Ask Bobby Rector and Potomac Lovin'

Bobby Rector is on the block today in this edition of Ask the Cast. However before we get to know this man who puts the Monster in Monster (or does he? Discuss!), we have some more internet love to share from Brad Hathaway at Potomac Stages.

Brad says:

Each of the characters, if you will pardon the expression, comes to life in a production that feels smoothly created, not at all like the haphazard patch job that is the central character pieced together from spare parts by the good (?) doctor. That patch job is the most fun of the piece, however, as Robert Rector takes us through the evolution of the creature's consciousness of self. -Potomac Stages

I think we can pardon the pun, Brad. If you want to read the whole review follow this link.

Now on to the man of many parts (and I ask for no forgivness for my puns because they are good) Robert "Bobby" Rector. Bobby has been getting some excellent notice for his portrayl of Dr. F's creation. His physical work is outstanding and you are drawn and repelled by his creature at the same time. Here he answers the questions put to him by Jason Linkins:

1. Where are you from, originally?

Vienna, VA

2. Where did you go to school?

George Mason University

3. What is the last book you read for fun?

1984 by George Orwell

4. When you first learned that you would be working on MONSTER, what was the first thought that crossed your mind?

Does this mean I have to wear bolts in my neck?

5. If you could reanimate anyone, who would it be and why?

What Jeremy said.

6. As a kid, what was your favorite Halloween candy?

Three Musketeers.

7. What tune is going on your "Awesome MixTape 2006."?

Anything that is NOT played on 99.5.

8. What story of primal horror would you like to see Rorschach stage next year?

Monster II, in which Frankenstein creates another monster to fight the first, but they end up teaming together to kill...his pets, I guess at this point.

9. What are your words to live by?

Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
- Mahatma Gandhi

10. I'm going to quote you out of context. Okay? Go.

Holler at your boy...when you...see... him in the street.

11. What's something you do in every show to maximize the audience's fear?

I kill most of the other characters.

12. Why DID Victor give the Creature a [REDACTED]?

Let's just be glad he gave him a REDACTED and not a REDACTED.

Ask an SM (Not S&M! Grow up already!)

Please remember that this is the final weekend of MONSTER coming up. And I know many people head out of town for the Holiday Weekend, but there are also a bunch of you who I know will be around this weekend with out of town guests. Bring them to see MONSTER, you will thank me.

Megan Reichelt is the Stage Manager of our happy cast of misfits. And by misfits I refer you to the ancient greek meaning of the word, which meant lovely bunch of people who are quite mad you know. Megan as the stage manager is responsible for making sure the show runs smoothly and that the lights and sound cues are called at the appropriate times. Which in a show like MONSTER can be quite an undertaking (excuse the pun unless you thought it was funny). Please note she is the only person who has answered this survey who has found it necessary to curse.

1. Where are you from, originally?

Balmer, Merlin, hon!

2. Where did you go to school?

Ye Olde Catholic University of America.

3. What is the last book you read for fun?

I've been tryingtryingtrying to read some non-fiction books (The Pirate Queen, Playing Joan), but it hasn't been working very well. Last book I completed was Good Omens by Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman (soooo good!!). Right now I'm starting The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay which Jeremy lent me. Read it! Its awesome!

4. When you first learned that you would be working on MONSTER, what was the first thought that crossed your mind?

"YAAAAAAAAAAAY!" Then, "Oh sh*t!" Then "YAAAAAAY!" again.

5. If you could reanimate anyone, who would it be and why?

Shakespeare. I've always wanted to just sit down and have a beer with him.

6. As a kid, what was your favorite Halloween candy?

Chocolaaate. Anything. Processed dairy product and mashed caco bean goodness.

7. What tune is going on your "Awesome MixTape 2006."?

"Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" - KT Tunstall

8. What story of primal horror would you like to see Rorschach stage next year?

Dear Brutus by J.M Barrie... that's not really primal though.....more dark magicy.... A version of Jekyll and Hyde? Dracula's always sexy and bloodspattered. That's what Rorschach needs. More blood.

9. What are your words to live by?

"All will be well." - Julian of Norwich

10. I'm going to quote you out of context. Okay? Go.

All my life, I have wanted to seriously pummel somebody. Not hurt them. Just pummel them.

11. What's something you do in every show to maximize the audience's fear?

I press "Go."

12. Why DID Victor give the Creature a [REDACTED]?

Little monsters! We have one in the booth. Little squiddy guy. Name of Ivan the Bleeeeeegh.

Linkins asks Linkins

I never get tired of Jason Linkins. There are many people in this world that I can not say the same of but I need me a does of Linkins about every couple of weeks or I start to go into withdrawal. Here he asks himself the questions and slngs back the answer. Remember this is the second to last weekend before MONSTER closes. Don't miss it!

1. Where are you from, originally?

Washington, DC

2. Where did you go to school?

The University of Virginia and, later, Virginia Commonwealth University.

3. What is the last book you read for fun?

How Soccer Explains The World, by Franklin Foer

4. When you first learned that you would be working on MONSTER, what was the first thought that crossed your mind?

OH CRAP. I HAVE TO GET ON A BOAT AGAIN??

5. If you could reanimate anyone, who would it be and why?

Paul Wellstone, for the obvious reasons.

6. As a kid, what was your favorite Halloween candy?

Hershey's SPECIAL DARK. They just seemed so EXOTIC. Also, like my friend Sommer, I believe Krackel to be heaven-sent.

