Friday, January 29, 2010

LOVEFEST MMX
GreenStage and Ham
A fundraiser for GreenStage
$15 for entry
Thursday, February 11
Doors open at
7pm
Pre-order at
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/97671

HAPPY HOUR DRINK PRICES! FULL MENU!
“LET US ENTERTAIN YOU!”
SONGS – A CLOWN – RAFFLE PRIZES –
SHAKESPEARE KARAOKE – LOVE SONNETS – A
KISSING BOOTH?

GreenStage celebrates Valentine’s Day a little early with our annual
Shakespeare Lovefest! Favorite GreenStage actors sing for their supper.
Proceeds from the evening go to support GreenStage’s 22nd season of free
theater.
Join us for dinner and drinks at Hattie’s Hat in Ballard. $15 gets you
in the door, and Hattie’s will donate a portion of all food and drink
sales for the night – so eat drink and be merry as you enjoy songs,
sonnets, raffle prizes, clowning around and some Shakespeare Karaoke.
There may even be a kissing booth!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

2009 Marks Banner Year for ACT with First Surplus

in More than Four Years

Budget balanced and in the black with $70,000 to spare

Seattle, WA – January 27, 2010 – ACT – A Contemporary Theatre ends 2009 with a surplus of at least $70,000 (pre-audit), the first in more than four years for the 45-year Seattle institution.

Adding to the numbers reported July 7, 2009, ACT has acquired an additional 400 new donors since July, for a total of 600 by December 31, 2009, which is a 20% increase over the 2008 donor base. ACT showed a 39% increase in individual giving. Additionally, single ticket sales increased more than 23% and the new Basic Monthly Membership, the first-of-its-kind program providing patrons with an All-Access Pass to nearly everything on stage at ACT, has amassed more than 350 members since its launch in July 2009. These increased contributions and growth in audiences, combined with strategic budget cuts, lean and efficient productions, a fully-integrated, intelligent and agile business plan, has eradicated the 2009 $780,000 deficit in one year.

“2009 marked a turning point for the theatre as we achieved the first step in stabilizing the institution and setting the foundation for a sustainable future,” said Executive Director Carlo Scandiuzzi. “By adapting innovative, fiscally responsible solutions without compromising production quality or sacrificing jobs, ACT was able to produce more with less, grow audiences, and increase individual donor support during the worst economic climate in two generations. This is an outstanding testament to the community and ACT patrons’ belief in ACT and to the ACT leadership and staff, with whom this would not have been made possible without their dedication, passion, and resourceful management.”

“The community response to our innovation and vision has been incredible!” said ACT Board of Trustees President Brian Turner. “In 2009, ACT emerged as the center for the arts in downtown Seattle. Inspired by Carlo Scandiuzzi’s leadership, the community rallied to support the vision of Artistic Director Kurt Beattie. We thank our community for their faith and generous support.”

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

5th Ave Managing Director Steps Down

Seattle, WA - 5th Avenue Managing Director Marilynn Sheldon has officially stepped down from her position and involvement with the 5th Avenue Theatre. Artistic Director David Armstrong, Managing Director Bernadine Griffin and Producing Director Bill Berry have stepped in going forward. There will be more news to follow after the premier of South Pacific this Sunday. Stay tuned for more!

Andrew J. Perez

Amazon.com Makes $25,000 Grant to ACT’s Young Playwrights Program Benefiting Hundreds of Middle and High School Students

ACT is the first theatre in nation to receive support from online retailer

Seattle, WA – January 25, 2010 – ACT – A Contemporary Theatre is proud to announce that its flagship education initiative, the Young Playwrights Program (YPP), has received a generous $25,000 grant from Seattle-based Amazon.com.

Amazon.com’s support of the YPP positively impacts all aspects of the program, from the start of the student writing process in the fall under the guidance of ACT’s playwright teaching artists, to the presentation of selected student works in the Young Playwrights Festival in the spring (March 11-13), to the printing of the 2009/2010 PLAY anthology, a publication featuring approximately 16 young playwrights hailing from schools throughout our region.

“Amazon.com’s commitment to developing and promoting young writers is invaluable,” said ACT Education Director Kristina Sutherland. “Amazon.com’s support will help ACT reach more than 300 young playwrights in the Seattle-area in 2010 and put young playwrights’ work into print. We are thrilled to have them work with us and endow students with the self-confidence that their ideas matter and their voices deserve to, and will, be heard.”

