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

Home
United States
Washington D.C., DC
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.

12/30/2024

For the second year in a row, Spooky has been on ‘s list of best theaters for 2024! There’s so much powerful work happening in town, and it’s a special honor to be recognized for our contributions to DC’s theatrical ecosystem. Congratulations to for topping this category, and to fellow honorable mentions and . Don’t miss your chance to support us before the year is out!

12/26/2024

We’re honored to be in ‘s list of production designs of the year with both of our productions! “There’s no telling what I will find whenever I venture into the basement of the Universalist National Memorial Church. Under Elizabeth Dinkova’s leadership of Spooky Action Theater, that basement has become the most dynamically imaginative black box in Washington, DC. Their impressive theatrical worldbuilding reached new experimental heights with the whimsical abandon of Frontières Sans Frontières” (UnProfessional Opinion).

12/25/2024

Happy holidays from our Spooky Action family to yours! To celebrate, just a few weeks ago we transformed our space into an underground cabaret for a performance by a very special guest. Tony-award-winning playwright and composer Stew Stewart is known for his groundbreaking musical “Passing Strange,” his lengthy career as a rock musician, and even stings as a songwriter for Spike Lee and Spongebob Squarepants. Stew was accompanied by Marika Countouris, who will be the music director for “Professor Woland” in the Spring.

12/24/2024

In August, we returned to the Kennedy Center again, this time to show a concert of excerpts from our new rock musical in development, “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show.” A reviewer attending the Local Theatre Festival praised it as “a rock opera so breathtaking that it’s bound to reap rhapsodies of praise when it opens at Spooky Action Theater in March of 2025” (DC Theatre Arts). September ushered in our home-grown world premiere of “Cracking Zeus,” led again by Mosaic’s Reg Douglas, hailed by local critics as “a theater lover’s high” (DC Theatre Arts).

12/23/2024

In April, we opened the DC premiere of “Frontieres Sans Frontieres,” Phillip Howze’s fantasia on cultural imperialism. This Helen Hayes-recommended show performed at 90% capacity and garnered accolades for being “enchantingly sardonic” and “a brilliant production” (DC Theatre Arts; photo by Ryan Maxwell). In May, we produced the first English-language reading of exiled Russian playwright Mikhail Durnenkov’s noir thriller “Eisenstein,” directed by Yale School of Drama Directing Co-Chair Yuri Kordonsky, followed by a panel on censorship and artistic freedom in oppressive states.

12/22/2024

In February of 2024, we were thrilled to receive a Social Impact Residency at the Kennedy Center to develop a madcap new play, “Cracking Zeus” by Atlanta-based playwright Christopher T. Hampton. Director Reginald L. Douglas and choreographer Tony Thomas led this workshop with some of DC’s most beloved and seasoned actors and Howard acting students, who performed to a packed house at the Reach. In our fall installment, you’ll see how that turned out!

12/20/2024

We ushered in our 20th anniversary season under the theme “the Birth of Myth,” and now the Roman God Janus comes to mind - often depicted with one face looking backward to the past and one looking forward to the future. One year may yield to another, but one thing is certain: the thrill of attending a show at Spooky Action is evergreen. As we close 2024, your tax-deductible gift is essential to ensuring many more seasons of wonder and surprises. You can go to our website or the link in our bio to donate. Over the next few days, we’ll remind you why: we’ll revisit all the Spooky experiences that made 2024 a thrilling theater year.

12/18/2024

Part 2 of recent cast sightings for the extremely versatile ensemble of “Professor Woland”: Camilo Linares in “Laughs in Spanish” at 1st Stage (photo by Teresa Castracane Photography); Jeremy Crawford in “Prayer for the French Republic” at Theater J (photo by Ryan Maxwell Photography); Fran Tapia in “Romeo and Juliet” at the Folger (photo by Erika Nizborski). If you want to see how they’ll transform in “Woland,” grab your tickets now at our website.

12/17/2024

Like the demons they play, the actors cast in “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show” are real shapeshifters. Part 1 of recent cast sightings: Jordyn Taylor, Marika Countouris, and Oliver Dyer in Monumental’s drag cabaret; Fran Tapia in 1st Stage’s “Laughs in Spanish;” Stephen Russell Murray in Imagination Stage’s “Petite Rouge;” Danny Santiago in the “Charlie Brown Christmas” national tour! If you want to see how they’ll transform in “Woland,” grab your tickets now at our website.

