The Chateau de Blandy Les Tours - what a setting! It is fairytale-like, and very hot. There is a heat wave happening in the region with temperatures reaching Ninety-eight degrees Fahrenheit! We arrive in Paris and are driven immediately to the castle for the first of two nine hour rehearsals. This is no tourist trip. We get right to work. We have a show to do. …
France: July 2015 Don’t Worry, Be HaRpy
It was a whirlwind. A quick weekend to France to perform the original Jazz Opera: "Don't worry, Be HaRpy" by French composer and harpist Isabelle Olivier. This particular weekend also happened to be my birthday weekend. It was not an easy trip but it was a wonderful one. High temperatures in the hot Sun, hours of rehearsal and my knees never add up to much in the way of comfort but it did make for a thrilling adventure. The show is wonderful, Isabelle is genius and the players and crew were …
The Adventures of Permanent Lifestyle Change Girl: Straight from the Woodshed -The Fat Monologue
Tonight's the night! I'm going to do my first ever reading of the "Fat Piece" in front of a live audience - ever. I am reading as part of "Story Jam", a story-telling live music show produced by singer, performer, writer Stephanie Rogers and held at The Wilmette Theater. I'm a bit frightened in an excited way. I've been working on this particular piece off and on for decades, steadily for months. I have had invaluable guidance from solo show writer and scholar Arlene Malinowski who has been …
The Adventures of Permanent Lifestyle Change Girl: Documenting My Weight Journey for My One Woman Show.
I've been up for ages this morning writing the hardest piece ever for my show. It has always been the one story that I knew I had to tell yet the most difficult to complete. The topic of weight is so multifaceted for me. There are so many approaches I can take. Every time I think I've nailed it I find yet another level to explore. My fitness program has led to yet another approach to the telling of this story. Do I keep the story as is with the fitness thing as a mere mention, or do I insert …
The Adventures of Permanent Lifestyle Change Girl: Feel The Burn And Don’t Throw Up!
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. That is one way to describe my session today with Trainer Jeremy. This is the first time in nearly seven weeks that I actually want to say: I have to stop! I can't do this one anymore! But I don't say it and I don't stop. The day starts off innocently enough. I hobble down the long hall past all of the windows and the beautiful city views to the fitness center at The Spa at Trump - today known as the Chamber of Torture. And we get right to …