Design reviews
cat on a hot tin roof
“The creative set and lighting design also provides much-needed depth and variation where the script doesn't specifically provide for it.
Although a certain amount of claustrophobia is necessary to convey the tension of the plot, set designer Akiko Nishijima Rotch cleverly expands the set beyond the bedroom by making its walls just barely see-through. We are still totally aware of how the confined space adds to the heated atmosphere but we can also see other characters eavesdropping at the door, children playing in the hall and a croquet game going on outside. … Art Rotch's meticulous lighting design adds to that holistic experience; we don't realize the lights have been dimming throughout the play (mimicking natural light) until a character turns on a lamp and instantly floods the room with light. It's a sensation we've all experienced in real life, and it draws us into the play's reality. “ — Egan Millard, Anchorage Daily News Review, April 2014. Click here for the full review.
A Christmas carol
“Perseverance Theatre has mounted a fine stage adaptation of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," with a gorgeous set, ambitious sound effects and excellent acting from the principal players.
Let's start with the set, a three-story representation of early Victorian London that serves nicely for all interior and street locales. It's a wide-open affair that helps the action clip along without pauses… “ — Mike Dunham, Anchorage Daily News, click here for the full review.
democracy
“The stage is marvelously designed, with seating on all four sides surrounding an idyllic pool of water, so that the audience is drawn into the intimate setting…” —- Richard Dauenhauer, Juneau Empire, January, 1991. Click here for the full review
Eliogabolo
“They all looked great in Marina Reti’s colourful costumes, not least Eliogabalo when he donned a woman’s metallic gold gown for an appearance before the all-female senate he appointed. Arthur Rotch’s handsome set depicted a stone arch with a pastel-coloured room behind.” —- George Loomis, Financial Times, August 2007 Click here for the full review
God of Carnage
‘This kind of art … - a single set with just four actors - requires the hghest of standards from both the performers and production staff, wonderfully evident in the Perseverance (Theatre) production.” Mike Dunham, Anchorage Daily News, Click here for the full review
I have before me a remarkable document given to me by a young lady from rwanda
“(Director) Bradley also chose a spare staging that lets the story speak for itself. Rwanda is being performed on a jagged-edged, blond-wood stage … with small compartments under the flooring in which the play’s few props are stored.” Howard Shapiro, Philadelphia Inquirer, June, 2008, Click here for the full review
“The entire affair benefits immensely from the simple design realized by Arthur R. Rotch (set), Abbie Wysor (costumes) and Dennis Parichy (lights).—- Clark Groom, Chestnut Hill Local. Click here for the full review.
moby dick
“Spellbinding…The simple yet brilliantly effective set encircles the stage with white fabric, suggesting the inside of a white whale — which leads to biblical connotations.” Catherine Stadem, Anchorage Daily News. Click here for the full review.
of mice and men
“Arthur Rotch is scenic and lighting designer for this production, effectively creating the barren landscape of the Salinas Valley and the rustic out-buildings of a run-down farmhouse … the silhouettes created by the farm structures against the backdrop during set changes are striking in and of themselves.” —-online Review by Bev Sykes, October, 2007 Click Here for the full review
the man from nebraska
“But it's not just the fine ensemble that makes the People's Light & Theatre Company's production so compelling… The musicality of the play, too, is varied with .. precision by the hugely talented Letts, a feature matched by director Marini's staging and set designer Art Rotch, who has created a series of sliding wood panels that not only frame the action and manipulate the play's tempo but visually aid in communicating Ken's expanding view of the world.” —J Cooper Robb, Backstage.com, June 2006. Click here for the full review
Splittin’ the raft
“The show’s most outstanding feature..to my nine-year-old companion is the set: a pair of wooden decks that curve like riverbanks on either side of an actual waterway. Huck and Jim dip their toes, paddle… and laze among the hanging sphagnum.” —-Wendy Rosenfeld, The Philadelphia Inquirer, May 14, 2007. Click here for the full review
“Another staple of the (amazing) set is the abundance of uses it serves. At one instance Jim could be standing on a plank of wood symbolizing a dock or a bridge, but quickly the wood could lift and serve for a bed or a hidden chamber. The transformations …help to take the audience up and down the Mississippi River.” —- Brian Fitzpatrick, Montgomery Newspapers, May 23, 2007. Click here for the full review.
“Director Jade King Carroll's involving production boasts Arthur Rotch's marvelous Mississippi River representation in the tiny Steinbright Theatre (the play's best moments occur on Huck and Jim's bobbing raft), lit delicately by Dennis Parichy.” —- Mark Cofta, Philadelphia City Paper, May, 2007. Click here for the full review.
The Odd Couple
“Art Rotch's realistic set is a beauty; bring your teenager so that they can see how the most trashed-out room can be made spic and span in a matter of 10 minutes by two determined stage hands.” —- Mike Dunham, Anchorage Daily News, April 2015. Click here for the full review
DIRECTING REVIEWS
Annapurna
“Laughter opened Perseverance Theatre's production of the play on Friday night as the lights went up to reveal Ulysses (Kevin T. Bennett) wearing nothing but an apron and an oxygen tank, standing at the stove of his tiny, cluttered, claustrophobic trailer, his backside facing the audience.” Anchorage Daily News review by Mike Dunham, September, 2015. Click here for the full review.
