In her one-woman play, Moving at the Speed of Life, Kristen Valerio explores the challenge of maintaining a decent quality of life while keeping pace in a culture that seems to be moving ever faster.

For her depiction of life in the fast lane, she drew on the experiences of living in Manhattan for eight years.

For an understanding of how the little things matter, she reflected on a childhood spent in Annapolis.

"It is my roots growing up on the Chesapeake that keep me craving a richer quality of life," said Valerio, whose show was opening last night at Towson University, with additional performances set for tonight, tomorrow and Saturday. "Throughout the show, there are voiceover interviews with people asked about the one thing they rely on to improve the quality of their daily life, and for me, it's just letting my mind drift back to Main Street in Annapolis on May Day, sailing on the Severn or remembering a day in Annapolis in early October when there was a chill in the air.

"I remember the smells and sounds of my childhood, the crazy days of the Boat Show," she added. "I grew up with a special quality of life in Anne Arundel County, and I find it a major treat to get to bring my show close to home."

Valerio said that living in Manhattan sometimes leaves her feeling that she's been caught up and tossed around - inspiration for her play, which was a year in the writing.

The humor-driven, one-hour production is set at a Starbucks. Valerio studies characters who are living in the extreme, dealing with issues like technological dependence, the current state of the service industry and raising children in a changing world.

The 33-year-old playwright-actress periodically returns to her family's Annapolis home for spiritual renewal. With this trip, she also returns to perform at her alma mater. She is a 1991 graduate of Towson University.

For this homecoming, she will welcome friends she grew up with in the Epping Forest neighborhood at tonight's performance, where they are to arrive by a chartered bus. Valerio said she plans to "jump on the bus after the show to finish the evening at Epping Forest beach and get a day in Annapolis before returning to Towson for Friday's performance."

Born in Annapolis, Valerio grew up in Epping Forest in a family of artists.

Her father, Gerard Valerio, is an award-winning graphic design expert and former book designer, who recently has concentrated on painting portraits, landscapes and seascapes. Her mother is actress and writer Sharie Valerio, who did two oral history productions, Annapolis I Remember and Annapolis Celebration.

In 1968, with Carol Cohen, Sharie Valerio started an improvisational summer camp workshop called Kaleidoscope for teen-agers.

The theater camp continues to flourish every summer, and her daughter returns each year to help.

As a baby, Kristen made a sort of artistic debut in a painting by her father in which she appears as an infant held by her mother. She grew up watching her family perform with Colonial Players.

Her grandfather, Selden Lacey, was a Colonial Players favorite, and her mother and father also appeared frequently. Becoming a third-generation Colonial Player, Kristen began acting there at an early age, and considers it a magical place to grow up.

Kristen's brother Tony plays the French horn with the Naval Academy Band, the Salisbury Symphony and with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. His wife, Kim, was the Annapolis Symphony's principal flutist until her recent move to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

Sharie Valerio went to Towson in the 1960s with writer Pat Brack, a lifelong friend, and actor John Glover.

Moving at the Speed of Life includes poetry by Brack, who died after a long battle with breast cancer. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Glover's scholarship endowment.

Kristen Valerio said she is gratified by how supportive Towson theater department chairman Ralph Blasting has been of her one-woman show.

Moving at the Speed of Life is being presented by the Towson University Department of Theatre Arts and Speed of Life Productions.

Performances are at 8 p.m. today through Saturday, with another performance at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Towson University Center for the Arts Studio Theatre. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students.

Reservations: 410-704-ARTS. Information: www.speedoflife productions.org.