Oh and Happy Halloween!

Louis and Alan

There are critics whose job it is to critique and then there are theater fans who come because they enjoy the theater. Rorschach has its own set of fans and two of them have been very supportive with their praise and their attendance. They sent this email out to their friends and I think that it provides another point of view, besides the one provided by The Post and DC Theatre Scene. In short they loved it, but I will let Louis and Alan speak for themselves.


We saw a truly outstanding play tonight -- the theme of a young talented naive man trying to find his true calling in a chaotic world is relevant today. (It is definitely as gripping as the last four shows we saw this month.)

The show begins with an opening obscenity (which is not gratuitous) delivered by Thomas Walsingham (Matt Dunphy) (who has the funniest almost-campy lines in the beginning) and who is Christopher (Kit) Marlowe's would-be sometime lover, followed by a naked Kit Marlowe (Adam Jonas Segaller) (also not gratuitous) swinging on ropes -- and then much sword-fighting, bloody cruelty, political intrigue.

The playwright - David Grimm - based the play on assorted half-truths regarding the mysterious life of the talented, thrill-seeking Marlowe who it seems was a spy for the British government (or at least for some mysterious element of Elizabeth's regime headed by Sir Francis - a true devil), an admirer of the explorer Sir Walter Raleigh's (just back from Virginia with the 'potato') and an unapologetic lover of men and teenage boys, and Marlowe's tragic death at 29. Marlowe's three conflicted relationships move the action: with Thomas Walsingham, with Sir Francis (the devil) and with Sir Walter Raleigh.

Scenes with Marlowe and Raleigh are particularly moving as they see each other as father and son and both admire and disappoint each other. Raleigh to Marlowe: 'For all the iambs in the world of your pentameter, you cannot say, 'I am,' '' How does he reconcile his attractions to these three figures, and what do they represent inside of him. Michael Kahn asked Rorschach to produce a play on Marlowe as an accompaniment to Shakespeare's theater's Marlowe plays and "Kit Marlowe" offers much insight into "Tamburlaine'' (which seems to have been written with Raleigh - his hero at the time -- in mind).

If you plan on seeing Tamburlaine, definitely see this show. The play reminded me of the 17th century English life portrayed in "Will in the World" -- the conflict between Protestants and Catholics, the filth in the city, the casual acceptance of brutality, the hypocrisy of the landed gentry, and the power struggles involved in marriage contracts and daily life. Great material for Shakespeare and Marlowe - but makes you long for the rule of law, truthfulness in public discourse and tolerance and generosity of spirit. (That is, Kit Marlowe has universal relevance.)

The acting by all eleven male actors is superb -- the small space and the simple, rough set adds to the intensity -- excellent drama (with enough humor to take the edge off). This town has so much talent on stage. This play is very rewarding and a good reason for those in Maryland and Virginia to stay in the city during the week or come in on a weekend. You only have until December 2.

Louis and Alan

If you want to share your opinions about Kit Marlowe, leave a comment or email me scott@rorschachtheatre.com. We need the feedback of our audiences more than the critics, because you are who we are creating these shows for.

I Wonder if They Were at the Same Theater

How do two reviewers have such opposite reactions to a play?

I start you out with a critic's love letter to Kit Marlowe from Tim Treanor over at DC Theatre Scene. Tim encourages folks to stop reading his review and rush out and get their tickets right away. He goes on to say:

Kit Marlowe flies, with scenes intercutting each other with such facility that they conjure up images of a circus act, with high-wire acrobats.

And what does he say of our cast and in particular our own Kit? Well he has praise indeed:

Segaller is fabulous in the title role: his Marlowe is a man who is constantly giving the whole world a sloppy wet kiss. He may affect cynicism, and he may be cruel, but Segaller’s Marlowe is at all times a huge engine of life, joy and laughter, and there is not a moment in which it seems less than authentic. Indeed, his performance makes me remember the young Tim Curry, playing Mozart in Amadeus thirty years ago. It is that good.

