THE BOYS NEXT DOOR

THE BOYS NEXT DOOR by Tom Griffin is the winter production of the Drama Guild.  For me, it is the second time around with the play.  We produced it here in the fall of 1990.  The plot revolves around four mentally challenged young men living together in an apartment complex in the suburbs, and the social worker who assists them in dealing with everyday life.  It is a comedy.  Working on the text, I have once again been reminded of how important it is for each of us to fit in, to feel as if we belong, in the society in which we move.  How often have we, too, been made to feel inadequate, to just "not be ready yet" as Lucien states so poignantly in the play?  In observing their adventures, and bearing witness to their foibles and follies, it is easy to laugh at their predicaments, while simultaneously recognizing that the struggle to understand one's own life is part of the human condition, level of intelligence or emotional distress notwithstanding.  The "boys" have a lot more in common with us than we might feel comfortable admitting.  As Lucien also comments, in an aside rooted in a kind of doppelganger fantasy, "And without me, without my shattered, crippled brain, you will never again be frightened by what you might have become.  Or indeed, by what your future might make you."  Sobering thoughts indeed from the least capable, but most empathetic of the "boys".  We are four weeks into rehearsal.  Please join us for the rest of the journey, as the cast and crew comment on their process, and reconnect with the original Drama Guild company.
  ** If you were a part of the 1990 production, please feel free to join in the blog as writers!  For those who would like to join out blog email us at sbpdramaguild@gmail.com and we will send you and invite to be able to write with us!!** Thank you!!