Amy Denholtz is bringing women to the forefront of theater with her second show for No Refund Theatre (NRT), A Day in the Lives of Women , at 8 p.m. tomorrow night and Saturday in 111 Forum.

A Day in the Lives of Women is the combination of four separate one-act plays that Denholtz (senior-women's studies and public relations) brought together to direct.

"I am showing the pro-women approach to living through these shows," Denholtz said.

Each play deals with a different aspect of womanhood, from body image and eating disorders to what it means to be a girl and domestic abuse. These acts sometimes show sexual situations and strong language, Denholtz said.

In between each act are interludes written by Denholtz and other cast members.

Denholtz said she feels the interludes give a good picture of what it is like for women at Penn State.

"We're sharing the diversity of our experiences with the audience," she said.

The first play is Bedtime by Mary Gallagher. Bedtime tells the story of two young girls coming to terms with several universal issues.

"It's a playful opening. It deals with religion, God, and what forever means," Denholtz said.

Lives of the Great Waitresses by Nina Shengold centers on the different lives of four waitresses. Each character has a different accent and shares the different experiences of her life as well as what it means to be called to one's career.

The third play, Poof! by Lynn Nottage, examines the complicated topic of domestic violence. Here two women who have abusive partners have to deal with the repercussions of leaving the partners who are abusing them. Denholtz said this act gives a different take on domestic violence.

"There are comedic lines, but it speaks about a serious issue," she said.

Four women waiting to see their plastic surgeon is the subject matter of the fourth play, The Most Massive Woman Wins, by Madeleine George. This theme of body image is one that some cast members are glad to see represented.

"There aren't enough taboo issues in the public eye, like eating disorders and body image," said Tricia Polizzi (senior-human development and family studies), who plays Sabine. "It's good for the audience to see this, and many women can relate to these problems."

Polizzi said she can closely relate to her character, and added that other women go through many of the same things.

"A lot of women have feminist morals and values but they also want someone to love them and love back," Polizzi said. "We're supposed to be strong, but women can't deny this other side of themselves. These acts personalize things."

Many cast members say the audience will come away feeling empowered and have no question in what the acts are portraying.

"These messages are pertinent, and there is no gray area. These are big issues that women deal with, and we're not sugarcoating them," said Marian Hamilton (freshman-history and English), who is the stage manager.

Denholtz also wanted to create a show in which many women could have the opportunity to be on stage. There are twelve women in the cast, and all parts can be considered leads.

"I wanted to give women an experience to act," she said. "I could have only used six [women] but I wanted to use more."

Cast members agreed, saying because roles for women are hard to come by, this was a great opportunity.

"There are traditionally more roles for women, and it's nice to see the dedication to women in theater," said Penn State graduate Kate Hagerty, who plays Lauren in Poof!.

One other unique aspect of the show is that Denholtz and the cast have decided that any donations from the show will go to the women of Congo, where U.N. peacekeepers are accused of raping some of the country's female citizens.

Denholtz said she hopes to engage the PSU community not only through the show but also through this action that the cast has decided to take and also foster the realization of the shared experience of women everywhere.

"Our lives are all different, but sometimes we can all come back to the same point. It's the shared experience of womanhood," Denholtz said.