A Story of O’s details the life of a professional phone sex operator (supplied photo)
Twelve years ago aspiring actress and Portland, Oregon native Tonya Jone Miller took a job as a professional phone sex operator to help pay for acting lessons.
Tonya still works as a phone sex operator but is also a playwright and actress. Having performed in two previous Fringe Festivals including winning Outstanding Performance in the London Fringe for Threads in 2015, it seems like the acting lessons paid off.
A good imagination is required for an actress but it seems to be helpful if you want to play along with someone’s fantasy or fetish.
Throughout the one hour play, Tonya alternates between explaining her job of talking dirty to callers and reenacting actual calls.
She says she understands someone’s need to act out unusual sexual fantasies but she can’t quite understand the ones who would call to say they love her and request her to echo those words back to them.
Award-winning playwright/ actor Tonya Jane Miller
Indeed telephone calls, like listening to the radio, can prove to be a very intimate experience. Someone once mentioned to me it seems more intimate than talking face to face. The conversation is more direct; mouth to ear with less distractions. Almost like whispering into someone’s ear.
At one point in the play, she mentions how she has to be ready at any time to cater to her clients in much the same way as anyone who works in any service industry.
In any case, although she doesn’t have any personal contact with her callers, relationships are formed.
Just like in any relationship, after knowing someone for a period of time, when a breakup happens there will be a little sadness. The breakup in her case is when a client stops calling for various reasons such as getting married.
Or the person who ends up in the hospital after an accident. His wife rifles through his phone’s directory and realizes many of his late nights at the office involved calls to ‘Amber’s’ phone number.
Part of her job is telling people what they want to hear. As well she changes her name and body description to please her clients.
“Rule 34 of the industry states that you can fetishize anything,” she states. “Anything can be sexy.”
To demonstrate her point, she asks anyone in the audience to suggest a noun. Someone yells out “Cheetos.” She pretends to be talking to someone on the phone with a ’Cheeto’ fetish which proves to be quite amusing.
The title of the play seems to be based on the 1954 erotic novel Story of O which was published in French. Using the pen name Pauline Réage, author Anne Desclos didn’t reveal her true identity until 1994.
If you’d like to check out this show I would suggest getting your tickets early as it sold out when I bought the last ticket for the Sunday evening show.
Winnipeg Fringe Venue #3– Playhouse Studio 180 Market Ave. (enter on Main St.)
Showtimes
Tues. July 19 5:00pm
Wed. July 20 10:30pm
Thurs. July 21 3:45pm
Fri. July 22 9:00pm
Sat. July 23 1:45pm
All Photos by Doug Kretchmer except as noted
