LAB! Theatre is bringing back middle school memories with 'Horse Girls'

In her middle school years, Hannah Whittington rode horses for sport and developed an obsession with them. Now, Whittington will act in “Horse Girls” as Robin, the youngest of the Lady Jean Ladies, and channel her inner 11-year-old. 

“I feel like my character in the show, how I play her, is kind of a version of myself in middle school,” Whittington said. “I was this hyperactive, kind of strange, horse-obsessed middle schooler and that's exactly who these characters are.”

LAB! Theatre will be presenting its third show of the main stage season, “Horse Girls,” written by Jenny Weiner and directed by Bailey Elrod. The performance will be held from Feb. 22 to 24 at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for Dramatic Art Studio 104.

The first show Whittington acted in at UNC was with LAB! She is also now a production apprentice with the LAB! Board.

“The director gives us a lot of liberty to just kind of go crazy with it and make really big choices and then she reels it back in and fits it to her vision,” Whittington said. “It’s really fun to have that artistic freedom to go off the rails every now and again.”

Junior Michele Metzgeris the production manager. She oversees and organizes everything going on behind the stage. 

“I really liked the script," Metzger said. "I thought the show was really funny and since it’s all young middle schoolers, it wasn't something that I had seen a lot before."

Her first show as a production manager was during her sophomore year for the “Me Too Monologues." This is the second show she's produced at UNC.

“I’m most excited to see everyone remembering themselves in middle school,” Metzger said. ”It’s such a different time and I think a period that a lot of us look back on and cringe or do not remember fondly.”

This is her first time working with LAB! Theater Company as a production manager. In the past, she had only worked with them in acting.

“I really like the part of rehearsal when the cast knows their characters, knows their lines, so that they can have fun with it,” Metzger said. “Then it turns into so much more of a theatrical production.”

Metzger said she hopes that people will enjoy the experience and make them remember the difficulties of being a young person and reflect on how they have grown and progressed since then. 

“All the language in the show is like ‘Oh, that's so true as to what a middle school would say' but as a twenty- something year old I'm gonna remember that I said that and then cringe internally because it’s just so embarrassing to remember,” Metzger said.

Senior Amanda Roberts is the set designer for the show. Roberts has been involved in the scene departments of various theaters for a couple of years. This is her first show with LAB!

“The director really went an interesting way and we have a lot of amazing actors who really brought these characters to life,” Roberts said. “They're a little hard to do and everything came together really nicely, I'm excited to show people.”

Roberts said the process has been very collaborative with different departments bouncing ideas off each other and problem-solving together. 

“I definitely do enjoy the process the directors created with really making sure all of us stay connected and checking in with each other and making sure we all feel supported in the process,” Roberts said.

Roberts said she expects the audience to feel challenged to think back on all they faced when they were younger.

“I think they'll have to process all the emotions the characters are going through but also realize it's not that far from what we've felt before," Roberts said.

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