The Thin Line is a story of one girl's struggle with her eating disorder and the struggles of those close to her in their efforts to understand and to help. The program provides compassion, understanding and the means to seek action against the deadly disease of eating disorders.
The Thin Line breaks the silence that traditionally surrounds eating disorders, the mental illness with the highest fatality rate in this country, In the play, four characters — a girl who is struggling with the illness, her internal negative voice, her mother and a friend — explore the realities of eating disorders.
The problems associated with eating disorders are deeply rooted and difficult to face and understand. The Thin Line serves as an accessible tool that helps in recognizing the symptoms of eating disorders, and in encouraging individuals, friends and family to seek help.
With a simple set-up of a table and a few chairs, The Thin Line can be performed in virtually any setting. In cooperation with the booking organization, audience members have a chance immediately following each performance to interact with their local resources who can continue to provide support after the play has gone.
Since its inception in 1998, The Thin Line has performed for colleges, and conferences, and has been listed by the national office of National Eating Disorders Association (formerly EDAP, Inc.) on its National Speaker's Bureau.
When booking The Thin Line you will receive a discussion guide and curriculum materials that will help prepare your community for addressing the issues surrounding eating disorders.
The Thin Line Breaking the silence on eating disorders.
By Cathy Plourde
The Thin Line is a 30-minute, one-actor play that illustrates a young woman’s struggle with an eating disorder. The program provides compassion, understanding, and the means to seek action against this deadly disease.
The problems associated with eating disorders are deeply rooted, difficult to face, and hard to understand. The Thin Line serves as an accessible tool that helps audiences recognize symptoms of eating disorders and encourages individuals, friends, and family to seek help.
With a simple set-up of a table and a few chairs, The Thin Line can be performed in virtually any setting. In cooperation with the booking organization, audience members have a chance immediately following each performance to interact with their local eating disorder specialists, advocates, or health professionals who can continue to provide support after the performance. College counseling and health centers have successfully used the program to make their important services accessible and approachable to students.
“The Thin Line is an accurate and powerful tool for eating disorders education. It touches the viewer with an amazing combination of information and emotion, and poignantly illustrates the devastating experiences of an eating disorder sufferer.”
—National Eating Disorders Association
“The Thin Line captures the contradictory psychology of eating disorders and the frustration, fear, and confusion they evoke in others who want a simple way to make things better. The play addresses beautifully the way girls speak through their bodies—in symbolic and emotionally complicated ways—the things they cannot say or even know consciously. It will blow people away.”
—Dr. Lyn Mikel Brown, Colby College
Since its 1998 debut, The Thin Line has been performed for colleges and conferences across the U.S. and has been listed by the national office of National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) on its National Speaker's Bureau.
When booking The Thin Line you will receive a discussion guide and curriculum materials that will help prepare your community for addressing the issues surrounding eating disorders.
EXCERPT:
Ellen: “I know how hideous I look. I’m dying to be heard, to find someone who understands. I’m trying. This is not fun for me. People think it’s a big joke. They talk behind my back. Or they talk to me like I’m an infant who can’t understand anything. Or like I’m going to fall apart any second . . . . There used to be more to know about me than how many ounces I’ve gained or lost today . . . . It’s not that I don’t want to grow up, it’s just that things get harder and harder to control, and you get more and more responsibility at the same time.”
The Negative Voice of Ellen’s eating disorder: “The medical term ‘anorexia’ means ‘absence of hunger or appetite’ but you and I alone know that that’s not true, that you have a huge appetite, you’re extremely hungry, but you’re willing to deny yourself your existence.”
Ellen’s Mother: “. . . we had thought she was better. Now, the drains haven’t been working right, and this week we got home to find the basement flooded, a pipe burst . . . the plumbers suggested that we either install a garbage disposal, or don’t put excessive amounts of food down the drain The way they said it, they knew. They were just being polite; apparently they had seen this before.”
Cindy (Ellen’s friend): “No matter how much I want to help her get better, I can’t get better for her. She has to do it. And I have to be honest with her. I have to be honest with her until she can learn to be honest with herself. So, I finally talked to Ellen.”
Perfect for orientations, awareness events, conferences, and wellness programming.
Powerful 30-minute, one-actor portrayal of several characters surrounding one woman’s struggle with an eating disorder.
Audience members will recognize symptoms, intervention strategies, where to go for help, and how to support someone suffering.
Post-performance panel discussion with campus or local counselors, advocates, and experts.