7. What tune is going on your "Awesome MixTape 2006."?

All of these:
The Strokes, "You Only Live Once"
The Dresden Dolls, "Delilah"
Bishop Allen, "Flight 180"
Rainer Maria, "Catastrophe Keeps Us Together"
Keane, "Is It Any Wonder"
Jarvis Cocker, "[REDACTEDS] are Still Running The World"
The Hold Steady, "Stuck Between Stations"
Middle Distance Runner, "Naturally"
The Daybreak Line, "Bleeding Hearts"

8. What story of primal horror would you like to see Rorschach stage next year?

Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom

9. What are your words to live by?

"This is how it works: You're young until you're not. You love until you don't. You try until you can't. You laugh until you cry. You cry until you laugh. And everyone must breathe until their dying breath. And this is how it works: You peer inside yourself. You take the things you like, and try to love the things you took. And then you take that love you made, and stick it into someone else's heart, pumping someone else's blood. And, walking arm in arm, you hope it don't get harmed. But even if it does, you'll just do it all again." --Regina Spektor

10. I'm going to quote you out of context. Okay? Go.

I had never dipped them into the gravy before that day...now, I can't help myself.

11. What's something you do in every show to maximize the audience's fear?

I bury ancient Indian remains under their seats.

12. Why DID Victor give the Creature a [REDACTED]?

I think the real question is, how did he learn to use it just from reading Paradise Lost?

Fear the Eeyore

Those of you coming here today for the next installment of Ask the Cast will have to wait a day. Hotmail, that poster child for unreliability has blocked me from digging into the creamy goodness that is Jason Linkins's repsonses to his own questions. Instead I bring you word of another bit of written press goodness from The Washington Post and 2 for 1 Ticket Deal for this weekend.

First off Jeremy Goren and Bobby Rector do the MONSTER cast pround in a nice little feature in yesterday's Style Section over at the paper of record. Getting Inside Someone Else's Head
In 'Frankenstein' Redux, Acting From the Neck Up, Jane Horowitz asks our dynamic duo of Corpse Re-animation what it takes to fill the shoes of literatures greatest God and Monster since Paradise Lost. Of special note is Jeremy recalling his previous DC role of Christopher Robin in Eeyore's Christmas Present at Adventure Theater. That tidbit was picked up by the good folks at Eeyore Fun News, where they have linked to the Post Article. If you folks at Eeyore happen to stop by on these pages of Adult Angst and Negativity, I hope you feel right at home. Thanks Jeremy and Bobby for representing.

On to the bargain I mention in Paragraph One. We are offering 2 for 1 Tickets this weekend for any of the performances of MONSTER. Just use the code word "FEAR" , call 1-800-494-TIXS and you and your honey can see the show and get out in time to do all the bar hopping you were planning on doing before you are forced to go home and once again hear about how well your brother is doing in dental school and how your nephew is doing now that they have figured out that he is allergic to papaya.

Ask Jeremy

Five count them five chances to see the show this weekend. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8pm, Saturday at 4pm and Sunday at 7pm. The show is a brisk 90 minutes (I read that somewhere) so you can always plan on making other plans after the show.

Jeremy Goren is our own Dr. F in this here production of MONSTER. And I will say this for him, he is more than just side burns and a black coat.

Before we get to Jeremy's answers I just want to take this opportunity to thank the good people at Benny's House of Hair Wax for their sponsorship. When your hair needs a good wax there is only one house of wax, Benny's House of Hair Wax. Take Interstate 95 to the Slawson Cut-off, get out cut off your Slawson and proceed 5 more miles to the fork in the road where you will see a sign for Benny's House of Hair Wax. Now stay tuned for Ron Howard, Ron Pearlman, Rhea Pearlman and Jo-Jo the Wonder Horse in Attack of the the 50 Foot Giant Thing With Tenatcles.

1. Where are you from, originally?

Yo vengo de todas partes,
Y hacia todas partes voy.
Arte soy entre las artes.
Entre los montes, monte soy.

2. Where did you go to school?

Duluth, Minn.

3. What is the last book you read for fun?

The Rum Diary, by Hunter S. Thompson and Souls on Fire, by Elie Wiesel

4. When you first learned that you would be working on MONSTER, what was the first thought that crossed your mind?

Something is happening here, but I don't know what it is.

5. If you could reanimate anyone, who would it be and why?

Pac. He wasn't finished with us.

6. As a kid, what was your favorite Halloween candy?

Krackel.

7. What tune is going on your "Awesome MixTape 2006."?

"The Crystalline, Radiant Sky", by The Cynical Idealist

8. What story of primal horror would you like to see Rorschach stage next year?

The Crown of Fire, Anonymous, 13th c. Albuquerque.

9. What are your words to live by?

"Arm yourselves with your array: Design, Wisdom, Intellect, Knowledge, and Vision, the power of Hands and Feet."

10. I'm going to quote you out of context. Okay? Go.

There were only seven of them, and it was Havana, not Cancun.

11. What's something you do in every show to maximize the audience's fear?

I play with menstrual blood. And I eat it.

12. Why DID Victor give the Creature a [REDACTED]?

A wise man, on the edge of the wilderness of infinity, once told his disciples: "As for the whole gang-bang scenario, well, it just couldn't happen. Smurfs are asexual. They don't even have...reproductive organs under those tiny, white pants. That's what's so illogical about being a Smurf. You know? I mean, what's the point ofliving... if you don't have a redacted?"

Ask Jillian Levine-Sisson

Monster has some great technical support. A fantastic stage manager in Megan Reichelt and a spunky young gal name of Jillian serving as Assistant Stage Manager and Sound Board Op.

Here are Jillian's answers to Jason Linkin's Quiz of Doom:

1. Where are you from, originally?

Some would say Mars, others Washington Hospital Center via my mothers' womb.

2. Where did you go to school?

Bradley Hills Elementary, Thomas W. Pyle Middle, Walt Whitman High, Kenyon College, The School for Scandal (ongoing).

