One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Self Proclaimed: Erica Watson in 'Fat Bitch' at Greenway Court Theatre
Erica Watson in 'Fat Bitch.' Photo by Charlie T. Photo
Erica Watson's funny and enlightening one-woman show, Fat Bitch, finishes out a short Los Angeles run at Greenway Court Theatre with one last show tonight at 5PM. Watson, most famous for her role in the film Precious, not only wrote and performs in this biopic show, but has taken on the directorial reigns as well. Fat Bitch uses humorous theatrical vignettes to target rarely discussed race and weight stereotypes that Black/African-American women face in the United States. All proceeds from the performance benefit the Columbia College Chicago Alumni Scholarship Fund.
The vignettes in Fat Bitch are moments curated from Watson's own life, delivered with a socio-cultural perspective. Watson is intelligent, articulate, empathic, and highly analytical. As she discusses the race, size, and gender stereotypes that impact her life, it quickly becomes clear that she doesn't fit the ditzy celebrity stereotype either. Her delivery of narrative paradigms that are scarcely acknowledged in the public arena are flawlessly delivered with gentle but outspoken candor. Watson's performance style is reminiscent of stand-up comedy with as she wields well-chosen vernacular cusses and directly addresses the audience, but her style is inherently gracious and respectful of basic human dignity...an element not usually seen in stand-up.
Watson co-directed Fat Bitch with Steve Pink (known for work on Grosse Pointe Blank, High Fidelity, and Entourage. The show is a promising testing-the-waters work in progress that is surely destined for a longer Los Angeles run in the future. In its current state, the show is minimalist, but does feature a gut-bursting finale that makes the nominal ticket price more than worth it.
Fat Bitch is playing through Sunday, May 1, 2011 at Greenway Court Theatre, located at 544 N. Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036. Tickets are $15 and available online through Columbia College Chicago.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
