“She sells sea shells by the sea shore.” The good old, time honored, tongue twister. A mass of slippery syllables composed to trip up even the most talented tongue. But who doesn’t love a tough tongue twister?
You can’t see it, but I’m raising my hand. I didn’t grow up thinking tongue twisters were fun. In fact, I hated them. I couldn’t get through one. I would get caught up on a word, trapped between the sounds that composed it. My body would betray me, and I was left spitting out the same syllable time and time again. Simply put, I stuttered.
Every day at school was the same. I knew that I would raise my hand to answer a question in class, only to get caught up on a single word. I knew the other kids would let the awkwardness of the moment hang in the air or let out a nervous chuckle. They would call me a broken record. But there was nothing I could do about it. Because I felt like a broken record.
My speech therapist recommended theater to overcome my impediment. She said that talking as much as possible would help me. It also wouldn’t hurt that the words I needed to say would be right in front of me. And I could practice them as much as I wanted.
So that’s how I became a fairy in William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” I wore a pink tutu and fairy wings as the character Bottom’s pillow attendant. But that night, my Tony-winning performance ended up being the Shel Silverstein poem I recited at the end of the show. And during every performance, I didn’t stutter once.
After the show, the director approached my mother raving about me. She wanted to work with me again! She became my director, boss and role model for the next twelve years at the Justice Theater Project. It was through this company that I met three of my best friends. I learned that the best theater comes through love of the art. I came to find my passion for working with children. I grew up with a truly fantastic group of people who didn’t care if I couldn’t get a word out correctly.
I sometimes think that my life as a kid would have been easier if I didn’t stutter. Sure, I would have been teased less and I would have actually enjoyed tongue twisters like a normal child. But I wouldn’t be an actor. I wouldn’t have some of the best friends on the entire planet. I wouldn’t have learned to conquer my problems through perseverance. And I wouldn’t be sharing this story with you. I believe in tongue twisters now, because they show how far I’ve come.
Foley is a WPSU intern this fall, while she majors in Communications Arts & Sciences and Spanish at Penn State University Park.
Foley is also a member of the Penn State Thespians and the No Refund Theater.