3. What is the last book you read for fun?

Jitterbug Perfume by Tom Robbins

4. When you first learned that you would be working on MONSTER, what was the first thought that crossed your mind?

"G-D I really hope that Jason Linkins will be a part of this project.... for if he isnt, I'll be so SCURRRRRED."

5. If you could reanimate anyone, who would it be and why?

No clue, but it would probably be really cool if I could reanimate someone as a present for a friend. "Merry Chirstmas! Here's the reanimated Humphrey Bogart just for you!"

6. As a kid, what was your favorite Halloween candy?

I was not allowed to keep my Haloween candy as a child... this is what happens when your mother is a dentist. I didnt actually taste cotton candy until I was in college. But my favorite candy to hide in the various folds and pockets of my costume were Reeses Peanut Butter Cups.

7. What tune is going on your "Awesome MixTape 2006."?

"Take Your Mama" by Scissor Sisters or "I Hear the Bells" by Mike Doughty


8. What story of primal horror would you like to see Rorschach stage next year?

A staged adaptation of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

9. What are your words to live by?

"It is important to remember to always believe in love... and sandwiches.... but mostly love... and sandwiches."

10. I'm going to quote you out of context. Okay? Go.

And I said to him "I'm not taking my clothes off for ANYONE... even if it is ARTISTIC!"

11. What's something you do in every show to maximize the audience's fear?

I get to push a button that makes a gunshot happen in the first half hour of the show. Megan and I always look out over the crowd to watch the people jump.


12. Why DID Victor give the Creature a [REDACTED]?

I think the more important question here isnt why the monster was given a REDACTED, but whether or not director Randy Baker explored the question of RECACTEDs with actor Bobby Rector while exploring this artistic moment in the play. Did Randy ask Bobby to go home one night after rehearsal and examine why HE, BOBBY was given a REDACTED and how he therefore felt about the creatures REDACTED? Are Bobby and the creatures REDACTEDS linked? I would like to think that a great deal of time and contemplation was spent on this.... yes, yes I would. . .

Ask Tiernan

We have been playing to some very responsive and loving houses. Check out our cool advertisement on the DCist and the one with the trailer on DC Theater Reviews. And what better way to continue the love for MONSTER, than to continue our on going series Ask the Cast. Today we talk to Tiernan Madorno. Tiernan plays Justine the doomed servant in the House of Frankenstein.

1. Where are you from, originally?

Seattle, Washington

2. Where did you go to school?

University of Maryland, College Park

3. What is the last book you read for fun?

"Skyscraper" by 'Zane'

4. When you first learned that you would be working on MONSTER, what was the first thought that crossed your mind?

"Sweet! A chick flick!"

5. If you could reanimate anyone, who would it be and why?

I'm sure this comes at little suprise to some, but I'd have to bring back the one true king, Elvis Aaron Presley. From avid nine year old fan, to present day black female impersonator there's really no other worthy of reanimation in my mind!

6. As a kid, what was your favorite Halloween candy?

Those carmel apple pop thingies that got stuck all over your teeth.

7. What tune is going on your "Awesome MixTape 2006." ?

"Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" and The Folgers coffee jingle by Rock-a-pella.

8. What story of primal horror would you like to see Rorschach stage next year?

Waking me up in the morning.

9. What are your words to live by?

"Risk more than others think is safe, Care more than others think is wise, Dream more than others think is practical, Expect more than others think is possible." -Cadet Maxim

10. I'm going to quote you out of context. Okay? Go.

"The best part of wakin' up, is Folgers in your cup! Yeah man! Haaaaaaaaaay-oooooooo! I've got an armor plated Rhinoceros what??? AND All the other wonderfully age appropriate comments I make while doing Bobby's make-up every night!:)"

11. What's something you do in every show to maximize the audience's fear?

Each night Justine enjoys sticking it to Elizabeth by graphically enhancing her 'incident' with Victor in the cellar.

12. Why DID Victor give the Creature a [REDACTED]?

I am sooooooooo not the one to be answering that question.........but I do wonder what goes through Creature's head when he carries a dead Justine off stage........ I mean everybody needs love right??!!

Gut Responses

Today is a holiday for some and a Friday and sowhile I slave away here in Rorschach's Northern DC Office, I know that readership of this blog will drop off like a Sunday Matinee audience member at a large theater of your choosing somewhere in the City. Therefore, I will hold off on publishing our next Ask the Cast segment for Monday, when all of our readers will be bright eyed and bushy tailed.

MONSTER continues this weekend with performances tonight and tomorrow at 8pm. Last night we were once again joined by students from Peter Marks's Theater Class from GW. Apparently the students were appropriately appalled by the appalling bits and experienced a rather honest response when the heard the Monster ask why Dr. Frankenstein gave him a (redacted). I love the honesty that a younger audience can bring to a performance. Adults will sit there and act like nothing shocks them but younger audiences tend to let you know what the are really thinking. That makes for a pleasant change sometimes and should be embraced.

Sometimes you get so caught up in what a reviewer who has seen a thousand shows thinks instead of someone who may be coming to the theater for the first time feels in their guts. You forget what it was like the first time live theater made you feel sick, cry, jump in your seat or made you feel better about the world you live in.

