Greenstage, Wooden O and More in the Parks! And All FREE!!

With two pairs of identical twins wandering around the same town, misunderstandings and confusion are the order of the day, in Ryan Higgins' gender-swapped production of The Comedy of Errors.

It's not a concept show.
It's not a drag show.
It's a way to enhance the audience's experience.

The characters of Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors are asked to reconsider who they are because of how the people around them choose to treat them. These are questions of identity. How much of our identity is decided by ourselves and how much of it is defined by how others view us?

Ryan Higgins developed the gender-swap to serve as a shared identity crisis for the characters and the audience. How do we respond to a situation when your expectations are completely nullified by elements beyond your control? Who do people believe you to be and how does that effect you? What happens when you are not the you everyone believes you to be?

It's a fun question, but a frightening reality for the characters of Shakespeare's fantastical and fun comedy.

The Comedy of Errors finds Jessica Stepka and Courtney Bohl as the Antipholus' with Patrick Bentley and Rio Codda as sisters Adriana and Luciana. Also featuring the talents of Michael Blum, Esra Chelen Guler, Sarah Coates, Adria LaMorticella, Don MacEllis and Eli Sklov Simons.

Question to Ken Holmes, Artistic Director
Q: A gender-swapped production of the Comedy of Errors? Doesn't GreenStage avoid concept shows?
A: We don't rule out 'concepts' but we do put a set of requirements on using a conceptualization. It has to serve the play, it has to resonate with the audience and enhance their appreciation of the play. GreenStage is dedicated to making high-quality theatrical productions of Shakespeare's plays freely accessible to all residents and visitors to Seattle and King County. Our productions are free, fun, and family oriented, focusing on the text and story of the play.

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The 13th Century has just begun and the English crown is being contested - both France and Austria are threatening war. Disagreement is at the core of a story filled with political intrigue, assassination plots, unfortunate accidents and the never-ending conflict between England and France. Combining the ruthlessness of Richard III, the antics and moral uncertainty of Hamlet and the raw familial relationships of King Lear, you may find yourself in the world of a play that seems strangely familiar. This rarely produced gem is not to be missed.

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THE TAMING OF THE SHREW Directed by Aimée Bruneau
With a sharp tongue and a volcanic temper, the headstrong Kate bows down to no man. But then a dubious suitor named Petruchio swaggers out of the woods and into the trailer park with a mischievous plan to reach her guarded heart. Played out in a forgotten corner of rural America, their comic courtship is a no-holds-barred battle of the sexes that results in a love and understanding that neither one imagined.

RICHARD III Directed by Stephanie Shine
Imagine a man so vile in his thoughts and actions that everything withers around him. Then imagine that man as your ruler. While the women of the court valiantly struggle to depose him, the toxic Richard III reduces his once prosperous country to ashes. Just as utter collapse seem inevitable; a bright, young leader named Richmond challenges the old order of misrule by bringing hope to the land.

VISIT www.broadwayhour.com FOR INFORMATION ON SHOWTIMES AND LINKS TO WHERE AND WHEN THE SHOWS WILL RUN

ACT's New Membership Program

Seattle, WA – June 26, 2009 – ACT – A Contemporary Theatre announces a new membership program, an innovative new way for patrons to experience ACT that creates a bridge between subscribing and single ticket purchases. An addition to the existing Subscription Membership program, where patrons pay annually to subscribe to a specific series with guaranteed seats and receive specific benefits, the new Basic Membership program operates like a traditional gym membership (but without an initiation fee). ACT Basic Members pay just $25 a month ($20 for age 30 and under) to receive year-round access to all ACT Mainstage plays (excluding A Christmas Carol) and Central Heating Lab programs, based on availability.

It is flexible, affordable, and is the first of its kind in the region. There is no contract, members may cancel at any time, and there is no limit to the number of times a member can attend an ACT performance in any given month, provided ticket availability.

For example, between July 1-31, a Basic Member could attend the break/s, the Central Heating Lab’s Orange Flower Water and RAWSTOCK Summer Film Festival, as well as the first performance of the next Mainstage play Das Barbecü on July 31, 2009. Basic Members can see all of these shows for just $20 to $25 (their monthly membership fee), versus paying $150 as a single ticket buyer for these shows when purchased individually.

With a goal toward cultivating new audiences and creating a year-round cash flow for the theatre, the Basic Membership program will not replace the existing Subscription Membership program. Rather, the two programs will co-exist side by side to meet the unique lifestyle needs of today’s theatre patron.

