Spooky Action Theater

Name: Spooky Action Theater
Address: 1810 16th Street NW, Washington D.C., DC, 20009, US
Telephone: +12022480301
Price range: $
Rating: 4.9

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Spooky Action Theater

Spooky Action Theater is an award-winning adventurous professional theatre, a hub for bold aesthetics, vital conversations and global visions.

Versatile black box theater for producing thought provoking productions.

09/11/2025

Lighting is one of the most ephemeral elements of design. Among the last to be added to a production, it affects how scenery, costumes, and movement are perceived. In that way, it is very much like magic. But there is also science to it. So our lighting designer Mike Durst conducted some early tests with different lighting sources and materials to find the right visual language for the shadowplay and miniature model illumination for “The Dragon.”

Tickets at tickets.spookyaction.org .

09/09/2025

Over the weekend, Spooky’s Artistic Director Elizabeth Dinkova participated in a panel discussion on Ibsen at the Shakespeare Theater Company. She was joined by ’s dramaturg and artistic producer Drew Lichtenberg, who discussed “The Wild Duck,” and director Janos Szasz, who is directing “Enemy of the People” at . Amidst conversations about Ibsen’s radical politics and groundbreaking formal innovations, a collaboration might be brewing. Here’s a hint for our avid Ibsen lovers: “People don’t do such things!”

09/08/2025

The costumes in “The Dragon” are all about clever, seamless transformation - from impersonal uniforms to fantastical fairytale garb in the blink of an eye. This is just a small taste of Johnna Presby’s imaginative use of found objects and textile modification to create the iconic characters that populate the fable. In this new adaptation, these transformative designs are a testament to the boundless imaginations of the detained storytellers, whose creativity cannot be locked away.

09/07/2025

Costume designer Johnna Presby’s vision for “The Dragon” draws inspiration from rebellious acts of creativity: scribbled messages on prison walls, folk tales that carry hidden subversive undercurrents, DIY crafts that combine and repurpose materials. Johnna’s color palette for the show is bold and graphic: ritual white, inky black, and vibrant red. Get your tickets at tickets.spookyaction.org

09/05/2025

Take a deeper dive into the imagination of scenic designer Margarita Syrocheva and the visuals that inspired her transformative design for “The Dragon.”

Tickets at tickets.spookyaction.org .

09/04/2025

Can you spot the dragon in the scenic rendering? One of the unique features of our new adaptation and translation of Shvarts’s play, authored by Jesse Rasmussen with Yura Kordonsky, is that it coaches the fairytale allegory within a contemporary real-world framework that intensifies its political resonance. The result: an altogether new story about the freedom of the human spirit, which cannot be detained. Scenic designer Margarita Syrocheva designed a stark set evoking the experience of imprisonment, full of hidden surprises that enliven the space as the storytellers’ imaginations take hold. The set will be brought to life by technical director Barrett Doyle.

Tickets at tickets.spookyaction.org .

09/03/2025

A spotlight on collaboration: puppet work for “The Dragon!” Every good fairytale has magical characters - talking animals, fantastical visitors. Bringing puppets and masks to life requires deep collaboration between costumes, choreography, and actors. Our costumes designer Johnna Presby designed and built rough prototypes for choreographer Robert Bowen Smith to animate, all with the intention of empowering actors to operate them effortlessly during the show. In order to develop the specialised skill of object manipulation, actors participated in a movement workshop led by Rob, using materials provided by Johnna. To see these puppets (and a few special surprises!) fully blossom into characters, grab your tickets for “The Dragon” at tickets.spookyaction.org

09/02/2025

Meet the cast of “The Dragon:” Fran Tapia (Lancelot) is a Chilean performing artist and singer-songwriter. Over the past year, she made her debut with several theaters including Constellations (“Head Over Heels”), Spooky Action (“Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show,” “Unreleased” - solo concert), 1st Stage (“Laughs in Spanish”), Scena Theater (“Ajax”), the Kennedy Center (“Llorona,” “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show”concert), and Folger Theatre (“Hamlet,” “Romeo & Juliet”). She won the 2023 Helen Hayes Award and the Broadway World DC Award for Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Musical for “On Your Feet! En Español” (GALA Hispanic Theatre) and also received the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical for “Revoltosa” (GALA). Other U.S. credits include “Mummy in the Closet – Evita’s Return” (GALA), “In the Heights” (PSF), and the “On Your Feet!” 2nd Broadway National Tour. Internationally, she has appeared in “Cats” (Chile), “Emergenz” (Hamburg), and “Rite of Spring” (Hamburg, Marseille, Amsterdam, Santiago de Chile).

Graphics by Barrett Doyle. Tickets at tickets.spookyaction.org .

