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One Size Interview by Dina Laura Can an overweight gay man find love with the help of his drag queen roommate, a stripper-turned-evangelist, a lazy-eyed nymphomaniac and even the soulful presence of Afrodite? Such is the question posed by playwright Peter Zachari in his latest play, “One Love,” opening this month at Theater for the New City in NYC. A six-year resident of Astoria, Peter has penned a multitude of shows, several of which have won awards. His musical, “Parker & Dizzy’s Fabulous Journey to the End of the Rainbow,” starring Karen Lynn Gorney (“Saturday Night Fever”), Rodiney Santiago (“The A-List: New York”) and drag-personality Hedda Lettuce, premiered at The New York International Fringe Festival in 2011. He holds an MFA from the University of Florida and taught acting and directing at Salem State College for more than six years. I recently sat down with this versatile artist to ask him just how, exactly, he is able to do all the things he does. What inspired you to write this story? How much of yourself is in it? “One Love” is actually the very first play I ever wrote and the only play of mine that hasn’t been produced. I wrote it 15 years ago. When I was an auditioning actor, my oversized body led me to the most unflattering roles. One time just my stomach got an audition. Truly. “Lift up your shirt and show us how your stomach feels. Make it happy! Make it excited!” My physical “type” overshadowed my talent and I was the punch line of many a visual joke. I wanted more control over the roles I played, and what overweight characters could say and be, so I started playwriting. My objective evolved past body size to give a voice to other voiceless members of society. I wanted to tell untold stories of unlikely heroes: outcasts, misfits. My characters challenge the audience’s perceptions of gender, sexuality, beauty, politics and authenticity. So I’d like to think that a lot of me is in this, no pun intended. But then I also think there are pieces of me scattered throughout all my plays. NIGHTLIFE + ENTERTAINMENT 20 I BOROMAG.COM | MAY 2016


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