April 14-17 play to mark finale for DePauw Theatre‘s Steve Timm

DePauw Theatre Production students Cole Stephen and Hyrum Hale prepare to put the next strip in place on one of the kayaks in the upcoming DePauw Theatre production of “Steve Outta Here -- X.”

Courtesy photo

DePauw Theatre presents “Steve Outta Here -- X,” an original play written and directed by Steve Timm, April 14-16, at 7:30 p.m., and on April 17 at 3 p.m. in Moore Theatre at the Green Center for Performing Arts.

This third play in the “Steve Outta Here -- X” trilogy will be Timm’s final original play at DePauw Theatre.

Set in Putnam County, the story follows an Old Guy struggling to build a wooden kayak as he attempts to regain his speech -- the consequence of a brain injury incurred after driving his truck into a tree.

Steve Timm

Old Guy’s work is interrupted by the memories from past wilderness trips invading his present, and from his dead wife, who lives on the ceiling of his work shop.

Visitors to the shop also include a Big Foot aficionado, a hated NFL quarterback, Death, former students, parents and college administrators.

“In the last several years,” Timm said, “I’ve led trips with students paddling through The Everglades and backpacking Isle Royale National Park. The characters in the play are composites of folks I’ve met and interacted with along the routes.”

The production of an original play offers a unique opportunity for students to share in the creative process.

Ashley Carrasquillo, a junior education studies major who plays a mother comforting her stressed daughter, notes, “You’d expect the creator of such an interesting piece to have certain expectations but he’s allowed each of us to have creative freedom with our roles. We’re realizing his creation, but it’s ours now, too.”

The kayak used in the play was built during Timm’s 2019 sabbatical and will be raffled off later this year to raise money for the Joyce G. Christiansen Scholarship fund through the Putnam County Community Foundation. Joyce Christiansen was the much beloved administrative assistant for the Department of Communication and Theatre from 1987 until her passing in 2012.

The play is intended for mature audiences. Seating is limited and masks are required. Tickets are available at http://www.depauw.edu/arts-and-culture/arts/theatre/.