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- [00:00]
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- [00:31]
Chinook Te Sara
I told my parents I'm gonna get PhD in this thing. They're very proud. They're very excited about this thing. It's like you can go to work and be like, my son's doing graduate school and he's gonna get a Ph.D. and now I'm like, okay, I have two options. I can tell them the truth that I don't do this anymore, or I can fake my graduation and they don't have to know about a thing.
- [00:57]
Renita Hora
Welcome to the True Fiction Project, a podcast series that explores the origins of fiction. Every week we begin with an interview nonfiction, followed by a creative piece, fiction inspired by something from the interview. The idea is to demonstrate, of course, that fiction is born out of our life experiences. Now, here's your host, storyteller, author, public speaker, health and wellness expert, Renita Hora.
- [01:25]
Welcome back to the True Fiction Project. I'm. I am your host, Rinita Ahora, and I have with me on today's show, Chinook Te Sara. Chinook is an actor, writer and a standup comedian. He portrays Jaylen in the theatrical production of the Art of Killin It. He's been featured on HBO Max's Human by Orientation. And he is also the voice of Yaksha ra on the 20 sided podcast. So indeed a person of many talents. Hi, Shanouk.
- [02:01]
Chinook Te Sara
Hi. Thank you for having me.
- [02:03]
Renita Hora
Thank you for being a guest on today's True Fiction Project podcast episode. I am very intrigued by all of this wonderful stuff that you have done. Would you say that you are primarily an actor, a writer or a comedian or some kind of combination of all three?
- [02:27]
Chinook Te Sara
I think I got my start in stand up and have been doing that probably the longest. And then I think over the past like year or two, have started to really get into more of the acting and writing spheres of it. Obviously I've been writing my own stand up jokes for my career, but now I'm like, oh, I should like write sketches and a pilot and plays. And then acting kind of just accidentally like fell into it, which has been a lot of Fun. A really good time.
- [02:59]
Renita Hora
Yeah. When you talk about getting your start in stand up, I mean, to me that sounds like something of a dream come true. Like, when does that happen? Who does that happen to? Why does the divine not play to our favor? Tell us about how you got your start. Rumor has it you actually dropped out of grand grad school to get started. Is that right?
- [03:22]
Chinook Te Sara
Yeah. Yeah. So I think prior to me pursuing a career in the arts in standup, I was a young man doing the. You know, my parents are immigrants. They were very big on like, become a doctor, become a lawyer, an engineer. That's success in life.
- [03:43]
Renita Hora
Where did they emigrate from?
- [03:45]
Chinook Te Sara
Oh, they are Sri Lankan immigrants. Came here in 93. Yeah.
- [03:50]
Audience Member
Oh, yeah.
- [03:51]
Renita Hora
So I know the doctor, lawyer kind. Yep, Good, good, solid South Asian immigrants. Go ahead.
- [03:56]
Chinook Te Sara
He was saying, yeah, no, yeah, came here 93, came to Staten Island, New York, a classic Sri Lankan hub back then. And like, you know, classic immigrants, like, no fault to them, but like what they envisioned success to be was a doctor, a lawyer, an engineer. Like, it offered stability is what they wanted at the end of the day and fair to them. I understand that. The problem was I was not very good at science. Math I was kind of okay at, but not good enough to like actually do it as a career. So in college I did my best to like get as close to a doctor, lawyer and engineer was. I think like for a lot of South Asian kids it's like, oh, economics and business. Like that is if you can't do those things, you become an econ major. So I ended up doing economics. I was okay at it. Like, I wasn't the best, but it was easy enough where I could get by, get good grades, keep them happy, but still, career wise, I was like, I don't know if I want to do this. I fully remember in college I went to a career fair at Chase bank and like met these other kids and like, if you work for Chase Bank, I don't I judge you. But like, I mean, these kids were like telling me like, oh, I've always wanted to be an investment banker. And I was like, that's an insane thing to say for an 18 year old. Like, that was your dream. And like, no, I mean, shade to investment bankers, but that can't be what life is. And I remember I left, I was there for like an hour. I talked to like five people who were like, were my age. And I was like, this isn't for me. I, I don't want to do this. And I remember like getting Some free breakfast and then immediately walking out of that being like, okay, I don't think economics like a career working for a bank is for me. And so I started talking to like other professors, like, what can I do with an economics degree? And I remember this one professor, Dr. Peters was like, hey, you should get a PhD. And I was like, what's that? And he explained you're a doctor of. It's like what I do. I'm a doctor of economics and business, whatever. And I was like, oh, I can like get this doctor title and not have to do medicine. I'll listen.
