Hot Seat: Media Monday with Stephen Hampe, Adam Jackson, Dante Plalumbo, and MaryGrace Kehrli from Rome Community Theater’s Rabbit Hole and Astrologer and Energetic Health Practitioner Chelan Vanno 11-18-24
Visit our show page for more on the Hot Seat: Media Monday. This episode of Hot Seat: Media Monday features interviews with the cast and crew of Rome Community Theater‘s “Rabbit Hole” and astrologer/healer Chelan Vanno.
In this episode of Hot Seat: Media Monday, members of the cast and crew of Rome Community Theater’s Rabbit Hole discuss the play and their roles onstage and behind the scenes. Stephen Hampe produces the show, Adam Jackson is the director, and Dante Palumbo and MaryGrace Kehrli play “Howie” and “Izzy” in the show.
The logline of Rabbit Hole describes it as a play about “the aftermath of a life-shattering accident, [because of which] a young husband and wife find themselves drifting perilously apart. Rabbit Hole charts their bittersweet search for comfort in the darkest places…and for a path that will lead them back into the light of day.
“You know, this is a very relatable experience I think we all go through at some point in our lives,” director Adam Jackson said. “Grief, what it is to experience loss, and how you know we go on from there. I think it’s different for everybody. It’s different for all the characters in this show, so I think it’s something the audiences are really going to connect to.”
For Dante Plaumbo, Rabbit Hole was a challenge he was ready to take on, “ I’m ready to see how far my acting can go and what exactly I could do. What emotions I can show on stage, and how can I bring that grief to life on stage, because the show does have a lot of grieving in it, there are a lot of different grieving processes. How people grieve is talked about throughout the whole show and really about at the end of the day, finding hope at the end.”
MaryGrace Kehrli talked about her approach to her role and how she gained insight into her character, “I think a lot of what helped me is when we first started the process, a lot of times we sat down, and we all talked about scenes together. It was really collaborative, which I really enjoyed because then I had both my perspectives and the other characters who were actually very helpful in helping me build my character.”
“The rabbit hole is a metaphor,” producer Stephen Hampe explained. “you come out of the darkness into the light. I mean, what Dante and MaryGrace have been talking about is the true interplay of the dynamics of a family. You’ve got the mother, you’ve got the younger sister, you’ve got a married sister, and this is like any family going through life, the genesis of it does…one of the things that we’re hoping that audiences will come and see is that they’ll [recognize]a little bit of themselves and the little sister or the big sister or the mom and even the younger kid who ends up drawn into all of this and is grappling with trying to deal with all that’s going on. This is what theater’s all about getting those emotions, putting those emotions out there.”
Rome Community Theater presents Rabbit Hole on Friday, November 22nd at 7:30 pm, Saturday, November 23rd at 7:30 pm, Sunday, November 24th at 2:30 pm, Friday, November 29th at 7:30 pm, Saturday, November 20th at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, December 1st at 2:30 pm. Rome Community Theater is online at Romecommunitytheater.org/, Facebook.com/romecommunitytheater, Instagram.com/romecommunitytheater/, Twitter.com/rome_theater, and YouTube.com/@romecommunitytheater9308. Buy tickets to see Rome Community Theater’s Rabbit Hole.
Then, Astrologer and Energetic Health Practitioner Chelan Vanno explained her process and the services she offers to listeners. While most people are familiar with their sun sign, the moon sign a person was born under also holds great significance.
“The Moon is really about your emotions right now,” Vanno explained, “and the moon changes signs every month. All 12 zodiac signs in a month, you’re getting an experience of that archetype every couple of days; it’s shifting… I really encourage people to start with the moon because the moon’s changing constantly. Your sun sign is your outward projection, so how people see you right, and your moon sign is more of your internal emotional landscape, so how you feel within.”
Astrology has many practical applications. Chelan has seen this for herself and now helps others use the insights they gain from their astrological charts.
“It’s been a hobby of mine, and then I started to see how it’s really just enlightened my own life personally. It’s really enhanced my personal relationships using it with my spouse, and I’ve been married for a long time. You can use this in [an astrological] chart so you can look at, you know, my chart, my husband’s chart, to see what kind of aspects we’re having… knowing that I can, we can kind of adjust how we communicate, maybe difficult conversations or giving more space to someone who needs a little more space.”
Chelan shared her journey into alternative health approaches, saying, “I had a significant spiritual awakening in late 2018. After that, I became interested in sound healing, which led me to attend an astrology retreat. This retreat was hosted by a guy whose work in new paradigm astrology I had been following. It was an incredible experience. During the retreat, I met someone who brought his gongs along. He gave us the opportunity to play them, and I was so inspired that I ended up purchasing a gong for myself. I now have a 32-inch Paiste gong, which is a beautiful symphonic gong. It plays all the sounds of the universe and can take you to places you never imagined.”
Chelan Vanno is passionate about using sound, vibration, and frequency to promote emotional well-being. “This practice can help release energetic blockages in the body, provide pain relief, and induce deep Theta relaxation. Essentially, it helps bring you into a state of relaxation where healing can begin.”
Chelan Vanno’s Infinite Illuminations is online at Infinite-illumination.com/, Facebook.com/infiniteilluminationyoga, Tiktok.com/@infinitelyilluminated, and https://www.yYoutube.com/@infiniteiyilluminated
Ron Klopfanstein is an award-winning multimedia investigative journalist, news and features editor, and creative content producer for the Utica Phoenix digital platform and 95.5 FM “The Heat” broadcast and streaming. He also hosts Hot Seat: Media Monday every Monday at 5 pm, broadcast on 95.5 FM and streaming at 955TheHeat.com. Like him at Facebook.com/ReadRonKlopfanstein, Follow him at Threads.net/@RonKlopfanstein, Instagram.com/RonKlopfanstein, Tiktok.com/@ronklopfanstein, Twitter.com/RonKlopfanstein,and subscribe to his channel at YouTube.com/@RonKlopfanstein. Read all his work at Muckrack.com/ron-klopfanstein. NOW at BLUESKY Bsky.app/profile/ronklopfanstein.bsky.social