“ACT, through its Young Playwright’s Program, shares Amazon.com’s commitment to developing the next generation of authors and content creators,” said Jon Fine, director of Author & Publisher Relations for Amazon.com. “We are excited to provide our support, and look forward to the great works these young writers offer in the future.”

ACT is one of a diverse range of not-for-profit organizations receiving support from Amazon.com for programs dedicated to developing and publishing new works and new authors, both in and around Seattle and nationwide. Other recipients include Pen American Center, Artist Trust, Hedgebrook, Copper Canyon Press, National Novel Writing Month, Port Townsend Writers Conference, Clarion West, NY Writers Coalition, The Moth, and Milkweed Editions. A number of programs, like YPP, focus on nurturing the writing of teens and other youth, including 826 Seattle, Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Writers in the Schools Program, the Hugo House Youth Writing program, the Center for the Art of Translation, and the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. All of these organizations share Amazon.com’s commitment to helping authors create great new works.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Seattle Shakespeare Company announces the Wooden O outdoor summer plays

Free Shakespeare in the parks starts July 8, 2010 with Much Ado About Nothing and Othello

SEATTLE - Seattle Shakespeare Company is gearing up for a summer of Shakespeare with its Wooden O free, outdoor plays - Much Ado About Nothing and Othello - which will run July 8 through August 1. Sheila Daniels will direct Much Ado About Nothing featuring husband and wife actors Hans Altwies and Amy Thone as the bickering lovers Benedick and Beatrice. Vanessa Miller stages Othello with George Mount as Iago and Chiara Motely as Desdemona.

Both plays will perform in park venues throughout King County. A full schedule of dates and venues will be announced at a later date. All performances are free and open to the public. Donations are heartily encouraged.

"I'm excited about how the Wooden O season is coming together," says George Mount, Director of Outdoor and Touring Performances. "The spirit of Wooden O has always been about having an extended family of artists come together to perform outdoors. It's wonderful to welcome back Sheila and Vanessa to helm these two shows and to have Hans and Amy onstage together in such well suited parts. It's going to be a fun summer."


2010 Outdoor Season


Much Ado About Nothing

Directed by Sheila Daniels

In Much Ado About Nothing, when the men return victorious from war the women are ready and waiting for romance. Couples form and weddings are planned. All is going smoothly in this delightful comedy until a jealous brother sets a devastating lie in motion. Suddenly rivals Beatrice and Benedick must join forces to save the honor of an innocent girl. With sparkling prose, Much Ado About Nothing illustrates the beauty and complexity of human relationships and will win your heart again and again.

Othello

Directed by Vanessa Miller

Shakespeare's Othello is a tragedy of a deception taken a step too far. After the high-ranking general Othello bypasses Iago for a promotion, the cunning manipulator enacts his revenge. By playing on the Moor's insecurities, Iago paints a false vision of Othello's faithful wife Desdemona which leads to a murderous fit of jealousy.


University of Washington School of Drama in association with
Seattle Repertory Theatre presents

Lidless

by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, directed by Braden Abraham
Professional and UW actors work together on an exciting new play



Who: University of Washington School of Drama, in association with Seattle Repertory Theatre, presents four workshop performances of "Lidless" by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig.

What: The presentation is part of UW School of Drama's New Play Reading Series and Seattle Rep's New Play Program. Director Braden Abraham (Seattle Rep's associate artistic director) will work with a mix of professional and UW actors on this play from acclaimed up-and-coming Austin, Texas-based playwright Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig.

Where: The Jones Playhouse, 4045 University Way NE.

When: Feb. 4, 5, and 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 7 at 2 p.m.

How much: Tickets are $6.




Seattle, WA – In a unique collaboration, University of Washington School of Drama in association with Seattle Repertory Theatre will workshop a new play using both professional actors and UW graduate students, under the direction of Seattle Rep Associate Artistic Director Braden Abraham. Part of Seattle Rep's New Play Program and UW School of Drama's New Works Series, four workshop performances of "Lidless" by acclaimed up-and-coming Austin, Texas-based playwright Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig are scheduled for Feb. 4-7, 2010, at the Jones Playhouse.

