Sparked at The Stacks at Buzzard Point
Rorschach Theatre has long made a habit of turning unexpected places into theatre, and its newest original work goes further than ever into its own backyard. SPARKED: The Vanishing at Buzzard Point is now playing through November 15, 2026 at The Stacks at Buzzard Point, 101 V Street SW. It is a site-specific, semi-immersive mystery inspired by the real and rough-edged history of the Southwest DC neighborhood the company now calls home.
The story centers on a young couple, Loren and Zella, who vanished without a trace during a fierce storm in 1933. Audiences enter the Five Dead Horses Tavern, a bar that seems to exist outside of time. There, the bartender Byrd sets the scene and offers just enough of the lovers' story to raise more questions than answers. Each guest receives a lightning bolt necklace at the door, and its color decides which group they join when the tavern's "Regulars" lead them out into the night. From there, each group moves through a series of transformed warehouse and retail spaces in a different order, so every audience member pieces the story together from a slightly different angle before all paths return to the bar for the final chapter.
Those rooms are the heart of the experience. One is a dimly lit 1930s bedroom with fringed lamps and a crackling radio, where the lovers' relationship comes into focus. Another becomes a backyard beside Zella's apartment, where the enigmatic Claude delivers a scene full of song, movement, and an unsettling turn. Yet another is a darkened space explored by flashlight, filled with old letters, photographs, poems, and newspaper clippings that invite guests to play detective and search for connections. Seating is provided along the way, and the full journey runs about 80 minutes.
The production blends live performance with audio, video, and visual installations, and its lighting, projection, and sound design do much of the work of turning raw, high-ceilinged spaces into a haunted slice of old Washington. True to the season, the show leans into eerie atmosphere while mixing genres, moving between romance, period drama, and ghost story as it spans multiple eras of the neighborhood's fictional lore.
The concept and story come from Rorschach co-founder and artistic director Jenny McConnell Frederick, who wrote the script with fellow co-founder and artistic director Randy Baker, along with contributions from Erik Harrison, Andrew Quilpa, and the company. Frederick and Baker also direct alongside Elizabeth Ung and Esteban Marmolejo-Suarez. The cast features Andrew Quilpa as Byrd, Abel Haddish as Loren, Irene Hamilton as Zella, and Robert Bowen Smith as Claude, with Erik Harrison, Alexys Adams, and Aja Goode as the tavern Regulars who guide audiences from scene to scene. The design team includes Ben Harvey and Dean Leong on lighting, Andres Poch on video, Kristina Manente on sound, Brandon Roak and Margarita Syrocheva on set, Jessica Utz on costumes, and Rooster Sultan on props.
Theatregoers looking for a tidy resolution should know that SPARKED deliberately leaves some threads open. The ambiguity is the point, as the creative team intends for audiences to leave theorizing about what really happened that stormy night and what has haunted Buzzard Point since. Many guests linger over drinks afterward comparing notes, and more than a few will find themselves digging into the neighborhood's real history the next day.
For anyone seeking something different from the usual seasonal haunted house, SPARKED offers an atmospheric, choose-your-own-path evening rooted in DC's own past.