1001

1001

May 28 - July 3, 2009
  • by Jason Grote
  • Directed by Randy Baker
  • The DEVINE THEATRE at Georgetown University’s Royden B. Davis, S.J. Performing Arts Center

Jason Grote returns to Rorschach Theatre with 1001, in which the classic tale of Scheherazade and her 1001 tales makes its way from ancient Arabia to modern day Manhattan. 1001 weaves myth, magical realism and comedy into an amazing tale as Scheherazade, the storyteller from The Arabian Nights morphs into Dahna, a contemporary Palestinian graduate student in New York. Her awkward love story with Alan, a young Jewish man, reverberates through history, as the play twists and turns though a labyrinth of story upon story. But at its heart is the blood, tears and brutal truth of a young relationship – as complex as a labyrinth and as important as the fate of the world.

SEASON 9 is sponsored in part by generous contributions from The Dobranski Foundation and Pete Miller & Sara Cormeny.

“Good storytelling is a sort of fearless magic act, in which events move too quickly to tolerate objection. And this is the way that director Randy Baker and the rest of the Rorschach troupe tell this story: with such assurance and commitment that the impossible seems true.”

DC Theatre Scene

FEATURING

Yasmin Tuazon
Rex Daugherty
Lee Liebeskind
Dylan Myers
Jay Saunders
Abby Wood

Designers

Set David C. Ghatan (Set
Costumes Ivania Stack
Lighting Brian S. Allard
Sound Matthew M. Nielson and Wade Tandy
Props Andrea “Dre” Moore

STAFF

Stage Managers Julia Harman Cain and Heather Gaither-Greek
ASM Hannah Blechman
Fight Choreography Casey Kaleba
Dance Choreography Michael J. Bobbitt
Assistant Director Hunter Styles
Asst. Costume Design Dan Iwaniec
Scenic Painter Meaghan Toohey
Technical Director Justin Keenan Miller
Master Electrician Robert Brown

PRODUCERS

Randy Baker
Jenny McConnell Frederick

MEDIA

PRESS

“Good storytelling is a sort of fearless magic act, in which events move too quickly to tolerate objection. This is certainly how Scheherazade treats her murderous husband, telling her stories with confidence and at the speed of life, heedless of her impending doom. And this is the way that director Randy Baker and the rest of the Rorschach troupe tell this story: with such assurance and commitment that the impossible seems true… Baker has induced excellent performances from his actors – this is the best I have ever seen Wood – and Tuazon and Daugherty are absolutely riveting… Throughout, 1001 is a feast of risky things, done well.”
DC Theatre Scene
With a rewarding economy of props — and an evocative array of costumes by Ivania Stack — Baker and his six young actors smoothly propel you through the work’s intricately woven maze… Daugherty and Tuazon and their cast mates bring such discipline and belief to their metamorphosing portrayals that you become immersed in the game of what comes next.”
Washington Post
“Jason Grote’s dreamy, nested-narratives rethink of the Scheherazade fable, which weaves a strain of modern existential angst into the fabric of those ancient tales…. the playwright, and Randy Baker’s very fine Rorschach cast, handle it so gently that what might have felt manipulative feels instead like a graceful act of public mourning… [the production is] a gratifyingly humane way of approaching the impossibly complicated narrative our world makes for itself each day.”
Washington City Paper
"Those stories seem timeless, and in the excellent production of Jason Grote’s intellectual yet rambunctious play 1001, currently at Rorschach Theater, those tales become literally timeless, working in an imaginary past as well as an all too familiar contemporary world."
The Sentinel