Breathing in the Rain by Callan Stout

***open to further development***

12 year old Mairyn and her younger sister are striving for normalcy while their parents are away. But they’re not really alone. Mama’s only in the hospital for a short while. Papa’s coming home soon from work on a cruise ship. And their deceased grandfather’s magic still protects the family property. As long as they still live there, they’re safe and anything...
***open to further development***

12 year old Mairyn and her younger sister are striving for normalcy while their parents are away. But they’re not really alone. Mama’s only in the hospital for a short while. Papa’s coming home soon from work on a cruise ship. And their deceased grandfather’s magic still protects the family property. As long as they still live there, they’re safe and anything seems possible, even holding her disintegrating family together. But the family home was damaged in an epic storm, their FEMA trailer is being taking away, and child services just came knocking.
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Breathing in the Rain

Recommended by

  • Stephen Foglia:
    26 Jan. 2020
    “ This play has everything: song, dance, puppetry, magic, and at its center a heartbreaking story of a child trying to hold her world together using the only powers she understands. I love how Breathing In The Rain makes the world around an old FEMA trailer so large -- full of menace but also the tender possibilities of love. Stout gifts directors and designers with tremendous theatrical possibilities, and she gifts the audience with a lead character they won't soon forget. ”
  • Samantha Cooper:
    12 Jan. 2020
    “ This is a beautiful and quiet play about growing up in the aftermath of a big catastrophic event. With an exceptionally well-drawn young protagonist, Breathing in the Rain explores what it means to do everything in your power to hold your family and your life together when so much of the world is out of your control. Magical elements and puppetry truly highlight the gorgeous imagery inherent in Callan's writing. ”
  • Alix Sobler:
    22 Dec. 2019
    “ A heartbreaking, haunting look at traumatic events and the way they can affect a family. From the perspective of children left alone in the aftermath of catastrophe, magic and the mysteries of the adult world are interchangeable and indistinguishable, and who are we to say there is really any difference? Same goes for monsters, and the very real threat of looming adults. Highlighting the frustration and loneliness of what it means to be a child with not control, this play manages to provide spectacle and whimsy at the same time it breaks your heart. ”

Character Information

  • Mairyn
    12ish,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    That special age where puberty has hit you all at once, but you're still a child.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Coral
    8ish,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Mairyn's younger sister, a silent puppet, a beautiful, articulate, heartbreaking, complex puppet, but only controlled by a single puppeteer. The puppet should feel like it has the weight of a person and never be funny simply because it's a puppet.
    THIS CHARACTER IS A PUPPET
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Mama
    40's,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    The girls' sick mother, she is from Hawaii.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Papa
    40's,
    Puerto Rican heritage.
    ,
    Male
    A cruise ship entertainer on the Spanish Caribbean routes, he is from Puerto Rico.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s, 40s, 50s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American, Latinx/o/a or Hispanic
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Francis
    12ish,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    A boy in Mairyn's grade at school.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Teens, 20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Trent Travers
    30's,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    Child services agent. He actually cares.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s, 30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Tucker
    Any Age,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    A truck driver
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any adult age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male
  • Tutu
    older than Mama in the prologue,
    Any
    ,
    Male
    Mairyn and Coral's grandfather, Mama's father, he is from Hawaii. He is alive in the prologue and a magical dead being for the rest of the play. Tutu is a term for grandfather in Hawaiian.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s, 50s, 60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Male

Development History

  • Workshop
    ,
    Columbia University
    ,
    2016