The Thin Line: A Play on Coping with Eating Disorders

Featuring both the US and the Australian acting versions of The Thin Line, Add Verb Productions' one-woman show on coping with eating disorders will open hearts and minds about the personal and social challenges of eating disorders. This never-before released script is accompanied by dramaturgical notes for actors and directors and a comprehensive production guide. The Thin Line script and guide benefitted from Add Verb's fifteen years experience of presenting theatre for awareness, wellness, and activism to middle schools, high schools, colleges, conferences, and medical professionals across the US as well as in Australia.The play brings four characters to the stage: a young woman who is struggling, her friend, her mother, and her vicious internal voice--the eating disorder itself. With just a few props, the action follows the progression of the illness and its growing impact on not only the young girl, Ellen, but the community as a whole.The approach of this program is to bring vital information to light and to help position audience members--who are often also friends, family, or even those with an eating disorder themselves--to take positive steps toward interrupting the dangerous trajectory of this mental illness with the highest fatality rate of any mental illness.Sections include: A note from the playwright providing context and history of the project; words from several actors who have toured with the production; an annotated script; checklists for actors and site coordinators; and guidance for presenting to schools and communities, including critical support for moderators and panelists.This volume also brings a cultural translation of the script to light, making for an interesting study in how writers and producers were able to distill intention and match it with language to better relate to Australian young people and those who support them.Add Verb Productions actively toured The Thin Line with professional actors (1999-2014), and both amateur and professional licensing information is included in this volume.

Cathy Plourde's plays and video script writing for social change, health & wellness, and difficult dialog has traveled the US under Add Verb Productions, and she's presented on this work internationally. Book publications include Out & Allied: : An Anthology of Performance Pieces Written by LGBTQ Youth & Allies (Vol 1, 2011; Vol. 2, 2014) and Making Out Like a Virgin: Sex, Desire & Intimacy After Sexual Trauma (2016). She works as a consultant, editor, writer, & educator.