SEPTEMBER 2017
OUR 2017-1 8 MAINSTAGE SEASON I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS • HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE • THE MALTESE FALCON THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO • THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY
September 2017 Volume 14, No.1
Paul Heppner Publisher
FALL 2017
Sara Keats Encore Stages Editor
Contents
Susan Peterson Design & Production Director Ana Alvira, Robin Kessler, Shaun Swick, Stevie VanBronkhorst Production Artists and Graphic Design Mike Hathaway Sales Director Brieanna Bright, Joey Chapman, Ann Manning Seattle Area Account Executives Amelia Heppner, Marilyn Kallins, Terri Reed San Francisco/Bay Area Account Executives Carol Yip Sales Coordinator
3
Asian Americans in Seattle Theatre
Kathy Hsieh revisits her 2012 survey and assesses the work still to be done.
Dialogue 13
The Only Sensible Thing to Do
Encore Stages in conversation with Jared Michael Brown
Intermission Brain Transmission
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FROM THE POWERFUL MEMOIR
15 Leah Baltus Editor-in-Chief Andy Fife Publisher Dan Paulus Art Director Gemma Wilson, Jonathan Zwickel Senior Editors Amanda Manitach Visual Arts Editor Barry Johnson Associate Digital Editor
Paul Heppner President Mike Hathaway Vice President Genay Genereux Accounting & Office Manager Sara Keats Marketing Manager
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Encore Stages is an Encore Arts Program that features stories about our local arts community side-by-side with information about performances. Encore Arts Programs are publications of Encore Media Group. We also publish City Arts, the monthly arts & culture magazine, and specialty publications, including the Offical Seattle Pride Guide and the SIFF Guide and Catalog. Learn more at encoremediagroup.com Encore Stages features the following organizations:
Asian Americans in Seattle Theatre
Josh Kenji and Mi Kang in Nadeshiko by Keiko Green, Sound Theatre Company, Spring 2017. Photo by Ken Holmes.
Kathy Hsieh revisits her 2012 survey of the space for Asian Americans in Seattle theatre, and looks ahead to work still to be done.
In 2012, I wrote a piece featured on the online dramaturgical commons Howlround about the importance of Asian American representation on Seattle stages and how invisible we were in the local theatre scene. If it weren’t for Asian American theatre companies like SIS Productions, Pork Filled Players, Repertory Actors Theatre (ReAct) and Pratidhwani, Asian American actors telling Asian and Asian American stories by Asian American playwrights would be almost non-existent in Seattle. In the intervening five years, the Seattle theatre ecosystem has
harbored both monumental failures and unprecedented successes when it comes to the representations of Asians and Asian Americans on stage. The artists that work here—especially white arts administrators—still have a lot of work to do. I grew up in Seattle, and our theatre scene has always been incredibly white. In the 1990s, a guide for actors wanting to work in towns like New York; Chicago; San Francisco; Los Angeles; Washington, D.C. and Seattle stated plainly that of all the cities covered in the book, Seattle was by encore art sseattle.com 3
The cast of Do It for Umma by Seayoung Yim. Photo by Dangerpants Photography.
far the most white on stage. The guide warned that it would be incredibly challenging for any actor of color to work here. It was a reality that actors of color in Seattle already knew, but most theatres remained unaware. Twenty years later, a series of events cracked the Seattle theatre scene wide open, uncovering a long-overdue conversation about race and lack of representation.
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These conversations made it apparent how divided Seattle was about race. In 2014, the Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society mounted a production of The Mikado. The Mikado is a Gilbert and Sullivan “comic operetta” from 1885. Even though the operetta is set in Japan, in the summer 2014 production, not a single actor was of Asian ancestry. Sharon Pian Chan of The Seattle Times called out the production's use of "yellow face," a term for having non-Asian actors made up to look stereotypically Asian, and incited a controversy. The local Asian American
This page: The cast of Do It for Umma by Seayoung Yim. Photo by Dangerpants Photography.
community protested, audience members told protestors to “Go back to where you came from,” and the conflict attracted national media attention. Locally, the controversy was contained primarily within the performing arts realm, but via social media and local radio, the conversation grew. These conversations made it apparent how divided Seattle was about race. I felt an open conversation about race was vital for our community to create understanding and to move forward. I requested and was granted permission to quickly organize a community forum through my office, the City of Seattle’s Office of Arts & Culture, which we called “Artistic Freedom and Artistic Responsibility.” The evening featured a panel of theater artists, educators and activists and was done in partnership with the City’s Office for Civil Rights, 4Culture, and the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Through the discussion, it became clear that within Seattle’s theatre community two very different populations existed: people of color whose lived experience had long demonstrated to us that things were not equal and that the lack of representation and inclusion in the local theatre scene was palpably real, and many openminded, progressive, white liberals who were shocked to discover that any of this was true.
Five years ago, the only production featuring Asian American protagonists not being produced by an Asian American theatre company was Annie Lareau’s adaptation of Jamie Ford’s novel Hotel on the Corner of Bitter & Sweet for Book-It Repertory Theatre. Between 2013 through early 2016, there were a handful of local productions that, while written by Asian American playwrights, did not feature any Asian Americans in the casting. But a study of the most recent theatre season and the one coming up reveals a distinctly hopeful trend. In 2016, 16 productions in Seattle were either written by and/or featured Asian Americans as the leading protagonists, and of those almost 2/3 of them were produced by non-Asian American theatres. That’s a 400% increase in the number of Asian American productions since 2012. That count doesn’t include another hopeful trend: that many more Asian American actors were being cast in non-Asian specific roles. By the looks of the 2017 season, the upward trend is set to continue. So what spurred this incredible growth? Several factors might be in play. After that 2014 convening, many local arts administrators realized that if they wanted to be perceived as truly inclusive, they needed to start
Upcoming Productions Featuring Asian American Artists and Stories • Intiman’s “Dragon Lady” by Sara Porkalob, September 5 – October 1 • Seattle Opera’s “An American Dream” with music by Jack Perla and libretto by Jessica Murphy Moo, September 7 – 17 • ACT’s “King of the Yees” by Lauren Yee, September 8 – October 1 • Kultura Arts’ “Mabuhay Majesty” by Robert Francis Flor, September 29 – 30 • Seattle Public Theater & SIS Productions’ “The World of Extreme Happiness” by Frances Ya-chu Cowhig, October 13 – November 5 • Seattle Public Theater’s “The Flight Before Xmas” by Maggie Lee, December 1 – 24 encore art sseattle.com 5
30 BREWERIES FOOD MUSIC 10 CIDERIES OCTOBER 6 & 7
Located in the Historic Port of Anacortes Event Center at 100 Commercial Avenue Tickets available online at: anacortes.org/beer
Take a journey to the heart of FABULOUS at Bainbridge Performing Arts on Bainbridge Island.
October 13-29
Book by Stephan Elliott and Allan Scott | Based on the Latent Image/Specific Films Motion Picture | Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. Direction and Choreography by Jessica Low | Musical Direction by Brandon Peck | Costume Design by Barbara Klingberg
Tickets: 206.842.8569 bainbridgeperformingarts.org Suitable for mature audiences.
Produced by special arrangement with Theatrical Rights Worldwide.
200 MADISON AVENUE NORTH
VILLAGE THEATRE 2017-2018
SEASON SEP 14 – OCT 22 OCT 27 – NOV 19 ISSAQUAH
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(425) 392-2202 ISSAQUAH I (425) 257-8600 EVERETT I VILLAGETHEATRE.ORG 6 ENCORE STAGES
INTO THE WOODS NEWSIES THE GIN GAME STRING HAIRSPRAY SPONSORED IN PART BY
making changes from the inside out. Many started participating in racial equity learning cohorts and trainings offered by the Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs. Others joined a diversity and inclusion cohort through Theatre Puget Sound and led by Carmen Morgan, a much-respected activist and teacher, who helped the Oregon Shakespeare Festival transform itself towards becoming more of an antiracist organization. Andrew Russell, soon-to-be Artistic Director Emeritus of Intiman, and Matthew Wright, Artistic Director at ArtsWest, credit color conscious casting workshops offered in early 2015 as opening their awareness about the lack of equity for actors of color. They both made a commitment and told the directors they hired to cast more diversely. In fact, many theatres and directors started proactively seeking a greater diversity of actors and scripts and were surprised when the productions thrived at the box office. ArtsWest in association with SIS Productions produced Chinglish by David Henry Hwang in 2015 and sold out much of its run. Chinglish was the first Asian American play the company had produced and it ended up breaking their box office attendance for a nonmusical show. Annex Theatre produced the world premiere of Seayoung Yim’s Do It for Umma in 2016 as an off-night production and had so many soldout crowds that Yim and director Sara Porkalob ended up remounting it in partnership with the Theatre Off Jackson to accommodate everyone who wanted to see it. Yim went on to receive the 2016 Gregory Award for People’s Choice for Outstanding Play for her script. What Seattle theatre companies discovered was that people were hungry for new stories and a greater diversity of representation on stage. When Chinglish was running, I was in line at a local deli in West Seattle, just down the street from ArtsWest, and the woman in front of me told the cashier all about
Welcome to Book-It!
T
his is the 28th time the two of us have had the pleasure to welcome audiences to a new season of Book-It productions. Since starting the company in 1990, it has been our goal to tell stories that move, inspire, and have the power to transform the way we see the world.