- [06:01]
Audience Member
Come.
- [06:01]
Chinook Te Sara
Because I think at the time I want my parents to be proud of me. And the only way they'll be proud of me is if I, you know, become a doctor. So this felt like a cheat code to the system. So I went out and started seeing what a PhD in economics would look like and thought, okay, this seems like something I maybe want to do. Like I can become a professor and I enjoy talking. Obviously I, I like classic stand up comedian actor. I think my voice is important and people should listen to me. And when you're a professor, those silly, silly kids have to listen to you because you're the professor. So I was like, all right, this might be something I would be interested in doing. So finished my degree in economics, was in the process of my senior year applying to graduate programs and realized, oh my God, this is actually really hard. An econ PhD is so much math. It is not like the easy like econ 101 classes I was acing as a college kid. It's like legitimate. You're doing calculus and derivatives, linear algebra. These are all important things that econ professors do. And I was bad at it at that part of it. And then so made the conversion of going looking at geography PhD programs because I was like a geography minor. I thought it was interesting. And like geography in America has had a renaissance over the past 20ish years. There's like this interesting story of why geography used to be taught in America. And then there was like this kind of scandal at Harvard where the geography like department head and the history department head had like a fight. And because the history department head like ran the social science department, he just cut geography completely out of Harvard's curriculum. And then after every other college saw that, they all then cut their own geography programs, resulting in America taking geography and throwing it away. Which is like why Americans don't know geography.
- [07:57]
Renita Hora
Too true, too true. My goodness, you are touching on a whole lot of very funny and Very relevant chords. I just have to say, my husband was a longtime investment banker. He worked for Chase, So let's judge him. I'm all for that. And the first person who is out there to judge him was his son, who exactly at that young age said, there's got to be more to life than being an investment banker, which is, like, the total opposite of any thing that any person from South Asia would say. And I was like, wow, this is a different kind of kid.
- [08:34]
Chinook Te Sara
That's amazing.
- [08:35]
Renita Hora
Yeah. So he's gonna. He's gonna love hearing this, and I probably have to just, like, send him to you to. To prove that there are other real people on the planet. The other thing that I must say is when you talk about comedy and economics, in Killarney in Ireland, there is this great festival called Kilkonomics, which is about comedy and economics. I don't know if you know this. I don't even know if it. Yeah. Still exists, but it did right before the pandemic. And comedy and economics. Got to check it out. But back to your story. So you are in graduate school, and what happens next?
- [09:19]
Chinook Te Sara
Right. So I decided to pivot and go the geography route. I talked to some geography professors, and they're very sweet, very kind, and geography is very, like, malleable. You can really come from any walk of the academia spectrum and pursue a PhD or Master's in geography. So I ended up applying to master's programs in geography just to, like, make sure I wanted to do this, and ended up getting into a program in New York, and I got a full. Like, I applied to, like, a fellowship, and I got it through, like, a professor at the institution, got a full ride, and then went to pursue my degree there. And at first it felt fine. Like, overall, I was taking classes. I was meeting other students. It felt interesting and cool. I was like, okay, maybe this is what little Snook's gonna do for the rest of his life. And then, over time, my fellowship, basically, I had to do a research project that related to transportation. It was, like, through this kind of, like, scholarship program through this, like, transportation. It's called the. I think the utrc. And they paid for my grad school experience. But the caveat was I had to do a project about transportation, which is, like, okay, there are, like, interesting ways to think about transportation in America. I can make this work. Me and another student who was, like, a year above me had this fellowship. So I would talk to him a bunch and get advice from him, and he was really great. But my advisor, he Also had the same advisor. Was not my favorite person in the world. I think if you've never really been in academia at the graduate level, it isn't as kind to the students as, like, undergrad is. Professors are a lot. Like, some of them are really great and kind, and I definitely had a lot of good experiences, but a lot of them are also very cutthroat. And it's like a frat. I was abused, so now you guys have to be abused too. It's very. It can be a very awful environment for students. And my advisor was of the not great variety of advisors. I remember she would, like, call me and berate me for being late on some things or, like, was this not very supportive? And at the end of it would kind of like, force me and another. The other student to do the work she wanted to do rather than do the work that I wanted to do. So it ended up with us having a falling out. And I was like, I hate this. I don't want to do this anymore. I think I'm done. Like, I. At the time, I was like, in a place of, like, I didn't really pay for this. It wasn't the biggest deal if I'm done. But the problem was my parents were super proud of me doing this. And now I have my first big life problem. I told my parents I'm going to get PhD in this thing. They're very proud. They're very, like, excited about this thing. It's like, you can go to work and be like, my son's doing graduate school and he's going to get a PhD. And now I'm like, okay, I have two options. I can tell them the truth that I don't do this anymore, or I can fake my graduation and they don't have to know about a thing because.
