Usually, I do not travel to our Sunday seminar trips with much anticipation or excitement. However, our trip to the Macaulay Honors College, to view Stephen Gracia’s The Woman Who Gave Birth to Rabbits, was an exception. Despite the seeming absurdity of this play, it was ironically that very characteristic which built up more interest within me to speak with the playwright and view the unfolding of this work in real-time. The commute, unfortunately, was extremely dreadful and longer than normal, amounting to almost two hours of travel in each direction. Upon arrival to the destination, I was eager to finally see the Macaulay Building, in-person, for the first time. The area was very nice and I actually enjoyed it, considering the fact that I am not a fan of the city.
When it came time to view the play, the first emotion I felt was shock at both, the set of actors and the acting, which were unexpected. To clarify, I was not expecting to find the cast of the play to be older than the age of twenty and I was also left very impressed with how effectively they performed. During the scene where a woman screams for the first time, I was not expecting such a loud, sudden, and awfully distressing voice, which troubled and completely took me by surprise. I also felt that the actors suited their roles very well and successfully portrayed the intended demeanors.
Something I was surprised to learn is that the storyline is partially based on true events, as a lady named Mary Toft created a similar situation through a hoax. However, the playwright claimed that he decided to change the plot, making the event realistic, although with a purpose that revealed the gender struggles during the according time period, thus forming a purpose to its unfolding. The play conveyed many implicit themes such as hierarchy and patriarchy, evident through the tone and diction of Thomas Ahlers and Joshua Toft, the male characters. Ultimately, it became evident how woman were exploited by men and treated inferior during 18th century England.
Along with the themes of the play, speaking with the playwright and actors brought many other lessons to light such as the reality surrounding an artist’s lifestyle and the materialistic culture formed around art in America. Stephen Gracia asserted his mission of providing affordable and preferably free art, however battled with the issue of not receiving appreciation for it. He claimed that he was told by a friend, “If you do not put a price on your art then it will not be valued.” Therefore, conflicted with his morals, Stephen Gracia was obligated to modify his approach to art in order to preserve his skill. Furthermore, learning about the individual lifestyles of every actor was insightful into the world surrounding their career choices and how hard they must work in order to afford the craft that they love, especially in a society like our country.
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