Reason 164

My read aloud voice. One of the absolute best parts of my teaching gig is the fact that I get to read to my students on a weekly basis. Each semester I choose a novel to read out loud to my students (right now we are knee-deep in The Lightning Thief, which is awesome) and then attempt to make the words jump off the page for them by using distinct voices for each character, throwing in hand gestures when appropriate, and modulating my voice to match the emotions behind each phrase. I usually read the same chapter five different times in a day, so I am always changing up my pacing and inflection to milk each class for every possible laugh. I even become a wee bit paranoid when I don't get some kind of reaction; I mean, it shouldn't be that hard to impress 12 year olds. My passion for the spoken word hearkens all the way back to my elementary school days when I used to force my friends to sit under our ping pong table and listen raptly as I read Freckle Juice or Blubber to them for the umpteenth time. When I was ten my mom bought a new car and had to wait a few weeks for the fancy stereo to arrive, so whenever we drove around town I entertained us by reading Roald Dahl's The Witches out loud. To this day that book is one of my favorites to read to people because of the Grand High Witch's unique accent and the marvellous descriptive language Dahl employs to make the tale come alive. Last year I even found a volunteer gig where I could tap into my vocal skills by recording newspaper articles for a radio station that caters to sight-impaired folks in Washington state. I like to think that my renditions of livestock updates and restaurant openings were the highlights of those blind people's week. As an actor, Jason, you turn a phrase quite well yourself, and I imagine you jump at every opportunity to read for an audience. If you ever get tired of hearing your own voice, though, I would love nothing more than to grab a well-loved copy of Fantastic Mr. Fox off my bookshelf and read to you for an hour or two. As extraordinary as the movie is it may be even more magnificent to hear the original story out loud because, afterall, books allow you to create your own version right inside your head (you old cuss).