Pei Day

Would it really be a Rorschach play if something surreal or metaphysical wasn't taking place somewhere on stage? My answer is no. If it isn't the devil making an appearance (which has happened three times) or people dying and coming back to life (which happened about a dozen times in one show) would our audiences even know they were watching a show at Rorschach?

References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot has a lot of things going on that make it a Rorschach show. Today I introduce you to the cast of characters that inhabit Acts I and IV. This time the meta comes from a talking cat (second time we have had one of those prowling Casa), a talking coyote (first time for that one) and the anthropomorphic moon (Rahaleh was the last one to take a stab at that one). What does it take to make these wonderfully weird creations of Jose Rivera come to life? Well costumes and research have a big part to play in allowing the actors to be the very best talking, walking and acting creatures of dream that they can be.

Today's entry will borrow heavily from other peoples research and work so the drawings are Pei Lee's our Costume Designer and the words come from Jacqueline Lawton's Dramaturgy.

Danny Gavigan returns after his Rorschach Debut in Rough Magic to play our coyote.

Coyote:

The coyote has grayish-brown to yellowish-brown fur on top and whitish fur on its underparts. It has large triangular ears on the top of its head and a long, narrow muzzle. It has a black nose, yellow eyes and a long, bushy tail. One way to tell the coyote apart from wolves and dogs is to watch its tail when it runs. The coyote runs with its tail down. Dogs run with their tails up and wolves run with their tails straight out.

Coyote often plays the role of trickster, although in some stories he is a buffoon and the butt of jokes and in a few is outright evil. His personality strengths are humor and sometimes cleverness. His personality weaknesses are usually greed or desire, recklessness, impulsiveness and jealousy. Coyote is often the antagonist of his brother Wolf, who is wise and good natured but prone to giving in to Coyote's incessant demands. In Tongva Mythology, it is Coyote who is tricked. Coyote challenges "The River" to a race. Coyote is victorious, but collapses from fatigue. The river laughs at him and takes the name "Hahamongna," which is said to explain the noise made by the upper Arroyo Seco which sounds similar to laughing.


Yasmin Tuazon joins the Rorschach five timers club in her role of the cat.

Cats:

A cat believes in itself, her walk can assure you that much. She is independent, has a mind of her own yet she is gentle enough to be liked by all. A number of myths have surrounded this animal since ages. In ancient Europe, she was believed to be an evil spirit. Those were the bad days for cats. Now, cats have become a part of almost every household. They have the power to win the hearts of their owners through their elegance, dignity and off course, their soft purrs and mews can have effect on you almost instantly.

· Myth: Cats always land on their feet.
· Fact: While cats instinctively fall feet first but that does not mean that they will not receive any injuries.

· Myth: Cats should be given milk everyday.
· Fact: Some cats have lactose intolerance. So, they should not be forced to have milk. A grown up cat can have its nutrients even without having milk.

· Myth: A cat's sense of balance is in its whiskers.
· Fact: Cats have whiskers as "feelers" and not to have balance.

· Myth: Cats smother babies
· Fact: Nothing can be more false than this. There has not been even a single case in the whole world so far.

And Scott McCormick is the moon.

The Moon:

The Full Moon seems to have some odd effects on both people and animals. They go bananas! Did you know that the word "lunacy" comes from lunar? Did you know that once people thought there were little green men living on the moon? Take a look at some of these superstitions:
· A full Moon on Christmas day brings bad luck.
· Two full moons in the same month will cause severe weather in the following month. It's also called a blue moon!
· The moon is made of green cheese!
· It is unlucky to look at the new Moon through a window for the first time.
· Chickens lay more eggs under a Moon in its last quarter.
· A full Moon during harvest means a good crop.
· A new Moon brings good fortune.
· Blowing nine times on a wart while the Moon is full will make the wart go away.
· A wish while looking up at a new Moon is thought to come true within the year.
· It is best to cut your hair when the Moon is waxing; it grows strong and healthy.
· It is unlucky for a child to be born when the Moon is waning.
· A ring around the Moon is a warning of rain to come.
· Bowing to a new Moon and turning over silver coins will result in doubling your money by the end of the next cycle.

Tubin' Dali

There is a wealth of material out there regarding Salvador Dali (full name Salvador Felipe Jacinto Dalí Domènech, Marquis of Pubol). Thanks to YouTube I am able to bring you some of the more surreal stuff about the Surrealist. Here is a commercial featuring the man himself for a chocolate bar in France.



In the 1940s Walt Disney and Dali worked on an animated film that was not completed until 2003, Destino. Here is a trailer for the film. There are many snipets regarding this film available and I for one would like to see the whole thing.



And finally this bit of surrealism (whether intentional or not) was found by our director Shirley Serotsky and posted on her blog CityMouse yesterday. I think if Grady can acheive the same artistry in our trailer for References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot, we will be beating people back at the door with a very big stick. Enjoy!

