I hope you don’t mind me pulling you aside.
We haven’t had a real moment to chat all by ourselves in a while.
Really, it feels like we never had that.
I always feel like something is breathing down my neck.
Like I can't speak completely honestly with you.

I’m not talking about The Boss, if that's what you’re thinking.
I’m not that intimidated by him. If anything I had to tolerate critics like him to get here.
Honestly…I think I’m more intimidated by you.

It’s silly I know, but think about it.
Everyone here has a role to play up.
We all represent something. We represent it as faithfully as we can.
Academic, the Teller, the Critic, the Character.
But not you.

You don’t have any role to play in this story.
In a way you’re the freest, most powerful actor here.
You’re who gets to decide if we’re doing a good job.
If it’s faithful, if it means anything, if we’re right or we’re wrong.

Is it wrong to be a little scared of you?
Is it wrong to want to know what’s going through your head?
Well, I’m still glad when we get to talk…
I’m sorry if it seems like I’ve been speaking past you.
Honestly, I’ve been needing to get this off my chest, away from everyone else.
I just wanted you to know how I’ve been feeling…

…
…

I have one request…
When I eventually- When we eventually close the curtains on this.
When you’re thinking about if you liked the story.
If it was enjoyable, worth your time, if it's worth sharing with a friend.
Your thoughts and your feelings about this.

Keep these moments between us private, ‘kay?
Don’t tell ‘em what you thought, don’t tell them how to get here.
To read these words that I have written for you.
Let them figure it out on their own.
And if we do that, these words will have been written for them, right?

Good, bad, horrible, mediocre. Pretentious, out of touch, uneducated, reductive.
Whatever.
It’s a story about…well its a story about a story.
However many layers of stories in stories and what each story means I guess I can never know.
That’s the beauty of you though, right?
You can piece it together, you can never truly be wrong.
I guess thats the terror of you also.

I don’t know if it’s even right to ask you to isolate that energy within yourself,
If the energy generated by this show we put on for you is enough to even really justify my request to begin with.

I guess that's also up to you… I’ll never know myself if you choose not to listen to me.

I’m glad we at least had this moment though, yes?


Lock the door on the way out...
- Chives, Charlie, Charles, Chancey,
and every other name in that clowncar of mine.

>RETURN.<