The Los Medanos College Drama Department is bringing the show “Reasons to be Pretty” to the LMC community and it will be performed at the Little Theater beginning Wednesday, April 20 at 7 p.m.

Drama students John Dunn and Konnor Heredia will be directing the third and final comedic play in a trilogy written by Neil LaBute.

“It begins in the middle of a fight between the main couple, Greg and Stephanie. Greg makes an insensitive comment kind of playing around with the best friend of the show… about his girlfriend and calls her average,” said Katey Hilton, who plays Stephanie.

The show tackles issues on self-esteem and the effects words can have on other people.

“You’re just going on this journey of Greg becoming a better person and really finding out the kind of person he is and taking responsibility for his wrongdoings,” said Hilton.

Unlike other plays put on by the drama department, this show will be student-led meaning all the decisions for the show will be made by LMC drama students.

“A group of students went to professor [Drama Department Chair Nick] Garcia and voiced their concerns [over acting opportunities,]” said drama student Stephanie Lutz about how the student-led production came to be. “It didn’t come by chance, it came by actually pushing a little bit.”

A panel of students had the chance to choose a show out of three plays, “Boeing Boeing,” “Reasons to be Pretty” and “Wonder of the World.”

“The themes of the play kind of fit with what has been going on in our department,” said Hilton on why the show was chosen. “There’s a lot of issues with image.”

According to Hilton, there have been discussions within the drama department about the importance of strong female characters and accurate representation on stage.

“The message behind the show is pretty powerful. During this time there’s a lot of body shaming going on with women,” said Dunn.

Austin Trenholm, who plays the lead, echoed his sentiments. “Reasons to be Pretty” will be the first production he will appear in.

“It’s my first show and I’m terrified half to death. I’ve never acted before,” said Trenholm. “I had no intentions of auditioning.”

The cast and crew have advised people to not bring kids to the show, as the content of the production could be graphic for young children.

“Reasons to be Pretty” opens on April 20 and runs through April 21 and 22 with 7 p.m. showings.

Tickets will be $7 for students or those with military ID, $10 for the general public and $5 for middle school and high school students with an ID.