The rest of the cast measures up to this incredible work.

Follow this link to read it all.

But now on to someone who has less praise to show our show, and that would be Nelson Pressley over at The Washington Post.

Nelson just doesn't think that we soar as high as the script does. He does however find some praise for the script and our production:

Grimm appropriates Marlowe's trademark power as often as possible, especially as the story turns dark.

. . . it played several years ago in a campy, over-directed production that the playwright was moved to shut down. At least the play looks more substantial this time -- and for the ravenous Marlowe fan, it will serve as a decent appetizer for the meal to come.

Read what else the Post had to say here at this link.

Open Wide Kit

Kit Marlowe opened last night and I was not there.

But I got Friday night off from my pro-wrestling gig so I headed over to Casa to see the second PWYC of Kit.

There is an argument to be made that this blog is a tool for marketing shows and that anything I say about a show that Rorschach is producing is suspect and probably me praising things that I do not actually like. That argument can be made and you as the smart reader of this blog are wise to take anything I say here with a grain of salt. I will mention however that while there are some Rorschach shows I am less in love with than others, I really have loved every show I have ever seen at Rorschach.

Maybe it is the time that I know is invested, the people whose work I respect, the very nature of the material we choose to present or just the fact that I feel we are doing the kind of work that needs to be done.

That disclaimer out of the way, I am going to gush about Kit Marlowe for a little bit.

This show is wonderful. I mean that from the bottom of my heart. It always seems when every time I am faced with artistic challenges outside of the Company, Rorschach comes through for me and reminds me why we do plays. It was the same thing with Family Stories, and now I think you will all find the beauty that I did in Kit Marlowe.

The show continues its run this weekend, Thursday, Friday and Saturday all at 8pm. Click here for tickets. I will post the reviews as they come along.

Appealing

We have two more PWYC Previews for Kit Marlowe. I will be at tonights 8pm Preview, if you want to hang out. There is another one at 8 pm on Saturday. Then the whole things opens wide like a crocodile eating a gnu on Sunday night.

Little secret, we are sold out next Thursday! Wait can I actually tell a secret and use an exclimation mark after it? Well I just did and I don't go back and edit for anyone, so there let's all start sharing secrets on public blogs with the same puncuation that we would use if we were yelling!

Check out this blurb from this weeks print edition of The Onion.

Do They Look Ready to You?

I keep telling you but here I go again! Pay-What-You-Can Previews for Kit Marlowe start tonight. I think the cast is ready, are you? Get there by 8pm and get ready to be wowed!

Colin Hovde is take our production photos this time around. I will have more to share soon.

Pictures from Our Scenic Designer

So close now. Can you taste it? According to the cast, more importantly can you smell it?

PWYC's start tomorrow night folks at 8pm. No Reservations, just cue up and hope for the best!

Kit Marlowe is going to be something special and you won't want to miss it.

Me Write Good about Kit Marlowe

Closer and ever closer, the days draw to their end.

Paint is drying.
Lights are being focused.
Costumes are being worn.
And lines are being drilled.
We are almost ready!

Will there be blood? Yes.

Will there be action? Yes.

Will there be long lines outside the doors of Casa? I hope so.

This is a project which has brought together some of Rorschach's finest and some yet to be tested on our stage.

I am writing in cliches today.

More to follow.

Get to Know Roni Lancaster II

What a week it will be! Pay-What-You-Can Previews for Kit Marlowe start on Thursday this time around, so those of you who are used to having a PWYC on Wednesday, you have the night off plan on Thursday, Friday or Saturday.

Opening Night is Sunday at 7pm.

Get it? Got it? Good.

We have a return appearance here on the Get to Know Me Show. Roni Lancaster returns for her turn upon the wheel of fate. Here are Roni's answers from her birds interview, let's see what tid-bits she shares this time. Enjoy!

1. What is your position, role or roles in Kit Marlowe?

Sound Designer

2. Is this your first go around at the Rorschach rodeo? If no what have you done for us before? If yes, what has surprised you the most about working for us?

