An Ode to Plus Size Actors
Your throaty Aretha style big notes are the backbone of every ensemble!
I have been scrolling through old blog posts and decided to write an ode to plus size character actors.
My body developed early and so in middle and high school I was often cast in character or matronly rolls because I looked and behaved older than my fellow child actors.
I have yet to play a young ingenue in a show and once I hit 200 pounds, I realized that was probably never going to happen in this life. Once I get my Celestial body I plan to spend several hundred years memorizing and performing ALL of the best rolls, my favorite of which would be Marianne in the Music Man.
I am sharing a few photos of me playing big girl characters. And I want to give a nod to all of you talented ladies out there who play what are some of the best parts in Musical Theatre.
My other big goal is to play Effie White in Dreamgirls. She has the best big songs in the show, and as a roll reserved for a woman of size, it would be so fun to give that part a whirl on a live stage.
But I have "mostly" reconciled never playing Effie or Bess in Porgy and Bess because I am the wrong color.
Take a bow plus size actors!
You make everyone else up on stage look positively skinny and your throaty resonant Aretha style big notes are the backbone of any ensemble out there in the ether of live performance.
I am gearing up for another round of auditions this fall. Last year I tried for the Nauvoo Pageant and a few other summer gigs. But nobody hired me and I was needed at home.
My sister Elaine has invited me to come live with her next summer, so we will see how it all shakes out.
Enjoy my scroll through shows including Annie, Little Shop of Horrors, A Christmas Carol, Choral performances, and swimming at the Boulder Reservior.
Jenny Marie Hatch