Very Busy

Everything is coming together for tomorrow nights opening. I am very busy today so I offer you some photos and a link to Jason Linkins birds article over at DCeiver. It is a fun new game you will all enjoy called Rorschach's Birds or Member of the Sugarcubes.

Remember one last PWYC preview tonight at 8pm. I will see some of you at Opening, to the cast and crew thanks and good luck.

Making a List

So much going on that I am not sure where to begin. So this will be a list of things you need to know about birds this week:

1. First preview last night. Due to our constant need to improve and make things better the show time was pushed back to 9pm. Once again I apologize to you folks who came thinking the show was at 8pm, but these things are unavoidable. And for those of you hung on and saw the show at 9, thank you. Having an audience is always important, especially for a new show.

2. Watched the show last night. What really speaks to me in this show are the performances. There are a number of surprises in store for Rorschach regulars as four fantastic actors join our Tim Getman in putting some real humanity and vulnerability to these characters that Jennifer Maisel has created.

3. Pay-What-You-Can Previews continue tonight and Friday night. Show time is our regular 8pm. Tickets will be available starting at 7pm on a first come first serve basis, so you might want to get there by 7:30 so you can be sure to find a seat.

4. After I watched the preview I stopped by Grady Weatherford's place to see the work he was doing on the new birds trailer. It is still coming together but I think he gets better and better each time he creates one of these. We sat in front of his computer screen for about a half an hour and he showed me how the magic happens and he makes the show look awsome. Should have something to show you early next week.

5. Marigan came down to do a photo call on Tuesday night. Should have some pictures to show you all tomorrow.

6. Opening is Saturday and it is my understanding that we are either sold out or nearly sold out. If it was your plan to RSVP at the last moment I am afraid that this performance is already packed. I encourage you to either join us for one of the 2 remaining previews or come some time during the regular run.

7. Still have a couple more Get to Know interviews coming soon. So be on the look out.

That does it for today, check in tomorrow and I will have photos for you to look at. Very exciting! No?

A Message from the Management

Hey Gang,

Just a head's up that tonight's preview of Jennifer Maisel's birds will have a DELAYED start time.

Tonight's preview will start at 9pm (instead of the normal 8pm). All other previews have normal start times.

If you know anyone who is planning on coming tonight, please let them know.

Thanks guys! See you all soon!

Randy

Time Keeps on Slipping

There are a lot of people very busy in this week in preparation for birds' Opening Night on Saturday at 8pm. Envelopes have been stuffed. Sets are being painted. Lines are being polished. Blocking is being finalized. And stitches are being stiched. This is when we all are fighting the urge to go back to college and study something that wouldn't have us working long hours for small pay.

But in the end it will be worth it. It always is.

With each email I write to a reviewer who hasn't R'ed their RSVP for press opening. As I print out transparancies for the run tonight. As I juggle a photographer and a videographer to get the materials together for the press photos and the trailer. I know it is worth it.

As Randy and Jenny put out one fire after another. As Deb finds just the right pair of shoes for Brian. As Jake and Roni put the final coat of paint on the set. They know it is worth it.

And as Wendy makes her final notes for the actors. As the actors try and remember the new blocking or lines they were given yesterday in addition to every other note they have gotten in the last month of rehearsals. They know it will be worth it too.

Because on Saturday night this show belongs to the audiences. Up until then it is our own little secret that we share just enough to peak your interest. With photos of Marissa and shots of the set, just titilating enough to make you all wonder what the hell is this strange creature that is being put together over at Casa.

Well the wait is almost. When you are a performer, designer, director, producer, playwright or stage manager you always want more time, but time is finite. As is the run. So book your tickets now and maybe stop in for a PWYC.

Get to Know Tim Getman

Tim Getman is pretty damn good at what he does. He is a man who has spilled a lot of sweat and blood for Rorschach over the years. He has built and designed sets, and he has acted his ass off. He has been on long extended journey and has always come home to us, for which I am grateful.

As a matter of fact it was on one of Tim's journeys that birds came to Rorschach. I for one am very excited to see him return to our stage. Having previously appeared in JB, Master and Margarita, and Behold! and having designed the incredible set for last season's Arabian Night.

So with out further ado, Timmy G!