Nope. This is my second go-round. My last time at this rodeo was as TD for birds. (And a partial time before that I lent a hand and a paint brush to Dali.)

3. If this play were a Beatle which one would it be and why?

Hmm. I'd have to say the scarab beetle. There's all that mythology about creation, and living forever, and transformation and stuff. (The golden tortoise beetle would be my next choice, because it so like a chameleon...but the scarab has a lot more interesting facets to it.)

beat . . .

Oh...wait! You were asking about The Beatles....well, in that case, I would have to say the play is more like the 5th Beatle. I forget his name...Pete, or Stuart, or George, or maybe it was Neil...

4. What feature of Marlowe's London should Rorschach duplicate to really enhance the audience's experience?

The smell. We already play around with the "look" and the "sound" of that time period. I say Rorschach should go for broke and make it as authentically smelly as possible.

5. For the designers what is the weirdest thing a director ever asked you to include in your design?

I was once asked to create the sound of "musty water." (That required a little interpretation.)

6. If you could go out for a wild night on the town with Kit Marlowe, where would you go and what would you do? Kit Marlowe living up the night life?

Nope. I don't see it happening. He strikes me as the kind of guy to sit at home in his footy pajamas, veggin' on the couch, watchin' a movie...

7. Can you think of worse way of being killed than being stabbed in the eye? If so how?

Well, honestly, I can't say that I think being killed in any fashion would be very pleasant. I'm kind of attached to living. Tho I do suppose anything slow and painfully drawn out would be worse than in the eye. Drowning in one's own blood comes to mind. Or memories of that scene in Braveheart where he is eviscerated slowly.

Veni, Vedi, Vici

Recently Rorschach added a couple new company members. Both of whom I have had the great pleasure to have worked with over the years. I couldn't be more pleased to welcome Patrick Bussink and Cesar Guadamuz into our happy band of brothers and even happier sisters. It has been a while since we ran one of these but here is another Profile to Discourage. If you want to see more Profiles to Discourage click here and follow the links for each company member.

First up is Cesar. You have seen Cesar in two Rorschach shows, both of which have the longest titles ever, Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards and References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot. And a short titled play, Rough Magic. (Thank you Shirley for reminding me.)

Cesar will tell you that he auditioned for us a lot before he got his foot in the door. He's right he did audition a lot, sorry I find it hard to argue with fact. But once he was in it wasn't long before we realized how hard it must be to get his hair to look that way. Let's see what he has to say for himself.

1. Place of birth?

A very distant place where theatre and the arts are a natural part of the environment. In many foreign countries, the arts mean history and national identity. a.k.a. San Carlos, Costa Rica.

2. First experience in theater?

I played a campesino in a first-grade show about the history of Costa Rica. I wore a painted mustache. That would be the last time I'd ever wear a mustache, fake or otherwise.

3. Where you went to school?

The University of Virginia, The London School of Economics. Various American elementary schools. A socialist school too.

4. What do you do?

Other than this crazy thing called acting, I do a crazy thing called writing for nothing and I also do another crazy thing which is work at the Washington Post.

5. What was your first experience with Rorschach?

Fair Ladies at a Game of Constantly Moving Doors.

6. Company member you would most like to be if you were not yourself?

Tim Getman. I want to know what it's like to be 7'5".

7. Some story about working on a Rorschach play that either made you laugh or touched you deeply?

All Rorschach plays make me laugh. All Rorschach plays touch me deeply.

8. Where do you think Rorschach will be in the next ten years?

Rorschach will be having to open a second theatre space to meet the artistic and population demands of their ever-growing and dedicated patrons.

9. What is your favorite Rorschach show that you were not in?

I loved Beard of Avon. I especially enjoyed watching Grady as the Avon Lady.

10. Scott McCormick harmless adolescent or world conquering super villain?

Wit-generating manchild boy genius.

Kit Card

Get to Know William Aitken

1. What is your position, role or roles in Kit Marlowe?

Top... oh you meant role. Walter Raleigh.

