A one-woman show that鈥檚 equal parts stand-up comedy, storytelling and fact-blasting social commentary, 鈥淔at Joke鈥� sheds light on being overweight in a society that emphasizes size over substance.
Get ready to get uncomfortable and get ready to laugh as Cheyenne Rouleau takes the stage on Friday Feb. 7. Presented by the Sid Williams Theatre Society鈥檚 Blue Circle Series, 鈥淔at Joke鈥� is an exploration of life as a fat person, told with wit and unflinching honesty.
鈥淚t dissects my own personal journey navigating the world as a fat person from when I was a kid to having my own child now, and how my fatness has intersected with all these important parts of my life,鈥� Rouleau explains.
That journey inspired a project with an unexpected origin. Before it became a theatrical production, 鈥淔at Joke鈥� was a PowerPoint presentation created for a workplace HR initiative at Rouleau鈥檚 day job.
鈥淚 was dealing with fatphobia at work, and I thought, 鈥榃ell, this is an opportunity to talk about it,鈥欌�� Rouleau shares.
What began as a mix of myth-busting and advice for discussing bodies in professional spaces quickly transformed. Director and long-time friend Chelsea Haberlin saw the potential in Rouleau鈥檚 material and encouraged her to turn it into a full-length performance.
Despite initial hesitancy, she trusted Haberlin鈥檚 instincts. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥極kay, if you think this can be something, I鈥檓 willing to try.鈥欌��
Thus began the transformation of the PowerPoint into a stage show, blending data with personal narrative. By connecting the research to her own experiences, she found humour in unexpected places.
鈥淣o matter how hard I tried to write something serious, it always ended up being funny,鈥� Rouleau admits.
Creating 鈥淔at Joke鈥� was a deeply collaborative process. Working with dramaturg Jiv Parasram and director Haberlin, Rouleau sifted through 34 years of life to shape the show.
鈥淛iv would ask me these loose, open-ended questions, and suddenly I鈥檇 be talking for 20 minutes about a story I hadn鈥檛 thought about in years.鈥�
鈥淲hen I started writing the show, one thing I talked with Jiv about a lot was what I wanted people to take away from the show. And, honestly, I want people to be able to have big feelings and have big conversations on the way home.
鈥淚 don't expect everybody to relate to the show. And I'm very clear that I don't speak for all fat people 鈥� this is my own experience. But I think people can glean a lot and have introspection into their own experiences and their own relationships with their bodies. I want people to really feel those feelings, have those big conversations with people that they love.鈥�
