Blown Sideways

Overweight and depressed, Claudia Shear eats her way through 64 menial jobs in this true account of a woman's life at the edges of society. Artist's model, receptionist at a whorehouse, waitress, proofreader, Shear is the underling's underling and gives us a droll, insightful and ultimately frightening look at the inner lives of those who serve us. Do you ever wonder what the person who asks you, "Would you like fries with that?" is thinking--about you and herself? Shear knows--and tells us with wit and compassion. A thought-provoking and funny glimpse of the nameless workers who make the world go round.

"Claudia Shear's critically acclaimed one-woman show now comes to audio in her own inimitable voice in this fabulously hilarious and moving production of her enthralling Off-Broadway and L.A. performance. Have you ever held down a job ofr money rather than love? Been told when and how often to visit the restroom, get a drink, use the phone? Struggled to remember that who you are doesn't depend on what you do? Meet Claudia Shear, a misfit from Brooklyn who grew up dreaming of adventure. An unconventional girl on a byzantine career track, Shear blew through more than sixty-four jobs before realizing that of all the "alternate identities" she'd sampled in her varied employment history, the only one she really wanted was her own. Shear rode a wild wave of employment to arrive at that revalation. She worked as (among other things) a pastry chef, a nude model, a waitress (a lot), a receptionist in a whore house, a brunch chef on Fire Island, a proofreader on Wall Street, and an Italian translator. On the surface her life makes for a hilarious tour de resume. But underneath is a universal lesson learned about life in the workplace, a lesson that caused her one-woman show to be nationally celebrated by Peter Jennings, Regis and Kathy Lee, Connie Chung, and Charlie Rose. With candor, humor and a dazzling rapid-fire performance, Claudia Shear transforms the amazing stroy of her life into a production that, as Frank Rich said in The New York Times, "will stop your heart.