Now on to Trey Graham and his review in the City Paper. Well the less said of that the better I suppose. Overall Trey seems to not be a big fan of the script and spends a lot of time comparing this production of MONSTER to its previous iteration at Olney. I would once again like to point out however that the design of the show and some of the performances get special note. Go here if you want the whole bloody run down (scroll to the middle of the page). And here is a choice bit about the design:

. . . Sivigny builds a little wooden avalanche for actors to scramble and scrap and posture (and electrocute one another) upon, while swoops of that fabric frame a playing space that bleeds nicely out into the dark-arched recesses of Rorschach’s high-ceilinged home in the former Calvary Methodist sanctuary. There’s fun to be had with shadowplay (courtesy of lighting designer David C. Ghatan) and with various thunderclaps and heartbeat noises (William Burns) . . . -Trey Graham- Washington City Paper

Ask Ryan Nealy

Today marks the return of an old favorite feature, Ask the Cast. Roving blogger Jason Linkins has composed a list of questions for the cast and crew of MONSTER to answer. So far the only two people to get back to us are Assitant Stage Manager, Jillian Levine-Sisson and cast member Ryan Nealy. Since one of them is the blogger's girlfriend (I am not saying which one) I have waited until a couple of these bad boys made their way into my inbox. So without much further ado here is the first in an inderminately long series of Ask the Cast of Monster.

Ryan Nealy is the first on the block that is him on the left being lifted into the air by the blond guy. Enjoy!

1. Where are you from, originally?

Born in Manhattan, raised in Nutley, New Jersey

2. Where did you go to school?

American University

3. What is the last book you read for fun?

Well fun might be the wrong word, but Surviving Auschwitz, by Primo Levi

4. When you first learned that you would be working on MONSTER, what was the first thought that crossed your mind?

Oh man...I auditioned for a show called Monster?

5. If you could reanimate anyone, who would it be and why?

I guess John Lennon pre Yoko...he might be fun to talk to


6. As a kid, what was your favorite Halloween candy?

Milk Duds

7. What tune is going on your "Awesome MixTape 2006"?

I don't know, but if the woman in the cubicle next to me doesn't stop playing James Blunt and Black Eyed Peas all day long someone will get hurt.

8. What story of primal horror would you like to see Rorschach stage next year?

How many primal horror plays are there?

9. What are your words to live by?

It's nice to eat the pickles, but sometimes you just gotta drink the juice.

10. I'm going to quote you out of context. Okay? Go.

If you high five your date, it's not a good date

11. What's something you do in every show to maximize the audience's fear?

Die

12. Why DID Victor give the Creature a [REDACTED]?

What does redacted mean?

Pictures of Monster

The photos you have seen on the blog and in the media of Monster have been taken by Marigan O'Malley-Posada. As evidenced by the striking postcard image and the striking way that these production photos have turned out, we at Rorschach are becoming big fans of Marigan's work. Enjoy some shots of the show and then call 1-800-494-TIXS to book your seats.

VOTE!

Yes, ladies/gentlemen it is Election Day! And while Rorschach cannot endorse any actual poltical candidates, I would like all of you to think how a company that produces shows like A Bright Room Called Day, Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Family Stories: A Slap Stick Tragedy might vote. Then I want you to look deep into your soul and remember how much Rorschach's shows mean to you. Then I want you to vote. I am not saying who you should or should not vote for, but I think if you look deep down in the bottom of your theater going heart, the answer will present itself.

All right I will come out and say it! Its time to write-in Grady Weatherford for Senate in Maryland and Rahaleh Nassri for Senate in Virginia. They both meet all of the qualifications to be Senators: American Citizens and over 30. Either one would be willing to spend tax payers money on frivilous things like education, healthcare and the arts. And most of the incriminating photos of Grady and Rahaleh are the property of Rorschach Theatre. Here is a photo of them in an early political debate on the issue of Stem Cell Research.

I won't tell you it doesn't matter who you vote for but just go out there and vote, because that is rather a silly thing to say. Vote the way you heart tells you, and then ask your head who it likes and then let your kidneys break the tie.

And get your tickets for Monster.

Big Monster on Campus

Weekend 2 went off without a hitch. We had a great crowd on Friday night I heard and Saturday sounds like it was a great audience as well.

The college press chimes in with this contribution from The Eagle, American University's Student Paper, here is the link to the review.

Tare Abell writes:

Directed by Randy Baker, the show is sure to surpass the expectations of horror seekers everywhere with the on-stage adaptation of Mary Shelley's famous novel "Frankenstein."

We have other reviews coming but I just wanted to also direct your attention to the ad that DC Theatre Review put together for MONSTER on their front page. For those of you not familiar with DC Theatre Review, you should check them out they love Rorschach and were really excited to see the trailer and wanted to help us spread the word.

Also a special thanks to our friends over that the DCist for making us a pick for this weekend and spreading the word about MONSTER.

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.

Reviews Start Coming In

And so it begins. There is an attitude among some in the business we call show, not to read the reviews. That it will make you doubt everything you do and if you believe the good ones then you will have to believe the bad ones as well. Over the years all of us at Rorschach have received our share of praise along with not-praise. It is when we take our biggest risks that we are sometimes lauded the loudest and also set ourselves up for the biggest disappointments.

All of that is a lead in to the fact that the reviews for Monster have begun to come in. There will be more in the coming days.

Washington Theatre Review offers a review of both adaptations in town, both ours and the two person affair at Roundhouse Silver Spring, featuring Rorschach Alum, Jesse Terrill. Here is some of the sweetness pouring our way from Ms. Debbie Jackson:

The entire production cackles with such moments of creativity, and Baker’s bloody fingerprints are on every scene. He keeps a laser-like focus on character-development, amazing use of space, even eerie lighting cues, all while commandeering a rollicking 90-minute show.

The review everyone waits for is the Post review and it came out today and while it heaps praise on many it also avoids heaping praise on others. Here are some of the choice bits that Mr. Marks had to share:

The invigorating source of disturbance is the big guy who's stitched together from exhumed arms, ears and kidneys. As played by the young, expressive actor Robert Rector, this creature out of our collective anxieties emits the requisite scent of the grave -- what you might call eau de crypt.

