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People seem to want Nicole Tuthill to feel brave.

She’s been told the actress that she’s brave for getting up on stage, for promoting her recent role by doing a photo shoot in a bathing suit.

But the only difference between Tuthill and a thousand other actresses is that she’s overweight, but maybe there is some amount of courage to be had in taking on the lead role in a play with the title “Fat Pig,” the Neil LaBute drama opening the New Edgecliff Theatre’s season.

But for Tuthill, it’s more about honesty than courage.

“If I didn’t do it, I wouldn’t be honest to the story we’re telling,” she said. “Why does there have to be that double standard? Is it only OK to pose in a bathing suit if you’re thin?

“I really like the honesty (of this play). It doesn’t apologize for the story it’s telling.”

“Fat Pig” is at heart a boy-meets-girl kind of love story. Tom (Ryan Gilreath) is the all-American guy. Helen is a librarian, “a very confident go-getter” who has a passion for old war movies.

Although she and Tom hit it off from the moment they meet, she soon becomes aware that he isn’t introducing her around to his friends. But he has his reasons: His friends are already aware of his relationship with his “fat chick.”

“The story explores whether love can survive with the social pressure,” Tuthill said. “His friends don’t even know her, but judge her by her personal appearance.”

Tuthill said that although she and Helen have a lot in common, she handles these issues differently in her life.

“There is a bit of personal resonance in that when I walk into a room I wonder what people are thinking, if they are judging me,” she said. “Helen is a little more outspoken than I am. I tend to try to kill them with kindness.”

If nothing else, she hopes the play will help break down some of the barriers between the fat world and the thin world, and that being in the play has helped her in her struggle.

“We’re people, we’re intelligent and we can talk about this openly,” she said. “I know I’m fat. You can see that I’m fat. So why can’t we just move past it.

“I’m less concerned now about what people think.”

how to go
WHAT: “Fat Pig” by Neil LaBute
WHERE: Columbia Performance Center, 3900 Eastern Ave., Cincinnati
WHEN: Oct. 4-20
COST: $20 adult; $15 senior; $12 students 
MORE INFO: (888) 588-0137; www.newedgecliff.com