Coming of age isn't always an easy process, which might be why writers so enjoy making it the topic of their work. In a sea of similar stories,  "Slipping," the first production of the L.A. outpost of Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, offers a fresh take on the bildungsroman genre.

Daniel Talbott's play follows Eli (Brett Donaldson, at this performance) from 2007 to the present, through multiple temporal jumps. After his father dies, Eli and his mother (Wendy vanden Heuvel) move from the Bay Area to Iowa. Eli leaves behind Chris (Maxwell Hamilton), his deep-in-the-closet hookup buddy, and is soon befriended by Jake (Macleod Andrews), a gregarious boy who is as American as apple pie. All four characters face more than their fair share of struggles, and they all do their very best to stay afloat as life keeps getting in the way of what they really want.

Talbott, who also directed the play, has crafted a detailed and believable world for his characters, especially in the moments where the actors' frantic kinetic energy betrays their neuroses.  Donaldson ably takes on the role of Eli, quickly jumping between emotions as the story dictates, rendering him as a sympathetic lost boy who wants so desperately to hold it all together. Hamilton and Andrews provide wonderful foils as Chris and Jake, and are equally heartbreaking in their struggles to come to terms with the boy they love.

"Slipping" is refreshingly well-written, though the fractured nature of the narrative makes it difficult to follow at first. However, a careful, close watching rewards the audience with the play's intricacy. The production elements are almost universally strong, with Kaitlyn Pietras' projection designs in particular clearly defining the spaces in which the action takes place. However, while Janie Bullard's sound design incorporated appropriate music, it was often distractingly loud.

All too often, coming of age stories come across as stale and trite, but "Slipping" exists in a deeper world than many of its contemporaries. While it's not outright devastating, there's something heartbreaking about growing up, and about Eli's story in particular. "Slipping" flourishes in the space between the infinitesimal cracks it creates in the audiences' hearts.

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"Slipping" is playing at the Lillian Theatre (1076 Lillian Way, Los Angeles, CA) through May 5. Tickets are $34. More information can be found at Rattlestick.org/rattlestick-la.