I Remember Speech Class: The Memoirs of a Fat Sophomore

by Christine Bruun

It was 1964, my Sophomore year.  I had just transferred from another school further down the valley, Springville High School situated in Springville, Utah.   The school year had already begun and I was terrified and alone.  

Provo High School was a much larger school nestled near the foot of the mountains and right down the street from the Brigham Young University campus.  It was a time of innocence and excitement for most.  It was a time of fear and worry for me, an overweight 10th grader.

Speech class could have been the best thing that ever happened to me, but it wasn't.  Don't get me wrong.  I learned a lot about myself.  I remember doing a scene from the "Taming of the Shrew".  It was the one where Kate is forced to sit on the lap of her suitor and then gets dropped. We called it the "fight" scene.  

As luck would have it I was paired with one of the campus studs.  He was a handsome senior from down south.  He wore sweatshirts and sandals and I loved to hear him speak with that thick southern accent.  He was blonde and beautiful and I had to do this important scene with him.  

I was terrified.  However, I loved that role and soon found my fears diminishing.  When it came time to do the scene for a grade, I was confident and excited.  As I sat on his knee and struggled, playing my shrew character as I had never played anything before...he dropped me right to the floor.  

It was a shock, for in rehearsal we had discussed it and he had assured me that he would be gentle.  However, there was no gentleness in this action and as I hit the floor, I was shocked, not just by him dropping me but by the pain and the embarrassment.  I wasn't sure if he had done it deliberately to humiliate me in front of the class or because it was part of the scene, but I knew that he had enjoyed every moment of it. 

Suddenly, rage welled up and I stood up, dusting myself off, still in character.  I played that roll better than Elizabeth Taylor could have played it.  The anger motivated me, and as we struggled and fought upon the stage, I pushed him.  Now, this action was supposed to happen.  However, the push was not the one we had rehearsed...

That push was superhuman and deliberate, and I stood smiling, hands on hips, as he literally flew backwards into the wings, arms sprawled and people diving everywhere to get out of the way.  Everyone just stared as props and theater relics clattered amidst the curtains off stage.  

I smiled and walked off in defiant victory.  We received an "A" on our scene.  He never talked to me again and I never thought so much of him after that.  Somehow, he had gained respect for me and I had taken him off his pedestal, once and for all.  

I can see now that out of adversity comes the inspiration that motivates an actor to greatness.  I was still fat and I was still not popular, but I found a spark in me that I liked, and somehow that carried me through to our next assignment, scenes from "Romeo and Juliet".

When we did the "poison vile" scene from the play, I was good--very, very, good!  I loved acting, but knew that I would never have the courage to do it outside the classroom.  Unfortunately, I was too good.  I was asked to perform in front of other classes.  Now, this was another proposition I had not considered.

Well, I got up on the stage and got into the scene and everything was going well when... I forgot where I was at.  My mind just went blank.  Well, I covered nicely and went on with the scene, but it shook me up quite a bit.  I was never asked again to perform for another class.  However, I gained some insight into just how good I was.  

Unfortunately, my shyness and my low self esteem kept me from doing much with my talents.  I just didn't have the courage to put myself in front of an audience.  To this day I regret this and wonder what would have happened if I had.    As I watched the actors in "Our Town", and other productions that our students put on during the years, I knew I should be up there with them.  But I let fear stop me from grabbing the brass ring.  Regrets are the worst.

Today, I see that I have used my acting talents in other, more subtle ways.  I use them in public relations and in business every day as I deal with situations and people.  I adapted to using my talents in less  harrowing circumstances.  Still, being CEO of a corporation can be harrowing and I guess I chose, what I considered, a less threatening stage for my gift.  So, not following the obvious path into acting was not a loss after all.  It was simply a dip in the road that would later lead to something just as satisfying and just as rewarding.  And, perhaps even more valuable than I ever imagined.

If you are interested in learning more about acting or writing good scripts and screen plays, the following books are well worth your time.

Acting: The First Six Lessons

Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting

An Actor Prepares - Stanislavski

Art of Dramatic Writing

Making a Good Script Great 

William Goldman:  Four Screen Plays with Essays:  Marathon Man, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, The Princess Bride & Misery (You can purchase these movies by doing a search on our search box at the bottom of this page)

Creating A Role - Stanislovski

Building A Character - Stanislovski