Just in case your commute isn't drama enough, local traffic is coming to a stage near you.

BYU is hosting a play on transportation in Utah Valley called "Here to There," with a script solely based on interviews and comments from local residents.

In addition, Gallery OneTen in Provo is simultaneously hosting an art show exploring the theme of local transportation, and is gathering poetry, essays and opinion from local residents for a gallery catalog.

The gallery has extended its deadline for writing submissions from the public, which can be e-mailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

"As a basic metaphor for how we understand people, we say you step into someone's shoes and walk a mile," said Amy E. Jensen, a BYU alum and graduate student at Stony Brook University in New York, who is directing the play.

"We are hoping we can bring up different viewpoints and ideas and further the dialogue."

Utah Valley residents largely agree that transportation needs to change, and the play and gallery show encourage a conversation about what that change should look like, and how transportation, both realistically and ideally, affects everyday life, she said.

"It's not that we can say what the answer should be, but we can talk about who is being included and what transportation can be, to consider the multitude of ways transportation affects us," she said. "When the price of gas goes up, we know that affects all of us, but when you water your lawn and it runs on the sidewalk, someone with a wheelchair can't go there, and if a business doesn't shovel the sidewalk, who is affected by that, and what options do seniors have?"

BYU specifically wanted the production to be a community-based play made about, and with, the community, she said. The play and art show will have been a success if they create discussion.

"The idea of the show is that people can take action and can discuss what they can change and who they can help out," said Ashley Christensen, co-director of Gallery OneTen. "It is about people's experience and stories about mobility and transportation."

During a recent evening rehearsal, the cast worked to perfect a scene in which the curtain is raised only about three feet and the entire scene is acted using only legs to portray characters and storyline, with no dialogue. The cast discussed how they could portray a couple flirting, using only the movement of their feet, and how to portray a business woman anxious to walk around an older woman with a walker.

Only hours before, news had broken of the death of actor Heath Ledger, and inside a heart sketched on a chalkboard on the stage was written, "In loving memory of Heath Ledger."

As Jensen discussed whether to pause a certain scene or continue the action, the players carried on a side conversation, discussing whether Ledger's death was a suicide.

"The show must go on for Heath," said an actor.

"Does anyone have a pogo stick?" said another. "I wanted one [for the scene] but I didn't know where to get one."

There were several discussions about whether the scene showing only legs would be helped or hindered if the actors attempted to change shoes for each of the many characters they are portraying.

"I think what will help the most is not changing shoes but changing how you walk," Jensen tells the cast. "Let's do it again, just really trying to articulate this time."

The play debuts tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Farrer Elementary School, 100 N. 600 East, Provo. There is no charge for admission, but donations of any size will be accepted for the Utah Transit Authority Paratransit Service. A second show will be held Friday at 7:30 p.m. at the BYU Harris Center of Fine Arts, Nelke Theatre, and a final showing on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Provo Library, 550 N. University Ave., Provo. Following Saturday's production, cast and audience will parade to Gallery OneTen at 110 S. 300 West in Provo for the opening of the transportation art show.

For information about the Gallery OneTen show, visit GalleryOneTen.com.