This year, with our partners in art, Associate Artistic Director Josh Aaseng and Managing Director Kayti Barnett-O’Brien, we spent countless hours weighing the pros, cons, and “adaptability” of dozens of book titles that came across our desks. We look seriously at how the stories we select connect to one another, and are also conscious of how they connect with our community. Since our founding in 1990, we have been deeply committed to our Puget Sound community and all the people who share it. We believe that the work we do is for all of us. This five-show line-up, our Arts & Education Touring Stories, and our Beyond-the-Book series present many opportunities for us all to connect. Several Seattle-area community partners have agreed to “play” with us this year: Seattle ACLU and the Seattle Voice Institute, the Central District Forum for Arts and Ideas,
Earth Pearl Collective, Café Nordo, and SilverKite Community Arts. There will be enlightening postshow conversations, special workshops, and an exciting yearlong project, Listen Up!, convening several community groups who will together develop a spoken word piece culminating in a public performance next spring. These projects are all inspired by the work on our stage. The show you’re about to see, Dr. Maya Angelou’s profound memoir I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, is certainly known to us all; we produced our first adaptation of it in 2003. Fourteen years later, we thought it was time to see it again through the lens of “now,” so we have brought together an outstanding team of artists led by the talented UWtrained director Malika Oyetimein to tell it in a new way. Let us know what you think. Thank you for being here, Jane Jones & Myra Platt Founding Co-Artistic Directors
I K N O W W H Y THE CAGED BIRD SINGS
by Maya Angelou SEPT 13 – OCT 15, 2017
[A NEW MUSICAL]
From the novel by Diana Wynne Jones NOV 29 – DEC 30, 2017
by Dashiell Hammett
A THEATRICAL CULINARY COLLABORATION WITH CAFÉ NORDO
FEB 8 – APRIL 1, 2018
Subscribe today at BOOK-IT.ORG
by Junot Díaz APRIL 19 – MAY 6, 2018
or call 206.216.0833 Single tickets are ON SALE NOW by Oscar Wilde JUNE 6 – JULY 1, 2018
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Support the season with a monthly gift by becoming a Book-It Page-Turner. Visit the lobby for information.
JANE JONES & MYRA PLATT, FOUNDING CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS BY MAYA ANGELOU
Co-adapted by Myra Platt and Malika Oyetimein Directed by Malika Oyetimein
CAST
in alphabetical order
Ronnie Hill Aishé Keita Lamar Legend Shaunyce Omar* Chip Sherman Anthony Lee Simmons Lindsay Zae Summers Brennie Tellu* Dedra D.Woods* Maria Gray* Anne Szeliski
Uncle Willie / Freeman / Ensemble Young Maya Father / Ensemble Momma / Ensemble Bailey / Ensemble Henry Reed / Ensemble Dolores / Ensemble Maya Mother Dear / Mrs. Flowers / Ensemble Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager
PRODUCTION AND ARTISTIC TEAM Charlene Kwon Christopher Mumaw Matthew Webb K.D. Schill Stephon Dorsey Rachel M.E. Wolfe
Assistant to the Director Scenic Designer Lighting Designer Costume Designer Sound Designer Dramaturg
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Copyright ©1969 by Maya Angelou, Copyright renewed ©1997 by Maya Angelou; Used with permission of Caged Bird Legacy, LLC. Originally conceived, adapted and directed by Myra Platt, 2003. * Member Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States PRODUCTION AND SEASON PRODUCER: The Sheri & Les Biller Family Foundation CO-PRODUCERS: Diana Carey, Ellen Maxson
season support
media sponsors
Additional generous support is provided by numerous local businesses, family foundations, and hundreds of individuals. Many thanks to all our supporters! encore art sseattle.com A-3
THIS PAGE AND NEXT: Aishé Keita and Brennie Tellu from I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Photos by Chris Bennion
ABOUT THE
Maya Angelou was born Marguerite Annie Johnson on April 4, 1928, in St. Louis, Missouri. Angelou experienced firsthand racial prejudices and discrimination in Stamps, Arkansas, where she and her older brother, Bailey, were sent to live when her parents split up. During a visit with her mother, seven-year-old Angelou was raped by her mother's boyfriend. As vengeance for the sexual assault, Angelou's uncles killed the boyfriend. The experience so traumatized her that she stopped talking. She returned to Arkansas and spent years as a virtual mute. During World War II, Angelou moved to San Francisco where she won a scholarship to study dance and acting at the California Labor School. During this time, she became the first black female cable car conductor—a job she held briefly. In 1944, a 16-year-old Angelou gave birth to a son, Guy (a short-lived high school relationship had led to the pregnancy), thereafter working a number of jobs to support herself and her child. In 1952, the future literary icon wed Anastasios Angelopulos, a Greek sailor from whom she took her professional name—a blend of her childhood nickname, "Maya," and a shortened version of his surname. A-4 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
AUTHOR
Angelou appeared in stage productions—Off-Broadway and on tour—and worked at times with James Earl Jones, Lou Gossett Jr., and Cicely Tyson. Later she spent much of the 1960s abroad; living first in Egypt and then in Ghana, working as an editor and a freelance writer. After returning to the United States, and the death of her friend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Angelou was urged by friend and fellow writer James Baldwin to write about her life experiences. Her efforts resulted in the enormously successful 1969 memoir about her childhood and young adult years, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, which made literary history as the first nonfiction best-seller by an African-American woman. The poignant work also made her an international star. In 1971, Angelou published the Pulitzer Prize-nominated poetry collection Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die. She later wrote the poem "On the Pulse of Morning"—one of her most famous works—which she recited at President Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993. Angelou received many honors throughout her career, including two NAACP Image Awards in the outstanding literary work (nonfiction) category, in 2005 and 2009. She died on May 28, 2014. (from biography.com)
NOTES FROM THE
DIRECTOR
Dr. Maya Angelou was called “An Angel masquerading as a human
being." She was an international icon and has been elevated to angelhood by many people. And in this production of Caged Bird we are definitely going to lift her up, but we’re going to spend time seeing how she got there — because she wasn't actually an angel. She was a black woman who was molded by a country that tried their damnedest to bury her. She was a woman who went through hell and back before she was eight years old. We don't get to cherry pick the aspects of her narrative that suit us. We must see, feel, and sit in the entirety of her life. We must ask ourselves: what blood was shed? How many cuts and bruises did she endure? How many people’s lives did she watch be snatched away in the rural South of her childhood? For two hours, we get to sit in awe of Dr. Maya Angelou and in doing that we will be lifting up the stories of black women — because she was one of millions — enjoy. — Malika O. Oyetimein
TAKE PART IN THESE FREE BEYOND-THE-BOOK EVENTS: Find Your Voice Workshop with Gin Hammond, Seattle Voice Institute SAT, SEPT 23, 5:00pm
Listen Up! is a year-long series of intergenerational programs and workshops in which Seattle youth and older community members will research, develop and perform their own spoken word pieces based on the theme of identity highlighted in Dr. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Inspired by the wish to create change in our community, Book-It is pleased to be partnering with renowned spoken word artists, local SPS teachers, high school youth, and Silver Kite Intergenerational Theatre Company in our collective cry, “Listen Up!” A culminating celebration and performance will be open to the public in April. Watch book-it.org for details!
Post-Show Talk: Sharon Nyree Williams of the CD Forum moderates a talk with artistic team members SUN, SEPT 24, 4:15pm Earth Pearl Collective, Post-Show Guided Self-Care Ritual WED, SEPT 27, 9:45pm Book-It Teen Night FRI, SEPT 29, 6:00pm Earth Pearl Collective, Post-Show Guided Self-Care Ritual WED, OCT 4, 9:45pm For details, visit book-it.org/2017-2018-mainstage-season/i-know-why-thecaged-bird-sings/ and click on “Beyond-the-Book.” EVENTS ARE FREE; TICKETS TO THE PERFORMANCES MAY BE PURCHASED AT BOOK-IT.ORG OR 206.216.0833. Meet our BtB partners on page A-11.
encore art sseattle.com A-5
THE GREAT DEPRESSION IN THE JIM CROW SOUTH M
ost of us have heard stories about the Great Depression from parents and grandparents who grew up during that troubled time in our nation’s history. But what we may not know is that the Great Depression, which seems like such a great equalizer, affected different communities in very different ways. In segregated, Southern black communities like the one Dr. Maya Angelou grew up in, the Depression meant something very different than the boom-and-bust, riches-to-rags stories we usually hear. Before, during, and after the Depression, most black folks in the rural South were sharecroppers. Sharecropping, the practice of renting farmland in exchange for giving the owner part of your harvest, may sound like a decent deal, but in practice “sharecropping” just turned out to be a pretty word for debt
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slavery. White landowners found ways to rig the system so that what little money sharecroppers were able to make for themselves went right back into the pockets of the landowners, keeping black families perpetually in debt to white ones. As a result, black communities in the rural South were deeply impoverished even before the Depression hit, and they knew how to be poor. Even during what people call the “Roaring ’20s” black families were growing their own food in their backyards, sewing their own clothes, and making household items from scratch. So when the Great Depression hit, people who were used to using cash for everything were at a loss, but rural black communities like Dr. Maya Angelou’s had the skills and the know-how to weather the Depression. Wandering homeless people of all races
would come to the black communities first to ask for food and charity, because they knew that most black people had kitchen gardens and sympathy for the state of poverty. If the Great Depression was also the great equalizer, it was because it gave the formerly middle-class white communities a taste of the bare-bones poverty black communities had endured since the founding of America. Sadly, this taste of equality seems to have done very little to cultivate sympathy for rural blacks and their difficult quality of life. When white folks got back on their feet, they also generally went back to the system of ignoring, cheating, and abusing black people that we now call “Jim Crow.” White landowners went back to scamming sharecroppers out of their shares of the crops.
