A raw and surprisingly beautiful coming-of-age memoir; Coal to Diamonds tells the story of Mary Beth Ditto; a girl from rural Arkansas who found her voice. Born and raised in Judsonia; Arkansasmdash;a place where indoor plumbing was a luxury; squirrel was a meal; and sex ed was taught during senior year in high school (long after many girls had gotten pregnant and dropped out) Beth Ditto stood out. Beth was a fat; pro-choice; sexually confused choir nerd with a great voice; an eighties perm; and a Kool Aid dye job. Her single mother worked overtime; which meant Beth and her five siblings were often left to fend for themselves. Beth spent much of her childhood as a transient; shuttling between relatives; caring for a sickly; volatile aunt she nonetheless loved; looking after sisters; brothers; and cousins; and trying to steer clear of her motherrsquo;s bad boyfriends. Her punk education began in high school under the tutelage of a group of teensmdash;her second familymdash;who embraced their outsider status and introduced her to safety-pinned clothing; mail-order tapes; queer and fat-positive zines; and any shred of counterculture they could smuggle into Arkansas. With their help; Beth survived high school; a tragic family scandal; and a mental breakdown; and then she got the hell out of Judsonia. She decamped to Olympia; Washington; a late-1990s paradise for Riot Grrrls and punks; and began to cultivate her glamorous; queer; fat; femme image. On a whimmdash;with longtime friends Nathan; a guitarist and musical savant in a polyester suit; and Kathy; a quiet intellectual turned drummermdash;she formed the band Gossip. She gave up trying to remake her singing voice into the ethereal wisp she thought it should be and instead embraced its full; soulful potential. Gossip gave her that chance; and the raw power of her voice won her and Gossip the attention they deserved. Marked with the frankness; humor; and defiance that have made her an international icon; Beth Dittorsquo;s unapologetic; startlingly direct; and poetic memoir is a hypnotic and inspiring account of a woman coming into her own.From the Hardcover edition.
#1484038 in eBooks 2009-04-01 2009-04-01File Name: B0032Z8TG2
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I misjudged the book by its coverBy R. Patrick BaughLured in by the authors subtitle "Four-Time Tony Winning Producer" (although. oddly. he writes that hes won only 3). I thought this would be more about Broadway. The author does use his Broadway experiences as examples. but 90% of the book is about putting on school or community-based theatre. so the insights about producing on Broadway are few.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Terrific reference for small amateur theatre groupsBy D. SummerfieldI saw an advertisement for this book in the Playbill for "Mary Poppins" on Broadway when I was last in New York. A group of us had been kicking around the idea of formalizing our little theatre productions which we had been putting on sporadically for several years. so I ordered this book.Its a great little reference on starting and maintaining a community theatre. It has sections on play selections. incorporation. rehearsal schedules. finances. advertising. and most other topics which arose as we discussed our next production and incorporating our little group. Even though its written by a five-time (!) Tony-award winner. its not written just for big cities or groups with big budgets. We have a miniscule budget in a rural community and it spoke right to us.I highly recommend it. (I also recommend seeing a Disney show if you happen to be in New York any time soon. Wow!)1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. "Lets Put On a Show" is a show itself!By Dean TaylorI found "Lets Put On a Show" by Stewart F. Lane well written and thorough. Not only is it packed with information. it is also fun to read because he includes things about himself and his own experiences in the theatre. both good and bad. I would say it is a must for anyone contemplating putting on a show. especially if that person is a novice with little or no experience in this area. It covers all the bases from selecting a show to marketing and promotion. I am not a nivice in this area. but I found in the book valuable information I had not considered before.
