Ever since reading The Shape of a Girl script in a first year university class six years ago, Lindsay Curl has had her eye on it.

The 91原创 actor, who was studying theatre at the University of Victoria at the time, was captured by the play鈥檚 deep messages of violence and bullying among teenage girls.

So when the opportunity came up for her to produce her own play, Curl knew exactly what story she wanted to tell.

The Shape of a Girl, presented by Stone鈥檚 Throw Productions April 26 to 29, is a gripping one-woman show based on the tragic story of Reena Virk, a 14-year-old who was murdered in Victoria in 1997.

Virk was lured to a party where she was swarmed and beaten by a group of her peers, two of whom then followed and murdered her. Of the eight people charged with aggravated assault or second degree murder, seven were females.

Written by University of Victoria professor and playwright Joan MacLeod, the play follows the character of 15-year-old Braidie as she watches the trial on TV and slowly realizes that her own group of friends are not so different from Virk鈥檚 bullies.

鈥淲hat happened to Reena is just a scary, but important reminder of the fact that bullying can progress, and how doing nothing contributes to the circle of violence. Because Reena鈥檚 body wasn鈥檛 found until eight days after,鈥� said Curl, who is producing and acting in the show as part of an apprenticeship with Vancouver鈥檚 Pacific Theatre.

鈥淚 think one thing that really drew me to this play is when people think about girls bullying each other, they may just think about cattiness, or the movie Mean Girls or something like that.

鈥淏ut I feel that people underestimate the damage that words can cause, that it can progress past words, and that young girls are capable of malicious violence.鈥�

Curl, who went to Walnut Grove Secondary before transferring to 91原创 Fine Arts to major in theatre, has been in a number of productions in B.C.

She was nominated for Best Actress at the Victoria Fringe Festival for her role in The Daughter of Turpentine, has performed with United Players at Jericho Theatre and participated in a theatre for young people piece at the Chemainus Theatre Festival.

The Shape of a Girl, however, is the first one-woman production she had taken on. As the only actor she must memorize 40 to 60 pages of text, and then determine how to deliver those lines. On top of that, as the producer, she also had to put together her own team, consisting of director Shelby Bushell, sound designer Ryan Scramstad, lighting designer Kougar Basi, stage manager Maddison Silva and marketing/communications person Amanda Millar.

鈥淚t鈥檚 more challenging than I thought,鈥� Curl admitted.

鈥淔or one, you鈥檙e constantly thirsty because you don鈥檛 stop talking. It鈥檚 physically demanding because your adrenalin is going for an hour and a half. And then, of course, it鈥檚 emotionally demanding, and requires a lot of focus. And I think in general, you just need compassion towards what happened to Reena and to other characters in the play.鈥�

Despite being immersed in the heavy subject every day, Curl says the production has been a lot of fun to work on. The team frequently takes tea breaks to chat and keep themselves grounded.

鈥淚 think maybe one of the reasons we allow ourselves to have fun in the rehearsal process is to one, take a break from the darkness, but two, because we are all so confident that we have the compassion to take on this piece and to not be judgmental of the characters,鈥� she said.

Telling meaningful stories has also become a passion for Curl, and something she hopes to continue pursuing in future productions.

鈥淚f I鈥檓 going to produce something, it needs to be something that鈥檚 of great importance to me,鈥� she said.

鈥淚 suppose it鈥檚 just never been about going up there and being in the spotlight. It鈥檚 about, 鈥極K, this is a skill I have, how do I do this to share stories that are important?鈥� I love playing characters who are brave and who show 鈥� the will to the keep fighting through difficult times.鈥�

Because of the subject matter of The Shape of A Girl, Curl felt she couldn鈥檛 put a price tag on the show, and instead decided to make admission 鈥減ay what you think it鈥檚 worth.鈥� Audience members will determine how much they would like to contribute for their ticket, and will pay after they watch the show. Therefore, tickets will only be available at the door, and seating will be festival style.

鈥淚 think the play just has something to offer even if you鈥檙e not a young teenage girl,鈥� Curl said.

鈥淚t addresses the bystander effect and how so many people see something they know is wrong, and they freeze, and they turn to concrete. And the questions we ask ourselves are do we make the decision to report it, or do we just stay silent? And in Reena鈥檚 case, it was the decision to stay silent.鈥�

For more on Pacific Theatre and Stone鈥檚 Throw Productions, visit .

鈻� WHERE: Pacific Theatre, 1440 W 12 Ave. Vancouver

鈻� WHEN: April 26-29 at 8 p.m.

鈻� TICKETS: 鈥淧ay what you think it鈥檚 worth鈥�

鈻� PURCHASE: Tickets available at the door only. Contact 604-731-5518 or boxoffice@ pacifictheatre.org for more information

鈻� NOTE: Play contains some strong language and references to violence