Play Time at Dallas Children's Theater

An educational post-show will follow the play in an effort to help young adults process what they've seen. During the post-show, the theater will hold a talk-back session to ask the teens questions and get their feedback. Teenagers will be told things they can do to deal with their problems and provided with literature showing them where they can get help. Following one performance of The Secret Life of Girls, one girl from the audience approached the actress who played the role of Rebecca, the girl struggling with bulimia. The girl told the young actress, "I'm bulimic. I've never told anybody. But I'm going home now and telling my mother."

The play also aims to act as a wake-up call to adults. "Look, if your 8-year-old is on a diet, you really need to take a hard look at that. See what's going on," Daugherty says. "You know 20 percent of people who suffer with anorexia will probably die from it. It's the most deadly psychiatric problem there is. It often starts in adolescence. Those little kids we saw walk in here at 5, you know, 10 years later they're 15, and it's a whole new ball game."