Reasons to be Pretty
On November 20, 2010, I attended the theatrical play Reasons to be Pretty at the Arthur Wagner theatre. This work, written by Neil LaBute, was directed by Eric Hunicutt as a celebration of UC San Diego’s 50th Anniversary. Reasons to be Pretty focuses on the physical beauty of mankind, how everyone is so consumed with his or her image seen by his or her peers. This self-absorption in the physical beauty of one self instead of the inner beauty ultimately changes each character’s relationship with others and his or her presentation of him/herself towards others in order to be more likable. Yet, as the play progresses in this direction of self-loathing in the characters and their dissatisfaction towards those who pointed out their flaws and imperfections, the characters slowly evolve and become more true to themselves and their “inner beauty” instead of their physical appearances.
In Reasons to be Pretty, two couples are present to show their outlooks on physical appearances: Steph and Greg played by Hannah Larson and Sean Estelle and Carly and Kent played by Carissa Cash and Russell Ewing, respectively. The play begins with Steph and Greg in a fight about how Greg told Kent that Steph’s face is average or regular and this girl at work, Crystal, has a pretty face. This makes Steph self-conscious about her outer appearance since she wants someone to find her beautiful. This simply shows how one person’s simple word can demoralize the other person so much. The scene switches to the warehouse where Greg and Kent work night shifts. The relationship between Kent and Carly is shown to be very loving, yet when Carly leaves the room and only Kent and Greg are present, the truth is exposed that Greg is simply doing what Carly would like to hear in order to keep her happy.
The costumes in this play were very important as Kent and Greg wear the same clothes in almost all the scenes, while Steph and Carly have major changes in their clothes that show their train of thoughts. Compared to the first scene and the scene where Greg and Steph meet at a restaurant, each on a first date with someone else, Steph’s wardrobe changes dramatically from a t-shirt and jean outfit towards a more feminine one. Steph begins to wear a dress to make herself prettier in order to feel better. This change in wardrobe exemplifies her insecurities about her body since she no longer feels pretty with her old, simple clothes. While Steph’s wardrobe change was very dramatic, Carly’s was a simple belt. Towards the end of the play, Carly takes off her heavy security belt; this shows her attempt to free herself from everything since she landed her job due to her looks. This presents the pressure that Carly feels everyday due to her outer appearance, how no one looks at who she really is as a person and instead only focuses on her face and body.
The play concludes when Greg expresses his thoughts on how beauty is not simply skin deep, that maybe it is only a mirage made up by people in order to feel better about themselves. But, at the end of the day, beauty has no value and people simply chase after something not tangible due to the influences of media. Also, the perception of beauty is so different from culture to culture and from person to person that it is a subjective topic. Therefore, the meaning of beauty can never be defined by a collective amount of people since everyone believes beauty to be something unique to only them.
