THE LONG WAY AROUND Set for Women's Voices Theater Festival

Your Theatre, a division of The Highwood Theatre, presents the new drama The Long Way Around by young playwright and Highwood Theatre alumnus Julia Starr. The production, being showcased in the DC area-wide Women's Voices Theater Festival - the largest collaboration in history of theater companies working simultaneously to produce original works by female writers - examines the struggles of young adults discovering who they are, where they belong, and what they want out of life.

When free-spirited Addie makes the radical decision to leave their small town in Illinois to live openly as a lesbian in Chicago, Luce finds herself at a crossroads: does she accept the nostalgic and familiar love she and Addie once shared as teen-aged girls, riding around in a Subaru with the windows down, or does she continue on her current trajectory, living in the same zip-code as her parents with her fiancé-turned-husband Nathan? The Long Way Around explores the fuzzy line between friendship and romance in female relationships.

"There are a lot of personal narratives about coming out to your parents, your family, your friends," Playwright Julia Starr explains, "but I noticed that there wasn't much about coming out to yourself - being honest enough about your identity to even consider sharing it with the world. As such, I wanted to examine the oft-forgotten and contested 'q' letter in the LGBTQ acronym: questioning." Kevin Kearney, the Executive Director of The Highwood Theatre, describes the play, "It's very relatable to young adults. The characters deal with issues that are common to almost everyone in their twenties and thirties but may not be talked about; that makes it a very significant, relevant work."

To celebrate this new play and the important subject matter it covers, The Highwood Theatre will be hosting an LGTBQ Pride Night performance on Saturday, October 17 at 7:30 pm, and tickets will be available at a discounted rate of $22. The evening will include a brief talk back with the cast after the show and light refreshments will be provided. A preview of the production was also included in the Kennedy Center's Page-to-Stage Festival featuring new works being developed in the metro DC area.

The Long Way Around features the talents of Mo O'Rourke (Luce), Stephanie Tomiko (Addie), Sam Taylor (Nathan), Alison Talvacchio (Joan), Megan Konyndyk (Heather), Dylan Hares (Bill) and is directed by Melissa B. Robinson. Stage Manager: Kelsey Murphy, Set Designer: Phoenix Gantz-Ratzat, Lighting Designer: Toly Yarup, Sound Designer: Orion Stekoll.

The Long Way Around is part of Highwood's 2015-2016 Mainstage Season "Underground Expression" and is the season's first production by its Your Theatre division, which is dedicated to producing high-quality professional theatre productions with teams of talented adult actors. The production is sponsored in part by funding from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Government.