. There's a murmer, then silence as the first line is spoken.