2. Is this your first go around at the Rorschach rodeo? If no what have you done for us before? If yes, what has surprised you the most about working for us?

This is my first time with Rorschach. I am surprised by how much damn fun I am having. It should be illegal

3. If this play were a Beatle which one would it be and why?

Ringo. Because like Ringo its a hell of a lot fun. From an audiences perspective I would say John Lennon because of the mix of wit and seriousness.

4. What feature of Marlowe's London should Rorschach duplicate to really enhance the audience's experience?

Body odor.

5. What was your best/worst haircut or body modification for a part in a play?

The worst thing was having to wear hair extensions for a show and having to walk around with them in looking like some aging balding biker. The best was ...well there never has been a best. I usually get asked to become shaggy and dark.

6. If you could go out for a wild night on the town with Kit Marlowe, where would you go and what would you do?

A dive bar called Peso Jimmy's in Olongapo Philippines. The coldest beer in the South Pacific and the best Lumpia in the Philippines. Its also a Marine bar. I think Marlowe would love a bar full of drunken rowdy Marines. I would take him there and get him drunk on Ice cold San Miguels and see what trouble we could get into.

7. Can you think of worse way of being killed than being stabbed in the eye? If so how?

Yes, burning to death like the actor Jack Cassidy.

Come Sail Away

I would like to take this opportunity to encourage you all to subscribe to an entire season of Rorschach. Season 8 kicks off with Kit Marlowe but it just keeps rolling. Many of you have received an email from Rorschach that outlines exactly what you get when you subscribe to an entire season. I just want to drive the point home a little harder.

What does just $75 get you? At most theater's in town it should just about cover the cost of one ticket and your parking. But at Rorschach how about not 4 tickets but 7.

In addition to our normal productions this season we introduce you to the idea of episodic theater. Randy Baker is working hard on 4 shows that will twist and turn all the while moving the story of four friends who lucid dream together and make a horrible discovery in their basement upon waking up. Dream Sailors, is a new kind of theater which hopes to engage its audiences with cliff hangers, character arcs and mystery, with a new show premiering every three weeks this spring. Who is the Green Eyed Man who haunts their dreams? Only one way to find out.

A season subscription means not only do you get to see three traditional Rorschach shows but you are guranteed seats for every episode of Dream Sailors.

More about the rest of the season soon, but click here if I have tempted you. Because I love to tempt you. And for students and seniors knock off $20 and pay just $55 for a whole season, including all four episodes of Dream Sailors.

Tomorrow more, Get to Know from the Kit Marlowe crew.

Get to Know David Grimm

I love the fact that we have gained the participation of living playwrights on this blog. Of the last three shows we have done we have gotten repsonses and contributions from all three of them. Well let's put a fourth on the board, because we get to hear from Kit Marlowe playwright and the star of my favorite broadcast of Studio 360 ever, Mr. David Grimm.

While answering the Get to Know questions David makes reference to the previous production of Kit Marlowe in DC. We all know it existed and many of us know folks who were in the thing. I will not discuss it here, because it has nothing to do with the show and production that we are presenting, but David brought it up. For what I think is a very fair statement of the events that surrounded the last DC production, I direct you to this episode of NPR' Studio 360, Editing, Glenn Gould and Kit Marlowe. Click on the Kit Marlowe link when you get to the page. While there is no comment by the theater involved in the situation, the reporter does a fair job of presenting the facts of the situation and David is fascinating to listen to as he discusses his play. The program lasts about 7 minutes and now Get to Know David Grimm.

Thanks for sending this!!!
here ya go...

1. What is your position, role or roles in Kit Marlowe?

Playwright.

2. Is this your first go around at the Rorschach rodeo? If no what have you done for us before? If yes, what has surprised you the most about working for us?

This is the first time Rorschach has done a play of mine. I'm very much hoping to be able to come down and see the production, as the last time it was done in DC wasn't exactly.... well, let's just not go there.

