It's Trash Day at Out of Box Theatre

Submitted by Out of Box Theatre

The real-life inspired new play, Trash Day, about a family of hoarders living in Smyrna, makes its world premier at Out of Box Theatre on June 13.   But this play goes beyond the world of hoarding into the lives and relationships of those involved with comedic results.

The story of Trash Day revolves around the Wolley family, who have lived for decades in their decaying Smyrna GA home, and through those years have been threatened repeatedly for eviction due to Grampa Wolley’s hoarding and the mountainous accumulation of “collecitbles” (ie, trash) on their property. On the day when the city has delivered the ultimatum- clean it up or be evicted in 30 days- new neighbors move into the house next door, single dad Mike Aubrey and his pre-teen daughter Allegrae with a story of their own. Emerging from the depths of the Wolley trashpile is young Jackson Wolley, and the relationship which develops between him and Allegrae is both poignant and painfully funny.

Local playwright, Dave Lauby draws on his own neighborhood for inspiration. The former Smyrna resident explains, "Oh the Wolleys are based on very real people. Many of the scenes in the play practically wrote themselves." Out of Box Artistic Director Carolyn Choe directs this production and tells of her own fascination with hoarders, “I have been a big fan of the hoarding shows. As my husband says, it's like watching a train wreck - you don't want to keep looking, but you can't turn away. Bringing these people and the world around them to our intimate theatre space at Out of Box has been both a joy and a challenge.”

One of the biggest challenges was working around the filming schedule of two of the show's stars. Brody Rose, who plays the leading role of James, was busy filming both an upcoming movie and a reoccurring role in the hit TV show, Under the Dome. Travis Young, who plays the play's bad-guy city official, is hot off his role as Ray in ABC's new hit series Resurrection. Also featured is local film and voice-over actor Whit Davies as hoarder PawPaw, with director Choe taking on the role of Maw Maw as well.  The monstrosity that is a hoarders home, as well as the next-door-neighbor's stoop was painstakingly designed by award-wining Scenic Designer Christopher Dills.

Trash Day runs June 13 -28, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 PM, Sundays at 3 PM. Out of Box Theatre is located in the Artisan Resource Center at 585 Cobb Pkwy S, Marietta, 30060. Tickets are $20-$25 and can be purchased online at www.outofboxtheatre.com or by calling 678-653-4605.