DECEMBER 2018
2018/19 MAINSTAGE JANE EYRE + MY ÁNTONIA + AMERICAN JUNKIE + RETURNING THE BONES + BEHOLD THE DREAMERS 2018/19 TOURING STORIES THE UPSIDE DOWN BOY / EL NIÑO DE CABEZA + NEW SHOES + THE ODYSSEY: AN EXPLORATION OF MYTH, MAGIC, AND MONSTERS
The
Collection Celebrates. Shops. Eats. Sips. & Mingles.
Come together for the Season. Experience the region’s most festive holiday scene, Snowflake Lane, a complimentary nightly parade of toy drummers, dancers, beautiful lights and falling snow. Shop over 200 stores and enjoy a Dining District with 50+ local-to-global restaurants and nightlife adventures— All in One Place! Delight in extended holiday shopping hours. Plus, free & easy parking—always. bellevuecollection.com
T HE B E L L E V U E C OL L E C T ION BELLEVUE SQUARE • BELLEVUE PLACE • LINCOLN SQUARE
575 Bellevue Square, Bellevue, WA 98004 Located between NE 4th and NE 8th on bellevue way. 425-454-8096
WINTER 2018
Contents
Paul Heppner President
Feature
Mike Hathaway Senior Vice President
4 In Search of Artistic Community
Kajsa Puckett Vice President, Sales & Marketing
Dialogue
Genay Genereux Accounting & Office Manager
9
Ryan Henry Ward on murals in Seattle
13
Heidi Durham on the nonprofit Art with Heart
Intermission Brain Transmission 15
Test yourself with our trivia quiz!
Encore Stages is an Encore Arts Program that features stories about our local arts community alongside information about performances. Encore Arts Programs are publications of Encore Media Group. We also publish specialty publications, including the Offical Seattle Pride Guide and the SIFF Guide and Catalog. Learn more at encoremediagroup.com
Production Susan Peterson Vice President, Production Jennifer Sugden Assistant Production Manager Ana Alvira, Stevie VanBronkhorst Production Artists and Graphic Designers
ÁN M TO Y NI A
December 2018 Volume 15, No. 3
NOV 29 DEC 30 by Willa Cather Adapted & Directed by Annie Lareau
Sales Amelia Heppner, Marilyn Kallins, Terri Reed San Francisco/Bay Area Account Executives Devin Bannon, Brieanna Hansen, Ann Manning, Wendy Pedersen Seattle Area Account Executives
CENTER THEATRE• SEATTLE CENTER BOOK-IT.ORG • 206.216.0833
Carol Yip Sales Coordinator Marketing Shaun Swick Senior Designer & Digital Lead Ciara Caya Marketing Coordinator
Encore Stages features the following organizations:
Encore Media Group 425 North 85th Street Seattle, WA 98103 p 800.308.2898 | 206.443.0445 f 206.443.1246 info@encoremediagroup.com www.encoremediagroup.com Encore Arts Programs and Encore Stages are published monthly by Encore Media Group to serve musical and theatrical events in the Puget Sound and San Francisco Bay Areas. All rights reserved. ©2018 Encore Media Group. Reproduction without written permission is prohibited.
encoremediagroup.com/programs 3
In Search of Artistic Community:
My Year with the Umbrella Project Writers Group
The Umbrella Project Writers Group in discussion. Photo by Starglass Photography. Courtesy of Umbrella Project.
Danielle Mohlman pulls back the curtain on the inaugural Umbrella Project Writers Group and the four new plays that have come out of it—including one of her own.
Every time I walk into The Cloud Room, I remind myself to breathe. Inhale one, two, three. Exhale one, two, three. It’s a stage direction I’ve included in my plays more than once—a necessary one because it’s a reminder to trust, to let go, to be vulnerable. This Capitol Hill co-working space is more than a place to gather and share new work. It’s also the place where I’ve shared my most vulnerable work: new pages from a script that terrifies me, its creator. Inhale one, two, three. Exhale one, two, three. When Sara Keats, Umbrella Project’s director of dramaturgy, told me she was starting a writers’ group, I was immediately interested. I’d been kicking around the idea of writing a play about the fanaticism of college football and the way campuses address rape allegations when players are involved.