If I could just add to Peter Marks enthusiasm, Bobby Rector gives a powerhouse performance as the Monster of the title. The very real danger he embodies is a site to behold. The cast as a whole provides an evening of theatre that will make you shiver, but everyone knows why you really go to see a scary movie or play, it is to see what is hiding under the covers. And this Monster will be one you looking under the bed for when you get home.

Halloween Scares

Captain I-Hate-Candy-Corn and Princess Rainbow Brite over saw the festivities at our special Halloween performance of Monster last night and while the reviews haven't come out here is what our friend the CityMouse had to say:

Saw Monster last night. Extremely spooky in the very best way possible. Many interesting ideas about god creating man creating god creating man. Stuff to think about and creepy sexual and familial scenes. Again, what more can one ask for?

Creepy facial hair too. On everyone, including Getman, who isn't even in the damn show, and Randy, who I think just didn't bother to shave. Lots of fun people there. And halloween candy goody bags to boot.

Just FYI Randy's not shaving was due to some sort of instruction from Dceiver regarding the World Series.

Many people came in the spirit of the season, including a couple of fairies, Wonderwoman and Woody from a Toy Story.

Here are some other shots of the party. Enjoy!

Monster Opening

The Opening was a big success. And tonight promises to be even more fun. Some seats are still available if you would like to spend your Halloween with us. Call 1-800-494-TIXS. BOO!

PWYC Start Tonight

Rorschach's MONSTER comes to life this weekend, with three Pay-What-You-Can Previews on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night at 8pm.

What better way to celebrate the Halloween Weekend than experiencing Neal Bell's adaptation of Frankenstein?

For the truly fearless we offer our special Halloween Night Performance. Join the friends of Rorschach as we celebrate All-Hallows Eve with one of the scariest stories in the world. Tickets are selling fast!

Want a Sneak Peak at MONSTER?? View our theatrical "trailer" by following this link. This video, created by Artistic Partner Grady Weatherford, gives you a taste of the thrills and chills awaiting you at Rorschach Theatre.

If you can't join us for any of these shows remember that MONSTER runs until November 26th and tickets are available at 1-800-494-TIXS or by visiting the web site.

MONSTER has been hailed as one of the most inventive and frightening adaptations of Frankenstein ever to be put on stage. Drawing parallels between our modern science and morals and those of Shelley's characters, playwright Neal Bell has created a unique and chilling telling of this Gothic Classic. Take away the Hollywood lens, and the story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation becomes a lean, terrifying tale of morality and immortality.

Directed by Randy Baker

Cast: Lily Balsen, Nicola Daval, Jeremy Goren, Jason Basinger Linkins, Tiernan Madorno, Paul McLane, Ryan Nealy, Robert Rector, Jon Reynolds

Design and Production: Debra Kim Sivigny (Set), David C. Ghatan (Lights), Erin Nugent (Costumes), William Burns (Sound), Megan Reichelt (Stage Manager), Jillian Levine-Sisson (Asst. Stage Manager), Jessie Gallogly (Asst. Director), Andrew F. Griffin (Asst. Lighting Design), Grady Weatherford (Fight Choreography)

Running Time: 90 Minutes

“Starting from Shelley’s original, but with a sharp eye for cogency and a sharp ear for the turn of a phrase, [Neal Bell] has managed to locate the philosophical germ inside each of the horror myth’s iconic scenes. The scare is still there, but now has other functions than merely frightening your inner child – with fantasies of impotence, rape and castration on a dark and stormy night. If you really want to frighten yourself, there’s always today’s paper; if you want a dramatic story that makes you think-- you should probably go see MONSTER.”-- Michael Finegold, Village Voice

Setting

Add some lights and some mood music and you know what do you got but scary scary stuff my friends. Watched the run last night folks and I can honestly say there were some moments that had me on the edge of my seat and made my skin crawl a little bit. Your first chance to see it is tomorrow night. What better way to start Halloween Weekend then with MONSTER at Rorschach. Pay-What-You-Can Previews are Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 8pm.

Boo!

It Waits . . .

Here is your first peek at Rorschach Theatre's production of Neal Bell's Monster. This adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein will haunt your dreams. Thanks to Grady Weatherford for putting the trailer together.

Pay-What-You-Can Previews start this Friday night. With shows on Saturday and Sunday night. Tickets are also available for our Special Halloween Show. Spend All-Hallows Eve with Dr. Frankenstein and his Creature. Why should Halloween just be for kids and surly teens? Tickets are available at 1-800-494-TIXS or visit the web site.

Rorschach Retrospective

Some of you saw a different version of this before I took it down on Friday. Grady Weatherford created this teaser trailer for Season 7. Many of you are probably featured in this retrospective of Rorschach's past, others will remember some of their favorite Rorschach shows and yet others will say what the hell is this. Enjoy!

Monster starts previews this Friday, so start making your plans to spend Halloween weekend with us.

Postcard of Death

Rorschach Theatre: The Movie

This is just an experiment please be patient.

Enjoy!

Quashing

There have been some rumors flying around this week which I need to quash. It has long been a priority at The Rorschach Theatre Blog to prevent the spreading of unfounded rumors and to prevent the petty bickering that has broken-up numerous start-up theater companies and at least two British rock bands. So here and now I am going on the record.

Rorschach has not adopted any orphans.

We were looking, but found nothing we liked. Perhaps in a couple years we will be in a better place in our lives and we can handle the responsibility of a child, but for right now we are all very busy concentrating on our careers and Monster.

Rorschach did not test a small nuclear device in the basement of Casa del Peublo.

While we are constantly trying to find ways to raise money and awareness, we have not engaged in any testing or development of nuclear devices. We are not playing God here, like Dr. Victor Frankenstein in our upcoming production of Monster that starts Pay-What-You-Can Previews on October 27th at 8 p.m.

Rorschach did not have pictures taken in the buff when it was in college for which we are being blackmailed to prevent them from appearing in the Tabloids.