"This is such an exciting opportunity for us," said Jerry Manning, Seattle Rep producing artistic director and the main force behind the company's renewed New Play Program. "This play is very powerful, and we're proud to help develop a piece from one of the most promising new voices in American theatre. And to do it with the vitality and dedication of the actors in UW's Professional Actor Training Program [MFA, acting] is incredibly special."

Additionally, the UW students will benefit from time in the rehearsal room with seasoned actors, a well-heeled director, and a studied playwright. (Albeit it won't be a stretch for them to relate: Abraham, Cowhig, and the actors are all relatively young).

In the play, a former Guantanamo Bay interrogator has done her best to move on from the brutal relationships she had with detainees at the prison. But when one man shows up in her Minneapolis flower shop, she realizes she can't escape her past. A haunting psychological drama, the play has already earned Cowhig the 2009 David C. Horn Prize in the Yale Drama Series competition for emerging playwrights.

The cast includes Seattle actors John Farrage and Troy Fischnaller and UW students Camille Thornton, Heather Lynn Rash, and Maura Tang.

Performances are Feb. 4, 5, and 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. at the Jones Playhouse. Tickets are $6 and are available online through drama.washington.edu or by phone at 206-543-4880 or 1-800-859-5342.

ACT’s Central Heating Lab Provides Plenty of Theatre, Music, and Dance in February with The Soft Rock Kid and the Conclusion of Two by Pinter and Project 3

February at ACT Theatre

Shadow & Light Theatre Company: Two by Pinter

January 21-February 7

Tickets: $20 or included with ACT Basic Membership

Seattle Dance Project: Project 3

January 29 - February 6

Tickets: $25 or included with ACT Basic Membership

Mark Siano & The Freedom Dancers: The Soft Rock Kid

February 19-27

Tickets: $20 or included with ACT Basic Membership

Washington Ensemble Theatre: The Cosmic Ball

February 20

Tickets: $10 (21 and over)

ACT New Play Award

February 27-28

Tickets: Free!

ACT Theatre

Ticket Office: (206) 292-7676

Group Sales (12 or more): (253) 839-4204

700 Union Street, Seattle WA 98101

www.acttheatre.org

Seattle, WA – January 13, 2009 – ACT – A Contemporary Theatre packs theatre, music ,and dance into a short month with Central Heating Lab events, including the conclusion of Two by Pinter from Shadow & Light Theatre Company and Project 3 from Seattle Dance Project, a musical revue of 80s movies and music in The Soft Rock Kid, and the debut of a new play from David Wiener at the ACT New Play Award.

Shadow & Light Theatre Company: Two by Pinter

January 21-February 7, Fri. and Sat. at 8:00; Sat. and Sun. at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets: $20 or included with ACT Basic Membership

Shadow & Light is a new Seattle theatre company devoted to the works of late Nobel laureate Harold Pinter. Inspired by Oliver Sacks’ Awakenings, A Kind of Alaska chronicles one woman’s journey from mysterious neurological darkness into tenuous light. In Ashes To Ashes, a seemingly typical domestic conversation between a wife and husband gradually evolves into a haunting meditation on “the banality of evil.” The Central Heating Lab is proud to present the first professional staging of Ashes To Ashes in Seattle. Company members include Suzanne Bouchard, Frank Corrado, Kimberly King, and Victor Pappas.

Seattle Dance Project: Project 3

January 29-February 6, Fri. and Sat. at 8:00; Sun. at 2:00 p.m.; Feb 5 at 12:00 noon.

Tickets: $25 or included with ACT Basic Membership

An entirely new work of innovative dance which includes world-premiere choreography by former soloist with New York City Ballet Edwaard Liang and by Kent Stowell, founder and former director of Pacific Northwest Ballet. Also showcased are rock and roll-inspired works by James Canfield, director of Nevada Ballet Theatre, Betsy Cooper, Director of the University of Washington dance department, and a Seattle premiere by Mark Haim.