3. If this play were a Beatle which one would it be and why?

John Lennon

4. What feature of Marlowe's London should Rorschach duplicate to really enhance the audience's experience?

The smell.

5. What was your best/worst haircut or body modification for a part in a play? For the designers what is the weirdest thing a director ever asked you to include in your design?

The last time "Kit Marlowe" was done in DC...by a certain theatre which shall remain nameless.

6. If you could go out for a wild night on the town with Kit Marlowe, where would you go and what would you do?

Dinner and drinks at a tavern, a walk along the embankment, then home to Norton Folgate for some really dirty sex.

7. Can you think of worse way of being killed than being stabbed in the eye? If so how?

The last time "Kit Marlowe" was done in DC.... by THAT theatre.

David also wrote a response to the quote I use in my email signature:

"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." - Kurt Vonnegut

"Appearances are everything. The rest is merely fact." - David Grimm

Get to Know John Brennan

The Get to Know the Cast and Crew just keeps chugging along.

We did Kit and now we do the dreaded Sir Walsingham. The charcter of Francis Walsingham has a proud tradition here at Rorschach, it was previously been portrayed by the legendary Austin Bragg in The Beard of Avon. Austin's performance can only be called unique, you don't often see Sir Francis popping out of a costume trunk and turning all gooey over The Regina Dentata herself Elizabeth One. It does however beg the question. Does appearing in two Rorschach shows qualify a charcter to be a tradition?

Now the devil, he keeps popping up every season. I think we are up to like 67 devils at this point. To be honest it is getting kind of rediculous. Can't throw a decapitated paper mache head around this place without hitting someone who has played the devil. What the hell is going on at this theater?

Anyway here is Mr. Brennan and his thoughts on working on Kit Marlowe.

Hi Scott,

This is John Brennan.

Here are my replies to the various questions.

1. What is your position, role or roles in Kit Marlowe?

I am playing Sir Francis Walsingham, spymaster for Queen Elizabeth.

2. Is this your first go around at the Rorschach rodeo? If no what have you done for us before? If yes, what has surprised you the most about working for us?

This is my first Rorschach production. Can't say anything has really surprised me yet, I will say that it's a pleasure to be working on a play with such talented people who are also very nice.

3. If this play were a Beatle which one would it be and why?

If this play were a Beatle it would be John Lennon: bright, spirited, cheeky, full of punny humor, but with a very dark streak that becomes apparent once you really get to know it.

4. What feature of Marlowe's London should Rorschach duplicate to really enhance the audience's experience?

The part of Elizabethan London that featured the theatres, taverns/bawdy houses, the animal baiting arenas, and the execution site at Tyburn. There one would see both the best and worst of what that world had to offer, with a great deal of what comes in between on display as well.

5. What was your best/worst haircut or body modification for a part in a play?

I don't believe I've ever had a bad hairstyle/body modification experience, which means I've been very lucky.

6. If you could go out for a wild night on the town with Kit Marlowe, where would you go and what would you do?

I'd love to have Marlowe as a companion at the theatre, preferably at a performance of one of his works (at a play by someone else he'd probably make nonstop catty remarks). Other than that, it would be interesting to accompany him to Sir Walter Raleigh's home. Otherwise, I think I'd avoid Marlowe's company, at this point in my life I prefer to steer clear of the sort of situations he seemed to relish.

7. Can you think of worse way of being killed than being stabbed in the eye? If so how?

I can think of a much worse way of dying than being stabbed in the eye, and Marlowe dramatized just such a death in his play Edward II. See any good history book for the horrifying details.

Photos from the Front

Well kids, we got us some rehearsal photos!

Thanks to roving blog contributor, assistant dramaturg and intern, Cynthia Caul, we have photographic evidence that some sort of rehearsals are going on at Casa. I encourage anyone else who will be in the area to take photos of the process and send them here.

Remember Kit Marlowe starts previewing in just two short weeks and opens soon there after.

Late Day Fun: Show and Actor

Name the Show and Actor Please. Bonus if you can tell me who it is next to the guy with the smile.

