Director's Cut: 'Off the Map' a tale of overcoming obstacles
Director Sue Keenan shares her thoughts on “Off the Map, the next production from Glen Ellyn's Village Theatre Guild. Performances begin at 8 p.m. today and continue at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 6 and 3 p.m. Oct. 24 and 31 at 3S020 Park Blvd. Tickets are $18.
“Off the Map is a mood play about the expression of a family's love, about struggle and survival, about personal freedom and, mostly, about one's individuality.
The story revolves around the memory of Bo Groden, who looks back on her life when she was 11. Bo sifts through those memories as a child in the New Mexico desert. Her father, Charley, spirals into depression and Bo watches as her mother and family friend, George, try to hold the family together.
The offbeat, evocative comedy shows the Groden family's frailty, especially that of Charley.
As they struggle, they overcome the obstacles to save the life they have chosen.
The family lives “Off the Map, not because they want to make a statement but because this is what they want.
The cast's challenge is to make the audience aware of that, although they live this way, their child is educated, their home is warm and loving, they eat off the land and, up until Charley's depression hits him, they are content with their lives.
What interests me, however, is William Gibbs. The IRS agent lives “on the map yet he, too, suffers from depression. Throughout the play each man realizes they need to look inward to find out the whys of their depression.
So much changes in the course of the play: George learns to communicate, Bo learns to accept change, Charley and William reach out to each other and in doing so find a road to recovery.
Young Bo is not a brat; she is a dear 11-year-old child who is bright and creative. The audience must and will love her in her struggle to find her father. She grows through the play but her childlike innocence shines through in the end.
Arlene is the strength of the play. She is ship's captain and must guide everyone through the dark night and get them home. Her conflict is her fear of what will happen to Charley.
It is a play that takes us to a different time and place, a place where we listen to the quiet rhythms of family life, a time with no cell phones, iPods, televisions or computers. Playwright Joan Ackermann has done this, now the actors have to make the audience be part of this quiet, peaceful place where we use our minds and our imagination.
A quote from the play is the crux of the play: Arlene says to Bo, “You know, sometimes change feels like loss, like you're losing something and it's sad but change is just a way of clearing a space for something new. Sometimes you have to be really clever to see what that new thing is, but it's almost always there. Life is full of changes, Bo, that's what's so interesting about it. The better you are at letting go of things, the freer your hands will be to catch something new.
If you go
<p>What: The Glen Ellyn Village Theatre Guild's performance of “Off the Map</p>
<p>When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through Nov. 6; 3 p.m. Oct. 24 and 31.</p>
<p>Where: Village Theatre Guild, 3S020 Park Blvd., Glen Ellyn</p>
<p>Tickets: $18</p>
<p>Info: (630) 469-8230</p>