rabbit

11/19/2023

rabbit by Riley Elton McCarthy

"Henri is a runaway. but the rabbit pack collects runaways. not like the lost boys. everyone ends up in these woods eventually, and the wolves of the rabbit pack are hungry. what happens when a home is no longer a home, and the lion devours the lamb? what civilization is left when their god abandons them? and what happens when god comes back?" - McCarthy


All photos taken by Juan Gamero


"[...] In addition to sage and kade, the ultimate authority with a distinct appetite for domination and cruelty, the others are briar (Charisma Jolly), who seems to be kade's mean-and-nasty acolyte; wren (Maleeha Naseer), who trains the new arrivals to become hunters; gale (Alex Camacho), who looks truly frightening as they lick their chops; finch, described by the playwright as "a realist;" and cyprus, a frightened type who strums a ukelele as they try (and fail) to remember the lyrics to "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Into this established order comes a force who will eventually change everything. After henri (Emily Valdes, strikingly mysterious) gets caught in one of the pack's concealed bear traps, they're taken in by the group, lusted after by some, made a target by others. LakehouseRanch artistic director Brandon Urrutia, his design team (set by Indy Sullerio, sound by actor Naseer, costumes by Lucy Marie Lopez, props by Rachel Gil de Gibaja and actors Naseer and Chanel, lighting by Urrutia himself) and the performers keep the play's unsettling, unnerving, at times horrifying and bloody vibe going throughout. The kind of light you might imagine in a forest washes over a space plastered with child-like drawings of rabbits, an ornate cross marking the spot where "the little one" departed, and a tree that sometimes serves as a gallows. Creepy."    - Christine Dolen, Artburst Miami

"[...] The performers make you wonder whether their characters are humans, beasts, or a hybrid between the two. At times, the actors walk on their two feet, while during other moments, they're on all fours, crawling or waiting to pounce. Perhaps this production, under Brandon Urrutia's careful direction, wants to emphasize that we all possess dual human/beast traits. In the play, characters are "either a wolf or a rabbit" depending on what level they have reached. [...] The actors perform on scenic designer Indy Sullerio's basic set, which features a greenish floor, perhaps to indicate woods. Mostly, the set comprises the dark walls, floor, and ceiling of LakeHouseRanchDotPNG's theatrical space. The black color lends the piece a mysterious, dark aura. Many pieces of paper are affixed to the walls. One wall, in particular, stands in the form of a cross, and also features papers that contain drawings and written messages. [...] Performance-wise, Lakehouseranchdotpng company member Samuel Krogh lends kade a sinister disposition. With wide, dark, icy eyes and dark hair, Krogh's kade conveys a maniacal intensity that calls to mind Hannibal Lecter from "Silence of the Lambs." As Krogh portrays him, this character is almost gleeful in his dictatorial rule. - Aaron Krause, miamiartzine