Jenny McConnell Frederick and Randy Baker Artistic Directors

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.

Daniel Corey in NEVERWHERE (2017) / Photo: C. Stan Photography

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. The work centers on the intersection of magic or impossible moments and every day human experiences. Without proselytizing, it provides a complex, intellectual catalyst for self-exploration of challenging subjects.

Rorschach is also 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 its 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. 

Rorschach’s newest program – “Psychogeographies” – tells season-long immersive narratives that take participants to lesser-known spots around their city as a story unfolds through letters, artifacts, and objects mailed in monthly chapters.

The Helen Hayes award winning Rorschach Theatre has produced more than fifty plays seen by tens of thousands of people in the Washington area. The company has been recognized more than a dozen times by the Helen Hayes Awards; won a Mary Goldwater Award; been a finalist for the Mayor’s Arts Award; and has been the recipient of multiple grants and awards from the D.C. 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.

Rorschach Theatre is an associate member of the National New Play Network (NNPN).

Rorschachtheatre.com * facebook.com/rorschachtheatre * @rorschachdc

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