Mark Siano & The Freedom Dancers: The Soft Rock Kid

February 19-27, Fri. and Sat. at 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Tickets: $20 or included with ACT Basic Membership

Are you ready to rock…softly? This music, comedy, and dance troupe has become one of Seattle's most popular and critically acclaimed groups to emerge, routinely packing the house at Re-Bar, chop Suey, and the Triple Door. Now, Mark Siano and The Freedom Dancers land at ACT for their most spectacular show to date. With high-energy moves, enthralling sing-alongs, and pitch-perfect comedic timing, the Soft Rock Kid tells their “origin story” in a parody of the classic 80s film, The Karate Kid.

Washington Ensemble Theatre: The Cosmic Ball

February 20, Sat. at 10:30 p.m.

Tickets: $10 (21 and over), or included with a purchase of tickets to Washington Ensemble Theatre’s 6th Annual Gala & Auction, $45.

Join the Washington Ensemble Theatre for The Cosmic Ball, starring Robert Rial's Bakelite 78. Fans of ragtime, blues, jazz, and swing will appreciate the anchoring rhythm section and strong vocals of Bakelite 78 with their unique style that blends Dixieland, blues, proto-country, and cabaret. Complimentary beer and wine available while supplies last. Admission to The Cosmic Ball is included with purchase of tickets to Washington Ensemble Theatre's 6th Annual Gala & Auction.

ACT New Play Award

February 27-28

Tickets: Free!

Each year, we invite playwrights across the country to submit work to a contest juried by local and national theatre artists. The winning writer receives a personal artist’s grant and a two-week workshop of their play culminating in two staged readings. Previous recipients included Yussef El Guindi and Elizabeth Heffron. Join ACT for this year’s winning selection, Extraordinary Chambers by David Wiener, and a rare chance to watch a new work take shape. The ACT New Play Award was created in 2005 by Eulaie M. and Carlo Scandiuzzi and is made possible through their generous annual support.

Launched in 2008, The Central Heating Lab at ACT serves as an incubator and catalyst for new works. ACT cultivates, produces, and presents artists working in all performance genres and provides an artistic home for a variety of local performance groups and artists. Relationships develop daily with individual actors, performers and playwrights while established partnerships with groups such as the New Century Theatre Company, Moisture Festival and Icicle Creek Theatre Festival deepen. New programs are added throughout the year.

KT Niehoff / Lingo Dance Collaborates with

ACT Theatre and Seattle Art Museum for

Three Month Project: A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light

Innovative interactive new work gets personal

Seattle, WA – January 12, 2010 – A ground-breaking new work designed to challenge audience/artist proximity – practically, metaphorically, emotionally, and psychologically, A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light is a three-month (March 1-May 15, 2010) performance art piece created by Lingo Dance (KT Niehoff, Artistic Director) and presented in collaboration with ACT Theatre and Seattle Art Museum.

Multiple events will happen in multiple locations throughout the city, providing opportunities for the public to participate in four unique ways, ranging in intimacy. These various interactions between performer and public will come in the form of four separate stages, all capable of existing on their own; however, designed to culminate at the final ACT Theatre performance. A journal on the Lingo Dance web site (www.lingodance.com) will track each experience – a platform for the performers and participants to share their thoughts, insights, and unique experiences for the public to respond to or just observe. The four components of Glimmer include:

1. One Performer, One Recipient, One Public Place (March 1-31)

2. Seattle Art Museum Sightings (February 26, March 18, 25, April 1)

3. Pre-Function with a Performer (April 22-May 15)

4. Final dance event at ACT: A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light (April 22- May 15)

“The impetus behind this project stems from a specific desire on my part,” said Lingo Artistic Director KT Niehoff. “After 10 years of making dances for the proscenium stage, I began investigating the relationship between audience and artist with the primary goal of creating a more tangible intimacy between the two. This search has lead me to seek out more potent environments that ask the performer and the witness to confront each other as unique individuals who bring to the exchange their personal histories and desires. A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light, in all of its forms, is an outcropping of the shift in my creative process.”

Below is a comprehensive description of each of Glimmer’s components (including dates, cost and how to be involved):

One Performer, One Recipient, One Public Place – custom one-on-one solo performances

March 1-31

Tickets: FREE! Enter to receive a solo at www.lingodance.com. Submission deadline is February 14.

