Fat, Pretty and Soon to be Old

East Hawai’i Cultural Center, photo by Kristin Hashimoto

Kimberly Dark is bringing her show—Fat, Pretty, and Soon to Be Old—to the stage at the East Hawai‘i Cultural Center in Hilo. Tickets will be $10 to $15 at the door.

Dark’s award-winning writing and performances have focused for 20 years on enlightening the audience about their potential as “social creators.” Her newest storytelling performance is named for her third book, released on AK Press in September 2019. Books will be available at the event.

“You don’t owe anyone pretty,” Dark said. “We are creating the world, even as it creates us.”

In her newest show, Dark invites her audience to live in the experience of the body, not the appearance of the body.

“Drawing from her own experience as a fat—as well as queer, white-privileged, active then disabled, and inevitably aging—gender-conforming ‘girl with a pretty face,’ Dark blends storytelling and social analysis to reveal the presence of every-day appearance privilege, and stigma,” according to a press release.

Fat, Pretty, and Soon to Be Old is ultimately hopeful. Dark stresses that people are capable of creating a more just world. She encourages the audience to hold fast to human dignity, to hold space for difference and to find compassion for themselves and each other.