Get to Know Adam Segaller

1. What is your position, role or roles in Kit Marlowe?

I'm playing Kit Marlowe.

2. Is this your first go around at the Rorschach rodeo? If no what have you done for us before? If yes, what has surprised you the most about working for us?

It's my first time. I think the biggest and most pleasant surprise has been discovering so many talented young people in one place, making the kind of theater they want to see. Professional theater seems to me to be a business where everybody, but especially the young, must make their own opportunities. That's what I see happening here and it's extremely refreshing.

3. If this play were a Beatle which one would it be and why?

Funny you should ask that. In explaining to a few friends not steeped in Elizabethan drama who exactly this character is, I tried to field a few biographical questions without boring them: "So this character you're playing is a real person?" "Yeah, he was an Elizabethan playwright who died young." "So is that the same period as Shakespeare?" "Yeah, they were born the same year; he started writing a little sooner than Shakespeare did." "So was he not as good as Shakespeare?" "He initially made as big a splash as Shakespeare; that many consider Dr. Faustus to be a better play, structurally, than anything by Shakespeare; that he only wrote a handful of plays to Shakespeare's almost forty; that those plays Marlowe did write were all written before his thirtieth birthday, since he died before he could reach the mature age at which Shakespeare wrote most of his really great stuff (Lear, The Tempest, Macbeth, etc.); that in the time Shakespeare had had one career, Marlowe had had about five, including priest-in-training and agent On Her Majesty's Secret Service."

Seeing the attention wane, I boiled it down thus:"If Shakespeare were The Beatles, Marlowe would be The Rolling Stones."

4. What feature of Marlowe's London should Rorschach duplicate to really enhance the audience's experience?

The lack of sanitation is pretty key (a rich person owned more than one set of clothes and bathing was considered metrosexual); but I think that even more important than that is the sense of show. For all the filth, there was this really rather modern obsession with clothes, jewelery, getting your hair just right, even in the lowest classes. Wooden playhouses were painted to look like they were made of marble; rich people were more likely to perfume themselves to cover their stink than to actually wash the odor off. Add to that the fascinating fact of sumptuary laws— that if you were of a low class you couldn't wear certain fabrics, for example. For all the dress-up, the upperclasses were terrified of the growing threat of social mobility and, somewhat like the fascists after them, held people in place by badging them. I think this all feeds into Kit Marlowe as Grimm writes him, as well as what we see in the real man's plays— both character and playwright love dress-up as a perverse act, and there's a suggestion in this play that when a society is overly rigid, perversity becomes a response to social injustice.

5. What was your best/worst haircut or body modification for a part ina play?

As is often the case, my best is also my worst: I recently had the very strange opportunity, at the somewhat under-ripe age of 24, to play Prospero in The Tempest. The design plan was intriguing to say the least: Ariel was played by three women, all dressed more or lessas Geishas; and Caliban was covered in what I can only describe as white bruises. The idea was that Prospero's magic left white marks, so my hands were painted white. The design for my character was a mix of Maori and Samurai: I was bare-chested beneath my magic garment, and one very spare inch of skin the director himself had tattooed me in SHARPIE! A dragon tattoo ran over my shoulder and up my neck; my armsand fingers were covered in Arabic incantations, and my face was covered in tribal-looking dots and curlicues. To say nothing of the old age make-up. The effect was pretty cool in my opinion, but it was hell to remove.

6. If you could go out for a wild night on the town with Kit Marlowe, where would you go and what would you do?

We'd start by loitering at the 7-11, inventing new curse words. Then we'd shoplift doublets, get drunk on large tankards of small beer at the bowling and bear-baiting alley, make the Pope dance the Watusi, nail our Penthouse Forum submission to the church door, get Raleigh fries from Elizaburger's, and end the night at the 24-hour footlocker, picking out goggles.

7. Can you think of worse way of being killed than being stabbed inthe eye? If so how?

Hot poker suppository, a la Edward the Second. Or being stabbed in both eyes, a la Stooges the Three.