4 ENCORE STAGES
Most of my plays come from a place of rage and Rushing was no different. I’d read Missoula by Jon Krakauer and Unsportsmanlike Conduct by Jessica Luther, two books that report on sexual violence at the hands of Division I football players. I spoke with mentors about the topic—including one playwright who’s made his career on the football as hero’s journey story—and everyone was very encouraging. But I’m a playwright—a particularly anxious one. And no matter how much encouragement I receive, it’s not going to change the fact that I ultimately need to write the play alone. And, for this play, that was a terrifying idea. Which is why, when Umbrella Project accepted me into their inaugural Writers Group, I knew that this was the play I wanted to write.
the flexibility the Writers Group timeline offers. While I used the February to December calendar to write a first draft of Rushing, Seayoung Yim used our monthly meetings to get feedback on Summoning Frankie, a play that was produced at Seattle Public Theater. Now that the show has closed, she’s oscillating between bringing in new drafts and starting a completely new play. Meme García is working on an adapted play but paused midway through to bring in new pages of House of Sueños in advance of their 18th & Union and Bumbershoot performances. And Brandon J. Simmons came into the Writers Group with a play he’d been simmering on for a long time—but ultimately decided to start writing an entirely new play just a few months before our showcase. Meme García, Umbrella Project Writers Group playwright. Photo by Starglass Photography. Courtesy of Umbrella Project.
Umbrella Project’s work stems from a philosophy of radical dramaturgy. For Sara Keats, that means a flexible, dynamic and anti-oppressive artistic practice that marries more traditional dramaturgical practices with producing, advocating for and generally being incredibly involved in a new play’s journey from first page to final production. “The Umbrella Project Writers Group was, in a lot of ways, a natural outgrowth of our mission as an organization,” Keats said. “Umbrella Project is all about serving plays and playwrights, and we think the best way to do that is to inspire and empower new play dramaturgs.” She added that most good playwrights have a dramaturgical streak within them, one that’s often activated within the confines of a writers’ group. But it’s a different experience altogether to be part of a cohort solely as a dramaturg.
Simmons says that the most challenging part of the Writers Group is his struggle to simply write.
“Umbrella Project is all about serving plays and playwrights, and we think the best way to do that is to inspire and empower new play dramaturgs.”
productions of my play Do It for Umma and she’s an amazing delight,” Yim said. “I’ve found the Umbrella Project folks are a brilliant and kind group, so I knew I would really enjoy working with them.” Summoning Frankie, the play she’s spent the most time with in Writers Group, is a nod to the wizarding world of Harry Potter. It’s a comedy about a magical school, but it’s also a play that tackles classism, gender and the politics surrounding school funding. “Writing about wizardry is something completely foreign to me, but I’ve been surprised how much I enjoyed making magical elements up,” Yim said. “It’s also the first time I’ve written for an all youth cast and it was really challenging and fun to write for that age group.” García applied to the Writers Group because they wanted to see how other playwrights work and what their process is like. “I’m a relatively new playwright,” García said. “My play, tnc, isn’t exactly autobiographical, but I’ve been exploring what the concept of love looks like through queer Latinx eyes. Many of the speeches or songs in the play are poems I’ve written about people in my life. So, having them read aloud is oddly cathartic but also terrifying.
“Having space and time to work on a piece I’ve been struggling with for years allowed me to actually explore the limits of the idea before moving on to something more interesting,” Simmons said. “Goldberg is no longer nagging at the back of my brain. It’s effectively been put to rest, and I have space for new ideas.”
“The biggest difference between Writers Group at Umbrella Project and other script development opportunities is that the dramaturgs are there from the beginning,” Keats said.
Yim applied to the Writers Group because she’s always admired the artists who make up Umbrella Project. She’s found that the most rewarding part has been meeting other playwrights and digging into their artistic processes.
In addition to the sheer amount of dramaturgical support, Keats is proud of
“I have worked with Erin Bednarz, the director of engagement, on previous
Brandon J. Simmons, Umbrella Project Writers Group playwright. Photo by Starglass Photography. Courtesy of Umbrella Project. encoremediagroup.com/programs 5
As a genderqueer Latinx person who is not out to their family, the concept of love tends to simmer inside me until it bursts forth in erratic ways. What would it look like if the poems I write could just be said aloud, spoken for the world to hear, not hidden? What does love look like in a world where Latinx people are being detained, imprisoned and shunned? How do we continue to love in a time so bent on hate?” The play García has been spending the most time on in Writers Group is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida, simply titled tnc. It’s set on the border of Texas and Mexico in 2025 and is about a group of Latinx guerrilla soldiers fighting against a white supremacist, patriarchal United States. García came up with the idea earlier this year, when they were yelled at for speaking Spanish on the bus here in Seattle. “As a Latinx person there are very few instances where I have felt true power on stage or in a rehearsal room,” García said. “Spaces and productions were not designed for my body in this current political climate. My past traumas and fears are never taken into account and I frequently feel like a commodity—on display and dancing for white theater-goers and artists. I cannot express how many times I’ve been asked to use my “native dialect” on stage—or how many times I’ve had to play a prostitute or a maid. These stories, while important, do not reflect the
true nature of Latinx communities. We are so much more diverse than that. I wanted to write plays which place Latinx folx at the heart of the story. I wanted to create epic worlds of war, love and loss. And I wanted it now!”
