Below the radar of Spring Fest and Conan O'Brien this weekend, there's a pleasantly plump play in which students will tackle some serious issues, while also raising awareness and money.
"Phat Girlz," a student production organized in just three months, is directed by junior Molly Dubansky, who came across the idea for the show when she was assigned to read "Best Playwrights of 2003" for one of her classes.
The play not only grabbed Dubansky's attention for its literary merits, but also, as a show about eating disorders, the subject hit home. Two of Dubansky's sisters have battled anorexia, one of whom was recently hospitalized for the disease.
"All of the girls in the cast have somehow been affected by an eating disorder," Dubansky said of the 13-member cast, all girls. "Everybody knows somebody who has contended with the topic. The play is about women who are struggling with eating disorders."
The play, which is Dubansky's directorial debut, explores what is oftentimes the root of these disorders and their problems.
"It shows how even as children we face these issue, when kids tease one another and make jokes," she said. "It also shows how the sensitivity surrounding eating disorders changes throughout the course of adulthood and focuses on how we learn to cope with it."
A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the National Eating Disorder Association.
Rachel Oyama and Pamela Hartman, both junior theatre majors, play two of the more prominent roles in the show. Hartman plays a young girl who grapples with an eating disorder from an early age. Oyama essentially plays the voice of the eating disorder, encouraging negative and destructive behavior.
Lisa DelVecchio, also a junior theatre major, has a more substantial part in the production. She portrays Eve in the beginning portion of the show and is the ethereal voice that carries out the promising message towards the end.
Other cast members serve as vignettes, representing four or five entities throughout the show.
According to Dubansky, whose younger sister's condition has improved since she entered a hospital program in Syracuse, even knowing someone who is going through it is a terrible feeling.
"Being able to do this show, even if it only helps a little bit, I find it extremely therapeutic to get the word out," said Dubansky, a theatre major and nursing student. "It's helped me learn a lot about what my sister is going through."
The play's serious nature is sure to provoke contemplation on the part of the viewers.
"I would like for people to take the subject matter a little more seriously," Dubansky said. "At some point we need to stop joking about it and realize it's a serious issue. It needs to be discussed and it needs to be focused on."
Though it may her career in the end, Dubansky aspires to entertain.
"There are comedic moments throughout the show that help to break the ice," she said, "but for the most part it's very serious. It's disturbing and intense, but it's good."
Sitting around the empty wooden stage after completing two successful runs of the show during dress rehearsal, the girls were excited about the play, laughing and joking with each other, snacking between scenes.
"We've all really bonded during these past three months," Dubansky said.
The show will run this Friday and Saturday at 5:30 p.m. in the Katherine Cornell Theater located in the Ellicott Complex at UB's North Campus. Tickets will be sold for $5 at the door.
"Phat Girlz" runs for about 50 minutes and will conclude with a Q&A session.