“The Basic Membership was specifically designed to appeal to a growing trend amongst theatre-goers: the ticket buyer who doesn’t have strict seating preferences, attends an average of at least one show a month, and tends to plan their schedule just a few weeks, or days, in advance,” said Audience Service Director Harley Rees. “Our Basic Membership is the first of its kind, providing a unique alternative to traditional subscription models and giving patrons more choice and flexibility on how they spend their entertainment dollars and time.”

The ACT Membership Program benefits include:

Traditional Subscription Membership – annual subscription memberships range between $60 to $300

1. Guaranteed best seats in the house, even during sold out shows, through advance purchase, including special discount pricing and advanced sale for A Christmas Carol.

2. Easy and free ticket exchanges by phone, email, fax, mail or in person. There is no charge, but ticket price differences based on date may apply.

3. Low-priced parking in the Convention Center garage with a safe and convenient indoor connecting entrance to ACT –just $4 to $7.

4. Restaurant discounts at Pacific Place and other area restaurants.

5. Extra ticket discounts: $10 off extra tickets to any Mainstage play.

6. Free replacement tickets if they’re lost or forgotten.

New Basic Membership – monthly memberships range between $20 to $25

1. Guaranteed admission (1) to ACT Mainstage plays and all Central Heating Lab programs. Not available for A Christmas Carol however special discount pricing and advanced sale to A Christmas Carol is available to Basic Members.

2. Extra ticket discounts: 50% off extra tickets when a guest attends with you.

3. Come back and see any Mainstage play again, for FREE! Only available day-of-show.

4. Concessions and gift shop discounts.

5. Entrée to behind-the-scenes events, parties, tours, and post-play discussions.

6. Free replacement tickets if they’re lost or forgotten.

ACT currently has 6,200 traditional Subscription Members. Basic Memberships are available at the Ticket Office, 700 Union Street in downtown Seattle or by phone at (206) 292-7676. Additional benefits will be added as the program develops.

About ACT

For the past 44 seasons, ACT’s mission has been to inspire our diverse community through theatre that advances our understanding of human life. To dare, excite, and enrich artists and audiences. To steward our many resources. Through The Central Heating Lab, ACT seeks to heat things up and create a conversation with its season that reaches for an even deeper impact.

Theatre Machine Presents "The Maids"

Theatre Machine is excited to present Jean Genet’s The Maids, a dark and absurd story of power and servitude, and the third show in Theatre Machine’s inaugural season.

Inspired by the true of story of sisters Lea and Christine Papin who brutally murdered their employer and her daughter in Le Mans , France in 1933, Jean Genet gives us sisters Solange and Claire, two housemaids deeply resentful and envious of their upper-class employers. Throughout the action of the play, they engage in a perverse game of role-playing in which they impersonate one another as well as their hated mistress, and then take turns ritually killing her in mock murders. The Maids explores the master/servant relationship and raises questions about our civilized notions of human behavior and feminine ideals.

Theatre Machine’s mission is to produce simple, thought-provoking works that test us as artists; works that have a shocking power and appeal and that will engage as well as challenge our audiences. In this vein, we are thrilled to present Jean Genet’s The Maids, “one of the most unremittingly moving works in the modernist repertory” (Richard Elder, The New York Times).

Directing Theatre’s Machine production is our Artistic Director, Suzannah Rogan, fresh off of directing Euripides’ Medea and Carol Churchill’s Vinegar Tom (also with Theatre Machine). And featuring Molly Tomhave, Melissa Fenwick, and Bill Badgley.

What: The Maids by Jean Genet

When: August 6^th-22^nd Thursday through Saturday, 8:00

Where: Stone Soup’s Upstage Theatre

4035 Stone Way N Seattle , WA

Tickets: $12 General $10 TPS

ACT - RAWSTOCK Festival July 24, 2009

Seattle, WA – June 24, 2009 – Hosted by The Central Heating Lab at ACT, the RAWSTOCK Summer Film Festival includes an all-star lineup of independent Seattle filmmaker premieres. David Lowery's evocative and sublime feature film, St.Nick, is a 70-minute tone poem that evokes Malick in its bittersweet chronicle of a runaway brother and sister and their symbiotic relationship. This feature length Seattle premiere is preceded by a program of all new shorts from cutting-edge local filmmakers, including Shawn Telford and Jason Reid. Directors David Lowery, Shawn Telford, and Calvin Reeder will be in attendance for a pre-screening Q&A.

Additional highlights include:

· Shawn Telford’s Safe Passage - A SIFF 2009 Fly Filmmaking triumph of two women and their nightmare ride on the monorail.

· WT Russell’s Special Talents - Four years in the making, this is Russell's most personal film, featuring Justin Freet and Thomas Kneeland reprising their roles as "Justin" and "Tom".