Now that one is just plain stupid. Where do you people get this crap? Aren't there better ways to spend your time? How about coming to see Monster? Tickets are available by either calling 1-800-494-TIXS or visiting Box Office Tickets.

I hope this ends the speculation and that you people will let us live our lives in peace.

See Monster!

Caption Constest Mach II

This Picture from Friday Night Needs a caption. Best caption wins a drink of some sort! Oh and Ghillian I still owe you a beer from the last Caption Contest.

Enjoy!

Mary Shelley and Frankenstein Part II

Mary Shelley incorporated a number of different sources into her work, not the least of which was the Promethean myth from Ovid. The influence of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and John Milton's Paradise Lost, the book the creature finds in the cabin, are also clearly evident within the novel.

After Percy Shelley’s drowning in 1822, Mary was tireless in promoting her late husband's work, including editing and annotating unpublished material. Despite their troubled later life together, she revered her late husband's memory and helped build his reputation as one of the major poets of the English Romantic period. But she also found occasions to write a few more novels, including Valperga: The Life and Adventures of Castruccio and Falkner. The Last Man, a pioneering science fiction novel of the human apocalypse in the distant future, is, however, sometimes considered her best work, as is Mathilda, a novella published posthumously.

Mary Shelley died of brain cancer on February 1, 1851, aged 53, in London and was interred at St. Peter's Churchyard in Bournemouth, in the English county of Dorset. At the time of her death, she was a recognized novelist. Her son, Sir Percy Shelley, arranged for her parents to be exhumed and re-buried next to her; he and his wife are also buried there.

Mary Shelley and Frankenstein Part I

The story of how Frankenstein was written is nearly as famous as the novel itself. A nineteen year old girl is issued a challenge by her host to write a ghost story. The girl was Mary Shelley the then fiancée of the poet Percy Shelley and her host was Lord Byron.

Mary Shelley was born Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin in London, England, the second daughter of famed feminist, educator and writer Mary Wollstonecraft and the equally famous anarchist philosopher, journalist and atheist dissenter, William Godwin. She met Percy Bysshe Shelley, a political radical and free-thinker like her father, when Percy and his first wife Harriet visited Godwin's home and bookshop in London. Percy, unhappy in his marriage, began to visit Godwin more frequently (and alone). In the summer of 1814 he and Mary (then only 16) fell in love. They eloped, (though Percy was still married to Harriet at the time) to France in July.

During the snowy summer of 1816, the "Year Without A Summer," the world was locked in a long cold volcanic winter caused by the eruption of Tambora in 1815. In this terrible year, Mary visited Lord Byron at the Villa Diodati by Lake Geneva in Switzerland. The weather was consistently too cold and dreary that summer to enjoy the outdoor vacation activities they had planned, so after reading an anthology of German ghost stories, Byron challenged the Shelleys and his personal physician John William Polidori to each compose a story of their own, the contest being won by whoever wrote the scariest tale.

Mary conceived an idea after she fell into a waking dream or nightmare during which she saw "the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together." This was the germ of Frankenstein. Byron managed to write just a fragment based on the vampire legends he heard while traveling the Balkans, and from this Polidori created The Vampyre (1819), the progenitor of the romantic vampire literary genre. Thus, Lord Byron’s challenge created both the Gothic themes of Frankenstein and the modern vampire.

Come back tomorrow for Part II.

A Message from the Artistic Director not Directing MONSTER

From : Jenny McConnell Frederick
Sent : Wednesday, October 11, 2006 12:38 PM
To : Scott McCormick
Subject : Blog

So last night I infiltrated the secret society that is MONSTER rehearsals and got my first real look at the show. Last night was the first chance the cast has had to run the entire show start to finish. With that in mind, it was a really great first run. Their energy and dedication to this play is enormous. This is always such a fascinating time in the rehearsal process--when the cast is still in jeans and tennis shoes, scripts are still in hand--but you can see the wheels turning. You can see the ideas begin to flow from the mind to the body and soul as they go from understanding their characters to becoming them. One of the most fantastic things about this script is how it turns on a dime from being sharp and witty to being bone-chilling and creepy. And as much as that kind of psychological dexterity is great for a playwright, it's not always easy for a cast to get a handle on. These guys are doing a great job of striking just the right balance.

As much as I love directing, it's also great to be the producer--to go away from the rehearsal process for days at a time and then to come back in and see how much it's grown and changed. The impact of that cumulative growth is so much more apparent after a week's worth of rehearsal has gone by than it is when you're the director and you're right there each night in the thick of it.

I'm looking forward to where things will be by the time we get to the second designer run this weekend...and all of you should be looking forward to when MONSTER opens on Halloween.

-JMF

Monster Shoot

Hi Jenny!

Here is the rough shot – it looks really great in B&W as well. How about if you pass it on and if the graphic designer decides the text should on the top I can add more wall in photoshop – capeche? Let me know what you think.


I had a great time with you guys the other day – thanks so much for the opp!

Marigan

9 Lines About 300 Blogs

A Poem by dcepticon

Rahaleh buys Scott.
Old Fashioned Barn Raising.
Radical New Ideas in Casting.
Speaking of Jilly.
Catching Deb by Surprise.
Harassment from the Right.
A Hundred Entries Ago.
Connections in the Theater.
Heading into Season 7.

Thanks for coming with us on the ride.

Free Night of Theater and Back Stage Column

Free Night of Theater is a National Event that gives away free tickets to theater, to raise awareness of theater. This year Rorschach is participating and I can prooudly say that we have our first fully booked performance of Monster on November 2nd. Apparently the League of Washington theaters gave away 2100 free theater tickets within less than half an hour, including the 65 seats to Monster. Now I know what you are thinking, big deal you gave away tickets and people are coming to see a free show. For me the best thing about it is that there are now 65 people who may have never been to a Rorschach show in their lives coming to our theater.

