Living Out.
The play "Living Out" took place at the Music Center of Los Angeles County. This was the first production by playwright, Lisa Loomer. She focused on two hard-working families with different cultural backgrounds. One family, Richard and Nancy Robin, both are lawyers who live in Santa Monica. The other family, Bobby and Ana Hernandez, illegal immigrants from El Salvador live in East Side of Los Angeles.
Nancy has a new born baby who is in need of a caregiver. She also has a husband who is in need of one. Therefore, Nancy employs Ana to take care of her infant. Ana, also, has kids of her own. Hence, this puts pressure on her ability to raise her own child. In order for her to get the job, she had to lie of the whereabouts of her kids. Moreover, Ana wants to bring her first born to America.
Nancy and Ana, both are well-educated mothers. Both dearly love their children. Both women left their infants in the care of another person, Nancy with Ana, and Ana with her grandmother back home. Both have husbands who don't understand that one income is not enough to support a family these days. Nancy needs the extra salary to pay the mortgage on their new house plus she loves working. Ana loves working, too. .
The relationship between Nancy and Ana progressed into friendship as they got to know each other over the course of months but with a little constraints, not fully trusting one another. Nancy tested Ana in two different ways. She left money on the kitchen counter and the other a teddy cam on the baby's crib to monitor the daily activities. Whereas, Ana can't get herself to open up to Nancy as to where her children truly are. .
The play "Living Out" touched based on race, class, immigration law and child rearing with two families with different cultural backgrounds. The play was simple and honest at the same time. It was with great humor added to a serious issue that is dealt in an everyday situation.