- [12:21]
Renita Hora
They'Re not going to attend as parents.
- [12:24]
Chinook Te Sara
Well. Well, they are.
- [12:27]
Renita Hora
Okay, this gets more interesting.
- [12:30]
Chinook Te Sara
So here's the thing about a lot of colleges in America, or at least the ones that I went to. You can apply for graduation before actually having your credits to graduate as long as you, like, are a senior, as long as it's like, oh, clear that you can actually finish, then you can apply to graduate. And you don't actually find out if you graduated until a month or two later. So you attend the ceremony, you walk, they give you a little fake diploma. But then like, two months later, like, oh, by the way, you don't have the right credits or whatever. So.
- [13:05]
Renita Hora
Oh, my gosh, I guess I was proud parents now. Oh, My gosh. Okay, carry on.
- [13:13]
Chinook Te Sara
Yeah, exactly. You. You see where I'm going with this? I remember thinking I hit rock bottom, like, at that point. Very, like, sad. I was like, what do I do with my life? What can I possibly do after this? Like, I thought I wanted this thing. I worked four years of college, two years of graduate school putting my life into this, and now I'm like, I don't want this. So I was like, what if I just go to an open mic and try that? And so I went, I think the day after, like, my last call with my advisor where she, like, just yelled at me, I hung up on her. I was like, I think the next day, signed up for an open mic in the basement of a bar in New York City. And I told, like, my cousin and my partner and they, like, came out. I did my set and it was bad. Like, I don't do that set at all anymore. But I got laughs. And it felt really good to be on stage in a place that I got to create my own stuff and tell my own story. I remember the day I was like, okay, yeah, this is what I want to do with my life. And so I figured, luckily, hitting rock bottom finally forced me to do this thing that I, for a long time had been talking about wanting to try. Finally did. It felt amazing. Yes. I should have been doing this for the past six years. And then now I have to break it to my parents, hey, I'm not gonna be a doctor of geography, which, who needs that even? But I'm not going to be a doctor of geography. I want to be a stand up comedian. And that was incredibly scary for me. I was like, I can't tell them that. That's. They didn't come here from Sri Lanka for their kid to go tell jokes on stage in a field that is, like, incredibly unstable. That is the. Like, I think if someone told my parents in 93, hey, if you come to America, your kid's going to become a stand up comedian, they'd be like, we're just going to stay. That's fine. We're totally cool with that.
- [15:03]
Renita Hora
I am sure that that line of thinking has changed after they have seen the inordinate amounts of success that their son has been through. I mean, you've got a great show called the Art of Killing it, which is a bipoc immersive murder mystery comedy. Tell us about that.
- [15:24]
Chinook Te Sara
Yeah. The Art of Killing it is a immersive murder mystery play. It is based off of Clue, like the movie, the board game, essentially the conceit, the creator of the show, Jordan Waters, he wanted to create a show that isn't just about using the grief of people of color to tell a story. It's an all bi podcast. We have one white cast member and spoiler alert, she dies. But that's not super important. That's very obvious of it being a murder mystery and it's truly just like a fun comedy. We're gonna have five endings soon, so it changes every night. The play has now been given an open ended run, so we've been running for almost a year in June.
- [16:03]
Renita Hora
Congratulations.
- [16:05]
Chinook Te Sara
Yeah, thank you. It's been going really well.
- [16:08]
Renita Hora
I can see that. It plays either primarily in Brooklyn or only in Brooklyn. Are you taking this show on the road? Do folk on the other side of the country have a chance to see it or do we have to fly to Brooklyn?