R2SDMMH 1st RD

And so References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot begins, not with a whimper but a bang.

Since the blog started we have had 6 first reads. I just missed the one for Beard of Avon, but I think all of you are all starting to get the hang of it now. I show you some pictures of people around a table and there is always some kind of food in the pictures (in this case it is a bacon, egg and cheese bagel that Yasmin brought). What more is there really to say on the subject? We sit at a table Randy and Jenny make a pitch, the director tells us what her idea of what the play is about, the designers make their pitches and then we read the play.

What I think I have tried to convey on these pages is the feeling of expectation that fills the room. The unknowable of whether this whole thing is going to work or not. I will be honest I have been in first reads that have scared the hell out of me. My confidence is knocked out of me before we even get on our feet. Knock wood that has never been the case in a Rorschach read, but even the most talented and intelligent performers and directors, sometimes find themselves stranded on a sinking ship before they have even left Pier One.

What was the mood this weekend? I have to say it was pretty damn good. In the interest of full diclosure I had some worries about the play. I think I have mentioned some of the fantastical elements of the play, the talking cat, moon and coyote. Those parts of the play struck me with their poetic beauty and vibrance the first time I read the play. It was the sticky middle that had me worried. This center and heart of the play is straight-up two people talking to one another drama, and that is not always the easiest thing in the world to do.

When you have two people alone on stage talking to one another, you need chemistry. Even more so if the play is about two people who have been married to one another for a long time and have to make that comfort with one another seem effortless.

Now I am not making the bold assertion that Gabriella and Andrew were like a married couple from the first time they read together, but I will say that even at the table read you could feel the heat that will make this show a success. Nearly all my worries about seeing two people talking to one another melted away by the end of the read. These two have chemistry, biology and physics through the roof. And even hearing the stage directions about the steamy bits (edited by Shirley because her parents were there) made me realize how this play will live up to its title.

I'll have more to say about rehearsals as we go through this thing. I will have a lot of material to convey so check back here regularly, because when the blogger is in the show, you get more.

AutoBlogography

With the news hot off the presses that 27 year old former 'N Sync boy-band singer Lance Bass is penning his own autobiography, entitled Out of Sync, it had me wondering why more young people don't ghost write their own memoirs. I mean I know he has had some amazing almost adventures in his years in the public eye. I mean coming out in People Magazine to everyones shock and amazement and almost going into space until the gay mafia stopped that from happening, will make for some riveting reading. Why shouldn't some of the Rorschach folks, many of us now in our 30s, pen a few of our amazing tales of triumph over adversity?

Imagine if you will the challenges faced by a young man growing up in a foreign land and journeying to a world completely different from the world he knew at home. The challenges of language and culture he faced as he began his studies at an American university years and miles from the world he knew as a child. I think Grady's story would make for an excellent best seller. I am taking title suggestions now.

People might even be interested in Randy growing up in Southeast Asia and coming to the United States. Although I much prefer Grady coming from Richmond in the early 1990s to the University of Maryland.

All of us have stories to tell. Theatre is almost exclusively made up of playwrights who attempt to work some of their own personal history into their work. The good ones find the universal in their stories and convey a little bit of that to their audience. Even actors call upon their memories to bring moments to life on stage.

I commend the publishing people for giving Mr. Bass the opportunity to share with the world the insights that he has collected over the course of over a quarter of a century of life. And I encourage all of you to consider whether your lives are ready for a full biographic exploration.

Personally I have been playing around with my own autobiography for weeks now. Here are my list of titles so far and the opening sentence:

A Seperate Piece of Pie
It was a rainy day in 1987 that I remember first discovering my nut allergy.

Don't Read this Book, Wait for the Sequel
If you have paid $24.99 for this book, you should have waited for it to go on the remainder shelf and bought it for $6.99 or even $3.99 or better yet you could have borrowed it from a library.

Make Mine One With Everything
It is often that you see people standing in line for tickets to see 'N Sync in concert.

My Half-Life in Theatre
So here is what I would have said to Lee Strasburg.

Out of Baltimore
I had a home in an inner suburb of B-more, hon!

I Have Watched a Lot of Star Trek
I think it was the Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan that made me want to be an actor.

Day Jobs Are For Suckers
You know what I loved best about working for the man, free internet access.

My Turn is Next
Still wishing I had gone to see that movie with John Goodman.

Spring is Busting Out

It seems to be the time of year when nature can't make up its mind. Looking out on to Wisconsin Avenue this morning I am struck by how spoiled Global Warming as made us. Snow has been falling off and on all morning and I for one will admit that I am a little sick of the yo-yo ride that winter in Washington has become.

