A Bit of a Catch-up…

A lot has happened since Thanksgiving.  I have received a full bill of health from my surgeon. The cardiologist has determined that I do not have any defects in my valves, and although I have high blood pressure, with a change in medicine, everything will be much better.  And so far, it has been improving.  I still get winded, but I recover much quicker.

I have since done another opera.  Rigoletto was wonderful, although it still was more difficult than I thought it would be.  Climbing stairs and running around was bit more taxing than I had hoped.  I need to really push harder in exercising and getting back into shape.  But I do recover faster now, and that is a good thing.  And now I’m working on Elixir of Love for March.  This is one that I have been looking forward to doing for ever.  And what great music this opera has.  It is wonderful.  I have also been rehearsing for a show with Salty Dinner Theater, “Arthur and Lancelot: For Love of Guinevere.”  It is a fun Valentine’s day version of the Camelot story, and I get to play Merlin.  It’s been a lot of fun to prepare.

I also directed my first show for Holladay Arts Council.  It is a reader’s theater production of “Dear Liar.”   It is a play that chronicles the letters written between George Bernard Shaw and Beatrice Stella Campbell, the actress who originated Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion.  It is a wonderful play that chronicles the love these two people built over forty years.  So, I’ve been busy.

For a little over the last year, I have been reviewing shows for Utah Theater Bloggers Association.  It all started out as a way to get free tickets to see shows.  Anyway, UTBA has been around for two years now, and at the annual get-together of UTBA reviewers and staff, they announced a reboot to the website, and some new features that are coming up for UTBA.  Then at the end of the evening, they said that they had talked about giving out awards, but decided not to do that.  But as they were going through stats and looking at what had happened over the previous year, they said that there was one person that they couldn’t help but recognize.  They said that this person had done a lot to make UTBA what it is and to improve the quality of what UTBA is now.  They felt that they needed to award the reviewer of the year to… Tony Porter.  It was a great shock, but a very pleasant surprise.

I wrote 22 reviews, with at least one review each month of the year.  They also said that the quality of my reviews helped to raise the bar on the website.  It was a very nice honor.

 

Quote of the Day:

“The only exercise some people get is jumping to conclusions, running down their friends, side-stepping responsibility, and pushing their luck!  ~Author Unknown”

Oh, look! A diamond!

I’ve been thinking quite a bit lately about all the shows I’ve done over the years and what I’ve let slip through my fingers because of what I’ve let myself become.  Surprisingly, I got a lot of roles when I was a little younger and not quite as heavy, but still overweight.  I did roles like Sky Masterson in “Guys and Dolls",” Adam Pontipee  in “ Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,”  Daddy Warbucks in “Annie Warbucks, “ and The Pirate King in “The Pirates of Penzance.”  These were all roles that I never would have been cast in if it had been at any other theater company.  The owner was a larger man, and I think he saw things differently than most people.  Anyway, I got some really great roles, and a lot of romantic leads.  Audiences didn’t seem to mind.  But I know that I didn’t get many roles at other companies because of my size.  I don’t audition now for many companies unless I know someone involved because I know that I won’t get many of the roles that I want.  Plus there are all the shows that I might get cast in but could never do because of my size.  Shows like “The Andrews Brothers.”  I’ve never seen a full production of it, but the premise is three guys on an island in the Pacific are helping with the USO show.  They are not talented and each have their own quirks.  Then suddenly the news comes that the Andrews Sisters, the headliners, are stranded in quarantine in Hawaii, so they are convinced that they have to impersonate the Andrews Sisters, in full drag, no less.   I want so badly to play one of the parts, but I could never do it as large as I am.

I would love to do other shows, too.  “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, abr.” But I’d never be able to do it physically.  Tons of other shows.  I need to get this girth off me so that I can move better and do the physical stuff.  As you’d see if you came to “The Tempest” moving around stage sets off a torrent of flop-sweat.  It’s not pleasant for the actors I work with or for me, but also not so great for the audience.  I know that I don’t look appealing when this happens.  It was much worse when I was doing dinner theater.  Standing around a bunch of people dripping while they are eating is not good.  Most people were polite and didn’t say anything.  I did my best never to be standing directly over someone.  But one show I had a guy who thought he was a real comedian, and decided to make jokes at my expense.  I didn’t appreciate it, and I know the people at his table felt uncomfortable.  I hated that night.

And so, here I am at age 45, twice my ideal weight and doing little more than blogging about it.  Every once in a while I get a wild hair and try something like cutting out some indulgence or really watching my calorie count. But I don’t get that bang for my buck, as it were, to keep up with it.  Plus I have created such a busy schedule for myself that I don’t make time to do the things that I need to do.  I don’t have the inward drive to do it.  I hate where I am in my own shell, but lack the drive to break out of that shell.  And I don’t seem to get any encouragement from anyone.  My friends have all come to accept who I am, and don’t push me to change.  I need to find less polite friends! 

But maybe my blogging about all this and hearing (or seeing?) myself write all this same stuff over and over again will finally get me to put the remote down, get off the couch and haul my sorry ass across the house to the treadmill or stationary bike for some MUCH needed exercise.  Heaven knows I need it.  I know I need it and so do all of you.

Quote of the day:

“I don't exercise. I'm Jewish. If God had wanted me to bend over, he would have put diamonds on the floor.  --JOAN RIVERS”