White Rabbit Red Rabbit
Ticketing for White Rabbit Red Rabbit is pay-as-you-can, with $12, $17, & $27 options available. We would like theatre to be accessible for all, but like many arts organizations, the current circumstances are challenging. Pay-as-you-can pricing means that those who can pay more have that option, and those who can't are still able to see the show.
When you purchase a ticket, you will receive two emails, one with a receipt and one with the ticket link that will be posted in the middle of the email.
PLEASE NOTE: This show is not suitable for children (PG-14) and discusses sensitive and challenging subject matter, including suicide.
White Rabbit Red Rabbit will be performed 11 times, each by a different actor.
Friday, April 16, 7:30 p.m.: Martin Sensmeier
Saturday, April 17, 7:30 p.m.: Frank Henry Kaash Katasse
Sunday, April 18, 4:00 p.m.: Allison Holtkamp
Thursday, April 22, 7:30 p.m.: Enrique Bravo
Friday, April 23, 7:30 p.m.: Ellen D. Williams
Saturday, April 24, 7:30 p.m.: Rebecca George
Sunday, April 25, 4:00 p.m.: Ben Brown
Thursday, April 29, 7:30 p.m.: Tia Carrere
Friday, April 30, 7:30 p.m.: Jesse Alleva
Saturday, May 1, 7:30 p.m.: Ericka Lee
Sunday, May 2, 4:00 p.m.: Frank Delaney
Show Description:
With no rehearsal, no director, a different actor each night, and a script waiting in a sealed envelope on stage, 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.
Since its joint premiere in 2011 in Edinburgh and Summerworks festival, White Rabbit, Red Rabbit has been translated into more than 25 different languages and has been performed over 1000 times by some of the biggest names in theatre and film including actors John Hurt, Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Alan Cumming, Stephen Rea, Sinead Cusack, Marcus Brigstocke, Dominic West, and film director Ken Loach.
Click here to view a portfolio of images from past performances of White Rabbit Red Rabbit.
“A playful, enigmatic and haunting solo show by the Iranian writer Nassim Soleimanpour.” – The New York Times
“A thoughtful, playful response to oppression.” – The Guardian
“The whole experience is altogether funny and serious and surprising and you — by which I mean we — are all in it together.” — San Francisco Examiner
“A dazzling, transcendent piece of alive-and-kicking avant-garde theater.” – Entertainment Weekly
Awards:
Dublin Fringe Festival Best New Performance 2012
Summerworks Outstanding New Performance Text Award 2011
The Arches Brick Award, Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2011
Running time is approximately 65 minutes.
Perseverance Everywhere
We are thrilled to introduce Perseverance Everywhere, as we continue this unprecedented season. Most of our shows this year will be streamed as Live Video Theatre, and as such will be available around the state, the country, and the world! This is a fantastic solution for Perseverance to continue to bring you the magic of live theatre straight to the comfort and safety of your home. Just like with live, in-person theatre, shows will be performed in real time, but instead of gathering in our theatre to watch, we will bring the theatre to you. Productions will also be available for a limited time on-demand. Because of this new format, we are offering a membership program similar to Netflix or Hulu. Simply choose a package and pay a monthly fee to receive various streamed performances as well as other goodies from Perseverance Theatre. This is Perseverance Everywhere, and by purchasing a package, not only are you getting a great deal, you receive the added value of knowing you are helping professional, regional theatre in Alaska to sustain and thrive in these challenging and unprecedented times. Please read below for rates and descriptions of all that is included in each package.
About the Playwright
Nassim Soleimanpour is an Iranian playwright, theatre maker and the Artistic Director of the Berlin Based Theatre company Nassim Soleimanpour Productions. His plays have been translated into more than 30 languages and performed globally in over 50 countries. Best known for his play White Rabbit Red Rabbit, written to travel the world when he couldn’t, his work has been awarded the Dublin Fringe Festival Best New Performance, Summerworks Outstanding New Performance Text Award and The Arches Brick Award (Edinburgh Fringe) as well as picking up nominations for a Total Theatre and Brighton Fringe Pick of Edinburgh Award. White Rabbit Red Rabbit had a 9 month Off-Broadway run casting celebrated actors like Whoopi Goldberg, Nathan Lane, Martin Short, Bobby Cannavale, Wayne Brady, F. Murray Abraham, Cynthia Nixon and etc.
By the time Nassim was permitted to travel for the first time in early 2013, his play White Rabbit Red Rabbit had already been performed hundreds of times in more than a dozen languages. Since then Nassim has facilitated workshops and panels in different events including World Theatre Festival (Brisbane), Tolhuistuin (Amsterdam), SESC Vila Mariana (Sao Paulo), Schauspielhaus (Vienna), DPAC (Kuala Lampur), Theatertreffen (Berlin), Grob Theatre (Copenhagen), British Council London and The Bush Theatre (London), University of Bremen (Germany), ISPA (Edinburgh), TATA Litreture (India), FAE (Lima), Borak [Oz Asia] (Adelaide) and etc.
