About the Play
A performance of “What’s Eating Katie?” lasts approximately 50-minutes, making it easy to fit into a typical school day. Directed and performed by teens, the story follows the life of an average high–achieving 13-year old girl and her struggle with a separate character representing her Eating Disorder (ED). The final act in a therapist’s office shows the true story of how the eating disorder dominates and damages every aspect of Katie’s life. The show illustrates the multiple pressures on teens, from dieting parents and friends to high-pressure coaches and media influences. Updated in 2008 to include cell-phones, Facebook and other aspects of contemporary teen life, the play includes hilarious ad spoofs of the fast food, diet and fashion industries since media literacy helps combat eating disorders.
The play can be directed by students and produced in a few weeks. It does not require expensive sets or costumes. Typically followed by a Q & A facilitated by a mental health professional, the play is a non-threatening way to get teens and adults talking about difficult-to-broach subjects. If your school plans to perform the show in the Atlanta area, please contact Dina to lead the post-play Q & A.
If you are interested in purchasing a script, contact www.MyEdin.org.
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What's Eating Katie? The Backstory In 1995, Dina was inspired by a one-woman show called "Eaten Alive." The actress portrayed three different characters struggling with eating disorders, followed by Q & A. Dina wanted to find a way for teens to produce their own theatrical production about these issues. She suspected that teens would be highly receptive to peer-delivered messages, and that teen actors would learn more about the topic by immersing themselves in a theatrical production. In a pregnancy-induced bout of insomnia, Dina wrote “What’s Eating Katie?” and handed the script to the theater director at St. Pius X, a private Catholic school in Atlanta. Students produced the show and word about the play spread. Teens from other Atlanta schools staged productions of the play, including students from Galloway, Roswell High, Paideia and Woodward. At Westminster, the students have made the play an annual event since 1999. Distributed at the National Eating Disorders Association conference, the script has been adapted by high school and college students around the country as well as in Australia and the U.K. |