An Actor

A companion to Goffstein's portraits of A Writer and An Artist, this elegant prose poem explores the relationship between actor and audience. The curtains open to reveal a chalk-drawnhand puppet who announces, ""Welcome to my theater, and to tonight's entertainment.'' But before the play begins, the puppet actor reminds the audience of previous roles: ``From those same seats you have wept for me as a young prince gravely wounded in battle, anguished for me as a senile king who has been betrayed.'' Explaining the transformation from actor to character, the puppet says ``I must go backstage . . . emptying my mind of everyday thoughts . . . for when I returnbut I will not returnit will not be me!'' Adults will enjoy Goffstein's allusions to Shakespearean characters, and children will applaud the finalea play with themes closer to their experienceabout a doll named Miss Porcelain Tea. A Charlotte Zolotow Book. All ages. (October)