- [16:23]
Chinook Te Sara
I think for right now it's staying in Brooklyn, but I think our producers are in talks of like other theater companies. I think there's one in actually, I don't even know. I don't know if I'm talking about this, but there's talks, I think of it going on the road at some point, but it's primarily based out of Brooklyn.
- [16:40]
Renita Hora
Definitely want to keep an eye on when it moves out of Brooklyn. That's very exciting. Chinook now switching gear just a little bit. From what I understand, when you were in college, back to college. College, not grad school. You were the captain of your Quidditch team. Now, first I'm a big Harry Potter fan, but I didn't know that you could actually play Quidditch. Anyone could because.
- [17:04]
Chinook Te Sara
Yeah.
- [17:05]
Renita Hora
Please tell me the magic that you have done being a comedian and an actor and all these wonderful things. Have you actually gotten to fly on broomsticks? Like, how does that work?
- [17:15]
Chinook Te Sara
Yeah, when I was in college, it was called Quidditch. Now they call it, I think tribal quad ball. Quad ball. It's called quad ball.
- [17:24]
Renita Hora
Okay.
- [17:25]
Chinook Te Sara
But you don't fly on brooms. That'd be so cool. And I think it'd be a much more like widely popular sport if you could. But you have a bunch of people on brooms. There's seven players on each side, and you have to run on the broom, like between your legs the entire time. So you'll like be running around. And if the broom comes out between your legs, you have to go back to your hoops, touch them before you can start playing again. But it runs very similar. Like, similar in the rules of there are three chasers, two Beaters, one keeper and one seeker per each team. The chasers chase like a quaffle to throw it through the hoops. And the quaffle in Quidditch was this slightly deflated volleyball. Beaters wouldn't have, like, actual, like, sticks to, like, beat people with. They would have dodgeballs. And if you got hit with a dodgeball, you had to get off your broom, go back to your hoops, and touch them before you start playing again. And then the seekers would chase, not like a actual snitch, but, like, usually a cross country runner or a wrestler wearing all yellow. And there was, like, a Velcro sock attached to, like, the back of his shorts that you would have to try and pull off. And if you pulled it off, that would be catching the snitch. And instead of 150 points, you would get 30 points and the game would end.
- [18:36]
Renita Hora
That is a lot of technical detail, and I can understand why you get into that detail. Obviously you were in charge. You were the captain. But here is my question. Were you not a popular captain? Were you not liked your assistant captain, didn't like you? Or at least that's what I am guessing. Tell me more.
- [18:58]
Chinook Te Sara
I was a good captain. That's not just me being biased because I'm me. I remember, like, after my senior year, my team, like, retired my jersey and my number. And I think my philosophy for Quidditch was very much like, this isn't a sport that's going to anybody's. Like, no one's going to graduate and join a professional Quidditch team and make millions of dollars. Like, people are here for other things. I want to win, obviously, but I also want people to have a good time and this to be, like, a welcoming environment for people to, like, come make some friends, enjoy, like, your college experience, things like that. And my captain, I think, didn't dislike me, but I think disagreed. My philosophy, I think he very much wanted to win when at all costs was very much, like, much more cutthroat as, like, taking it a little more seriously than I did. He really wanted this team to be a serious force. And we were good. We weren't a bad team. I think the year I was head captain, my junior year, we beat the second best team in the country, Texas State. And that was a crazy, crazy good game. But he essentially, that year, I knew our relationship had been kind of dwindling because I had made some choices that were like, oh, it's like we went to Boston for a tournament and it was like a huge blizzard. So I Was like, we're not going to risk people's lives trying to go to the tournament in a blizzard. Let's just not go and hang out at this hotel that we were at. And he was very much against that and, like, went by himself to the tournament and was pissed at me for making that call. And so I think that's when he started to be like, okay, let me try and force this guy out and, like, talk to some other people who were like, yeah, Snook doesn't have the right mentality for this team. And so I saw, like, the writing on the wall of, okay, he doesn't want me to be captain. That's fine. And so, like, I think that year there's a thing called the World Cup. That's, like the big tournament that every school in the country kind of like, comes to if you qualify for. And we qualified, we went. That's where we beat Texas State. And I remember at the tournament, like, our first game, I announced, yeah, this is going to be my last time playing for this team. After this, I'm done. Because I. At the time, I was also like, I gotta think about grad school and applications and, like, my life after college, so that's fine if I don't do this. And kids were upset about it, but whatever. We did it. We played well. I'm proud of what we did. And then Andrew. Ooh. I said, it's whatever. Andrew became the captain the next year. I was fine. I wasn't, like, upset by it. And then I remember the next year, by the end of, like, October, Andrew had quit the team and then joined a rival team because they were better. And so I came back to, like, save the team from, like, falling apart and not qualifying for that year's World Cup. But he jumped ship once. It got hard.
