♪ Hey, everybody.

I'm Felicia Curry, and welcome to "WETA Arts," the place to discover what's going on in the creative and performing arts in and around D.C.

In this episode... Rorschach Champions Theatre from the inside-out... Woman: Hello!

Welcome!

Woman: What you see onstage speaks to who you are as a person.

What are you doing here?

We're ready to go do a show.

Curry: ...and get the performer's view as I do a gig with MetroStage.

I've never done any of these songs in public before.

Are you serious?

Um-umm, no.

It's all ahead on "WETA Arts."

[Theme music playing] ♪ Washington, D.C., has an abundance of theaters, powerhouses like Shakespeare Theatre, Signature Theatre, and Arena Stage, but also dozens of small companies that together make D.C. one of the largest theater towns in the nation.

With so many companies, it's hard to get attention.

One theater is differentiating itself by challenging the notion of what visual storytelling can be.

In downtown D.C., Rorschach Theatre is starting a play within the audience.

It's a style known as immersive theater.

[People talking and laughing indistinctly] Hi.

Hello.

Hi.

Hi.

Well, um...

This might be too forward, but before I do anything, I have to ask, um, what are you doing here?

By that, I mean, um... what are you hoping to get?

"Immersive theater" is a huge word, and it can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different companies.

For us, it means surrounding the audience with the world of the play.

letting them step inside of it, I ask because, in full transparency, uh, I am out of mirrors.

I don't have any left.

Usually when people come to see me, that is what they're hoping to find.

But all the glass has been bought and sold and resold again and again.

So if you came here for a mirror, just go somewhere else!

Immersive theater has been going on since the beginning of time.

The theater that preceded Shakespeare was done in the streets, on carts, on caravans.

♪ It would be a true sort of community event, not like theater as we know it, where everybody sits in nice and tidy seats, doesn't eat anything, and behaves very well.

Once upon a time, there was a king who loved figs.

Baker: Doug Robinson's "The Figs" is this beautifully chaotic fairy tale.

He loved figs more than any other food.

He'd eat them for breakfast.

He'd eat them... Baker: It's very sort of street theater.

Woman: There was one tiny issue with his love for figs.

King: Figs?

Woman: Pay attention!

King: Bring me 6 figs!

Baker: The actors perform around everybody.

It's very rough and fun and very sort of presentational.

Man: I never intended for this play to be immersive.

So, when Randy and Jenny approached me about doing it in this immersive way, my mind was--was blown.

I never thought to have the audience situated within the world itself.

Frederick: We think about how to engage the audience in a more visceral experience and to just really allow audiences to be connected to the experience in a deeper way.

We are named Rorschach Theatre for the inkblot test invented by Hermann Rorschach.

♪ We loved the metaphor that what you see onstage speaks to who you are as a person, and everyone's gonna see something a little bit different, and that tells you something about yourself.

We really want you to come into the space and take away what you see from that and think about things yourself.

Woman: The wind carrying the message.

Baker: We approached theater in a way that what we're creating was an event, and we used spaces that lent themselves to sort of a total experience.

Woman: Follow me!

Baker: And we used what's essential about the architecture of the space to tell the story.

For this show, "The Figs," of the architectural elements that we use, the stairs are a big one.

There comes a moment where the audience actually follows something from the story.

♪ The idea that as you're descending down the stairs, you're descending deeper into the story, using a space in a way that would deepen the experience.

It allows an audience to be really invested in what's happening on the stage and to really hear and feel the story in a way that is different, and to think about their own journeys, think about what connects to their own world.

Curry: When Rorschach was founded in 1999, D.C. already had scores of theaters.

We really felt like we could set ourselves apart as a company by going into spaces that were unusual and that people didn't expect to be in or hadn't been in, and it let them see those spaces in a new way.

We have to bring in all the sound and all the lights and the chairs and the risers, and all of those pieces have to come in, but that does give us a huge amount of flexibility.

We staged a play in the greenhouse of the old Hechinger building in Tenleytown.

The greenhouse was a very hot place to make theater, we learned.

We were in an old firehouse up at the parks at Walter Reed.

We took over an office building in Southwest.

We were in 2 floors of this 4-story building that we moved up and down the elevator throughout the show.

Some of that began as a journey of necessity, right?

Because theater spaces are expensive and they're hard to get and they're often booked.

And part of it came out of like, "Where can we find a space?

"Where can we do something that's "a little bit interesting and different and how do we give people that experience?"

So, we are in a men's clothing store right now.

♪ It's an 8,000-square-foot, 2-level space that used to be a Rochester Men's Big & Tall shop.

This space we walked in, and it immediately just had so much character.

We use the upstairs as a lobby.

In this case, it's part of the performance experience.

