What Does This Inkblot Look Like to You?

Rorschach Theatre continues making the world of quality theatre safe for the under-40 crowd.

By Joe Killiany

The DJ at Rorschach Theatre's annual Winter Masquerade Ball -- held this year in early February at the Maya Angelou Public Charter School -- didn't spin a single show tune, big band classic, or jazz standard typical of arts fundraisers. Instead, "Where is My Mind" by the Pixies screamed through the speakers as the company prepared to run down its 2003 season of shows. The music choice seemed emblematic of Rorschach's seemingly subconscious efforts to make theatre more accessible to people in their 20s and 30s. By theatre, I don't necessarily mean the act

"Most of the people that would be coming to our fundraiser are younger. The people who could afford to go to the Studio Theatre benefit [which was held on the same night as the masquerade] probably wouldn't be coming to ours," acknowledged twentysomething Jenny McConnell, one of Rorschach's founders and a Co-Artistic Director.

This refocusing of the theatrical demographic is one of the things that makes Rorschach one of the most exciting theatre groups currently performing in DC. However, it is their ability to refocus without producing plays that are the theatrical equivalent of three back-to-back episodes of Friends that makes them one of the most critically acclaimed as well.

The Accidental Dramatists

"By accident," is how McConnell described the way in which Rorschach Theatre was created. Jason Gotts, a mutual friend of hers and Randy Baker, co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of the company, approached them four years ago wanting to produce Eugene O'Neill's "The Hairy Ape." Gotts had a lot of ideas but a little less practical knowledge about how to get from idea to production. McConnell and Baker assisted him in finding a space and putting together the actors and a production team. They named their project Rorschach Theatre to make it sound more official even though they only intended doing one run of "Ape." Due to the show's overwhelming response, however, they decided to build on its success.

"I think that we always wanted to start a theatre company," Baker added. "But when you first come to a city you know nothing and you have no connections. You don't have the knowledge to do it right. So while you're getting those skills and meeting people you're always looking for that opportunity to dive in. And when Jason came along with 'The Hairy Ape,' that was our opportunity to dive in."

Apparently their timing was nearly perfect. In its three-and-a-half year existence Rorschach has produced eight shows by writers as varied as Eugene Ionesco, Tony Kushner, and Alfred Jarry to consistently growing audiences and almost universal critical praise. (In fact, in researching this story I didn't come across a review worse than lukewarm.) But their success up until now is not discouraging them from taking more risks.

"Somebody said they describe us as doing big, old hard plays. And I was like I think they mean that as a compliment but it's not exactly what I want us to be known for," McConnell said when the topic turns to Rorschach's upcoming schedule of shows. The season includes three newer plays: "Family Stories: A Slapstick Tragedy" (an area premiere); "Master and Margarita," which was first performed in the U.S. in translation in the early 1990s; and "After the Flood," a world premiere by Baker.

"In a sense, though, they are similar to those big, old, hard, plays. They're just new," Baker elaborates. "They have a connection to something more epic and timeless."

They also carry on the Rorschach tradition of picking shows that have a mythic aspect and, to some degree, expose storytelling as a powerful force. This is especially true of "Family Stories: A Slapstick Tragedy," which opens on April 12, and Baker's "After the Flood," scheduled for November. The first focuses on four children playing house on a bombed out playground in the former Yugoslavian capital of Belgrade. Through their stories and actions writer Biljana Srbljanovic illustrates the evolution of a conflict that has plagued Europe for a thousand years.

Baker's play is even more explicit in its use of storytelling as a theatrical device. "After the Flood" follows an academic through South East Asia where he is studying Malay Shadow Puppetry. As the main action of the play occurs, Wayang Kulit shadow plays intermingle with it.

"This is the most exciting season that we've ever done," Baker said. "This is what we want to do and it feels right for Rorschach."

If history is any indication, what's good for Rorschach is good for theatergoers as well, no matter how old they are.

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