- [21:49]
Renita Hora
Shoot, shoot. Yeah, that must have been difficult for you. I mean, would you have changed anything about that whole experience? Could you have?
- [21:58]
Chinook Te Sara
Oh, wow. I think my only regret is, like, I think I held a huge grudge against Andrew for a long time, and I feel bad about that because at the end of the day, it's Quidditch. Like, it doesn't mean anything. It was a fun time I had with a bunch of my, like. All my close friends came from that experience. Andrew and I used to be close. And I wish that maybe I didn't hold that grudge as much, but at the end of the day, honestly, I think I did everything right. I made no mistakes. Aside from maybe holding a grudge about a sport that truly does not matter to me anymore in life.
- [22:35]
Renita Hora
So just trying to think in terms of your parents. You mentioned them before that had they known, of course, you were talking about later in your comedy career that you'd be standing on stage and telling jokes. They would have said, well, we're just not leaving Sri Lanka. Let's just stay here. I'm just trying to think. So they come here, their progeny is playing Quidditch and they're thinking, hmm, is this even a real sport? But hey, he's just a kid probably, you know, and fast track to where we are now. What is in their heads? I have to ask you, what do.
- [23:07]
Chinook Te Sara
They feel now that is such a good. Yeah, I think now they see me and how busy I am and like, I am very lucky in terms of, I think South Asian immigrant parents. Despite all the jokes about them, they are very supportive of me. And my dad is like, he sees how busy I am. He sees Mike, my schedule of like going to do this show, going to like auditions and play and the play and everything. I think he's finally like seeing how busy I am and being like, hey, I'm really proud of you. I see how hard you work and I know it's a lot, but all I wanted was you to work hard at something and you're doing it. And I'm proud of that. Like, that, that is something that makes me happy to know that I didn't come here for nothing. I think now seeing the fruits of the labor and like seeing the results is like helpful for them.
- [23:57]
Renita Hora
Yep.
- [23:57]
Chinook Te Sara
But I think maybe like three or four years ago they were like, okay, it's just like a cute little hobby while he like does his other things and stuff. And now they're like, okay, he's actually serious about this.
- [24:07]
Renita Hora
I love it. I love it. I'm sure they're very proud of you. So tell us quickly before we wrap up about the 20 sided podcast and character you play. Yaksha ra.
- [24:20]
Chinook Te Sara
Yeah, the 20 sided podcast is a Dungeons and Dragons actual play podcast. So folks are familiar with like Dimension 20 or Critical Role Rude Tales of Magic. It's more similar to like Dimension 20, I'd say of like, it's run by this really great sound designer and host, Brian Flaherty, and he's created this show that is non contiguous of like, you don't need to listen to season one to listen to understand season two and so on and so forth. And Yaksha Ra is a silly little character that I got to play and voice. He is a dragonborn, which is Just like a dragon, human thing. And he's a former pirate and he has to in this season that I'm currently portraying him in, he has to escape from this ominous void called the Static. It is a harrowing, funny, comedic little adventure that I get to partake in. And now the podcast has kind of evolved into becoming something called My First Dungeon, which is a bunch of just one, one off actual play games that game creators like Grant Hewitt, Stephen Dewey, the guy that made 10 candles, will come on, explain how to play a game and then we'll play their game on the podcast for them. And it's very fun, it's very interesting. If you're into like tabletop role playing games, if you're into like board games, if you're into comedy, it's a very fun podcast network that has been created.
- [25:43]
Renita Hora
Oh, that's great. That's great to hear. I'm definitely going to check it out and I'm seeing this thread of board games and comedy and shows in the work that you do, which I think is fantastic. Tell us Chinook, where we can find you online, social media handles, website. Anything you want to tell us?
