Of Nannies and Bunnies: a documentary playmaker tries to keep it real

Staying true to the art form takes on a different meaning when you’re creating a verbatim documentary play. In a verbatim play, every word is supposed to have been spoken by someone in real life. So when a scene calls for a bunny, what do you do? I know what you’re thinking, if we’re using actors to represent real people, why can’t we use a fake bunny? Let me explain the situation.

The scene takes place in a small room that fits only 12 spectators at a time. A Filipino nanny tells the shocking and absurd story of her time with a non-Filipino Canadian family, during which she was expected not only to care for the children in the usual ways, but to teach them French (a language she knew nothing about), comfort and sleep with them through the night, attend on the mother when she went shopping by holding her credit card for her, and feed a bunny and dispose of its “poo.”

During a recent workshop for this site-specific play, we tried the scene a number of ways in a number of rooms. Eventually we found the right setting, but a critical element was missing: the bunny. We felt we just had to have the real thing in order to achieve the level of absurdity the scene seemed to be demanding. So I put out a call to the theatre community: “Need a rabbit.”

The following represents a sample of the email correspondence I had on the matter. Some of these emails are in earnest, others are tongue-in-cheek… I think. I wasn’t always sure. You be the judge.

Antony Ingram and Me
Anthony: Hey Alexander, My sister in law has a few rabbits. She might be willing. If you could give me a clear an idea of what will be involved I can ask her. Will it be on stage? Etc. Cheers.

Me: Dear Anthony, Yes the rabbit would be on stage. In a room where it would be handled (if willing) by a female actor. Or perhaps just fed. Groups of about 12 people would occasionally pass by the rabbit on their way to another room. Sometimes they would remain in the room with the rabbit for about 10 minutes while the actor performs a monologue, which includes a story by a Filipino nanny about looking after a family's bunny. The rabbit would be part of a premiere presentation at the PuSh Festival.

Anthony: Great. I’ll check into it for you.

Jeff Gladstone and “S”
Jeff: Hi S, this guy is looking for a rabbit with some acting experience... do you have contacts for where The Wars [a show at the Playhouse] rabbits ended up? Thanks! jeff.

S: Hi Jeff, The Wars rabbits came back to Calgary so they probably wouldn’t be keen on making the trip again. Good idea though.

Andrew Laurenson and Me
Andrew: I'm sorry I don't know a rabbit who can play tennis.

Me: Andrew, we seem to have gotten our lines crossed. The rabbit needn't be athletic. Not a tennis partner. It's for a documentary play. So we're looking for a rabbit that can just be itself. It's a naturalistic setting. We don't want the rabbit to detract from the illusion by showing off the height of its bounce or anything like that. Nor do we want it upstaging the actress. It's got to be able to give and take focus. Does that narrow it down for you?

Andrew: Every rabbit that I've ever worked with was hopelessly self-absorbed and constantly needing attention. I worked with one that insisted on having a swimming scene in the show, even though the play was set during a Saskatchewan winter. Of course the director caved in, re-wrote part of the script to include a little inflatable pool, and, well, let's just say it was nightmarish. Alex, when you find your rabbit, do not let him get wet during the show.

And oh, Veda used to have a rabbit. But it might be dead by now. Best not to ask her in case it opens old wounds. Maybe Jamie Long would know, he works with her once in a while.

Me: It's hard to believe people actually eat these creatures.

Kate McDonaugh
Kate: Hi Alex, I am sure there are domestic bunnies about but should you be in a pinch there is the 'bunny park' down at Jericho beach where many rabbits bounce about. Perhaps it is within your process to bound after and capture the wild beast? It is between Jericho beach and the Jericho Sailing Club - as you walk either way there is the large wharf extension that looks like a parking lot overhanging the ocean - to the north of that across the manicured greens there are bushes. the bunnies linger there..... kate.

Laara Sadiq and Me
Laara: I don’t have a rabbit – but I do have a small brown child who might fit in a large cage and even has her own bunny ears in her tickle trunk.

Me: Is the child very furry?

Larra: If an outrageous afro constitutes ‘fur’, then yes – she is.

Me: Well, I think it would require a suspension of disbelief for the spectator to accept the young child with the afro as a rabbit, and since this is a documentary play, that may create a credibility gap for us. Also, the rabbits I'm familiar with have straight hair. Is there a curly haired variety?

Chelsea McPeake

Chealsa: Hello Alexander. This email makes me both grimace and smile. We had rabbits in our production of the Wars last year, at the director’s request, they were real rabbits – though in one of the two rabbit scenes, they were replaced with stuffed toy rabbits and I didn’t know the difference.

It was a co production with Calgary and the show came here from them. And so did the rabbits. They bought the rabbits from a breeder (or somewhere) in Calgary without an exit plan for them. They came back here to our Production Office where we fed and cared for them while trying to figure out what to do with them. Calgary suggested the SPCA, and our softer west-coast spirited selves were not so inclined. Eventually a home was found, but it was a long haul.

Anyhow, through the whole experience, I developed a bit of a relationship with a local rabbit organization – The Vancouver Rabbit Rescue Organization – the woman there is “Olga Betts” - [email protected]. She was a very valuable resource in information about rabbits and she helped us get the rabbits neutered for a very low cost.

Good luck!

Richard Wolfe and Me
Richard: Hey there Alex, I was just at the BCSPCA Vancouver looking for a cat. They have a mess'o rabbits and probably will have some around that time too. However, they're pretty sensitive about animal exploitation so who knows? I know there will be very little rabbit skinnin' done in your play, so if it were up to me .....

Me: Are they also vegetarians? Does humane treatment include humane slaughter of the animal? Could we eat the bunny, (if properly killed, skinned and prepared), once the show's run is over?

Andy Thompson
Andy: I have a VW Rabbit... 1984...

Finally, Andreas Kahre had this suggestion:

Andreas: Anima(l)tronics? ( i.e.: a piece of fur that occasionally twitches on account of the remote control Tonka dump truck cunningly concealed within it?).

The search continues.

Editor's Note: we would like to assure our readers that no rabbits were harmed during the above process. Plank Magazine loves animals, trees and small children.