Rosslyn Spectrum

Capital Life Church meets here on Sundays at 10:30am. Nice enough.

I admit it — I’m a nerd. And not just *any* nerd, but I’m a huge sci-​fi nerd. And not just *any* sci-​fi nerd (although, I do love all things sci-​fi), but I’m a Trekkie to boot.
And that’s TREKKIE, not Trekker. I know there is a huge arguement over which is which, but here is my stance on it: The Great and Wonderful Wizard of Trek, Gene Roddenberry, called fans of the show «Trekkies». And he should know… HE’S FRICKIN’ GENE RODDENBERRY. End. Of. Arguement.
But I digress.
I’m a nerd and so when I saw that there was to be a night of awesome called «By Any Other Name: An Evening of Shakespeare in Klingon» held at the Rosslyn Spectrum/​Artisphere — you know that my butt was going to be there with tricorder slung over my shoulder (yes, I also dress up for Trek-​cons. Deal with it).
The great thing about the Rosslyn Spectrum is that as a fairly new space, the seats are incredibly roomy, with plenty of space between each row. All the seats also have the little folding desk (like lecture halls in college), so it’s a great place to put your drink.
The bad thing about the Rosslyn Spectrum is two-​fold. The major issue is that they don’t have a bar. No no, I’m not saying that one needs to drink to have fun (although it does help — and my husband who is NOT a Trekkie, DEFINITELY needed a drink or two to get through the night), however, as most people will be getting to the show early, the standing around can be alieviated with a nice drink or two… which will also help the show’s bottom line. Yes, they did offer cups of wine, but I was surprised to see a lack of an actual bar — they served the wine by the ticket counter, which caused a bottleneck… which leads me to the other issue with this space, is that there wasn’t really any room for them to set up a merchandise table — so they set up a table next to the ticket counter, which again, caused a huge claustrophobic bottleneck. These are small upgrades that they can do to the theater without too much cost, and will make the experience better for attendees.
That said, I noticed little else, because «By Any Other Name: An Evening of Shakespeare in Klingon» was AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME. It was AWESOME.

I saw the Alexandria Symphony here. As Ol Yella says, it’s a step up from a school auditorium. It’s in an odd spot within an old apartment building.
I think they were selling coffee in the «lobby» but otherwise there’s not much to it.
Free parking, I think?

The Rosslyn Spectrum’s Synetic Theatre Company plays a lot of the classics — a lot of Shakespeare, Frankenstein, Animal Farm, etc. They also have a Synetic Family Theatre group that does plays targeted to children and families.
However, I never have been to any of those kinds of plays. Because The Rosslyn Spectrum also sometimes shows super-​edgy and/​or controversial stuff from visiting companies. I saw a dark vampire goth musical here with nudity, for example. And where did «Puppetry of the Penis» (of HBO’s Real Sex fame) perform? The Rosslyn Spectrum.
Perhaps I should go see a Synetic company production and then update this review. But if the show isn’t being put on by Synetic, it’s certain to be… interesting.

There is nothing spectacular about the Rosslyn Spectrum and the stage is tiny — which is fine because it’s supported by Arlington County government. You definitely do not get that feeling of awe like when you walk into the Lunt-​Fontanne or the Imperial. However, I do like that it’s intimate and there are no bad seats. It’s right by the Rosslyn metro and there is plenty of free parking in the neighboring garages after hours or on the street.
They get a 4^th star because they are the home of Synetic Theater. If you’re a fan of avant-​garde, then you will love Synetic — they incorporate music, dance and drama. I went to see Faust during the Spring 2006 season and enjoyed it thoroughly. The special effects were very impressive for such a small theater. They are experimental to the nth degree… they specialize in interpretations of classics — and it’s nothing like you would expect.
I am very excited about the 2007 – 2008 season. The Fall of the House of Usher (one of my favorite stories by Poe) opens on Sept 22-​Oct and Romeo and Juliet runs Jan-​Feb 08 — both are at Rosslyn Spectrum. One or two shows a year are presented at the Kennedy Center — in 2008, it’s going to be Carmen in May and June.
Check it out — Synetic show tickets are typically $ 30 – 35, $ 15 for students.

For a performing arts theater run by the county government, this place is not half bad.
This building kind of leads a double life. There are conferences held in it during weekdays and the theater stuff goes on at night and on weekends.
Inside the theater seats about 400 people. One nice thing about it is because it is on the newer side, the aisles are big unlike places like the National Theater which is older and therefore has narrow aisles.
The stage, surprisingly, is small. But the classic plays tend to be acted out here, for example, there is MacBeth and Animal Farm coning up in the next few months.