1. What is your job in producing birds?

artistic partner and playing james, a high powered stock broker turned neurotic boyfriend

2. When you were a child what if any stories or fairy tales effected you the most?

the bearskinner by the brothers grimm, about a soldier who makes a deal with the devil and beats him, oh and spiderman, the xmen, and batman. love heroes that have a dark underbelly

3. Is this the first time you have worked for Rorschach? If no, when have you done for us before? If yes, why did you decide to come and play in our sandbox?

my fifth collaboration with this crazy company

4. What is one impossible thing that happens in birds?

i have to shave for every performance, and i get to "do it" with two beautiful women in an hour and a half (Editor: and by "do it" he means have sex with)

5. What is you favorite bird?

hummingbirds are pretty amazing, a feat of nature..they're the smallest i think. penguins are pretty righteous, i swam with them once. and ostriches have the most amazing eggs

6. How do you think or hope audiences will react to birds?

um....it's a lot of information and pretty dense poetic writing. i hope they take it like a beautiful, abstract painting. and maybe start to believe in the magic of everyday life again

7. If you had a theme song what would it be?

oh gosh, that's hard. marissa stole the best one. roxanne. from the man's perspective. phil collins i can feel it coming in the air tonight. james i think has really bad musical taste, but starts to finally hear the meaning in things.....maybe?

get back to me on that one.

Get to Know Roni Lancaster

I don't know much about Roni personally. Only know what I see in the set construction photos for the set of birds. So this is just much of a chance for me to Get to Know Veronica "Roni" Lancaster as it is for you. Be kind people she is new and works hard.

1. What is your job in producing birds?

Technical Director

2. When you were a child what if any stories or fairy tales effected you the most?

I think I've always been partial to the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast. And I don't just mean the Disney version. (Though that was definitely one of my favorite movies as a kid.)

3. Is this the first time you have worked for Rorschach? If no, when have you done for us before? If yes, why did you decide to come and play in our sandbox?

Technically, yes, this is the first time I've worked for Rorschach. (I helped the set designer on the last production for a couple of days .)... The sandbox over here just looked inviting. The people seemed nice - like they wouldn't gobble me up whole. Also, on a funny kind of note, Randy and I have played email tag for the last couple years. Unfortunately during that time I had the crazy schedule of an undergraduate and never had time to work for the theatre. Now that I got my papers and have time, it seemed like the timing was finally right.

4. What is one impossible thing that happens in birds?

You only want one thing?

5. What is you favorite bird?

The Australian (Southern) Cassowary. Have you ever looked at one up close? They're just cool - in that freaky kind of way. With talons like a prehistoric raptor, yet a frugivorous diet; a funny bone sticking out of their skulls; and brightly colored necks, complete with wattles like a turkey's. C'mon - what could be cooler?

6. How do you think or hope audiences will react to birds?

I hope audiences walk away sated. It's a good story about not letting your past control you. Ultimately you control your life and are responsible for its outcome.

7. If you had a theme song what would it be?

It often changes, but lately it's been "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield.

Ready, Set, Photo

Roni Lancaster is our go to lady for all things set construction. Officially listed as Assistant Set Designer, but that only begins to scratch the surface of what she is being called on to do in order to bring Jacob S. Muehlhausen set to life.

Tomorrow I will be running Roni's answers to the Questions of Doom, but today Roni has forwarded on these shots of set construction for birds. Roni sent this note along with her latest batch of photos:

Hey Scott,

Yesterday we had a giant push to work on lights and scenery in the space. (YAY for lots of helping hands!)Got a few more photos of things in progress, if you are interested. But again, feel free to do with the photos as you will. Enjoy!

~Roni

Post Card and Results

I am kind of proud of this one. There was a lot of planning and replanning, shooting and reshooting and design work that went into this one, but I think the whole thing is pretty damn stunning.

Onto the results portion of our polling. Well I have to say I am a little surprised. I thought for sure the Randy v. Jenny Death Match would have been a lock, but I have been wrong before. The results:

It seems now I will have to battle each company member in one on a bunch combat in order to satisfy your blood lust. So be it! Bring it on and remember I fight dirty.

Pay-What-You-Can Previews for Jennifer Maisel's birds start one week from today. Acting, designing, directing and producing continue at their heady pace, but I think we will all be in for a beautiful, wonderfully strange ride when this horse leaves the paddock, so save your lose change now if you want to get a peak at birds before we open on June 30th.

Tomorrow, I will have some construction shots of the set, which have been provided by someone with an inside view of what it is to build the kind of monster set you have come to expect from a theater like Rorschach. Until then, bye!