About the Actors
Martin Sensmeier is part of the Tingit and Koyukon/Athabaskan tribe of Alaska. He was raised in a Tlingit Coastal Community in Southeast Alaska and grew up learning and participating in the traditions of his people, while carrying on the native subsistence lifestyle that has been sustained for thousands of years. He is an Ambassador for both the Native Wellness Institute, where he advocates for wellness amongst Native people of all Nations, as well as The Boys and Girls Club of America.
While attending high school, he qualified as a welder, and when he turned 21 he was hired as a roughneck on the Doyon Rig, drilling the North Slope in Alaska. Martin also attended the University of Alaska for two years before coming to Los Angeles to pursue his passion.
His credits include feature films, The Last Man Hunt with Jason Momoa, “The Chickasaw Rancher, as well as Netflix’ miniseries The Liberator. He did multi-episode arcs on both Yellowstone and Westworld. He can also be seen in Wind River, directed by Academy-Award nominated Taylor Sheridan, and stars opposite Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt in the western Magnificent Seven.
He recently shot the action thriller The Ice Road opposite Liam Neeson and Laurence Fishburne.
Martin is also attached to star in and produce the remake of the Jim Thorpe story, which is currently in development with Escape Pictures and Angelina Jolie.
Martin does numerous speaking engagements around the country sharing his experience as a Native American actor.
Frank Henry Katasse, whose Tlingit name is Kaash, is Alaska Native from the Tsaagweidí Tlingit clan . Frank is an actor, author, director, producer, improviser, author, educator, screenwriter, and playwright. Frank received his Bachelor’s Degree in Theatre Arts from the University of Hawaii: Mānoa. Frank is passionate about developing new Alaskan plays for the stage. Frank now lives and works in Douglas, Alaska with his wife, and two children.
Allison Holtkamp has lived in Southeast Alaska on and off for nearly 20 years. She performs with many groups and venues in Alaska, and is a Secretary for the Senate Finance Committee in the Alaska State Legislature. Allison has appeared in and directed several Perseverance Theatre productions, including as Velma Kelly in “Chicago” and Sarah Brown in “Guys and Dolls.” She is a voice teacher and a professional singer with the Juneau Cabaret, Queens, Gamble & the High Costa Living, and many others. In 2018, she produced a night of stories about gender-based violence titled, “Same”, which raised money for AWARE. She is also a stand-up comedian, and opened for Tig Notaro in Juneau. She is currently the vice president of the Perseverance Theatre Board. She lives in Douglas with her husband, Jake Waid, who is also a long-time Perseverance Theatre company member.
Enrique Bravo has had the pleasure of performing in Juneau, Alaska since 2006. He is a founding member of both Theater Alaska and Generator Theater and has worked with Perseverance Theatre in over 30 productions. He was the Actor-In-Residence at Perseverance Theatre from 2013-2019 where he also received the Bishop Michael Kenny Award in recognition of long-term commitment to great artistry in the Theatre. Regionally he has worked at Harlequin Theatre, Seattle Repertory, New York Theatre Festival, ENACT Theatre, Colonial Theatre, Bridgework Theatre, Mcleod Summer Playhouse, Austin Shakespeare, Blue Theatre, and FronteraFest. He received his BFA in Regional Theatre from Webster Conservatory in St. Louis, MO and his MFA in Theatre from the University of Texas in Austin.
Ellen D. Williams is a multi-hyphenated artist who grew up in Los Angeles, Ca. She is most known as an actor for her recurring work as Patrice on the hit CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother and Nicole Baskets playing opposite Zach Galifianakis on the FX dramedy, Baskets.
Other credits include: Bless This Mess, Superstore, I’m Sorry, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Life in Pieces, The Mindy Project, Criminal Minds, The Real O’Neals, Pitch, Kevin From Work.
A theatre graduate of California State University, Long Beach, Ellen has also performed
regionally in theatres in Los Angeles, the Northwest, and most recently for The Ashland New Plays Conference and Ojai Playwrights Conference. She is an ABC Talent Showcase Alum from the Los Angeles cast of 2008. Years later she joined as a director from 2012-2014. After a four year hiatus she returned in 2019 and in 2020 was one of three directors who directed in an all virtual platform.
Currently, Ellen is working on selling a pilot she wrote about her unique bi-racial, Filipino-American experience.
She is a proud member of SAG/AFTRA and Actors Equity.
Ellen is represented by Entertainment Lab in LA/NY and Brickhouse Talent.
