The Next Stage Theatre Company will kick off its series of performances this year with Independence, a human-interest play by the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Lee Blessing.

"This play is actually funny," Elaine Meder-Wilgus, director of the performance, said. "It's endearing, it's heart-wrenching. Blessing is so able to nail real life with the ability to have us look at it through a lens."

Independence will begin its procession of performances at 8 p.m. Friday in the "attic" of the State Theatre. Tickets are $14 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors.

Jay Shuchter and Mary Skees, who created the Next Stage Theatre Company in 1996, produced this performance of Independence, Shuchter said. Meder-Wilgus, store owner of Webster's Bookstore Café, 128 S. Allen St., has worked with Next Stage before, Shuchter said.

The play is about the tumultuous relationship between children, their parents and their siblings during the tender adolescent age, he said.

"The title is ironic because independence is such an elusive state of affairs to come by," Shuchter said. "What do you owe your parents? What do they owe you?"

Skees said the four women who make up the cast of the play are all extremely different people who are drawn to the appeal of autonomy.

Skees said parents tend to try to hold on during the transitional period when their children grow from childhood to adulthood.

"Their children want to be independent," she said. "It's this sort of push-pull."

Decisions have consequences, Shuchter said, and this play explores that idea.

"This is four women trapped in one house to battle it out -- and in the end, nobody wins," he said.

Skees and Shuchter said they have chosen to work with Blessing's plays in the past.

"His writing is very tight and not a word is wasted," Skees said. "It's almost poetic. How well he writes appeals to us."

Meder-Wilgus said Blessing's playwriting is "evocative" and brimming with material to work with.

The cast and crew of Independence are quite eclectic and includes a Penn State theatre major as the lighting designer, Shuchter said.

Another asset to the cast is professional actor Rachel Kerbs, who said she just finished filming a horror film entitled Splinter. She said there aren't many differences between film and theater acting.

"The smaller the space in theater acting, the easier it is to compare it to film because when there's an emotional moment there's usually a camera inches away from your face," Kerbs said. "I enjoy working in smaller spaces because it's a more intimate experience for the audience and for the actors."

Kerbs said she plays the middle daughter who finds herself in a "sticky situation," adding her character is pregnant and still lives with her mom. In turn, she is always trying to find her own stance in life.

Skees said she has been enamored with the dedication of the actors. They come into rehearsal with a genuine interest and concern of how the play will unfold, she said.

Shuchter said he's impressed with everyone's work ethic, adding everyone comes in passionate, speaking about their work.

"It's one of the most exciting things to conceive something and see the actors run with it," Skees added.

The play will be held in the State Theatre upstairs attic venue, Skees said, which has a maximum capacity of 53 people, lending for a more personal atmosphere.

She added she's encouraged people who've never been into theater to check out Next Stage performances, and many in the past have agreed, attesting to its intimacy.