Also check out Jane's article today in the Back Stage Column of the Post about our upcoming season. Tomorrow is our 300th Blog Entry so I think I will have a poem to post. Enjoy the weather everyone!

Up On Our Feet

If you had stepped into the Sanctuary Theatre last night, your olfactory senses would have immediately began tingling. What was that odor? That, my friends, was the stench of professionalism.

It was the first rehearsal after completing two days of "table work"--a term given to that period of time when everyone gathers around (usually around some sort of "table"), reads the script, and talks about it. It's a really good way to give the actors a chance to get all the fluffy, unplayable dross out of their system so that they can settle in to a month long period of Randy and Megan telling them what to do, and do shut up already.

Our stated goal was to stage scenes one, two, and three. And what can one say? Swish! Count it! Paul McLane and I began the evening at seven and, using the sort of onstage chemistry that comes from being first tested in the Fields of Gogol, and, later, on Rorschach's stage, in the Fields of Rahaleh. After an hour, we had that scene done. Bam. Next scene! Next scene!

Joined moments later by Jeremy Goren, to be soon followed by Lily Balsen and Nicky Daval, we kept up our torrid pace, just cold-rockin' it. Deb's expressionistic set? Negotiated. The complicated blurry blended scene changes? HANDLED. By the time we got toward the end of the evening, we would be coming out of scene three and Paul and Jeremy would get started into scene four, a few lines deep everytime. Scene Four? NOT EVEN ON THE SCHEDULE, BABY! That's called TAKING INITIATIVE.

And so, we got the news today from Megan that we all have tonight off rehearsal! Because something needed to be done to contain the scorching effects of our white-hot expertise!

Monster rehearsals continue on Friday. Maybe we'll have this shizz all finished up by the end of the weekend! I mean, after all, what are the odds that this play gets more complicated after the now-completely-staged opening five minutes?

Dracula vs. Frankenstein

Doesn't it seem like there were more thunderstorms when you were a kid?

When I was growing up my father told me that I should only read Frankenstein or Dracula during a thunderstorm. Mood was everything and the way books like those could leave their eternal marks on your psyche it was best to read them either by candle light in an old spooky house with plenty of creaks or during a storm with all of the electricity and beating of God's big bass drum in the sky that you could muster. Dad told me to wait, so I waited.

First I read Dracula and it filled my teen dreams with images of women in frilly night gowns and Eastern Eurpean Nobility with a distate for sun light and red wine. It thrilled me with its overt sense of sexuality and its need to tell the story that there was in fact an ultimate evil in the world and it had to be hunted down and destroyed. But that evil came from without, it was not the natural but the supernatural that we must fear. As a kid who read comic books that was a message I could understand.

Then I read Frankenstein and things became a little murkier. Who was evil in this book? Victor wanted to re-animate the dead. The Monster wanted to have explination of why he was brought back to suffer. Victor's creation is the very thing that destorys all that he loves and all the Creature wants is someone to love him and to keep him company. There is no black and white in Frankenstein, just deeper and darker shades of not quite white. Who is right and who is wrong? It is Victor's experiments that bring the Monster to life not the supernatural forces at work in Dracula. It is science itself that creates the problems in this book. The same science that has cured disease and has also created disease.

I think at one point or another growing up every child imagines himself fighting vampires. Slowly opening the door to your grandparents basement or crawl space and carefully taking each creaking step down into the darkness, almost as a test of whether you were brave enough to battle all the evil that exists in the world. But how many of us I wonder ever imagines ourselves as great scientists faced with the moral question of just because we can do something does that mean we should?

So sitting somewhere on my book shelves at home are two oft read copies of the greatest horror stories ever written. Waiting for the first hint of lightening to see which of them I will take off the shelf. One tells of the strength of man to slay his demons and the other tells of man's ability to create them.

Model Behavior

So much work goes into developing a show. Even when you work on a limited budget like we do at Rorschach designers and directors still find a way to not only realize a vision but also find a way to embrace the limitations and use them to their advantage.

It hase long been a tradition among our set designers to use the architecture of the space to their advatage. Going back to our very first show at Casa, Lord of the Flies, set designers like Matt Soule and David Ghatan have used the contours of the space to create memorable and sets in which to enact our plays.

Picking up the gauntlet this time is our oft times costume designer and company member Deb Sivigny. As you will see in the model above Deb has taken inspiration from both the story of Frankenstein and his Monster as well as from the environment at Casa. Using one of the stain glass windows as a focal point of the set, she has created a plunging raked deck of a ship locked in the ice, as Victor Frankenstein tells his tale of science gone mad to the Captain of a doomed ship trapped in the Arctic.

Construction is already under way and we are all looking forward to seeing this monster of a set come to life.

Here We Go Again

Sunday at 5pm was the first read for Monster and I for one could not have been happier with what I was hearing.

I have to do a comparison of all of the pictures I have taken of first reads at some point. Every first read seems to look alike only the faces have changed. I know these photos very rarely capture the excitement of a first read, but I think these pictures serve as a reminder that while sitting around a table on the first day may look the same every time we do it, the final results are always different.

If you look closely you will see that part of the set is already under construction. Look to the upper right hand corner above Lily's shoulder and you will see the beginnings of Deb Sivingy's set. Designer presentations give the actors and company a taste of what the show will be when it is fully realized. Once again to show you what we are doing I will try and get as much out there to you as possible. I for one think that this show will definetly take advantage once again of the space in Casa, to create a unique and beautiful stage for this haunting and scary show.

