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| Archives March 4, 2007 www.webdigestweekly.com |
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Arthur Wooten is a man of many talents. His career choices and
endeavors have run the gamut from health care to show business to
playwright. He's been active in many forums and is now taking on the title
of novelist. His first novel, On Picking Fruit, is a bestseller and has been
hailed as one of the best first novels in recent memory. Additionally, it is
to On Picking Fruit, aptly titled Fruit Cocktail.
Having been born in Detroit and raised in Massachusetts, Arthur now
lives in New York City where he has operated a highly successful private
holistic health care practice, specializing in shiatsu, for the past two
decades. He's written the plays Birthday Pie, Lily, The Lunch, and In A
Heartbeat. All have been produced in Los Angeles and New York City and
all were met with critical acclaim. Aside from his other artistic
accomplishments, Arthur has also worked as an actor and a dancer. He's
a man who's almost done it all, and is embarking on his new career as a
novelist with zeal.
Sitting down for a few minutes with Arthur for Web Digest Weekly, I was
pleased to have the opportunity to present him in this forum. He's a very
friendly guy with a desire to share his talents unselfishly. Lets take a trip
into his world.
JCP: Thanks for spending some time with me, Arthur.
AW: It’s my pleasure – and an honor to be featured on Web Digest
Weekly.
JCP: What have you been doing lately?
AW: A lot of things. Press for On Picking Fruit, pre-publication work for
it’s sequel Fruit Cocktail and challenging decisions in regards to the
television show.
JCP: Tell us about Fruit Cocktail and when it will be available.
AW: In Fruit Cocktail, our hero, Curtis Jenkins, has surprised even himself
and written the very successful book, 101 Ways To Collide Into Your Gay
Soul Mate, but ironically he’s still searching for the man of his dreams. His
national book tour takes him to some of the hottest gay destination spots
in the country and his outrageous best friend Quinn and flamboyant
mother Mrs. J. are right there by his side enjoying the ride of a lifetime.
Whether it’s a book signing in hedonistic Provincetown, a bizarre
appearance on The Bobbie Vibrato Show, Her Show in Los Angeles, a
shocking marriage in San Francisco, or adrift at sea as the celebrity author
on the gay ASAP Cruise Line, Curtis is still way over his head in the deep
end of the dating pool. Even though he collides into “square” square
dancers, unethical massage therapists, defrocked priests, and past loves,
Curtis is a die-hard survivor. It’s his heart, humor and humanity that allow
him to keep treading with his head just barely above water. And at the
end of this delicious, unpredictable and moving journey, whether Curtis
finds his soul mate or not, what he does give to all of his readers is a
sense that hope will prevail.
Fruit Cocktail is slated for a Fall 2007 release.
JCP: On Picking Fruit has been a real success for you. What was your
inspiration for writing it?
AW: No one is more excited than I am that On Picking Fruit has taken off
the way that it has. In fact, HX Magazine here in NYC just called it “…the
great gay memoir you always wanted to write.” It doesn’t get any better
than that.
One evening while having drinks with friends, both gay and straight, male
and female – we were laughing so hard over dating nightmares. With
tears of laughter rolling down our faces, I decided to write about gay
dates from hell – but with a lot of heart.
JCP: How did the television adaptation of your book come about?
AW: Honestly, the moment I finished the novel I knew it would be a
fantastic series. Plus Queer As Folk and Will And Grace were off the air.
It’s time for a fresh and funny show.
JCP: When will it be aired and on what network?
AW: As my mother would say, “Don’t jinx it!” Actually, there’s a juggling –
kind of a bidding war going on as to where it will air. These are “good”
problems to have.
JCP: Do you know who will be starring in it yet?
AW: No, we don’t. I was surprised to discover that in Hollywood many
times the packaging of the stars comes in last. There’s been talk of Ann-
Margret or Kathleen Turner as Mrs. J. the mother. And Matthew Broderick
as Curtis. I’d truly love Matthew Perry but as you know he’s pretty busy
with Studio 60 at the moment. But things can change quickly in La-La
Land. Maybe he’ll be available soon?
JCP: Lets talk a bit about your holistic work. How did you become
interested in shiatsu?
AW: When I was an actor, my directors put to good use my gymnastic
abilities. On a raked stage version of Man Of La Mancha, during a summer
stock tour, I really hurt my back at the Westport Playhouse in CT. I went
to physical therapists and chiropractors but it was shiatsu that really
helped me.
JCP: What motivated you to open your practice?
AW: The shiatsu changed my life. It saved my life. So I enrolled a few
years later at the Ohashi Institute here in NYC back in 1984 and well...the
rest is history.
JCP: Has shiatsu had any effect on your writing?
AW: Absolutely! When you give shiatsu you receive it. It calms me down,
centers me. And you must be ambidextrous. After years of doing the
shiatsu full-time, I then started to write. I would wake up in the middle of
the night, almost in a dream state and start writing…like lightening.