When the jobs boom created by World War II brought back the middle class, the formerly homeless retreated into their own lives rather than turning and offering a leg up to the black families who had fed them when they were starving. Without a fundamental change to the system, black communities could not rise out of the poverty of the Great Depression even when it ended. It was not until the Civil Rights Movement, when people like Dr. Maya Angelou and her close friend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called for a change to the system itself that Jim Crow and its methods of keeping black people in poverty would start to be dismantled. Dramaturgy by Rachel M.E. Wolfe
Photographs are from the Farm Security Administration, which collected and kept a record of American life between 1935-1944. The collection is housed at the Library of Congress. WPA photographers who worked on the project include: Dorothea Lange (above), Jack Delano (top middle), and Marion Post Walcott (left).
encore art sseattle.com A-7
MEET THE Ronnie Hill
CAST
Uncle Willie/Freeman/ Ensemble Ronnie Hill is proud to be joining Book-It Repertory Theatre and the cast in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. He has appeared in other Book-It shows such as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Uncensored and the touring production, Pink and Say. More recently he has enjoyed performing with Café Nordo in Lost Falls as Sheriff Taft and in Hotel Nordo as Sean and The Letter Writer. Other fun parts Ronnie has enjoyed playing in Seattle include Everett Whiteside in Theater Schmeater’s The Most Deserving and Gilgamesh in their park show The Epic of Gilgamesh. Ronnie enjoys the specificity and challenge of character acting and vocalizing.
Aishé Keita
Young Maya Aishé Keita is a Jamaican-Malian American actor/ theater artist. The Cornish College of the Arts-trained artist and teacher has been seen on stage in The Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White (Intiman Theatre), Bring Down the House (Seattle Shakespeare Company), and many other productions. She was most recently seen playing Ophelia with Freehold Engaged Theatre, a company where she teaches theatre at Washington Corrections Center for Women. Aishé is so humbled to play Dr. Maya Angelou in her first appearance with Book-It Repertory Theatre.
Lamar Legend
Father/Ensemble Lamar Legend is originally from New York City where he began his training at the LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts (LAG Arts/“The Fame School”) and the Alvin Ailey Dance School. Recent credits include James T. in Barbecue (Intiman Theatre), Franco in Superior Donuts (Valley Center Stage), Antipholus of Syracuse in The Bomb-itty of Errors (Times Square Arts Center), Horatio and Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (Plimoth Players), Puck in A Midsummer Night’s A-8 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Dream (Teatro Franco Parenti, Milan, Italy), and Legba in The Brother/Sister Plays (Steppenwolf Theatre). He was honored with The Rising Star Award by The League of American Theatres and Producers.
Shaunyce Omar*
Momma/Ensemble Shaunyce Omar is thrilled to be making her debut on the Book-It stage! Her previous credits include Barbecue, Crowns, Black Nativity, The Wedding Band, My Heart Is the Drum, The Pajama Game, Rejoice, Chicago, Hi-Hat Hattie, The Wiz, Ain’t Misbehavin’, and Menopause The Musical (National Tour). Her TV/ Film credits include “The Librarians” and Last Seen in Idaho, to name a few. Omar’s voice can also be heard as the character Madison Grant in the “State of Decay” videogame. In addition to stage and screen work, Omar is also a teaching artist and holds a BA degree in Theatre from Southern University and A&M College. She dedicates her performance in this production to her children Ayanna, Isyss, and Nate. facebook.com/ShaunyceOmar
Chip Sherman
Bailey/Ensemble Chip is overjoyed to be a part of his first POC-centered story in Seattle and his first production at Book-It! He’s a trained dancer, actor, singer, who has enjoyed playing roles from Shakespeare to up-and-coming playwright Moby Pomerance, recently being in productions of Romeo and Juliet as Romeo, and Alex & Aris as Alexander the Great. Other notable roles include Julian (How We Got On), MacHeath (Threepenny Opera), Cleopatra (Antony and Cleopatra), Olivia (Twelfth Night), and The Tin Woodsman (The Wizard of Oz). He also got the brilliant opportunity to take a one-man adaptation of Hamlet, titled ’Tis In My Memory Locked, to the Edinburgh Fringe in 2011. Thank you for supporting diverse theatre, the world needs it now more than ever.
* Member Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Anthony Lee Simmons
Henry Reed/Ensemble Anthony Simmons is making his Book-It debut. Recent credits include Mover in A Raisin in the Sun at Seattle Repertory Theatre and Dix in Money and Run at Theater Schmeater.
Lindsay Zae Summers
Dolores/Ensemble Lindsay Zae Summers made her acting debut as Toto in a 2004 production of The Wizard of Oz with Missoula Children’s Theatre in Maryland at the age of nine. Since then, she has left her home state to study theatre at Cornish College of the Arts, where she is expected to complete the BFA program in December 2017. Recent credits include Romeo and Juliet (Off Road Shakespeare Company), Milk Like Sugar (ArtsWest Playhouse), and Black Super Hero Magic Mama (Intiman Theatre).
Brennie Tellu*
Maya Brennie Tellu, proud first generation West African, is a NYC-based actor, writer, teaching artist, and activist. Brennie is also the founder of Yancy Girl Productions, and holds an MFA in Acting from The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University. Favorite Off-Broadway roles include Doubt (Mrs. Muller) and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Henrietta/Simon/St. Monica/Pilate) and originated roles of Leah in Asylum and Lavinia in In Memoriam. Brennie is thrilled to be a part of the cast of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings with Book-It! brennietellu.com.
Dedra D. Woods*
Mother Dear/Mrs. Flowers Dedra D. Woods is honored to work on this production with an amazing cast and crew. She was last seen on stage in Seattle Shakespeare Company’s production of Bring Down the House. Dedra played the role of Julia Augustine in Intiman Theatre’s 2016 production of Wedding Band: A
Love-Hate Story in Black and White. Other credits include We are Proud to Present… (Pony World Theatre), Medea (Seattle Shakespeare Company), Death of a Salesman and Violet (ArtsWest Playhouse), Emma (Book-It), and Intimate Apparel (Artists Repertory Theatre). She has also enjoyed working with ACT’s Construction Zone series, Hedgebrook Women Playwrights Festival, The Hansberry Project, Seattle Repertory Theatre’s Writers Group Showcase, Northwest Playwrights Alliance, and Seattle Playwrights Circle. Dedra is a proud member of Barefoot Theatre Company NYC/LA.
MEET THE
ARTISTIC STAFF Malika Oyetimein
Director and Co-Adapter Malika Oyetimein served as artistic director of the Philadelphia-based Ademide Theatre Ensemble and was a member of the Directors Lab at Lincoln Center Theater. In Seattle, she was featured in City Arts Magazine’s 2016 Future List. Select directing credits include Hoodoo Love (Sound Theatre Company, Yancy Girl Productions & Ademide Theatre Ensemble), Barbeque and BootyCandy (Intiman Theatre Festival), Milk Like Sugar (ArtsWest Playhouse), Goin’ Someplace Special (Book-It Arts & Education Program), WHITE (Theatre Horizon), and Fucking A and Force Continuum (University of Washington). As a professional teaching artist, Malika has worked with Seattle Repertory Theatre, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, Arden Theatre Co., Mural Arts: Project Home, and Theatre Horizon’s Autism Drama Program. Malika recently graduated from the MFA Directing program at the University of Washington School of Drama.
Myra Platt
Co-Adapter (See bio, page A-10)
Christopher Mumaw
Scenic Designer Christopher is a freelance theater artist based in Seattle. He received his MFA from the University of Washington and his BFA from Wright State University. Scenic design credits include Treasure Island, The Brothers K, The Dog of the South, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Book-It); Great Expectations (Portland Center Stage); Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Frozen, Mothers and Sons, Little Women, Death of a Salesman, Violet: the Musical, and Judy’s Scary Little Christmas (ArtsWest); Grease: the Musical (The 5th Avenue Theatre); The Combat (Seattle Opera); Heart Mountain and The Rape of Lucretia (Vespertine Opera Theater); String, Writing Kevin Taylor, Cubamor (Village Originals: Beta Series); School of Rock: the Musical (Village Theatre KIDSTAGE); and The Magic Flute (Pacific Music Works).
Stephon Dorsey
Sound Designer Stephon Dorsey has made it his mission to be bold, and highly expressive in his artistry. The Detroit native has been in Seattle for a year and a half after leaving the University of Michigan School of Music to pursue a full-time career in music and art. He recently wrote and produced his debut mela.nin, an eclectic multimedia project with audio and visual components that cycles through themes of love, race, social justice, and childhood nostalgia. Stephon’s musical sound in its rawest form carries many afro-electric and jazz undertones that are incomparable to most popular styles heard today. His artistry, which is fiercely expressed music, photography, graphic design, and spoken word, represents the emotions and values of his people and their roots.
Maria Gray*
Lighting Designer Matthew Webb is thrilled to join Book-It for the first time. Matt’s Seattle credits include Hoodoo Love (Sound Theatre Company), Maiden Voyage (Parley), and Fucking A (The University of Washington). His regional designs include A Night with Janis Joplin (San Jose Repertory Theatre); Hamlet, The 39 Steps, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Raisin in the Sun, Little Rock (cover, American Theatre), The Elephant Man and Doubt (Arkansas Repertory Theatre); Million Dollar Quartet, Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Les Misérables, The King and I, and Peter and the Starcatcher (ZACH Theatre); and Boeing Boeing (Phoenix Theatre). Matt is a third year graduate student with the UW School of Drama. matthewwebblighting.com
Stage Manager Maria Gray is delighted to return to Book-It. Maria has recently moved to Seattle from the Philadelphia region. This past spring, she enjoyed stage managing Welcome to Braggsville at Book-It, as well as assistant stage managing Bring Down the House and Medea at Seattle Shakespeare Company. Prior, she was head of props for the national tours of Jesus Christ Superstar, Million Dollar Quartet, Memphis, and Hair. Her favorite recent stage management experiences include West Side Story (Summer Theatre of New Canaan), Master Class (Shakespeare & Company), and The Little Prince (Bristol Riverside Theatre). In addition to stage managing, Maria also works as an electrician, props mistress, and general stagehand. Maria enjoys hiking and gardening with her wonderful husband, Nathan.