Thirty people will be selected by Niehoff and her company to receive a tailor-made, one-on-one solo by a Glimmer cast member, performed exclusively for each individual in a public location. An email correspondence between performer and participant sets up a chain reaction for a personal connection. Dialogue unfolds, with questions from Lingo designed to find out what inspires the participant, what meaningfully connects him to the world, and what kind of art speaks to him, shaping the composition for the customized performance experience. Though each piece is for one individual, they will be witnessed by whoever happens to be in the vicinity, creating a random artistic occurrence for bystanders. Signing up for this personal gift establishes a personal connection with Glimmer – participants will officially be in the inner circle!

Seattle Art Museum Sightings – “live” installations in the galleries at SAM

February 26, as part of SAM Remix, 8:00 p.m. Tickets: $5 - $10

March 18 & 24, April 1 Tickets: Suggested admission, $12 - $15

www.seattleartmuseum.org or (206) 654-3100

The performance continues its evolution at Seattle Art Museum (SAM), where the public is invited to the next level of exploration with Lingo. Spanning February 26-April 1, the cast of Glimmer will be “installed” as kinetic sculptures amongst the permanent collection in the Seattle Art Museum galleries, framing live performance in a museum setting. Niehoff will challenge people’s expectations around live and static art and how intimate the connection between watcher and doer is in the historic world of objects.

*Pre-Function with a Performer – pre-show connection with Glimmer cast members

April 22-May 15, Thurs-Sat 6:00 p.m. (pre-show)

Tickets: FREE! Reserve at ACT with ticket purchase, phone only (206) 292-7676

*30-person maximum per show; drinks and/or food not covered by Lingo or ACT and is responsibility of attending patron.

With a paid ticket to the final performance of A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light at ACT, participants and patrons are invited to join a character of the cast pre-show. A small group of audience members (six maximum) will join a member of the cast at a bar near ACT. From there, patrons and performers will take a Seattle spring stroll over to ACT’s Bullitt Cabaret to share in the final event of the journey.

A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light – final dance-performance at ACT Theatre

April 22-May 15, Thurs-Sat 8:00 p.m.

Tickets: $18 or included with ACT Basic and Charter Memberships, www.actheatre.org or (206) 292-7676.

Commissioned by ACT’s Central Heating Lab, this is the culmination dance-performance event based on the experiences influenced by the preceding solo performances, SAM Sightings, and pre-function connections. Situated in the labyrinthine chambers of ACT’s Bullitt Cabaret space, A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light mines one of Seattle’s finest art venues for its history as a creative container and its fertility for hosting more. Niehoff and her expanded posse of vibrant performers (including live music from Ivory and Ice World) begin with the premise that every interaction holds untapped potential, then sculpt uncommon encounters, moody collisions, raucous spectacle and virtuoso dancing – asking for more resonant connection and embracing the success or failure that ensues.

Comprehensive information about A Glimmer of Hope or Skin or Light can be found at www.lingodance.com. Lingo performers include: Bianca Cabrera, Ricki Mason, Michael Rioux, Kelly Sullivan and Aaron Swartzman.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Seattle, WA – First prize is a Cadillac. Second prize is steak knives. Third prize? You're fired. Seattle Repertory Theatre presents "Glengarry Glen Ross," David Mamet's Pulitzer-prize-winning drama about a group of tough-talking Chicago real estate agents in the midst of a high-stakes sales competition. R. Hamilton Wright and John Aylward ("ER") lead an all-star cast of some of Seattle's finest actors for the run of the show, February 5-28, 2010, in Seattle Rep's Bagley Wright Theatre.

Tickets are available through the Seattle Rep box office at (206) 443-2222 as well as online at www.seattlerep.org.

The cast also includes local veteran actors Ian Bell, Russell Hodgkinson, Charles Leggett, and MJ Sieber.

Previously announced actor Gary Cole was forced to bow out of the production at the last minute due to family illness.

Director Wilson Milam (Tony nominee for "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" on Broadway) returns after the success of last season's "The Seafarer," joined again by set designer Eugene Lee (long-time production designer for "Saturday Night Live" and Tony-winning designer for Broadway's "Wicked").

Performance Details: Performances of "Glengarry Glen Ross" are at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, with 2 p.m. matinees on most Saturdays and Sundays. There is a Captioned Performance on Thursday, Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m.; an Audio-Described performance Saturday, Feb. 27 at 2 p.m.; and an American Sign Language (ASL)-interpreted performance on Feb. 28 at 2 p.m. Post-play discussions will be held after the performances on Sunday, Feb. 14 at 2 p.m.; Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m.


