Tag: Samantha Armitage

The life of Countess Elizabeth Bathory- the historical noblewoman accused of bathing in young girl’s blood so she could live forever young becomes a supernatural tale both creepy and creepily funny in the hands of the playwright of “Kittens in a Cage” & “The Underneath”.

Kelleen Conway Blanchard lends her unique voice to the story of Elizabeth Bathory, the Hungarian Countess fabled to be one of the inspirations behind vampire lore. Bathory is rumored to have killed anywhere from 60 to 600 young woman and bathed in their blood to preserve her youth.

This fictional account follows the countess from her happy marriage to the fierce warrior Ferenc to her conviction and death bricked up within the walls of her castle. Along the way it explores her possible motivations for the sadistic murders of which she stands accused.

Landing solidly on the dark side of dark comedy, Blood Countess still employs plenty of Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s trademark humor and linguistic gymnastics. This historical horror story is filled with dead birds, headless soldiers, eel pies, and pailfulls of blood.

Blood Countess is directed by Bret Fetzer, and features original songs by Rick Miller, reuniting the team behind Gregory-nominated hit Kittens in a Cage.

Terri Weagant makes her Annex debut as Elizabeth. Weagant has appeared on stages big and small from Seattle Shakespeare Company and Book-It Repertory Theatre, to Theater Shmeater and upstart crow collective. Supporting Weagant is a group of wonderful local talent including Gregory-nominated Mary Murfin Bayley, Blanchard veterans James Weidman and Erin Stewart, and retuning Annex actors Ashlen Hodge, Martyn G Krouse and Sarah Winsor.

“Blanchard has written a gothic comedy that resists the temptation of camp. Instead, she lands startling punches with vivid and unexpected language… The two leads make grimly charming predators, bored by and superior to everything except morts, both petit and grand. Weidman brings a refreshingly abstracted, understated moodiness to a role that some actors would take as an excuse to chew up the scenery, while Weagant gives a positively sociopathic performance, fully unable to understand—and, in the end, not really caring—why other people don’t find chopping off people’s hands and branding the servant girls with hot coins diverting.” – The Stranger

“It would be easy to make the argument that Kelleen Conway Blanchard’s new play, ‘Blood Countess’ is a natural selection for October, with its Halloween balance of the horrific and the bizarre, its combination of cartoonish terror and god-awful blood lust. Blanchard, however, never lets a first impression become the content of her plays. As in ‘Kittens in a Cage’ and ‘The Underneath’ the initial triteness of commonplace tropes provide an easily accessible gateway to well-developed and compelling characters dealing with the absurdity of their situations with genuine emotion and real internal conflict. There are plenty of laughs throughout ‘Blood Countess’ but we never lose sight of the fact that these uncommon people are dealing with exactly the same challenges that we deal with daily, and that caring about their struggles is at least as rewarding as the pure entertainment of the evening…This is real drama. And it works.” – Seattle Actor

“…a gleefully fractured history tale that’s part wickedly black comedy, part demented love story and part scathing prod at the sexual and religious climate of the era… …with a sly performance as the bloodlust-consumed countess […] Weagant keeps the boiling passion simmering beneath the surface…” – Seattle Times

“Blood Countess is a lot of fun. As the countess, Terri Weagant’s unconventional looks and excellent expressive range are riveting… two other characters in her entourage are far more freaky: a deranged, id-like provocateur named Fitzco, played with nearly boundless perversity by Erin Stewart; and a priest, played with chilling, sexualized placidity (and heavy eye makeup) by Martyn G. Krouse. Bathory’s violence-loving libertine husband Ferenc (James Weidman) is another unctuous delight. In Bathory’s grim castle (a simple, black-walled, portrait-adorned set by Susannah Anderson), victims progress from birds to a parade of neighborhood girls (all winningly portrayed by Sarah Winsor)… canny performances and a wacky, Wikipedia-confirmed bite of Hungarian history make the Bathory vein a worthwhile draught.” – Seattle Weekly