K.D. Schill
Anne Szeliski
Matthew Webb
Costume Designer K.D. Schill has designed/procured costumes for some of the most talented directors, playwrights, actors, dancers, musicians, choreographers, filmmakers, and artists in the Pacific Northwest. For this she is extremely grateful. This is her fifth production with the wonderful artists at Book-It. Thank you for supporting live theatre.
Assistant Stage Manager Anne Szeliski is a stage manager and costume maker currently based in Seattle. She has worked with theaters locally including StoryBook Theater, Studio East, Seattle Opera, and Theatre22. She has also worked at Artists Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Perseverance Theatre, Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, and La Expositiva. Anne was first introduced to Book-It during school field trips to see shows and is delighted to be working with them for the first time. encore art sseattle.com A-9
Dr. Rachel M.E. Wolfe
Dramaturg Rachel M. E. Wolfe is a theatre academic, director, and dramaturg who has worked on shows with various academic and professional theatres around the country. As a dramaturg, she has worked with Riki Kane Larimer and company on Cagney: The Musical, the UC Santa Barbara Department of Theater and Dance on Cloud 9 and She Stoops to Conquer, and the University of Puget Sound Department of Theatre Arts on Raised in Captivity. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is her first collaboration with Book-It. Dr. Wolfe currently holds an adjunct faculty position at the University of Puget Sound, where she teaches theatre history. rachelmewolfe.com
Jane Jones
Founder, Founding Co-Artistic Director Jane is the founder of Book-It and founding co-artistic director of Book-It Repertory Theatre, with Myra Platt. In her 28 years of staging literature, she has performed, adapted, and directed works by such literary giants as Charles Dickens, Eudora Welty, Edith Wharton, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Pam Houston, Raymond Carver, Frank O’Connor, Jim Lynch, Ernest Hemingway, Colette, Amy Bloom, John Irving, John Steinbeck, Daphne du Maurier, and Jane Austen. A veteran actress of 35 years, she has played leading roles in many of America’s most prominent regional theatres. Film and TV credits include “Twin Peaks,”The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Singles, and Homeward Bound. She co-directed with Tom Hulce at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Peter Parnell’s adaptation of John Irving’s The Cider House Rules, Parts I and II, which enjoyed successful runs here in Seattle, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles (Ovation Award, best director) and in New York (Drama Desk Nomination, best director). Recently Jane directed Book-It’s Great Expectations at Portland Center Stage, where her credits also include Pride and Prejudice, Cyrano and Twelfth Night (2008 Drammy award for Best Direction and Production). For Book-It, she has directed A Moveable Feast, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, The Dog of the South, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Uncensored, Truth Like the Sun, The House of Mirth, The Highest Tide, Travels with Charley, Pride and Prejudice, Howard’s End, In a Shallow Grave, The Awakening, Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Cider House Rules, Parts I and II, winner of the 2010 and 2011 Gregory Awards for Outstanding Production. In 2008 she, Myra Platt, and Book-It were honored to be named by The Seattle Times among seven Unsung Heroes and Uncommon Genius for their 20-year contribution to life in the Puget Sound region. She is a recipient of the 2009 Women’s University Club of Seattle Brava Award, a 2010 Women of Influence award from Puget Sound Business Journal, A-10 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
and the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation’s 20th Anniversary Founders Grant, and was a finalist for the American Union for Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation’s 2012 Zelda Fichandler Award.
Myra Platt
Founding Co-Artistic Director As an original founding member of Book-It, Myra has helped produce over 125 world-premiere mainstage productions and over 30 education touring productions. Most recently she directed and adapted the two-part epic of David James Duncan’s novel The Brothers K and directed The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2014 Gregory Award for Outstanding Production, The Seattle Times Footlight Award). She was nominated for Outstanding Director 2012 (Financial Lives of the Poets) and 2014 (Kavalier & Clay). Directing credits include Little Bee, The Financial Lives of the Poets, The River Why, Persuasion, Night Flight: An Operetta, Red Ranger Came Calling, The House of the Spirits, Plainsong, Cry, the Beloved Country, Sweet Thursday, Giant, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Cowboys Are My Weakness, Roman Fever, A Little Cloud, A Telephone Call, and A Child’s Christmas in Wales. Adapting credits include Little Bee, The Financial Lives of the Poets, The River Why, Night Flight: An Operetta, Red Ranger Came Calling, The House of the Spirits, Giant, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Cowboys Are My Weakness, Roman Fever, A Little Cloud, A Telephone Call, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, The Art of Racing in the Rain, and co-adapted Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant with Jane Jones. Composing credits include Prairie Nocturne, Night Flight: An Operetta (with Joshua Kohl), Red Ranger Came Calling: A Musical (with Edd Key), The Awakening, Ethan Frome, Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, A Telephone Call, and I Am of Ireland. Acting credits include Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, New City Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, Prairie Nocturne, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, The Awakening (West Los Angeles Garland Award), and Howards End. She originated the role of Candy Kendall in The Cider House Rules, Parts I and II directed by Jane Jones and Tom Hulce. Myra is the recipient, with Jane Jones, of a Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Anniversary grant, the 2010 Women of Influence from Puget Sound Business Journal, and was named by The Seattle Times a 2010 Unsung Hero and Uncommon Genius for their 20year contribution to life in the Puget Sound region.
Dan Schuy Production Manager Benjamin Radin Technical Director Carmen Rodriguez Scenic Change Artist Kelsey Rogers Scenic Designer Assistant Sadiqua Iman Costume Designer Assistant Cedric Wright Properties Designer Emily Sershon Properties Master Trevor Cushman Master Electrician/Light Board Operator Joanna Aponte Sound Engineer/ Board Operator Emily Kight Dresser/ Wardrobe
SPECIAL THANKS: Valerie Curtis Newton
Affiliations ACTORS’ EQUITY ASSOCIATION This theatre operates under an agreement within AEA, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. Actors’ Equity Association (AEA), founded in 1913, represents more than 49,000 actors and stage managers in the United States.
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EARTH PEARL COLLECTIVE:
Earth Pearl Collective is a queer, black womyn nonprofit organization dedicated to healing our community through creative collaborations. The collective strives to be at the center of connecting queer womyn of color around the world to collaborate on artistic projects that fight against social injustices, particularly those endured by queer womyn of color communities. CENTRAL DISTRICT FORUM OF ARTS AND IDEAS
BOOK-IT’S ANNUAL FUNDRAISING LUNCHEON supporting our Arts & Education Program THURSDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2017 11:30 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. THE RAINIER CLUB 820 4TH AVENUE, SEATTLE 98104
The Seattle Voice Institute in Georgetown offers voice coaching of all kinds! Singing, voiceover, vocal health, dialects and more. Supporting actors, teachers, and anyone who has a voice and wants to improve it. Private coaching, small workshops and guest teachers from all over the country! We are also happy to announce the opening this fall of our voiceover studios available for small groups and individuals. Visit us at seattlevoiceinstitute.com.