12/13/2024

We’d be remiss not to spotlight our recent concert’s secret weapon: pianist Marika Countouris. Marika has made history as a music director for some of the most edgy and innovative musicals around town: Signature’s “Passing Strange” and Monumental’s “American Psycho.” We’re thrilled to report that she’ll be both music director and performer in Spooky’s premiere of “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show” in March. Don’t sleep on those tickets - they are already on sale! Photos by

12/12/2024

Last weekend, Tony-award-winning playwright and rock musician Stew Stewart played a special show at for a packed room of rapt patrons. “He’s fu***ng brilliant;” “Like a tonic for the soul”; “I laughed AND I cried!”; “Please make this an annual thing!”: those were just a few of the exclamations heard in the audience. Scroll through these gorgeous photos by to see how we transformed our space into an underground cabaret with the help of Marika Countouris on keys, Alec Green on sound, and Malory Hartman on lights. And stay tuned for some exciting announcements for other special events added to our spring lineup! Upstage arches courtesy of the scenic design for “Woland” by Abigail Copeland.

12/07/2024

Tonight is the night: Stew has landed in DC, and rehearsals are underway for his cabaret concert at Spooky, which will include songs from his Tony-Award-winning musical “Passing Strange” and other tunes from his career as a rock musician. The 7 pm show is sold out, but you can grab tickets for the late-night 9 pm performance, which will be followed by a meet-and-greet with Stew.

12/06/2024

A special message from Stew himself in preparation for his concert! Don’t miss this special chance to see these songs in a format that nobody has gotten to experience before! Stew will be accompanied by on keys. There are only a few tickets left for the 9 pm show, so grab them while you can.

12/03/2024

🎭 Today is the day! Click the link in our bio to give to Spooky Action this . Your support is essential to our mission of creating bold, off-beat programming that connects artists and audiences in a shared act of imagination. As we reflect on this season of gratitude, we’re excited to shape the future with every performance and connection we make.

Your support enables us to present bold artistic visions like Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show, our first musical and a world premiere! Adapted from Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita, this production fuses rock, indie folk, and Brecht/Weill influences to explore themes of good and evil, courage and cowardice, and the freedom of the spirit in an unfree world.

Your donation today helps us bring impactful art to life and enrich the DC theater community. Visit our donation page to make your tax-deductible contribution. Share our mission with friends and family, and join us at our upcoming performances. You are vital to everything we do. Thank you for being part of our journey!

12/02/2024

We’re less than a week away for a special event you don’t want to miss! Tony-award-winning playwright and composer Stew Stewart (“Passing Strange”) and Marika Countouris (Signature’s “Passing Strange” MD) are getting ready to rock your worlds on Dec 7. By popular demand, we added a 9 pm performance, and half the tickets are already sold, so act NOW! You can purchase your tickets at spookyaction.org .

11/26/2024

We’ve got one more surprise in store for you: Tony Award-winning playwright and musician Stew Stewart will be accompanied by the queen of the DC rock musical, Marika Countouris! Marika was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Music Direction for Signature Theatre’s production of Stew’s “Passing Strange,” and she will be music directing and performing in Spooky’s world premiere of “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show” in the Spring (now on sale)!

11/25/2024

Stew Stewart’s 7 pm performance on Dec 7 is sold out, but don’t worry: due to popular demand, we’ve added a late-night show at 9 pm! As a special treat, at 8 pm, we invite you to join us over beverages and snacks in the parlor for a holiday celebration. And if you stay after the late-night show, you’ll have a unique opportunity to mingle with other patrons, artists, and Stew himself!

Address

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

Opening Hours

Monday

9am - 4:30pm

Telephone

+12022480301

Website

http://www.spookyaction.org/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Spooky Action Theater posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Spooky Action Theater:

Videos

Get to know CRACKING ZEUS playwright Christopher T. Hampton, a multifaceted artist based in Atlanta, whose work blends a variety of genres and ideas to explore contemporary concerns through a mythic lens. Delve into Christopher’s inspiration and process for this brand new play starting performances Sept 19 under the direction of Reg Douglas of Mosaic Theater. https://www.spookyaction.org/current-show.html