There's lots of spaces downstairs for storage and building sets and having dressing rooms.

And also this huge back wall that had been for men's shirts, we use it as the back of our bar now, and it's also part of the show.

So, it was a space that had character and had things for us to work with and explore, as opposed to some of the more blank slate spaces.

This space was...perfect.

There are columns all over the space.

We turned the columns into trees, and we've used them as a feature rather than something that's just in the way.

Woman: If you hear the somber cries of a child, it could be Naomi's spirit out to wear your skin, to feel human again.

♪ Robinson: When it came time to think about what's the home for this play in D.C., a theater town that I love.

When Jenny and Randy reached out, I was like, "This makes sense."

I wasn't fully aware that they were in this found, converted storefront, but it was exciting when they pitched this idea that, "This is a play and when stories get deeper and deeper.

"And so we are going to stage it in a way that the audience gets to move deeper and deeper into the story."

It was an opportunity to learn about my play, seeing what it can be beyond what I thought it could be.

Curry: Rorschach's performance is in a neighborhood represented by the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District, BID for short.

Man: BIDs exist kind of as a bridge between the public sector and the private sector.

We've been working to reimagine downtown Washington.

We exist to provide a safe, vibrant, and welcoming environment for the people that live, work, and play in this neighborhood.

This part of town has been primarily office for a very long time.

When COVID hit, the neighborhood really took a hit, as well.

No one was coming to the office, which obviously impacted the businesses, the restaurant, and retailers.

We were left with a very high number of vacant ground floor retail spaces, and so we started to think about and reimagine what we could do with those spaces.

We look for interesting ideas that will attract people to the neighborhood, and we are focusing a lot of our efforts on arts and culture.

If you're going out for an arts-related event, chances are you're probably gonna get something to eat before or after.

Maybe you'll pop into a shop and buy something.

So, there's an economic engine associated with the arts, in addition to the revenue that the arts produce on their own.

It takes a special kind of theater company to be willing to come into a space-- in this case, a former men's big and tall store-- and say, "I'm gonna turn this into a theater, and I'm gonna charge people to come in here and see a show."

King, sobbing: Bring me figs!

Huff: Rorschach Theatre has not only done it, they've done it successfully.

King: Seize the fig bearer!

Huff: They make it work.

Baker: So, you're talking about the idea that you think you know how it's gonna end, and then you turn to them and you're like, "I didn't expect this."

Robinson: What I love about D.C. is the artists who are here and local in the corners, making the work at the smaller theaters, taking the risks and to be around them.

I think it's literally coming out, seeing her.

[Snaps fingers] Boom.

The movement ends, and then you go back there.

Woman: OK!

Do you know how many young actors are in this show?

It's like a big deal for them.

...to sort of like... Robinson: That is a gift for me, because I was once a young actor in a show at a theater of this size.

It's a way to, like, I don't, give back, support, do unto others.

For once in your life, be useful, June, and tell John that he missed!

Woman: This is my first professional production, actually, so everything's new to me.

[All cheering] But it's been lovely and really fun.

It's really encouraging, I think, to see that the audience is, like, going with the flow and doing what we hoped they would do.

What if I flew off this roof and out into the world?

Honk.

Not fly.

Woman: This is my second immersive show, and this company's ability to tell stories in such unconventional ways, and to get the audience to just climb on board and go along for the ride, it's really fun, and it's a great acting challenge, yeah.

I hope you got what you came for.

And more than that, I hope you got something you didn't expect.

Woman: It's very different to be, like, talking directly to the crowd of people than talking over the heads of the crowd of people.

All: Mm-hmm.

I just ate mud?

Oh!

[Indistinct].

Robinson: Because Rorschach is a playful company, they take risks.

Funny thing, stories.

People assume that the tellers know how they will end, but that is not true.

Robinson: A theater company in D.C. that took a chance on me before I had that degree matters.

It matters because it says, "There's space here for artists."

Some of you may invite that story that nestled so snugly between your head and your heart to the tip of your tongue so that it may be shared again, making you a storyteller.

[All snap fingers] ♪ Man: I like the integration of the play area with the area that we are allowed to be with as an audience.

Like, the bar in the play suddenly becomes a bar we can go and get a drink from.

They conjure magic out of nothing, it feels like, and it makes it even more meaningful and intimate in a space like this.

Huff: We had 100 people in a vacant storefront that would have otherwise been quiet, with tumbleweeds blowing through it on a Friday night in downtown, and instead you had 100 people paying to see art.

Frederick: We tell stories that have heightened reality, and everyone needs that in their life.

Everyone needs to be able to walk outside and see things in a way that makes you think about what's possible and not what is and what could be.

Baker: In some ways, a truly immersive play isn't even theater anymore.