SUGG ESTED M INIMUM D O N AT I O N : $ 1 5 0
Corporate and Table Sponsorships are available
TO R E S E RVE YO U R S E AT , G O TO B O O K - I T. O R G , O R CO N TACT D E VE LO P M E N T A S S O C I AT E I A N S T E WA RT AT I A N S @ B O O K - I T. O R G O R 2 0 6 . 4 2 8 . 6 2 0 2
The CD Forum’s mission is to offer progressive programs that encourage thought and debate on the role of African-Americans in American society. Their vision is to inspire new thoughts and challenge assumptions about African-American culture. Created in 1999, the CD Forum is dedicated to supporting local and national African-American artists by providing them with a stage upon which to present their work along with a welcoming and diverse audience. encore art sseattle.com A-11
A-12 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Honoring Book-It Contributors LITERARY LEGENDS’ CIRCLE $75,000+ Sage Foundation
LITERARY CHAMPIONS’ CIRCLE $25,000+ ArtsFund The Boeing Company Grousemont Foundation The Sheri & Les Biller Family Foundation Shirley & Dave Urdal
LITERARY HEROES’ CIRCLE $10,000+ Anonymous 4Culture BMGI Sonya & Tom Campion Jane & Bob Cremin Gretl Galgon Lucy Helm Ellen & John Hill Stellman Keehnel Margaret Kineke & Dennis West Lucky Seven Foundation Ellen & Stephen Lutz Holly & Bill Marklyn Anne McDuffie & Tim Wood The Morgan Fund National Endowment for the Arts Nesholm Family Foundation The Norcliffe Foundation Mary Pigott Michell & Larry Pihl Seattle Office of Arts & Culture
PARTNERS’ CIRCLE $5,000+
Anonymous John Aldaya ArtsWA Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Matching Gifts Program Diana Carey Amy & Matthew Cockburn Emily Davis Estate of Caroline Feiss Stuart Frank & Marty Hoiness N. Elizabeth McCaw & Yahn W. Bernier Nordstrom Lynne & Nick Reynolds Robert Chinn Foundation Charyl Kay & Earl Sedlik True-Brown Foundation
MANY THANKS TO THE SUPPORTERS WHO MADE ‘I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS’ POSSIBLE: PRODUCTION AND SEASON PRODUCER The Sheri & Les Biller Family Foundation CO-PRODUCERS Diana Carey Ellen Maxson BECOME A PRODUCER
Learn how you can help Book-It create vibrant theatre. Contact Book-It’s development staff at development@book-it.org
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE $2,500+
Monica Alquist Laura & Greg Colman* Carolyn & George Cox Anne Fisher Clay Gustaves Laura & Erik Hanson Jay Hereford & Margaret Winsor Lydig Construction Peter & Kelly Maunsell Ellen Maxson Mary Metastasio Shyla Miller Minar Northey LLP Glenna Olson & Conrad Wouters Shirley Roberson* Kate & Stephen Robinson Steve Schwartzman & Daniel Karches Martha Sidlo Nancy & Warren Smith U.S. Bank Foundation Kris & Mike Villiott Elizabeth Warman Carlos White & Rachel Sage Williams Miller Family Foundation
NOBEL PRIZE CIRCLE $1,000+
Anonymous (4) Emily Anthony & David Maymudes Cinnimin Avena Donna & Anthony Barnett Stephen & Salli Bauer Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Luther Black & Christina Wright Penny Bradley
Karen Brandvick-Baker & Ross Baker Mary Anne Braund & Steve Pellegrin Patricia Britton Sally Brunette Steve Bull & Christiane Pein Pablo Butler Karen & Tom Challinor Clipper Seafoods, LTD. Donna Cochener Carol & Bill Collins Gordon B. Davidson D.A. Davidson & Co. Nora & Allan Davis Christina & Mark Dawson Mark Dexter & Deborah Cowley Earl B. Gilmore Foundation Elizabeth & Paul Fleming Merck Foundation Jayn & Hugh Foy Tina Ganguly & Tim Whitwell Jean Gorecki & Dick Dobyns Margaret Griffiths* Mary Frances & Harold Hill Melissa Huther Dave Thompson & Judy Jesiolowski Brent Johnson Jamie & Jeremy Joseph Karr Tuttle Campbell Debbie Killinger Marianna & Agastya Kohli Emily Krebill Dan Kuhn Susan Leavitt & Bill Block Eleni Ledesma & Eric Rose Leslie Fund, Inc. Darcy & Lee MacLaren Melissa & Don Manning Doug & Kimberly McKenna Terry & Frank Michiels Microsoft Matching Gifts Program Lisbet Nilson & Mark Ashida Deborah & Jeff Parsons* Myra Platt & Dave Ellis Point B Christine & Josh Stepherson Colleen & Brad Stangeland Paul Stucki & Christina Chang Gail Tanaka Cassandra Tate & Glenn Drosendahl Jennifer Teunon & Adam Smith Katherine & James Tune Judith Whetzel Williams Companies Matching Gifts Carol & Bryan Willison The Wolf-McWhirk Fund Wyman Youth Trust encore art sseattle.com A-13
Honoring Book-It Contributors PULITZER PRIZE CIRCLE $500+
Anonymous (2) • Connie Anderson • James & Marilyn Barnett • Lenore & Dick Bensinger • Bob Blazek & Monique Kleinhans • Judy Brandon & H. Randall Webb • Joann Byrd • Cory Carlson • Elizabeth Choy & James Lobsenz • Robert Hovden & Ron DeChene • Gaylee & Jim Duncan • Titia & Bill Ellis • Sara Elward • Constance Euerle • Polly & Eric Feigl • Shannon & Graham Gardner • R. Brooks Gekler • Jane & David Graham • Craig & Darcy Greene • Mark Hamburg • Lenore Hanauer • Ellen Hastings Lake & Company Real Estate • Barbara Hieronymus • Lisa & William Holderman • Heather Howard • Winifred Hussey • Russell Janney • Catherine & Dave Johnson • Jane Jones & Kevin McKeon • Jeffrey M. Kadet • Mariko Kita & Mark Wellington • Mary Klubben • Mr. & Mrs. Gareld John Kneepkens • Tami & Rob Kowal • Eric Pokorny & Jessica Kurtz Pokorny • Richard LeBlanc • Nancy Lomneth & Mark Boyd • Craig Lorch • Medina Foundation • Tami & Joe Micheletti • Richard Monroe • Richard Moore & Suzanne Fry • Eleanor & Charles Pollnow • Whitney & Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser • Jane Noland & Tom Zilly • John O’Connell & Joyce Anne Latino • Cheryl & Tom Oliver • Cathy & Jeff Peda • Olivia Pi-Sonyer & Andrew DeVore • Ann Ramsay-Jenkins • Charles K. & Doris D. Ray • Shawn & Mike Rediger • Priscilla Rice • Jo Ann & Jim Roberts • Mig Schaaf & Stuart Dunwoody • Lauren & George Schuchart • Gail & John Sehlhorst • Michael & Jo Shapiro • Jenness & John Starks • Drella & Garth Stein • Janice Strand • Deborah Swets* • Sara Thompson & Richard Gelinas • Wendy & Rhea Thompson • Ruth Valine & Ed McNerney • Vanguard Charitable • Ruth & Jerry Verhoff • Audrey Watson • Gregory Wetzel • Leora & Robert Wheeler
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD CIRCLE $250+
Anonymous (7) • Robin Dearling & Gary Ackerman • Melissa Albert • Gail Anderson • Virginia Anderson • Amy Arvidson • Heather & Mark Barbieri • Kayti Barnett-O’Brien • Carla & Bradley Berg • Hugh & Rebecca Bergeson • Nancy L. Bittner • Inez Noble Black • Lindsay & Tony Blackner • Janet Boguch & Kelby Fletcher • Bonnie Bowie • Angela & Curtis Brown • Thomas Buford • Linda & Peter Capell • Mary Casey-Goldstein • Melissa Chase • Beth Cooper • Shelton-de Clercq Family • Sandra & Paul Dehmer • Dottie Delaney • Denise Derr • Lynn Dissinger • Ron Dohr • Carol & Kelly Dole • Lori Eickelberg & Arni Litt • Lynne & Hollie Ellis • Expedia Gives Matching Gift Program • Judi & Steve Finney • Liz Fitzhugh & Jim Feldman • K. Denice Fischer-Fortier & James Fortier • Caroline Fox • Marlene Friend • Alan & Lisbeth Fritzberg • Jean & Mike Gannon • Siobhan Ginnane & Dan Whelan • Vicki & Gerrie Goddard • Carla Granat & Stephen Smith • Diane Grover • Lisa Hanna • Karyn Henry • Diana & John A-14 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Hice • Sandy Hill • Ann Hollar & Steve Orser • Cynthia Huffman & Ray Heacox • Kent Johnson & Cody Blomberg • Tom & Angie Johnson • Ted Jones • Susan Jones • Gil Joynt • Alice Braverman & Patrick Kafer • David Kasik & Jan Levine • Pam Kendrick • Steve Kennebeck • Mary Beth & Marty King • Akshay Kulkarni • Michael Lamb & Adam Grutz • Meredith Lehr & William Severson • Connor & Thomas Lennon & Patricia Keegan • Susan Lerner • Brock Loen • Douglas & Sherry Luetjen • Mary Frances Lyons • Vivienne & Paul Manheim • Thomas Markl • Mary Anne Stusser Martin & Charles Martin • Elaine Mathies • Ruth McCormick* • Susan & Bob Mecklenburg • Steve Miller & Pamela Cowan • Jen Modjeska • Susan Jones • Martha Mukhalian • Mitchell J. Olejko & Jill O. Wolcott • David Shellenbarger & Marsha Ose • Christina Papadakis • Cecilia Paul & Harry Reinert • John Pehrson • Corliss Perdaems & Carl Kassebaum • Sherry Perrault & Michael Harding • Yumi Petersen • Raquel Phillips • Anne & Lee Pipkin • Linda Quirk • Barb & Dan Radin • Nancy Reichley • Maren Richter • Paula Riggert • Rebecca Ripley • Katherine Runyon • Jain Rutherford • Troy & Margot Saharic • Linda Sahlin • Peggy Scales • Patti & Mark Seklemian • Sharon & Tom Sherrard • Marilyn Sherron • Penny & Dan Smith • Constance Standish & David Darby • Julie Stohlman • Linda & Hugh Straley • Liann & Stephen Sundquist • Jen Taylor • Shari & Kerry Thompson • Lisa & Manish Tripathi • Elizabeth Valentine • Karen & Ron Van Genderen • Jorie Wackerman • Susan Ward • Washington State Employee Combined Fund • Juanita & Bob Watt • Bill & Paula Whitham • Shannon Williams • Richard Wilson