- [26:01]
Chinook Te Sara
Yeah, sure. You can find me on Instagram, Hinook S H E N U Q U E Or on TikTok at Fake Shnook because at snook was taken by someone good. Or my website, snooktasera.com in line with.
- [26:18]
Renita Hora
Things like faking a graduation and whatever else.
- [26:23]
Chinook Te Sara
There's a thread. There's an absolute thread in my life.
- [26:26]
Renita Hora
Absolutely. Chinook, thank you so much for joining us on the True Fiction Project. I cannot wait to hear the story that comes out of this.
- [26:35]
Chinook Te Sara
I'm super excited. Thank you for having me.
- [26:37]
Renita Hora
Thank you. And that was our guest, Shanook Tessera on the True Fiction Project. I am your host, Renita Hora.
- [26:46]
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- [26:51]
Oh yeah, yeah.
- [26:53]
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- [26:55]
What if I have lots of forms?
- [26:57]
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- [27:02]
What if I once saw Bigfoot?
- [27:04]
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- [27:07]
That's what I'm talking about.
- [27:09]
Now this is taxes. See if you qualify in the TurboTax app excludes TurboTax Live must start and file an app by 2:18.
- [27:17]
Renita Hora
And now to the premise of the True Fiction project, which of course is to create fiction out of Nonfiction.
- [27:33]
Audience Member
Faking the Grade A short story written by Michael Kobzik.
- [27:36]
Yasiru Giroude
I don't go to Dirkin Donuts to get avocado toast. That'd be like going to Denny's and asking for filet mignon.
- [27:42]
Audience Member
The small audience at the Laugh Store laughed at Yasiru's joke as he stood on stage. His five minutes at the open mic night were almost up. There were maybe 20 people sitting around and having drinks. If he was lucky, maybe one or two people would remember his name in the morning. Yasiru looked down at the floor. He imagined all of his idols standing here decades ago. Gerald Steinman stood here. He spent all of his teenage years watching every episode of Steinman. But Yasiru didn't feel worthy of the stage. In the last 30 seconds of his set, Yasiru's hand trembled, blasting microphone feedback into the room.
- [28:16]
Yasiru Giroude
Sorry. Alright, my time's almost up. Thanks everyone for coming out to see me. And for all the blind people here, thanks for listening.
- [28:23]
Renita Hora
Give it up for Yasiru Giroude.
- [28:24]
Audience Member
The audience politely clapped as he exited the stage, disappearing into the darkness of the bar. He joined his friend Geo at the bar. Judging by the glasses nearby, he was already two bourbons in.
- [28:35]
Do Good.
- [28:36]
Yasiru Giroude
Weren't you watching?
- [28:37]
Audience Member
Sorry. Matched with this cute girl down the street and the rest of the world kind of went away.
- [28:42]
Yasiru Giroude
Thanks a lot. I thought I did a little better this time.
- [28:44]
Audience Member
You're gonna get there soon. You'll be the next Steinman.
- [28:47]
Yasiru Giroude
I'm no Steinman.
- [28:48]
Audience Member
Doesn't he still come by here sometimes? Who knows? You might get discovered.
- [28:52]
Yasiru Giroude
He'll discover I have no talent. All those workshops, all those classes, hours and hours of practice, and I can barely get any bookings. Not like I have any time anymore.
- [29:02]
Audience Member
Oh, right. You're still doing the doctor thing. You're gonna be a doctor in like discography, geography?
- [29:08]
Yasiru ran his palms over his face.
- [29:10]
Yasiru Giroude
I'm at the very end of my program, but I don't even want to graduate, man.
- [29:14]
Audience Member
Why not? You'll be the first comedian doctor. A doctorian.
- [29:17]
Yasiru Giroude
But that's not a thing it should be.
- [29:19]
Audience Member
At least it's a little more dignified than what I've been doing.
- [29:22]
Yasiru Giroude
And that is?
- [29:23]
Audience Member
I'm playing Mercutio at this Shakespeare in the park thing next month. I gotta dress up all funky and read all these lines I don't even understand.
- [29:30]
Yasiru Giroude
Gio. Gio. Wherefore art thou, Gio?
