{"id":86397,"date":"2025-07-24T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/hi-lo\/?p=86397"},"modified":"2025-07-24T07:34:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T14:34:19","slug":"white-rabbit-red-rabbit-long-beach-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/hi-lo\/art\/white-rabbit-red-rabbit-long-beach-play","title":{"rendered":"\u2018White Rabbit Red Rabbit,\u2019 a provocative Iranian play that upends the theater process, arrives in Long Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to Theater News, a regular column by longtime reviewer Anita W. Harris. Look for it most Thursdays. Or\u00a0sign up<\/a>\u00a0for our Eat See Do newsletter to get it in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Long Beach native Charles Tentindo decided to open a theater, he purchased 65 theater seats online and had no place to put them. But when he finally found a suitable space eight months later, the Aurora Theater came into being \u2014 named after his Argentinian mother who, with her husband, exposed their children to music, opera and plays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy this exists is the generosity of my parents, their interest in the arts,\u201d Tentindo said of the theater. \u201cAnd it’s been a flourishing, wonderful place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tentindo offers acting, improv and standup classes at the theater with three other teachers. He also produces one-man and one-woman shows and rents the theater out to other show producers and for film screenings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI created the studio based on what I wish I would have had growing up as an actor, with everything under one roof \u2014 improv, comedy, acting for stage, acting for film, demo reels, headshots,\u201d Tentindo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting classes allowed him to grow immensely as a 17-year-old at St. Anthony High School, he said, helping him boost his grades and overcome insecurities and a stutter. When acting teacher Gail Brower took him to see Arthur Miller\u2019s \u201cA View from the Bridge\u201d at Long Beach City College, he was hooked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI walked into the theater and the smell of it, the look of it \u2014 what I experienced that night changed the direction of my life,\u201d he said. Three years later at the same college, his first audition led to a stint on soap opera \u201cDays of Our Lives\u201d and the beginning of a career in acting and teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tentindo likens teaching to \u201cplanting seeds\u201d in helping people express themselves, a phrase he got from his actor friend Paul Williams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know, acting in such a cathartic process,\u201d Tentindo said. \u201cIt really is just good for life, to practice scratching at your humanity by diving into the shoes of other human beings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Actor Paul Williams, left, will perform in the Aug. 16, 2025 production of “White Rabbit Red Rabbit” at the Aurora Theater run by Charles Tentindo, right. Photo courtesy Charles Tentindo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But seeing the unusual and provocative \u201cWhite Rabbit Red Rabbit\u201d in Los Angeles recently made him want to do something new at the theater \u2014 license the play from Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour for a four-week run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I heard that there was no rehearsal, that the actors have never seen the script and there’s no director, I’m like, \u2018I have to see this,\u2019\u201d Tentindo said. \u201cI even got to be a part of the production because there’s audience interaction. It was very moving. I’ve never seen anything like it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The play calls for an actor to perform a script handed to them in a sealed envelope that they have never seen before, with no preparation and not knowing what to expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBasically, they go in cold,\u201d Tentindo said. \u201cYou never know what’s going to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A mix of newer and more experienced actors \u2014 Garrett Brown, Jeff Ruben, Mariana Williams and Paul Williams \u2014 will switch off performing the play each Saturday of its run in August.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soleimanpour had been barred from leaving Iran when he wrote the play for refusing mandatory military service, only getting his passport eight years later, Tentindo said. Using an allegory of white and red rabbits the playwright learned from his father, the play explores the implications of following government mandates or not, whether you stand by or take action, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat are you willing to turn your head away from? What are you willing to accept?\u201d Tentindo says the play asks. \u201cSo, there’s that kind of social justice to the piece, along with humor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Charles Tentindo, owner, sits on stage at his theater, The Aurora Theater, in Long Beach, Friday, July 18, 2025. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He likened the play to the Italian improvised comedy form Commedia dell’arte that began in the 1500s in which performers and clowns wore masks so they wouldn\u2019t get killed for poking fun at the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis plugs into one of the purposes of theater \u2014 to reflect back on society, but in a way that opens new doors,\u201d he said. \u201cWhy you go to a play, or why you go to an opera, a movie or a concert, is to be reminded of what it is to be human.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Souleimanpour\u2019s play heightens that feeling because of its unpredictability, Tentindo added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFilm is so predictable because it’s already set,\u201d he said. \u201cWith theater, you don’t know. It\u2019s like walking a tightrope \u2014 you don’t know what’s gonna happen. And if the actors never see the piece, there’s some nervousness by all these people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tentindo said he\u2019d wish to stage \u201cWhite Rabbit Red Rabbit\u201d regularly because of its uniqueness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOnce you’ve seen it, you’re kind of in a special group of people because it’s not a common thing,\u201d he said. \u201cI love curating these experiences for people, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhite Rabbit Red Rabbit\u201d will perform at the Aurora Theater, 4412 E. Village Rd., Long Beach, Saturdays at 8 p.m. on Aug. 2, 9, 16 and 23. Tickets are $25. For tickets and information, call 562-400-1355 or visit <\/i>MyActingStudio.com<\/i><\/a>. Run time is 90 minutes. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A rotating cast of experienced actors, including Paul Williams, will perform with no rehearsals, no director and having never seen a script handed to them in a sealed envelope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":86409,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32310],"class_list":["post-86397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86397"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86400,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86397\/revisions\/86400"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86397"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=86397"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=86397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}