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From 2010 to 2020, Run Rabbit Run was actively dedicated to creating high caliber theatre and theatre arts in the Loudoun and DC / Metro area.
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A SHORT HISTORY OF RUN RABBIT RUN THEATRE
Run Rabbit Run was known for talented casts and crew, because since our first performance at the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival*, all rehearsals began with strong artistic vision and talented casts and crew who wanted to work together in a creative, collaborative environment.
Shows were performed outdoors, in black box theatres, at historic sites, and on main stages, and the repertoire covered everything from modern originals to Shakespeare, original musicals and adaptations of classics.
Programs included acting classes, library presentations and national museum productions.In short, you name it, we did it, and according to press and patrons alike, we did it well. A highlight was the DC Metro Theatre Arts honors received alongside area theatre professionals for our musical adaptation, Once Upon A Christmas Carol. The show was listed as a “Best of 2012” and named Diane El-Shafaey - Best Musical Director, Meredith Bean McMath - Best Director of a Musical and gave Phil Erickson Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Ebeneezer Scrooge. The musical score is currently being finalized in order to make this show, in particular, available to theatre companies.
Run Rabbit Run was also known for creative set and lighting design. Above, our set for "Mark Twain's Diaries of Adam and Eve": with Twain's library at left and the Garden of Eden at right.
CREATIVE SETS
"The Importance of Being Earnest" used rotating panels based on Greek Periaktoi** - three-sided stands that could change set with a quick turn. For "Earnest", the panels changed from library to parlor to garden. The Periaktoi were built from PVC pipe triangles, umbrella stands and foam board panels dressed with printed paper (huge thanks to artist Laney Oxman).
BEHIND THE SCENES...
Run Rabbit Run Theatre is an off-shoot of Run, Rabbit, Run Productions, Inc., which brought history to life through a variety of media since 1998. Works include historical public programs for museums and schools, documentaries, educational series and interactive history programs. Clients included the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, the Newseum, the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, The History Channel and The Waterford Foundation and Lincoln Preservation Foundation.]
* Run Rabbit Run's first production was Meredith McMath's original drama, Case 22 which received critical acclaim.
** Periaktoi were used on the world's first stage: the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, Greece. It was a multi-sided wooden piece on a stand that could be rotated to indicate a change of scene. An example might be a pyramid changed represent a change of scene to desert, sea or market.
"The Importance of Being Earnest" used rotating panels based on Greek Periaktoi** - three-sided stands that could change set with a quick turn. For "Earnest", the panels changed from library to parlor to garden. The Periaktoi were built from PVC pipe triangles, umbrella stands and foam board panels dressed with printed paper (huge thanks to artist Laney Oxman).
BEHIND THE SCENES...
Run Rabbit Run Theatre is an off-shoot of Run, Rabbit, Run Productions, Inc., which brought history to life through a variety of media since 1998. Works include historical public programs for museums and schools, documentaries, educational series and interactive history programs. Clients included the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History, the Newseum, the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, The History Channel and The Waterford Foundation and Lincoln Preservation Foundation.]
* Run Rabbit Run's first production was Meredith McMath's original drama, Case 22 which received critical acclaim.
** Periaktoi were used on the world's first stage: the Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, Greece. It was a multi-sided wooden piece on a stand that could be rotated to indicate a change of scene. An example might be a pyramid changed represent a change of scene to desert, sea or market.
FORMER MANAGEMENT TEAM
MEREDITH BEAN MCMATH,
Managing Director, Producer and Playwright
Author, prize-winning playwright and award-winning historian Meredith Bean McMath was the Managing Director of Run Rabbit Run Productions, Inc. and holds 35 years of experience in arts management, theatre production and history programming. She based her career on a BA in History from The College of William and Mary and an MS in Arts Management from Shenandoah Conservatory.
Her creative works include original plays and adaptations, musicals and operas. Her several works include the concept and libretto of NORTON: A Civil War Opera (Music by Composer David E. Chåve), the dramatic farce Case 22 (2010 Capital Fringe Festival), the original Civil War drama All for the Union (2019 Capital Fringe Festival), and the dark 10-minute farce Sticks and Stones (winner of the Oxford Theatre 10-minute Play Award).
She also wrote the book adaptations of the critically acclaimed Once Upon A Christmas Carol and A Musical Little Women (Music by Diane El-Shafey, Accompaniment by Carma Jones), and stage play adaptations of George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man: Arms and the Highlander and Mark Twain's Diaries of Adam and Eve.