- [29:33]
Audience Member
The two friends laugh together before settling back into commiseration. Yasiru turned his phone on and started to flip through his gallery. He saw a group shot of him, Gio, and a bunch of their friends doing improv a couple of months ago. Of course, he got picked to be the doctor of the bit. The audience told him to test Gio's reflexes and he kicked him in the balls. He couldn't feel anything below the crotch for a week. He flipped to another photo. It was a picture of him, his mother, and his father in front of the Statue of Liberty.
- [30:03]
Yasiru Giroude
They came all the way from Sri Lanka just for their kids. And here I am slumming it up in a bar somewhere on Fifth Avenue.
- [30:09]
Audience Member
We're both gonna make it. Fake it till you make it.
- [30:11]
Yasiru's eyes widened.
- [30:13]
Yasiru Giroude
Fake it. Dude, I have an idea.
- [30:15]
Audience Member
Yasiru always wanted to make people laugh. He was always the kid in the middle of the classroom who had to be the center of attention. And he loved the attention. But Yasiru's parents would rather he had his head down and his pen on the exam page. As an adult, the only thing he was signing was his dropout notice.
- [30:32]
Yasiru Giroude
I'm hereby dropping out of my program.
- [30:34]
Audience Member
Yasiru's notice was written in plain script on a yellow pad of paper.
- [30:38]
Yasiru Giroude
Thank you for your time.
- [30:39]
Audience Member
He dropped the piece of paper in his advisor's mailbox and closed the door to the department for good. He stepped outside of the Sciences Building of nyu, the crisp New York air ruffling his brown hair. The gray sky was featureless, save for the gleaming buildings of the nearby metropolis. He tilted his head towards the empty sky. It felt like Yasiru's entire life was before him, extending into oblivion. Yasiru's phone rumbles. It's Geo. His voice marked by distortion from the bad signal.
- [31:09]
Hey.
- [31:09]
Where are you?
- [31:10]
Yasiru Giroude
I. I had to take care of something.
- [31:12]
Audience Member
Get over here. We're almost ready for the show. These robes are really itchy.
- [31:15]
Yasiru Giroude
I thought you said you could get the good costumes.
- [31:17]
Audience Member
Shut up. It was last minute. Now you know what you're gonna say.
- [31:20]
Yasiru Giroude
Yeah.
- [31:21]
Audience Member
Even though his mouth didn't match what was in his head.
- [31:24]
Yasiru Giroude
I'll be right over. Is everything ready?
- [31:26]
Audience Member
Yeah. You should see how many people are here.
- [31:28]
Yasiru stopped walking towards the train station.
- [31:30]
Yasiru Giroude
How many people?
- [31:31]
Audience Member
Gio turned the camera around and Yasiru's heart dropped clear through his chest. His whole phone screen was full of people. Young, old, moms, dads, kids. There were hundreds, maybe a thousand people. And they were all waiting for what was to come.
- [31:45]
They're all waiting for you, dude. I'LL stall em. Now get over here.
- [31:48]
Yasiru ended the call and dashed down the steps of the subway. After the longest 15 minutes of his life, Yasiru finally arrived to Central park, right on time for the ceremony to begin. The crowd had multiplied. They were listening to the dulcet sounds of the New York Amateur Light Orchestra performing live in front of the stage. Gio had bribed the conductor with free pizza and champagne. You could tell the curly haired conductor had pepperoni and fizzing bubbles dancing in his head as he waved his baton. It was the perfect distraction for Yasiru's entrance. He dashed around the crowd trying to find an entrance to the stage. He found a door cordoned off with police tape and a soul guard standing in front with his arms folded.
- [32:29]
Yasiru Giroude
Excuse me, I'm part of the ceremony. I need to get in.
- [32:32]
Audience Member
The guard looked down at him, frowning. You look like you're lost. Aren't you supposed to be good with maps? Yasiru's mouth opened wide. Wide. And the guard took off his hat and sunglasses to reveal his best friend Gio's smiling face.
- [32:44]
Yasiru Giroude
Dude, what the heck?
- [32:45]
Audience Member
Yasiru's surprise mixed with his despair.
- [32:48]
You wanted a cop, you got a clown. Now let's get you on stage.
- [32:51]
Yasiru hurriedly changed into his graduation cap and gown as the crowd applauded the last song from the Light orchestra.
- [32:58]
Yasiru Giroude
Thank you, thank you. And now we are proud to welcome.
- [33:00]
Chinook Te Sara
The pride of NYU Doctor of Geography, Yasiru Giroug.