Twitter: ellendwilliams
IG: theellendwilliams
Rebecca George most recently participated in the staged reading of Titus Andronicus and performed in Annapurna, and Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England at Perseverance Theatre. This winter she voiced many characters for Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre’s A Christmas Carol radio play, other favorite roles for FST include Prospera in The Tempest, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth and Adrianna in The Comedy of Errors. Rebecca has performed with Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Vermont Stage Company, Hyperion Theatre Company and The Clarence Brown Theatre. Rebecca has directed for Opera Fairbanks, The Winter Bear Project, Hyperion Theatre and Fairbanks Shakespeare Theatre. Rebecca is an adjunct faculty member for the Film and Performing Arts Department at University of Alaska, Fairbanks and is currently directing Theatre UAF’s Pride and Prejudice. Rebecca has a BFA from University of Colorado and an MFA in performance from the University of Tennessee. Rebecca is a member of Actors’ Equity Association.
Ben Brown is a lifelong Alaskan actor who first appeared at Perseverance Theatre in 1996 Death of a Salesman (Bernard). He most recently played Versati in Steve Martin’s The Underpants in Juneau and Anchorage; previous appearances include To Kill a Mockingbird (Cunningham/Taylor), The Odd Couple (Roy), Vanya, Sonia, Masha, and Spike (Vanya), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Baugh), Raisin in the Sun (Lindner), The Importance of Being Earnest (Chasuble), Leading Ladies (Duncan), Mr. Marmalade (Bradley), Tommy (Uncle Ernie), Hamlet (Guildenstern), and The Crucible (Hathorne). Ben rendered solo performances as Crumpet the Elf in the Juneau and statewide touring productions of David Sedaris’s The Santaland Diaries for seven years, and the Librarian in Glen Berger’s Underneath the Lintel on Perseverance’s Phoenix Stage for two years.
Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Tia Carrere is an accomplished actress in motion pictures and television as well as a two time Grammy award-winning musical artist.
Since she was discovered in a grocery store for her first movie role in “Aloha Summer”, she has shown her range of acting talent and versatility starring in numerous blockbusters- Wayne’s World 1 & 2 with Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, True Lies opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rising Sun with Sean Connery and Wesley Snipes. Tia also voiced the character of Nani in Disney’s classic animated film and tv series Lilo & Stitch.
In television, Tia launched her acting career in Los Angeles with a regular role on the daytime drama General Hospital. Since then she has been seen in numerous TV programs including: Nip/Tuck, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Warehouse 13, Hawaii 5-0. Relic Hunter, her own action/adventure television series continues to play in syndication all over the world.
Tia and her long-time friend, artist/producer Daniel Ho share four nominations and two Grammy awards for their acclaimed CDs consisting of all original Hawaiian language compositions. Their record, 'hawaiiana’, reached #10 on Billboard’s World Music Chart. Tia also performed on the double- platinum movie soundtrack for Wayne’s World, had the end title song on Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, as well releasing her Warner Bros. record “Dream.”
Tia continues to seek out projects that showcase her talents and challenge her abilities.
Jesse Alleva started his career at Perseverance Theatre as an intern to the Artistic Director in 2005. He acted and directed in several Perseverance Theatre shows from 2005 to 2008 and can still be seen occasionally on stage in Anchorage.
Ericka Lee is an artist, realtor, and mother of two... and generally speaking a bad mamajama. She is pleased and absolutely honored to be a part of both a Perseverance Theatre Production and working with Theatre Alaska. During this pandemic, Lee has longed for the stage and is thrilled to finally have the opportunity to express herself artistically. If she looks familiar to you, that is no mistake, Lee is exceptionally active in the Juneau arts community. You may have recognized her as the voice of Mix 106, Adelaide in Guys in Dolls or the host of many Juneau events, including Wearable Art and this year's Folk Festival. Lee would like to thank each and every member of the Juneau community for simply being themselves, for hanging in there this past year, and continuing to support the arts. She would also like to thank her 2 little/big boys JJ and Xavier for being her fan club presidents.
Theater Alaska brings vibrant theatrical events directly into community spaces. We are a theater for all and create accessibility to the arts through equity and inclusion.
After completing his MFA in Acting, Frank Delaney worked as an actor and fight choreographer throughout the Midwest before returning to Alaska. Regional acting credits include David Boden in You Are The Blood with Midnight Summit Ensemble, MacDuff in MacBeth and Egeon in The Comedy of Errors both with Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and Carbón & Montfleury in Cyrano De Bergerac with Perseverance Theatre. Fight Direction credits include The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity and Othello for Perseverance Theatre, Romeo et Juliette for Anchorage Opera, and The Three Musketeers and The Boys Next Door for Shawnee Summer Theatre. Frank became the Managing Director for Perseverance Theatre in the summer of 2019.
