House Cleaning

Well everyone, we have some house cleaning to do.

First off there is one more review that just loves the heck out of This Storm is What We Call Progress. Missy at DCist send her kudos our way HERE.

Missy says:

After a nearly year-long absence from the theater scene when it lost its performance space, the small but ambitious theater company is returning with a jam-packed schedule stuffed with three works running in July, including a four-part serial. If its first offering, a sexy and meditative staging of the world premiere This Storm Is What We Call Progress is an indication of things to come, we're in for an exciting summer.

Also we have three performances of This Storm is What We Call Progress this weekend. Tonight at 8pm, No Show on the 4th, Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm. for tickets visit us HERE or call 1-800-494-TIXS.

And finally I got an email from a from someone yesterday which has got me a little worried:

Dear DCepticon,

It has come to my attention that the Casts and Crews of Storm and Skin do not fear the Cast of Dream Sailors. This is a mistake. True they may think they are formidable with their light sabers and knife fights, but can that really compete with due wielded katana's, nunchucks, broad swords, a 8' naginata, duel wielded sai, cutlass, rapier, and a hand to hand fighting style that pauses only for dialog - which is unnecessary in a fight. I realize we may be a bit secretive down in the lower dungeon, but one must always fear that which lives in the dungeon. If a test is necessary, Dream Sailors would happily engage Skin for the rights to use our own performance space for rehearsals. We've considered just breaking their necks one by one anyway. In fact the Traveler would happily take on the entire Skin cast by himself, he is already doing the Darth Maul/Obi-Wan fight from Phantom Menace - so he is used to the light sabers. He will also reserve the right to use their dreams, memories, and fears against them.

I'll be seeing you all real soon.
the Traveler

All I have to say to The Traveler, is at least we have a finished script.

Have a happy 4th and come out to the theatre.

Post 600

Well that is a relief. I have been dragging this announcement thing out for weeks and it appears some of you were actually interested.

Today I can switch gears for just a moment to celebrate the 600th entry here on the Ole Blog.

Wow! We are pretty damn amazing!

I know other theater companies have blogs and some of the other roundish theater companies in DC have even started to run their own trailers. Many of the innovations that have made us unique and ground breaking now seem par for the course, but you know what, we are just going to try harder.

We didn't invent the blog and I know other folks had done play trailers before us, but the thing that has always marked our endeavors is the use of limited resources to bring something together on a regular basis. Just like our shows we find a way to make art that matters and do it for nearly nothing at all.

At this point I want to direct your attention to some of the other coverage we have been getting around the interwebs since yesterdays announcement in the Post.

Our friends at DC Theatre Scene picked up Jane's article and ran a brief piece yesterday morning, Rorschach in Exile (see branding works.)

And dear sweet Missy Frederick at the DCist seemed down right excited in her piece yesterday announcing our big plans in Rorschach Gets a New Home (For Now).

Missy do us one small favor though, could we not use the word scrappy for a little while. It has the connotation of a small annoying dog brought in to an otherwise enjoyable show about youth culture, love triangles,vans, mysteries, Great Danes and drug use.

And for forms sake here is a link to my favorite blog entry of the last 100, which many of you probably missed the first go around because it came out at Thanksgiving, I call it Thanks for Not Snitching. Enjoy!

So here is to the next 600 blog entries! God help us all!

Why isn't it "Up Its Boot to Sleeve"?

Grimm is working with meaty material here, and the twisting, delving plot is one of Kit Marlowe’s greatest strengths. We’re immediately embroiled in the intrigue of Marlowe’s underground world, and the work has plenty of swashbuckling action, horrifying torture, and yes, unapologetic male nudity, to hold our attention, even when it’s running a little long. Grimm smartly sets up Marlowe to be an embodiment of many of his famous characters, from Faust to Tamburlaine, and the story has some credible surprises up its sleeve to boot.

So says Missy Frederick over at the DCist. Over all Missy gives the show a mixed review, but she still finds things to enjoy. Read the whole review here.

We keep on rolling along, and I encourage you all to see Kit Marlowe. This week there are shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm. Tickets are still available but you better hurry.

More Reviews from the Interwebs

The Rorschach company consistently invokes a feeling of uneasiness throughout the work — we're never quite sure about the reliability of our narrator, Jorie (Jjanna Valentiner), or whether to fully trust the charming but creepy Gus (a wry, winning Brian Hemmingsen), who may or may not be a mere homeless man. Its actors also warm us to less than endearing characters — prime examples include Nanna Ingvarsson, who plays Rhea as self-aware Norma Desmond with a touch of the sardonic, and Tim Getman, who makes us feel for snobby, superficial James even at his most offensive moments. - Missy Frederick - DCist

Missy at DCist has written a well thought out review of birds and once again theater criticism comes down to a matter of taste. Like Glen Weldon in The City Paper review, Missy has found the heart of this story and while she comments on some roough edges, she also sees the potential of this new work.

