The pandemic has turned theater into a treasure hunt for some companies as they scramble to find new modes of presentation which are both safe and rewarding for their audiences. But one area theater company has decided to turn this metaphor on its head, and make, as part of its theatrical season, a treasure hunt […]
Rorschach’s Klecksography and the future of theatre
Subtitled “The Future of Theatre,” Rorschach Theatre’s annual Klecksography (Klex20) project comes along just as we are all pondering exactly what that future will be. Klecksography 2020 opens Sunday night, August 9 at 7pm. Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach called the childhood game he later developed into his inkblot test, Klecksography. For the past decade, Rorschach […]
Toxic Avenger: The Musical is indestructible. Here’s why.
Watching Rorschach Theatre’s production of Toxic Avenger: The Musical, I wondered what it is about this show that makes it seem as indestructible as its mutant monster hero? Toxic Avenger: The Musical, the joyfully schlocky show based on an obscure 1984 cult film full of New Jersey jokes, was not expected to have much of […]
Review: The Toxic Avenger: The Musical, in-toxic-ating fun
Save the Earth. Kick a little ass. Rip out a spleen (or a spine). And do it all with a power-pop ballad in your heart. That is The Toxic Avenger: The Musical, and, in Rorschach’s hands, it is in-toxic-ating, exuberant fun. Melvin Ferd III (Ricky Drummond), a skinny kid from Tromaville, New Jersey, wants to […]
2020 Visions. Theatre leaders tell us what lies ahead.
We asked area theatre companies to tell us what they were most looking forward to in 2020. Their answers surprised us! Contributors: 4615 Theatre Company . American Ensemble Theater . American Shakespeare Theatre Company . Arena Stage . Avant Bard Theatre . Brave Spirits Theatre . Capital Fringe . CulturalDC . Folger Theatre . Happenstance […]
Review: She Kills Monsters, Rorschach’s revival of its 2014 hit show
When you leave this world, what are you going to leave behind for your loved ones? Memories? An inheritance? How about an entire fantasy world in which a version of you lives on and offers insight into the person you used to be? That last one is the set up for Qui Nguyen’s She Kills […]
Review: Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven. Show runners take note.
There’s a notion these days in theatrical circles that the hallmark of a great play is that it can only be a play; that the story being told wouldn’t work in any other medium. As I was watching Rorschach Theatre’s production of Reina Hardy’s Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven, I was struck by […]
Reykjavík review. Steve Yockey’s play gets Rorschach’s signature treatment
Truth be told, I’ve never been to Iceland. But I somehow doubt that Steve Yockey and Rorschach Theatre’s horror-strewn and homo-centric vignettes in the rolling world premiere Reykjavík are meant to be faithfully representative of the oddly hot Nordic tourist spot in the middle of the North Atlantic. That said, this magic-filled and darkly comic […]
Review: Sing to Me Now. Overworked muse seeks intern
In the promotional materials for their production of Iris Dauterman’s Sing To Me Now, Rorschach Theatre has been highlighting one particular quote from the script: “Every second you hesitate, every moment you’re not writing, furiously writing, or dancing, or singing, things are getting worse. So hurry. Up.”
Rorschach’s Three-Play Season All World Premieres
Rorschach Theatre, whose recent work has been characterized by world premieres, outlandish concepts, magical realism and suspenseful moments, will offer three world premieres of suspenseful, outlandish plays full of magical realism for its 2018-2019 season.
Review: 410[GONE] from Rorschach Theatre
Being stuck in the world of 410[GONE] might seem like Hell for most people. After all, it is a trippy video game afterlife full of maddening puzzles based on Dance Dance Revolution and manic Chinese deities that get high off of human pain. While it is Hell of a sort (technically more of a purgatory) […]
Big changes coming to theatres in 2018
The greatest sign of stability in a culture is, paradoxically, its ability to absorb change. There was a collective holding of breath when Joy Zinoman announced her retirement in 2009; could Studio stand the absence of its only Artistic Director? We needn’t have worried. Studio’s fine, and so are we.
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