out of the
Story hy Terah Kelleher
Photos by Alex Thibadeau 8e
Dou^as Reyes-Ceron
In a 2006 New York Times article, playwright David Lindsay-Abaire shared a story about According to Bayne, his character mainly seeks forgiveness. Bayne shares the benefits of
his teacher at Juilliard, Marsha Norman. According to Abaire, Norman told the class: "If you being a part of the plays at Guilford.
want to write a good play, think of the thing that scares you most in the world." "A play's an acting class unto itself," said Bayne.
As soon as Abaire became a father, the perfect play came to mind. He craft simply by experience."
'You learn so much of it as a
called it "Rabbit Hole."
On Friday, Feb. 11 in the Sternberger Auditorium, the theatre
studies department's production of Abaire's Pulitzer Prize win
ning play will open in Sternberger Auditorium.
Directed by Jack Zerbe, professor of theatre studies,
"Rabbit Hole" is a play that demonstrates the different
ways a family copes with the unexpected loss of a child.
The theatre studies department chose this play based on
diverse criteria.
"You look for engaging, stimulating, thoughtful
material that is varied in nature," said Zerbe. "But
our primary mission is to educate and train people
who want to make theatre."
Zerbe also has a personal tie to the subject matter
of the play. In ninth grade, his family suffered the
loss of his youngest sibling.
"The Rabbit Hole is the dark place that a griev
ing person goes," said Zerbe. "And there are five
people in five different holes. The story is how they
come out of the holes together."
The concept of rabbit holes also influenced the
design of the play. The design sketches of Zerbe and
Robin Vest, visiting professional guest artist and scene
designer, went from looking like the rabbit hole out of
"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" to a design rooted
more in reality.
Burke Brown, lighting designer, and Badger Koon, sound
design, both graduated from Guilford in 2000 and were
Zerbe's students.
"From working with Jack and Burke before, I had a sense of what
they like," said Koon. "So I tried to bring things to the table and col
laborate with them."
According to Zerbe, the actors arrived at the auditions prepared to take on the
intense roles ahead of them.
“In
the midst
of all tus deep
grief, there are
moments of rage,
laughter, tearis and
there are
- Jack Zerhe,
Director
Sophmore Puja Tolton plays Becca, a woman who is trying to come to
terms with the loss of her son.
"In the more heated scenes, I found that I wanted to just be
generally angry and that wasn't what it was all about," said
Tolton. "I needed to find the nuance and make sure she came
off as three-dimensional. Not just this raging monster."
Howie, Becca's husband, is played by junior Marcus
Edghill. His character demonstrates his grief in a differ
ent manner.
"He's a real maternal kind of guy,^' said Edghill.
"He just really wants to get his family back together.
Especially his wife, he wants to make sure that she's
is in a stable place first and foremost."
Sophmore Elizabeth Wray plays the role of
Becca's sister Izzy.
"This play is a really powerful piece for anyone
who has experienced any kind of loss or struggle in
their family," said Wray. "There's something really
human about it that students will find easy to con
nect to."
Emily Morazan, a first-year, plays Becca and Izzy's
mother in the play. Like Izzy, her character's lines may
cause the audience to laugh at unexpected moments.
"She has a lot of opinions and she's definitely not
politically correct," said Morazan.
Ivey Long, sophomore and assistant stage manager,
shares another reason to see the show.
"I'd want people to come to the show because we worked
really hard on it," said Long. "And it's great to see all that work
on display."
At first glance, this play could be seen as simply melancholy but
those hesitant to come should not judge so quickly.
In the midst of all this deep grief, there are moments of rage, laughter, tears
and there are giggles," said Zerbe. "The last moment (of the play) is so powerfully moving;
First-year Connor Bayne plays Jason Willette, the unintentional harbinger of tragedy, it is both a moment of great sadness and great hope.
m
IP
wmmm