Since, 1971, she has directed over 50 plays and musicals and produced of over 100 works.
DIANE EL-SHAFEY
Composer and Music Director
As a Composer, Diane's original music and lyrics receive for Once Upon A Christmas Carol and A Musical Little Women have won critical acclaim. Diane worked for several years at Waterford Elementary School, directing several original musical plays for which she wrote both music and libretto. A well-known voice and piano instructor, and composer, she wrote the original score for RRR's critically acclaimed musical, Once Upon A Christmas Carol, for which she was also honored by DC Metro Theatre Arts in the "Best Musical Director" category.
Diane honed her other skills - acting, writing, directing and producing - in California before moving to Virginia in 1999. Since then, she's directed several main stage productions and served as Music Director for the former Growing Stage and Aurora Studio Theatre companies. Productions include The Growing Stage's The Fantastiks as well as youth theatre productions of Bye, Bye Birdie, Anything Goes, The Wizard of Oz, and Fiddler on the Roof, and also served as Musical Director for The Growing Stage's Fame, West Side Story and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She directed Aurora Studio Theatre's The Pajama Game and served as Musical Director for all other Aurora musicals, including Cinderella and Treasures: The Musical Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Guys and Dolls. Local acting credits include Mrs. Paroo in The Music Man, Mrs. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank and Marmee in Alcott's Little Women. More recent roles include Tony in The Art of Dining, the Social Worker in the critically acclaimed Case 22 at the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C., and Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest.
Composer and Music Director
As a Composer, Diane's original music and lyrics receive for Once Upon A Christmas Carol and A Musical Little Women have won critical acclaim. Diane worked for several years at Waterford Elementary School, directing several original musical plays for which she wrote both music and libretto. A well-known voice and piano instructor, and composer, she wrote the original score for RRR's critically acclaimed musical, Once Upon A Christmas Carol, for which she was also honored by DC Metro Theatre Arts in the "Best Musical Director" category.
Diane honed her other skills - acting, writing, directing and producing - in California before moving to Virginia in 1999. Since then, she's directed several main stage productions and served as Music Director for the former Growing Stage and Aurora Studio Theatre companies. Productions include The Growing Stage's The Fantastiks as well as youth theatre productions of Bye, Bye Birdie, Anything Goes, The Wizard of Oz, and Fiddler on the Roof, and also served as Musical Director for The Growing Stage's Fame, West Side Story and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She directed Aurora Studio Theatre's The Pajama Game and served as Musical Director for all other Aurora musicals, including Cinderella and Treasures: The Musical Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and Guys and Dolls. Local acting credits include Mrs. Paroo in The Music Man, Mrs. Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank and Marmee in Alcott's Little Women. More recent roles include Tony in The Art of Dining, the Social Worker in the critically acclaimed Case 22 at the 2010 Capital Fringe Festival in Washington, D.C., and Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Earnest.
CARMA JONES DENNEY
Assistant Composer and Assistant Music Director
A music teacher in Loudoun County, Virginia, Carma also plays piano and leads the worship team at Christ Community Lutheran Church in Leesburg. She is a 1993 graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia and played keyboard, flute, clarinet and saxophone for three summers with the Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre Orchestra. Shows included Candide, The Murder of Edwin Drood and Annie. As Assistant Musical Director for Aurora Studio Theatre, Inc. (2004-2008), she helped produce all Aurora musicals, from The Pajama Game to Aurora's final production, the fall 2008 presentation of Guys and Dolls at Franklin Park Performing Arts Center.
Assistant Composer and Assistant Music Director
A music teacher in Loudoun County, Virginia, Carma also plays piano and leads the worship team at Christ Community Lutheran Church in Leesburg. She is a 1993 graduate of Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia and played keyboard, flute, clarinet and saxophone for three summers with the Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre Orchestra. Shows included Candide, The Murder of Edwin Drood and Annie. As Assistant Musical Director for Aurora Studio Theatre, Inc. (2004-2008), she helped produce all Aurora musicals, from The Pajama Game to Aurora's final production, the fall 2008 presentation of Guys and Dolls at Franklin Park Performing Arts Center.
The cast and crew of “Mark Twain’s Diaries of Adam and Eve”, produced at Northgate Winery, Hillsboro, Virginia