- [33:04]
Audience Member
Yasiru couldn't move. He was feet away from the podium, hidden from the crowd. He felt like he would walk out there and immediately get devoured by the sheer mass of people. Yesiru felt a push from Gio, nearly sending him to the lacquered wood floor. As he steadied himself against the fake podium, Gio gave him a thumbs up. Yasaru accepted the fake diploma from the young woman who shook his hand. Yasaru smiled, turning his head towards the crowd as they applauded. Maybe he would see his parents. Not only did he see his parents, but but he saw him. Yasiru did a double take as he saw the man himself, Gerald Steinman. It was as if he had leaped off of the television screen and into the crowd. Standing right next to his parents at the edge of the crowd, with sweat running down his forehead, he wrenched himself away from his idol's gaze and towards the crowd at large. As the applause died down, Yasiru stood in front of the largest audience he'd seen in his life. The crowd of people went all the way down to the end of the block. More than half of these people weren't even invited. They just happened to show up and wanted to see the spectacle. It was a miracle. And it was Yasiru's worst nightmare.
- [34:14]
Yasiru Giroude
Thank you for coming here to see me. I mean, coming here to. Alright, I'm lost. Good thing I'm a geography doctor now, huh?
- [34:20]
Audience Member
The joke gets some laughs reverberating across the crowd.
- [34:22]
Yasiru Giroude
If anyone puts this on, TikTok, make sure you spell my last name right, okay? Don't put a at the end. I already have a lot of people who call me gay.
- [34:31]
Audience Member
This joke gets more laughs and a stray cackle from an older lady, right?
- [34:35]
Yasiru Giroude
I want to thank my best friend, Gio. Without him, none of this would be possible. I want to thank his credit cards too. Just like me. I bet they're at their limit now.
- [34:43]
Audience Member
The laughs grow. Yasiru looked back at Steinman standing next to Yasiru's mother and father. His parents looked bemused, but Steinman was just happy to be there. Yasiru looked back at the crowd and clenched his fists.
- [34:55]
Yasiru Giroude
Don't break the bit.
- [34:56]
Audience Member
He adjusted his microphone, sending a blast of feedback into the crowd.
- [35:00]
Yasiru Giroude
Sorry. Sorry.
- [35:00]
Audience Member
Yasaru closed his eyes. He thought for a second that if he willed it, all of this would be over and he could be back home where he was a loser. But a safe loser.
- [35:10]
Yasiru Giroude
And most of all, I want to thank my parents. I don't want to point them out since they'd probably kill me if I did.
- [35:16]
Audience Member
His mother covered her face, but Yasiru could still see her smile.
- [35:19]
Yasiru Giroude
If I had to say one thing, there's not enough words for my parents. They were always so supportive no matter what stage I stood on. Thank you.
- [35:26]
Audience Member
The crowd erupts into applause.
- [35:28]
That was so awesome, dude.
- [35:30]
Gio popped the cork on a fresh bottle of champagne, dosing him and Yasiru in it immediately.
- [35:35]
Yasiru Giroude
That was amazing.
- [35:36]
Audience Member
His heart was pounding.
- [35:38]
Did you see how many phones were out? We're gonna go viral.
- [35:41]
Yasiru Giroude
We'll see. Yasiru looked back at the crowd, now dispersing. He looked for Steinman again, but he was nowhere to be found.
- [35:47]
Audience Member
Yasiru's phone rumbles again.
- [35:49]
Yasiru Giroude
Hello, dad.
- [35:50]
Chinook Te Sara
Congratulations, Yasiru. Or should I say Dr. Yasiru?
- [36:07]
Renita Hora
Here at the True Fiction Project, we are always looking for great stories that make for compelling fiction. So if you have a great story or know somebody who does, or if you are a writer who would like to contribute, then please do get in touch with us@renita.com contact.
- [36:29]
Thank you for listening to the True Fiction Project with Renita Hora. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter to receive more inspiring stories showing how fiction is born from our every everyday experiences. For more information, visit www.TrueFictionProject.com.
- [36:52]
Ryan
It is Ryan here and I have a question for you. What do you do when you win? Like, are you a fist pumper?
- [36:58]
Audience Member
A woohooer?
- [36:59]
Ryan
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- [37:17]
Chinook Te Sara
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