PEN/FAULKNER AWARD CIRCLE $100+
Anonymous (27) • Doug Adams & Scott Fitzgerald • Judith Alexander • Katherine Alexander • Cortney Anderson-Sanford • Daemond Arrindell • Deborah Ashin • Brian Atwater • Anne & Roger Baker • Putnam Barber & Valerie Lynch • Jo Ann & Tom Bardeen • Susan Bean • BECU • Brenda Bennett • Julia Bent • Roger Berger & Eileen Simmons • Beth Berman • Lois Billig • Karl Bischoff & Leslie Phinney • Marisa N. Bocci • Barry Boone & Mary Wilson • Erin Brindley • Nicole Brodeur • Kim Brotherton • Don & Karen Brown • Patricia Brunetto • Bryan Burch • Stan & Alice Burgess • Kathleen Caldwell • Jeanne Carpenter • Kate Carruthers • Eric Cederwall • Susan Chiavelli • Kristy Clay • Catherine Clemens • Kymberli Ricks White • Johanna & Colin Coolbaugh • Mike & Janice Cummings O’Mahony • Jim Wilder & Margaret Curtin • Don & Marilyn Davidson • Melinda Deane & Danny Wheetman • Anthony J. Derrick • Nelson Dong & Diane Wong • Marcia Donovan* • Marcia R. Douglas • Beth L. Dubey* • Susan Dyer • Bretnie & Eric Eschenbach • Laura
CONTINUED
Fine-Morrison • Linda Finn • Shelley Gibson • Lori Gicklhorn • Sylvia Gillett • Laurie Greig • Linda Haas • Alle Hall & Cliff Meyer • Judith Hamilton • Faith Hanna • Amani Harris • Amy Harris • Phyllis Hatfield • Signy & James Hayden • Linda Heinen • Lloyd Herman & Richard Wilson* • Patricia Highet • Stephanie M Hilbert • Jean Hilde • Mariko & John Hirasawa • Erika Holden • Terry Holme & Jeanne Iannucci • Harriet Huber • Mary & Robert Hunter • Annie Jamison • Janof Architecture • Kris Jorgensen & Margey Rubado • Neil Jungemann • Joan Kalhorn • Owen Kikuta • Alana & Harry Knaster • Karen Koon • Marsha Kremen & Jilly Eddy • Mary Jo Kringas • Alan Kristal & Jason Lamb • Stephanie Lakinski • Patricia Lambert • Elizabeth & Robert Lamson • Sylvia & Wayne Levy • Linda Lewis • Bonnie Lewman • Vivian Montoya & Jay Livey • Christine Livingston • Bill Logan • Elizabeth Mathewson • Frank Lawler & Ann McCurdy • Mark McDermott & Diane Zahn • Paul & Anna McKee • McVicars Family • Vivian Montoya & Jay Livey • Min Moon • Cornelia & Terry Moore • Christopher Mumaw • David Nash & Pat Graves • Grace Nordhoff & Jonathan Beard • Karen O’Connor • Rosemarie Oliver • ONEHOPE Foundation • Carrie Oshiro • Mona & Kurt Own • Cheryl Papadakis • Julie Paul • Janet L Pauli • Maggie & Clint Pehrson • Louise Perlman • Roger & Christine Pihl • Robert Pillitteri • John & Sandra Platt • Wilson Wyoming Platt • Susan Porterfield • Andrea Ptak & Aaron Houseknecht • Lisa Quinn • Benjamin Radin • Neave Rake • Michelle Rebert & Tom Laughlin • Roberta & Brian Reed • Jane & Jay Reich • Leslie & Greg Rice • Karen & Eric Richter • Karen Robins* • Beth Rollinger • Fernne & Roger Rosenblatt • Jennifer L. Cells Russell • George Saulnier & Mary Rhyner-Saulnier • Carol Schapira & Michael Levin • Lee Scheingold • Shannon Schneider • Julie & Jeff Schoenfeld • B. Charlotte Schreiber • Kinza & Philip Schuyler • Pamela & Nate Searle • Lavonne & Josh Searle • Brian & Brenda Shea • Audrey & John Sheffield • Stephen F Silha • Marcia & Peter Sill • Margaret Silver* • Caren Skube • Marilyn Sloan • Barbara Snyder • Craig & Vicki Sosey • Joy Southworth • Diane Stark • Patty Starkovich & Greg Allen • David & Elise Stokes • Ericka Stork • Alexandra Tavares • Sally H. & Robert Telzrow • Anne Terry • Michele & Alan Tesler • Carly Thaler • Richard Thorvilson • Nancy Truitt Pierce • Roger Tucker & Becky Barnett • Carolyn & Rick Turnbaugh • Marcellus Turner • Eugene Usui • Marcia Utela • Dana Van Nest & Paul Casey • Pieter & Tjitske Vandermeulen • John VanGilder • Kathleen Vasquez • Mike Vila • Amy Wald • Scott Warrender & John Bianchi • Sara White & Robert Jordan • Jean & David White • D.D. Wigley • Hope & Ken Wiljanen • Louise Wilkinson • Melinda Williams • Rob Williamson • Sarah Wilmot • Patricia Wilson • Michael Winters • Jeff Youngstrom & Becky Brooks
Stand Up for Book-It Donors
AT THE END OF LAST SEASON, WE ASKED OUR COMMUNITY TO STAND UP FOR BOOK-IT. THESE INCREDIBLE DONORS RAISED $115,000 IN JUST TWO MONTHS, EARNING AN ADDITIONAL $100,000 MATCH. BOOK-IT IS DEEPLY GRATEFUL TO THOSE WHO STAND UP:
Page Abrahamson • Doug Adams & Scott • Fitzgerald • Rebecca Adler • John Aldaya • Judith Alexander • Katherine Alexander • Carol Allen • Monica Alquist • Abbie Anderson • Connie Anderson • Virginia Anderson • Michael Andersson • Shannon Angstead • Daemond Arrindell • Anne & Roger Baker • Karen Brandvick-Baker & Ross Baker • Lee Baker • Putnam Barber & Valerie Lynch • Jo Ann & Tom Bardeen • James & Marilyn Barnett • Roger Tucker & Becky Barnett • Jenny Barton • Ellen Bezona & Shawn Baz • Robin Belz • Chris Bennion • Hugh & Rebecca Bergeson • Beth Berman • Ilene Bernik • Scott Warrender & John Bianchi • Lois Billig • Mary Beth Binns • Nancy L. Bittner • Bob Blazek & Monique Kleinhans • Janet Boguch & Kelby Fletcher • Hilary Bolles • Nancy Lomneth & Mark Boyd • John Bradshaw • Alexander Bransky • Patricia Britton • Jeff Youngstrom & Becky Brooks • Kate Brunette • Sally Brunette • Patricia Brunetto • Val Brunetto • Steve Bull & Christiane Pein • Virginia Bullard • Bryan Burch • Stan & Alice Burgess • Nancy Burkhalter • Sarah Butts • Joann Byrd • Karen Bystrom • Dina Carey • Cory Carlson • Karen Carlson • Lydia Carr • Kate Carruthers • Christian Carter • Jessica Case • Mary Casey-Goldstein • P. Caswell • Eric Cederwall • Mary Therese Chambers • Carl Chew • Susan Chiavelli • Dee & Rick Childs • Elizabeth Choy & James Lobsenz • Deborah Christensen • Kristy Clay • Richard O. Coar • Donna Cochener • Kymberli Ricks White • Christie & Richard Collings • Laura & Greg Colman • John Coons • Beth Cooper • Samantha Cooper • Stephanie Costa • Steve Miller & Pamela Cowan • Mike & Janice Cummings O’Mahony • Don & Marilyn Davidson • Gordon B. Davidson • Joan Davis • Robert Hovden & Ron DeChene • Sandra & Paul Dehmer • Dottie Delaney • Tracy Wiling & Ruth E. Dickey • Ron Dohr • Marie Doman • Marcia Donovan • Marcia R. Douglas • Beth L. Dubey • Joan & Frank Ducceschi • Donna Dughi • Gaylee & Jim Duncan • Susan Dyer • Nancy Ellingham • Lynne & Hollie Ellis • Myra Platt & Dave Ellis • Titia & Bill Ellis • Constance Euerle • Barbara Faubion • Polly & Eric Feigl • Laura Ferri • Laura Fine-Morrison • Linda Finn • Susan Finnegan • Anne Fisher • Carole Fisher • Gregory Flood • Dawn Frankwick & Sam Zeiler • Kai Fujita • Lynn Gaertner-Johnston • Ramesh Gangolli • Jean & Mike Gannon • Leslie Geller • Lori Gicklhorn • Sylvia Gillett • Barbara Goldoftas • Jean Gorecki & Dick Dobyns • Lynn Graf • Anne Grant • Craig & Darcy Greene • Cathi Greenwood • Laurie Greig • Margaret Griffiths • Diane Grover • M. Guenneguez • Cathy Gunstone • Clay Gustaves • Linda Haas • Cheryl Hadley • Mark Hamburg • Lenore Hanauer • Laura & Erik Hanson • Joanne Harding • Phyllis Hatfield • Kathryn Hazzard • Elizabeth Heath • Linda Heinen • Lloyd Herman
