Rorschach Theatre Announces Pop-Up Benefit Bash & 18-19 Season

Rorschach Theatre - an award-winning company known for its bold use of space and its dedication to impossible fantastical realism - launches its 2018-19 Season in a whole new way: THE BAR BETWEEN WORLDS BENEFIT BASH. On Saturday, August 11th the company transforms Petworth's Union Drinkery into an immersive wonderland spanning the cliffs of Reykjavik, the fields of Elysium and the cosmos itself. Each room invites party guests to explore the landscape of one of the company's upcoming shows. This one-night-only, pop-up experience inside Union Drinkery, will be designed in part by Rorschach Company Member and Helen Hayes Award-winner Debra Kim Sivigny, whose work on the the wildly popular Game of Thrones Bar and Royal Wedding bar has been lauded locally and nationally. Guests will enjoy an individually tailored evening of entertainment and possibility...

Individual tickets ($95--$75 tax-deductible) are available at rorschachtheatre.com. Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Funds raised for the event will support Rorschach's upcoming season, which will include three full productions, the Magic in Rough Spaces New Play Lab, the Klecksography artist development program, and Other People's Ink: An Entertainment Curation Society.

2018-19 SEASON

A teenager connects with the cosmos,

the last living muse hires an intern,

and the winter solstice haunts queer tourists in Reykjavik...

Rorschach's 2018-19 season features three world-premiere productions and three new programs that enhance our role as a developer of new talent and as a provocateur of challenging, complex discourse through a magical lens. The three productions include the Iris Dauterman's Sing to me Now, Steve Yockey's Reykjavik and Reina Hardy's Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven. Magic in Rough Spaces New Play Lab and Klecksography - two unique artist development programs - will return in the spring. Subscriptions range from $50-$80 per person and are on sale now at www.rorschachtheatre.com

SING TO ME NOW

By Iris Dauterman

Directed by Jenny McConnell Frederick

October 19, 2018 - November 18, 2018

Atlas Performing Arts Center

"Every second you hesitate, every moment you're not writing, furiously writing, or dancing, or singing, things are getting worse. So hurry. Up."

Calliope is the last surviving Muse. Drowning in the demands from a world desperate for inspiration, she does what any self respecting Greek Goddess would do: She hires an intern. Soon it becomes clear that Calliope is burying a deeper pain and the fate of the universe may lie in this human intern's ability to save her. Playwright Iris Dauterman uses sardonic humor, poetry and a deeply contemporary voice to create a comedy about overcoming tragedy.

IRIS DAUTERMAN is a playwright from San Luis Obispo, California. She holds an MFA in Playwriting from Indiana University, and a BA in Drama from Bennington College. She is a two-time finalist for the Heideman Award whose plays have been workshopped or produced at the Berkshire Fringe Festival, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Arts, Indiana University, Animus Theatre Company, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Campfire Theatre Festival, Little Lifeboats Theatre, the New American Theatre, Boise Contemporary Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, Spicy Witch Productions, and Storefront Theatre of Indianapolis.

REYKJAVIK

By Steve Yockey

February 8, 2019 - March 3, 2019

Location to be announced soon

"You are desire and beauty and you will never fade away."

James is in Reykjavik for the Northern Lights but they're not there. Instead he ventures into the 24-hour dark of the Icelandic winter and finds himself entangled with dangerous strangers, suspicious lovers, malevolent birds and the mysterious Huldufólk. Playwright Steve Yockey (very still & hard to see), a genre-bending master of suspense, takes us to the end of the earth to experience a dark, sometimes supernatural world populated with characters who defy expectations at every turn.

Reykjavik may not be appropriate for children under 18. Parental discretion advised.

STEVE YOCKEY is a Los Angeles based writer with work produced throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. His plays Bellwether, Pluto, Afterlife, Octopus, Large Animal Games, CARTOON, Subculture, Very Still & Hard to See, The Fisherman's Wife, Wolves, Disassembly and Niagara Falls & Other Plays are published and available from Samuel French. Additionally, his play Joshua Consumed an Unfortunate Pear (originally commissioned by Miami's City Theatre) was included in the 2015 Humana Festival of New American Plays and the subsequent published anthology. Other plays include Blackberry Winter, The Thrush & The Woodpecker and Mercury. Steve holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and currently serves as a writer/producer for the television series Supernatural.