But Spring will be here soon. And with the robins and warmth comes another Rorschach production. References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot is just 5 short weeks from opening. We have first read on Saturday morning and I for one could not be more excited. This script lives up to the heat it advertizes. The good news is that we will need the warmth.

Shirley Serotsky is making her Rorschach directing debut. Yasmin, Cesar, Danny, Scott and Andrew will welcome new comer Gabriella to the Rorschach world. We get a fun playground to work with by Robbie Hayes and clothes to strut in by Pei Lee. Andrew Griffen will light the whole thing and Cecilia will stage manage the hell out of us.

So when the snow clears today and you are all thinking about what you will be doing with what promises to be a warm Saturday morning for a change. Think of all of us sitting around a long table drinking coffee and eating crumb cake and cheese, as we start to bring this new monster to life.

Marlowe Langauge Bonanza

It was announced this morning that there will be a Christopher Marlowe Festival in DC next Season. And the theater's involved are The Shakespeare Theatre Company and Rorschach Theatre. Yes, we were asked special. I will have more details soon, but Jenny and Randy were at the Press Conference this morning as The Shakespeare Theatre Company announced their 2007-2008 Season.

Shakespeare Theatre will be doing two Marlowe productions to inaugurate their new space and we will be doing a project which I will have more details on shortly in our space.

This is a fantastic opportunity for the company and we are all excited to be a part of what may not be as big as The Shakespeare in Washington Festival but will be every bit as interesting and hopefully artistic.

That is the news, hope it lived up to expectations. I will have more details on the show as soon as possible.

Waiting for News?

I will have something to tell you later today, so please check back this afternoon. Until then enjoy this picture of Rorschach History:

How to Keep a Secret

by DCepticon

We have all been told secrets. Someone trusts you enough not to tell anyone else and for most of us, depending on the level of intimacy and importance, this is a relatively easy thing to do. But I know that there are some secrets that just fester and boil over in your mind until you just have to tell someone.

Yesterday I gave you a hint to a Rorschach Secret. If you read carefully I gave you two clues. I have a problem keeping secret completely secrets from you my friends on the interwebs, so I find my self dropping little clues about this big news that will be announced on Monday. I am going to do it again at the end of this blog entry. I know what you are thinking no self control. There are ways to keep secrets and I have taken the time to write some of the ways I have tried to keep a secret a secret. I hope they help. If you want to skip the prologue, the actual clue is buried in Way #3.

1. Dig a hole in your back yard and whisper the secret into it.

Then plant a tree in the hole and put the dirt back in. And on windy nights as the branches flow back and forth you will hear the whisper of the secret in the breeze. Eventually it will drive you so crazy you will chop down the tree, just to stop the crazy whispering. Then you can use the wood to make a table or a nice rocking chair just like the ones you see outside of the Cracker Barrell. You know the ones I am talking about. The ones that you see and say that is a nice rocking chair I wish I had one, but I am driving my damn sub-compact and where the hell would I put it. How much are they again? Like $150! Well there is no way I am going to tie a damn $150 chair to the roof of my car, maybe I will get the next time when I have dad's mini-van, but I don't want to make a special trip and the closest Cracker Barrell is like an hour drive from my apartment.

2. Tell only one person you trust.

Sure you can tell your best friend, that never gets weird. Now all of a sudden they have something they can hold over your head. They have the power in the relationship because you just had to tell someone. You and your needs! Need is what kills! Didn't you learn anything from the Stephen King movie with the devil and all the people with those needs? What was that movie again? It had Ed Harris in it. I like Ed Harris he just seems to have this face that says trust me. Or maybe it is the hairline? He played John Glenn in The Right Stuff, now there was a movie about astronauts.

3. Write it down and then burn the paper.

Yes, just like in those spy movies. Secret agent walks into a bar and meets the attractive double-agent and she slips him the paper with the message. He reads the message and then lights his cigarette, places the message in the ash tray and lights it with his match. He says to the bartender "Is there grenadine in this Shirley Temple? And by the way thanks M.K. it will be nice to work with you again after the success we have experienced with the SWF Project."

Well I hope that helps and be sure to check back here next week for all of the big news.

I Can't Tell You Yet

There is something I know and can't tell you just yet.

But if you love Rorschach it is a pretty safe bet,

That you will be as thrilled as I am now.

Because there is something afoot that will make you say wow!

I'll give you two clues but don't tell a soul.

The eyes in the picture and what's in between play a key role,

In this fabulous-wonderful news!

I better quit while I'm ahead

or Jenny and Randy will soon see me out the door .

Next: A Really Really Long Play Title

At Rorschach we end up abbreviating a lot of our titles. Typing The Master and Margarita over and over again in emails is jilly when you could simply type M&M and be done with it. It may be needlessly flip to throw around play titles like short order cooks but time is indeed precious. So sometimes you will see me throw around terms like LOF, FLGPC or even GOV.

