11 Eleven - Let Me Entertain You 4000 - Meet the mentors

A chord progression that sounded like the introduction of a song played, cutting through the sound of all the trainees talking to each other at the same time. The teenagers took their seats and fell silent.

"Welcome, trainees, to Let Me Entertain You 4000," a voice announced over the loudspeakers. "Please welcome your mentors with a round of applause."

Applause sounded and the door opened for a wiry man with glasses and long hair tied up in a ponytail to walk in with the graceful gait of a dancer. He nodded and gave a slight bow to all the teenagers. Then he took the seat furthest from the door.

"From the highlands of Western Icerock, the prince of modern dance, and more recently, an acclaimed choreographer, please welcome Phineas Reed," the voice on the loudspeakers announced while Phineas made his way across the stage.

"From his small beginnings in web fame with his garage rock band, to the boy band, Stargazers, and then to the heights of his fame as an individual artist, we give you, Hubert Harris - or as many of his fans call him, Hugh-Bro!"

Hugh walked in with confident steps, bowing and nodding to the cheer, while a few teenagers had leapt to their feet, hollering in excitement. He waved to everyone before taking a seat beside Phineas. His silver hair gleamed under the bright stage lights.

"From the ancient styled dramas and immortal swordsmen to military dramas and the hero of the longest urban chase in one shot in history, let's give it up for actor and stuntman, Orlan Yellowood!"

A man sporting an orange headband giving off a slight Rambo vibe stalked in and performed a fancy bow. He swept his gaze across the jumping and cheering teenagers, while Stacey surreptitiously tried to cover her ears while hiding behind the taller boy jumping up and down in the seat below her. Unfortunately, her crouching didn't hide her much and she felt sharp gazes spot her from the mentor's seats. Self-consciously and with a weak smile, she slowly put her hands down from her ears and clapped them half-heartedly instead.

"From the Bell Forests of Mistyreed, here's your favourite all round actor, singer, dancer and once upon a time comedienne, Melesse Tracer! Three time winner of the Golden Star Awards for best actress in a drama, and winner of last year's best supporting actress in a drama, and Mel's best friend, Telea Tariff!"

A pair of women walked in. One in an elegant cocktail type dress and the other with purple leggings under a black tunic. One had long hair. The other had it short and styled into spikes at the back of her head. The woman in the dress and with long hair gave a humble bow, blowing a kiss at the teenagers, while the other woman sauntered toward her seat, only giving a sideways glance and wave at the whistling and stamping crowd. Stacey felt that glance fall on her and she drew back, wishing the seats weren't arranged so that the mentors would have a clear view of everyone's faces. She didn't know what that glance meant but she did know that it meant that she had been noticed. She wondered which name went with which woman.

While all the other teenagers here obviously recognised these celebrity mentors, Stacey didn't. Surreptitiously pointed fingers from the male mentors seemed to be aimed in her direction. She shrank herself smaller.

Stacey didn't want any attention. She really didn't. She just wanted to eat. That was all. Maybe if they asked her later why she had joined the show, she would say just that. They could take from it whatever they wanted.

"And finally, the actress, songwriter and dancer who has delighted audiences of all ages since her debut when she was three, and is now a well known director, the brilliant and irreplaceable Beryl Ellingmar!"

A stately older lady strolled in, wearing a dress suit and with her hair done up with a hairpin in the shape of a multipetalled flower. In Stacey's eyes, she was a cross between Meryl Streep and the Queen of the United Kingdom. She looked strict, elegant and too perfect to be approachable.

"Good afternoon, everyone," Beryl took the central seat that had been left for her and inclined her head in a small nod. The moment she spoke, the teenagers gave her a respectful silence. "It's nice to see such young and enthusiastic faces. Why don't you all have a seat? I'll stay standing just a little bit longer, because you know, after all the practice for my performance tomorrow, my sore muscles are feeling a bit stiff. I have the feeling that if I sit down now, I may not be able to get back up and embarrass myself when you hear all my joints cracking."

The teenagers smothered laughter.

"A bit of background on myself," Beryl smiled. "You may not know this, being so young, but I started off as a young singer and dancer sidekick to Bert Winterlope, one of the great comedians of the time. I first learnt my acting and tumbling from having to take part in his skits. There was only one big entertainment agency at the time and if you weren't a part of it, you wouldn't have any work. Like many of you, I had to work my way up from the bottom. It's a long, arduous journey for some of us more than others, but if you keep up the hard work, you will get there in the end. I want to firstly applaud you all for having gotten through the auditions to enter this program and secondly encourage you all to never give up on your dreams. I'm sure you all have a variety of questions you want to ask me, the other mentors or each other. We'll pull out a few questions at assembly every morning after breakfast. You're always free to write a question and put it in the question box which will live in that corner over there."

Beryl pointed to a little table in the back corner of the auditorium.