WHITE RABBIT, RED RABBIT Announced At Open Stage

A single actor. One sealed envelope. No set. No costumes. No director. No rehearsal. See the audacious and imaginative global sensation that no one is allowed to talk about...

In 2010, Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour brought a brand new type of theatre to life. In White Rabbit, Red Rabbit, the actor receives a sealed envelope and a set of instructions before embarking on a 70-minute journey with nothing but the author's voice as their guide.

With a different local performer for every performance, the audience shares the unique adventure that is humorous, poignant, and utterly original. "White Rabbit, Red Rabbit is a theatrical experience unlike anything you have ever seen," says Stuart Landon, Producing Artistic Director. "And we have a truly stellar lineup of local talent for this production."

The talent in question involves an array of different performers from the Central PA arts scene. Names of actors involved in this iteration of the show are sent into a database, so White Rabbit, Red Rabbit can never have the same reader twice. Other than a small page of instructions that the actor receives 48 hours before their scheduled performance, they must never have seen, read, or know anything about the play.

Landon had invited most of the performers over the past summer to participate, and most are no strangers to Open Stage, such as local actor and improvisationalist, David Richwine. "For me, you can't beat having to rely on your own toolbox to keep something like this in the air," says Richwine. " The prospect of actually stepping into the challenge consists of equal parts fear of failure, and excitement about the challenge."

"I'm looking forward to living out the experience with the audience," says Chris Ellis, a local actor who has worked in Harrisburg since 2020. "So much of theater is preparation but with White Rabbit, Red Rabbit we all enter the theater not knowing what to expect. It's a space of anticipation and possibility."

Author Soleimanpour designed the show so that a person of any gender, race, or age could read the part, and over the next month, 11 performers will read White Rabbit, Red Rabbit. Each show will be unique, and Open Stage is offering free seats to anyone who has bought a ticket to a previous show, and are able to return as many times as they like to experience the story from different points of view.

"I'm looking forward to, at some point, sitting down with the other White Rabbit Red Rabbit performers," muses Richwine. "And comparing notes about what they were feeling during their time on stage."

White Rabbit, Red Rabbit runs October 2-24 at Open Stage. Tickets can be purchased at openstagehbg.com.