Single Tickets On Sale Now for INTIMAN

SINGLE TICKETS FOR NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR KATE WHORISKEY’S FIRST SEASON
ARE ON SALE NOW AT INTIMAN THEATRE

SEATTLE— This year’s Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, a world premiere and two commissioned adaptations of classic plays are among the Intiman Theatre 2010 Season offerings now on sale to single-ticket patrons. Single tickets as well as a range of subscription packages can be purchased at www.intiman.org or 206.269.1900.

New this season, Intiman is offering a three-tiered pricing scale to provide options for patrons at any budget level, and adding additional low-cost previews prior to opening. The theatre is also introducing a new online ticket module that will allow patrons to select their own seats for single tickets at the time of purchase, or build a subscription package with ultimate flexibility.

Single ticket prices range from $25 to $61 for Wednesday-Sunday performances. All adult tickets on Tuesday nights throughout the season are $25. (Prices do not include service fees, which are incurred for online and telephone orders only.)

Patrons who purchase a “Friends Four Pack” (four adult tickets for any production) save $40 off the total order. Discounts are available for groups and members of the military, and patrons age 25 and under can purchase tickets to any performance for $10. Pending availability, patrons can purchase pay-what-you-can, standing room, standby and rush tickets for every production. All prices are subject to change based on availability.

Kate Whoriskey’s first season as Intiman’s Artistic Director, selected in consultation with outgoing Artistic Director Bartlett Sher, is designed to introduce Seattle audiences to some of her priorities for Intiman, including a commitment to exciting early-career artists, new works, and partnerships that cross artistic disciplines and foster collaborations between theatre artists and people from other fields.

The 2010 Season will have its official opening on March 26 with a new production of Paradise Lost (running March 19 to April 25), written by Clifford Odets and directed by Dámaso Rodriguez. The Depression Era-drama conjures a remembered time when gangsters, dreamers, agitators and idealists were the hopeful heart of the American Dream, and will feature a cast of 14 actors from Seattle and Los Angeles .

The season will continue with the world premiere of The Thin Place (May 14 to June 13), written by Sonya Schneider and directed by Andrew Russell. Based on interviews conducted for Intiman by KUOW reporter Marcie Sillman, the play is drawn from the stories of more than a dozen people who reached a point of crisis in their lives and made the bold choice to wrestle with a higher power, and either question, confront or embrace their faith. The play for one actor will star Gbenga Akinnagbe, who played ChrisPartlow on The Wire.

Lynn Nottage’s Ruined (July 2-August 8), winner of this year’s Pulitzer Prize, will run in the summer under Whoriskey’s direction as the first production of Intiman’s new five-year International Cycle. Ruined will be co-produced with the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles and travel to South Africa ’s Market Theatre, where the story will be shared with Congolese refugees in Johannesburg .

Director Christopher Bayes returns to Intiman to direct and co-adapt, with Steven Epp, Molière’s A Doctor in Spite of Himself (September 3-October 10), a timely and satirical look at the medical profession. The comedy will star Tony Award-nominated actor Daniel Breaker.

The subscription season concludes with Intiman’s American Cycle production, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter (October 22-December 5), newly adapted by award-winning playwright Naomi Iizuka and directed by Lear deBessonet. The largest initiative of Intiman’s season, the American Cycle is a series of multifaceted, challenging and important American stories and free public programs. Each Cycle play is the centerpiece of numerous city-wide events that encourage conversation and debate about issues relevant to our community, our audiences and people for whom there is otherwise little or no access to the arts.

All information is subject to change. To learn more about Intiman Theatre and the 2010 Season, visit www.intiman.org.

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.

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!

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.”

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.

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.