VOICES UNDERWATER

March 7 - April 3, 2011
  • by Abi Basch
  • Directed by Jenny McConnell Frederick
  • National Conservatory for the Dramatic Arts

A storm rages outside.  Emma and Franklin take refuge in the attic of an Alabama plantation house.  As they explore the attic they are haunted by the spirits of a dark past – the daughter of a 1920’s Klu Klux Klan leader and a wounded civil-war soldier.  As time and space spin around them, the rain continues, the waters rise and the house begins to leak its secrets. VOICES UNDERWATER is an exquisite exploration of the ghosts that lurk just beneath the surface.

TWO HELEN HAYES NOMINATIONS: Sound Design & Scenic Design

“Rorschach hasn’t lost its immersive touch.”

DC Theatre Scene

FEATURING

Ricardo Frederick Evans
Julie Garner
Kari Ginsburg
Clementine Thomas

Designers

Set David C. Ghatan
Costumes Lynly Saunders
Lighting Andrew Griffin
Sound Nicole Martin
Props Lauren Cucarola

STAFF

Stage Manager Sharon King
ASM Joseph Michael Jones

 

PRODUCERS

Randy Baker
Jenny McConnell Frederick

MEDIA

PRESS

Everybody gets wet in Abi Basch’s “Voices Underwater,” a lyrical ghost story involving a flood tide of Civil War history. A young couple — white woman, black man — arrive late one rainy night to visit a creepy old Alabama plantation house that’s been in her family. You bet it’s haunted. The sound of falling rain rarely slacks off in Jenny McConnell Frederick’s wonderfully moody production, which envelops the audience in classic haunted-house style.
Washington Post
“Rorschach hasn’t lost its immersive touch. Director Jenny McConnell Frederick effectively uses visuals and sound to make the audience feel as trapped and claustrophobic as play’s characters do — rain slips through the rafters, spirits creep around corners unexpectedly, and there’s a real sense of danger to the production.”
DCist
“In full Rorschach mode, the production immerses the audience into the setting to feel you’re actually in an old stuffy attic filled to the brim with treasures from long ago. The water seems at the door, literally, thanks to the sound and light wizardry of Nicole Martin and Andrew F. Griffin who create the look and sound of buckets of rain and tantalizing shadows of the spirits, all under the watchful eye of director Jenny McConnell Frederick who does wonders with the intimate attic-like space and brings an immediacy to all the characters.”
DC Theatre Scene
"A breathlessly arresting show...will make you want to hold your breath"
TBD.com