09/01/2025

Meet the cast of “The Dragon:” Ryan Sellers (Mayor) performed on the National Tour of Adventure Theatre MTC’s “Five Little Monkeys.” He recently received the Helen Hayes Award for Choreography in a Play for “Off the Page” at Arts on the Horizon. His DC area credits include Round House Theatre: “The Tempest” (Helen Hayes Award, Outstanding Supporting Performer); Signature Theatre: “A Funny Thing… Forum,” “Pacific Overtures,” “West Side Story,” “The Threepenny Opera,” “Miss Saigon;” Ford’s Theatre: “Sister Act,” “Little Shop of Horrors;” Folger Theater: “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” “The Second Shepherds’ Play;” Studio Theater: “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson;” Shakespeare Theatre Company: “Romeo and Juliet,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream;” Imagination Stage: “The Ballad of Mu Lan,” “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” “The Night Fairy,” “Anime Momotaro;” Constellation Theatre Company: “School for Lies,” “White Snake,” “Arabian Nights”; Keegan Theatre: “Apropos of Nothing,” “Noises Off” (Helen Hayes Award nominations, Outstanding Supporting Performer & Co-Choreographer), “The Undeniable Sound of Right Now,” “Shakespeare in Love.”

Graphics by Barrett Doyle. Tickets at tickets.spookyaction.org .

08/31/2025

Meet the cast of “The Dragon:” Raghad Makhlouf (Isabella) is an actor, director, and teaching artist. Her DC area credits include “American Fast” (Theater Alliance); “The Art of Care” (Mosaic Theater Company); “Agreste” and “Sonnets for an Old Century” (Spooky Action Theater); “Selling Kabul” (Understudy, Signature Theater); “Timon of Athens” (Understudy, Shakespeare Theater Company); “In This Hope” (The Welders); “DC I Love You”and “Hamlet” (The Reading Room Fest, Folger Theater). In Vermont, Raghad performed in “Hamlet”/“The Tempest” Rep at Shakespeare in The Woods. Her international credits include SYRIA: “Wretched Dreams” and “AB negative” at The Opera House; “The Poster” at The Russian Cultural Center; “Tactic” at Alhamra Theater. DENMARK; “Venus Labyrinth” at Masnedo Fortress. Raghad also appeared in over 400 hours of films and drama TV shows in Syria and Lebanon. She is a two-time Helen Hayes Award nominee for Outstanding Ensemble. Education: The Higher Institute of Drama, Syria: B.F.A; Shakespeare Theater Academy at GWU: M.F.A in classical acting.

Graphics by Barrett Doyle. Tickets at tickets.spookyaction.org .

08/30/2025

Meet the cast of “The Dragon:” Surasree Das (Elsa) is a Bangladeshi actress ecstatic to do her second show with Spooky! Upcoming at 1st Stage, she will perform in “Birthday Candles.” Her previous credits include “Frontieres Sans Frontiéres” (Spooky Action), “Lake Effect” (1st Stage), “As You Like It” (Chesapeake Shakespeare), “Twelfth Night,” “Merry Wives,” “Romeo and Juliet,” and “Midsummer” (EStP), “A Nice Indian Boy” (Olney Theatre, u/s), “Little Women” (Strand Theatre), “Jekyll/Hyde” (Free Range Humans); “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and “Princess Pauper” (Imagination Stage); “TornKid” (BAPAC/The Tank NYC); “Animal Farm” (Baltimore Center Stage); “Lear” (Single Carrot Theatre); “Arabian Nights” (Constellation Theatre Company); “South Pacific” (Toby’s Dinner Theater). Awards: BITrsister Best actor nomination (Jo March), Best Ensemble (Little Women), Best Devised (TornKid). Education: Yale Summer Intensive. Graphic by Barrett Doyle.

08/29/2025

Meet the cast of “The Dragon”: Gabriel Alejandro (Henry) is a Puerto Rican actor and educator. He currently works as a Teaching Artist with Shakespeare Theater Company and Imagination Stage. He is a proud Company Member at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company where he just performed as Mark Antony in “Julius Caesar.” Other CSC credits include The Oresteia and As You Like It. His other area credits include Paris in Folger Theatre’s “Romeo & Juliet,” Walter in Prologue Theatre’s “Marjorie Prime,” Pablo in Next Stop’s “Native Gardens,” Udo in Keegan Theatre’s “The Wilting Point,” and King Phillip II in Washington Stage Guild’s “Sofonisba.”Internationally, Gabriel has trained and performed with Odin Teatret in Denmark, Sine Qua Non Art in Greece, and Teatro R-101 in Colombia. In his native Puerto Rico, he did plays such as “Mujeres del Alba,” “Sueños de Colores,” “Drácula,” and “Unmerciful Good Fortune.” Education: (MFA) Shakespeare Theater Company Academy, (MAT) New York University. Graphics by Barrett Doyle.

Address

1810 16th Street NW
Washington D.C., DC
20009

Opening Hours

Monday

9am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+12022480301

Website

http://www.spookyaction.org/

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