THESE SHAPES ARE MY TRAVEL COMPANIONS Cameron Ireland
Scene 1 (Peter) CAMERON (After sitting at the table facing the audience, CAMERON removes a small stuffed Spider Man from his bag.) My first shape is my friend Peter. Some of you may already know him. We first met a few years ago at Main Event, where I was introduced to him by a friend who is surprisingly skilled at crane games. My friendship with Peter was initially monetary, but I feel as though it has become more than that. Peter has been living in my car since the first day I met him, and he’s traveled with me all over the place since then. He’s been to my school, both of my parents’ homes, and even to the summer camp where I work. I appreciate him because he doesn’t judge me when I sing, while I drive, or when I call other drivers rude names because they don’t know what a turn signal is. Peter could probably tell you some things about me that I wouldn’t want you to know, but I trust that he won’t. I mean, he doesn’t exactly talk to me either, so I would be pretty surprised if he started talking to any of you now.
Okay, good. You know, I sometimes wonder if Peter ever misses being at Main Event. I’m sure he must have felt trapped there, but it is a pretty nice place. My car is a lot smaller, plus I usually turn the air conditioning off when I’m not in the car with him. Of course, I have never heard him complain about it either way. I guess he could be the stoic type who doesn’t like to whine, or maybe he doesn’t feel comfortable complaining. (CAMERON waits again for Peter to speak his mind. Again, nothing happens.) That’s alright, buddy. Just know that you’re free to speak your mind whenever you are ready. The weird thing is that I hear a lot of people describe Peter as the kind of guy who likes to make witty jokes and quips all the time, but I can’t really see that in him. Maybe they have the wrong guy. (CAMERON sets Peter to the side, sitting him up facing the audience. Then, he retrieves a propeller hat from his bag.) This second shape is really acting as a sort of representative, but it is still a fun one. This is a hat that I received very
(CAMERON waits for Peter to talk. Nothing happens.)
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