By Sharon Wheatley

In 1991, I'd lived in New York City for just over a year when I got a call to come in for a swing position on the tour of Les Miserables. As an overweight actress with Broadway dreams, I knew finding a job was going to be tough-and I'd already had my fair share of frustrating auditions that ended with "You are so talented, but I don't think we have a role for you." Translation? You're great, but too fat to be in our show.

I knew from the pictures that Les Miserables was one of the rare shows that cast people of all sizes, so I was really psyched for my audition. I walked in, sang my guts out, and hours later I got a call from the company manager Robert Nolan telling me I was being offered a "pink contract" (I had no idea what that meant) for an insane amount of money and could I be in LA in three days? I was so in shock I couldn't speak, and in the pause Robert thought I was preparing to negotiate, so he said, "Sharon, the money is not negotiable." I jumped off my bed and exuberantly announced, "FANTASTIC! That's more money than I ever dreamed of making! I feel like I just won the Miss America pageant!" I quit my waitressing job and ran to the Equity membership office to paid my dues and get my card. It was a great, great day.