Off the Beaten Path (OBP) Digital Program

“Fantasy was an escape for me growing up. An escape from the evils of the world that should know better than to take away the innocence of a small child. The trauma of youth is baggage one never really gets rid of. My narrow shoulders were forced to carry the injustices forward into adulthood.

As a result… I write about heroes. Flawed heroes that always try their best to do the right thing with the information they have. I also write about unintended consequences. Every choice we make in life can lead to results no one wanted, despite our best efforts. And as a result, we mourn our choices and look back at “what if I had chosen differently?”

The world of Arlyrus (named after my sons) is a mirror of society and in Off the Beaten Path we have opportunities to right our past choices and choose a different path. Do our choices affect the outcome? If so, how much? Or… what other can of wyrms have I opened up now? 

The fantasy world of Arlyrus allows us to see humanity from a safe distance. Through a lens of fantasy so that we might be able to assess ourselves and our choices. Maybe then we can see our own foibles. Maybe then we can see our own mistakes. And Mayhap even our own redemption. 

With Off the beaten Path we aren’t trying to change the theatre world through innovation. No. Nothing so vain as that. We are trying to change the whole of humanity through looking at our own self-reflection of the choices we make. Because maybe then… a little boy won’t have to turn to fantasy for his heroes. Maybe they’ll be all around him. And maybe one day, he’ll become one himself.“

“In early 2021, I was living in North Carolina when a mustachioed Canadian man slid into my TikTok DMs and said “You sing pretty. We be friends.” Little did I know that that silly message would change my life. Before I met Tory Doctor, I didn’t know I was a writer… or a composer or a musical director… but sometimes, it takes someone who cares about you to see the extraordinary things in you that you can’t see for yourself.

And so it is with Kytius Westwind and his Companions. So often, he only sees his own limitations, but the people who love him see his best qualities and his enormous potential, even when he falls short. They don’t see those moments as proof of his failure, but rather as moments of humanity that make his successes even more exceptional. I am so lucky that, through this show, I have found my own Companions who do the same for me, and I know that wherever I go or whatever I do, I will carry them with me. No matter what.

The journey of a musical is long and arduous. We on the creative team have been voyaging for years, and the cast and crew for weeks now. We are exhausted and battle-worn, but we are so proud of the work we’ve done, and we’re excited to invite you along for the next leg of the adventure. Sit back and relax. Laugh, cry, cheer, sing along. Feel. Welcome to Arlyrus.”