Speech and Debate at The Rep

Seattle, WA – Seattle Repertory Theatre presents "Speech & Debate," the new comedy from 30-year-old playwright Stephen Karam. A thoroughly modern, wickedly funny look at three teenage misfits who start a speech and debate team to expose a possible sex scandal, "Speech & Debate" plays January 15- February 21 in Seattle Rep's intimate Leo K. Theatre.

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

When the show played at Roundabout Theatre in New York, The New York Times praised, "A plot description doesn't hint at how funny and cliché-free this brilliantly performed little show is." The Seattle production features an all-local cast of veteran fringe actors: Trick Danneker, Erin Stewart, Justin Huertas, and Amy Thone. Seattle Rep Director of Education Andrea Allen directs.

In the play, Solomon wants to write about sex scandals for the school newspaper, openly gay new kid Howie wants to find a boyfriend, and wannabe popstar Diwata would love to see her new musical version of "The Crucible" hit Broadway. The trio knows they'll never be popular, but maybe they could at least be famous—and shake up the system while they're at it. They start an after-school speech and debate team, and the result is epic.

Performance Details: Performances of "Speech & Debate" are at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday, with 2 p.m. matinees on most Saturday and Sundays. There is an American Sign Language (ASL)-interpreted performance on Sunday, Feb. 7 at 2 p.m. Post-play discussions will be held after the performances on Sunday, Jan. 24 at 2 p.m.; Thursday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Jan. 31 at 2 p.m.

14/48 Returns in January and they're Moving up to the Fall's Theater

January 8 - 16 at ACT!!

The brutal combination of short deadlines, extreme talent, incredible speed, frayed nerves, and an overflowing fountain of inspiration serve to strip away creative inhibitions occasionally found in more traditional theater, proving that, contrary to popular opinion –sometimes the first idea is the best. 14/48 involves over 50 artists per weekend with at least 25% participating for the first time. Artistic participation is by invitation only and is predicated on the most rigorous professional standards. Here’s how 14/48 works:

Early Thursday Night, Before the Festival Begins: After tapping the ceremonial 14/48 Keg, all the participants choose a theme by completing this sentence: “Theatre would be a lot more interesting if there were seven 10-minute plays about _____.” One answer is chosen at random and that becomes the theme for the following evening.

Thursday Night: Seven caffeine-filled writers have one night to write a 10-minute play based on the theme.

The Next morning: Seven directors gather and each randomly draw one play. Thirty minutes later, the directors blindly choose actors and actresses to cast the show.

That Day: The band shows up to provide music and sound as the directors and their casts rehearse all day. Early that evening the groups struggle to squeeze in a tech rehearsal and at 8:00 p.m. the first show begins!

After the Seven World Premiere Plays Wrap: The audience chooses a new theme and the adrenaline-charged theater-a-thon kicks in again.

14/48 runs for two consecutive weekends January 8 -9 & 15-16, Friday and Saturday (8:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.) with a new group of artists each weekend. Tickets are $20 advance, $25 at the door and $40 for an All-Fest Pass. Tickets are available at the ACT Ticket Office, 700 Union Street , Downtown Seattle, (206) 292-7676 or online at www.acttheatre.org. For more info rmation on 14/48 visit www.1448fest.com, and www.1448fest.blogspot.com.

Join Us for Some “Light” Entertainment!

The 5th Avenue Theatre throws the switch and lights up its new marquee at a special event this Thursday

SEATTLE, WA –This Thursday December 3 The 5th Avenue Theatre preludes its upcoming 30th Anniversary Celebration by lighting its brand new vertical marquee. At an event marked by song, celebration and seasonal treats, the Theatre honors its illustrious past while looking forward to an even brighter future.

Beginning at 6:30 on Thursday evening, 5th Avenue from University to Union Street will be closed to traffic, and an event that’s open to the public will begin. On an outdoors stage local swing ensemble The Blue 4 Trio will perform, while the Fairmont Olympic and the WARM 106.9 Elves will provide the crowd with holiday treats. Neighboring bar Vessel will feature a special cocktail, The Marquee, to celebrate the evening.

