SYNOPSIS:

A Hitchhiker’s imagination goes Carhopping, introducing us to four different travelers and their potential stories. Derek wants love and family for himself and his autistic brother, but Jamie only wants happiness. Carrie wants to give her small sons freedom, but doesn’t want to lose them to Child Protective Services. Amber wants someone who’ll stop her dad’s inappropriate touching, and finds an ally only in herself and her coach. And Jade is in love, but her adopted parents can’t accept or believe in it. While exploring the lives, challenges, and forward motion of travelers, The Hitchhiker reflects on his own personal challenges and purpose, often frightened by a possible lack thereof. Traveling through stories – both real and imagined—he grapples with a desire to feel necessary while simultaneously valuing his lack of agency. We exist to feel, he suggests, and so we crave every aspect of story—even the fright and hurt. But we choose what we imagine as truth, and in the end we can’t help but think once again about the stories and families we’ve come to know while Carhopping. Was this all in The Hitchhiker’s head? And if so, does that make a difference to our story?