Giorgia Valenti and Maria Müller interview with indieactivity about Et Alia Theater‘s 2021 and 2022 productions of White Rabbit, Red Rabbit. The nature of the questions was LIVE, asked anonymously by some of the audience members of Et Alia Theater. Giorgia Valenti and Maria Müller were gracious to answer us based on the truth of their work in the previous productions.
With no rehearsals, no director, a different actor each night, and a script waiting in a sealed envelope on stage, the internationally acclaimed White Rabbit Red Rabbit, by Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour, is an audacious theatrical experiment and a potent reminder of the transgressive and transformative power of theatre.
indieactiivty: How to manage the tension of not knowing what might happen during the play?
Maria Müller (MM): I kept telling myself that it was freeing. Instead of focusing on the fact that it was scary to not know what was going to happen, I chose to focus on the fact that it was also freeing.
I allowed myself to be open to the thought that I’m going to make mistakes or that there might be confusing/surprising moments throughout the show. Also, I really trusted that the audience would come along with me for the ride and would understand the circumstances. I wasn’t so afraid of “messing up” (whatever that means) because I knew deep down that the audience would be there to support me.
Giorgia Valenti (MM): For those of you who have gone to drama school (but possibly also those of you who haven’t), you must have heard a teacher say ‘Just trust the process and yourself’. Performing White Rabbit Red Rabbit was definitely the biggest test of that. I had to repeat to myself, like a dear friend, that I just had to do whatever I did before any show: sleep, eat well and do my warm-up routine.
Trusting and relying on the safety of habits and routines that make you feel safe and confident is the way to go when approaching a theatrical experience like this. At the end of the day, you are only relying on yourself – so that is a safety net – you can’t rid anybody else messing up the performance!
What was your experience of discovering the contents as you were reading them for the first time?
Maria Müller (MM): It was definitely a rollercoaster. I found myself laughing and getting really sad in the span of a page. There was even a point in the show where I was genuinely anxious about reading the next part.
I have not felt anything like it on stage before. I did not expect the play to deal with the themes it dealt with and they hit me in a very real way.
Giorgia Valenti (GV): It was lovely and powerful. It really felt magical because it was literally like I was being the voice of this playwright who was not in the room – like a sort of instrument through which his voice has space to be alive.
It might have been more transformative than when I prepare a text by another playwright who provides me with a specific and ‘conventional’ character.
The show was extremely pleasant to discover moment by moment, I loved being surprised alongside the audience because it felt like I was a witness and the actor of the show at the same time.
What was the most difficult moment?
Maria Müller (MM): The most difficult moment must have been towards the end. The fact that I was going to be asked to make a big decision was really dawning on me and my mind was racing, trying to put together everything I had learned thus far throughout the show.
The play really played with my brain and made me believe things that now, a while after being done with it, I cannot believe I was convinced of.
Giorgia Valenti (GV): To me, there were moments of the play that were quite lengthy and word-heavy. These were the most challenging for me. This is because I wanted to make the audience stay engaged, but that becomes complicated when you yourself are discovering and understanding the text at the present moment.
Because I was concentrated on understanding the words and the text as I was reading it, I was concerned that I wasn’t delivering it in an engaging way for the audience. Because of this, I stayed concentrated on checking in with the audience every now and then – but it wasn’t easy.
In the play, you have to make a big decision. Were you surprised by it? How immersed were you in the content of the play and how high were the stakes for you?
Maria Müller (MM): I was absolutely surprised by it. In fact, I was so along for the ride, that even when there were hints that the big decision was going to come, I still completely remained in the moment and only executed the instructions I was given without thinking too much about what was going on to come next.
And looking back, I think that was the best decision I could’ve made for this show. When I did get to the big decision, though, I almost felt like my life depended on it… it was a very intense experience.
Giorgia Valenti (GV): I was 100% involved in the content of the play, however, there was a big part of me that knew that no matter my decision, the play would have ended on a ‘good note’, let’s say I had faith in the script and the playwright that even though I had to make a decision – the outcome would have been good either way.
However, when I was making the big decision I was also challenging the audience to help me to make it with me, and as soon as I executed the instructions and made my final choice, I knew that I had made the wrong one — the audience was concerned.
I think that is when the stakes rose for me and I became concerned. But I think that, at the end of the day, I knew I was going to be fine and I was simply serving the main theme of the play.
You two had two completely different endings to the play. What was the outcome? How did you feel about your ending? Did you discuss amongst each other about this final experience?
Maria Müller (MM): I don’t think I realized how unique my ending was until the producers told me after the show ended. It made me even more grateful for my audience and it felt like I was supported and loved. It made me want to see the endings of all the other iterations of this play that have ever been produced.
While I did not discuss my ending with Giorgia, I feel like even if we did, we could not fully comprehend the other’s experience because we weren’t there to witness it and this play is so much about being witnessed.
Giorgia Valenti (GV): We did not discuss the ending of the play yet. I remember specifically thinking that I did not want the play and the experience to be over. “Wait, is it over, am I to be left alone with all of this? I want more! I want to discuss with the audience, I want to keep reading!”.
Also, I remember lying down and seeing and hearing the audience passing me, concerned, and feeling a little left out from the experience for some reason…
But at the same time it was exhilarating because I had no idea what was coming next for me: was someone going to come to pick me up? Was I going to be left there? Was I about to die? I was not in the safe hands of the script anymore.
What do rabbits/other “societal” animals mean to you? How do you feel about this play?
Maria Müller (MM): I like metaphors and I think this play made very smart use of metaphors. Using animals was enough to not make the subject on the nose, but it was also specific enough to point some fingers. I thought the animals created a perfect balance between playful and grave.
Giorgia Valenti (GV): It honestly felt like I was in a bit of ‘Animal Farm’ by George Orwell. – at the end of the day it just reminded me that we are all part of a system and, for some of us, that system is not on our side.
Also, I am a big animal lover and someone who has always respected them as equal to us (that is what brought me to become vegetarian when I was only twelve years old).
So Nassim’s references and ideas deeply touched me because not only have we, as humans, created a system where we oppress ourselves, but we also created one where we have tyrannically chosen the fate and the way of life of other organisms on this Earth that we had absolutely no say over.
Tell us what you think of the interview with Giorgia Valenti & Maria Müller. What do you think of it? What ideas did you get? Do you have any suggestions? Or did it help you? Let’s have your comments below and/or on Facebook or Instagram! Or join me on Twitter.
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