Let their words fill the air around you until it’s clouded with all-consuming thoughts. Let their words cause your heartbeat to slow. Let your eyes squint as you follow a path through their swollen eyes into their familiar souls. Let their story blend into your own stories. And please, let them mark you.

Tomorrow, 11 women will step onto the stage at the Whidbey Playhouse and act out 15-minute twisted and touching monologues in the premiere of “Talking With,” directed by Suzanne Maris. “Talking With,” was written by Jane Martin and is much bolder than most productions selected for the Playhouse. Producer Mary Lou Chandler said the performance is edgy, unique and not suitable for children.

Playhouse board member Mary Kay Hallen said the script was chosen because it’s important to expose audiences to a variety of productions. She said people need to see art that causes them to think in different ways.

“The world is more than Neil Simon,” Hallen said.

The topics of the monologues range from questioning religion and facing down demons to hating corporate America and learning to find self love.

An elderly woman, played by Anita Rich, takes the stage surrounded by a dozen decorative lamps all aglow. She dances in their light running her fingers in the air above the bulbs to feel their warmth.

“Many of the people once central to our lives are gone or dispersed,” the woman says. … “I developed relationships with objects so I would not be without intimacy.”

A desperate and crazed housewife played by Rusty Hendrix prances into the spotlight with her vacuum cleaner draped from head-to-toe in scraps of fabric. She wears a bright mask over her face and reindeer antlers are perched atop her head. The woman talks about her longing to disappear into the land of Oz where she will be accepted for who she is and where she can let her true colors shine bright. She says she fears one day her husband will walk in on her playing make believe and she’s afraid of what he will think.

One after another the women take the stage and detail their most intimate secrets and confess their insecurities. Each offers an idea for the audience members to consider and comfort to those who think they are alone in their hysteria.

“I get so many messages from this, I can’t pigeonhole it,” director Suzanne Maris said. “It’s really hard to describe. It’s just a really good show.”

“Talking With” is the first play Maris has directed, though she’s assisted in directing many times before. She said friend and fellow director/actress K Sandra O’Brien gave her the script and urged her to pursue it. Maris is glad she did.

“I was probably the luckiest person alive because the people who came to auditions, they just fit,” Maris said.

The cast members said they’ve really enjoyed getting their 15 minutes of fame, but admitted that being on-stage solo can be challenging.

“You don’t have anybody to feed you a line,” actress Cynthia Kleppang said. “You have to feed yourself.”

However, despite the extra work, all of the women own their characters and truly rule the stage during their stint. Though the women are alone with only a few props to aid them, each of them manages to captivate the audience and demand attention until the last line is delivered.

“I love it,” actress Tara Hizon said. “You really get to dig into another mind.”

“These are 11 women who are crazy, but they all reveal truth,” actress Allenda Jenkins added.

“Talking With” opens tomorrow, Thursday, July 21, and closes on Saturday, July 23. For ticket information, visit www.whidbeyplayhouse.com or call 679-2237.

Because “Talking With” is an off-season production, it will only be in town for three days, so make sure to mark it on this week’s schedule. The women are incredible and their words powerful.

“This is unlike anything people have seen on the Playhouse stage,” Hizon said.