Broadway actress Eva van Dok will perform "Eaten Alive," a one-woman show about eating disorders, at 8 p.m. Tuesday night in the Wilson Black Box.
The show, written by fellow Broadway actress Mimi Wyche, features five female characters between 18 and 55 years old, each dealing with a different form of weight obsession.
Van Dok identifies with the characters she portrays: she developed anorexia at twelve and a half years old following the death of her father. Her anorexia gave way to bulimia as she began to ingest and purge small amounts of food.
"I was basically getting absolutely no nutrients and no sustenance," she said.
Instead of confronting the depression and anxiety that resulted from her father's death, van Dok radically controlled her eating habits. By about 14 years old, she had dropped to 68 pounds.
"Eating disorders really have nothing to do with food. So, I was using food as a diversion from other things that were going on inside of me at the time," she said.
As a high school freshman, van Dok entered counseling and began her recovery. "The main theme of the show is that you have to get help and that you can't get well alone," van Dok said.
Sara Schlossman, the agent for "Eaten Alive," reiterated the resonance of the show for viewers with eating disorders.
"This piece is about theater as catharsis," she said. "What this program does is it gets people to maybe that first baby step, which is some form of communication."
Dr. Annette Santiago-Espana, coordinator of the Eating Concerns Peer Education program and a psychologist on the eating disorders team at McCosh Health Center, discussed van Dok's concentration on the emotional factors behind eating disorders as opposed to the traditional focus on symptoms.
"She talks about the emotional aspects, the roots of the eating disorders, the psychological aspects," Santiago-Espana said. "I think that that's going to be the piece that's going to be the most significant."
The show also addresses the negative cycle that stems from American culture's obsession with dieting.
"We spend more on diet and diet-related products in this country than the gross national product of Ireland," van Dok said. "Until we sort of deal with that, then a lot of people get stuck in that cycle of dieting, which is more detrimental to their health and their bodies than they know."
Van Dok said that the show itself is therapeutic for her.
"This is a very important outreach thing for me to do, and it's just as much therapy for me as it may be for others who are sort of ready to look at their own behaviors if they feel they are possessing some of the eating disorder behaviors," she said.
But the appeal of "Eaten Alive" extends beyond the portion of the audience struggling with eating concerns, she emphasized.
"There's a part of the show that usually touches everybody," she said. "We're talking about emotional issues in the show, and theater is, at its heart, an emotional journey."
After the performance, van Dok will answer audience questions and share her own personal experiences with eating disorders.
Van Dok's performance in "Eaten Alive" is her latest role in a lifetime of acting. She began her acting career at age six and continued performing intermittently throughout the years. During her recovery period, she stopped acting in order to concentrate on disposing of her anorexic and bulimic behaviors and mindset.
Since her graduation from the Goodman Theatre Conservatory in Chicago, van Dok has been acting in New York City and in regional theaters throughout the country. She also both taught and acted in Norway.
Van Dok recently performed in the off-Broadway New York show "Eat the Taste," which closed in January. She resumed touring "Eaten Alive" in February.
"Eva is a very gifted and talented actress," Schlossman said.
She emphasized that van Dok also exists outside of her craft.
"She's a complete person," Schlossman said. "She's funny, she's charming and she's a perfectionist about her craft, but she's a very giving person in her social interactions."
Santiago-Espana feels grateful that van Dok will perform at Princeton, given her busy touring schedule.
"I feel like we're very lucky," Santiago-Espana said. "We're really excited about having her here at Princeton for the first time."
Read More
Department of Defense to stop funding active-duty graduate sponsorship at Princeton
Nico David-Fox and Devon RudolphSecretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ’03 announced that the U.S. Department of Defense will end sponsorship of active-duty military students in graduate programs at Princeton University and other Ivy League institutions beginning in the 2026–27 academic year.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ’03 announced that the U.S. Department of Defense will end sponsorship of active-duty military students in graduate programs at Princeton University and other Ivy League institutions beginning in the 2026–27 academic year.
‘No threat to campus’ after identification of anonymous individual behind post referencing ‘school violence’
Luke Grippo and Nico David-FoxContent Warning: This article contains references to violence and school shootings.
Content Warning: This article contains references to violence and school shootings.
University gathers to celebrate contributions to NASA’s IMAP space mission
Zihan (Frank) XuOn Thursday, Princeton University celebrated its leading role in NASA’s IMAP mission, highlighting how faculty and students are collaborating to study the boundary of our solar system and improve space weather prediction.
On Thursday, Princeton University celebrated its leading role in NASA’s IMAP mission, highlighting how faculty and students are collaborating to study the boundary of our solar system and improve space weather prediction.