ANNIE JUMP & THE LIBRARY OF HEAVEN

By Reina Hardy

April 19, 2019 - May 19, 2019

Atlas Performing Arts Center

"You are important to the universe. it needs you, almost as much as you need it."

Annie Jump, a small-town teen and science genius, comes face to face with her worst nightmare: a popular girl. When she learns that this girl with great hair might be an intergalactic super computer tasked with bringing humanity to the stars, she must decide what is worth sacrificing to fulfill her destiny. Reina Hardy's (Glassheart) play for all audiences is about finding your place in the universe and intelligent life in your neighborhood.

REINA HARDY's plays, which usually contain magic and sometimes contain science, have been produced in Chicago, NYC, Austin and DC. They include Glassheart (Rorschach Theater and the Shrewds), Changelings (The Vortex) and A Map to Somewhere Else (Everyday Inferno, NYC). Honors include: Michener Fellowship, National New Play Network New Play Showcase, Source Festival, Kennedy Center MFA Playwrights Workshop, Interact 20/20 Commission, Kennedy Center ACTF TYA PRIZE. Publications include: Best American Short Plays, 2012-2013, and Best Scenes for Two Actors, Applause, Best Stage Monologues for Men, 60 Seconds to Shine and the upcoming 105 5-Minute Plays for Study and Performance from Smith and Kraus. Next up: the world premiere of The Gauntlet in London, the world premiere of Fanatical in London, new productions of Stargazers in Michigan and Australia and the second production of Susan Swayne and the Bewildered Bride in Cincinnati.

OTHER EVENTS IN 2018/2019

MAGIC IN ROUGH SPACES NEW PLAY LAB: Sunday May 5, 2019

Three playwrights, selected from a competitive national open call, collaborate with DC-based actors, directors, designers and dramaturgs to develop three new plays.

KLECKSOGRAPHY: Saturday June 22, 2019

Rorschach leads a partnership with six theatres for 50+ emerging artists to benefit from mentorship and networking opportunities when they create 12 new plays in 10 days.

OTHER PEOPLE'S INK: Monthly throughout the season

The Rorschach team organizes monthly events where our artists and audience come together to explore art galleries, cinema, author events and other adventures that feature work with a Rorschach flavor: Other People's Ink.

FIGHT CAMP: Summer of 2019

Rorschach's Stage Combat training program, led by Casey Kaleba, Rorschach Theatre's resident Fight Choreographer. Classes available for all levels of experience will be offered in the summer of 2019.

ABOUT RORSCHACH THEATRE

Through uncommon uses of environment and intimate passionate performances, Rorschach Theatre seeks to lure its audiences beyond the limits of ordinary theatrical experience so that they may discover new elements of their own humanity.

Rorschach Theatre tells stories that allow for innovative design and visceral performances. The company treats productions as "installations" that surround the audience with the world of a play. Our work centers on the intersection of magic or impossible moments and relatable human experience. Without proselytizing, it provides a complex, intellectual catalyst for self-exploration of challenging subjects.

Rorschach is a vital launching pad for emerging artists. By trusting early-career actors, directors, playwrights and designers with substantive artistic responsibilities, and surrounding them with established professionals and ample resources, the company has become an essential showcase for new talent. In addition to the regular season, Rorschach produces "Magic in Rough Spaces," an annual new play development series; "Klecksography," an annual new artist development event (for actors, local playwrights and directors); and "Fight Camp," a stage combat training program held every summer. The company also organizes "Other People's Ink," a monthly non-theatre social events that speak to the company's aesthetic.

Rorschach has produced more than fifty plays seen by tens of thousands of people in the Washington area. The company has been nominated for over a dozen Helen Hayes Awards; won a Mary Goldwater Award; been a finalist for the Mayor's Arts Award; and have been the recipients of multiple grants and awards from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. The company's work has garnered the attention of The New York Times, The Washington Post, American Theatre magazine and National Public Radio, as well as countless local publications.

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