Last weekend of BRIDGE (two more shows) Losing Weight - sometimes it comes with the territory.

As the weekend approaches, I am already starting to feel a bit melancholy about Saturday night. It will be the last time I go through my pre-show ritual and transformation into Niki or Woman (as she is named in the play.)

When I first audition for the part, I showed up as myself, the actor impersonating a transvestite. I had never before made an attempt to do a full on transformation. For starters, I had always thought I made a very ugly woman, so I wasn't going to start now that I had this audition. I thought, if they like my work, they'll probably have makeup people who will guide me through the transformation. I couldn't have been more wrong. This was a small production. I was on my own.

So after my audition, the director, Kelly Galindo, asked if I owned a dress, wig and high-heels. I told her I didn't. She said, "Well, we really liked your audition, but this is a transvestite. She's got flawless makeup, hair, the legs -- she is the real deal. We need to know that you can pull it off." My brain rushed with endorphins as I felt I had to seize the opportunity. This was a very unique and exciting challenge. So I said to her, "No worries. I will be in full drag for the callback," which was only a few days after.

So as soon as I got home, I went on youtube, just to have an idea of what I was supposed to do. As it turns out, everything I needed to know was there. I mean everything, from makeup to hiding my manly parts, which I won't go into details right now I promise.

So I was on a mission for the next few days. I acquired some makeup from the 99C store, went to a thrift shop to look for shoes and a dress, bought a wig and then started to play with the transformation. The eyebrows were the trickiest, but once I figured it out, Woman started to come a live.

It was a very interesting experience. I was able to appreciate why this sort of thing is an art form and why the guys who do it are real artists and sometimes geniuses.

So I went down my check list, (makeup?! - check!) I wasn't an ugly woman. I actually looked like a decent looking drag queen. Then I put on the dress ... (dress?! - check!), a bit muscular, but can be fixed. Then I put on the high heels ... (legs?! - check!) those high heels basically started walking by themselves. All those years of professional dancing came in handy.

picture on the left by Miguel Torres
Even though I am not a big guy per say, you'll be surprise how many muscles show up when you're wearing a dress. I looked pretty buffed to be wearing a revealing gown, so I decided I had to get a scarf and lose some weight.

In the pictures on the left, you can see what I looked like before and after joining the show. I lost ten pounds to fit in that dress. I was 170lbs before joining the cast and I am 159lbs currently.



I guess I'm looking forward to the gluttony and decadence of the holidays, and also getting back to the gym and working out like a "man". I'll still miss Niki terribly though. Like I said before, I have fallen in love with her. WOMAN has been quite the dame.

Only two shows left (this Friday and Saturday) Dec 16 and 17.
Remember to use the discount code (205) to get $5 off each ticket.

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.

WOMAN ... HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU (two more weekends- four more shows)

When I read the posting for the role of WOMAN on actors-access, I felt something actors rarely feel in this mechanical, endless process of submitting ourselves for parts. I felt true excitement. Like that special thing we all human beings feel when we know we've just encounter an opportunity to something wonderful, beyond ordinary perhaps, and we're going to give our all in order to attain it. So, you put all fears aside and do everything in your power with all your heart and soul to give it your best shot. Alas in the end, you've arrived. You've attained that thing you really wanted. You feel a great sense of accomplishment and the satisfaction of knowing that one thing was meant to be yours all along.

In an actor's case, in regards to your craft, it means wanting that role you must play because you feel you were born to play it, or wanting it because it is a blessed opportunity to push yourself to places you never have before. WOMAN has been that role for me, not necessarily because I felt I was born to play it but because, beyond the challenge of the physical transformation, there was a raw, gripping, human journey that I had to explore in order to serve this exceptional character. Playing her has been a tremendous enriching experience. I have fallen in love with her broken heart and her despair and all the reasons behind it, her sense of humor and the kindness masked behind her cynicism. WOMAN ... I feel so blessed you came to my life.

Here is a little tease from BRIDGE...




Only four shows left (Fridays and Saturdays) until Dec 17.
Remember to use the discount code (205) to get $5 off each ticket.

Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.