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Profiles Theatre is preparing to kick off their 2006-2007 Season by presenting the Midwest Premiere of Neil LaBute's award-winning Fat Pig. Fat Pig won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play in 2005 and will open at Profiles September 14, 2006. Profiles' production will mark only the third time Fat Pig has been produced since its MCC Premiere in 2004, and will precede Mr. Labute's self-directed London premiere. Profiles continues their collaboration with Mr. LaBute having recently produced the Midwest Premiere of "autobahn".
Fat Pig is Neil LaBute's award-winning and bitingly funny romance about love in the modern age of body image and peer pressure. Tom is a young career guy who hits it off with Helen, a bright, sexy woman who happens to be plus-sized - and then some. As he reluctantly finds himself falling in love with Helen, Tom's colleagues are brutally cruel in their assessment of his new mate. LaBute probes our carb-counting, extreme makeover nation by asking tough questions. How much has our relentless pursuit of beauty turned us into an uglier species?
Fat Pig was inspired in part by LaBute’s own experiment with Atkins—losing 60 pounds in the past, then gaining most of it back. “Typically, I’m not one to rip from my own life,” he says, but this time he’s done just that. “On one hand, what I was doing was healthy, but on the other, I saw it as a lot of wasted time on the self.” The play’s overt mission is to put our carb-counting, Extreme Makeover nation in the crosshairs.
Neil LaBute is an acclaimed playwright, screenwriter and film director. He studied Theatre at Brigham Young University and did graduate work at the University of Kansas, New York University and the Royal Academy of London. In 1993, he returned to Brigham Young University to premiere his play "In The Company of Men". Afterward, he taught drama and film at IPFW in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he adapted and filmed the play, launching his career as a film director. The film won the Filmmakers Trophy at the Sundance Film Festival and several other major awards at various film festivals, as well as the New York Film Critics Circle. His next film, "Your Friends and Neighbors", was based on his earlier play, "Lepers", which received its World Premiere in Chicago in 1992.
In 2000, Mr. LaBute refocused his attentions to the stage with "Bash: Latter-Day Plays", followed by "The Shape of Things" in 2001 (which he also made into a film), and "The Distance from Here" in 2002. His 2002 play, "The Mercy Seat", was one of the first major theatrical responses to the September 11 terrorist attack. His 2005 plays include "Some Girls" (received its NY Premiere with MCC in May 2006), "Wrecks", "This is How it Goes" and "autobahn" (produced by Profiles in March 2006). His upcoming film "The Wicker Man", starring Nicholas Cage, will be released in September 2006-this remake of the 1973 classic horror/thriller was adapted and directed by Mr. LaBute.
The cast of Fat Pig will feature Profiles' Associate Artistic Director Darrell W. Cox as Tom. Mr. Cox most recently appeared as Robert in "Home" and Charles in "The Shawl" as part of the David Mamet Festival at the Goodman. Prior to that, he was seen as Clint in Profiles' acclaimed production of "The Glory of Living". He has appeared at Steppenwolf in the World Premiere of "Men of Tortuga", the Midwest Premiere of "Orange Flower Water" (which traveled to the Galway Arts Festival), and the World Premiere of "Wendall Greene". Mr. Cox has won three Joseph Jefferson Citations for Principal Actor for his performances in Profiles' productions of "Blackbird", "Some Voices", and "Eye of God". He has also received two After Dark Awards for Outstanding Performance for his work in "Popcorn" and "Carnal Knowledge".
Profiles introduces Deborah Hearst as Helen. Ms. Hearst is a graduate of Dickinson College with a BA in Theatre and has studied at the British American Drama Academy in Oxford. She has been seen in "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" at Saint Sebastian Players, "Laurel's Love" at Flower in the City Productions, and "We Interrupt This Program" at Pandemonium Theatre.
Profiles' Company Member Eric Burgher will be featured as Carter. Mr. Burgher most recently appeared in "Bench Seat" as part of Profiles' Midwest Premiere of "autobahn". Prior to that, he was seen as Steve in Profiles' "The Glory of Living", Steve Enloe in Profiles' Midwest Premiere of "The Radiant Abyss", and as Dan in Profiles' Midwest Premiere of "Noise". He is a graduate of Columbia College with a BA in Theatre. Katie Crawford will be featured in the role of Jeannie. Ms. Crawford returns to Profiles having most recently been seen in "Merge" as part of the Midwest Premiere of "autobahn". Prior to that, she understudied the role of Clea in the Goodman’s World Premiere of "Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky". She has a BA in Theatre from Louisiana State University.
Profiles Theatre's production of Fat Pig will be directed by Artistic Director Joe Jahraus. Mr. Jahraus returns to directing, having most recently staged Profiles' celebrated, award-winning production of the Midwest Premiere of "Blackbird" by Adam Rapp. Prior to that, he directed Profiles’ Midwest Premiere of "Babylon Gardens" by Timothy Mason. He has also staged Profiles' critically acclaimed productions of "The Water Engine", "The Twilight Zone: The Series", "Sexual Perversity in Chicago", and the award-winning Midwest Premiere of Jules Feiffer's "Carnal Knowledge".