←Recommendations of You Are What You

You Are What You explores the impact of food and society on the minds of young people. It paints a picture of what disordered eating can look like for some and how it can tumble to be so much more, creating tense family dynamics and worsening overall quality of life. Mora V. Harris uses dark comedy with a particularly unique character, a talking pot roast, which for me was very impactful in my understanding of the character's experience. Truly a theatrical piece that opens the door for magic on stage.

Heartfelt, funny, poignant. A story of master masticators that asks the important question, "What are you running away from?" I love the complications between the two sisters, one a competitive eater and the other just-out-of-rehab for an eating disorder. I love that Pot Roast is a character, full of mystery and magic. The play is so theatrical and so moving.

This script combines modern day real life struggles with a Shakesperean level of physical comedy. The juxtapositions, doubling, and contrasting characters flow so naturally, you don't realize until later what you've just encountered. You'll never look at Pot Roast the same way again.

An original and compelling piece that balances hilarious and sharp (and dark) humor with an incisive exploration of eating disorders, mental health, family, and relationships. This heightened, gloriously theatrical world feels aesthetically coherent and well-defined, and all of the characters are touchingly rendered and endearing (and Megan is a delightful villain of sorts who is at the business end of an excellent monologue late in the piece). The dynamic between Francie and Trisha and the nuanced look at both of their relationships with food and one another captures something special! I'd love to see it onstage.

Every now and then you come across a play that knocks you back in your seat and uses a series of character choices to build a world you know nothing about but are entirely and completely compelled by. Mora Harris deftly, beautifully introduces competitive eater Francie, along with her teen-aged sister Trisha who suffer from an eating disorder, throws in fake celebrity chefs and a talking pot roast (figments and otherwise) and creates a touching, compelling, astonishing ride about redemption, connection, and guilt. So smart, so strong. Read this play. Perform this play.

I was lucky enough to see this play in Houston where it received a reading through Wordsmyth Theatre. You Are What You is such an elegant exploration of food as a love language, and sisterhood as an ever-evolving puzzle. You will enjoy this script's humor, courage, and intelligence - and well-balanced female cast. Pardon the pot roast pun, but well done!

You are What You is a rich and dynamic play with things as quirky as talking pot roast with a deep honesty about eating disorders and body image issues in young women. The characters are rich and full of fun and exciting language. Mora Harris is one of those writers whose work you just want to dive into and keep reading! Do yourself a favor and read this play!

You Are What You is a comedy with delightful farcical elements, but it's also a a moving portrait of a pair of two sisters, with a deliciously satisfying Pot Roast. It leaves the audience with a sense of nostalgia and a deep longing to return home, along with the hope that the future, though different, has some magic awaiting us too.

I read this play at The Sewanee Writers' Conference and was thoroughly engaged from start to finish. The presence of a talking Pot Roast does not belie this play's deeper merits. The characters are resonant and meaningful... and the truly touching subject matter is only heightened by moments of exquisite whimsy and lightheartedness. Well worth development!

I saw a staged reading of "You Are What You" as part of City Theatre's Momentum Reading Series. Much like the object of a competitive eater's eye—just one of this play's beautifully complex, startlingly original characters—it was a smorgasbord to take in. Funny above all else, but also moving and dynamic and strange (spoiler alert- there is a Pot Roast and she is delicious), Mora V. Harris has concocted a well-balanced meal of a play that had me thinking about food as nostalgia engine, toxic American consumption habits, and what it means to be in a family.