Get to Know Jennifer Maisel

The blog recently had taken on the flavor of a playwright whose who of late. With the various email contributions of Jose Rivera during References . . . and now with the contribution of Jennifer Maisel. Jennifer has been in town helping her little bird take flight. She has been in and out of town on several occasions helping to shape and reshape birds as it draws ever closer to production.

Jennifer is known to DC area audiences for Theater J's production of her play The Last Seder a couple of years back. The fact that she has worked so hard to develop the play with Rorschach speaks volumes about her and we are glad to welcome her into our tribe. Enjoy!


1. What is your job in producing birds?

I wrote it.

2. When you were a child what if any stories or fairy tales effected you the most?

Any story it seemed - I'd lie in bed and be a different one of the twelve dancing princesses every night. I'd read A Wrinkle in Time again and again. My parents would punish me by taking my books away. Yeah, I know...

3. Is this the first time you have worked for Rorschach? If no, when have you done for us before? If yes, why did you decide to come and play in our sandbox?

The fates aligned, the witches cast their spell, or Tim Getman (who starred in my play The Last Seder at Theatre J) was sleeping on Wendy McClellan's floor during the Humana Festival (where Wendy was directing my play Goody Fucking Two Shoes) and there was drinking and talking about theatre dreams and Wendy and I were talking about this play of mine we'd been wanting to workshop for years...and so the magic began....This production is my first experience with Rorschach - we've been workshopping the play over the last year and a half.

4. What is one impossible thing that happens in birds?

In my mind it's all possible.

5. What is your favorite bird?

I don't play favorites.

6. How do you think or hope audiences will react to birds?

I don't want to make predictions - I only hope they are there excited about going on the ride.

7. If you had a theme song what would it be?

Today it's Amy Winehouse's "You Know I'm No Good" or "It's a Hard Knock Life" from Annie - no, that's my 5 year old singing in the background. Tomorrow - who knows?

Get to Know Marissa Molnar

Once again we begin our continuing series of probing questions in an attempt to Get to Know the Cast and Crew of Rorschach's various big top like events. A series of questions were submitted to the cast and crew of birds and today I present you the first victim, Marissa Molnar.

I already told you about Marissa's adventure in the back alley behind Casa two weeks ago. She is delightful company and has been coming to see Rorschach shows all season so I feel like she is already one of the family. So take a moment to discover the slightly twisted yet exceedingly entertaining answers that this young actress gives to my 7 Questions of Doom.

(P.S. Keep voting for the Rorschach Ultimate Fighting Match-Up below. You can vote everyday and I will have the results on Wednesday.)

1. What is your job in producing birds?

i'm the production's prostitute. i keep everything fluffed up and ready to go. because there are so many feathers with all the bird imagery, you know.

2. When you were a child what if any stories or fairy tales effected you the most?

i was a big fan of narnia until i realized that aslan was an awful lot like jesus, and then i just got confused and moved on to safer, more pagan stories like arthurian lore and ursula leguin.

3. Is this the first time you have worked for Rorschach? If no, when have you done for us before? If yes, why did you decide to come and play in our sandbox?

yes... i could not turn down the chance to let my inner teenage hooker out. everyone has one, and mine has been repressed for far too long. also, jenny gave me candy once.

4. What is one impossible thing that happens in birds?

jjana gets drunk?

5. What is you favorite bird?

roasted, with ginger and mango chutney.

6. How do you think or hope audiences will react to birds?

i think they will walk away thinking about how funny it is how much belief influences the perception of reality. i hope they will not throw things at us.

7. If you had a theme song what would it be?

um, roxanne?

Ultimate Polling Countdown

Eventually I will find something useful to do with this new technology but until then. Enjoy this test of the Rorschach Polling System.

Which Rorschach Company Member Ultimate Fight would you most like to see?
	Grady v. Rahaleh
	Maggie v. Tim
	Jenny v. Randy
	Jason v. Jason
	Lindsay v. Lauren
	MJ v. Yasmin
	Deb v. Matt
	Scott v. The Entire Company
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Peeking at the birds Set

I know, I know, it's just a model. But a large percentage of this massive set has already been built at Casa. birds production is running apace and we will be ready for visitors in just over two weeks.

Look at this thing! The set will be huge! And I would almost say it was impossible to build given the fact that the cage portion of the set goes right up to the ceiling. I know it can be done though. The fact is that Jacob S. Muehlhausen has done the impossible for us before. Those of you who remember the set for A Bright Room Called Day last season, undoubtedly remember the walls that were transparent, the fire place that opened to allow the Devil to walk right in and the projection screen that hung above the stage. This is a designer who knows what he is doing and we have a hell of a TD working for us, so I believe in both of them.

