Fat Fuck

No, that's not my stomach. Photo by the Internet.

“Fat Fuck” is a work-in-progress one-man show that chronicles my struggles with weight loss from my childhood as a Truffle Shuffling fat kid into adulthood when, shortly after 9/11, I lost 139 lbs. and in the process dibble dabbled in stupid diets, binged and starved and attempted the unexpected with Preparation-H. Using photos from my past and the Internet, YouTube clips and my amateur Photoshop skills, I tell a story that may make you laugh or cry or cringe, but will definitely cause you to look at stomachs differently.

I debuted the first few excerpts of “Fat Fuck” at Central Cinema in May, 2010 as part of “I’ll Show You a Story,” a night of readings accompanied by slideshow curated by my good friend, writer Cienna Madrid. Then, as part of the same program at Bumbershoot in September, 2010, I introduced a few more excerpts, about which Seattle alt weekly The Stranger wrote, “The interplay between McGuigan’s awkward, hilarious story and the images he uses to tell his story will—trust me—haunt you forever.”

In October, 2010, I performed the beginning of “Fat Fuck” at Annex Theatre‘s Spin the Bottle, a late night show featuring performers, comedians, improv, sketch comedy, smut, monologues and other forms of funny. A nice woman wrote about the show on her blog, Girl in Jet City, and specifically mentioned “Fat Fuck”: “[McGuigan's] show should be required watching for anyone considering raising a child, or even just calling themselves a human being.  If you watch this and find yourself unable to relate at some level, you might want to find something to stuff in that hole where your soul should be.” In January, 2011, I performed a new section at the Off-Hours Reading Series, guest curated by poet and Seattle Arts & Lectures programmer Rebecca Hoogs. No one wrote anything cool about me that night, but at least a dozen women told me how much they loved the penis slide I showed. Most recently, I performed a new section about my love of colon cleanse and chia seeds at “Weird and Awesome with Emmett Montgomery” in March, 2011.

I am currently at work on “Fat Fuck” and presenting excerpts throughout Seattle when the opportunities arise. (So, like email me, if you know of some opportunities.) My hope is to unveil the complete show in late 2011/early 2012 depending on funding and finishing. Please check back for details about future performances and progress on the complete show.