Page 36 - August 2020 Voices
P. 36
PERSONAL NARRATIVES
Finding Your Voice
David Freedman, ACG, ALB
On June 27th, David attended the TLI session, Finding Your Story. Attendees were given the opportunity
to use the narrative formula shared in the session to write their stories for publication.
Learning to make your voice heard matters, is to speak and express themselves clearly and
especially when you’re living with a disability. forcefully. But, if that’s not possible, what were
Turns out, I wasn’t a fast learner. my chances? So there I was, for all our musicals,
I was born with a very rare condition called relegated to the chorus. Even though I had a solid
Moebius Syndrome in which the cranial nerves singing voice, the possibility of attaining a major
that control facial, eye and tongue movements part seemed very far away.
didn’t connected properly, leaving me unable to To make matters worse, time was running
smile, move my eyes laterally or speak clearly. out. I needed to have extensive dental work and
During much of my early life, I dealt with jaw surgery before the end of my senior year—
constant bullying. Many people didn’t believe I the same year we would be performing the
had a voice worth listening to. What little self- musical Grease. I found myself in a dilemma. Do
confidence I had took a nose dive. It wasn’t until I participate in my last musical the same way as
my senior year of high school that I was able to before, as a member of the chorus? Or do I dare
take concrete steps toward learning to speak up. ask for a larger part, knowing the answer might
There, I discovered the theater and longed be ‘no’, and I might not have another chance?
to appear in major parts. But the role of actors I was terrified, but made up my mind to speak
36 ONE COMMUNITY
