28 Plays Later – Challenge #24
So, as you’ve gathered, I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of whether art should be truthful, or indeed should attempt at representing truth (or perhaps it does so inherently), and if it does, why? And what does it even mean to be truthful? Perhaps it’s all nonsensical.
Sebastian! What’s the frigging challenge?”
oh… uhm… I have no idea!
About the play:
One of my favorite ways to relax during the summer months is to float in my swimming pool, under a canopy of trees, watching the birds flit from branch to branch. I’ve been nursing a knee injury that’s been coming and going for months, and then over Christmas, I slipped on my deck, pulled my hamstring, and re-injured it It’s only now that I’m finally able to sit for more than half an hour at a time, and while soaking in bubble baths with lavender-scented epsom salts has helped, it’s not the same as floating. At the same time, a friend on Facebook mentioned that she’d recently hurt her hip while in a theatrical production and mentioned floating as a way to take stress off her hip. That gave me the inspiration to make my character an actor in a show. My friend Nutty, fellow fat woman, is a phenomenal artist, and every year she observes Lent as a period of daily creativity. She’s also an eloquent speaker and writer on the subject of loving your own body, no matter the size, something I know I still struggle with, as do many, many women. This character is mostly me, with a dash of Nutty and a few other friends. (Except I’ve never had children.)
About the art:
I sent Nutty a copy of this play – which is really a monologue – and asked her if she’d let me use on of her nudes to help illustrate it. She did, but then she said, “but your piece has inspired today’s art.” And so, around one am Sunday morning, she sent me this link. I asked if I could use the piece, and she responded that she hoped I would. And so, we’ve created an infinite loop of mutual inspiration. Please visit Nutty’s site for more awesome pieces of art. Click here for DAILY CREATIVITY.
BODY POSITIVE
Excerpt:
I mean, let’s be honest, I’m not in my twenties anymore. Hell, it’s been a while since I’ve seen thirty. Or forty. I’ve had a child – nursed her – I’ve never completely gotten over my love affair with carbs. I hate working out. I have dance training, but I’ve never been a natural dancer, and there’s a reason I play character parts.
My body shows all of that. My body is the reason.
But even without that…. Even without just one of those things, I’ve always been the girl – the woman – who was teased for being fat. Who had to wear a bra at the age of eight. Who is always too short and too loud and too hairy and too busty and too round.
(I mean, seriously, in the event of a water landing, my tits are built-in flotation devices).
To read the entire play, click the link below:
