Women’s Wit

Beyond the Proscenium Productions offers up two one-act plays centered around women’s experiences that use humor to deal with very serious issues.

Does This Show Make My Butt Look Fat? tackles body image in a lighthearted manner, as a woman (played on alternate weekends by Cynthia Burdick and Margaret Morneau) shares her experience with not necessarily matching up to the cultural standards set for female anatomy. Using audience participation and Ooey Gooey Chocolate Cookies (recipe included in the program), we’re invited to examine our attitudes and embrace ourselves.

The second one-act, Reasonable Doubt, written by BPP member Katie Chapman, looks at the so-called “options” open to women by examining some of the iconic representations of womanhood: the Virgin (Carrie Joyner), the Wife (Angelina LaBarre), the Doll (Stephanie McCall) and the Boss (Morgan McCarthy). All of the men in their lives—and the emcee of the game show they participate in—are played by Justin Munoz, who does an incredible job of switching styles and manners to match his role. Each of the segments of the play truly illuminate how difficult it is to juggle any of these roles, and the actresses do justice to the confusion caused by expectations, whether societal or our own.