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Rough Magic
58 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
1 person is currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
460 books476 followersRoberto Aguirre-Sacasa is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series Glee, Big Love, Riverdale, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. He is Chief Creative Officer of Archie Comics.
Aguirre-Sacasa grew up liking comic books, recalling in 2003, "My mom would take us out to the 7-Eleven on River Road during the summer, and we would get Slurpees and buy comics off the spinning rack. I would read them all over and over again, and draw my own pictures and stuff."
He began writing for Marvel Comics, he explained, when "Marvel hired an editor to find new writers, and they hired her from a theatrical agency. So she started calling theaters and asking if they knew any playwrights who might be good for comic books. A couple of different theaters said she should look at me. So she called me, I sent her a couple of my plays and she said 'Great, would you like to pitch on a couple of comic books in the works?'"
His first submissions were "not what [they were] interested in for the character[s]" but eventually he was assigned an 11-page Fantastic Four story, "The True Meaning of...," for the Marvel Holiday Special 2004. He went on to write Fantastic Four stories in Marvel Knights 4, a spinoff of that superhero team's long-running title; and stories for Nightcrawler vol. 3; The Sensational Spider-Man vol. 2; and Dead of Night featuring Man-Thing.
In May 2008 Aguirre-Sacasa returned to the Fantastic Four with a miniseries tie-in to the company-wide "Secret Invasion" storyline concerning a years-long infiltration of Earth by the shape-shifting alien race, the Skrulls,and an Angel Revelations miniseries with artists Barry Kitson and Adam Polina, respectively. He adapted for comics the Stephen King novel The Stand.
In 2013, he created Afterlife with Archie, depicting Archie Andrews in the midst of a zombie apocalypse; the book's success led to Aguirre-Sacasa being named Archie Comics' chief creative officer.
Aguirre-Sacasa grew up liking comic books, recalling in 2003, "My mom would take us out to the 7-Eleven on River Road during the summer, and we would get Slurpees and buy comics off the spinning rack. I would read them all over and over again, and draw my own pictures and stuff."
He began writing for Marvel Comics, he explained, when "Marvel hired an editor to find new writers, and they hired her from a theatrical agency. So she started calling theaters and asking if they knew any playwrights who might be good for comic books. A couple of different theaters said she should look at me. So she called me, I sent her a couple of my plays and she said 'Great, would you like to pitch on a couple of comic books in the works?'"
His first submissions were "not what [they were] interested in for the character[s]" but eventually he was assigned an 11-page Fantastic Four story, "The True Meaning of...," for the Marvel Holiday Special 2004. He went on to write Fantastic Four stories in Marvel Knights 4, a spinoff of that superhero team's long-running title; and stories for Nightcrawler vol. 3; The Sensational Spider-Man vol. 2; and Dead of Night featuring Man-Thing.
In May 2008 Aguirre-Sacasa returned to the Fantastic Four with a miniseries tie-in to the company-wide "Secret Invasion" storyline concerning a years-long infiltration of Earth by the shape-shifting alien race, the Skrulls,and an Angel Revelations miniseries with artists Barry Kitson and Adam Polina, respectively. He adapted for comics the Stephen King novel The Stand.
In 2013, he created Afterlife with Archie, depicting Archie Andrews in the midst of a zombie apocalypse; the book's success led to Aguirre-Sacasa being named Archie Comics' chief creative officer.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 8, 2020
The summary on the back of Rough Magic's script describes it as "a Shakespearean action-adventure-fantasy in the tradition of Harry Potter and The X-Men." Well, I'm immediately intrigued seeing as those are three things that have nothing to do with each other and I can't imagine why they're being compared. I've also read a couple other plays by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and loved them so I had somewhat high expectations for this one. After reading it though, I can confidently say that Rough Magic isn't as good as Doctor Cerberus and King of Shadows. It doesn't bear a resemblance to Harry Potter or The X-Men either like it claims, although it does feel a bit like Percy Jackson.
So what IS Rough Magic about then? Well, the protagonist is a woman with the magical ability to summon fictional characters from Shakespearean and ancient Greek plays into the real world. This is never explained. She gets roped into a quest to stop Prospero from taking over New York. She didn't actually summon Prospero though because that would make too much sense with the rules established. This isn't the fictional Prospero from Shakespeare's "The Tempest," this is the "real" Prospero who Shakespeare supposedly based his character on. He's still a sorcerer and he and the other "real" versions of characters from The Tempest have been secretly existing for hundreds of years. This is also never explained.
Look, this play is bonkers and that's the reason it's kind of fun, but I wouldn't consider it good writing. The tone is all over the place and the characters are flat as a board. Still, I have a great respect for any play that tries to pull off the epic fantasy thing. Not all of these plays are going to be great literature, but they broke away from the limited, overdone, "acceptable" genres of theatre and that is commendable. I always want to see more of that. There's no reason epic fantasy should be barred from theatre when it's so celebrated in books and film. Not to mention, I can see the right high school cast having a blast performing this play and I'd even consider directing it; I'd just also point them toward better examples of fantasy theatre afterwards.
So what IS Rough Magic about then? Well, the protagonist is a woman with the magical ability to summon fictional characters from Shakespearean and ancient Greek plays into the real world. This is never explained. She gets roped into a quest to stop Prospero from taking over New York. She didn't actually summon Prospero though because that would make too much sense with the rules established. This isn't the fictional Prospero from Shakespeare's "The Tempest," this is the "real" Prospero who Shakespeare supposedly based his character on. He's still a sorcerer and he and the other "real" versions of characters from The Tempest have been secretly existing for hundreds of years. This is also never explained.