Solo Performance Festival

returns for fourth year with 8 World Premiers

Solo performers celebrate the art of storytelling, music, dance and original work

March 3 - April 3, 2010



SEATTLE, WA - The Solo Performance Festival returns for it's fourth year March 3 - April 3rd. SPF #4 Can You Get My Back? and Theatre Off Jackson partner with solo artists to bring live original works in theatre, music and dance to Seattle including sixteen original shows of varying lengths, eight world premieres, three shorts nights and two late night monologue slams hosted by Teatro Zinzanni's Kevin Kent at the Canoe Social Club.

Solo performance is the most primitive of art forms --one voice from across the campfire tells the story of the hunt. One parent holds you and tells you the story of the day you were born. Come sit in the dark and listen to the lone voice weave live local original primitive art. SPF #4: Can You Get My Back? is the fourth installment of Seattle's annual solo performance festival, and is dedicated to presenting fearless, cutting-edge, diverse performances by solo theatre artists. SPF #4 invites you to celebrate solo artists through storytelling, music, dance, fiction, memoirs and whatever else their lone voice can dream up.

2010 Festival performers include Gin Hammond, Kevin Kent, Keira McDonald, Julia Mackey, Ben DeLaCreme, Billie Wildrick, Lisa Koch, Jennifer Jasper, Elizabeth Kenny, Wes K. Andrews, Jonah Von Spreeken, Tamara Ober, Ki Gottberg, Paul Budraitus, Carrie McIntyre, Jayson McDonald, Mike Harris, Norman Bell, Suzanne Morrison, Jeff Frieders, Ben Gonio, Noah Benezra, Becky Poole, Erin Jorgensen, and Ernie Von Schmaltz.

A complete performance list with show descriptions and performer bios will be released in the coming weeks.

The Solo Performance Festival kicks off on March 3 with a Best in Shorts evening and runs through April 3rd, closing with a night of solo performances favorites of the Seattle Burlesque community. Tickets and festival passes will go on sale in the coming weeks. Stay with Solo Performance Festival through our Facebook Fan Page at http://bit.ly/spf_4

Solo Performance Festival (SPF) was founded in 2007 by a group of theatre artists who wanted to support each other in producing their solo shows. The history of solo performance has exploded over the last 20 years. Standing alone and speaking their truth (both real or imagined) and then suffering the consequences of/and owning it can be one of the most frightening and rewarding thing an actor or creator can do. At it's best, solo performance is one person's voice, body and imagination taking flight and bringing the audience along for the ride. SPF #1 and #2 produced the work of 31 artists from Washington, California, and Canada (Alberta and Ontario). Stories were shared have been about Weddings, Zombies, Suicide, Boobs, Camping trips, Gloomy Head Masters, Prodigal Sons, The ethics of cat surgery, bombs, The seven deadly sins, condos, yoga retreats, horse obsessions, shop lifting, maggots in your shoe and one Giant Invisible Robot among other things. SPF # 3 continued to take risks. SPF partnered with the burlesque community, stand up comedy community and local theatre, dance, performance artists and writers. SPF Alumni include: Keira McDonald, Jonah Von Spreeken, Mary Purdy, Keith Hitchcock, Charles Leggett, Mark Boeker, Jayson McDonald, Jose Amadour, Maria Glanz, Jennifer Jasper, Todd Jefferson Moore, Orla McGovern, K. Brian Neel, Seth Rosenbloom, Tina Kuntz Rowley, Andrew Conner, James Judd, Aaron LePLante, Suzanne Morrison, Michelle Todd, Steph Kese, Troy Mink, Becky Poole, Mark Siano and Jenna Bean Veatch.

