Pillar Rabbit

[WolfofWords]

Pillar Rabbit by Mel Holley
At Spotlighters Theater - Baltimore Playwright’s Festival 2024

This week I decided to do something a little different as I saw a play this past weekend and I wanted to talk about that. I especially want to talk about it since, as a writer, I want to lift up other writers. Also, my friend was in the play.

In the midst of tragedy, the Pillar family comes together but realizes that a lot of their old patterns and things they previously took for granted may not be viable anymore. The play is set in New Orleans, Louisiana in the heat of what I assumed to be summer but it is kind of always hot down there.

Tarita Turner (in her first play since she was a child) plays the family’s matriarch, Lunelle, a determined yet addled woman suffering from early-onset Alzheimers. Kay-Megan Washington (my friend) plays Ethel, the stalwart next-door neighbor who cares for Turner’s character deeply. Terena McLorn plays Tracy, the live-in daughter-in-law who is yearning for something new even in her grief. Patrick Bean Jr. plays Kong, that youngest son who is constantly scheming and shouting to be heard even as he uses his status to duck responsibility when he can. Shelbi Nelson plays Angelle, the only daughter of the matriarch who is an absolute spitfire and a hurricane of personality to cover insecurities. Amari Chambers plays Angelle’s daughter, wise beyond her years but also harboring a lot of bitterness. Chris Reed plays the Bryten, the son of Ethel, a young man freshly out of the military who is taking in all of the new possibilities on the horizon. Nicholas Friend plays Marshall, an uninvited guest connected to a past most have tried to forget.

The play was directed by Ta'Von Vinson, a veteran of the Baltimore theater scene. Tavon did a great job at keeping the show pretty tight with great pacing. He also was able to work with the cast and the playwright to balance tragedy and comedy in equal measures. I was crying by the end of the play (though kind of a happy cry) but I laughed loud and often as well.

The play will be starting its final weekend TONIGHT. Thursdays are only $10. I bet a few tickets are still available.


SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT

My Thoughts:

Ta’von also did the sound design. I was a sound design minor in college and did it professionally for five years and I cannot shut that part of my brain off. There was really not a lot of sound design in the show. That ended up being a double-edged sword. I am used to putting a little bit of music between scenes to cover exits and entrances. In Spotlighters theater, the stage is maybe a foot from the audience so sounds in the dark are amplified. I feel like the decision not to use music between scenes was to keep the show’s pacing tight. The runtime is already 2 hours and 45 minutes so just zooming through scene transitions might have felt like the right thing to do.

I had to do a double-take just now as I looked at the runtime in the program. It really did not feel like 2 hours and 45 minutes (plus an intermission). My attention was held completely for almost the entire runtime. I got sucked into the action onstage and I was completely in it. The only exception for me is the funeral scene. Because the entire cast is changing their clothes all at the same time, nobody is on stage for the funeral scene. Instead, we are treated to a voiceover and a church window pattern projected onto the floor. This felt like it dragged on forever but part of that might be my bias against religious services in general. Unfortunately, I have discovered that it is not possible to shorten this scene. I actually think the scene could be removed but alas it is not technically possible at this time.

Angelle - I was really impressed by both the character and her portrayal on stage. She comes into the play like a hurricane reaching the shore and her words come out of her like a shotgun. I instantly hated her. However, the villain of any good fiction believes that they are in the right. And in fact, Angelle is not really a villain. She just does bad things for bad reasons. Trauma is hard to deal with.

Kong - I too have been in an aimless state where I was trying to do anything but a nine-to-five job. I worked in theater and I worked for a circus. (Which required even longer hours). I also struggled to achieve an adult relationship with my mother as many do. Luckily, my mother heard me more than Kong’s mother heard him. Still, my mother loved me just like Lunella loved Kong.

Tracy - I felt her pain so much. It can be hard when you are expected to feel a certain way but you do not. I have struggled with grief before in the sense that I did not feel it as strongly as others seemed to. I was numb more than anything. Also, nobody should have to wait for permission to be sad or to be happy.

Lunella - I have twice experienced somebody close to me slowly losing their memories. My grandmother and a neighbor. It is very scary but also heartbreaking as you often lose that person long before their biological death. I also really felt her frustration in others thinking she was more fragile than she actually was.

Ethel - I know the name of some of my mom’s friends but I do not know them that well personally. If my mother had a close friend who was over every single day and was so intimately close, I would not be making excuses. I would be happy for them. It can be hard to see your mother move on romantically and sexually. I had to have my own wakeup call about my folks never getting back together and now I realize that everybody is happier.

Bryen - I too do not like the feeling of losing control very much. This is why I rarely partake of drugs like alcohol or weed. I need to be very comfortable in order to drink. I also have feared using it as a crutch for my social anxiety.

Marshall - When my mother started dating her third husband, we were suddenly thrust into his extended family. This was like jumping into cold water and quite a surprise. We were used to spending holidays with only five people at most. Getting thrust into other people’s drama like a minefield and navigating new personalities is really tough. Marshall is that poor guy in this show. Also, dealing with possibly (probably) being the product of a rape or at the very least unplanned has to be hard. It really must skew one’s perception of familial love but Marshall seems to be righting the ship the best he can.