At 7:00 several speakers, including Seattle Arts Commission Executive Director Michael Killoren and former Mayor (and past 5th Avenue Board Chairman) Norm Rice will address the crowd, and The 5th’s popular singing trio The Daffodils will sing. Then at 7:15, two representatives of IATSE, Don MacDonald and Matt Hudson, will ready the switches. MacDonald, 91, holds Seattle IATSE card #1, and is still an active member of the Union. He attended The 5th’s original opening in 1926, which his father worked as a klieg light operator. Hudson, 19, is one of IATSE’s youngest members, and has worked for the past several years as an usher at The 5th Avenue. At 7:15 these two men will throw the switches and inaugurate a new era of entertainment and good times in the heart of downtown Seattle.

Since 1926 The 5th has had two marquees, one which was removed during the late 1930s and the second of which came down in 1977. While both signs, particularly the splendid original marquee, helped inspire designers Eric LeVine and Yusuke Ito of NBBJ, the new marquee (built by CREO Industrial Arts in Everett) is state-of-the-art, and features an aluminum frame weighing a remarkably light 5,500 lbs. as well as 2,000 energy-efficient LED lights.

The new marquee sign was made possible thanks to a generous gift from Christabel Gough, the daughter of founding UNICO chairman and legendary Broadway producer Roger L. Stevens. The sign honors both her father and his colleague and good friend James M. Ryan, CEO of UNICO Properties, who spearheaded the renovation efforts that saved The 5th Avenue and transformed it into Seattle’s premier home of musical theater.

More details on the marquee and the lighting event are available at http://www.5thavenue.org/marquee/.

The 5th Avenue’s revival of White Christmas, which sold out three years ago, also opens December 3, running till December 30. Tickets and multi-show subscriptions are available over the phone by calling 206-625-1900 / toll-free 888-5TH-4TIX (584-4849), online at 5thavenue.org or in person at the box office at 1308 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101.

The 5th Avenue Theatre is Seattle’s premier musical theater. In 1980, the non-profit 5th Avenue Theatre began producing and presenting top-quality live musical theater for the cultural enrichment of the Northwest community. The 5th Avenue Theatre maintains a subscription audience of over 25,000 and an annual attendance of more than 287,000. It ranks among the nation’s largest and most respected musical theater companies. The Theatre is committed to encouraging the next generation of theatergoers through its Educational Outreach Program which includes: The Adventure Musical Theatre Touring Company, The 5th Avenue High School Musical Theatre Awards, the Student Matinee Program and Spotlight Nights. Unique in its Chinese-inspired design, the exquisite theater opened in 1926 as a venue for vaudeville and film. Today, under the leadership of Managing Director Marilynn Sheldon and Producing Artistic Director Davidwww.5thavenue.org. Armstrong, The 5th Avenue Theatre continues to achieve the highest standards in all aspects of artistic endeavors and facility operations, while preserving its artistic, architectural and historic legacy. Visit

The 5th Avenue Theatre invites you to

Thursday, December 3 at 6:30 p.m.

At The 5th Avenue Theatre
1308 5th Avenue, Downtown Seattle

Join us for holiday fun, music, special guests and treats as we welcome the newest addition to Seattle’s bright lights, the theatre’s vertical marquee!

The show begins at 6:30 with music from the Blue Four Trio, continues with the dedication at 7:00, and then at 7:15 we throw the switch and light up our sign. Be a part of history as we celebrate our legacy as Seattle’s premier home of musical theatre and the great years still to come!

This event is free and open to the public.

Marquee details:

Designed by NBBJ, architects Eric Levin and Yusuke Ito

Built by: Everett’s CREO Industrial Arts

Height: 57’6”. Weight: 5,500 lbs

Approximately 2,000 energy-efficient LED bulbs powered by 72 amps

Cost: $300,000, generously underwritten by Christabel Gough in memory of her father Roger L. Stevens and his friend James M. Ryan.

A New Sign of Life Downtown!

5th Avenue Theatre gets a new marquee, invites the public to its illumination

SEATTLE, WA –On Thursday December 3 The 5th Avenue Theatre kicks off its upcoming 30th Anniversary Celebration with the lighting of their brand new vertical marquee. Inspired by both the Theatre’s original sign that hung at the entrance to the theatre at its 1926 opening as well as its famous Chinese-inspired interior, the new marquee was designed by Eric Levine and Yusuke Ito of NBBJ and built by CREO Industrial Arts in Everett. Featuring an aluminum frame that weighs a remarkably light 5500 lbs. and energy-efficient LED illumination of approximately 2,000 lights, the sign nearly reaches to the 8th floor of the Skinner building, home of The 5th Avenue. It is state-of-the-art yet respectful of our illustrious history.