Pay-What-You-Can Previews for birds start Wednesday, June 27, so get ready to be amazed!

Happy Hour and Rahaleh in Drag

Some of you may have been asking yourself lately "Where the hell has Rahaleh been?" Well if you want to join Rorschach for its upcoming Happy Hour and make your own arrangements you can see where Rahaleh as been.

Rahaleh has been matriculating with the folks over at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. I know it sounds dirty but you can look it up.

Her final projects are going up this weekend and we at Rorschach couldn't be prouder. She will be performing as Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing and 'Tis Pity She's a Whore.

Our plan is to socially lubricate ourselves before we head into the show so meet us at 5:30 pm on Tuesday June 1th at Finn McCool's on 8th Street, SE. Come for the drinks and then stumble on over to the Shakespeare Theatre rehearsal space for some Bard. Do one or do both no big whoop!

Here are the details for Rahahel's shows:

Much Ado About Nothing
(June 11, 12, 15, 16-matinee, 19, 21, 23-evening)
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Michael Barakiva

‘Tis Pity She's A Whore
(June 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22-evening, 23-matinee)
By John Ford
Directed by Christopher Grabowski

Shakespeare Theatre Company Studios
507 8th Street SE
Washington, D.C.

7:30pm Saturday matinees at 2:00pm

RSVP by phone to: 202. 547.1122 and press 9 or email ACARep07@ShakespeareTheatre.org

I have my suspisions where the following photo came from but no proof. I got it from someone who got it from someone. Not sure who she is supposed to be but I have some weird pictures of Rahaleh over the years and this one gives them all a run for their money.

Photo Shoots and the Setting Sun

Things slow down here at the old blog if your's truly isn't in the theater with the crazy kids trying to put on a show. That doesn't mean that things aren't happening, it is just that the information I have to impart is almost always of the marketing/press variety.

Marissa Molnar is a beautiful woman and she was kind enough to do two photo shoots for birds. The first shoot didn't turn out so hot.

Several months back we tried to shoot the post cards for the three remaining shows in Season 7. A group of about ten of us (models, photographer, costumes designers, Artistic Director and Marketing Director) all gathered in various stages of undress in the lobby of Woolly Mammoth to make us some art.

You all by now have seen how fantastic the images for Rough Magic and References . . . turned out. Well we also made an attempt at shooting birds that day as well. I have included a sample of what we were trying to achieve above, for some reason I haven't got any actual shots from the original shoot. The concept was as straight forward as my mind allows me to be. Marissa dressed as a prostitute with feathers sprouting from her body in various locations, shot down a long hallway with light in front of her and a trail of smaller feathers like bread crumbs behind her. Well let's just say this is not an easy thing to do and the final product by no fault of the model or photographer was crap.

So we needed to do a new shoot. Marigan and Marissa were champs. Marissa dusted off her streetwalker best and Marigan made the trek from B-more through thunder storms and traffic on 95 at rush hour to get to Jenny's place before the sun set in the alley behind Casa. It was a close call and we didn't get in the alley until after 7pm.

As you can see by the examples I have been doling out, the effort paid off. There will be several things done to the shot by our graphic designer Carrie before it is finished but a combination of talent, genetics and Jenny standing with a reflective dish in an alley trying to catch the light of a setting sun, made for some fantastic pictures.

Thank you to everyone for not just helping to fix something but in making it a whole lot better.

Just a Taste

This isn't the final image for the post card, but it is an example of the adventure that Marigan, Marrisa, Jenny and I had in the alley behind Casa on Monday Night. There are some beautiful pictures that we scrambled to get done as the sun set in the west. We had a rather interested audience for some of the shots as well. We will have more to show you soon.

birds Poster Mach I

Sorry folks it has been a busy week here at my day job!

Lots of trips out of my comfortable air conditioned office to parts all around the region. I will have some hot shots to look at later this week. I checked in with some of the cast and crew of birds last night and they all say other than the usual late spring warmth, things are moving along quite well in rehearsals.

For those of you who like to advertise these shows as soon as possible click on the pic below and print out a dozen and start sticking them up around your office, neighborhood or bedroom. I am not one to judge so anywhere you think is leagal and safe please plaster away to your hearts content. This is not the final poster but it is a fun image to get the ball rolling.