Inconceivable (The Totally True One-Woman Semi-Fertile Quasi-“Musical”)

                                          We all have baggage

 

Photos by Liat Eldar

The above statement is the truth. All of us with a brain and heart have some deep-seated issues that not even Dr. Phil would touch. For women, we do whatever we have to do to defeat the odds. It could be with family or work or within ourselves. There’s got to be an answer to our question. In finding that solution, we can fix the problem and continue living a great life. Sound nice, right? Too bad it isn’t true.

Meirav Zur found that out when she visited her gynecologist about having another child. She has a daughter and wanted to give her little girl a sibling. However, that will not happen since Zur discovered she was infertile. That’s a blow to the heart. She and her husband went as far as Israel looking for answers. She explains the horrific experience, in a humous manner, about receiving treatment. It was a long laundry list of to-do’s to get pregnant. She dealt with: daily self-injected hormones, chronic fatigue, being laid spread eagle on an exam table, no sex, take herbs, take up yoga, and deal with bouts of insanity. To demonstrate how she felt, Zur takes out two badminton rackets with homemade faces having a conversation. Each representing the array of feelings she experienced.

She calls for two brave volunteers in the audience to demonstrate further what she meant. Two men get on stage and have a few seconds to display whatever position Zur calls out. One man, who probably regrets raising his hand, sits on top of the other’s shoulders, then they get on the ground.  In her IVF journey with her patient husband, she was told conflicting advice: drink water, no water, lose weight, gain weight. I’m surprised she didn’t lose it completely. Zur is a trooper determined to stay on the path, but now, she understands that it wasn’t meant to be. The family she has now is a blessing and those don’t happen all the time.

Zur is a courageous soul who is willing to open up to her most private moments. She has a gift on approaching a serious matter with humor without insulting the issue. Children’s writer Madeleine L’Engle (1918-2007) said, “A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.” Zur delivers that sentiment from beginning to end. The fact that she’s willing to open up about something so deeply personally for a cathartic release, or, helping other women with their fertility issues. She said that one of five will struggle with fertility and one in 8 will struggle with a second infertility. Her thoughtful husband advises that she find someone to talk about what she’s going through. Luckily for us, she did.

Inconceivable (The Totally True One-Woman Semi-Fertile Quasi-“Musical”) plays Mondays, Oct 17th – Dec 12th at 8 p.m. at the Hudson Theatre,  located at 6539 Santa Monica Blvd in Los Angeles. Tickets are $30. Log-on to www.onstage411.com. Running time 60 min – NO INTERMISSION. Proof of full vaccination plus booster required for entry. Masks must be worn over the nose and mouth at all times in the theater.