Student play deals with eating disorders

Ameca Shang was introduced to a problem when she entered the University.

The senior nutrition major saw people around her, Asian Americans like herself, starving themselves, calling themselves too fat.

So she wrote a play.

"Part of my thesis on eating disorders was to write a play," she said. "People don't like to seek help because counseling is such a stigma. And theatre is a great way to engage people."

That play, Hopes and an Orange Duck, will be produced at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in 119 Arts.

The research Shang did was also borne out in her personal life, something that scared her, she said.

"Asian Americans don't like to admit their eating disorders. I came here, and all of a sudden I'm surrounded by it," Shang said. "I saw people starving themselves, saw them throwing up, saw the diarrhea. I got the idea that they had no control."

Shang's play is directed by Charles Dumas, associate professor of theatre arts, who said the play was unique.

"It's an interesting piece, a one-act, about 25 minutes long," Dumas said. "It's unusual, insofar as it's about eating disorders among Asian-Americans, and some people say there are no eating disorders among them."

Shang, a student in Dumas' playwriting class, had help from her professor, a veteran playwright.

"It was written for my playwriting class, so I had a lot of input in terms of her writing the play itself," Dumas said. "I think that writing is two things, an art that's personal and a craft that's teachable. I have to walk a thin line between teaching and not interfering."

The play is Shang's first stint as a producer, a craft she learned about before she realized exactly what was in store.

"I kind of had an idea of what it's all about, but now I'm really doing the dirty work. I sat down with (Dumas') wife last summer, and she told me what a producer did," she said. "I had to get a cast together, find a stage manager, all those things. But it's been a lot of fun."

The production doesn't just tell a story, Shang said. It's about a problem, and is designed to help people who are experiencing an eating disorder.

But, she said, audiences should leave Hopes and an Orange Duck with one feeling.

"The play really is about hope. The title stems from the play," she said. "Yes, orange duck is a food, but it symbolizes a lot of things."