Local playwright tackles issues of weight with stage show Heavy

A sizeable, careful focus on weight and body issues underscores the script to actor and playwright Taylor Olson's stage show.

Olson — a graduate from the theatre program at Dalhousie University — took his experience losing 100 pounds in half a year and turned it into theatre show Heavy.

“It's based on my own life. It talks about all the issues I've had since I was a teen, and leading to the moment I decided to lose weight,” said Olson, also a film actor and frequent collaborator with filmmaker Koumbie.

But the play doesn't stop at when Olson lost the weight.

“I realized at one point that I had reached my goal, but I still wasn't happy. I had changed the outside, but I still wasn't actually happy with who I was,” he said.
“It was important for this play to deal with weight loss, body image and eating disorders in a real way.”

Olson says it gets difficult to perform such personal material.

“As an actor, it's almost like you have a mask you wear when you portray a character,” he said.

“There's a safety net of sorts. But when you do something raw and real like I do with Heavy, there's no mask. These are my thoughts and feelings, and I'm vulnerable.”

This will be the third iteration of the play that's performed onstage, with it growing and changing each time.

“I had thought of doing this for a while, and I applied for an Arts Nova Scotia grant. But before I got it, there was a period where I had decided I couldn't get it ready,” he said.

When Olson realized he had gotten funding, the writing and workshopping of the play came together swiftly.

“It came together in a short time, and it was really difficult putting my thoughts and feelings out there,” he said.

“I originally workshopped it at the 2016 Atlantic Fringe Festival. Then in February 2017, we did shows at the Bus Stop Theatre. The second time around, I wanted to be representative of the issues as a whole, and not just me,” he said.

“There are so many people dealing with body issues and eating disorders, and I needed to be honest about my experience. But I also didn't want to misrepresent the general experience. It was emotionally difficult to figure out.”

He says the first workshop was really raw, and the second encompassed too much. But he hopes this time will be just the right balance.

“This is hugely important for me. I dealt with these issues for a long time and never talked about it. The first time I really opened up was with that first show,” he said.

“I didn't want to talk about my body or mental health issues. There's such a stigma around it, and this now gives me the privilege to tell my story and open the door to get other people talking here.”

He said starting to heal and opening up come hand-in-hand.

“I talk a lot about toxic masculinity, and my personal experience is that weight issues and issues talking about feelings are directly linked to that,” he said.

He says he was anxious to hear the views of those affected by similiar conditions, but many have spoken to him about connecting to the play.

“The response from people who were dealing with self image was important. Having people open up about their own experiences was amazing,” he said.

“When people see things they've gone through in what you've created, it's cathartic. We look for connection and similarities on a basic level as humans. Knowing that we can succeed if we continue on our journey to loving ourselves is so important.”

Olson credits knowing he needed to get healthy for his daughter as a huge factor.

“I was feeling miserable, and I needed to change myself. I went ahead and did it, and needed to find that stability,” he said.

“When you take a journey toward losing weight and making sure you practice self-love and care, you can find reasons to love life internally.”

Heavy will play at the Bus Stop Theatre from May 4 to May 6.