Provided
Lisa Jeans has written and stars in her own production of LIGHT about her struggle with anorexia.With Canada’s national Eating Disorder Awareness Week just one week away, a multimedia production at the Arts Court Theatre is presenting one woman’s descent into the depths of anorexia and mental illness. LIGHT uses a combination of audio and video technology as well as live performance to conceptualize how eating disorders manifest in the minds and bodies of those who suffer from them.
LIGHT is a theatrical hybrid that combines a standard one person show with video projections and live sound cues. Edmonton-based actor and writer Lisa Jeans plays the role of Dr. Helen Rose, an emergency room physician with anorexia. Her character interacts with the projections while amplified sound is used to depict the inner dialogue of the conflicting voices in her head.
“She’s a perfectionist and highly driven – the profile that predisposes a lot of people to mental illness like an eating disorder,” says Jeans. “She may seem like she has it all together on the outside but on the inside she is spiraling out of control.”
Jeans wrote the script during her own recovery from anorexia, a condition she has struggled with for more than 20 years. Her illness stemmed from her background in dance where great emphasis was placed on maintaining a “perfect” and thin body.
Anorexia is characterized by restricting food intake, an intense fear of gaining weight and overall distorted body image. The Canadian Mental Health Association estimates between 600,000 and 950,000 Canadians have some sort of eating disorder.
Hopewell, an eating disorder support centre on McArthur Avenue in Ottawa, is one of the few such services in the city. Three mothers of teenage daughters struggling with anorexia founded the centre in 1999. In 2010, it received the CHEO “Let’s Keep Kids out of Hospital” award as well as the CMHA award for services in mental health.
Hopewell’s Executive director Kathleen Cummings says treatment services for eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, are limited.
“There is not a lot of funding for services for eating disorders, waiting lists for treatment are long and therapy is often expensive.”
Jeans credits her recovery to treatment and supportive people in her life.
“Early intervention is important but people are having to wait until they reach a critical point in their illness and by then it can be too late,” Jeans says.
Those who do not get the support they need are faced with chronic illness and even premature death. According to a Canadian parliamentary report released in November, eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of any mental illness in Canada.
Vivian Maher, program secretary and assistant to doctors at the Regional Centre for the Treatment of Eating Disorders (part of the Ottawa Hospital), says wait times for adolescents at CHEO can be over one year.
“It’s important to shine a light on this issue because we’re seeing more and more eating disorder patients every year and they’re getting younger,” says Maher.
Jeans recognizes that working long hours in a stressful environment in which she must directly confront her demons can be triggering.
“I’m walking a bit of a line but I think it’s worth it if the show ends up being something that drives up public conversation, maybe get others to access treatment,” says Jeans.
She also warns that seeing this production can be a trigger for anyone with an eating disorder, depending on the individual.
“Healing is not a linear path. We want to take the audience on a journey through that.”
LIGHT runs from Jan. 23-31 at Arts Court Theatre.