Columbus Day Round-Up

Today is a Monday and a Holiday for many folks so I wanted to do some round-up stuff and show you all the post card image for Kit Marlowe.

Once again Marigan has done a fantastic job. Thank you to Jenny and Rachel Miller for coming in and helping two Sundays ago to get all the images for Season 8 done and out of the way. I have to be honest Jenny and I sweated our brows to come up with four original images to create this years post cards, and I think after all of the todo was over we came up with some kick ass images. I will be sharing more in the coming weeks.

I want to thank everyone who has already submitted their Get to Know Me interviews and I will publish many of them this week.

I now draw your attention to an article that I had handed to me this morning by my boss from The New York Times. The article by Charles Isherwood, If You Discount It, Will They Come? takes a hard look at discount tickets and the effect they are having on New York theatre audiences. And Helen Pafumi, points our attention to Peter Marks's Theater Tickets for Movie Prices: Behind the Dramatic Reductions in The Washington Post yesterday, examining much the same in our own back yard, looking at our friends at Catalyst Theater and what Shakespeare Theater and Arena are doing to make theater affordable.

Isherwood points out that the best seats to Young Frankenstein are going to run you $450 dollars and that most broadway tickets in the Orchestra are already running $100 a pop. Time Warner has underwritten the costs of seats at New York's Signature Theatre for the next three years and seats that would usually run you $65 are now going for $20 thanks to the unwriter. Marks makes note that tickets to the Shakespeare theatre can run over $75 dollars to a weekend performance and tickets to the Kennedy Center's touring shows reaching the $100 mark.

Isherwood comments on the greying of Broadway and Off-Broadway audiences and how many theaters are trying to combat that with discounts for younger theater goers. Much the same can be said of DC audiences.

Please read the articles and tell me what you think. Rorschach is already one of the cheapest seats in town with regular tickets running $20 and students and senior tickets only $12. And I will be honest we are charging the bare minimum to encourage as many folks to come in and sample what we have to offer. This is the second year that Rorschach has participated in Free Night of Theater and tickets to Kit Marlowe were sold out for our Thursday, November 1st performance in under three minutes.

What is the future of theater? Is it a case of only those who can afford the luxuary of theater being able to come and experience what has been for thousands of years the cultural heritage of not just the elite but the whole of society? Should we be worried that the cost of seeing a play is continually rising while those of us who are trying to persue theater as a profession are still forced to work two and even three jobs in order to survive? Does anyone know a company that might be willing to underwrite an entire season of Rorschach so that we could pretty much just give tickets away, considering Time Warner is going to be paying over twice the Rorschach ticket price so subsidize the tickets of people going to see shows at the New York Signature?

Discuss.

Cynthia Caul Everybody!

Sorry. Believe it or not I have a lot of content to share with you regarding Kit Marlowe. Unfortunately I am lacking the time to do timely updates this week. I have a couple of more Get to Know the Cast a Crew pieces on deck right now and I even have the shows post card image to shae with you next week.

Tonight I am sharing the observations of Cynthia Caul. We are lucky enough to have Cynthia helping us this season. She is a bright young college student and we are all hoping she will help the rest of learn something about theater while she learns from what we know. I hope we serve her well. Meantime, Cythia has contributed her first blog entry. Read and enjoy. She gives a real flavor as to what is happening on Columbia Road right now.

Hello. My name is Cynthia. I’m the Assistant Dramaturg/Intern for Rorschach’s production of Kit Marlowe. You are currently witnessing my blogging debut, so don’t judge me too harshly.

There are three-ish more weeks of rehearsal until the opening of Kit Marlowe, and things are going well. All the aspects of the production seem to be coming along. Every time I enter the theatre there’s a new set piece perfectly assembled and in place, as if it just magically appeared over-night. I haven’t completely ruled out the possibility of Rorschach elves.