New work that needs to be supported. The way you do that is by coming out and seeing the show. Remember we have three performances this week. Now that most of the reviews are in, I can start turning my attention to other blog worthy material. Like did I mention we just picked Rorschach Season 8? And I still have a couple of more Get to Know me pieces I need to get through this week. So keep on coming back for all the Rorschach news you have come to expect and love!

More Lovin'

Great weekends worth of shows folks. This is going to be quick and dirty today as I am on my way out the door.

Great review from the DCist's Missy Frederick. She says:

Salvador Dali is a beautiful intertwining of such fantastical moments as the one described, and achingly real displays of human interaction. None of this is more apparent than the desperate attempts by Gabriela to connect with and understand her husband, who has been shaped differently by the horrors of war. Salvador Dali deftly plays with the concepts of how much two people who love each other can truly know each other, and whether love can truly be unconditional when lovers themselves have been transformed into near strangers by time and hardship.

Here is the rest of the review. Enjoy and I will have more to tell you tomorrow.

If You See Only One Play . . .

Sorry, I missed you all on Friday. I got my self a touch of the flu that is going around and I was in not in a condition that allowed me to sit upright for long. What that meant was that a good number of you showed up looking for the latest reviews for Rough Magic and there was nothing to see. Well let us fix that right now.

This is the quote from Trey Graham at The City Paper:

If you see only one play during the six-month-long Shakespeare in Washington festival, see Rough Magic.

Impressive, don't you think? Just in case someone accuses us of using it out of context though here is the rest of the quote:

Now, the Rorschach Theatre troops are gonna slap that sentence into a Web ad within the next five minutes, never mind that the actual production they’ve staged had more than a few bumpy spots on opening weekend. But more marketing power to ’em: Even a rough take on Rough Magic turns out to be kinda fun, if only because the play itself proves an inspired choice for an impoverished but balls-to-the-wall theater company taking part in a big, citywide celebration of all things Shakespeare.

Over all a very fair review. And thank you Trey for giving us credit for choice of material for the Festival. I think the part of the quote people will probably see the most of though will be "balls-to-the-wall theater company." I always thought we were worthy of a new accolade besides shoe-string and I think that might just be my new favorite.

Here is the rest of the review, which has a great deal of love for a number of the cast. Some of you get less love and the only thing I can say is, read enough press and they will say everything about you eventually. Trey adds further analysis of all our reviews and more of his own opinions over at Theaterboy.

Missy Frederick at the DCist offered her take on Friday and she also thinks that we have made a great Festival choice:

As a festival entry, this one's a smart pick - it's not your typical modernist revision or classic choice. Rough Magic toys with Shakespearean characters with afffection and without undue reverence.

She has some things that she liked more than others of course, but she still seems to have some superlatives to throw around to the cast including, a show stealing nomination for a certain life-guard/child warrior. Here is the rest of the review from DCist.

Hope that holds you all for a little while. I have two more reviews to send your way tomorrow and then we start some catch-up on some interviews with our designers that field reporter Gwen Grastorf put together for us. Bye, bye and stay healthy!

Review Lovin' and Holiday Plans

And a little more of the sweet sweet love that only the internet can deliver. From our favorite critic over at the DCist (unless you consider what Linkins does with the Red Skins critiquing), Missy Frederick adds to the choir of well wishers with her Monster review. Jenny says I can not use the following quote in our advertising, but here on the blog I rule supreme, so here is the quote of the day:

Monster is most riveting for displaying the way a family can be torn apart when one of its members is just a little bit off. It's a reality show starring an extended family that we actually want to watch: "Mom, There's A Body In The Basement." - Missy Frederick -DCist

Last night was nearly sold out ladies and gentlemen. Though I have to be honest that was because we were celebrating our Night of Free Theatre, but it was a full house and that means something to a cast who has only had one night off in a week.

Please book you tickets now! And might I suggest an interesting way of dealing with your out of town guests this Thanksgiving. Rorschach has four shows on Thanksgiving weekend. So pack up Aunt Hilda and Uncle Walter and bring them down to Casa del Pueblo on Friday 8pm, Saturday at 4pm, Saturday at 8pm or Sunday at 7pm. Or send them on a grand adventure into the City. Nothing says love and the holidays like sticking your cousins from Jersey on the Green Line and telling them to fiind their way to Columbia Heights and back on a holiday weekend.

As always tickets are available on-line here and at 1-800-494-TIXS.