All the World’s a Stage

Backstory: Becoming Donald (Duck, That Is—Donald Duck!)

Posted on by Clay Rivers

We all have backstories; adventures and foibles few would believe the people we are now would ever be a party to. So in the interest of mixing it up a little, this week I’m unpacking the story behind becoming Donald (Duck, that is) and traveling to Guatemala as one of three caballeros. Enjoy!

Five months after my Christmas debut in the Magic Kingdom as Donald Duck, I returned to Character Department for a summer gig performing in the Main Street Electrical Parade. The adventure proved to be so much more than I bargained for … in the best way imaginable. The people I worked with were the best, despite my disdain for the job itself. I put college on a temporary hold and expressed an interest to character management in joining their ranks a full-time permanent employee … as did several other several other hopefuls lucky enough to continue working past the summer.

Backstory: My Life in Fur

Posted on by Clay Rivers

Recently, the Medium publication C(G) SNAPSHOTS issued a challenge in which participants were invited to submit images for their Snapshot Selfie Challenge. Being the camera-phobe that I am — no, really; until recently your truly used the same avatar across all social media for almost six years (don’t judge) — I opted to submit a snapshot of a few mementos that signified different periods of my life. Oddly enough, one object in my snapshot that garnered a few comments was a vintage Donald Duck bobblehead from the late 1960s or early 1970s, described in the accompanying text as: symbol of my former alter-ego, vehicle of torture, and self-discovery — let’s talk about that some time.

Well … the time has come.

We all have backstories; adventures and foibles few would believe the people we are now would ever be a party to. So in the interest of mixing it up a little and unpacking one such story here. Enjoy!*

Your Life as Your Platform: Use It or Lose It

Posted on by Clay Rivers
Image by Kane Reinholdtsen, unsplash.com

If you don’t take a stand for who you are, what you believe, and share the validity of your experiences, someone else will write a narrative for you that most certainly will not be in your best interest. This post is all about platform.

The Gratitude and Trust Summit: The Speech

Posted on by Clay Rivers

Like so many opportunities of late, the invitation to participate in the Gratitude and Trust Summit rose from the ashes of failed plans for another project two months earlier. The masterminds and hosts of the event—my friend, screenwriter, and New York Times bestselling author Tracey Jackson; Academy Award winner and Grammy-winning songwriter and producer Paul Williams; and internet pioneer, Jeff Pulver—booked New York City’s historic 92nd Street YMCA and billed it as a conference about shedding old, worn out habits and replacing them with new, healthy, productive ones. It was a day filled with motivational speakers and panels who all shared their experiences and ways of moving forward through life’s challenges.

Self-Loathing versus Self-Acceptance

Posted on by Clay Rivers
The inaugural cast of "Little Women: New York."

Recently there’s been a spate of shows featuring Little People—Pit Boss, The Little Couple, Little People Big World, and Little Women: LA. The majority of these series showcase in both comic and dramatic situations 1) the challenges unique to Little People, and 2) how the triumphs, hopes, and dreams of the vertically challenged are the same as those of average height.

Haul Out the Holly

Posted on by Clay Rivers

I’ve recently learned that Madison Square Garden Entertainment will no longer have touring companies of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. This is bittersweet news to me because for six years I was blessed to have been a member of those touring companies. The people I worked with became friends and in some cases family. The memories, the life lessons learned about myself, others, and the world; the tears, the laughter, the relationships—I thank God for each and every one of them and you.

On Rejection

Posted on by Clay Rivers

By Kirk Douglas, for the Huffington Post

Portrait of Kirk Douglas with his back against an enormous fallen tree trunk, circa 1945. (Huffington Post)
Portrait of Kirk Douglas with his back against an enormous fallen tree trunk, circa 1945. (Huffington Post)

Actors are often described as “people who love rejection.” That’s not true. Every year hundreds of young boys and girls come to New York or Hollywood with dreams of becoming an actor and having their name in lights. They never expect to meet with rejection. “Too fat! Too thin! Too loud! Too soft!” Most of them go home. I stayed.