If you’re a Fort Wayne theatergoer, chances are you’ve seen actress Darby LeClear using her singing, acting, and directorial skills for various theater companies. 

Now, audiences have a chance to experience an original play written and directed by this Fort Wayne native: The Longest Night. 

Indiana Musical Theatre Foundation is taking on the production that opens Friday, April 12, at their RKF Studios.

Ten years in the making, LeClear’s play promises a no-holds-barred walk through the life of a family’s trauma, the secrets they hold, and the ways they cope with memories of abuse. 

I met with the playwright at Firefly Coffee House on North Anthony Boulevard — incidentally, a space where much of the play was penned — to speak about the show.

Through the darkness

The Longest Night does not shy away from discussing dark themes including child abuse, generational trauma, violence, and suicide. The story revolves around a family: the experiences of two brothers who suffered abuse and neglect during their childhood, a violent father, and the mother who refused to step in to stop it.

 A meeting with a new neighbor brings the walls built by silence tumbling down and the uncomfortable emotions suppressed demand their day in the light.

LeClear told me she wanted “to tell a story about the witnesses, the victims, the people who are left behind after the big tragic event and who then have to ask: ‘What’s next?’ ”

Inspired by playwrights like Tennessee Williams, Jenny Schwartz, and Eugene O’Neill, LeClear crafted her play in a way that dives into murky emotional depths and urges viewers to look closer at their own family wounds. Only in doing so can the journey of healing from our past commence.

“I’m hoping it sparks a conversation of people who have been running away from their own problems, maybe people who have difficulty talking to their own parents, or their siblings,” LeClear said. “Just seeing some comfort in the fact that when you do open up those lines of conversation it can be very rewarding. Healing has to happen in a community, it’s not easy to do or possible to do all the way on your own.”

It is the way the characters in The Longest Night open up to these traumatic memories that shows that the light at the end of the tunnel can be reached. However, we must traverse the darkness to reach the light. 

The small yet brilliant cast of Caleb Curtis, Lincoln Everetts, Chloe Price, Kat Hickey, and Stuart Hepler bring LeClear’s story to life in a moving and emotive way that’s sure to induce cathartic tears.

Made in The Fort

Fort Wayne has long boasted a diverse and talented arts community. The fact that community has delegated so much energy to producing this work is a testament to our creative ability and mold-breaking spirit. 

The Longest Night germinated from an idea LeClear had in college. Ten years later, the finished version is being produced right here in Fort Wayne with her directing.

I asked LeClear how she was able to bring her idea to fruition. She told me of her unique approach to writing.

“I had to personify the story as a person I didn’t want to let down,” she said. “I had to give it a life of its own and be like, ‘Hey, you are important. I want to tell you. I can’t give up on you.’ ”

Especially when it comes to abuse or emotional neglect, it can be hard to feel like our stories have meaning. But LeClear wants to show us that once we gain the courage to speak, so much healing, power, and wisdom can grow the seeds of a better future. 

In writing such a darkly explorative work, LeClear not only learned much about her own identity, but she now uses the fruit of her discoveries to inspire others to tell their stories and see the value in their experiences.

“I found the organization, To Write Love on Her Arms,” she said. “It’s a suicide prevention organization and their biggest message is, ‘Your story is important.’ So, I really let that drive me through my life. It was a little bit of hope that I clung to through the hard times.”

Meaning to others

With an impressive collection of theatrical credits behind her and an original play of her own debuting, it’s inspiring to see the way a small grain of hope grew into something larger than herself.

As LeClear said, healing cannot happen in a vacuum. With that in mind, she has already seen a community growing around the production of her play. From the actors to those behind the scenes, The Longest Night has engendered a space that’s open and accepting of the truths we might rather hide. 

To maintain a healthy space surrounding these intense topics, fight choreographer Parker Hickey also serves as mental health coordinator, assisting actors in their expression of these intense emotions.

From stage combat to a suicide attempt to memories surrounding abuse, The Longest Night finds an excellent space at RKF Studios that offers an intimate experience. 

Taking this play from the page to the stage has shown LeClear how the story can have a deep meaning for others in ways she hadn’t imagined previously. Plus, for the actors and actresses, they have a unique opportunity to make a character completely their own, with no preconceived notions of how the character should be played.

“I’m really excited to be putting on my show among so many other local playwrights that are finally getting their work out there,” LeClear said. “I’m hoping this is a really good step for Fort Wayne to get really cool about new works, because I feel like that’s the piece that’s been missing in our community. I just want to take it to that next level of producing local art.”

Whether you relate to the subject matter or want to support original creative work, there’s no better way to do so in Fort Wayne right now than seeing The Longest Night.