"Ms. MacCarthy’s taut writing is enhanced by the tight direction and expressive choreography of SIDNEY ERIK WRIGHT. The combination of all these elements make for a riveting psychological thriller." theaterscene.net

“The speech plays out almost like a dance and ends with an actual one where Max enters the scene for their duet which is passionate and scary, when the violent reality threatens to burst out of the neat and sensual choreography by director-choreographer SIDNEY ERIK WRIGHT.” stagebuddy.com

“they break out into a sometimes beautiful, sometimes sexy, and often violent dance sharply choreographed by director SIDNEY ERIK WRIGHT. It’s powerful...it ends poetically and sad. We’ve seen abuse in front of us, but she looks happy. It’s haunting, and stays with you long after the end.” The Arts Wire Weekly

When he danced, it was like…like, perfect technique, but with broken glass in it, it was like…Someone who can go all-in like that, who can make you remember why you love this shit in the first place, that’s special. You notice that. I noticed.

And when we fucked, it was like there was this second, separate woman, this crazy woman who lived inside me, trying to claw her way out of me. It was like I had a death wish too. Like crazy people. Oh my God! I miss it so much.

I am riding the high of Odette and I am not drinking anymore and I know that as long as I’m careful? As long as I watch myself? I can make this work. I can have the man I love and the role I love and for a minute, I do. For this one tiny minute, we just do the show at night and go home afterward and hold each other and nobody’s slipping and nobody’s angry and everything just fucking works.

Just for the record, I was never in danger. OK? I figure, like, this relationship is a contact sport. Like ballet. I can do that shit. OK? I’m a fucking adult. So if I’m not in danger then how the fuck does that affect anyone else?

I also just need to say that he did not break my rib. I broke my rib. We were yelling and I tripped into a chair, and I know that sounds fucking cliché or stereotypical but I did, I tripped and it happens to be true and so, whatever. He didn’t break it.

Because the thing? The fucked-up thing that I can never ever change after all this time? Is that I am still so fucking in love with him. He’s still inside me. He will always be inside me.

And in my head we’re still always dancing. Not even ballet. Nothing so polite and structured. We dance ugly. We dance like sex. We dance wild. Wild like we were. Dancing like we both have a death wish. Dancing until the crazy woman inside of me finally claws her way out.

"Until She Claws Her Way Out"

Ensemble Studio Theatre Marathon Series A May 13-June 6, 2015

Written by Mariah MacCarthy

Directed and Choreographed by Sidney Erik Wright

Starring Naomi Kakuk

and featuring Kit Treece

Photos by Gerry Goodstein

“And in my head we’re still always dancing. Not even ballet. Nothing so polite and structured. We dance ugly. We dance like sex. We dance wild. Wild like we were. Dancing like we both have a death wish. Dancing until the crazy woman inside of me finally claws her way out.”

“A collection of short works, most Ensemble regulars, this speed-trial evening emphasizes how difficult it is for theater artists to work in miniature and how satisfying when they succeed...Mariah MacCarthy’s “Until She Claws Her way Out”, directed and choreographed by SIDNEY ERIK WRIGHT, takes a fairly unconventional approach to a tale of domestic abuse among ballet dancers, though the move from monologue to erotic pas de deux feels somewhat forced.” The New York Times

“The tension is effectively ratcheted up in the two plays rounding out the evening. Mariah MacCarthy’s monologue "Until She Claws Her Way Out" employs little more than expressionistic sound design and the performance chops of Naomi Kakuk to shade in the gray areas of an abusive relationship that is more than what it seems.” Time Out NY (****)

“This is a sympathetic probing of the connection between memory and destruction.” NYTheater Now

"Ms. MacCarthy’s taut writing is enhanced by the tight direction and expressive choreography of SIDNEY ERIK WRIGHT. The combination of all these elements, with added lighting effects, and well-selected, moody jazz music, all make for a riveting psychological thriller." theaterscene.net

“The speech plays out almost like a dance and ends with an actual one where Max enters the scene for their duet which is passionate and scary, when the violent reality threatens to burst out of the neat and sensual choreography by director-choreographer SIDNEY ERIK WRIGHT.” stagebuddy.com

“MacCarthy’s dialogue is fresh and strong...they break out into a sometimes beautiful, sometimes sexy, and often violent dance sharply choreographed by director SIDNEY ERIK WRIGHT. It’s powerful...it ends poetically and sad. We’ve seen abuse in front of us, but she looks happy. It’s haunting, and stays with you long after the end.” The Arts Wire Weekly

“Rounding out the evening is “Until She Claws Her Way Out,” an entrancing monologue that turns into a stunning ballet duet about domestic violence and the need to be in control. Naomi Kakuk handles Mariah MacCarthy’s text and SIDNEY ERIK WRIGHT’s choreography expertly, with the assistance of dance partner Kit Treece, telling a subtle, disturbing, and far too common story of a woman who believes that she is safe and in charge of her own life even as someone else starts to take over.” Charged.fm

“All the direction was first-rate. A fanciful, moving evening of theatre was created at one of New York’s premiere drama incubators.” Berkshirefinearts.com