LOS ANGELES?Just in time, in the aftermath of the recent Miss Universe pageant, where many Filipinos felt that Miss Philippines Bianca Manalo should have fared better, a play about our obsession with beauty contests opens in LA on September 11.

?Ruby, Tragically Rotund? was written by Boni B. Alvarez, a US-born actor-playwright whose parents hail from Antique. Boni holds a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, an MFA in acting from The ART/MXAT Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at Harvard University and an MFA in dramatic writing from the University of Southern California (USC). He teaches at USC and LA Trade Tech College.

The dramedy tells the story of Ruby Salazar, a full-figured Filipina who is one semester away from a college degree when her mother, Edwina, a beauty queen wannabe in her youth, decides to use Ruby?s tuition money for another daughter?s expenses as a beauty pageant contestant. Ruby decides to enter the pageant herself to win the money back, no matter the price.

In the cast are Ellen D. Williams, Marc Pelina, Fran de Leon, Kennedy Kabasares, Alison dela Cruz, Robert Almodovar, Mandela Bellamy, Regan Carrington, Kacy-Earl David, Mark Doerr, Katherine Lee and Angel Star Felix. Directed by Fil-Am Jon Lawrence Rivera, ?Ruby? runs until Oct. 11 at the Los Angeles Theater Center in downtown LA. (More information is available at www.thelatc.org.)

Below are excerpts of our interview with Boni, whose play, ?Dallas Non-Stop,? was awarded an honorable mention by the USC School of Theatre:

How did the idea for this play come about?

?Ruby, Tragically Rotund? was my final project at USC. I was inspired by a Maria Irene Fornes play that my class was studying. I wanted to write about a fat girl trapped in a pigpen. I pictured that this pigpen was inside a house, not outdoors. I always wanted to write a ?fat? play?one that deals with size and the feelings that are lodged in a big shell?then, Ruby emerged.

Share your thoughts and experiences dealing with these Pinoy obsessions: beauty pageants, getting a college degree, family relations and public image?

In typical Filipino fashion, I love beauty pageants. As a kid, I absolutely loved the Miss Universe pageants. I secretly wished that I could compete. There are standards of beauty within the Pinoy culture that continue to hold true. Being taller, lighter in skin tone, having a narrower nose and being slender are all perceived to be better?but the only thing I am is ?tall for a Filipino,? so I would turn my attention toward school.

Were you actively involved in the auditions, especially in casting Ruby Salazar?

Yes, Jon was generous in letting me be a part of the casting process. Ellen Williams plays Ruby, and she?s amazing. She totally gets Ruby and her world. She?s got a wonderful attack on the character. Ellen is bold, fierce and unapologetic, but she?s also sweet, so the audience will completely empathize with her.

If a Greek chorus were composed of Filipinos, what would they comment on? What would that chorus be like?

The chorus in ?Ruby? is comprised of her friends?her homegirls. This chorus serves as an emotional support to Ruby. They celebrate their bigness and acknowledge one another?s fears when dealing with the ?nonbig? outside world. I don?t know what a Filipino chorus would sound like or how they would function in this play. They?d probably have the same comments and observations as Edwina, the mother.

Can you tell us about your Filipino background?

I was born at the Stanford University Hospital and grew up in East Palo Alto in the San Francisco Bay area. My mom moved to the States in the ?60s and lived in Stockton, California. My mom and dad were pen pals. Then my father moved here in the ?70s. They?re Visayan from Antique.

I have flashback scenes in ?Ruby? which are written in Kinaray-a, a Visayan dialect. It?s my parents? language. I feel that, compared to Tagalog, Kinaray-a is a more musical language. In these flashbacks, I wanted a very hopeful and romantic mood, so I decided to write them in Kinaray-a.

?Ruby? is a very Filipino play because it is infused with Pinoy culture?my experience of it, specifically. Ruby has a Filipino family, but she also has a blossoming relationship with her African-American boyfriend that could lead to a family of her own. At the same time, she has a very diverse group of friends whom she also considers family.

While ?Ruby? is very Filipino, it?s also very American?not just Filipino-American, but how we fit into the entire American landscape, not only as an individual group, but also in how we live with other groups.

E-mail the columnist at rvnepales_5585@yahoo.com, and read his blog, ?The Nepales Report,? on http://blogs.inquirer.net/nepalesreport.