On May 9, 2025, the Hotchkiss Dramatic Association (HDA) presented the world premiere of R.I.P Lunch, the final mainstage production of the 2024-2025 school year.
As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of coeducation, the school invited two alumnae and experienced local women directors to collaborate on the new play.
R.I.P. Lunch was written by Mallory Jane Weiss ’11, a Brooklyn-based playwright. She studied English at Harvard before earning an MFA in playwriting from the New School in 2019. Ms. Weiss wrote and directed her first play as a Senior at Hotchkiss. She said, “I fell in love with theatre when, during my Senior year, they were performing Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl in the Black Box. I saw it and became obsessed.”
Her new play, R.I.P. Lunch is set in the fictional Greenwood Zoo, which is home to three of the last four white rhinos on the planet. Lunch, the only male rhino in the zoo, dies, leaving one of the female rhinos pregnant and the zookeepers wondering if the species will survive. Ms. Weiss said,
“It was an emotional play for me to write. I had been going through a heartbreak, and I originally sat down to make myself laugh. The characters showed me a way through that hard time and taught me how to heal.”
The play is co-directed by local playwright, actor, and dance instructor Darcy Boynton ’08 and Stephanie Hahn, instructor in theatre and humanities. Ms. Boynton returns to theatre at the school after having been deeply involved when she was a student. She said, “I tried to do theatre for every cocurricular. I was on the HDA board and worked both onstage and backstage.”
Ms. Boynton and Ms. Hahn have collaborated on local productions before; they were directing Salisbury Central School’s fall show when Ms. MK Lawson, instructor in theatre, invited them to direct R.I.P. Lunch.
Ms. Weiss worked alongside Ms. Boynton and Ms. Hahn to prepare the play. Ms. Boynton said, “It is so fun to work on a play with the playwright. Usually, I put up plays that are either set in stone or the playwright is dead.”
Ms. Hahn said, “Since it is the first time it is being produced, I feel a responsibility to make sure we really understand the play and Mallory’s vision. It has been a gift to have her with us.”
The actors have been rehearsing since March in preparation for the production. Carla Oudin ’26 said, “Because R.I.P. Lunch is a new play, there was more character development than usual because the characters were brand new. There was no previous performance to base them on.”
Cast member Elizabeth Hicks ’27 said, “It was a work in progress. The script didn’t get finalized until about April 20, and we were still making small changes up until the final dress rehearsal.”
Although Olivia Kwon ’26 performed in the musical Chicago in the fall, this was her first time acting in a mainstage play. Kwon said, “It helped to take theatere classes every year and be in some Black Boxes. Carla, my co-star, is a very experienced actress, so I learned a lot from her.”
