Mothering ‘Akimbo’

Young Chang

Actress Ann Dowd and her children had a picnic Monday on the balcony

of the MacArthur Boulevard condominiums that temporarily house many of

South Coast Repertory’s visiting performers.

They dragged out a rug onto the cold, bare floor and ate ham and

cheese sandwiches with apple juice on a wooden play table from IKEA. For

dessert they had M&M;’s.

“It’s important to keep it simple and slow,” said Dowd, of spending

time with her kids. She plays a mother in “Kimberly Akimbo,” opening

today and playing through May 13 on South Coast Repertory’s Mainstage.

“No rushing around, one thing at a time.”

Whether she’s in Costa Mesa for a show or back home in New York, Dowd

is a believer in keeping things consistent. Especially when it concerns

time spent with the kids -- Liam Arancio, 9, and Emily Arancio, 2.

“That’s how I want to raise them,” she said. “I want them to know

[that] no matter where I am, I’m accessible to them.”

In “Kimberly Akimbo,” Dowd plays a very different sort of mom. Pattie,

her character, is a hypochondriac whose daughter, Kimberly, suffers a

condition that makes her age five times faster than the average person.

As a teen, Kimberly has the face and body of a senior citizen.

Pattie is pregnant, foulmouthed, attention-craving and caters little

to her daughter’s desire for parents who ask such pleasantries as, “how

was school?”

But Dowd, as a mother who knows what it’s like to love your kids so

much you fear for them, doesn’t consider Pattie a horrible mother.

“I think of her as someone who’s frightened and lonely in a kind of

profound way, and searching for some profound love,” she said. “And she’s

trying to be a wonderful mother but just doesn’t have the goods. She’s

trying to get it.”

In real life, Dowd’s got the goods.

From Nova Scotia to Canada, from film sets with trailers to big city

theaters, she’s had Liam and Emily accompany her through her career so as

not to miss out on spontaneous balcony picnics and rides on the bus -- a

typically New Yorker activity.

In fact, the three took a bus this week to get some groceries and

slippers for Liam.

“He likes to ride the bus,” Dowd said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Liam, who said his friends couldn’t believe he got on a plane last

week to visit his mom during Spring Break, likes that he and Dowd can

search for snails, even at a temporary home, and house the little

creatures in makeshift cages with lettuce and celery.

“I do like traveling to see my mom,” he said.

For Mother’s Day, when the show closes, Dowd’s husband Lawrence

Arancio will visit his wife with Liam in tow. Emily will remain here for

the duration of the show.

“There was no question about us leaving together,” she said. “But my

fantasy would be that we’d go everywhere together.”

Dowd admits it’s not always easy, especially when she wants some

downtime alone to deal with the anxiety and mental preparation of a

performance.

“But that’s, I think, the thrill of it,” she said. “This is the dream

I had, and I’m living it.”

FYI

WHAT: “Kimberly Akimbo”

WHEN: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday and 2:30

and 7:30 p.m. Sunday, through May 13.

WHERE: South Coast Repertory’s Mainstage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa

MesaCOST: $18-$49

CALL: (714) 708-5555