Sometimes a snow globe is just a gift.
Other times it means true love.
“Red Light Winter” explores what happens when three main characters attach too much meaning — or underestimate — seemingly small tokens of affection, such as a look, a glance or a small gift.
Written in 2005 by Adam Rapp, the play tells the story of two college friends who travel to Amsterdam after finishing graduate school in New York. During their trip, Davis and Matt both unexpectedly fall in love with a prostitute named Christina.
“The characters? lives get built up and torn apart by their imaginings,” said J. Buck Jabaily, artistic director for Single Carrot Theatre and director of the production.
Rapp, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, structured “Red Light Winter” in two one-hour scenes of live theater, where stage time and actual time are identical, with a one-year time gap in between.
“The language of this play is very new and accessible,” said Aldo Pantoja, who plays Davis.
The vernacular style of the script and the complexity of the characters give the play a modern accessibility that the actors find refreshing.
“When you first sit down and read Matt?s character, you don?t get him because he?s so trapped in his head,” Brendan Ragan, who serves as the public relations director of the company, said of his character, Matt. “It?s been a lengthy, complex process for me to understand the core of the character.”
The production itself reflects their collaborative and creative energies.
“We understand where our director is coming from and our ideas blend well together, because we?ve all done it [directed] ourselves,” said Giti Lynn, who plays Christina and serves as audience development director for Single Carrot.
IF YOU GO
Red Light Winter
» Venue: Theatre Project, 45 W. Preston St., Baltimore
» Time: 8 p.m. Thursday to Saturday; 2:30 p.m. Sunday Through Aug. 19
» Tickets: $4 to $9
» Info: 443-844-9253, singlecarrot.com