Aerial Photography and First Reads

Here is a satellite picture of our home at the Casa del Pueblo Methodist Church, located at 1459 Columbia Road, NW. As you can see it is a rather old photo because it does not include any of the massive construction projects that are currently being carried out in the Columbia Heights Neighborhood. See that parking lot in the upper right hand corner of the photo, well right now it is a giant pit. Soon it will be another block of condos on 14th Street.

It used to be easy to show up on Columbia Road aroudn 6:30 and find a parking space, but these days it is becoming a "God I hope I get a spot" situation. Things in Columbia Heights are on the move and Rorschach is right in the center of it all. So as we embark on our 7th Season and they start to build the Target up the block from us, remember us when coming to Columbia Heights used to be an adventure.

Speaking of adventures, First Read for Monster is Sunday night. We are all very excited by this cast and this show and we will be making some special announcements very soon, as well as featuring photos of our cast and crew on Monday, so get ready to be afraid. Be very, very afraid!

Monster Time

Mary Shelley was 18 when she wrote Frankenstein. The story of the weekend spent with her boyfriend and then eventual husband Percy Shelley and Lord Byron and the bet they made on who could write the scariest tale is now the stuff of literary legend. Byron and Shelley while great poets could not match the rich and frought imagination of Mary.

The novel first published in 1818 tell the story of Victor Frankenstein and his attempt to reanimate the corpse of a man who had been hanged. It then goes on to tell of the horrible deaths and misery that follows from this act to bend nature to the will of man by the use of science.

I think everyone of us has seen this story told in dozens of movies and have seen that theme come down through literature. All science fiction and horror novels can trace their roots to the imagination of a 19th Century woman, who was trying to win a very special bet and her nightmare.

When I placed my head upon my pillow, I did not sleep, nor could I be said to think. . . . I saw--with shut eyes, but acute mental vision--I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion. Frightful must it be; for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous Creator of the world.

Mary Shelley, from her introduction to the third edition of Frankenstein

As we draw closer to the first read of Rorschach's attempt to bring this creature to life in Monster, I thought this might be a good time to check out the some of the vast amount of imformation available on the web.

If you have never read the novel, I can't think of a better time of year to do it. As the leaves begin to change and the wind grows ever colder, why not print your own copy of the Novel here.

Wikipedia, in its very factually truthy way provides a nice overview of the novel and the movies that followed this most Gothic of Gothic Novels.

The National Institure of Health shows you the time line of what happened to bring this story of Medicine and Science to life. And they also talk about the social and moral issues raised by the novel here.

And finally here is a look at a museum that has taken great pains to explore the work and life of Mary Shelley, The Bakken Exhibit has some interesting artifacts and displays of the life of Frankenstein.

Monster Opens on October 31st. It's alright to be afraid of the dark sometimes.

Finished Pirate

Arghs and Crafts

Avast me maties!
Being that it is International Talk Like Pirate Day, I reckoned this would be a fine day to introduce a little thing I like to call "Things To Do With the Crap on Your Desk." Part arts and crafts and part procrastination.
Here is what you will need to complete todays project:

Sheet of Plain White Paper
Black Sharpie
A Pair of Scissors
Single Hole Punch
About a Dozen Paper Clips

1. Take the sharpie and draw a half an oval on the sheet of paper. Make it big enough to cover your eye and then color in the half oval with the sharpie. If you don't have a sharpie you could use a black colored pencil or crayon. If you want to get even more creative you could draw a pirate themed picture on the paper like a skull and cross bones or a picture of Orlando Bloom.

2. Cut out your eye patch with the scissors. Kids be sure to ask your mom or dad for help if the scissors are too sharp.

3. Now use the hole punch to place a whole in the opposite corners at the top of the eye patch. If you don't have a hole punch you can carefully use the scissors to make the holes.

4. Now using the paper clips make a chain which is long enough to go around your head. If you want you can substitute string for paper clips.

5. Take each end of the paper clip chain and place it through one of the holes in your eye patch.

6. Place it over your eye and you have a pirate costume fit for a king.

In the Year 2056

Greetings to the people of 2006. I have come from 50 years in the future to tell you of the wonders that await you and your children and your children's children and in some rare cases your children's children's clones.

That is correct I have circumvented all laws forbidding the tampering with the past, other wise knows as the "Doc Brown Laws" to use the primitive media of blogging to tell you of the wonders that await the fans of Rorschach in the future. And while I bring some tidings of great joy, I also present dire warnings.

Having arrived here in a time machine which looks nothing like the one shown above and then realizing it was 2006 and the beginning of the Legenary Season 7 at Rorschach Theater, I immediately headed to a bar to find Scott McCormick slouched over in a booth muttering to himself that it just wasn't fair and that they should never have cancelled Star Trek: Enterprise, I bought him an Orange Whip and told him of my miraculous journey from the future and all of the wonders it would hold for others. I also had to tell him that he however would not be around in 2056 due to an unfortunate accident involving a pair of lawn darts and a particularly stupid bet with one of his nephews. I did however tell him that his brain was transfered into a clone body and that he was now happily living in Boca with a clone of Uma Thurman. He perked up until I told him that the next three Star Trek movies would suck.

Our Orange Whips had arrived and I told him of the fantastic things that were awaiting Rorschach in the next 12 months. The births, the marriages and the long goodbyes. The successes of the shows and the failure of a poorly conceived idea of selling shell fish at the concession stand. Not to give too much away but it is hard to keep raw oysters fresh in a church lobby in July.

Then I told him the good news. This will be Rorschach's most successful season ever. Some might argue that it was season 20 when Scott and Rahaleh appeared in Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf? and Grady finally got to direct his version of The Wall. But without a doubt the season that most people in the future kicked themselves for not having seen was Season 7.

So as I reboard my time machine and prepare to go into the past to warn the Bush Family about the dangers of lead paint, remember you have been warned!