 April 1- April 30, 2005
Director: Eileen Reilly Potocnak
Producer: Neil Edgell
Lee Blessing, the award-winning playwright, said: “It’s inescapable that I’m a Midwestern writer, and I wouldn’t want to escape from it in any case. …Since any creative writer is engaged in the lifelong pursuit of exploring himself, it’s inevitable that the region they come from will be somehow reflected in their work.” Escape is a recurring theme in Independence. Set in the small town of Independence, Iowa, the matriach of the Briggs family, Evelyn, escapes in her mind from disappointment and reality in a small town. Her eldest  daughter Kess escaped literally from the town of her birth and a prescribed life by living as a lesbian. Evelyn’s second daughter seeks to escape into love, but discovers that it’s not as easy as she hoped. And the youngest, Sherry is the rebel, pushing everyone’s buttons in order to leave home for good. This is a family divided against itself and the play explores the complex and entangled relationship between mother and daughters. Yet, Independence defies the typical family conflict. There are no simple definitions. Evelyn is not simply a monster. In Blessing’s trademark case study approach, he gives us a vivid, realistic, tender, and often humorous window into this family and how family members often hurt each other in their quest for personal identity. Originally written as a one-act play in 1981, Blessing expanded the script into two where it premiered in 1984 as part of the Humana Festival of New American Plays of the Actors Theatre of Louisville, and was awarded the Great American Play Award.
 Well-known for her productions at Montgomery Playhouse, Eileen Reilly Potocnak returns to Silver Spring Stage to direct Independence. She appeared last fall in the Stage’s special benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues. The talented cast features Martha Abrams as Evelyn, Leta Hall as Kess, Sharon Morey as Jo and Maura Stadem as Sherry. The production team includes David Gorsline (Stage Manager), Neil Edgell (Set Design), Jim Robertson (Lighting Design), Nancy Jaquish (Props), John Buckley (Master Carpenter), Kathë Park (Set Dressing), Mary Campbell (Scenic painting) and Pauline Griller-Mitchell (Costumes).
Independence is presented by special arrangement with Dramatist Play Service, Inc. |