The sign was made possible thanks to a generous gift from Christabel Gough, the daughter of founding Unico chairman and legendary Broadway producer Roger L. Stevens. Stevens’ illustrious career included bringing such shows as West Side Story, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Annie to Broadway, founding the Kennedy Center, serving as the first Chairman of the NEA, and brokering famous property deals such as the purchase of the Empire State Building in 1951. The sign honors both Stevens and his good friend James M. Ryan, CEO of Unico Properties, who spearheaded the renovation efforts that saved The 5th Avenue and transformed it into Seattle’s premier home of musical theater.

When the renovations of The 5th Avenue Theatre began in 1979, the community leaders who’d raised the $2.6 million to make it possible knew that not all of their plans would come to fruition. One change that couldn’t take place was replacing The Theatre’s aged vertical marquee (the second of two which had held that position), which had fallen into disrepair and was removed as part of the renovations to the theatre.

Then two years ago Gough contacted The 5th Avenue. A patron of the theatrical arts like her father, she wanted to memorialize him and James M. Ryan, and suggested that a great way to do so was to complete the Theatre’s renovation by underwriting the cost of a new vertical marquee. “Going to opening nights with my father is such a lovely memory for me,” recalls Gough. “It was like Christmas and New Year’s all rolled into one, and the bright lights of the theatres were such a big part of that.”

“We started with a white canvas, no clue what to do,” says NBBJ’s Yusuke Ito, who assisted architect Eric Levine on the design of the sign. “The initial thing we did was say ‘let’s not think about the marquee, let’s think about the history and aesthetics of The 5th and its interior design.’ When we eventually looked at photos of the 1926 marquee, we had many ideas, but that was such an amazing design we wanted to bring elements of that in too.” And one last touch makes the sign particularly special: the “5th” at its summit rotates. “I’m honored to have worked on this,” says Ito. “I’ve seen a lot of shows at the Theatre in the last couple of years, and now it suddenly feels like it’s my first time up on a stage. I’m excited to hear what people think!”

“We were thrilled when we were asked to participate in the production of such an iconic piece for the historic 5th Avenue Theatre,” said Jeff Braaten, CREO’s Account Executive on the project. “CREO does work throughout the country and around the world, but it’s always more rewarding when you can participate in such a notable project right in your own backyard. It took extensive collaboration between the Theatre, NBBJ and CREO to produce the sign, and we can only hope that the public is as pleased with the end result as we are.”

“As we head into our 30th Anniversary as Seattle’s premier home for musical theater,” says The 5th’s Managing Director Marilynn Sheldon, “we’re proud to do so with a brand new marquee that reaffirms downtown as a great destination and pays homage to our lively past. Now, because of a daughter’s love for a father who was a theatrical visionary, there is a new and literal ‘sign of life’ downtown, reminding people that during good times and tough times, The 5th remains a great place for a great time.”

Details on the sign:

Designed by: NBBJ, architects Eric Levine and Yusuke Ito

Built by: Everett’s CREO Industrial Arts

Height: 57’ 6”

Weight: 5,500 lbs

Illumination: Approximately 2,000 energy-efficient LED bulbs powered by 72 amps

Cost: $300,000, generously underwritten by Christabel Gough in memory of her father and his friend James Ryan

Details on the marquee lighting event, which will run from 6:30 to the official illumination at 7:15 on December 3, will be forthcoming. You can also check out our website for the event at TK.

The 5th Avenue’s revival of White Christmas, which sold out three years ago, begins previews on November 28 and opens December 3, running till December 30. Tickets and multi-show subscriptions are available over the phone by calling 206-625-1900 / toll-free 888-5TH-4TIX (584-4849), online at 5thavenue.org or in person at the box office at 1308 5th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101.

Contemporary Classics’ New Voices Settles into Second Show Produced by The Central Heating Lab at ACT

New Voices 8 Premieres at ACT’s Falls Theatre Dec. 28, 8:00 p.m.