It's something between a gallery visit and a punk rock show and theater.

It's something exciting, and I think it's something that everyone should--should do.

♪ Curry: Currently, Rorschach is running a self-guided urban adventure called "Vox Populi," a psychogeographies project.

It culminates in a performance in August.

Go to Rorschachtheatre.com for details.

In addition to hosting my very favorite show, "WETA Arts," I'm also a working actor and love performing with fellow artists and friends whenever I can in my hometown of Washington, D.C.

I took part in a one-night-only cabaret show produced by MetroStage, and my "WETA Arts" TV family followed me to share that journey with you.

♪ Hey, everybody!

It is Felicia Curry here.

And today is a really special day.

"WETA Arts" has decided to follow me around as I do a cabaret this evening with my friend Aaron Reeder.

I think y'all are gonna have a great time.

Hey, everyone!

So good to see you.

Welcome to my space and getting ready for this cabaret day.

OK, so this is my workspace.

I do a lot of my self-taping in here.

As you can see, Self-tape stuff is up.

I'm gonna get it out of the way so that we can get ready for this cabaret.

I am so excited.

Davis: ♪ Who can take the sunrise... ♪ Curry: Tonight's show is called "Beyond the Lights: Discovering Sammy Davis, Jr." This is a pretty special event for two reasons.

Because I'm working with two people that I adore.

Aaron Reeder.

He's a phenomenal talent.

He sings opera, gospel, Broadway, and he wrote tonight's show.

And Carolyn Griffin over at MetroStage is producing this.

She's produced at least 100 shows since MetroStage was founded back in 1984.

I'm just a guest in Aaron's cabaret, so he asked me to do one solo-- "Bewitched (Bothered and Bewildered)" It's from a Rodgers and Hart musical called "Pal Joey" from 1940.

I think it goes really well with what Aaron's put together.

It's about relationship.

It's about longing.

It's about love.

And then we're doing 2 duets.

I haven't played with the entire band.

That's why I have to do a lot of homework on my own to make sure I'm ready to do everything.

[Giggling] [Musical intro playing] ♪ Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered ♪ ♪ Am I ♪ I've never actually sung any of these songs except in rehearsal with Aaron.

So, tonight is both exciting and a little bit nerve-wracking, but that's one of the things I love about this business.

♪ I grew up in New Jersey and acted all the way through high school, and then I came here to go to the University of Maryland for journalism, but I stayed after graduation because of all of the incredible acting opportunities here in the DMV.

D.C. has allowed me to play Rapunzel.

I don't know that New York would have allowed me me to do that.

D.C. has put me in puppet theater, Shakespearean theater.

I've done one-woman shows here.

When she stepped on that stage...

I said to myself, "I want to do that."

Curry, voice-over: For me, it was a no-brainer to stay here and do really great work.

I think we are ready to go.

I have to pack everything up.

So, first things first.

We've got to get all the... outfits together.

I don't know if you all know, but I used to be a pageant girl, so I have many, many dresses.

It's actually one of the things that prepared me so well to do this job.

We're ready to go do a show.

Let's do it.

♪ We are headed to the Lyceum in Alexandria, Virginia.

The Lyceum is hosting MetroStage while they raise funds for a new theater.

Just taking this route makes me think about all the places that I've worked at.

I mean, this is the route to Ford's Theatre.

MetroStage really holds a special place in my heart.

They gave me the opportunity to grow as an artist, and it's because of some of the work that I did there that I got into theaters like Signature Theatre.

♪ I love him ♪ ♪ ♪ I love him... ♪ Curry, voice-over: I haven't talked to you about, you know, the places I started--Toby's Dinner Theatre of Columbia.

My first 2 Helen Hayes nominations were at Toby's.

Really proud of that.

["Footloose" playing] Kenny Loggins: ♪ Now I gotta cut loose... ♪ Curry: The first show I did at Toby's was "Footloose."

And there are 3 of us that I know have been on Broadway.

Curry: Let me say this.

I have many friends who are huge successes in this business and who have never been on Broadway.

D.C. has offered them the opportunity to be working performers, and that, to me, is success.

Even by the people in it sometimes, yes.

Oh, yeah.

I've always said to myself, if I stop getting the jitters, it might be time to reconsider.

[Laughing] ♪ And here we are at the Lyceum.

Let's get this show on the road.

Ha ha!

Do you see what I did there?

[Chuckling] ♪ Curry: Carolyn!

Oh!

Ha ha ha!

Oh, so good to see you.

Fantastic.

Do you remember when we discovered you?

"Three Sistahs."

You came to an audition-- I do.

and Tom Jones and I sat there-- That's right.

and we looked at each other and said, "Oh, my gosh."

We knew you were the one.

