As we told you in last month’s issue of the magazine, Washington, known mostly as a government and politics kind of town, has steadily become a mecca for young, talented performers. These actors, musicians, and dancers are not only making their mark but also changing—enriching—the region’s cultural landscapes. For Richmond-born actress Meghan Grady, the theater scene in particular has benefited from this talent boom: “DC theatre is thriving,” she says. ”There is theater for everybody!”

Grady would know. Since moving to the area three years ago, she’s been involved in a number of productions—starting with her debut in Synetic Theatre’s The Dybbuk to the role of Karen in Theatre J’s Speed-the-Plow (her favorite bit of acting yet) to the upcoming Round House Theatre production of Alice, an adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. Grady will play the title role.

Grady, who when not rehearsing for a show or audition can be found working out at the gym or working part time as a staff member for Synetic Theatre, took some time to answer our questions.

Eric Nuzum doesn’t find himself in unsettling situations—like spending a night locked in a hotel suite with a ghost or trying to meet up with a self-declared vampire at a deserted park in the middle of the night—by chance. It’s his choice. He actively engages in questionable behavior, full throttle, never stopping to second-guess himself—and his stories (if not always he himself) are all the better for it.

For his latest book, The Dead Travel Fast: Stalking Vampires From Nosferatu to Count Chocula, Nuzum sought to experience vampirism to its fullest extent—even if it meant drinking his own blood (and then vomiting all over his kitchen). His quest also led him to work at a haunted house and, later, take a Dracula-themed tour of Transylvania. At his bravest, Nuzum decided to plow through the entire Anne Rice vampire collection. Talk about a lapse in judgment.

When not putting his life, sanity, and physical health in jeopardy, Nuzum works as director of programming and acquisitions at NPR. He also guest-writes for the local blog Prince of Petworth. Nuzum is already working on his next book, a memoir about how his phobia for ghosts developed, but he’ll be reading from The Dead Travel Fast at the Barnes & Noble in Georgetown tonight at 7:30. Make sure to check the event out—free vampire-protection kits will be handed out—and read our interview with the local author below.

Photograph by Lauren Duque.

Browsing through Hatnim Lee’s blog, you’re as likely to find photographs of a famous filmmaker or athlete—there’s the portrait of David Lynch and the image of an airborne Roger Federer slamming a return at the US Open—as you are candid snapshots of a wedding, hip-looking Brooklynites, and Lee’s friends and relatives. Both portfolio and journal, the blog documents Lee’s journey as a photographer, one that began in earnest for the McLean native about a year-and-a-half ago when she decided to pack her bags, move to New York City, and take up freelance photography full-time.

Lee graduated from the Corcoran College of Art and Design three years ago, interned for the acclaimed photographer David LaChapelle (read on for an interesting anecdote involving Paris Hilton), and has worked with a number of publications and the National Geographic Channel.

“I loved working with the National Geographic Channel,” she says. “There is so much to learn on set when doing documentary stills. It’s a very fruitful experience.”

Lee has also shot a fashion spread for local alternative Web site, BrightestYoungThings—whose editor, Svetlana Legetic, has been a previous interviewee— and just this past March, her work was shown at the Transformer Gallery. She recently released a book, Hatnim Lee Photographs: September 2006-December 2007.

These days, between signing a contract with Getty Images, flying to London and Berlin to meet clients, and heading to New Orleans with human-rights activists to document the conditions of the city post-Katrina, Lee’s got quite a busy schedule. She does, however, try to visit her hometown at least twice a month. We caught up with Lee and asked about her first camera, the photographers whose work she most admires, and where she stands on the digital-versus-film debate.

You don’t have to spend every weekend at local music venues such as the Black Cat or the Rock and Roll Hotel for the name Olivia Mancini to sound familiar. Like the now-defunct Georgie James (RIP), Mancini has become an indelible part of the local music scene, first as the bassist for Washington Social Club and then as frontwoman of the Housemates—made up of Kristin Forbes, Randy Scope, Dan Swenson, and Ed Donohue.

Swenson and Donohue now reside in Boston and New York, respectively, but Mancini continues to make music—whether it’s with Scope and Forbes as Olivia and the Terrible Two (a name they use half seriously to refer to themselves), or through entirely different projects such as Donny Hue and the Colors. As Mancini explains, part of the fun of being involved in more than one band is the opportunity to adopt different styles and explore various sides of her personality onstage—not that she’s looking to join more bands right now or thinking of pulling a Beyoncé, for that matter.

Mancini, who lives near DC’s U Street, chatted with us about her many projects, the musicians and albums she relies on for inspiration, and just how good fellow bandmate Randy Scope’s scrambled eggs really are.

Photograph courtesy of James Kotecki.

Back in January of last year, James Kotecki was a senior at Georgetown University majoring in international security studies, who would post web videos critiquing the 2008 presidential campaign candidates in his spare time. Today, Kotecki is still doing just that—except now, he’s doing it professionally, as writer, producer and host of KoteckiTV, an online video series for the Politico.

Kotecki’s video blogs are witty, slightly cynical and sprinkled with pop culture references—not to mention the occasional musical performance from Kotecki himself, who raps and plays the guitar. Can you say triple threat? We spoke with Kotecki about Sarah Palin, which political party knows how to, well, party, and who’d make the ideal John Mccain impersonator.

Name: David Malitz

Age: 28

Occupation: Washingtonpost.com music producer and Post Rock blogger.

Hometown: North Potomac.

Must-have items at all times:
I literally do a pat-down every morning before I leave my apartment—wallet, keys, sunglasses, BlackBerry. My equilibrium is seriously thrown off if I’m missing any of those.

Signature drink:
Iced grande mocha from Starbucks. I can’t front.

Finish this sentence: “When not working, you can find me . . .
. . . at a show or on my couch checking box scores and watching sports.