Seattle, WA – November 23, 2009 – He’s young, enthusiastic, and a little bit twisted! Local musical theatre producer and founder of Contemporary Classics, Brandon Ivie has a lust for musical theatre and an insatiable appetite for irreverent lyrical experimentation. On December 28, 2009 at 8:00 p.m., the Central Heating Lab at ACT presents the eighth edition of his very popular New Voices songwriter showcase series, featuring a new collection of songs and an expanded band. “I have discovered that ACT’s Central Heating Lab is absolutely, positively the best place to let our type of edgy energy roam free,” said Ivie.

New Voices 8 is a one-night only songwriter showcase in the Falls Theatre at ACT, allowing for the largest capacity crowd in New Voices history. Like previous shows, audiences will delight in hearing brand new music from this country’s most innovative composers and lyricists, sung by this city’s best musical theatre talent. But this time Ivie takes it up a notch with frequent collaborator, and one of Seattle’s busiest music directors RJ Tancioco (5^th Avenue Theatre’s HAIR, Village Theatre’s Chasing Nicolette). Tancioco will direct a full band with piano, drums, guitar, cello, and four backup singers.

In the spirit of hot Broadway musicals like Spring Awakening and Next to Normal (which was previewed at New Voices 4 in 2006 and went on to receive three Tony Awards), New Voices 8 brings together young, fresh writers who combine modern pop/rock music with a contemporary musical theatre style. Their sound is distinct and their lyrics deal with issues facing people today. It’s an opportunity to witness the next generation of composers getting scrappy and strutting their stuff with an irreverent attitude. Edgy, catchy songs like I'm Not Pregnant… I'm Just Fat, Joey Is A Punk Rocker, No One's Gonna Love You…Bitch , and Expectations of a Man may move onto big Broadway musicals someday. And Seattle heard them first!

Since its conception, New Voices has introduced more than 40 new writers to Seattle audiences. And the talented New Voices 8 cast features a bevy of “New Voices Virgins” including: Angie Louise (5^th Avenue Theatre’s Cabaret), Reba Buhr, Keely Avery, Thomas Dutton (of the band Forgive Durden), and Eric Ankrim (Seattle Children’s Theatre Peter Pan). A glamorous selection of returning favorites will join in as well: Nick Garrison (5^th Avenue Theatre’s Cabaret), Don Darryl Rivera (Seattle Children’s Theatre’s If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and Gregory Award Winner), Ryah Nixon (Village Theatre’s Meet Me in St. Louis), Kate Jaeger (Village Theatre’s Chasing Nicolette, Centerstage Theatre’s Always… Patsy Cline), Jessica Skerritt (Village Theatre’s Chasing Nicolette, Stunt Girl), and Jennifer Paz (5^th Avenue’s Joseph…Dreamcoat) among others.

New Voices 8 contains adult content. Tickets are $20 and are available through ACT Theatre’s ticket office at 700 Union Street, Downtown Seattle, (206) 292-7676, or online at www.acttheatre.org.

About Contemporary Classics

Contemporary Classics is a new production company dedicated to producing Seattle premieres of contemporary musicals and the development of the future’s composers, lyricists, and librettists, all while using the best up-and-coming talent Seattle has to offer. Contemporary Classics produced the Seattle premieres of john & jen, The Last Five Years, A New Brain, the recent Footlight Award-winning Zanna, Don’t!, world-premiere readings of Razia’s Shadow and Over Seas, as well as The Songs of David A. Austin concert and the popular New Voices series.

INTIMAN THEATRE ANNOUNCES ITS 2010 SCHEDULE

Kate Whoriskey’s First Season as Artistic Director Includes the Pulitzer Prize-Winner Ruined by Lynn Nottage, a World Premiere by Seattle-Based Playwright Sonya Schneider, a New Adaptation of The Scarlet Letter by Naomi Iizuka, Paradise Lost by Clifford Odets and a New Adaptation of Molière’s A Doctor In Spite of Himself by Christopher Bayes and Steven Epp

Season will run March-December, 2010 with directors including Kate Whoriskey, Andrew Russell, Lear deBessonet, Dámaso Rodriguez and Christopher Bayes

SEATTLE— Intiman Theatre Artistic Director Bartlett Sher, Co-Artistic Director Kate Whoriskey and Managing Director Brian Colburn announce the lineup of plays for Intiman’s 2010 Season, the first under Whoriskey’s artistic leadership. Subscription packages are available now from www.intiman.org or 206.269.1900.

