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Body Image, on the Stage
A "Perfect" Season
FIVE YEARS AGO, University Players Director
Josh Hornbeck �99 wrote a one-act play about
self-esteem. �It was justly rejected,� he says. �It
wasn�t very good.� But last year he heard a statistic
that gave him pause. Between 1998 and
2005, the number of high-school- and college-
age females suffering from eating disorders
more than tripled � to three out of four.
�Seeing that sharp rise led me to revisit the
play,� says Hornbeck. The result was �Perfect,�
a play for and about high school students
grappling with issues of self-esteem.
Between October 2005 and June 2006,
the Players performed �Perfect� 27 times for
high schools and youth groups across the
state � to positive reviews from teens, teachers,
and youth pastors. �Wonderful message!�
wrote Jean Bulette, chapel coordinator at
King�s West School in Bremerton, Washington.
�You could have heard a pin drop. The
students were so absorbed.�
Hornbeck and the Players say they were
pleased to see the impact of the play. After performances,
students often came forward to
talk with Kendra Thompson, who played a
high school girl with an eating disorder. When
appropriate, she prayed with them. After one
performance, a boy approached Ryan Putnam,
who played a stressed-out overachiever, telling
him, �I�m exactly like you in the show.�
All six Players � seniors Thompson, Kyle
Feldmann, Alicia Van Holt, and Sarah Ware;
and sophomores Putnam and David Roby �
performed in �Perfect,� while soundboard
operator Dustin Morache provided technical
expertise. The play�s theme is captured in these
lines from Ware�s character, Julie: �God made
you the way you are for a reason. He doesn�t
make mistakes.�
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