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EAT (It's Not About Food)

"A gutsy, arresting and daringly, darkly humorous world premiere...powerful...leaving open the possibility of changing and perhaps even saving lives of both young audience members and friends whom they now may recognize as needing help."

The Dallas Morning News

More information

Description

  • Full Length Play
  • Drama
  • 60 minutes

  • Time Period: Present Day
  • Target Audience: Pre-Teen (Age 11 - 13), Teen (Age 14 - 18), Adult
  • Set Requirements: Area Staging
  • Cautions: Mild Adult Themes

  • Performance Group:
  • Community Theatre, College Theatre / Student, High School/Secondary
EAT (It's Not About Food) dramatizes the dangerous and baffling world of eating disorders in girls and boys. Candidly exploring causes and warning signs, the play takes a hard look at the influences of society and the media and tells individual stories of young people struggling with this epidemic and too often tragic problem. 

Beneath a neon sign reading "EAT" a young waitress enters and addresses the audience. She relates that, although 850-million people in the world are essentially starving, eating can be the most difficult thing in the world. 

The entire cast enters, each expressing with words or action his or her struggle with eating, then freezes, and the waitress, tasting a decadent dessert, announces, "EAT (It's Not About Food)," launching the play into the story of 14-year-old Amy, whose downward spiral, eventual hospitalization and struggle to recover from an eating disorder is interwoven with vignettes, ranging from realistic to satirical to humorous, that reveal other characters dealing with eating disorders and body image. 

Joey, battling bulimia, recalls being teased by classmates and describes a frantic nighttime binge. A young wrestler learns the tricks of "making weight" from a teammate. With only her face and arms visible through a cardboard cutout of a thin, glamorous female TV star, a generic television actress celebrates her perfection. Another character relates the myriad reasons for overeating while being dressed in a "fat suit." "Fairly well recovered" Calorie Woman shares her compulsive counting as she relates the calories in a Starbucks latte. 

These and many more characters provide actors with challenging dramatic and comedic roles and the opportunity to play multiple parts. 
REVIEWS:

"A gutsy, arresting and daringly, darkly humorous world premiere... powerful... leaving open the possibility of changing and perhaps even saving lives of both young audience members and friends whom they now may recognize as needing help."

The Dallas Morning News

"EAT illuminates the struggle of those who suffer and of those who love them. I've encouraged my former patients and their families to take this hour-long journey knowing they will leave with hope and an inspiration to spread the word about eating disorders. Linda Daugherty is saving lives with her brilliant work."

Stephanie Setliff, M.D., Medical Director, Center for Pediatric Eating Disorders, Children's Medical Center of Dallas

"Linda Daugherty has never been one to avert her eyes from issues facing young people today... EAT inspires as much laughter as it does tears... The emotional impact is raw and unapologetic... awe-inspiring... It is a difficult hour to spend in the theater. But it is also one of the most revelatory plays I've seen. It makes the inevitable pain one will feel well worth it, especially if it means a deeper understanding."

People Newspapers, Dallas, Texas

"This exceptional play will forever change the way you look at the world of eating disorders and those who struggle to regain control of their lives."

 Dr. Elizabeth Hughes, Executive Director, The Elisa Project, Dallas, Texas

"This is not a show about eating disorders. This is the story of American, and more recently international, obsession with food, appearance, and body image... This show is a wake-up call [that] will motivate individuals to do things differently in their own lives."

Susan Sugerman, M.D., M.P.H., Girls to Women Health and Wellness, P.A., Dallas, Texas

"Daugherty's EAT provides the audience with a powerful and insightful visual medium through which to understand the complicated and often not well understood inner world of young people with eating disorders."

Andy McGarrahan, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Center fr Pediatric Psychiatry, Children's Medical Center, Dallas

Characters

  • Casting: 4M, 10F
  • Casting Attributes: Features Teens

Available Material

Name Price
EAT (It's Not About Food) Script Order Now

EAT (It's Not About Food) dramatizes the dangerous and baffling world of eating disorders in girls and boys. Candidly exploring causes and warning signs, the play takes a hard look at the influences of society and the media and tells individual stories of young people struggling with this epidemic and too often tragic problem. Beneath a neon sign reading EAT a young waitress enters and addresses the audience. She relates that, although 850-million people in the world are essentially starving, eating can be the most difficult thing in the world. The entire cast enters, each expressing with words or action his or her struggle with eating, then freezes, and the waitress, tasting a decadent dessert, announces, EAT (It's Not About Food), launching the play into the story of 14-year-old Amy, whose downward spiral, eventual hospitalization and struggle to recover from an eating disorder is interwoven with vignettes, ranging from realistic to satirical to humorous, that reveal other characters dealing with eating disorders and body image. Joey, battling bulimia, recalls being teased by classmates and describes a frantic nighttime binge. A young wrestler learns the tricks of making weight from a teammate. With only her face and arms visible through a cardboard cutout of a thin, glamorous female TV star, a generic television actress celebrates her perfection. Another character relates the myriad reasons for overeating while being dressed in a fat suit. Fairly well recovered Calorie Woman shares her compulsive counting as she relates the calories in a Starbucks latte. These and many more characters provide actors with challenging dramatic and comedic roles and the opportunity to play multiple parts. Area staging. Approximate running time: 1 hour.

$19.95

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