Some plays get one or two word short-hand, the full title of Family Stories is actually Family Stories: A Slapstick Tragedy. And there is Clearing, Ubu, Letter and Tale.

Even the plays with one word titles can get the treatment. Monster and Behold! are pretty safe (though God forbid you forget to use the exclamation mark after Behold!). But do you know how long it took me to be able to spell Rhinoceros without having to look it up, Rhino saves embarassment and spell checking.

I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out the most efficient and clear ways to shorten all of our play titles. And if someone would come up with a way to shorten J.B. I would take it.

Now I come to the mother of all play titles, References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot.

I have come to think that this title is both a dream and a curse.

A dream because it shoots through your brain like a hot nail and sticks there. It has sex and a famous name, two things you always look for when marketing a play, and that makes it a dream as well.

What is the Curse you might ask? Well you can not abbrevaite it and have it stay as sexy as you want it to be. RSDMMH? Does nothing for me. And if you take any of the words on their own they lose their magical juice. The closest you come to something approaching appropriate is Salvador Dalí, but even that loses the sense of title and it just becomes a name.

There is no solution that makes me happy, so I will type it all out every time I suppose. Or I will get lazy after the first week and just call it References and see who complains.

Here is the 411. First read is next Saturday and we will have a reporter on the inside from the beginning.

References to Salvador Dalí Make Me Hot

by Jose Rivera

Directed by Shirley Serotsky

April 14 – May 13

Previews begin April 11 (Washington Premiere)
BUY TICKETS NOW!

Strange things happen in a moonlit backyard on the edge of the California Desert. The cat talks with a dangerously seductive coyote and the moon plays his violin for a lonely woman awaiting her husband's return from war. When he arrives, broken and distant, the reality of their relationship seems as strange as the apparitions in the desert night. Jose Rivera, a contemporary master of magical realism and the painful and gritty realities of human relationships, has created a suddenly relevant play that explores the scars of war both on those who fight it and those who get left behind.

FEATURING: Company Members Scott McCormick (God of Vengeance, The Illusion, Ubu Roi, The Master and Margarita, After the Flood, Scarlet Letter, The Beard of Avon and Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards) and Yasmin Tuazon (God of Vengeance, The Illusion, J.B. and Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards). Also featuring Gabriella Fernandez-Coffey, Cesar A. Guadamuz (Fair Ladies at a Game of Poem Cards and Rough Magic), Andrew Price (The Hairy Ape, Rhinoceros and Family Stories)

DESIGNED BY: Robbie Hayes (Set), Andrew F. Griffen (Lights), Pei Lee (Costumes), Matthew Nielson (Sound), Jean Ann Douglas (Props), Connor Dale (Asst. Lighting Design), Justin Titley (Asst. Set Design)

DRAMATURGY: Jacqueline E. Lawton

STAGE MANAGED BY: Cecilia Cackley (Rough Magic)

SHOW SCHEDULE: APRIL 14-MAY 13 Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm

MORE SHOWS TO BE ADDED SOON (including the matinees)

PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN PREVIEWS APRIL 11-14

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8pm

Last Bow

Final weekend sold out. We had a party to celebrate. I got a nasty cold, which I am still fighting. Oh dear lord it hurts to sneeze like that.

Anyway because a great cast and crew deserve a final bow.

ROUGH MAGIC
BY ROBERTO AGUIRRE-SACASA
Directed by Jenny McConnell Frederick

FEATURING: Company Members Tracy Lynn Olivera, Grady Weatherford and Jason Basinger Linkins and also featuring Diana Cherkas, Danny Gavigan, Cesar A. Guadamuz, Gwen Grastorf, Lee Liebeskind, Dustin Loomis, Ghillian Porter and Vasanth 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)

DRAMATURGY: Rachel Miller

ASST DIRECTOR: Ryan Taylor

FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY: Casey Kaleba

STAGE MANAGED BY: Megan Reichelt
ASST SM: Cecilia Cackley

SOLD OUT

It is official. From the Artistic Director:

Hey Guys--

Everything is totally sold out for the rest of the run. Yay us!

If you have anyone who still desperately needs a ticket, they'll need to come standby.

Thanks guys! I'm so proud of you all. This has been an outstanding run. (I heard you guys got a standing ovation last night...way to go!)

See you tonight--

Jen

Photo Gallery of Magic

Hello children! Jenny sent this email to the cast yesterday afternoon to the cast of Rough Magic:

Hi, Guys--

Just a heads up if you need tix for this weekend. Get your requests in now!

Here's what we have left as of this second:

Tonight: 5 seats left
Friday: SOLD OUT
Saturday 2PM: 7 seats left
Saturday 8PM: 17 seats left

See you shortly!