“Kate’s first season at Intiman includes great plays that will inspire conversation—and listening,” says outgoing Artistic Director Sher. “It is a season in which Intiman audiences and the Seattle community will have the chance to see her vision, hear her ideas and be part of the journey of one of the most ambitious theatres in the country. I’m honored to have spent a decade at Intiman, and to introduce one of the most adventurous directors I know to the best audience I can imagine.”

Intiman’s season reflects Whoriskey’s interest in supporting the environment of talent, curiosity and innovation that characterize Seattle’s artists, audiences and community. The lineup will feature diverse, relevant and exciting work, both new plays and classics, which speak to the power of theatre to effect change. Whoriskey’s debut season includes artists and productions that offer the possibility of surprise, new ideas and unexpected opportunities for programs that extend conversation and debate beyond the theatre into our community.

Intiman’s 2010 Season will open with Paradise Lost, written by Clifford Odets and directed by Dámaso Rodriguez, March 19 to April 25 (opening March 26). Directed by Dámaso Rodriguez, the Associate Artistic Director of Pasadena Playhouse and a co-founder and the resident director of Furious Theatre Company in Los Angeles , Paradise Lost will continue Intiman’s tradition of activating classic drama to resonate with contemporary ideas.

The season will continue with The Thin Place, a new play for one actor written by Seattle playwright Sonya Schneider based on interviews conducted by KUOW arts journalist Marcie Sillman, and directed by Andrew Russell. This world premiere will give voice to 12 individuals in the Puget Sound region who have questioned, confronted or discovered their faith. The Thin Place will run May 14 to June 13 (opening May 21).

In the summer, incoming Artistic Director Kate Whoriskey will direct the critically acclaimed play Ruined by Lynn Nottage, winner of this year’s Pulitzer Prize, as the first production of Intiman’s new five-year International Cycle, Ruined will run July 2-August 8 (opening July 9). Through the International Cycle, Intiman will program one play each year designed to foster relationships with countries underrepresented to the American artistic community. The most acclaimed new play of last season, Ruined will be co-produced with the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles and travel to South Africa , where it will be produced at the Market Theatre. Through this collaboration, Intiman will also create programming opportunities to reach the large Congolese refugee population now living in South Africa ; details about these initiatives will be announced at a later date.

Director Christopher Bayes, one of the foremost directors and master teachers of physical comedy, clown and commedia, returns to Intiman (where he previously worked on The Servant of Two Masters and Scapin) to co-adapt and direct Molière’s A Doctor in Spite of Himself, co-adapted by Steven Epp, a company member of the late Theatre de la Jeune Lune. The production will star Daniel Breaker, who is currently appearing on Broadway in Shrek the Musical. Breaker previously appeared on Broadway and in Spike Lee’s film version of Passing Strange, for which he received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations and Theatre World and Audelco Awards. A Doctor in Spite of Himself will run September 3-October 10 (opening September 12).

Intiman’s subscription season will conclude with its next American Cycle production, a new adaptation of Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, adapted by Naomi Iizuka, the award-winning writer of plays including 36 Views and Polaroid Stories, and directed by Lear deBessonet, who has been acclaimed for her work developing interdisciplinary and site-specific music-theatre projects, which she has paired with active community organizing. The Scarlet Letter will run October 22-December 5 (opening October 29). A series of classic stories, the American Cycle is the largest annual initiative of Intiman’s season. Each Cycle play is the centerpiece of numerous initiatives that inspire a city-wide conversation about issues relevant to our community, encompassing free community programs and events that reach out to people for whom there is otherwise little or no access to the arts.

Additional information about the season, including casting and Intiman’s community initiatives, will be announced in early 2010. Season subject to change.

Subscription packages are on sale now from 206.269.1900, ranging in price from $108 to $348. In addition to the full five-play season, Intiman offers three- and four-play packages and Flex Pass vouchers for the convenience of its patrons.

Seasonal support for Intiman Theatre is provided by ArtsFund; Intiman Theatre Foundation; Kreielsheimer Remainder Foundation; The Leading National Theatres Program, a joint initiative of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; and Washington State Arts Commission.