Finding Family in the Chaos: Diversionary Theatre’s Arrowhead Explores Love, Friendship and Identity

By Cesar A Reyes

Friendship can be messy. The people who know us best can sometimes be the ones who challenge us most, especially when life takes an unexpected turn. That complicated, sometimes hilarious reality sits at the heart of Arrowhead, the upcoming production at Diversionary Theatre directed by Artistic Director Sherri Eden Barber. Blending comedy, drama and a surprising love story, the play explores what happens when the people we consider family are asked to see us in a new light.

“It’s such a beautiful piece about friendship,” Barber said. While many stories explore friendship in our twenties, Arrowhead looks at what happens later in life, when the people we thought we were begin to evolve. For queer people, that evolution can bring particularly complicated questions about identity, belonging and acceptance.

“We find chosen family,” Barber explains. “We find others that we can relate to, that we can express, we can be our full selves with, and we create this incredible familial bond.”

But what happens when that chosen family must navigate another kind of coming out? What happens when someone’s identity changes or becomes more fluid than their friends initially understood? Barber believes those conversations deserve more attention, particularly when bisexuality and other identities are misunderstood or erased.

“What I think is so beautiful and what’s so funny about this piece is the whole idea of, I like you because I love you; although am I fully able to embrace all of who you are?” she says.

That question gives Arrowhead much of its emotional weight. Love and friendship are not always about understanding everything immediately. Sometimes they require people to reconsider their assumptions, listen more carefully, and make room for someone else’s truth.

The production also marks a significant milestone for Annelise Salazar, who plays Jen. Although this is her acting debut at Diversionary, she is no stranger to the theater. Her professional work has largely been on the creative side, particularly as a lighting designer. Now, she is stepping into the spotlight and revisiting a part of herself she first explored while studying acting at Millikin University.

“When I read this script, Jen spoke to me in a way that was so amazing because she’s such a complex character,” Salazar said. “She really makes me, as an actor, step outside of my comfort zone and explore what vulnerability really means.”

The transition from designing the stage to performing on it has given Salazar a new appreciation for the work. It has also challenged her to embrace uncertainty and discover how to communicate Jen’s complexity to an audience.

That vulnerability extends beyond her character. Salazar spoke about the importance of creating opportunities for queer artists of color, particularly in spaces where representation can still feel limited. As a Latina lighting designer working in a predominantly white, male-dominated industry, she has often found herself the youngest person in the room or the only woman or person of color.

At Diversionary, she has experienced something different. The cast of Arrowhead is made up entirely of people from minority groups, creating a room where different perspectives are not simply welcomed but celebrated.

“Being in a room full of everybody’s different, and everybody, you know, can bring a little bit something different to the table has been so fun,” she grins.

For Barber, bringing Salazar into the production was a natural extension of their creative partnership. Having collaborated on numerous productions, Barber has long admired Salazar’s ability to translate a director’s vision into something audiences can see and feel. This time, she wanted that artistic voice to be heard from the stage.

The result is a production shaped by trust, collaboration and the willingness to take creative risks. It is also a reminder that the people who help us through life’s hardest moments are not necessarily the ones who always agree with us. They are the ones willing to stay, listen, and grow alongside us.

“I think it’s a dramedy, but there’s so much to find comfort in with this show,” Salazar says. She hopes audiences will recognize pieces of their own friendships in the characters, with all their contradictions, complications, and affection.

Barber has her own WORD for the experience: Chaos. But she sees something meaningful within the disorder.

“I think those that we think are not listening may be paying attention most of all,” she said, reflecting on the people who create chaos, those who help us escape it, and those who stand beside us in the middle of it.

“There’s a method to the chaos,” Barber added.

With humor, heart and a willingness to challenge assumptions, Arrowhead invites audiences to consider that love is not about keeping people exactly as we first knew them. It is about making room for who they are becoming.

Arrowhead begins previews November 12, officially opens November 21, and runs through December 6 at Diversionary Theatre. Tickets are available at diversionary.org.