Jen

I can only imagine that those few seats have already sold, so I am sorry you missed it. You could try and get your tickets for either of tomorrow's two shows, but things don't look good. But I know all of you, you're fighters. And if there was only one seat left you would battle the hounds of hell to see this show.

Now for the cast, designers and crew of Rough Magic. I have uploaded all of the photos I have for the show to a web page. Please feel free to download anything you like. The rest of you can take a look as well here is the link.

Remember the photos were all taken by the lovely and talented Marigan O'Malley-Posada, so always credit her as such.

I will see what I can do about loading the candids I have as well at some point today.

See you all at the wrap party! I'll be the one with the pants on.

Rough Magic Photo Collage

Once again I remind you that there are only four performances of Rough Magic left. One of them is Sold Out.

Get your tickets now.

Final Weekend

You all knew this was coming. I kept telling you over and over again but would you listen? Well some of you did and some of you didn't.

We sold out last Friday and Saturday nights. We sold out the previous Friday and Saturday nights. We sold out the week before that. You get where I am going with this?

This is the final weekend of Rough Magic. Friday night is SOLD OUT. There are still some tickets available for tomorrow night. There are some tickets left for Saturday afternoon and evening. You have been warned.

Get your tickets now people! Call 1-800-494-TIXS or visit BoxOfficeTickets.com and reserve your seat.

This will be your second to last warning!

Two Timer

There have only been two people in this world Brave and Bold enough to Stage Manage two Rorschach shows in a row. Come to think of it there have only been two people to ever stage manage two Rorschach shows. One was a spunky kid out of PA whose now haunting NYU in pursuit of a post graduate degree in something to do with foreign places (Seriously, Jordan we miss you). The other is our current Stage Manager, Megan Reichelt.

This firecracker from the Baltimore suburbs recently graduated from the Catholic University. Since coming to Rorschach she has won the hearts and minds of many. But just what makes her tick? Gwen brings us some of those answers in:

PRODUCTION QUESTIONNAIRE OF DOOM:

1. What is your position working on Rough Magic?

Stage Manager

2. How did you get involved with Rorschach and this show?

When I was graduating college, I sent an e-mail out to every theatre company I knew of, saying "Do you need someone to sweep? Tie your shoes? Fetch you coffee?" I had seen Beard of Avon and had fallen in love with Rorschach, so I was thrilled when Randy e-mailed me asking if I wanted to stage manage! Unfortunately, I couldn't do it on that occasion, but when Monster came up,and Deb asked if I wanted it, I jumped (however trepidaciously) at the chance. I'd never stage managed before, but Randy and everyone were so amazing, understanding and encouraging that I felt like I found a family. So I kinda hung around for Rough Magic.

3. So, where are you from?

Balmer, Merlin, hon!

4. Tell us about your day job(s):

I work as a Group Sales Associate for Arena Stage. Basically selling tickets to groups of 15 or more. We have a tiny office where there are only three of us, and we talk about recipes, and adventures, and Shakespeare.

5. What other theater companies have you worked for?

Longacre Lea (yeah Ros and Guil!), and Mobtown Players in Baltimore

6. What aspect of this show are you most excited about?

The zany Shakespeareness and of course the fights!

7. If you could be an illegal substance and/or activity, what would you beand why?

Piracy of course! Man the Long Tom, ye bilge rats!

8. If you could be a comic book character or a superhero/villain, who wouldyou be and why?

Luna Moth from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay: a mousy librarian turned shining, sexy, kick-ass superhero who can just imagine something and it happens. Who couldn't want that?

Giving Her . . .

Reminder abouot the reading of Tounge Tied and Blood Bound tonight at 8:00 pm at Casa. And also this is the final week for Rough Magic. That means there will be a mad rush for tickets so get your butt in gear.

Here is another profile of our design crew this time it is company member and oft times Costume Designer Deb Sivigny. Well she has put down her sewing and has taken up the glue gun to design props for Rough Magic. Enjoy!

PRODUCTION QUESTIONNAIRE OF DOOM:

1. What is your position working on Rough Magic?

Props designer/supportive wife to Producer

2. How did you get involved with Rorschach and this show?

I have been working with Rorschach since The Illusion and havebeen a company member for a season and a half I think. Sometimesthere are weird props--that's when I get called.

3. So, where are you from?

Durham, CT originally; DC now.

4. Tell us about your day job(s):

I manage the costume shop at Catholic University. I used to be a Hotel Spy--but that story's for another day.

5. What other theater companies have you worked for?

Good Lord...uuhhh: Catalyst Theater, Theater Alliance, Forum Theatre/Dance, Journeymen Theater, WSC, Theatre J, Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theatre 2nd Stage, Olney (National Players and Mainstage), Everyman, Baltimore Shakespeare Festival, and Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

6. What aspect of this show are you most excited about?

I love how over-the-top everything is. And the high comedy--which we don't get to do much.

