San Francisco's cutting-edge Cutting Ball Theater continues its 2008-09 season with the poetic and penetrating Mud, penned by Obie-winning experimental playwright María Irene Fornés. It is 1973 and Mae has just begun to learn how to read; things finally seem to be taking a turn for the better. As she tries to rise above her humble Midwestern origins, Mae must keep the two men in her life, foster brother and former lover Lloyd, and new boyfriend Henry, from dragging her back down. Little does Mae know that the first strong decision she's ever made about her life may be her last. Cutting Ball Associate Artistic Director Paige Rogers makes her main stage directorial debut with this operatic story of human struggle and desire.