Changing Characters

Short fiction

Changing Characters

LeviFiction 08-09-2005, 2:16 AM
In response to a recent post about the Long Ridge Writer's group. I've decided to post the essay I had sent in to see what others think.

They say the average person is far more afraid of public speaking than they are of death. Normally I’d have taken this as another simple statistic, but since worrying about death gave me an ulcer in the third grade I was afraid I’d lose my entire stomach as I waited to be called to the stage to give my performance.

Jim, the person before me in line, was just beginning to finish up his monologue as he sat back in the chair he has positioned in the middle of the stage. I forced myself to stop thinking and simply watch, hoping Mr. Gilbertson hadn’t noticed my lack of attention during the performance. I watched carefully as Jim made the giant sweeping motions with his arms that I had instructed him to use the night before. He was magnificent as he stood back up and walked toward the end of the stage to shout his final line. I saw the loose shoelace of his left shoe unravel, snag under his right shoe as it came down, and Jim fell suddenly to the ground as he cried. “I will AVENGE!!”

Now although it made for an excellent death scene, I saw my future in that moment. I saw my embarrassment, my humiliation, happen before my very eyes seconds before it was my turn to perform. I closed my eyes tightly and prayed silently that a clock malfunction would occur and it would skip forty minutes ahead to excuse us from class. Alas, the miracle did not occur and as Mr. Gilbertson penned softly slowly his review of Jim’s performance I went over every possible scenario and came to only once conclusion about the performance I would give on that stage in just a few seconds.

“Matthew Johnson.” Mr. Gilbertson said breaking me out of my dazed trance.

This was it, the time had come, and I was ready to throw-up, wet myself, and faint, in that order. I quickly ran up the stairs to the stage and went to off-stage Right. I entered quickly and quietly stopping at the dead center of the stage.

“Hello, my name is Matthew Johnson. And I will be playing the part of Jimmy Stone in ‘So Slow It Whirls’ by Eric Lane.” My introduction was flawless. Matthew Johnson bowed his head for a second, and then raised it again this time as Jimmy Stone, a gay high school student talking about his experience with discrimination.

Line for line, beat for beat, and gesture for gesture Jimmy Stone explained his ordeal with such vigor and with such passion I could scarce believe what he said was true. The words exited my mouth, but they were his, I performed the actions, but he moved through me. Here I was Jimmy, and Jimmy was me. We were one, and we let the world know that.

Ten minutes later Jimmy lowered his head, and I raised mine.

Re: Changing Characters

jmar2 10-05-2005, 7:38 PM
Nice piece. I didn't like the third person Matthew, it jarred my brain a little. I'd rather have read "...he bowed his head ... and then raised it again as Jimmy Stone, ..."

“Hello, my name is Matthew Johnson. And I will be playing the part of Jimmy Stone in ‘So Slow It Whirls’ by Eric Lane.” My introduction was flawless. Matthew Johnson bowed his head for a second, and then raised it again this time as Jimmy Stone, a gay high school student talking about his experience with discrimination.

But the rest painted a good solid picture in my mind, and the last sentence was great!

Keep it up,

John