Theatre Off Jackson ensures that a vibrant arts culture thrives in Seattle by operating a sustainable venue dedicated to performance, art and community. A 140 seat venue, Theatre Off Jackson is located at 409 7th Avenue South, just off Jackson Street in the International District. theatreoffjackson.org

The Northwest Playwright Alliance's Third International Tour Opens in Seattle January 9 with a one-night only date at New City Theater prior to a tour of the Northwest, NYC, England and Japan. Come join us for the premiere of this program of six short plays by NPA members, directed by Rich Brown. The plays include:

Tads, by Eva Suter

Johnny Elgam and the Newport Kid, by Aaron Shay

Poor Shem, Gregory Hischak

Scent of Man, By Soloman Olmstead

The Square, by Michael Wallace

The Lazy Beauty, by Bryan Willis

Shows are this Saturday, January 9, at 7:00 and 9:00 pm (the 2 pm matinee is already sold out!)

New City Theater: 1404 18th Ave. Seattle, WA 98122

Tickets: $15, via brownpapertickets or cash at the door

special thanks to John Kazanjian. Co-sponsored by New City Theater and Western Washington University.

Also coming up, Tuesday January 19 we have our:

MONTHLY READING SERIES

Presented by NPA & Seattle Repertory Theater

In the Poncho Forum – Seattle Rep – 155 Mercer St

(please use main entrance)

Memory Fragments

by Sam Wallin

Directed by the Rep’s Associate Artistic Director Braden Abraham (Opus by Michael Hollinger, Breakin’ Hearts and Takin’ Names by Kevin Kling and Simone Perrin, Betrayal by Harold Pinter, and My Name is Rachel Corrie by Alan Rickman and Katherine Viner).

About the playwright: Sam Wallin is a librarian and playwright living in Vancouver, WA. He is married, has two kids, works full time, writes in his spare time, and in general lives a life most people only dream about.

History of the play: Sam wrote "Memory Fragments" in April of 2008 as a participant of "Script Frenzy" - a challenge for playwrights to write a full-length play in one month. A year later, it was the winner of the prestigious Stanley Drama Award, which gave Sam the opportunity to go to New York and hear the play read aloud for the first time. Some months and an extensive revision later, here it is for your pleasure!

Play synopsis for "Memory Fragments"
: In the not-so-distant future, people will have the ability to record their memories in 3-D and either watch from the outside or directly experience those memories later, with the aid of computers. Most of these memories would be of no interest to anyone whatsoever, like slide shows or home movies - unless there is a murder. Then, detectives comb the recorded memories for clues to the murder. When a John Doe washes up on the banks of the river with his head blown off and most of his memories corroded, Detective James Cloud is called in examine the fragments of memory left behind. In spite of mounting dangers, he follows the trail through virtual meetings, psychiatric sessions and recorded reports, while the stability of the global capitalist plutocracy hangs in the balance.

Tues. January 19 @ 7 p.m.

Free Admission.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Join Seattle Musical Theatre on Saturday, January 23 for a
One-Night-Only Benefit Performance of

Love Letters

Starring Seattle favorite Pat Cashman and his beautiful and funny wife, Patti.
This two-person Pulitzer Prize-nominated play traces the lifelong correspondence of the staid, dutiful lawyer Andrew Makepeace Ladd III and the lively, unstable artist Melissa Gardner. The story of their bittersweet relationship gradually unfolds from what is written – and what is left unsaid – in their letters. Since its first performance in 1988 many celebrities have performed this poignant and moving play, including Colleen Dewhurst and Jason Robards, Lynn Redgrave and John Clark, Carol Burnett and Brian Dennehy, and Elizabeth Taylor and James Earl Jones.
As a regular contributor on Pat’s morning radio shows, Patti was the comical character to many of Pat’s straight-man performances. However, this is the first time Pat and Patti have ever played opposite of each on stage, and it will be a performance that shouldn’t be missed.
There are three ticket price levels for this benefit performance:
  • $35 per person includes Orchestra Level tickets for the show only
  • $75 per person includes Silver Stage Level tickets for the performance and after-show dessert reception with Pat and Patti
  • $125 per person includes Gold Stage Level tickets for the performance, after-show dessert reception with Pat and Patti, and the donor’s name engraved on a Love Letters plaque that will permanently hang in the SMT lobby.
Show starts at 7:30 p.m.
Make your reservations today for this sure-to-be sold out show
by calling the SMT box office at 206-363-2809.

