Pulling up to the theater never felt so good. His eyes glistened against his name gracing the cast poster in big gold letters. The line filled with old couples in coats and parents with their teenage children struggling to look up from their endless feed. It was what he was destined to do. Make those people laugh, get that standing ovation, and inspire. Growing up he knew nothing could stop him.
“Use the buddy system when you’re not in the theater. This is US South, after all.”
“Now a couple more announcements before we get off the bus,” The tour manager was always in a hurry. But, he couldn’t focus on those words. Was he going to hit that note in the act one finale?
“S, your dressing room is on the first floor.”
How many kids would be at the stage door?
“Be sure to be out of the theater by midnight.”
The pizza he ate the night before surely won’t affect his voice, right?
“Use the buddy system when you’re not in the theater. This is US South, after all.”
He looked up.
The stage manager repeated. It was already an unspoken understanding within the cast, but he was new. And he was white. Midwest was a nice state cushioned with enough green grass lawns and happy Christian families to forget reality. He never worried about being harassed for who he loves, or shot dead in the street by a police officer. He never would.
He looked back at the theater. His name on the poster didn’t feel so big. The old people in coats and the children on their phones didn’t seem so important. Off the bus he went – both eyes wide open.
S is…
- 28 Years-Old
- Male, Cisgender
- White
- Christian-ish
- Lower Middle Class
- Heterosexual
Note from the Author
This short creative writing piece was inspired by a conversation I had with ‘S’. S is an actor from Midwest, currently living in California. This highlights a moment in which his perception shifted. He was in a touring Broadway show, traveling with a predominantly Black and LGBT+ cast through the United States.