Shiatsu forced me to use both hemispheres of my brain and I really think
that tapped into new talents. I suggest to my clients – if they are stuck
with a business decision – or have a creative block – then doodle or do
things with your less dominant hand. It will help.
JCP: Are you working on a new novel?
AW: Yes. I just finished adapting my play Birthday Pie to novel format
and I’m so proud of it. Here’s part of its synopsis: When Lex Martindale, a
writer from New York City, travels home to Ragland, North Carolina, to
celebrate his 36th birthday and say goodbye to his dying father, who’s
riddled with cancer, he struggles with whether or not to tell his family of
his own life threatening health situation. One would think that being a gay
man, Lex has HIV or even worse, AIDS. But no one is more surprised than
Lex himself to find out what is truly going on.
Ironically, it’s his precocious 10-year-old niece Mattie Lee, who redefines
Miss Malaprop, and his legally blind, tough as nails with a heart of gold
grandmother Anastasia Battles, who sense Lex is not well. And although
he spends only 26 hours with his eccentric Southern family, we travel
through almost 70 years of delicious, enlightening, shocking, unpredictable
trials and tribulations of life’s most heartwarming, heartbreaking and
hilarious scenarios.
Everyone who reads Birthday Pie will see glimpses into their own lives
and families. What Mr. Wooten has done is take on life’s most difficult
challenges and embrace them with biting humor and compassionate
understanding. Love, laughter, fears, tears, secrets, confessions,
reunions, farewells, the all American family and a dash of comedic edge.
Sounds good, yes?
JCP: Where can readers find your books?
AW: On Picking Fruit is available in bookstores nationwide as well as
everywhere on the internet. Fruit Cocktail will also be just as accessible.
JCP: What's your next step?
AW: I’m staying on board as a producer of the television series. And I
have a feeling that there will be a third book in the Fruit series. Then we
can sell them all together in a little wooden crate of fruit! LOL.
JCP: Where do you see yourself in five years?
AW: As creative as ever but spending more time in my garden.
JCP: Okay...Now for the questions to satisfy your fans' curiosity:
Married/Divorced/Single/Involved?
AW: Single!
JCP: Do you have any children?
AW: Not biologically. All my shiatsu clients are my children. And the
beautiful pets I’ve had over the past few decades.
JCP: Who were your inspirations?
AW: Creatively? The brilliant movie-makers like Preston Sturges and Billy
Wilder. And, as gay as it seems, Judy Garland had a HUGE influence on me.
Theatre – Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neil and more recently, Beth
Henley. Personally, my family inspires me. Papa, my mother’s father, came
over from Scotland – playing soccer. Both my parents were only children
and brought up during the depression. I can’t imagine what that must
have been like. My dad was so smart and created a beautiful life for us,
growing up in Andover, MA. I get my overly creative imagination from my
mother.
JCP: What are your hobbies?
AW: Gardening, working out, traveling, and cooking. I’m a huge foodie. In
fact I think I’m a fat man trapped in a muscular body!
JCP: Favorite place?
AW: Any peaceful place where the weather is mild and the sun is just
about to set.
JCP: Favorite food?
AW: Love lobster – hate lima beans.
JCP: Favorite movie:
AW: OMG! So many. One that always comes to mind is Hitchcock’s Rear
Window with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. And I have to admit I love
Mildred Pierce.
JCP: Shoes, socks, or bare feet?
AW: Bare feet!
JCP: What one piece of wisdom would you like to share?
AW: Believe in your dreams, own them. Practice the three “P’s. Be
persistent, passionate and polite. Keep your eyes and ears open for all
opportunities. Remember to give back. Learn to be lucky. We all know that
in order to be struck by lightening you have to stand out in the rain. But
you must be willing to stand out in the rain longer than anyone else. Trust
me, I’ve been poured on and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I guess
that’s more than one piece of wisdom. Sorry.
JCP: Finally, what are you most proud of?
AW: I’m proud of the fact that I’m extremely generous. I’ll help just about
anyone that I can. It’s good karma.
JCP: Thanks for sharing yourself with me today.
AW: No, thank you. Like I said, it’s an honor.
With On Picking Fruit and its upcoming sequel Fruit Cocktail, Arthur
Wooten is establishing a following eager to enjoy and his share his
talents. His past achievements are worthy of many accolades in
themselves and yet he keeps aspiring to even higher goals. The television
adaptation of On Picking Fruit is sure to be a delight for all. More
importantly, Arthur is a nice guy who only wants to entertain and share his
gifts with everyone. I'm sure we can all applaud him for his efforts and
look forward to even more delights to come from this wonderfully talented
artist. It'll be a pleasure to enjoy his works for a long time to come.
Arthur's website: www.onpickingfruit.com
Arthur's My Space page: www.myspace.com/arthurwooten
JC Parrish
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