Tickets for Taproot Theatre Company’s

2010 Season go on sale next Tuesday

SEATTLE – December 31, 2009 – Single tickets for Taproot Theatre Company’s 2010 season go on sale to the public on Tuesday, January 5, at 12 p.m. Taproot Theatre’s 34th season features three regional premieres, a classic Victorian farce, and an adventurous new staging of a beloved Broadway musical. Don’t miss this chance to be part of an historic season for Taproot Theatre Company, which reopens its newly-restored Greenwood playhouse this month after the October fire. Previously available only to subscribers, tickets are available by phone at 206-781-9707 during box office hours and online at www.taproottheatre.org anytime. Due to the restoration efforts, walk-up sales are delayed until the theatre reopens in late January. The 2010 season’s shows are as follows:

  • The Great DivorceJanuary 27-February 27 – C.S. Lewis’ fantastical work springs to life in this electrifying regional premiere. One drizzly afternoon our author embarks on a supernatural voyage with a cast of eccentric, humorous characters that bear a remarkable resemblance to us. Theatrical, imaginative and thought provoking. It’s a bus ride through heaven and hell that, in the grand C.S. Lewis tradition, leaves you breathless and wanting more. By C.S. Lewis, adapted by George Drance & The Magis Theatre.
  • Brooklyn BoyMarch 17-April 17 – Can we ever go home… and do we want to? Eric Weiss has finally made it big with a best seller and a shot at a Hollywood film. An inconvenient phone call brings him back to the Brooklyn neighborhood he grew up in and happily left behind. Witty and deeply touching, this story of growing up, coming home and making sense of it all is sure to warm your heart. A regional premiere. By Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Donald Margulies.
  • Charley’s AuntMay 12-June 12 – By George! This is splendid! A quiet afternoon luncheon turns into a hilarious masquerade when college chums attempt to woo a pair of charming young ladies. After persuading a classmate to impersonate their missing aunt (and chaperone), mischief, high jinks and shenanigans ensue. This hilarious classic has been delighting audiences for over 100 years. By Brandon Thomas.
  • Man of La ManchaJuly 7-August 7 – Don Quixote is mad... mad enough to dream an impossible dream while tilting after windmills with his trusty sidekick, Sancho Panza. Taproot’s adventurous new staging of Cervantes’ immortal classic reunites you with a story and songs that will capture your imagination and set you dreaming again. Quixote’s romantic quest is as crazy as he is. But is his impossible dream madness or vision? The trial is about to begin. A musical play by Dale Wasserman with music by Mitch Leigh & lyrics by Joe Darion; original production staged by Albert Marre; originally Produced by Albert W. Selden and Hal James.
  • Wedding BellesSeptember 22-October 23 – When a bedraggled bride is found stranded at an East Texas bus station in 1942, the determined ladies of the Eufala Springs Garden Club leap into action! Lemonade, wedding cake and a gown are easy enough to come by… but where’s the groom? This side-splitting comedy overflows with love, laughter and Southern hospitality at its best! From the creator of Smoke on the Mountain. A regional premiere. By Alan Bailey & Ronnie Claire Edwards.

All performances are held at Taproot Theatre, located at 204 N. 85th St. in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood. The 226-seat theatre is wheelchair accessible.

Performances take place Wednesday through Saturday evenings, with matinees on Saturdays. Ticket prices range from $22 to $35; plus, Taproot Theatre offers a $10 ticket for ages 25 and under during its regular season, discounts for students and seniors, group rates for parties of eight or more, and one pay-what-you-can performance for each production. Subscription packages are still available; subscribers save up to 18% over single ticket prices, plus enjoy great benefits like priority seating, discounts on additional tickets and free ticket exchanges.

For more information about subscriptions and single tickets, visit www.taproottheatre.org or contact the box office at 206.781.9707 or box@taproottheatre.org. The box office is open Tuesday through Saturday from noon to 5:00 p.m., and until show time on performance nights.

ABOUT TAPROOT THEATRE COMPANY

Taproot Theatre Company is a professional, non-profit theatre company with a multi-faceted production program. Founded in 1976, Taproot Theatre serves the Pacific Northwest with Mainstage Productions, Touring Productions and Acting Studio. Taproot exists to create theatre that explores the beauty and questions of life while bringing hope to our search for meaning. Taproot Theatre Company is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), Theatre Puget Sound (TPS), and the Greenwood-Phinney Chamber of Commerce.