John Waters' Artsy Wonderful World

A few weeks ago, I heard from this fabulous gent named Matt, who contacted me about a blog I had written years ago about the one and only John Waters.

Matt works at Artsy, and they have a John Waters page, which provides visitors with JW's bio, over 30 of his works, exclusive articles and more! I was really honored that Matt asked me to include a link from my blog to their site!

My own John Waters story began a long time ago in a shire far far away in the woodland realms of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I was offered a role in the Shakespearean troupe for The PA Ren Faire, so I packed my bags and left little ol' Hemet, CA for my first paid acting gig in PA! The directors were from LA that year, so they wanted a cast from both the West and East Coasts. It was a BLAST! I met some of the funniest, most fabulous people who have become lifelong friends. I even married one!

(My husband Rob and me with the Twisted Sisters of The Essential Herbal)

On our days off, some cast members would get together and watch movies, and what better way to take a break from the Renaissance than with John Waters?

The original Hairspray movie blew me away! What other movie had Ricki Lake, Divine, Debbie Harry, and Sonny Bono starring and boppin away?

And it was edgy and political. I love when Tracy irons her hair and becomes a beatnik! ;)

Later, we dove into "Lust in the Dust," and "Serial Mom" was my husband's fave.

Then all the musicals came into play. I was called back for "Hairspray" to understudy Velma and Tracy, but I'm not much of a dancer. Alas! We still enjoyed seeing Harvey Fierstein in the show!

And then came the short-lived "Crybaby," which was MARVELOUS! They tap-danced on license plates!

It was such a fun show, and I still think about the quirky Alli Mauzey who played the love-lorn Lenora, whose love for Crybaby is never returned. She sang a song in the vein of Patsy Cline's "Crazy" that was indeed mental! She said, "Whenever I'm thinking of new things to try, I go, What would John Waters do?"

Having just finished an improv class at UCB, I can TOTALLY agree!