'Autobahn' depicts 7 topics

These short one-acts contain adult material and situations.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
If bizarre and off-the-wall are your thing, then check out "Autobahn," now playing at Kent Trumbull Theatre.
This collection of seven short one-acts, all of which take place in a car, was written by Neil Labute and just published in January.
The essence of the play, directed by Heather Fenstermaker, is about how much of our lives are spent in cars, and what happens when we are in them. Each one-act uses only two characters, and often just one of the characters speaks.
With each act, the audience has no idea who the people are other than "Mother/Daughter" or "Man/Woman." We are plopped down smack into a segment of these peoples' lives, eavesdropping, catching a word here or there that gives us the slightest glimpse of their relationship and past. As the dialogue or monologue continues, we begin to unravel the story that has brought them together in the car.
The first act, "Funny," is about a daughter with addiction problems, whose mother is bringing her home from a rehab facility.
The daughter, (Megan Yarosh), never shuts up, and the mother, (Tess Weaver) sits and fumes without saying a word. The daughter frantically attempts to communicate with her mother, desperately waiting for a response, an approval, a word of caring, but gets nothing but silence.
Ups and downs
She begins upbeat, positive, ready to face the world clean. "I think it would be easy for me to fit back at home," she says.
But as disappointment and frustration overcome her, she resorts back to her old patterns. Her attitude changes to "I know I'm gonna relapse -- can't wait to, really."
Through the monologue, we begin to understand how this child became as she is, and we want to scream at the mother, "Can't you see, your daughter just wants your attention. You are to blame for her problems."
"Bench Seat" is about a young couple who have come to a certain secluded place to "make out," but in the course of the conversation, we feel increasingly nervous, as the woman reveals the ways she sought revenge on her last boyfriend.
"All Apologies" is about an obnoxious, abusive husband and his wife. The wife says nothing, but the playgoer feels a sickening in the stomach as the man continues his barrage of useless words in an attempt to apologize for all the pain he has caused.
In the end, the wife breaks down and cries.
"Merge" is about a man who has picked his partner up from a conference where an "incident" occurred.
The right choice
In "Long Division," one guy is trying to talk his friend into making the right choice, which we eventually learn is not a life-changing decision, as he makes it to be, but something very mundane.
"Road Trip" is really a kidnapping. The man and girl have known each other for a while, but we never really know who he is, and the girl doesn't quite understand her situation.
In "Autobahn," a woman struggles with a decision that was just made, as the man scowls.
This play is very disturbing. One would hope these are not typical conversations going on as we drive down the road. Yet each one triggers a memory to some uncomfortable experience we have probably all had.
The performances were excellent -- convincing enough to immediately suck us into the emotions swirling around in each car. This play requires careful listening.
"Autobahn" will continue tonight and Sunday at 8 p.m. Call (330) 847-8700 for ticket information.
The play contains adult language and depicts smoking of marijuana. A cigarette is also smoked at one point.