The Moon River Raft: New Dark Comedy Play for 2 actors
A wounded rabbit and her loyal sister, fleeing for their lives, hold onto hope that a secret Moon River Raft will carry them to a perfect land with no predators, filled with rainbows and radish tops as far as the eye can see. All they have to do is wait for this mysterious raft…in the middle of the night…in the woods…until Peak Full Moon…at a very creepy river bank…
You can check out what happens at this creepy river in my new one-act (miiiight slide by as a 10-minute) dark comedy, The Moon River Raft. It runs about 15+ minutes and has two great roles for ages teen through adult (the parts are written with female pronouns but the casting can be any gender). Yes, it’s dark, but it’s also funny as you lean into the cruelty, naivety and absurdity of the world these rabbits are in. It’s a play with minimal setting requirements and could adapt well to outdoor theater.
I wrote the first draft of this play over the summer, sitting on a blue chaise lounge by a window at a beach in South Carolina, while a torrential thunderstorm persisted for the entire day. The building literally shook and I had never seen lightning so blinding before. It was kind of a perfect background for me as I let the visual and auditory experience of the rain and thunder set the mood for my writing.
The other outside influence for the mood of this play was from the song the title implies. Westchester Collaborative Theater (WCT), a theater dedicated to new work, sent out a prompt to writers, asking for short plays inspired by particular pieces of music. The six plays selected, including The Moon River Raft, were later produced in a Living Music Event, which showcased “a fusion of theater and music.” Each play segued “into the song that inspired it sung by Ossining-based vocalist/songwriter Anne Carpenter.”
As I browsed through the list of 30 or so iconic songs WCT had compiled which writers could choose from, I looked for imagery that stood out in some way, maybe some quirkiness (I had such a weird and absurd idea for Suzanne Vega’s Tom’s Diner!). I would close my eyes and visualize the semblance of a character, a setting, a mood, a conflict. Unfortunately, most of the songs I requested had already been requested by multiple other writers so they were not available to use in my submission (serves me right for waiting until close to the deadline to request my choice! And Yes, Tom’s Diner was one of them!). However, one song that conveyed a lot to me was available: Moon River, by Henry Mancini. I loved Mancini from hearing him as a kid and also playing the clarinet in High School band arrangements of his songs like Baby Elephant Walk, The Pink Panther theme and the Peter Gunn theme (thanks, Mr. Rowe, for always finding us challenging and fun songs to play!). Moon River is quite different from those, and a song I don’t even know how I know (I saw Breakfast at Tiffany’s as a teen, but I don’t think that’s why I know the song. Did my parents have a Henry Mancini record they used to play???). I’ve always appreciated the lilting quality of this song, how it makes me feel like dragging my body along like a floppy, spaced-out cat or mop or something. It feels tired. Lost. Forlorn. Yet there’s a kind of far-off hope in it. Not likely, but maybe. The possibility of a future, together, with someone you love. But yet… dream-maker and heart-breaker all in one? What is reward without risk? What is hope without the possibility of tragedy? It’s a song that oozes mood.
Naturally, we end up with two rabbits, blanketed in fear, clinging to a far-off hope, about to embark—or not—on a journey that will change their lives, one way or another.
While The Moon River Raft is not about romantic love, it’s very much about dream-making and heart-breaking. It’s about hope, about tragedy, loyalty, bravery, fear, risks, kindness, sacrifice, deception, perception, love. You could also argue it’s about belief systems, death with dignity, manipulation and power. Here’s a bit more about the play:
When rabbit, Selina, breaks her leg, she knows she will not survive long in a forest filled with predators. While the rest of her rabbit colony has ostracized her as a “magnet of death,” her sister, Meredith, remains loyal and plans to keep her safe by hiding her in a tree stump forever. But when Meredith discovers Selina has left the stump and gone to a creepy river in the middle of the night, Selina reveals a secret she has just learned from the elder-rabbits: The Moon River Raft is arriving tonight and will take all Woundeds to a perfect place where injuries are healed and no predators exist. Selina pleads with Meredith to come with her, but Meredith has serious doubts. As the Moon River Raft approaches, their fate becomes clear and their loyalty to each other is truly tested.
Huge gratitude to the original and talented team who brought this play to life: Missy Flower as Meredith, Kelly Kirby as Selina, with Brenda Hettmansberger directing and Anne Carpenter as the vocalist. Also huge thanks to Kevin Snipes, Peter Andrews and Gabe Davis for their dramaturgical work (how many drafts did you read, Kevin???), as well as Alan Lutwin (producer), Kim Chandler and Gisela O’Brien (stage managers), Chasity Perez (house manager), Serena Norr (publicity) and Betsey Klampmert (Business Manager). Always thanks to my first audience, Mike Bouteneff (and in this case, also Dylan) who is my initial barometer and who lets me play all the roles. We all know plays do not come to life in vacuums, folks!
Click here to read an excerpt of the dark comedy play, The Moon River Raft. Click below for the complete digital copy of the short play, The Moon River Raft.
Photos below from WCT’s production, featuring Kelly Kirby and Missy Flower, directed by Brenda Hettmansberger; Gregory Perry Photography
