Storytelling Week 2: Narcissus the Drama Major

In the world of theater no university was more respected than the University of Dramatics. The students from this university were consistently recognized as the best at what they do. So it was only natural for Narcissus to select this as the school he would attend. Narcissus was widely known for his seemingly prodigious acting talents. There seemed to be no limits to the kinds of roles he could take on. His mountain of talent was matched only by the mountainous size of his ego. Students flocked around him, hoping to be brought into his inner circle. Narcissus however was not so keen to let anyone in. On a regular basis he would smile and draw them closer but within a very short amount of time he would send them away again. He publicly disgraced them in front of the school. In doing so however he forgot one very simple fact. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

One such scorned woman appealed to the playwright, Nemesis, known by her pen name Rhamnusia, who was in charge of the school’s next production. Nemesis heard the girl’s complaints and decided that is was time for Narcissus to learn his own lesson. She wrote a play for him and him alone. There were no large stage props for the background and no other characters for him to interact with. The stage would be occupied by only a single large mirror into which Narcissus would stare for the entirety of the play.

Narcissus was overjoyed at the thought of showcasing a new side to his acting. Surely now he could showcase the true extent of his genius. He practiced his gazes every time he came across a mirror. Staring into his own reflection and reaching towards it, as if he could simply reach beyond the thin plane of glass and grasp his own hand. It was the night before the play was set to open and Narcissus was going on stage for the final rehearsal. However there was something wrong. The mirror on the stage was broken, shattered into jagged pieces. When he attempted to look at it his reflection was distorted and broken.

“What, what, what happened,” he stammered.

“Oh, guess they forgot to tell you, since the main prop was broken they decided it would be too much trouble to get a new one so the whole production got cancelled,” said a stage hand from behind him.

“Cancelled! How can this be?”

The stage hand shrugged. “Sorry dude.”

Narcissus grabbed at his chest as he began to hyperventilate. “This can’t be. My chance has been stolen from me! This was supposed to be my moment, my chance for my genius to shine through! And now I have been robbed of it!” He backed up towards the edge of the stage. The color drained from his face. His body twisted into a dramatic arch he fell backwards to the ground. There he curled into a ball and wept in mourning over his lost chance. 

(Image found online from a photo website)

Author Note: This story was taken from the story of Narcissus. I wrote my story this way because in the original story there are very few spoken lines and most of it is just narrative. I changed the story by making the setting a modern university specialized in theater. I also changed some of the details, in the original Narcissus was known for his appearance and not his acting ability. Also in the original story when he gazed into a reflecting pool he fell in love with himself and was distraught when his reflection was disrupted. It ended with him turning into a flower. 

Bibliography: "Narcissus" from Ovid's Metamorphoses, translated by Tony Kline (2000)