The Weight is Over: Spinning Plates, Filling Plates; Acting Cranky

From left: Jeremy Finch (Tristan Ford) and Scout Finch (Linze Zaniroli) react to the cranky Mrs. Dubose (Doni Chamberlain) in the Shasta College play, “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Photo courtesy of Shasta College.

This is the day when I usually post my weight-loss update column. But I’m feeling distracted because tomorrow is opening night for “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

Next week will be even more crazy, because Wed., Oct. 19, is the food/beer/wine-pairing event where I’ll join nine other chefs who will pull out the culinary stops for a Kids Kingdom II playground fundraiser for about 300 people at Redding’s City Hall. Each chef will offer a tapas-style serving of a food that pairs with his or her wine. I’m the only one making dessert; tiramisu with an affogato shot to accompany a Prosecco. Triva: Roughly translated, affogato is Italian for drown.

Here’s a line-up of my fellow chefs, and their food-and-wine pairings, all available for one ticket price of $30 in advance, and $35 at the door:

Shameless promotion No. 1: You can click on this image below for more information about this event, and how to buy tickets. (Take note that the number of people admitted will be capped at a few hundred, so if you want to go, you’ll want to get your tickets now, before they’re sold out. )

By the time Oct. 19 arrives, and I’m pouring espresso and liqueur over gelato, I will have three performances of “To Kill a Mockingbird” behind me, with just five more to go. Did I mention that Friday is opening night? Wait! I’m not ready!

I have myriad fears about opening night. What if I forget a line? True, I only have 13 lines, and I’m only in Act 1, but with a bad enough case of stage fright, I could forget my own name. What if I don’t speak loudly enough, or clearly enough? What if I trip going down the back stairs of Mrs. Dubose’s house?

I know. It’s not a good idea to even entertain the negative possibilities.

So I’ll focus on the positive, such as the fact that being in community theater has been on my bucket list for some time. It became a reality this summer, when Marilyn Robrahn invited me to be among five women to have a tiny reading part in the play she directed for Riverfront Playhouse, “Love, Loss and What I Wore.”

I accepted the invitation and did it. I was absolutely terrified. I absolutely loved it.

Marilyn and I met again a few months ago at Shasta College’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” auditions, where  she nailed the female adult lead of Jean Louise Fitch, who narrates the story from the viewpoint of little Scout, all grown up.

I’ve not actually counted others’ lines, but I’m pretty sure Marilyn has the most, followed by Linze Zaniroli, who’s the 10-year-old super-talented kid who plays Scout.

When I auditioned for “To Kill a Mockingbird” I had no clue what to do. Most of the seasoned actors – which meant kids, too – had prepared monologues. Because I was clueless, I just read something aloud that the director, Gregory Thorson, provided. The piece involved a murdered ferret.

Dr. Gregory Thorson, Shasta College’s theater arts instructor, directs “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

Much to my shock, I got a call back. I was cast as Mrs. Dubose, the morphine-addicted, cranky old lady who screams at children from her front porch, saying such hateful words as, “Don’t say ‘hey’ to me, you ugly girl!”

Mrs. Dubose is also racist, and uses one word in particular that’s not in my vocabulary.

I confess, playing the part of an ancient woman who’s as ugly inside as she is outside was not on my bucket list. But acting was. So I accepted the part, with no idea what I was in for regarding the frequency of rehearsals, or even seemingly foreign terminology that began the first day of practice, when Thorson discussed “blocking” – which basically refers to where the actors position themselves during a scene. I know that now. I didn’t know it then.

It was all new to me, a world where scores of dedicated people combine time and talent to create a production that’s all-consuming for months, and then it’s gone.

Being part of this production has forever changed how I’ll think of any performance and all the personalities required to make it work, some of whom are literally behind the scenes; never in the spotlight. There is even a group of people who’ve attended every rehearsal in preparation of accompanying the play with sign language so the hearing impaired can enjoy the play, too.

Gregory Thorson is Shasta College’s full-time theater arts instructor and the play’s director. Thorson is the one who somehow saw something in me during my audition that made him think I might transform myself into some rendition of Mrs. Dubose. Or maybe it was a process of elimination to select a woman, not of college-age, to be Mrs. Dubose. Whatever. I’m happy.

Mat McDonald (he’s Atticus Finch, too) is in charge of hair and makeup, and is helping me look the part of a woman who’s 40 years my senior. (I am so happy that I will be allowed to remove the makeup and wig for the curtain call. Thank you!)

The set, a 1935 Southern town, is by David Fraser.

Costumes are designed by Hilary Fahey, who pays attention to every detail, from fixing Mrs. Dubose’s dress buttons to making sure Bob Ewell’s clothes look authentically filthy and Maudie Atkinson’s wardrobe is perfectly ladylike. Eddie Sadler is in charge of lighting.

The production is quintessential community theater, and features local actors and students of all ages, backgrounds and acting experience. Some of the cast members are already well-known in the north state from other community theater work – both as performers and directors — at such theatrical venues as Riverfront Playhouse, such as Mat McDonald, Russel Piette (Bob Ewell – and man oh man, is he convincingly scary) and Marilyn Robrahn.

Starting tomorrow, the Monday through Thursday evening rehearsals will be replaced by two weekends’ of matinee and nighttime performances.

All this plate-spinning of new experiences is a good test of the new me and my new healthier way of dealing with pressure. Ten months ago, this additional stress would have driven me to abandon exercise, skip sleep and embrace high-carb, high-sugar “comfort” food, because, as the saying goes, “Stressed is desserts spelled backward.”

Now, that’s not an option. Instead, I deal with stress by making sure I get more sleep. And I pack my little lunch bags of healthy food to ensure I’m never stressed and hungry at the same time; always a deadly combination. And although time is scarce, I’ve maintained my workouts at Align. For the last few months I’ve worked out twice a day: once in the morning and once in the late afternoon – but my recent rehearsal schedule made that impossible. I adapted by working out once early in the morning, but staying twice as long.

I’m seeing continued progress. In fact, just yesterday I learned that I’m now down 35 pounds since December.

I have never felt better. And I think I look pretty good, too.

Align Doni, down 35 pounds and feeling great.

No segue, but shameless promotion No. 2: “To Kill a Mockingbird” runs from Oct. 14 – Oct. 23. If you want more information about dates and tickets, click on the image below. And if you do go, my tip for the best seat is to aim for the center, or left of center, for the best vantage point of the entire set and all the actors.

You’ll find me sitting on Mrs. Dubose’s front porch in a rocking chair, looking old and ill and cantankerous. And loving every minute.

Photos by Peter Griggs of Shasta College.