In a world of tummy tucks and low-carb living, society seems to have an obsession with weight.

Neil LaBute's play Fat Pig addresses the heavy topic of physical appearances but with a comedic touch.

The play will be performed starting Saturday in the Arts building at 4 p.m with other performances to follow later in the weekend.

The show marks the directorial debut of Sarah Kosar (freshman-theatre).

"The opportunity fell into my lap to direct as a freshman," Kosar said. "So I jumped on it and took over. It's one of my favorite plays."

The play focuses on a man named Tom, who falls in love with an over-weight woman. Tom has to deal with society's pressures based on his girlfriend's looks.

"The play is a dissection of how social pressure affects relationships," Kosar said.

Eric Lawry (freshman-theatre) plays Carter, Tom's co-worker and friend.

"My character is a real jerk, so it's fun to do something that's different," Lawry said. "[Carter] is really shallow.

Through the whole play he's trying to convince Tom that it's not going to work with the girl [and] trying to turn him against her. All he's concerned with is looks and appearances with himself and with people that he dates."

The show began production off-Broadway in early 2004, and the original cast included Jeremy Piven, Andrew McCarthy and Keri Russell.

"It's a drama, but it has elements of comedy," Kosar said. "It's really interesting because it's such a social commentary and is given in a fun way."

LaBute is also the author of The Shape of Things. His play In a Dark Dark House is currently playing off-Broadway.

"I like the writer of the play, and I've done shows of his before, but never this one," Lawry said. "I liked the author, so I figured I'd like the play. It's a relatively new play."

Katie Juza (freshman-theatre) plays Jeannie, Tom's old love interest.

"I think [the play] is magnificently written, and it just points out how we listen to society," Juza said.

"Even though we try and lead our own lives, whether we like to admit it or not society puts pressure on us to make decisions [that] might not make us the happiest.

I personally have realized through experience that listening to your heart is better than listening to society."