· Tim Marchant’s Tidy Monster - An unseen man quietly goes insane in this minimalist animated tour-de-force from the United Kingdom.

· Carlos Lascano’s Love Story in Stop Motion - From Portugal. This animated masterwork tells of two lifelong lovers and is set to the music of Sigur Ros.

· Calvin Reeder’s Snake Mountain Colada - A bracing, darkly hilarious follow-up to 2008's polarizing Rambler.

Othello at Intiman

SEATTLE— Intiman Theatre, under the leadership of Artistic Director Bartlett Sher and Managing Director Brian Colburn, continues its 2009 Season with the Theatre for a New Audience production of Shakespeare’s Othello, directed by Arin Arbus. Performances will begin at Intiman Theatre, 201 Mercer Street at Seattle Center, on Tuesday, July 2 and continue through Sunday, August 2. The opening night performance is Wednesday, July 8 at 7:30 pm. Please see the Fact Sheet at the end of this release for the complete schedule.

The Theatre for a New Audience production of Othello was originally produced in New York last February. The sold-out production was brought back in April due tooverwhelming demand for tickets and played a limited-engagement remount before coming to Seattle this summer.

Tickets are available from www.intiman.org or 206.269.1900. Tickets range in price from $40 to $55, with discounts available for groups, seniors and members of the military (those on active duty and veterans). Patrons 25 and under can purchase tickets to any performance for $10. Pending availability, rush tickets will be sold 15 minutes before curtain for $20.

To support patrons in the current economy, all adult tickets for every Tuesday night performance are now on sale for $25 and Intiman will offer a pay-what-you-can performance (with a $5 suggested minimum per ticket) on Thursday, July 2 at 7:30 pm. Intiman has also created a new “Friends Four Pack” for the remainder of this season: buy four adult tickets for any production and save $50 off your total order.

Orange Flower Water Opens This Weekend!

NCTC’s highly anticipated second show opens this Thursday! Tickets are selling fast and seating is limited, so get yours today!!

Orange Flower Water, by Craig Wright, at ACT’s Bullitt Theater (in association with Central Heating Lab)

Directed by Allison Narver and featuring NCTC company members Hans Altwies, Jennifer Lee Taylor, Ray Gonzalez and Betsy Schwartz.

June 24th -July 20th
Thursdays thru Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 7pm
Opening Night: June 25th, 8pm – SOLD OUT

Click Here or call ACT's box office (206-292-7676) to purchase your ticket now!!

Ticket prices:
$25 General Admission
$10 Students
$15 Senior Citizens & Folks under 25

For more information, check out our website: www.newcenturytheatrecompany.org

Memphis is Heading to Broadway!

SEATTLE, WA –The producers of Memphis, the new musical about the early days of rock and roll, announced today that they have secured a theater, and an opening date, for a Broadway run. With a book and lyrics by Joe Pietro and music and lyrics by Bon Jovi band member David Bryan, the blues-and-rock-infused production will open at The Shubert Theatre on September 23, where Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit starring Rupert Everett and Angela Lansbury is currently playing.

The show tells the story of Huey Calhoun, a white DJ living in Memphis in the 1950s whose unstoppable enthusiasm for “race records” helps bring black music across the color line, while his love for the black singer Felicia leads them across the same line with tragic results.

The musical enjoyed rave reviews and large and enthusiastic audiences when it played the La Jolla Playhouse and Seattle’s own 5th Avenue Theatre earlier this year. TheSeattle Times described it as “bursting at the seams with big vocal talent, a soulful tone and attitude, and enough human wattage to power a city block,” while the Seattle Weekly says “the music of Memphis sizzles like soul food on a hot griddle.” Seattle’s own Chad Kimball, who starred as Huey, came in for particular praise, with theSeattle P.I. calling him “a shuffling whirlwind who tears up his own fragile earth, hunched and gangling with a slurring, honky-tonk drawl,” and the Times declaring that “his reedy, sturdy tenor pipes work just fine, on such rousing anthems as ‘Music of My Soul’ and ‘Tear Down the House.’”

“Our audience went crazy for Memphis,” says The 5th’s Producing Artistic Director David Armstrong. “Not since Hairspray had we seen this kind of response to a brand new musical. Memphis’s combination of dynamic music, exciting staging, and moving story really got Seattle buzzing about the show—and they haven’t stopped yet.”

The move marks another successful cross-continental leap from the stage of The 5th Avenue to Broadway, following in the steps of other successful productions includingHairspray, The Wedding Singer and the show that opened the 2008-2009 Season, Shrek. The show that opens our 2009-2010 Season is another brand new musical,Catch Me If You Can, based on the Dreamworks film and featuring the same creative team behind Hairspray.