SHOW GUIDE: The Meaning of Maggie

Maggie Mayfield may not be like the other 11 year-olds at her school—she’s proud of her impressive intelligence and has Presidential ambitions for her very bright future—but she definitely has some of the same challenges of any adolescent. She has older sisters that don’t
always understand her, an annual Science Fair she had to win (for the second straight year), and there’s a cool guy in class named Clyde who is proving to be a bit of a distraction. But Maggie has learned to be very confident and has always been able to count on her family–especially her funny, fantastic dad—to be there to support her. But on her birthday her dad calls a family meeting to announce some big changes: Mom has started a new job at a fancy hotel and, due to some changes in his health, Dad has left his job as a gate agent at the airport. Gradually Maggie realizes that her dad’s condition (which she hasn’t thought much about) is growing more complicated. After a difficult Halloween, a thoughtful Thanksgiving, and a very tense Christmas (when Maggie’s grandmother shows up and stresses out her mom), Maggie decided it’s time that she use her brains and her ambition to do something to fix her father. The question is, what can be
done?

• MAGGIE MAYFIELD—Maggie is a very intelligent and high-achieving 11-year-old girl who has become rather confident about herself and her strengths even if she’s not like her sisters or the other girls her age. Maggie is accustomed to being able to accomplish most of what she wants, overcomes most challenges she faces, and
  sees a bright future for herself.
  
• DAD—The dreamer in the family, Maggie’s dad is having some issues with his health related to a condition called Multiple Sclerosis (MS). The disease is beginning to impact his life at home with his wife and his daughters. He has a great sense of humor about everything, but it definitely is becoming a more difficult situation.
  
• MOM—Maggie’s mom is a “down-to-earth” parent and partner who loves her husband and her daughters very much. When her husband’s battle with MS progresses to the point where it is no longer possible for him to keep working at the airport, she gets a job at a hotel which makes it challenging to manage family concerns like she did before. Fortunately, her daughters are growing up and able to help keep the household going.
  
• LAYLA—The oldest of the Mayfield daughters at age 18, Layla is old enough to be told more about her dad’s health and help out when needed. She still bickers with her sisters, but she’s more grounded and growing into an adult.
  
• TIFFANY—The middle daughter and a “typical teen” at 16 years old, Tiffany is a little caught up in her own needs and sometimes annoyed when she doesn’t get what she wants. She’s very different from Maggie and doesn’t always understand her academically minded young sister. But she’s trying to be supportive in light of her dad’s health and help out her mom as she can.
  
• CLYDE—Clyde is a new boy at Maggie’s school that is turning into her crush. Clyde is “cool” in an easy, unpretentious, unselfconscious way that Maggie finds kind of irresistible. They bond over Neil Young (Maggie’s Dad’s favorite musician).
  
• GRANDMOTHER—Dad’s Mother is a concerned but very serious woman who has a lot of strong opinions about her son’s health and how he should be handling it. She is used to getting her own way and is frustrated when others don’t see things the way she does. She does not see her granddaughters often and she does not get along well with their Mom.
  
• MARGOT—The kind and supportive instructor at a one-day creative writing camp Maggie receives as a birthday gift.