“The mayhem is directed by Bret Fetzer as he uses Annex’s usual minimal technical accessories to exceed their low monetary value and provide great stagecraft at the same time. With Ian Johnston’s support for set design, Gwyn Skone providing inventive creepy lighting, super costuming and wigging from Samantha Armitage (probably on a miniscule budget), and sound by Kyle Thompson, the overall effect is a very sophisticated production… The play could be seen as a ‘Halloween’ event at this time of year, but that downplays its execution, cast and the beautiful poetry of the script. Blanchard seems to love creepy, but also demonstrates that she loves language more. Go get your fright on and also experience a multi-layered biography.” – Miryam Gordon

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Sly American fairy tales about alligators and debutantes, told with sprightly vigor and combined with gorgeous choral singing. A storytelling experience like no other.

“As a storyteller, Bret Fetzer is a five star performer and writer. Following in the tradition of the great Southern storytellers, his writing is imaginative, funny and engaging; the performance, in which Mr. Fetzer assumes all the voices and characters himself, is beyond superlatives.” – Drama In The Hood

Family secrets ripple through time when three sisters in 2013 discover the truth about a young African-American woman in 1958 who realizes she can pass for white. What happens in-between is a frank and funny look at the shifting boundaries of tolerance and what identity really means.

“Thoughtful, crisp, and incredibly funny in the best tragicomic way… [Atkins’s] ability to find comedy through the entire piece is excellent. Her eye for characterization and her ear for immediate, intimate dialogue are faultless.” – Seattle Star

“Both funny and chilling… Black Like Us is a sharp slice into the racial history of an American city from an unusual perspective.” – The Stranger

“Candid, compassionate and engagingly humorous” – Seattle Times

“Unlike many good plays that leave you with much to discuss over coffee after you leave the theater, I suspect this play will leave me with internal discussions and conflicts that I’ll debate for the rest of my life. Once again, the tiny little Annex Theatre on Capitol Hill has brought us a bigger, more important show than any of the giant houses in Seattle.” – Seattle Actor

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Welcome to the world of The Luxuria Cycle—where someone else finds the love¹ of your life for you! Love¹ is no longer intangible—when you’re a Premium Member for only $99.95/year! Watch in comfort as internet sensation Angry Fairy Boy goes out in a motion-capture suit, so he can replay his dating mistakes in excruciating detail later! Marriage on the rocks? Watch a Premium user embark on a wonderful affair through our guaranteed² discreet³ Shepherd program! All this and more at The Luxuria Cycle! True Love¹ is 93% guaranteed²!

1 Love is the property of Luxuria, Inc.
2 For non-corporate entities, results may vary.
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Press photo #1 – Skye Stephenson, Ian McIntire, Patrick Mousel, Ashlen Hodge
Press photo #2 – Patricia Bonnell
Press photo #3 – Patricia Bonnell, Erin Ison
Photos by Shane Regan

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Two people meet. Two people connect. Ordinarily, this might be a night out on the town, perhaps going bowling—but if those two people are a playwright and a director, it’s a very different game. These directors and playwrights have never worked together before, but we’re going to see what their chemistry will create. Co-produced by Rain City Projects, each night of SECOND DATE will feature these three one-act plays, which are being created as you read this:

BLACK LIKE US
written by Rachel Atkins
directed by Tyrone Brown
Featuring: Caitlin Gilman, Laurel Ryan, Qadriyyah Shabazz, Sarah Winsor, and Amber Wolfe

SKETCH
written by Tracy Vicory-Rosenquest
directed by Katherine Karaus
Featuring: Asa Bass, Laurence Hughes, Jana Hutchison and Joan Jankowski

THE SIBYL AT COMMOTION STREET
written by Jaime Cruz
directed by L. Nicol Cabe
Featuring: Andy Buffelen, Justine Freese, and Keiko Green

PRODUCTION TEAM