Look, this play is bonkers and that's the reason it's kind of fun, but I wouldn't consider it good writing. The tone is all over the place and the characters are flat as a board. Still, I have a great respect for any play that tries to pull off the epic fantasy thing. Not all of these plays are going to be great literature, but they broke away from the limited, overdone, "acceptable" genres of theatre and that is commendable. I always want to see more of that. There's no reason epic fantasy should be barred from theatre when it's so celebrated in books and film. Not to mention, I can see the right high school cast having a blast performing this play and I'd even consider directing it; I'd just also point them toward better examples of fantasy theatre afterwards.
August 16, 2018
An Ingenious blend of Pop and Culture
Drawing from his background as a Marvel comic writer, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has created a new twist on super heroes using the palette of Shakespeare's Tempest to draw on. The protagonist, Melanie, is a thirtyish New York dramaturge, a bit mousey, still single, a professional coach for actors and directors who helps them draw out the essence of the characters and context of the play. However (dramatic pause) Melanie also has a secret super power that she accidentally discovered as a teenager, causing tragedy to occur. (Yes, with great power comes great responsibility :-) ) She is able to bring characters out of the text and into the world as real living people. Once there though they have free will, real needs and they don't necessarily want to go back.
There are some nice touches, a cameo by Shylock who now runs a book store, and guest appearances by the 3 Furies, extracted from Aeschylus hilariously portrayed as a transvestite club act. There's a prophesy to fulfill and Melanie's sister has set her up with a lifeguard who is just shy of 18 (jail bait!) and wants Melanie to come to his prom. And of course there's a classic comic book ending foreshadowing future adventures yet to come. Prospero is the villain of the piece. He has finally figured out how to escape his island and he is in pursuit of Caliban who has stolen his Book of Magic. And it is up to Melanie to find a way to stop him - or can she?
The director's notes lists all the props that would be needed and aside from prostheses for Caliban they do not appear to be hard to get and the set requirements are minimal. The pace is quick, the premise smart and the dialog and action are engaging.
Saw it performed 2 1/2 years ago at the Hangar Theater in Ithaca New York. It was brilliant and I'd love to see it again. When I thought to check @ Amazon and found that the script was available I bought it right away. It reads as well as it plays.
Drawing from his background as a Marvel comic writer, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has created a new twist on super heroes using the palette of Shakespeare's Tempest to draw on. The protagonist, Melanie, is a thirtyish New York dramaturge, a bit mousey, still single, a professional coach for actors and directors who helps them draw out the essence of the characters and context of the play. However (dramatic pause) Melanie also has a secret super power that she accidentally discovered as a teenager, causing tragedy to occur. (Yes, with great power comes great responsibility :-) ) She is able to bring characters out of the text and into the world as real living people. Once there though they have free will, real needs and they don't necessarily want to go back.
There are some nice touches, a cameo by Shylock who now runs a book store, and guest appearances by the 3 Furies, extracted from Aeschylus hilariously portrayed as a transvestite club act. There's a prophesy to fulfill and Melanie's sister has set her up with a lifeguard who is just shy of 18 (jail bait!) and wants Melanie to come to his prom. And of course there's a classic comic book ending foreshadowing future adventures yet to come. Prospero is the villain of the piece. He has finally figured out how to escape his island and he is in pursuit of Caliban who has stolen his Book of Magic. And it is up to Melanie to find a way to stop him - or can she?
The director's notes lists all the props that would be needed and aside from prostheses for Caliban they do not appear to be hard to get and the set requirements are minimal. The pace is quick, the premise smart and the dialog and action are engaging.
Saw it performed 2 1/2 years ago at the Hangar Theater in Ithaca New York. It was brilliant and I'd love to see it again. When I thought to check @ Amazon and found that the script was available I bought it right away. It reads as well as it plays.
November 13, 2017
Roberto Aguiree-Sacasa offers a decidedly irreverent take on THE TEMPEST with this tale of an evil Prospero out to recover his book from one of the few sorcerers left in New York. The woman's powers remind me of Timothy Findley's HEADHUNTER, but with Aguirre-Sacasa's quirky wit. Even without any gay characters, the play is distinctly queer in its treatment of the classical characters his leading lady, Melanie, brings to life. I'd love to see it, though it calls for a bigger production than I usually care to work on.
November 23, 2022
Enjoyed the crossover of reality to the fantasy world. Very interesting play. The use of Shakespeare and a variety of characters is awesome.
May 19, 2016
Aguirre-Sacasa's nod to The Tempest is darkly funny with frequent allusions to and borrowings from superhero action movies and graphic novels.
It is fun to read but would be difficult to stage and as I read it, I kept visualizing a graphic novel where paragraphs of exposition are tossed off during fight scenes and time works as you need it to.
I'm sorry that I missed the production at Rorshach Theatre but perhaps one day a copy of the script will fall into Joss Whedon's hands.
It is fun to read but would be difficult to stage and as I read it, I kept visualizing a graphic novel where paragraphs of exposition are tossed off during fight scenes and time works as you need it to.
I'm sorry that I missed the production at Rorshach Theatre but perhaps one day a copy of the script will fall into Joss Whedon's hands.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews