Rorschach Presents KLEXOGRAPHY: A VERY PAGAN CHRISTMAS

Somewhere between the ancient rituals of our pagan ancestors and the tacky office holiday party you attended last night lurks an answer to the question that haunts your dreams: "How did I get here?"

Created by more than three dozen theatre artists, the show's seven stories are all written and staged during a one-week process. For one night only, join the city's most daring theatre company on an epic tale - spread over two theatres and a hallway - about holiday celebrations and their pagan beginnings.

The shows will be created by seven local playwrights (Graziella Jackson, Shawn Northrip, Natalie Piegari, Jen Rabbitt Ring, James Rogers, Garret Lee Milton, ChristIan Sullivan), twenty six performers (Sara Barker, Claire Aniela, Rebecca Ballinger, Alison Bauer, Jenna Berk, Theresa Buechler, Christopher Carillo, Alison Daniels, Karen Elle, Jonathan Frye, Karina Hilleard, Erika Jones, Hilary Kelly, Joe Killiany, Caroline Lucas, Kevin McGuinness, Dallas Milholland, Britney Mongold, Reginald Richard, Danny Rovin, Matt Strote, Emily Sucher, Crystal Swann, Kim Tuvin, Mackenzie Williams, Clancey Yovanovich), five directors (Megan Behm, Lee Cromwell, Ryan Maxwell, Chelsea Thaler, Catherine Tripp) and four designers (Debra Kim Sivigny, Zach Brewster-Geisz, Megan Thrift and Elliott Shugoll). The show is conceived, curated and produced by co-Artistic Directors Jenny McConnell Frederick and Randy Baker.

ABOUT KLECKSOGRAPHY

Klecksography was a game that Hermann Rorschach played as a child in which children would make shapes out of ink on a blank page. Inspired by this game he would go on to develop his famous psychological test, the Rorschach Inkblot Test.

Rorschach Theatre's Klecksography Projects play a similar game with New Play Development - stories are built by artists responding to a similar theme or a common source and then presented to an audience as an evening of theatre. The evenings are always created in a furiously short time and involve a veritable army of playwrights, directors, actors and designers.

Examples of themes from past events include forgotten Washington stories, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Urban Legends and actual Holiday Stories from the Rorschach fan page. Below are links to all the Klecksography projects, including our "Myth-Appropriation" events which followed a similar formula but were based exclusively on mythology.

THE SPACE

A landmark of the newly revitalized H Street, NE neighborhood, the Atlas stood vacant for years until it was re-opened as the Atlas Performing Arts Center in November, 2006 following an extensive four-year renovation. Its 60,000 square foot complex includes four theatres, three dance studios, administrative offices, dressing rooms, lobbies, a café and production and rehearsal spaces. The center is home to a diverse group of locally renowned theatre and dance companies, symphony orchestras, choral groups and arts education programs. Its mission includes serving the greater metropolitan DC area as well as being the artistic heart of its immediate community.

In the past Rorschach Theatre has performed in a greenhouse, a back-alley art gallery, the lobby of 16th Street JCC, the former sanctuary of a Methodist Church in Columbia Heights, Georgetown University's Performing Arts Center and in the basement of a Lutheran Church in Georgetown. A BID TO SAVE THE WORLD, which ran in September and October was Rorschach's tenth production as Arts Partners at the Atlas Performing Arts Center.

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 is a company that has received significant acclaim for its fierce performance style, its bold use of theatrical space and its dedication to challenging works that are at once relevant and timeless. The company's work has focused on helping to reveal the contemporary relevance of fable, finding magic in rough spaces, connecting timeless works to a contemporary audience.

Rorschach Theatre has produced more than three dozen plays seen by more than 50,000 people in Washington area. They have been nominated for seven Helen Hayes Awards, been a finalist for the Mayor's Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artists and been the recipients of two Young Artists grants and two Artist Fellowship Grants from the DC Commission for the Art and Humanities. Rorschach Theatre won a Mary Goldwater award in 2006 and many Rorschach artists have won Mary Goldwater awards for their work with the company. 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. The company has become, "proof that limited resources do not stymie great talents, any more than big budgets can squeeze works of genius from mediocre minds." (Washington Post)

Rorschach Theatre is a member of the LEAGUE OF WASHINGTON THEATRES and THE CULTURAL ALLIANCE OF GREATER WASHINGTON.

Rorschach Theatre Presents

KLECKSOGRAPHY: A Very Pagan Christmas

THIS WEEKEND!

Saturday, December 10, 2016

with four showings: 7pm, 7:45pm, 8:30pm and 9:15pm

(shows are 90 minutes and overlap with each other)

Performing at Atlas Performing Arts Center

1333 H Street NE, Washington DC 20002