Your Host, The Fool
navi is a fool & a habitual dabbler in creative, neurotic intricacies. If I, his humble chronicler, were to describe him in one word? musiciartistagraphilightwritedrawergnifactor. He's most intrigued by thin lines, be they between order and chaos, form and amorph, beauty and beast, and so on. He was once influenced by the sound of mice in a paint can, and subsequently influenced said mice to paint & now they can. navi is a company member with Pointless Theatre, a frequent collaborator type, the loudmouth on deck, & has the soul of a child trapped in the soul of an old man trapped in a shoal of fish.
navi is a fool & a habitual dabbler in creative, neurotic intricacies. If I, his humble chronicler, were to describe him in one word? musiciartistagraphilightwritedrawergnifactor. He's most intrigued by thin lines, be they between order and chaos, form and amorph, beauty and beast, and so on. He was once influenced by the sound of mice in a paint can, and subsequently influenced said mice to paint & now they can. navi is a company member with Pointless Theatre, a frequent collaborator type, the loudmouth on deck, & has the soul of a child trapped in the soul of an old man trapped in a shoal of fish.
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The Mediums
(The Seven, the Channelers, the Artists of All Stripes) 
Justin J. Bell is an actor, writer, director, teaching artist, wannabe comedian, miscreant, and spider monkey who generally hangs out at Synetic Theater when they let him. He has/is kicking addiction in the butt, and will add you to the list if you get too close (or try to hold his hand without permission).
Allyson Harkey is an actor/director/singer/producer/writer/human being who makes art for herself and for others to enjoy. You might know her as a former co-Artistic Director and Founder of Pinky Swear Productions. Or you might have seen her in plays at other theatres, like Factory 449, New Game Theatre, Venus Theatre Company, Taffety Punk, Source Festival, and Single Carrot Theatre. Or you might even have heard her voice in audio descriptions for the blind and visually impaired at any of 19 National Parks (one of her all-time favorite gigs). But you've never seen her like this. Unless you saw Tarot III. Likes: Brebirousse d'Argental, human connection, Waffle House, audience-involved performance forms, her cats. Dislikes: ketchup, beige, liars, the morning, the necessity of day jobs.
Jon Jon Johnson is Head Diviner and third-time Medium for The Tarot Reading. Actor, Director, Devisor, Musician, Writer, Off-duty Warlock. Also a Pokemon Master. Avid tabletop gamer, and self-identified online gaymer. Occasionally a panda. Good friends with Business Tiger. Jon Jon, or his numerous doppelgangers, can be spotted in and throughout the DMV, usually up to some shenanigans.
David S. Kessler has written numerous sonnets, including one in 45 minutes for WNYC’s The Next Big Thing, songs for the mercifully short-lived Fidel’s Marching Marimba Band and Diaper Service, three novels for nobody in particular, and a multitude of scientific papers. He spent almost four decades at the National Zoo, many of them as a small mammal biologist. The next totally logical career choice was, of course, as writer/performer/producer for Uncle Funsy Productions (www.unclefunsy.com) where he created Wombat Drool, One Mutual Happiness and Numesthesia for the Capital Fringe Festival. His dream is to one day be either a personal chef or librarian (or both). David is overwhelmed by the generosity of the DC area theater community and humbled by their welcoming embrace. Love and gratitude to his wife, Patricia, and his son, Benjamin, for their support and encouragement.
Niusha Nawab is local artist and a medium for The Tarot Reading. He is an actor, sound designer, carpenter, writer, beatboxer, amateur baker, dabbler of all things, tinkerer of somethings, and excessive questioner of things people wish he would leave alone. He has collaborated with the Tarot before and is excited have another go. He looks forward to meeting you but will likely forget your name. he hopes you can forgive him for that.
Nyla Rose is an actress and Professional Wrestler. She can be seen on the Canadian Sitcom “The switch” available on iTunes and amazon. When not acting, she regularly tours the country as well as internationally to face opponents in the squared circle.
Rebecca Speas is a North Carolina-born and -raised actor, director, combatant, and musician who returns to The Tarot Reading after acting as the Proto-Fool in Tarot I. With a background in history, dance, and classical theatre, Rebecca is particularly interested in the transitory nature of folklore, the deliberate smashing of genre barriers, and how the accumulation of centuries shapes us into who we are today. By day (and often by night), Rebecca is a fiercely independent bookseller and events coordinator for One More Page Books in Arlington, VA. She lives not five minutes from the store with her fiancé, her two cats, and enough books to crush her if they ever topple over.
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The Heuristics
Summoner Joan Cummins is a dramaturg, historian, and teaching artist returning to Tarot for a fourth time. She likes finding out things she didn't know before and a good couch is her favorite piece of furniture. Artistically, she specializes in new plays and interactive performance, especially when used as a tool to make history accessible to the public. She's particularly proud of her solo performance Converse(ations), which used her personal history wearing Chuck Taylor All Stars along with the larger history of the shoes to bring to light how we make ourselves into who we are and what to do when the past turns out to be more uncomfortable than you thought. Other engagements include dog & pony dc, Signature Theatre, Young Playwright's Theatre, Pinky Swear Productions, and the Welders. When not engaged in card magic, she daily brings the (very dead) Lincoln back to life at President Lincoln's Cottage, a home for brave ideas. You can ask her any uncomfortable questions about slavery you've been sitting on.
Summoner Alan Katz is a cofounder of The Tarot Reading. Sometime Medium and Fool for the same. Punk-ass book jockey for the world's greatest museum. An expert in magical cards. Epicure and Epicurean. Father and Husband. Critic and Translator. Raconteur and Rapscallion.
Summoner Quill Nebeker is a cofounder The Tarot Reading. His background in classical theatre and new play development, with a fondness for the intersection between pop culture and the mythological. He's created entertainments elsewhere with storytellers the likes of Capital Fringe, The Hub Theatre, Forum Theatre, Rorschach Theatre, and Theatre Alliance (among others). He is by-day the Director of Audience Engagement for Avant Bard Theatre. Quill lives in Arlington with his family, his fiancée, and his two contemptuous cats. He loves playing games of all sorts, obsolete technology, gated snares & reverbed telecasters. He has unusually elaborate theories about things like human-robot interactions, late night talk shows, early-modern theatre, and the artistry of both Carly Rae Jepsen & Kanye West.
Mary Keegan is the newly ordained Visual Priest of Scenic and Lighting for The Tarot Reading. She is most often a lighting designer, or the person who takes notes for a More Important Lighting Designer. When not performing visual sacraments, she's swimming, climbing, and reading books in the bathtub. Call 4 a good time, or if you've got a ghost story.
Cody Whitfield is Head Alchemist for The Tarot Readings I, III, and IV, so mathematically, this is her eighth time in this position. She generally works as a freelance stage manager and electrician. You will find her throughout the city dragging oversized packages through the Metro, climbing ladders in heels, and putting out fires wherever they pop up.
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