I am working on a one-woman-show to debut this fall outside of Boston, MA. It’s a new venture for me and one that I’m excited about because, well–it’s so unlike anything I’ve ever done.
Being past 40 years old, doing things I’ve never done is hard to do. I’ve driven a car, popped champagne, gotten my first kiss, swam with a dolphin, laughed, cried, had my heart broken, said I’m sorry, been married, given birth….you know, all that stuff. I’ve even gotten shingles–a new experience and DEFINITELY NOT one I recommend…but my point is, at my age it’s difficult to experience something unique, and especially one that I choose to do. So for me, this will be quite something.
The show is about how to handle it when life slaps someone in the face–or the -ss, if you’re talking about me–which it does at some point for everyone. Not necessarily cancer, not illness–but maybe divorce. Maybe death of a loved one. Maybe job loss.. Let’s face it, no one goes unscathed in life. Sh-t happens, and sometimes it’s devastating. So what do you do about it? What gets us through?
The answer is we do. And I mean all of us–not just you for you, but you for your friend and me for my cousin and that nurse for that patient–we are all thrown into moments where someone needs us…if even for a moment…and there we are whether we planned to be or not, and we gotta show up for these folks–and sometimes it’s just…plain…AWKWARD. So how do you handle it?
I have some ideas. And that’s what the show is about.
But I can’t just rattle them off. That’s B-O-R-I-N-G. So I’ll tell a few jokes. I’ll talk about my public flashing–how this Catholic girl bared her breasts to a total stranger. And I’ll share more, of course I’ll talk about cancer–but not like it’s the only thing. It’s just my thing. You have your thing, she had her thing–we all get a thing. That’s what makes us different, and that’s what makes us the same.
If you know me, you know I handle it with laughter, lots of jokes, a few four-letter words and a lot of heart. This show will be my foray into theatre–and a way for me to hold out an emotional hand and say “hey audience, we’re in this together.”
Because my life, and my story, are really everyone’s story with different names, dates, faces and props. My very first boss said it best, to me–the fresh-faced 15 year old who thought she knew everything–
“Remember Ann, you’re absolutely unique. Just like everybody else.”
30 years and a show-premiere in the offing, I finally understand what he meant.
(The show, titled IN THE PINK, is sold out for its October premier, but I may take it on the road. If I do, I’ll post that here.)