The cast is great. Working with a cast entirely comprised of men has been…interesting, and…educational? Just kidding. I actually don’t have anything bad to say about it. It’s been a great process thus far. This play definitely requires a level of comfort among the actors, and the cast has definitely achieved that. There’s a good bit of sword fighting, stabbing, nudity, cauterizing of wounds, and rolling around on the ground (to put it oh so eloquently), and it’s handled with the utmost grace and maturity. Well, at least 99% of the time, and that other 1% I just attribute to the actors’ ability to stay in character (many characters in Kit Marlowe are not exactly noted for their maturity or grace) even when they’re not in character. It’s really more of a theatrical feat, than anything that could be misconstrued for a personality flaw. The actor’s ability to capture and maintain the immaturity and grotesque nature of their characters is just uncanny. That sounded like a jab. It’s not. Really, the cast is wonderful and extremely talented.

As for the play itself, it’s kind of, sort of about the life of the Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe. David Grimm doesn’t really aim for historical accuracy as much as an artistic and/or interpretive melding of Marlowe’s life and his works. It’s set in Elizabethan times with an added flare of modernity. It’s a little edgy, a little racy, and an overall good time. I have high hopes. You should too.

Get to Know Jesse Terrill

Ladies and Gentlemen we have content. I took the time to write up a Get to Know the Cast of Kit Marlowe questionaire and stuff poured in like stuff that pours real good.

Special thanks to Randy for distributing the questions and a big thank you to Emeley and Jillian for contributing some of the questions. Emeley, I know you left a number of other questions but I stole the best and will save the others for another time.

The answer to yesterday's Name the Show and Name the Actor was in fact Lindsay Allen in A Bright Room Called Day. So 1 point to Jillian.

First on the block today is one of the two Rorschach Alums taking the stage for the first show of Season 8. Jesse Terrill (he is the one in the center above) has been a friend of mine for a longer time now than either of us care to admit. Let's just say he had more hair back then and if I was dating a woman 9 years my junior then I would be in jail. A gifted composer, actor and inveterate trouble maker (ask him about a certain inappropriate display of affection at an Ohio Turnpike rest stop sometime) Jesse is a treasure and a joy to have in any cast.

1. What is your position, role or roles in Kit Marlowe?

I play the role of Frizer: a noble, intelligent servingman brutalized cruelly by an evil, calculating Marlowe.

2. Is this your first go around at the Rorschach rodeo? If no what have you done for us before? If yes, what has surprised you the most about working for us?

I've worked with Rorschach on several occasions, as an actor and composer. Started with acting in The Illusion. Music for Ubu Roi, Beard of Avon, J.B. Acted in Myth Appropriations and a reading of Gilgamesh.

3. If this play were a Beatle which one would it be and why?

John Lennon: Lots of controversy, moments of hallucination, an early death, and really bad choices in love.

4. What feature of Marlowe's London should Rorschach duplicate to really enhance the audience's experience?

Bear-baiting. We can have live shows before the performance and the audience can bet on whether the bear (a random Rorschach company member dressed in a bear suit) or the hounds (2 more random guest artists who have worked with the company, wearing leather and collars...mmm...possibilities...) win the wrestling match.

5. What was your best/worst haircut or body modification for a part in a play?

Hmm, that mullet I had in Myth Appropriations really brought my attractiveness to new depths.

6. If you could go out for a wild night on the town with Kit Marlowe, where would you go and what would you do?

I think Kit would enjoy the Freak Show at the Palace of Wonders on H Street, then a nice jaunt at Chaos for the boys.

7. Can you think of worse way of being killed than being stabbed in the eye? If so how?

Falling face first into a blender.

You Got to Play to Win

So far the score is Suzen and Jason 1 point each for ringing in with the correct answer first. Randy gets a -2 points for being so sure of himself, that he told Jason Linkens he was wrong. For those playing at home Andrew Price in References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot and Chris Davenport (who was even more recently married than John Horn) for Master and Margarita.

Here is today's photo, name and show please:

Name the Show and the Actor 2

That was fun! Now let's up the anty and try something hard: