Background: "What's Eating Katie,?" a musical written by psychologist Dina Zeckhausen, tells the story of a young woman’s descent into an eating disorder during her freshman year of college. In 2017, University of Massachusetts Amherst Public Health major Katherine Leddy produced, co-directed and acted in the show. She conducted research throughout the project exploring the effectiveness of the show in educating an audience and cast about eating disorders. This workshop will include discussions by Zeckhausen and Leddy about the development and production of the show, the exciting study results, and how to successfully reproduce an impactful show. Video clips included.
Objectives: 1. Discuss the strengths and challenges of using theater for mental health advocacy 2. Explain post-performance discussions and their role in these theater productions. 3. Share methods and thoughts for the pursuit of theater as a teaching tool in the eating disorder community
This musical was brought to UMass Amherst by Public Health student Katherine Leddy and presented as her senior thesis. Katherine produced, co-directed and acted in the show. She conducted research throughout the process to study the effectiveness of theater as a means of eating disorder education on the audience members and the cast. Her education and research methods included a collaborative workshop for the cast with a therapist from the Walden Behavioral Care center and a post-play debrief and Q&A with the audience, cast and another psychologist from Walden.
Theater also presents an opportunity to represent marginalized communities in the eating disorder field. It allows members of the LGBTQIA, Hispanic, Black, Asian and other communities to step on stage and be a part of the conversation around eating disorders through their own pursuit of theater and activism. It creates a collaborative environment in which the cast, directors and producers can shape their experiences on stage and create characters that reflect our current society. That way, the audience is seeing the problem through the lens of their own peers. In addition, this show can be tweaked to reflect the dynamics of each campus, including referencing Greek life or other aspects unique to each school. With short between-scene advertisement spoofs, it’s easy to include brief cameos by non-actors in the community, from professors to athletes, creating wider interest in the show.
After completing the production and collecting data from audience and cast member surveys, Katherine concluded that theater is, indeed, a valuable tool for advocacy and activism in the field. She proposes that we consider “What’s Eating Katie?” as a way to reach large numbers of students who may not have otherwise been exposed to the subject in such an intimate way.
We believe the answer is Yes! The musical “What’s Eating Katie?” addresses eating disorders in a way that’s not only entertaining but educational, increasing empathy without unintentionally glorifying eating disorders. Originally writing it in 1996, Zeckhausen will talk about the evolution of the show over the past 20 years, including how she incorporated her therapy client’s experiences along with the latest research in the field to develop the show from a short play to a fleshed out musical. She will share clips from the show to demonstrate how the music gets to the heart of matter, busting stereotypes and creating empathy through powerful lyrics, music and choreography. Eating disorder sufferers are able to view the experience through the eyes of family and friends, while loved ones gain a deeper understanding of the internal experience of the person who is struggling. The show ends in a therapist’s office, helping to de-stigmatize help-seeking behavior.
Leddy, in recovery herself, will speak about her experience as a college student launching the production. She will share the challenges she faced along the way and how she overcame them, including her desire to break stigmas while having limited control over the diversity of the cast itself. Leddy will share how she and her cast members used the show and the post-show talk-back session to fill in the gaps of which could not be addressed within the hour long production.
Finally she will share the results of the extensive survey completed by over 130 audience members about their reactions to the show.
As an added bonus, the licensing rights for the show will be given away at no cost to any conference attendees who express interest in a commitment to producing the show in their community.
I graduated from University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2017 with a degree in Public Health and Journalism. I was on the Dean’s list every semester. During my college career I worked with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration assessing youth-coordinated trainings, materials and events for inclusivity and clarity and providing feedback to help ensure the youth voice is properly reached and represented. I also wrote for and edited The Massachusetts Daily Collegian Newspaper and spearheaded special issues on mental health and sex education. My senior thesis involved staging a production of the musical “What’s Eating Katie?”
I'm a clinical psychologist in private practice since 1990. I founded the non-profit Eating Disorders Information Network in 1996, developing eating disorder prevention programs for students, faculty, parents and coaches. I am the author of Full Mouse, Empty Mouse (APA’s Magination Press, 2007), winner of the Gold Moonbeam Award for Children’s Health. I wrote the play “What’s Eating Katie?” in 1996 and it has been developed into a musical that has been performed at Atlanta’s Alliance Theater as well as Emory University. I speak locally and nationally on eating disorders and have extensive experience with local and national media outlets.
