And Finally . . .

Alright this is the end! I promise, no more pictures of animals in Santa Hats. After these:

Give Me Some Content People!

Apprently some of our readers have been disturbed by my recent use of Santa clad members of the animal kindom. To those of you who are having a hard time with these Kringle Clad Creatures, all I can say is bah, humbug!

It is in fact a joy to search the web looking for these adorable bundles of horribly adorable beasties. Dcepticon's girlfriend has even joined the hunt and has provided the examples you see here. So, until someone who was at the first read for Rough Magic can cough-up some pictures of rehearsal, you will continue to see animals of all sorts wearing their holiday best.

Get Ready!

I hope the picture to your left doesn't bring up any bad memories for our readers.

First off I want to direct everyone to the DCeiver for one of my favorite songs of all time and in particular my favorite Christmas Song of all time, Fairytale of New York.

Remember first read for Rough Magic this Sunday. I will try and get us some pics.

Please as the year draws to a close and you are looking for a quick bit of charity work to do, consider a gift to Rorschach Theatre. Make your way to our Support Page and make a gift in any amount and we will love you for a long time into 2007.

And if you want to give the gift of theater remember that three show subscriptions are still available. $44 for a regular subscription and $32 for Students and Seniors, visit our Subcription Page for more details.

Have a safe and happy weekend and I will see you all on Monday!

Nutcracker? I Don't Even Know Her!

Let us consider the holidays and how they relate to theater. Many of you may be aware that Ford's Theater presents annually Charles Dicken's Classic A Christmas Carol and various ballet companies around the country present the Nutcracker each year. What many people may not be aware of is that for many companies that produce these classics of Yuletide cheer this may be how they keep themselves in business.

Think about your own childhood. I know many people in the theater had supportive parents who took them to see shows, but for many kids seeing a Christmas play may be their first and only experience in a theater. The magic and the wonder of dancing sugar plums and ghostly apparitions trying to awake the spirit of Christmas in old Scrooge's heart may be theater and ballets one shot at making a future theater goer.

I know it is easy to scoff at our friends and collegues who are even now faking British accents and growing odd facial hair, which always seems associated with these holiday endeavors, but for some child who has never set foot in the theater this could be the one memory that makes them take a chance on plays like Rough Magic, Family Stories and Beard of Avon.

So to all of you dancing rats and proud residents of Victorian England, to every ASM shaking snow out on actors who are sweating under five layers of winter wear in a theater kept at a audience friendly 73 degrees, and to everyone who has chosen to appear in or work on a Christmas play that won't close until well into January, I say God Bless us Everyone!

And Drag Queen Furies!

Here is the cast and crew for our next bit of wonder and brilliance Rough Magic:

DIRECTOR: Jenny McConnell Frederick

FEATURING: Company Members Tracy Olivera (God of Vengeance and JB), Grady Weaterford (The Hairy Ape, Rhinoceros, The Illusion, and many more) and Jason Linkins (joining the five timers club with this production after appearing in Master and Margarita, Scarlett Letter, Behold! and Monster) and also featuring Diana Cherkas, Danny Gavigan, Gwen Grastorf (Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards), Cesar Guadamuz (Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards), Lee Liebskind, Dustin Loomis, Ghillian Porter (Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards) and Vaz Santosham

DESIGNED BY: Eric Grims (Set), Andrew Cissna (Lights), Frank Labovitz (Costumes), Matthew Frederick (Sound), Debra Kim Sivigny (Props), Andrew F. Griffin (Asst. Lighting Design)

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Ryan Taylor

DRAMATURGY: Rachel Miller

STAGE MANAGED BY: Megan Reichelt, Cecelia Cackily(Asst SM)

Caliban has escaped from Prospero's island after being imprisoned for 500 years. On the run from his sadistic and powerful master, he finds himself in modern-day New York where he joins forces with a dramaturg with magical powers and a love-struck lifeguard who might be the child warrior fated to save the world. Taking his cues from many of today’s most popular comic and graphic novel writers like Neil Gaiman (SANDMAN), Bill Willingham (FABLE) and Warren Ellis (PLANETARY), Aguirre-Sacasa, a writer for Marvel Comics and one of America's hottest young playwrights, melds a very real New York with Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST, creating a modern tale of thrills, chills and drag queen furies.

And the first read is this Sunday evening.

So once again the wheels will be turning on another Rorschach Theatre production of a show you will see nowhere else.

Until then I will be running pictures of various animals dressed as Santa. Today a Moose.