7. If you could be an illegal substance and/or activity, what would you be and why?

Are my students reading this?

8. If you could be a comic book character or a superhero/villain, whowould you be and why?

I would be a Super Penguin--where I could shoot ice out of my flippers and swim like mach 10. [and in life, I currently can't doeither of those things.]

Correction To HH Post

Turns out I did miss one Alum in the Run Down yesterday, so he gets a post all his own.

Outstanding Sound Design, Resident Production

Matthew M. Nielson (A Bright Room Called Day), A Prayer for Owen Meany , Round House Theatre

Words of Wisdom and Free Reading News

At some point in all of our lives we are faced with decisions that on one level seem straight forward and simple, but when we look back on them we are amazed at the impact they have had on the entirety of our lives.

Sorry that is all I have in me today.

Some quick reminders for those of you who are actually at your computers on this snowy-snowy Friday in our Nations Capital:

◙ There are very few seats avaible for either of our Saturday shows of Rough Magic. There are a handful of seats available for tonights performance. If you do not book your tickets now you may in fact be too late. I also provide this special warning, final weekends of our shows tend to sell out very quickly, book your seats now. Bring a friend if you need someone to talk to during intermission. 1-800-494-TIXS or visit Boxofficetickets.com.

◙ Free Reading of Blood Bound and Tounge Tied on Monday Night at 8pm at Casa for people who like to see free theater. And who doesn't like to see free theater? I'll tell you who doesn't like to see free theater dirty sticking capitalist is who. Do you want to be lumped in with book burners and people who destroy the ozone layer? Do you want your children to grow-up in a world without theater? Do you want bacon or sausage?

Here is the story if you need a reminder:

BLOOD BOUND AND TOUNGE TIED
by Jacqueline E. Lawton Directed
by Patrick Crowley
Monday, February 19 at 8pm
A world-premiere staged reading Free Admission

A depression-era adaptation of OEDIPUS, Lawton's explosive BLOOD BOUND AND TONGUE TIED follows the astonishing journey of Jocasta, a black woman who passes for white and shuns her entire past when she falls in love with a successful white politician. With the birth of their son, Oedipus, Jocasta's lies instigate a wave of bloodshed and carnage.

FEATURING JJ Johnson, Paige Hernandez, Adrienne Nelson, Greg Reid and Clay Steakley

◙ Dress in layers. This is good advice for anyone who is going to be out and about in this cold. Especially the man who I saw in shorts last night. Good God people it is like -3 with the wind chill.

Purple Hayes

Well I am back and I would love to fill you all in on the details of my trip, but there is much too much regarding the world of Rorschach to catch up on to waste time on my life. I'll just say this, the company was the best part and the over all trip was a blast. So, now onward and upward.

Realized last night that I had spent the last three Valentine's Day nights with Rorschach. Our Valentine's Day shows are something of a tradition now and in spite of the weather we had a great crowd of brave souls. Lot of people appeared to be on dates, so I hope the evening was as romantic as possible for all of you lovers. Thanks for joining us, see you next year.

Rough Magic has been consistently selling out. Those of you still dithering about when to buy your tickets, the answer is now, before it is too late. Friday and Saturday Nights are filling fast but there are still seats available tonight. Remember next weekend is your last chance to see what I think is a terrific show, and the audiences all seem to agree. Get out there and don't let snow stop you. Remember, we have a 2pm show this Saturday and next for the people in your lives who don't like to be in the City after dark.

Helen Hayes Nominations came out on Monday night, and while Rorschach walked away without a nomination this year, we did have a number of alumni make the grade.

Let's start with the company members who got nominated this year:

Karl Miller for Hamlet at Rep Stage.

Well that is it. Or is it? Because this year is the first year for the new category:

Outstanding Ensemble, Resident Play or Musical

And here is where it gets interesting. Because there are three shows with Rorschach ties nominated in this category. Company Members Grady Weatherford (Currently being seen in Rough Magic and many others) and Scott McCormick (About to be seen in References to Salvador Dali Make Me Hot and many others) from Catalsyt Theater's production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui face-off against Comany Members Michael John Casey (Ubu Roi and A Clearing in the Woods) and Jason Stiles (The Illusion, Lord of the Flies, A Clearing in the Woods, Ubu Roi, and Accidental Death of an Anarchist) from Longacre Lea's Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.

And if that doesn't beat all Company Member Rahaleh Nassri (Director of A Bright Room Called Day last season) Assistant Directed a third Ensamble Nominee, Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead at Studio Second Stage.

And it gets better when it comes to Rorschach Alum. Every single member of the cast of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a Rorschach Alum: Jason Lott (Ubu Roi and After the Flood), Michael Glenn (The Illusion), Jonathan Church (Rhinoceros), and Alexander Strain (A Bright Room Called Day).

