By Ruby Brady | Staff Writer
Content warnings for discussion of death and child loss.
It is that time of the year again: Whitworth University Theatre’s spring play came around. This spring’s main stage production was the play “Rabbit Hole,” written by David Lindsay-Abaire. The production starred Whitworth students Connor Wodehouse as Howie, Mekenna Simpson as Becca, Anna Reitz as Izzy, Sierra Pauley as Nat and Ruth Geneti as Jason. “Rabbit Hole” delivered a look into a family breaking apart due to the loss of Danny, their son.
The play follows the lives of Becca and Howie, a married couple trying to cope with the loss of their son from a car accident eight months prior. It looks at a parent’s journey with grief, acceptance and memory.
Chris Hansen, the director of the play, talked about the importance of presenting such difficult, but important, topics on the stage with “Rabbit Hole.”
“Tough subject matter being presented on stage is a safe way to experience, as an audience member, a fraction of that lifetime in order to grow empathy towards it,” said Hansen.
“I would say that the content of rabbit hole has been impactful for me specifically, just because it’s really helped me understand where other people are coming from, from situations that I maybe don’t have any experience with. But it’s been a good lesson about forgiveness and grief and how that can look different for everyone,” said Whitworth sophomore Mekenna Simpson, actress for Becca.
Hansen also explained that he was very excited for students to see the play and emphasized the work put into this production; the culmination of weeks’ worth of hard work from students who perform, make the sets, fine tune lights and more.
“There are so many moving parts behind the curtain that only exist for two hours of entertainment. And yet it takes so much more time than that,” said Hansen.
During the production, Simpson grew a love for her cast and crew. “It’s been really nice to kind of feel like we’ve become more of a family as time has gone on,” said Simpson.
To stay up to date with future Whitworth Theatre productions, check out their website here.