Press Release
Judi Wittkopf ∙ 715∙261-6296 ∙ Fax 715∙261∙6333 ∙ E-mail judi.wittkopf@uwc.edu

UWMC Theatre tackles the stigma of obesity in their fall play Fat Pig

For: Immediate release, Friday, October 23, 2009
Contact: Sarah Rudolph, Director and Professor of Communication and Theatre Arts, (715) 261-6290, sarah.rudolph@uwc.edu 

Pertinent Information:
• UWMC Theatre to present Neil LaBute’s “Fat Pig” for their fall production
• Play to run Thursday, Friday and Saturday, November 12, 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 15 at 2:00 p.m. in the UWMC Theatre
• Play deals with obesity, preconceived notions and their relevance to success and love
• Production features an all UWMC-student cast
• Audience will have the opportunity to discuss the issues brought up in the play with the cast after each performance
• Fat Pig contains language and situations best suited to mature audiences
• Play is directed by Sarah J. Rudolph with technical direction by Kris Berge
• Tickets are $10 general, $8 seniors and non-UWMC students, Free to UWMC students
• To reserve tickets call (715) 261-6235. For more information on the play call (715) 261-6290
• Performance is supported by UWMC activity fees as allocated by the Student University Fee Allocation Committee
• UWMC Theatre is located at 518 South 7th Avenue in Wausau

The average woman is 5’5” and wears a size 14; however, most models are much taller and likely to wear sizes 2-5. With a stunningly wide array of books, pills, packaged diets and elixirs, dieting is a 35 billion dollar business in the United States. Yet, by most standards Americans have never been heavier. While our wallets have become thinner and our waists expanded, media assaults us with glamorous images of emaciated women.

UWMC Theatre, directed by Sarah J. Rudolph, will tackle the subject of obesity in their fall production of Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig. The play will run Thursday, Friday and Saturday, November 12, 13 and 14 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 15 at 2:00 p.m. in the UWMC Theatre.

Winner of the 2004 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, LaBute’s Fat Pig considers the stigma attached to obesity. The cast of characters includes Helen, a highly compelling plus-size librarian; Tom, an up and coming professional pleasantly surprised to find a relationship based upon mutual interest and compatibility and not physical ideals; Jeanne, one of Tom’s coworkers with whom he had a fling; and Carter, another co-worker who sees being with a beautiful and physically fit woman as requisite to professional and personal success.
The mix of these characters makes for theatre finding both the humor and the cruelty that underpin our obsession with looks. LaBute’s more recent play, Reasons to Be Pretty, which was nominated for the 2009 Tony for Best New Play, reveals his ongoing interest in the complicated dynamics of dating amid persistent pressure to conform to physical ideals.
The UWMC production features an all student cast (see below). Cadie Brusky, who plays Helen, feels good about dignifying the struggle faced by so many large women and understands that the play’s title may apply not just to Helen, but to an attitude toward intimacy based on self-centered and shallow preconceptions.
Audience members will have opportunity to visit with Brusky, her fellow cast members and others after each of the play’s four performances.

Fat Pig contains language and situations best suited to mature audiences. Tickets are $10 general, $8 seniors and non-UWMC students, and free to UWMC students. To reserve tickets, call (715) 261-6235; for more information about the play, call Sarah Rudolph at (715) 261-6290.

The performance is funded through UWMC student activity fees, allocated by the Student University Fee Allocation Committee. UWMC Theatre is located at 518 South 7th Avenue in Wausau

Fat Pig
Technical Direction by Kris Berge

CAST
Tom: Cody Wesner - UWMC Freshman, Wausau East High School graduate, Theatre major
Helen: Cadie Brusky - UWMC Sophomore, Edgar High School graduate, Fine Arts major
Carter: Jacob Hillberry - UWMC Freshman, Riverdale High School (Muscoda, Wisconsin) graduate, Theatre/Natural Resources major
Jeanne: Lindsey Peshel – Junior, Crandon High School graduate, American Studies major through UWMC/UW-Stevens Point Collaborative Degree Program