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THE RATS ARE GETTING BIGGER - an urban fairy tale, with music [more info continued]

Cast
ARIANA – the artist
ERNEST – the activist
EL RATON/ THE MAN (FORMERLY KNOWN AS EL RATON) – the rat
RAT 409 – the lover
PIGEON* – the fighter
STEVIE RAY/ STEVIE RAT/ STEVIE ROACH* – the soldiers
BELLA/ BELLA RAT/ BELLA ROACH* – the soldiers
ENSEMBLE:   BLACK MARKET HOT DOG VENDOR, THE PO-PO, WOMAN WITH BIG BROWN BAGS, “BARRY,” KINKO’S CUSTOMERS, RATS, ROACHES, etc.
(* = May also be played by ensemble members.)

About The Play
It all started with Andre the Giant.   Have you seen the posters around town?  They’re on billboards and abandoned buildings, street signs and skateboards.  They are so engrained in the fabric of what we see that we don’t even see them until we finally take notice and then we see: they’re everywhere.  This is the life work of guerrilla artist Shepard Fairey and it was the seed that begged the question: what would happen if the fake propaganda of renegade art posters came to life.  And it allowed me to examine the precarious balance artists and activists skate between slaving in obscurity and finally finding an audience.  Is it possible to maintain your integrity even if your message goes mainstream?  Ernest and Ariana struggle with these idealistic principals against a macabre backdrop of rats, revolution, and a panty-sniffing fascist who claims to be the heir of Bloomingdale’s.

What Others are Saying
“Not many shows can be as revolting yet exciting as The Rats are Getting Bigger, a play with music by Julia Edwards about guerilla artists, disturbed lovers, damaged dreams, and a rat revolution in New York City…The Rats are Getting Bigger becomes a strong and disturbing, if sometimes surreal, parable of the dangers of tyranny and the struggle to remain true to one’s self in an alienating world.” --nytheatre.com

“This Animal Farm-like tale is cleverly written by Julia Edwards, mixing some very original romantic comedy and political satire into a highly entertaining modern fairy tale.” --San Diego Playbill

 


WOMAN WITH BIG BROWN BAGS:  Would I be unpopular if I said I live in fear of contamination?  Is that so criminal?  Or is it criminal to terrorize us with dirt and disease?  To make us fear walking outside because our streets are overrun with rodents that, pardon my French, eat their own excrement.  The rats are taking over the city!  And they’re not going to stop at the street or your building or your door.  If we don’t take action, you’re going to wake up with a rat sleeping next to you on your pillow! 

We asked them to go to New Jersey with the rest of the vermin but they wouldn’t listen.  Now it’s time for us to get tough.  Next time I see a rat...  (Whips out a gun)  It’s going to get one of these right between the eyes.  I won’t let myself be a victim again and neither should you!