Blown Sideways Through Life

This is the script, somewhat altered and without stage directions, of Shear's off-Broadway solo hit of the same name. Her story is about the varieties of labor an overweight misfit and aspiring actress must endure to earn a living. Shear did everything from answer phones in a dispiriting brothel to play Mrs. Rip van Winkle in a parade. Her anecdotes show a deft eye, and ultimately, great empathy--``nobody is just a typist, just a dishwasher.... Everyone has at least one story that will stop your heart''--along her journey of self-discovery. But this narrative, a bit disjointed on the page, can't match the specificity of performance, of Shear--large but lovely--taking over her stage and riffing some lines into poetry. (Mar.)