Sarah Lau leaps through half a dozen characters, from tweens to octogenarians,
Sarah Lau leaps through half a dozen characters, from tweens to octogenarians, in her cheeky solo show “The Secret Adventures of Fat Woman & Remedial Girl.” Based on her novel of the same name, this is the oddball tale of an 11-year-old Asian-American named Louise Pang, who can’t stand her overachieving family and can’t live without her BFF, the fattest girl at school. Oh, and did we mention that Louise worships Wonder Woman and that her grandmother is trying to kill her?
One of the few San Jose-based performers showcased in the 20th-anniversary edition of the San Francisco Fringe Festival, Lau, a technical writer by trade, recently took time for an email interview about her 85-minute stage romp and making her acting debut.
Q You have described the show as a cross between the Yakuza and “The Golden Girls.” It sounds outrageous.
A There’s a 25-minute scene — “Grandma’s Party” — where a gang of seniors invades the house while Louise is home alone, my twist on teenagers partying when the parents are away. Even hardened criminals have grandmothers, though in Louise’s case Grandma Pang is the chief troublemaker. The ladies lock Louise up and bomb the living room, and that’s just the first five minutes. This scene also contains … a murder attempt and a three-way wrestling match involving a pair of flying pants that would violate health codes if it weren’t all imaginary.
Q I bet people assume your story is autobiographical, because it’s a solo show. Is any of it true?
A Most folks assume the story’s about my family, so sometimes I get comments like “Wow, your mom seems really crazy.” Unlike most solo acts, my show is based on a novel, so the events are mostly fictional. The underlying emotional truth, however, is real. Who hasn’t been the misfit, felt deep shame or been held hostage by their own family members? OK, maybe not so much that last one.
Q What made you bring this story to the stage?
A I started the original short story in 2002. … What has kept me going for so many years is Louise. The people who should love her treat her worse than a stranger would, and yet she perseveres. She has such spirit and joy. She spoke loudly to me, and I listened. My manuscript became a one-woman show so the characters could literally tell their truths.
Q What do you like most about the Fringe Festival?
A The creative freedom and support. Finding a venue for a scatological one-woman show when you have no experience on a theater stage would be impossible without the open-heartedness of a Fringe Festival.
Q What do you love about going solo?
A I love the alchemy of transforming my written stories into a full-bodied, in-the-moment experience on stage.