Cadie Brusky says her friends describe her body type as "plump and happy." She says she's 5-foot-7 and a "whole lot of lovin'."

Brusky has been heavy since she was a girl, and other kids used to make fun of her. But when she was a freshman in high school, "I lost my brother," the 21-year-old Edgar woman said. "And I just thought, life is too short to worry about the little stuff."

That "little stuff" included feeling bad about how others perceived her, and she took control of her own self image.

"As I look at it," Brusky said, "If they can't take me as I am, there're worse things in the world. ... I've got more important things in my life than worrying about my image."

In that way, Brusky, a third-year student at the University of Wisconsin Marathon County, has plenty in common with Helen, the character she'll portray starting tonight in a UWMC production of "Fat Pig."

Helen is a compelling, plus-size librarian at the center of the play, written by Neil LaBute. A winner of the 2004 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, "Fat Pig" considers the social stigma attached to obesity.

In the play, Tom (played by Cody Wesner, a UWMC freshman), an up-and-coming professional, falls for Helen and the two find themselves in a relationship. But Tom soon finds himself the butt of co-workers' jokes for dating a plus-size woman, and his and Helen's relationship comes under fire.

"(Tom) knows that he's happy with this woman," said Sarah Rudolph, director of the play. "But he feels like he's being judged."

It's a play that hits upon raw nerves at times.

"It made me feel very uncomfortable. It just demonstrates how shallow our obsession (with looks) is," Rudolph said.

"Helen is a strong character; she is pretty self confident," Brusky said. "She's kind of like me. It's all shame when you're younger. But I'm pretty all right with who I am now. The trick is to get other people to be OK with it."

Like many of LaBute's works, the story mixes both humor and cruelty, and explores the concepts of attraction, beauty and body image.

For Brusky, playing Helen can be emotionally draining. But the message coming from the play is important, she said.

"I think the truth is that people have to realize that obese people, they are part of this world, Brusky said. "I'm hoping by the end of the play, people have a better understanding of that."