So, there you go.

OK. Are we ready?

I'm ready, yes.

And I'll follow you up.

Curry, voice-over: I am so excited.

Aaron wrote this show because he was inspired by Sammy's music and the challenges that Sammy overcame-- race, religion, disability, stature, a lack of education.

So, for me, this piece is important on that level, too.

Davis: ♪ Under my skin ♪ Aaron!

Hi, my friend!

Ha ha ha!

Thank you for having me here.

Thank you for coming.

Shut your face.

Of course.

[Both laughing] What's your relationship history with MetroStage?

Do you have one?

So, this is my first time doing any sort of partnership with Carolyn and MetroStage.

And then you and I, of course, "Les Mis."

Chorus: ♪ Ahh ♪ Laying on barricades, dying.

Dying together.

That's it.

We've never done a reading, a workshop, nothing.

And what's the message of the show?

Why Sammy Davis Jr. cabaret?

He always stayed true to himself.

And I think being an artist, it's sometimes difficult to stay steadfast in who you are.

So I think the process of, like, putting this together really helped solidify, like, owning your own voice and being true to yourself.

I love that.

And one of the things that would be great is figuring out any sort of, like, blocking that we want to do.

That's what-- mm-hmm.

I think once the band gets in and sets up, we can figure it out.

I've never done any of these songs in public before.

Are you serious?

Um-umm, no.

Turn on the lights.

Ha ha!

Action!

♪ Curry: So, I'll come around you on that second-- so I'll do first verse...

Yes.

and I'll either turn this way.

You're looking for me on the...

Which, if we're gonna do all of that for those numbers, I'll just--just stand for my solo.

That's fine.

[Playing notes on piano] OK. Reeder: ♪ You're the mate that fate had me created for ♪ ♪ And every time, oh, your lips meet mine ♪ ♪ Old black magic called... ♪ ♪ [Piano notes playing] [Indistinct chatter] [Cheering] Griffin: So it's with great pleasure that I introduce Aaron Reeder as he takes us on a heartfelt journey of the indelible Sammy Davis Jr.

Thank you.

[Applause] ["I Gotta Be Me" intro playing] This is "I Gotta Be Me."

♪ Whether I'm right ♪ ♪ Or whether I'm wrong ♪ ♪ I gotta be me ♪ ♪ I've gotta be me ♪ ♪ What else can I be but what I am?

♪ ♪ Reeder: Felicia Curry, ladies and gentlemen.

Felicia Curry.

[Cheering] ♪ I'm wild again ♪ ♪ Beguiled again ♪ ♪ A simpering, whimpering child again ♪ ♪ Bewitched ♪ ♪ Bothered and bewildered ♪ ♪ Am I ♪ ♪ There is no place I know ♪ Together: ♪ To compare with pure imagination ♪ ♪ So go there ♪ ♪ We'll go there ♪ ♪ To be free ♪ Together: ♪ If you truly wish to be ♪ [Cheering and applause] Exquisite, fabulous.

Man: Intensely personal and intensely real.

What an incredible talent.

What an incredible voice.

Woman: To see him with Felicia, who is a fantastic talent in this area.

So it was just an amazing concert.

Reeder: ♪ Old black magic... ♪ Man: Sammy's music-- "Old Black Magic," all this material-- I could have played it without the music, but it was just great.

Reeder: ♪ Those icy fingers... ♪ Griffin: It's worth every minute I put into it, because what we're able to give to our audiences and to our artists is really extraordinary.

Woman: Bye.

Thank you all so much for joining me.

Until next time!

[Giggling] Curry: Aaron Reeder appears in the Washington National Opera's production of "The (R)evolution of STEVE JOBS" May 2nd-10th, and catch me on June 28th in "Broadway in the Park," the 5th annual collaboration by Signature Theatre and Wolf Trap.

Go to wolftrap.org for details.

Here's a quote from Rita Moreno, the Oscar- and Emmy-winning recipient of both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Arts.

"Art broadens perspective, fosters appreciation for beauty, "lifts us above ourselves, "enables us to project beyond our circumstances, "and gives us a common language to explore disparate ideas."

Thank you for watching "WETA Arts."

Be well, be creative, and enjoy the art all around you.

I'm Felicia Curry.

Robinson: I've always loved fairy tales and folklore and the magic that they have and the mischief that they have.

And I thought, "Is there a way to just write a story "that is magical and mischievous, "but still makes an audience feel...lighter, "feel like there's something worth believing in, feels like there's something worth striving for?"

I am here backstage, actually.

Sorry.

There's the meta pic-- Judy taking a picture of me taking a picture of myself-- In a mirror.

Announcer: For more about the artists and institutions featured in this episode, go to weta.org/arts.