Internal Vanity opens at Lakewood Theater this weekend

by Arnold Wayne Jones of Dallas Voice

For 15 years, Antonio Wingfield has made his living as a fashion designer, constructing couture garments for beautiful people to look beautiful in. So it might seem paradoxical that Wingfield would have such harsh words for the industry that has paid his bills.

“Deep and sick is our obsession with the external,” he says, not mincing any words.

But for Wingfield, there’s nothing ironic about his position at all. Indeed, he feels his experience in the fashion industry has informed his opinions.

“I started designing because I love to make beautiful things,” Wingfield explains. “I saw a Diana Ross concert as a kid and my life hasn’t been the same since. But the fashion industry isn’t about fashion anymore, it’s about status. I’ve had to battle with using models who are larger than a size 4. I’ve pulled out of fashion shows because of it. If a woman looks good and takes care of herself, why can’t she be a model whatever size? It just hit me one day and I got sick to my stomach. It’s oppression.”

So pervasive was his realization that two years ago, Wingfield did something far outside his comfort zone: He started a production company and began piecing together his idea for a play.

At first, the story came to him haphazardly, as images and themes entered his head. What if people were as vain and self-conscious about their souls as they were about the superficial? How can people claim to be opposed to one form of bigotry yet still judge others on their appearance?

The result is Internal Vanity, Wingfield’s debut effort as a playwright, producer and director, which plays this weekend at the Lakewood Theater.

Wingfield turns his critique on more than haute couture; he wanted his thesis to apply to all kinds of prejudice — what he calls “–isms.”

“Homophobia, sexism, racism — they are all causes by the same thing: It’s about a group thinking their way is the only way. It is impossible to end one -ism without ending them all. I know black people who’ll complain about racism but say something derogatory to someone who’s homosexual. The world would be more peaceful if people embraced their differences.”

Wingfield describes “Internal Vanity” as a “fashion opera,” although he admits the title is slightly misleading. There is no singing, just a flamboyance that can only be described as operatic in scope.

“I was in Aida with the Dallas Opera some years back. I don’t remember the music per se, but the sounds and the design stuck with me,” he says. “I called it a fashion opera is because of the elaborate costumes — I use a lot of fabric.”

It hasn’t been easy. He’s been in production — from casting to costume construction to rehearsals — since April. Wingfield has staged fashion shows, “but this is new ground for me. I didn’t expect it to be as grueling as it has turned out. It’s interesting to watch the evolution.”

The story revolves around three women, all friends with body issues who grew up in Wamba, Texas (not coincidentally, near Wingfield’s own home town). They each move to the big city, thinking they have finally achieved all they set out for themselves: One becomes a supermodel, one a diva, one a fitness queen. But despite their superficial success, each is unhappy.

“The world loves them but don’t even care that they chose to be these things for all the wrong reasons,” Wingfield says. One even cannot deal with her son being gay, because “has rocked her image of perfection in her life.” Her disappointment in him leads to tragic consequences.

“Jason has the most moving role,” opines Waqas, the actor who plays the gay son as well as several other parts in the play. “He flips out — there’s lots of pain, lots of crying.”

“Apologizing for who you are is a big no-no to me,” adds Wingfield. “It sets the tone for the rest of your life and makes you feel insecure about who you are. A stare can break someone as easily as a smile can make someone’s day,” and he wants people to see all these issues as inter-related.

“The need to belong, to be loved, to be accepted — these can bring out the best in you or the worst in you,” he says. “Most people are afraid to look in the mirror.”

But he hopes Internal Vanity will cause audiences to do just that — and that they will look at themselves deeper than their mere physical reflection.