ashmamma84
Om Namah Shivayah
Feb 14, 2008, 12:49
Lora Powell
WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Fat people dont matter. This phrase encompasses the school of thought behind Neil LaButes Fat Pig, which will be performed at UCM Feb. 20-24. This performance, directed by the theater departments Julie Pratt, examines the perils men and women face regarding body image, ridicule and discrimination.
To be a fan of LaButes is also to be his foe, to question and curse him, said David Amsden, theater critic for the New York Times. His cruel wit and chronicles of immoral moralizers have made him, arguably, the most legitimately provocative and polarizing playwright at work today.
LaBute is known for really examining the uglier side of human beings, so its funny, but its very exacting, Pratt said. Its romantic, but its also quite painful. Its beautifully told, but very realistically and honestly, so it deals with how people speak about fat people,
The play, being performed in conjunction with a series of events sponsored by the Office of Community Engagement, the Lighthouse and the theater department, is a romantic comedy/drama about a man who falls in love with a plus-size woman, as well as the incredible pressure he faces from his friends and co-workers about being with a large woman.
Maggie Nevins promotes "Fat Pig" in the UCM Union (Photo by Chris Eversole)
There will be a series of activities over the noon hour in the Union to engage students in thinking about ways body images are constructed; what were told is beautiful and what we feel is beautiful, Pratt said. Some of those include doing a body image outline, which includes drawing what you think your body looks like and then what your body really looks like. Those events will hopefully lead the audience, much like the V-Day Initiative events, to the production of Fat Pig.
Several sections of Race, Class and Gender, as well as the members of the Women in Politics course will be attending the play and having assignments in relation to the production.
Also, Wendy Geigers Media Literacy class will be producing a series of three-minute pieces relating the medias construct of beauty.
The students will juxtapose reality with media images so they can make a comment about where the disparity is, Pratt said.
The top nine pieces will be shown in front of house before the play.
At the beginning of the performance, there will be a reading of UCMs Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity Statement, which includes topics such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual preference, Vietnam veteran status, but does not list size.
Were really challenging the audience to think about that and the way we deal with people of different sizes, Pratt said.
For those wondering why the Vagina Monologues isnt being performed this year, the answer is simply a new approach. Pratt feels this play deals with all the same issues the Vagina Monologues dealt with, only on a more specific level.
Last year was our fifth year performing the Vagina Monologues as part of the V-Day initiative, Pratt said. We had a huge turnout the first year, but we noticed a steady decline in audience. There were over 1,300 people in the theater and we made more money than we ever had. With all the restructuring, it fell through the cracks a little bit. At the same time, it was time to take a year off.
Crystal Mann, a freshman theater major, plays the role of Helen, the plus-size woman the play focuses on. For Mann, the experience of playing such a controversial role has taken an emotional toll.
Its been very hard. By taking on this role, it feels like Im giving people permission to call me a fat pig, Mann said. These are things I wouldnt ordinarily take well. Despite all that, the implications of this play are too important to let it affect me negatively.
In a production involving the Office of Student Engagement, Student Affairs, the psychology department, the womens studies department, the communication department and the theater department, Fat Pig makes a statement of epic proportions.
You can be arrested for calling someone a racial epitaph, you can be killed for screaming fag across a room, but if you say Look at that fat pig, often times youre rewarded with laughter, Pratt said.
Tickets for Fat Pig went on sale Tuesday and may be purchased at the box office in the Highlander Theater from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, or by calling 543-8811
Lora Powell
WARRENSBURG, Mo. -- Fat people dont matter. This phrase encompasses the school of thought behind Neil LaButes Fat Pig, which will be performed at UCM Feb. 20-24. This performance, directed by the theater departments Julie Pratt, examines the perils men and women face regarding body image, ridicule and discrimination.
To be a fan of LaButes is also to be his foe, to question and curse him, said David Amsden, theater critic for the New York Times. His cruel wit and chronicles of immoral moralizers have made him, arguably, the most legitimately provocative and polarizing playwright at work today.
LaBute is known for really examining the uglier side of human beings, so its funny, but its very exacting, Pratt said. Its romantic, but its also quite painful. Its beautifully told, but very realistically and honestly, so it deals with how people speak about fat people,
The play, being performed in conjunction with a series of events sponsored by the Office of Community Engagement, the Lighthouse and the theater department, is a romantic comedy/drama about a man who falls in love with a plus-size woman, as well as the incredible pressure he faces from his friends and co-workers about being with a large woman.
Maggie Nevins promotes "Fat Pig" in the UCM Union (Photo by Chris Eversole)
There will be a series of activities over the noon hour in the Union to engage students in thinking about ways body images are constructed; what were told is beautiful and what we feel is beautiful, Pratt said. Some of those include doing a body image outline, which includes drawing what you think your body looks like and then what your body really looks like. Those events will hopefully lead the audience, much like the V-Day Initiative events, to the production of Fat Pig.
Several sections of Race, Class and Gender, as well as the members of the Women in Politics course will be attending the play and having assignments in relation to the production.
Also, Wendy Geigers Media Literacy class will be producing a series of three-minute pieces relating the medias construct of beauty.
The students will juxtapose reality with media images so they can make a comment about where the disparity is, Pratt said.
The top nine pieces will be shown in front of house before the play.
At the beginning of the performance, there will be a reading of UCMs Nondiscrimination/Equal Opportunity Statement, which includes topics such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual preference, Vietnam veteran status, but does not list size.
Were really challenging the audience to think about that and the way we deal with people of different sizes, Pratt said.
For those wondering why the Vagina Monologues isnt being performed this year, the answer is simply a new approach. Pratt feels this play deals with all the same issues the Vagina Monologues dealt with, only on a more specific level.
Last year was our fifth year performing the Vagina Monologues as part of the V-Day initiative, Pratt said. We had a huge turnout the first year, but we noticed a steady decline in audience. There were over 1,300 people in the theater and we made more money than we ever had. With all the restructuring, it fell through the cracks a little bit. At the same time, it was time to take a year off.
Crystal Mann, a freshman theater major, plays the role of Helen, the plus-size woman the play focuses on. For Mann, the experience of playing such a controversial role has taken an emotional toll.
Its been very hard. By taking on this role, it feels like Im giving people permission to call me a fat pig, Mann said. These are things I wouldnt ordinarily take well. Despite all that, the implications of this play are too important to let it affect me negatively.
In a production involving the Office of Student Engagement, Student Affairs, the psychology department, the womens studies department, the communication department and the theater department, Fat Pig makes a statement of epic proportions.
You can be arrested for calling someone a racial epitaph, you can be killed for screaming fag across a room, but if you say Look at that fat pig, often times youre rewarded with laughter, Pratt said.
Tickets for Fat Pig went on sale Tuesday and may be purchased at the box office in the Highlander Theater from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, or by calling 543-8811