& Richard Wilson • Cynthia Hickey • Barbara Hieronymus • Stephanie M. Hilbert • Mary Frances & Harold Hill • Stuart Frank & Marty Hoiness • Kate Hokanson • Carol Horton • Heather Howard • David Hsieh • Harriet Huber • Wendy Jackson • Paul Jensen • B. Michelle Johnson • Brent Johnson • Kent Johnson & Cody Blomberg • Susan Jones • Kris Jorgensen & Margey Rubado • Jamie & Jeremy Joseph • Neil Jungemann • Jeffrey M. Kadet • Alice Braverman & Patrick Kafer • Christine Kakos • Joan Kalhorn • David Kasik & Jan Levine • Mindi Katzman • Pam Kendrick • Steve Kennebeck • Owen Kikuta • Debbie Killinger • Margaret Kineke & Dennis West • Mr. & Mrs. Gareld John Kneepkens • Nancy Koning • Tami & Rob Kowal • Marsha Kremen & Jilly Eddy • Mary Jo Kringas • Akshay Kulkarni • Mary Law • Eleni Ledesma & Eric Rose • Meredith Lehr & William Severson • Adam Levin Delson • Audrey Lew & John Tilden • Larry Lewin • Dominic Lewis • Linda Lewis • Cynthia Livak & Peter Davenport • Vivian Montoya & Jay Livey • Christine Livingston • Elena Loper • Robin Macartney • Darcy & Lee MacLaren • Jan Maher • Vivienne & Paul Manheim • Thomas Markl • James Marshall • Elizabeth Mathewson • Elizabeth Maurer • Dan Mayer • Amy Mayes • Laurie McCarthy • Ruth McCormick • Paul & Anna McKee • Gaye McNutt • Mary Metastasio • Margaret Meyer • Tami & Joe Micheletti • Peter Miller • Shyla Miller • Marion & George Mohler • Richard Monroe • Cornelia & Terry Moore • David Moore • Richard Moore & Suzanne Fry • Mia Morris • Eleanor & Charles Pollnow • Manette Moses • William Mowat • Martha Mukhalian • Christopher Mumaw • Elisabeth Murata • Kim Namba • David Nash & Pat Graves • Jennifer Nelson • Joan Nichol • Lisbet Nilson & Mark Ashida • Grace Nordhoff & Jonathan Beard • Robert Norris • Chris O’Brien • Rosemarie Oliver • Nancy & Stephen Olsen • Claire & Austin O’Regan • Pat O’Rourke • David Shellenbarger & Marsha Ose • Pam & Tim O’Sullivan • Reeve Parker • Susan Parker • Deborah & Jeff Parsons • Kimberly Pasciuto • Carla Patterson • Kathy Paul • Marie Pavish • Susan Pazina • Elizabeth A. Pearson & Jacyn Stewart • Jim Peckenpaugh • Maggie & Clint Pehrson • Mary Anne Braund & Steve Pellegrin • Corliss Perdaems & Carl Kassebaum • Louise Perlman • Karen Perry • Yumi Petersen • Michell & Larry Pihl • Robert Pillitteri • Anne & Lee Pipkin • Wilson Wyoming Platt • Candace Plog • Andrea Ptak & Aaron Houseknecht • Linda Quirk • Barb & Dan Radin • Ann Ramsay-Jenkins • Charles K. & Doris D. Ray • Jane & Jay Reich • Nancy Reichley • Caroline Rensel • Janey L. Repensek • Lynne & Nick Reynolds • Leslie & Greg Rice • Ginger Rich Carla Rickerson • Paula Riggert • Rebecca Ripley • Elizabeth Roach • Shirley Roberson • Jo Ann & Jim Roberts • Kim Roberts & Joe Ewing • Roberta
Roberts • Karen Robins • Kate & Stephen Robinson • Beth Rollinger • Marga Rose Hancock • Katherine Runyon • Jain Rutherford • Patricia Rytkonen & William Karn • George Saulnier & Mary RhynerSaulnier • Lee Scheingold • Paul Schiavo • Polly Schlitz • Julie & Jeff Schoenfeld • Heidi Schor • B. Charlotte Schreiber • Kinza & Philip Schuyler • Steve Schwartzman & Daniel Karches • Lavonne & Josh Searle • Patti & Mark Seklemian • Carol & Mark Shafer • Walayn Sharples • Brian & Brenda Shea • Sally Sheck • Audrey & John Sheffield • Sharon & Tom Sherrard • Genie Sheth • Stephen F. Silha • Marcia & Peter Sill • Margaret Silver • Marilyn Sloan • Deborah Smick • Carla Granat & Stephen Smith • Julie Smith • Barbara Snyder • Barbara Spear • Jon Stafford • Christine & Josh Stepherson • Ian Stewart • Julie Stohlman • Ericka Stork • Colleen Stangeland • Jim & Lou Ann Street • Anna Strickland • Sheila Striegl • Liann & Stephen Sundquist • Laura Sutkus • Constance Swank • Tree Swenson • Deborah Swets • Gail Tanaka • Jen Taylor • Sally H. & Robert Telzrow • Michele & Alan Tesler • Carly Thaler • Laura & Emory Thomas • Sara Thompson & Richard Gelinas • Richard Thorvilson • Charlotte Tiencken & Bill West • Kathie Titus • Mitsuo Tomita • Daniel & Joanna Trefethen • Nancy Truitt Pierce • Marcellus Turner • Kim & Kirby Unti • Marcia Utela • Laurie Utterback • Ruth Valine & Ed McNerney • Karen & Ron Van Genderen • John VanGilder • Kris & Mike Villiott • Joan Voorheis • Jorie Wackerman • Amber Walker • Elizabeth Warman • Judy Brandon & H. Randall Webb • Julie Weisbach • Joella Werlin • Eddie & Marty Westerman • Leora & Robert Wheeler • Judith Whetzel • Sara White & Robert Jordan • Bill & Paula Whitham • Patricia Whitney • D.D. Wigley • Louise Wilkinson • Celeste Williams • Melinda Williams • Shannon Williams • Rob Williamson • Nathan Wilson • Valerie Winslow • Michael Winters • Leslie Wisdom • Mitchell J. Olejko & Jill O. Wolcott • Deborah Wolf • Nancy Wright • Dorothy Wysham • Mark McDermott & Diane Zahn
GIFTS IN HONOR & MEMORY In memory of Susan Hirasawa Julia Geier & Phil Borges In memory of Rueben “Boy” Lopez, in honor of a fallen soldier on Live for Good Day 2017 Colleen Stangeland In honor of Melinda Deane Andrea Ptak In honor of Anne Fisher & Jaxon Ravens’ wedding Deborah Wolf encore art sseattle.com A-15
OUR MISSION IS TO TRANSFORM GREAT LITERATURE INTO GREAT THEATRE THROUGH SIMPLE AND SENSITIVE PRODUCTION AND TO INSPIRE OUR AUDIENCES TO READ.
Board of DIRECTORS
Book-It STAFF Jane Jones
Myra Platt
Founder & Founding Co-Artistic Director
artistic
Larry Pihl, President
Founding Co-Artistic Director
marketing & communications
Josh Aaseng Associate Artistic Director
Chief Financial Officer, Clipper Seafoods
administrative
Shawna Grajek Casting Associate
Patricia Britton Director of Marketing & Communications
Kayti Barnett-O’Brien Managing Director Penny Bradley Bookkeeper
education
Val Brunetto Communications Manager
production
Kevin McKeon Graphics and Publications
Dan Schuy Production Manager
patron services
Benjamin Radin Technical Director
Sasha Bailey Patron Services Manager
Jocelyne Fowler Costume Shop Manager
Tom Dewey Box Office Ticketing & Patron Specialist
services
Annie DiMartino Director of Education Dominic Lewis Tour Manager
development Sally Brunette Director of Development Ian Stewart Development Associate
Aly Guzman-Dyrseth Box Office Sales & Data Specialist
Adam Smith Photography Alan Alabastro Photography Chris Bennion Photography John Ulman Photography The Makeup Session Tom Wahl, IT Support
Stephen Robinson, Vice-President Writer
Shirley Roberson, Secretary
Senior Associate, Hughes Media Law Group
John Aldaya, Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer, Carrix
Monica Alquist
Director of Events & Special Projects, Puget Sound Business Journal
Laura Colman
Healthcare & Human Resources Executive, Retired
Anne Fisher
Senior Associate, Point B
Stuart Frank
Sourcing Specialist, 2rb Consulting
Craig Greene
Director of Special Projects, Lydig Construction
Jane Jones
Founder & Founding Co-Artistic Director, Book-It
Margaret Kineke
Senior Vice President, Financial Consultant, D.A. Davidson & Co.
Mary Metastasio
Senior Portfolio Manager, Safeco, Retired
Shyla Miller
Community Investor, Global Corporate Citizenship NW Region, The Boeing Company
CONTACT us
Christopher Mumaw
BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE 2010 Mayor’s Arts Award-winner, recipient of the 2012 Governor’s Arts Award and the 2014 Inaugural Sherry Prowda Literary Champion Award, Book-It Repertory Theatre began 29 years ago as an artists’ collective, adapting short stories for performance and touring them throughout the Northwest. The company incorporated as a non-profit in 1990. Today, with over 125 world-premiere adaptations of literature to its credit—many of which have garnered rave reviews and gone on to subsequent productions all over the country—Book-It is widely respected for the consistent artistic excellence of its work.
center theatre + box office 305 Harrison Street, Seattle, WA 98109
admin offices 158 Thomas Street, Seattle, WA 98109
box office contact 206.216.0833 | boxoffice@book-it.org
admin contact 206.216.0877 | info@book-it.org
book-it.org FACEBOOK
/bookitrep
@book_it
A-16 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
bookitrep
bookitrep
Scenic & Experiential Designer
Myra Platt
Founding Co-Artistic Director, Book-It
Steven Schwartzman
Attorney, U.S. Postal Service, Western Area Law Department
Earl Sedlik
Educator and Supporter
Christine Stepherson Founder, Team Soapbox
Emeritus BOARD Ross Baker Joann Byrd Emily Davis Dan Kuhn Tom Oliver Deborah Swets Ruth Valine Kris Villiott Liz Warman Audrey Watson
Honorary BOARD Sonya Campion Beth McCaw Ann Ramsay-Jenkins Tom Robbins Garth Stein
Malie Wong and Greg Lyle in Nadeshiko by Keiko Green. Sound Theatre Company. Photo by Ken Holmes.
the production, saying, “I’ve been to a number of shows there, but this was the first time I saw so many people of all nationalities and languages there. It was so cool! We were all laughing at the same things!” Theatre has the power to bring people together, in one place, so we can experience our common humanity together. A greater diversity of stories gives people the opportunity to learn about other people, not only what makes us each unique, but also what is universal and connects us. Local actor Josh Kenji, recently seen in Sound Theatre’s Nadeshiko explains, “Theatre helps to cultivate compassion. If we only see stories of white people, we only cultivate compassion for white people.”
