Sunday Arts Magazine

5 Apr 2021

Sam Serna – Bunny Rabbit

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Step aside Ivan Aristeguieta, there is a new Venezuelan set to take.

the Australian comedy scene by storm! Making Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2021 Debut.

Sam Serna lived in the notorious Caracas, Venezuela – a violent city which enjoys the dubious distinction of being one of the most dangerous in the world – but even that did not prepare her for how terrifying dating men would be when she found herself single again after 13 years of marriage.

In the world premiere of her debut solo show, Bunny Rabbit, Sam combines storytelling with some spicy stand-up. Her unique background gives her universal experiences of dating a fresh perspective, which is interwoven with her story of escaping the Venezuelan communist regime.

“Right now Venezuela is responsible for the biggest refugee crisis in the history of the American continent, five million people – that’s close to 20% of the population – have left,” says Sam, who emigrated ten years ago with her now ex-husband.

The title of the show refers to those moments where we freeze like scared bunnies when confronted by predators. From surviving life in Caracas, taking the rest of her family to safety abroad, to winding up involuntarily celibate and single again in her mid-thirties, Sam Serna has had more than her fair share of ‘bunny rabbit moments’.

An engineer by day, Sam picked up a mic in 2019 and has been doing the rounds of the rooms since then. She’s had training in improvised comedy with The Improv Conspiracy and cut her teeth on the festival circuit performing in an ensemble showcase as part of the 2020 Adelaide Fringe and a two-hander with Indian-born, Thai-raised “queermedian” Sunanda Sachatrakul. Called “Yes, We Tan!” the show was Broadsheet’s Top Pick for a comedy show in the 2020 Melbourne Fringe. She also co-runs a women and non-binary comedy room, “Raise the Bar”, together with fellow woman of colour, comedian Amna Bee.

Bunny Rabbit takes an irreverent look at sex, anatomy, bodily fluids, pop culture and if you are wondering what it’s like to have all your friends and family mugged at gun point at different times, well, that’s in there, too, in this brand new hour of thought provoking stand-up.