And it is almost as good over at Arturo Ui: Andrew Price (The Hairy Ape, Rhinoceros, and Family Stories), Scot McKenzie (Rhinoceros), Jason McCool (Arabian Night) and Elizabeth Richards (God of Vengeance).

To finishing off the Ensamble catagory Evan Casey (Lord of the Flies) is nominated with the cast of Dog Sees God.

Rounding out the Rorschach Alumni and their nominations:

Outstanding Supporting Actress, Resident Play, Colleen Delany (The Hairy Ape), for The Beaux' Stratagem at Shakespeare Theatre Company.

Outstanding Supporting Actor, Resident Musical, Andy Brownstein(Behold!), Assassins at Signature Theatre.

If I missed anyone I am sorry. Let me know and I will do an update.

Congratulations to one and all and to everyone else, at least there is an open bar.

Gallery of Images to Tide You Over

Well folks. If you are reading this and it is Monday I am on a jaunt with a certain someone to a certain somewhere. Let's just say there will be a bed, breakfast and Civil War re-enactors. I am placing a gallery of Rough Magic images for your enjoyment up here to distract you until I get back.

I continue to hear how much people are enjoying the show from all corners. One of the people who sells Rorschach ad space told me and I quote:

I haven't had that much fun at the theater since I saw Footloose on Broadway when I was 13.

Now, I know there are snobs in the theater world will turn their noses up at the idea of Footloose on Broadway being a bench mark. Her sincerity made me realize once again that you snobs need to step-off and examine your snobbery.

She told me she sent a blast email out to her friends and told them what a great time she had. That is the kind of audience response that puts asses in seats people! Which, by the way, is happening in a big way this weekend. Book your tickets early so you don't get shut out.

See you all when I get back from PA. And enjoy the sexy, sexy pictures.

Let There Be . . .

Two more Rough Magic shows this weekend. Plus our added bonus Valentine's Day on Wednesday Night. We continue our exploration of the world of design with our lighting designer Andrew Cissna. Once again Gwen G. has supplied us with this scoop and the photo, which ironicly is poorly lit. Enjoy!

PRODUCTION QUESTIONNAIRE OF DOOM:

1. What is your position working on Rough Magic?

Lighting Designer.

2. How did you get involved with Rorschach and this show?

Randy brought me in through the Kenan Fellowship and suggestions from a couple directors in town.

3. So, where are you from?

Born in Pittsburgh, PA and grew up in North Carolina.

4. Tell us about your day job(s):

I am a lighting designer by day and by night.

5. What other theater companies have you worked for?

In DC, Theatre Alliance, African Continuum Theatre, Kennedy Center Theatre
for Young Audiences, Journeyman Theatre and currently the Newseum project.

6. What aspect of this show are you most excited about?

The challenge of creating so many different locations on stage with such
limited resources.

7. If you could be an illegal substance and/or activity, what would
you be and why?

I would be breaking and entering, because usually it involves scaling tall
buildings and crawling around being sneaky.

8. If you could be a comic book character or a superhero/villain, who would you be and why?

Similarly, I would be Spider-Man because can climb the sides of buildings and gets to swing around town on spider webs.

A Man on Fire

Well folks, we are into the third week of our run of Rough Magic. We have shows tonight, Friday and Saturday. I know some of you still have not seen the show. I know all of the excuses and I except three of them. I will let you guess which ones.

Another review came out today from Rich See at Curtainup.com. Rich says:

Mr. Aguirre-Sacasa's writing is pithy and ironic, as he weaves a tale of love, magic and horror — with a bit of drag and sarcasm thrown in.

Here is the link to the rest of the review.

We get this contribution from the invaluable Gwen Grastorf. She has changed tacks and focus on our usual get to know the cast section and given us the 411 on our design team. Today we start the series with fight choreographer Casey Kaleba. He is the one on fire above. I will let his words speak for themselves but bonus points for remembering Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew, Casey.

Hi Scotty,

I'm going to be sending you some production staff profiles, feel freeto save them up and slowly mete them out over the next few weeks.

Here's one for Casey, with some pictures attached. Casey on fire and Danny, Dustin & Casey working on a fight. Blog it up.

-Gwen G.

PRODUCTION QUESTIONNAIRE OF DOOM:

1. What is your position working on Rough Magic?

Fight Director

2. How did you get involved with Rorschach and this show?

Jenny asked Randy to ask me about this show. I became involved with Rorschach a year ago with "Fair Ladies..." when Deb and JT mentioned me to Randy, or Randy to me, or both...

3. So, where are you from?

Navy brat, so all over...but mostly DC.

4. Tell us about your day job(s):

Actually, this is my day job. Sort of. I'm a doctoral student at UMD-College Park, so I teach theatre history and read books. I teachstage combat for Imagination Stage, the Shakespeare Theatre, and UMD...as well as workshops and lectures at other schools and theatres. And I fight crime at night dressed as a primary-colored elk. Mostly I fight crime around the house. Littering and stuff.