When people of color see other people of color on stage, it signals that we are
When people of color see other people of color on stage, it signals that we are included, that our lives matter, too. included, that our lives matter, too. I remember seeing my first stage play when I was 14. I was enthralled. It was pure magic, and from that moment, I knew theatre would always be a part of my life. But it wasn’t until I saw a production of a Japanese folktale at the Seattle Children’s Theatre, where all the
actors looked like me, that I actually believed in the possibility that I, too, could be on that stage and not simply sit in the dark and watch others do what I wanted to do. Khanh Doan, who can be seen in ACT’s upcoming King of the Yees, knows what it feels like to be on the other side of that equation. “When I’m performing at the Children’s Theatre, and I look out at the audience and see young Asian American kids looking up at me, seeing someone who looks like them, that’s worth everything.” If we want to create true equity in this country, then we need to start by letting all people see themselves fully and regularly in these spaces. “Theatre is innately a democratic practice, and Democracy finds its roots in theatre,” elaborates Kenji. “Both are not being fully realized in the civic realm if they are excluding encore art sseattle.com 7
Tickets are on sale now. Join us in a neighborhood near you. (9/10) Dar Williams ‘A Thousand Small Towns’
Rainier Arts Center, Columbia City
(9/11) John Nichols ‘Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse’
Evan Whitfield & Kathy Hsieh in Chinglish by David Henry Hwang, presented by ArtsWest & SIS Productions. Photo by Michael Brunk.
The Summit on Pike, Capitol Hill
(9/12) Jonathan White ‘The Science and Spirit of the Ocean’
University Lutheran Church, U District
(9/13) Vanessa Grigoriadis ‘Sex, Power and Consent on Campus’
University Lutheran Church, U District
(9/23) Global Rhythms Concert: Brooklyn Raga Massive ‘An homage to John Coltrane’
entire populations.” We need a constant stream of diverse stories; single stories lead to stereotypes. Many stories, with multi-faceted characters, leads to greater cross-cultural understanding of each other and of ourselves. Diverse representation on our stages is one important part of creating a more equitable civic culture.
Plymouth Church, Downtown
(9/25) Town Hall Seattle and Seattle University present: Halee Fischer-Wright ‘The Art, Science and Business of Medicine’
Pigott Auditorium, Seattle U, Capitol Hill
(9/26) Town Hall Seattle and the Museum of Flight present: Major Margaret Witt ‘The Military Trial at a Gay Rights Tipping Point’ Museum of Flight, South Seattle
(10/2) Town Hall Seattle and Seattle University present: Stephen Greenblatt ‘What Adam and Eve Can Teach Us’ Pigott Auditorium, Seattle U, Capitol Hill
(10/5) Global Rhythms Concert: Trio da Kali ‘The traditional music of Western Africa’s Mande people’ Washington Hall, Central District
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We’ve come a long way from having only a single David Henry Hwang play or Madame Butterfly opera once every decade on Seattle’s largest stages. But even with the recent upward trend, Asian American productions still only represented 8% of all the productions in Seattle in 2016. That doesn’t reflect the demographic of our city: 17.1% of Seattle’s population is Asian American/ Pacific Islander, so we still have much further to go before our worlds onstage reflect our city beyond the theatre walls. It’s vital for larger companies with greater resources to partner with the smaller people of color led theatre companies, not only to ensure greater cultural authenticity, but as a way of disrupting the inequitable systems in place, so that we can create a more vibrant theatre ecosystem. Theatre is the art form that lays bare the human soul so that we might understand that we are not alone—
not only in our connection with the characters on stage, but also in the experiencing of the story communally with others. Imagine how truly powerful theatre might be if we did indeed consistently have people of all races sitting side-by-side, laughing and reacting, feeling and sharing the many stories of all of us together. And when we begin to see and experience the full spectrum of who we are as human beings together, think of how much more might be possible in every aspect of our lives. If all the world’s a stage, then it’s time we started seeing more of the world on our stages. < Kathy Hsieh is an award-winning actor, writer and director. She has worked in film, audio and theatre including the Seattle Rep, Book-It, ACT, INTIMAN, Seattle Public Theatre, ReAct, Living Voices, Theater Schmeater, Freehold, Live Girls!, 14/48 Productions, ArtsWest and more. As the Cultural Partnerships & Grants Manager for the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, she’s working to transform the City’s arts funding program through a racial equity lens and helped the agency earn the Seattle Management Association’s first Race & Social Justice Management Award. She is also a Co-Executive Producer for SIS Productions, a local Asian American theatre company run by women to provide them with opportunities for developing leadership skills.
Dialogue The Only Sensible Thing to Do For this issue, we talked to Jared Michael Brown, co-founder of A Sensible Theatre Company. Brown is an actor who has appeared on stage at The 5th Avenue Theatre, Village Theatre, Seattle Children's Theatre, ACT, Showtunes Theatre Company, Contemporary Classics, Stumptown Stages, and The Endangered Species Project. He currently splits his time between Seattle and New York City. Tell us a little about who you and your co-founder are.
Paul [Flanagan, the other co-founder of A Sensible Theatre Company] and I are two respectable gay gentlemen who moseyed into Seattle years ago and decided that we wanted to produce high-caliber queer entertainment. We’re two professional musical theatre artists that wanted to sprinkle a little glitter onto the gray and misty Pacific Northwest. Why did you start A Sensible Theatre Company?
A city with the 5th largest population of self-identified LGBTQIA+ individuals deserves a company that will focus solely on furthering the conversation of inclusivity and equality [for that population].
Paul Flanagan and Jared Michael Brown. Photos courtesy of A Sensible Theatre Company.
A Sensible Theatre Company exists to present fabulous musical theatre productions that focus on furthering the LGBTQIA+ conversation of inclusivity. We will do that by producing full-out, noencore art sseattle.com 9
marking productions that place a diverse range of LGBTQIA+ human beings at the forefront of our stories—because that's the only #sensible thing to do at this moment in time. How long has the company existed?
We’re fresh! We officially released our company onto the world in July, though it has been in the works for over a year. At the moment, we’re working on fundraising, and making connections with those we feel will represent our mission and help us to reach the communities we want to impact.
SEASONAL EXHIBITS FOR YOUR PALETTE
So, you’re still in the founding phase. Any projects on the docket yet?
Enjoy artistically inspired dishes crafted from local ingredients, and see the personal story of Dale Chihuly through his collections.
Yes, we have several projects in the works: A series of gatherings and parties leading up to our inaugural project at ACT in the summer of 2018, PAGEANT: The Musical; a couple commissioned works in the pipeline; and maybe a surprise pop-up event in the near future as well.
LUNCH / HAPPY HOUR / WEEKEND BRUNCH
COLLECTIONSCAFE.COM L O C AT E D AT C H I H U LY G A R D E N A N D G L A S S 305 HARRISON ST / SEATTLE WA 206.753.4935
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REMODELS
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NEW HOMES
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What is your vision for the future of the company? 8/4/17 4:35 PM
COMMERCIAL
We plan to continue to curate productions and experiences that further our mission, on this continent, and on every continent. We also look forward to working with At-Risk Queer Youth, International Queer Artists, and actors of all colors and creeds. Who inspires you?
BETTER BUILDING THROUGH SERVICE, CRAFT, AND SCIENCE
Both of Paul and I are inspired by the local theatre community here in Seattle. It’s chock full of individual artists that aren’t afraid to express themselves in bold new ways. We draw inspiration from those who have paved the path before us: Seattle’s Sarah Rudinoff, RuPaul, Tony Kushner, Ellen, Stephen Fry, Lily Tomlin, Bette Midler… the list goes on and on. How can interested folks learn more or get involved in A Sensible Theatre Company?
HAMMERANDHAND.COM
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WACL# HAMMEH1930M7
Anyone interested in learning more about our company and our work should visit our website (sensibletheatre.co), find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram (@ ASensibleTC). We’ve got a lot of exciting things in store. <
Intermission Brain Transmission
Are you waiting the curtain to rise? Or, perhaps, you’ve just returned your seat before the second act and have a few minutes to spare? Treat your brain to this scintillating trivia quiz! Email us the answer to the last question and have a chance to win tickets to a show!
1. Book-it Repertory is producing I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, based on the autobiography of Dr. Maya Angelou. The title of the book is a line from a poem by whom of the following poets? a) Paul Laurence Dunbar
c) Langston Hughes
b) Phyllis Wheatley
d) Gwendolyn Brooks
2. In ACT Theatre’s King of the Yees, playwright Lauren Yee explores themes of family, solidarity, insularity, and alienation. The play is set in Chinatown in San Francisco. In what year did Seattle’s Chinatown/ International District open its own Chinatown gate? a) 2011
c) 1994
b) 2008
d)1974
3. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare is running at Seattle Shakespeare Company. During the play, Caesar is killed. Who was his successor as emperor? a) Octavian
c) Mark Antony
b) Crassus
d) Nero
4. Taproot Theatre Company is producing Relativity, a play about Albert Einstein’s family life. In what year did Albert Einstein publish his theory of general relativity? a) 1923
c) 1915
b) 1905
d) 1934
Marble head from a statue, probably of Julius Caesar, about AD50 from Rome at the British Museum. Photo by William Warby.
Bonus Question What was the last arts performance you attended that you liked best and why? Email your response to production@encoremediagroup.com with Trivia Quiz in the subject line.
ANSWERS 1) A – Paul Laurence Dunbar. Dunbar (1872-1906), an accomplished author and poet, was also the lyricist for the first all African-American-produced musical on Broadway. 2) B – 2008. Construction was completed in 2007 and cost $500,000. 3) A – Octavian. Later known as Augustus, he is considered the first Roman emperor. 4) C – 1915. Einstein first hit upon the theory in 1905, but it took a decade to refine, defend, and publish.
encore art sseattle.com 11
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