An Iliad
“Bostin Christopher turns in an impressive performance -- that's an understatement -- in Perseverance Theatre's production "An Iliad." For most of two hours he keeps the audience completely engaged as he delivers the story of Homer's timeless epic in a tour de force of timing and emotion
… It's as if Homer were hanging out at the bar with you, throwing back drinks and saying, "You won't believe what I just saw at Troy. Lemme tell ya."
Christopher's character is identified as The Poet. He enters with a bag, coat and hat, like he just got off the bus. The set looks like a backstage area, with a few scattered props, a ladder, racks of lighting equipment.” — Mike Dunham, Anchorage Daily News Review, October, 2014. Click here for the full review
Of Mice and Men
“Christopher’s portrayal of Lennie is flawless. He physically and vocally presents this trusting, odd, not-very-smart man. His eyes can’t focus, his mouth sags open, his speech is uneven. Lennie is there, every second of the show.
But the elements of this production — lights, sound, costumes, the set, quality acting, and an amazing performance by Bostin Christopher as Lennie — let us see and feel Steinbeck’s story more deeply than a movie or book… “ Barbra Jo Maier, Juneau Empire Click here for the full review
“…a love letter to the author.” — Mike Dunham, Anchroage Daily News review, October, 2012, Click here for the full review
The Arsonists
“For 70 spellbinding minutes — one act, no intermission — Perseverance presents a Southern Gothic myth inspired by the ncient Greek tragedy of “Electra.” Set in the deep, dark recesses of the Northern lorida swamp, “The Arsonists” tells the story of a small-time father-daughter arsonist team dealing with the aftermath of a job gone horribly wrong.”
“… the strength of “The Arsonists” lies in the fullness of its roduction. The play unfolds on one set, courtesy of scenic designer Sara Ryung Clement, a faithful reproduction of a typical shotgun shack, except ith a raked floor and slanting walls, as if to suggest a world gone off-kilter. Not to be outdone, lighting designer Lauren MacKenzie Miller and sound designer Lucy Peckham conspire to evoke smoke, fire, the wilds of Florida and the supernatural forces at work on the father’s ghost.
However, in a two-person play, success hinges on its actors. Under the taut direction of Art Rotch, who also serves as Perseverance Executive Artistic Director, Allison Holtkamp and Aaron Elmore shine as M and H, espectively.”
—— Geoff Kirsch, the Juneau Empire, May 8, 2018. Click here for the full review.
Other press
2016 Profile in Anchorage Press
‘Not just good economics, good theatre” — This profile was written by Geoff Kirsch, a journalist and reviewer I’d come to know and appreciate by the time he did this, and is about the state of Perseverance and Alaskan theater at the time of writing. The tag line quoted referred to what the board, donors and I thought at the time was the state of the value proposition to investing in local artists. Guest artists travel to Alaska is unusually high, and the audience lives in a place a bit removed from the broader American experience, so local knowledge among casts and creative teams can really help reach audiences, as well as being its own mission-based work.
2008 Season Preview in Juneau empire
This season preview feature is about the programming for my first season at Perseverance Theatre as Artistic Director in 2008-2009.
Review and feature story on The blue bear, commissioned by perseverance theatre
This page to stage feature is about one of the first commissioned projects done at Perseverance Theatre while I was Artistic Director. This book by a local author, whose sister is also a capable writer, and who was supported by the estate of Michio Hoshino, the well-known (in Japan) wildlife photographer/writer, was a project that was dear to me and brought together some key collaborators. Director/ Writer Leon Ingulsrud (SITI company), projection designer Greg Emetaz (NYU) and composer/ sound designer Lucy Peckham were generative contributors. Cast members Ryan Connaro and Takahiro Yamamoto were vital. Then-intern Hannah Wolf was indispensable. It did feel like a gift to the community that loved the book.
“The spare set compliments the minimalist motion of the production. The richness of the photographs reflects the richness of the mind alert to its surroundings. The approach is unconventional, but the payoff comes. You just have to be patient enough to wait for it. —- Mike Dunham, Anchorage Daily News, January, 2012. Click here for the full review.
Our Voices will be Heard Feature 2016
Click here for a feature story on what turned out to be a milestone project for Perseverance Theatre during my tenure as Artistic Director. Our Voices Will be Heard was the first time an Alaska Native (Indigenous) writer had a work produced as part of the theatre’s subscription season. The piece is an indigenous woman’s story about how her mother helped her to survive and grow to adulthood after experiencing sexual abuse when young, told with a decidedly Alaska Native lens. The production was followed by more Alaska Native writers in each of the following seasons. For photos and reviews, click here.
Theater Crafts Story on Democracy
A story in the old trade magazine Theatre Crafts, which I pitched and wrote, on the low-budget methods we used to build a pool large and deep enough to dive into for the John Murrell play Democracy. For photos and reviews, click here.