5. What other theater companies have you worked for?

Bay Theatre, Folger Library, American U, Catholic U, James Madison U, Davidson College, Chespeake College, CC-Baltimore County.

6. What aspect of this show are you most excited about?

The supercoolness of the actors doing overly complicated fights, of course.

7. If you could be an illegal substance and/or activity, what would you be and why?

I'd be a violation of intellectual property rights. Or an eighteenth century highwayman. There's less chafing with the first one, though.

8. If you could be a comic book character or a superhero/villain, whowould you be and why?

I was a big Ninja Turtle fan, from issue 1 through the New Yorkseries, which came out right as the comic market was collapsing andthe stores near me stopped carrying obscure titles like that. But probably I'd like to be the duck from Captain Carrot, because he had asense of humor. And that was one fetching poodle.

Randy Baker on the Free Reading of New Play

Monday night was the first rehearsal of our workshop of Jacqueline E. Lawton’s BLOOD-BOUND AND TONGUE-TIED. Rorschach is developing this play as a part of our MAGIC IN ROUGH SPACES new play development program. Not to be confused with ROUGH MAGIC, the play that is currently running!

BLOOD BOUND tells the story of Jocasta, a light-skinned black woman who leaves her small town to live as a white woman in World-War-II-era Dallas. There she meets a wealthy lawyer named Laius whom she falls in love with and marries. With the birth of a black child Jocasta’s lies begin and an epic tragedy begins to unfold. If the names sound familiar it’s because Lawton’s explosive play is an adaptation of the OEDIPUS story.

As I listened to the extraordinary actors bring words to life, I found myself thinking, what is it that makes a play a Rorschach play? And what kind of play would we like to have associated with our development process? Too often, it seems, play readings and workshops are added to theatre seasons as an afterthought – without really thinking about what it means to choose a work and develop it. I would posit that at times the plays a theatre chooses to DEVELOP say more about a company than what plays they choose to PRODUCE.

And we couldn't be more excited to produce Jackie's play.

We at Rorschach love plays that have their roots in ancient stories, stories that have been told for hundreds for thousands of years - the idea of bringing new life to them is something powerful. Like we are a campfire around which the fabric of our stories are told and retold. But it’s more than just simply retelling stories – we like works that make fables, myths and old tales RELEVANT - by resetting them in time, by finding forgotten meanings, by conveying a passionate need to make old truths new. The places where worlds meet: past/present, imaginary/real, theatre/audience… it’s in these places that the real magic happens.

But trying to put into words what makes a play a Rorschach play is always difficult. We are still trying to figure that out ourselves…

A dream of mine is a day when explanations won’t be necessary… when our company becomes an adjective… it would be an amazing thing if there came a day when someone in San Francisco or London or Topeka said “I read this play the other day… it’s a very Rorschach play.” I can dream can’t I?

As we grow as a theatre company and we think about how we can pay our actors more and how we can keep the roof from leaking… I find it thrilling to think about a day when plays that are uniquely “us” are developed, produced and put out into the world with our stamp on it. That there will be these plays that no one else will take a chance on but that are perfect for us…

The public reading of BLOOD-BOUND AND TONGUE-TIED is going to be a remarkable event. Come see some great artists bring to life a ferocious new play. And listen to an ancient story told new, an old tale made relevant…

BLOOD-BOUND AND TONGUE-TIED
By Jackie Lawton
Directed by Patrick Crowley
Monday, February 19 at 8pm
Free Admission

FEATURING:
Paige Hernandez as JOCASTA
Clay Steakley as LAIUS
JJ Johnson as CREON
Greg Reid as OEDIPUS
Adrienne Nelson as JENNA

Brisk Baby!

I am very happy to report that ticket sales of Rough Magic are brisk. Some shows are already filling up and those are just the ones later in the run. If I might suggest the following to those of you who usually wait until the last weekend to come and see the show, either make your reservations now, or come early. We would love to see you.

Finishing up our tour of what the world is saying about Rough Magic, we turn our attention to DC Theatre Reviews and what reviewer Gary McMillan has to say:

Rough Magic is a silly, pop culture confection for literature lovers.

Well yes it can be a rather silly place at Casa and pop culture is not a slam in my opinion and anything good for literature lovers is good in my book, so thanks Gary. Here is the rest of the review if you are interested. Be prepared to be confronted by the scary shot of Drag-Grady when you click the link. Just thought I would warn you.

Brad Hathaway over at Potomac Stages has a hard time finding anything really nice to say about the show. What can you do? Try to please everyone and you please no one, so there will always be those who don't like what you are selling. Here is the link for the curious.

Tomorrow, we get some outside help.