Pleased to meet you! My name is Albert Dunbar and I am a 22-year-old actor living and working in London, England, in 1612.
Some women who come to see me on stage say that I am the best-looking man in London, and I tend to agree.
A good actor must pay attention to his appearance at all times, as well as to his speech and body movement, in order to get the best roles.
Of course I only appear in the most popular productions, especially the plays written by William Shakespeare, the greatest writer in all of England.
My career began when I was only seven years old and the church organist in my little village heard me sing.
He immediately told my father that I should audition for the children's choir at the Chapel Royal to sing for Queen Elizabeth.
Excited, my father took me to St. James' Palace to audition, and afterward I was invited to be a member of the choir.
It wasn't long before I was acting in plays for the queen too, since boys with high voices are needed to play all the female roles.
No women are allowed on stage; it just isn't done.
I had lots of fun wearing wigs and playing different parts,
but at times there were tense moments when some of the plays poked fun at the people in the queen's court.
The nobility—the lords and ladies—became very annoyed at the writers and actors.
One time Queen Elizabeth became so angry that everyone in the show was briefly put in jail for offending her.
When I was 13, Queen Elizabeth died, and I soon joined an acting company associated with the Globe Theater called the King's Men.
The company members said they liked my pretty looks and my sweet-sounding voice and hired me on as an apprentice.
But most of all, they liked my ability to read since many young boys in England cannot read or write.
There were other boys in the company, ranging in age from 10 to 15,
and the older actors taught us how to speak loudly so any large audience would be able to hear us.
We learned the galliard, a dance with quick steps and high jumps, and the canary, a very popular dance from Spain.
A music teacher taught us how to play the fiddle, lute, and recorder.
Dancing and musicianship are both skills we need for our various roles since the audience always enjoys a lively song!
But I must tell you, whenever I sing the sad song "Barbara Allen," the theater flows with tears.
All the apprentices also learned how to fight with wooden swords for the fight scenes, which are the most exciting moments in the theater.
I have come a long way from the choir, I can tell you!
As a boy player, I was given spending money, which I used to buy treats such as oranges and gingerbread. I also bought books—I love poetry.
However, we were fined if we were late, missed a rehearsal, or damaged our costumes.
Costumes are the biggest expense for a theater company since they are basically the clothes that people wear on the very best of occasions.
Staining a richly embroidered doublet or tearing a velvet cape is extremely serious;
the Globe acting company spends hundreds of pounds yearly on costumes.
Since we use very little scenery, elaborate costumes are really important.
When a flag flies from the roof of the theater, people know that there will be a performance that afternoon.
Now that I am a grown man and famous, an apprentice helps me dress backstage.
Of course, since my voice changed, I no longer play women's parts; now I play the lead male roles, and I'm excellent at them.
But even though I am a celebrity,
I still can't help peeking at the audience through the curtain like a novice to see how many people have come to see our play.
The groundlings are the poorer folk who must stand on the ground right in front of the stage. They pay a penny to get in.
The wealthy pay more and have seats on the upper balconies of the theater.
Vendors sell fruit and nuts, and young boys run back and forth delivering bottles of ale.
People converse and some play card games while they wait for the show to begin.
It is very noisy, but when the trumpet blasts three times, people know the play is about to start and they quiet down expectantly.
Today we are performing Macbeth, a play with a Scottish king, a ghost, three witches, soldiers, and lots of blood.
People are quite fond of it, and most actors play several parts.
Of course I am playing the leading role of Macbeth.
So when I arrived at the theater this morning, I paced backstage practicing my lines to make sure I had memorized them all.
There is a man, called a book holder, who holds a copy of the play near the stage so he can whisper a line if an actor forgets.
But I like to be totally prepared, and I've never needed any prompting.
This morning the stage manager had a difficult time getting the throne in place for the actor who plays the king.
He also had trouble making the trapdoor work perfectly so the ghost can disappear in act 2.
Some apprentices bustled about before the play, filling pigs' bladders with blood so the sword-fighting scenes would look real.
The actors hide the bladders under their arms and then break them open when another actor pretends to stab them.
It looks very gory when the blood spills all over the place.
It's a great trick, and audiences love it!
Actors frequently perform on other stages around London, such as the Swan Theater, the Middle Temple Theater, and the Boar's Head Inn,
which the owner renovated so plays could be put on there.
We also travel all over the countryside to do shows in town squares and at local inns.
Last year I was invited to the private estate of an earl to provide the entertainment after supper.
But by the time I made my entrance,
a few of the guests were fast asleep and snoring so loudly that no one could hear me sing my famous version of "Barbara Allen."
I was paid well for my appearance, but I far prefer being at the Globe where my artistic nature is taken more seriously.
Come see me when you are in London.
Everyone knows me. Just ask for the great Albert Dunbar!