Mad Horse Theatre Company Presents WAITING FOR ALICE, A Play Perfect For Our Times

Mad Horse Theatre Company presents Waiting for Alice, a play perfect for our times, by Allison McCall. Directed by Chris DeFilipp, running February 3 - 27, 2022.

What is an Alice? In the liminal space of the Mad Tea Party, the Mad Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse maintain their ceremony of stories, games, tea, and colorful chaos under the watchful eye of The Cheshire Cat as they prepare for Alice's long-awaited arrival. Waiting for Alice is a physical, absurdist, and surreal ensemble-driven play that explores the ritual of a tight-knit community forever bound by circumstance.

Mad Horse Company Member Allison McCall originally wrote Waiting for Alice for PortFringe 2015. The initial idea came from a conversation with young actors during a rehearsal of Alice in Wonderland at the Children's Museum and Theatre of Maine. A virtual reading was presented by Mad Horse Theatre as part of their By Local series in 2021. The play delves into the urgency behind rituals and investigates Carroll's Wonderland through an absurdist lens inspired by Beckett and Ionesco.

"There are so many stories with a purgatory-esque setting, but Waiting for Godot stands out for two reasons: the characters love each other, and their situation is impacted by choice. So the main question became: WHY? Why are these characters here? Why do they make this choice? And why do we, as humans, create and practice rituals? Waiting for Alice is just one take on answering those questions. I hope that part of this experience is that the audience can decide some of those answers for themselves." - Allison McCall

Director Chris DeFilipp notes that this isn't your typical Wonderland. "The more I work on this play, the more I see reflected in it our collective experience of this ongoing pandemic. Constantly searching for a return to "normalcy," we soldier on determinedly, yet increasingly wearily. Two weeks became two months became two years and now we journey into an unknown eternity. Like these characters, we just want a respite, to know our world is safe."

The cast includes: Mad Horse Company Member, Marie Stewart Harmon; former Mad Horse Company Member, Kat Moraros and guest artiists, Zack Handlen and Tyler Costigan.

The production team includes: Mad Horse Company members Allison McCall (Playwright), Mark Rubin (Production Manager) and Jake Cote (Fight Coordinator) and Guest artists Chris DeFilipp (Director), Jenn London (Stage Manager), - Connor Perry (Set Design), Ryan McGowan (Composer, Sound Design), Anna Halloran (Costume Design), Blaise Garcia (Lighting Design), Hollie Pryor (Prop Design, Intimacy Consultant) and Erica Murphy (Movement Coordinator).

Learn more at www.madhorse.com.

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