Cee Jay: The Poet who can't find his Voice

There was once a young teenager who lived in a small neighborhood near the city named Cee Jay. Cee Jay loved to write poetry. One could even say that he was amazing at it. He could very well be on his way to being one of the greatest poets to come out of his small neighborhood.

The only problem was that while he can write poems with the best of them, Cee Jay could never find a way to give these poems life with his voice. Everytime he would try to come close to a mic, he would speak his poems, yet it all came out too bland. The Audience would pity clap and heckle.

"Your poems are good, son! Just using the wrong voice!" Said one audience member.

"Just give it up, kid!" Jeered another

Everytime, Cee Jay would leave the stage, dejected and defeated.

"If only I'd find my voice!" Cried Cee Jay. "Then they would see how good my poems are!"

One day, Cee Jay was talking to one of his friends online, Alyse. Now Alyse was a voice actress, and a good one, too! She could turn any old boring line and give it new life. Cee Jay and Alyse would usually work on skits together. Cee Jay would do the Writing and Alyse would do the acting. Those two were a Team!

"I don't know, Al." Cee Jay Confided to his friend. "Maybe it's not the audience. Maybe my poems were not meant to be spoken word."

"Hey now, Cee." Alyse consoled her online pen pal. "Let me read one of your poems. Maybe I can help?"

Cee Jay nodded and sent Alyse one of his poems. From the first word, Alyse was blown away. She always admired his writing. She often told him that he had a Midas Touch when it came to writing. So she began to recite in her usual boisterous voice

"Come, Come, fair Silhouette!

Here you can find you shadow!

Come, Come, fair Silhouette!

Your heart beats like ours!

You cry though you have no tears.

You Laugh though you have no smile.

You have a Soul, Young Silhouette!

You need not worry!

So Come, Come Fair Silhouette!

We welcome you and your emotions!"

As Alyse finished reading, CeeJay was blown away. "See!? That's what I am talking about!" CeeJay yelled in excitement. Alyse nearly brushed it off. "Ah it was nothing. It helps that your writing is always so amazing!" She can feel her friend blush with that comment and giggled to herself. "Hey, Alyse? Do you think you can help me be more... I dunno animated with my voice?" CeeJay asked sheepishly.

Alyse was surprised. She never had to teach anyone how to act before. She always considered herself self taught. "Okay!" Alyse said with a smile. "Why not? Maybe it will help give your poetry a voice!"

So for the next few weeks, Cee Jay began learning voice acting tips from Alyse. At first it seemed as Cee Jay was making no progress, frustrating them both. But as the weeks go by, both Cee Jay and Alyse were surprised by how much progress he was making. He was becoming more and more animated as he recites his poems. "Wow! You picked this is up quicker than I thought!" Alyse said to her friend. "R-really? Thank you, Al! It was only because of your coaching!" Cee Jay said in a bashful tone. "No way! You're a natural! It was slow at first but once you got into the rhythm, you were able to pick it up!" Alyse elated.

"But the real question is... are you ready for the real thing?" Alyse pondered to her friend. "Yeah I know." Cee Jay responded. "It's one thing to perform for you behind a computer screen, but what about in front of a crowd? What if I choke? What if I forget my words?? What if I-" "Okay. Stop. Breathe. Relax." Alyse assured Cee Jay. "You're gonna be ok. You got this. How about a practice run?"