Rattler by Lindsay Kennedy

FULL-LENGTH: After Jen's son Wyatt is accused of sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend at a party, she is introduced to a support group for women whose relations have been accused of rape. With their encouragement, she decides she will stop at nothing to get to the truth of the matter and to get Wyatt's charges dropped.
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Rattler

Recommended by

  • Rachel Feeny-Williams:
    19 Jun. 2021
    “ Sexual assault has been a central topic for plays/tv shows/movies for many years and is considered very much a 'powder keg' issue. However, Adams takes this issue very cleverly from a new perspective. Reading the very real characters she creates as they talk about their lives and facing what can be one of the worst things for a family to go through brings this pice to a whole different level. For me, I could hear the characters as they talked and could feel for them. That, for me is something that makes great theatre! ”
  • Kenneth Jones:
    19 Apr. 2020
    “ RATTLER, about a support group for women whose family members have been accused of sexual assault, is a gripping and highly theatrical journey. In Lindsay Adams’ vision of this healing circle, the perpetrators are presumed to be innocent, with little dissent. Until there is. I couldn’t guess what was coming next, and its unexpected angle — that your son might be a perpetrator — is a fresh approach in a widening collection of plays about American sexual assault epidemic. Also loved that it revels in a highly theatrical time/space: a meeting room keeps morphing into different locations, keeping momentum going. ”
  • Dave Osmundsen:
    20 Mar. 2020
    “ Challenging, though-provoking, and disturbing, "Rattler" takes an incisive look at a rape culture narrative we often miss: The mothers of the perpetrators. Jen's journey in realizing the darkness her Golden Boy child is capable of is compelling, and her character is complex and well-drawn. However, what really puts the audience between sympathy and disgust is the other women Jen meets in the play, who extol the virtues of the men in their lives regardless of their crimes. "Rattler" may make you uncomfortable, but it will also make you rethink a necessary conversation America has been having. ”
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Character Information

  • JEN
    30s,
    White
    ,
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • WYATT
    17,
    White
    ,
    Male
    Jen's son.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • ANGIE
    35-45,
    African American / Black
    ,
    Female
    Mother of Wyatt's friend, Tyrone.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • KRISTIN/MELANIE
    15-25,
    Asian
    ,
    Female
    A member of the support group and Wyatt's ex-girlfriend. An actress that can play 15 and early 20s.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • MORGAN/HOLLY
    35-50,
    White
    ,
    Female
    A deputy in the town and a member of the support group. An actress that can play 35 and 50.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • DONNA
    50s-60s,
    White
    ,
    Female
    Head of the Support Group.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      White
    • Gender: 
      Female

Development History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Actor's Theatre of Indiana
    ,
    2020
  • Reading
    ,
    Midwest Dramatist Center
    ,
    2019
  • Reading
    ,
    Inkubator New Works Laboratory
    ,
    2019

Awards