THE STARTER
Jack Verhage for Narrator (American Male)
Format: Single-episode audio drama. One performer reads ALL narration and voices ALL characters.
Setting: Maplewood-Sparta (somewhere in suburban America with seasons.)
Date: Feb-March 1995
Tone: 90s high school sports story with emotionally authentic coming-of-age themes
Set in late-winter 1995 in Maplewood-Sparta, this campfire tale is narrated by Owen, recounting the story of his older brother Patrick—a quiet, hardworking relief pitcher who dreams of becoming a starter, earning a scholarship, and escaping small-town gravity.
Voice: Owen (unnamed in text), Patrick’s younger brother, early-teens in the 90s but telling the story as a young man later.
Placement/Color: Warm chest voice, intimate proximity, gently raspy edges; conversational confessional
Accent: General American
Tempo: Measured, cinematic; able to compress for gameplay passages; breathe space before turns
Emotional arc (macro):
Opening: cozy, wry, “pull up a log”
Middle: curiosity → awe → unease
Turn: guilt/compassion for Patrick, wary of “luck”
Ending: quiet triumph-with-questions
Narrator Anchors (use these to reset tone):
“Welcome to the campfire…” (smile in the voice)
“It was 1995 and the field was all wrong for baseball.” (colder, observational)
“He was lucky.” (soft, ambivalent landing)
The goal is subtle characterization—this is Owen telling a story, not full radio drama.
Both characters Patrick and Mike have been introduced in SPARTANS! episode 5 THE CHAIN.
You can listen to past episodes of the SPARTANS! anthology here.
Patrick (protagonist; senior, relief pitcher → starter)Energy: About 18 years old, earnest, contained, quietly hungry
Placement: Slightly higher/forward but still natural; tighten at moments of doubt
Tempo: A half-beat slower when he’s thinking; sharper on game action
Arc notes: Modest → tempted → resolute (chooses not to burn the thread)
Energy: About 18 years old, big-man-on-campus confidence and charm with hairline cracks
Placement: Wider, brighter; smile in the words; goes tight/defensive when ribbed
Tempo: Quicker, declarative; snaps under pressure
Energy: About 20 years old, Spent charm, smoke-roughened; a little rough around the edges, but warmth with regret underneath
Placement: Lower, back in the throat; dry chuckle; avoid caricature
Tempo: Measured; leave air around warnings
- american
- male adult
- warm
- male young adult
NARRATOR (Beginning of the story. Observational): It was 1995 and the field was all wrong for baseball. Too early in the year. February cold seeped into their knuckles and knees, turning every throw into a sting. Out past the chain-link fence, the trees stood bare, skeletal against a navy sky that dropped fast into black. The grass was still brittle, icy, more yellow than green, crunching under cleats.
NARRATOR (Half baseball announcer, half mounting excitement of a spectator): Mike took the mound first. His windup smooth, almost cocky—the kind that hushed the other team’s bench. The first pitch hissed, dead-on. The PA crackled with the strike call. A few kids whooped from the stands.
OLD CAPTAIN (Reluctantly telling a secret): Everyone’s got a certain amount of luck. How much? Nobody knows. But it’s fixed. Set. The powers that be dish it out little by little — a win at a game, a good hand of cards, getting lucky with a girl. Whatever.