“Having an organization like Umbrella Project that recognizes what dramaturgs can do for new plays is hugely important to the creation of new work in Seattle.” Of course, these four plays wouldn’t be the same without the army of dramaturgs we’ve been fortunate to work with. Andrea Kovich, one of the four Writers Group dramaturgs, considers the collaboration among playwrights and dramaturgs the most rewarding part of the program.
(Left to right) Sara Keats, Umbrella Project Writers Group director of dramaturgy, and Rachel M.E. Wolfe and Iphigenia Rising, Writers Group dramaturgs. Photo by Starglass Photography. Courtesy of Umbrella Project. 6 ENCORE STAGES
“So far in my career, I’ve done more production dramaturgy, which involves a lot of solitary work,” Kovich said. “It’s not until rehearsals start that a dramaturg really gets to engage with others and have meaningful conversations. Some local theatres and directors recognize the value of having a production dramaturg, but it’s not as common here that a dramaturg has been involved in the development of the script. Having an organization like Umbrella Project that recognizes what dramaturgs can do for new plays is hugely important to the creation of new work in Seattle.” Mario Gomez has also enjoyed the energy of the cohort. “Most of my script development work had been one on one with the playwrights, where we’re both focusing on the same project,” Gomez said. “In the Umbrella Project Writers Group, we’re working with four playwrights and four dramaturgs, which makes for a completely different dynamic!” And while that dynamic is exciting, it also presents its own set of challenges. “For me, the challenge is that there are eight other people in the room—smart and talented playwrights and dramaturgs— all giving valuable insights and feedback,” Gomez said. “This makes it hard for me to find the balance between the amount
Danielle Mohlman, Umbrella Project Writers Group playwright and Encore Stages contributor. Photo by Starglass Photography. Courtesy of Umbrella Project.
My legacy. My partner. You have dreams. Goals you want to achieve during your lifetime and a legacy you want to leave behind. The Private Bank can help. Our highly specialized and experienced wealth strategists can help you navigate the complexities of estate planning and deliver the customized solutions you need to ensure your wealth is transferred according to your wishes. Take the first step in ensuring the preservation of your wealth for your lifetime and future generations. To learn more, please visit unionbank.com/theprivatebank or contact: Lisa Roberts Managing Director, Private Wealth Management lisa.roberts@unionbank.com 415-705-7159
Wills, trusts, foundations, and wealth planning strategies have legal, tax, accounting, and other implications. Clients should consult a legal or tax advisor.
©2018 MUFG Union Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. Union Bank is a registered trademark and brand name of MUFG Union Bank, N.A.
and type of contributions I make, while leaving enough space for everyone to contribute and, especially, making sure that the playwrights receive the feedback and support they are looking for in each meeting.” Dramaturg Rachel M. E. Wolfe has loved seeing her impact show up on the page. “Seeing my suggestions surface in the next version of a script has been pretty rewarding, I’m not going to lie!” Wolfe said. “There’s a lot of satisfaction and validation in knowing that you’ve helped shape a play into the best version of itself that it can be.” What Iphigenia Rising most appreciates about the Writers Group is the time she’s been able to spend with playwrights this year. “Many of the new work opportunities that I’ve been part of before have been a month or two long—super short—so having a whole year to work with four different playwrights and see their journey is really amazing,” Rising said.
VERDI’S REVENGE STORY Il trovatore SWEEPING EMOTIONAL THRILLER Heat up your winter with a high-stakes classic by the great Giuseppe Verdi (Aida, Rigoletto). During a time of civil war, a mother’s love awakens a dark secret from the past as two rival soldiers feud for the favor of a pure-hearted noblewoman destined for tragedy. Packed with rousing choruses, impressive arias, and familiar melodies, the intensely operatic masterpiece had audiences shouting “Viva Verdi!” after its premiere.
SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/TROVATORE
TICKETS START AT JUST $25! 8 ENCORE STAGES
JANUARY 12–26
In Italian with English subtitles. Evenings 7:30 PM Sundays 2:00 PM Featuring the Seattle Opera Chorus and members of Seattle Symphony Orchestra.
MCCAW HALL 206.389.7676 2018/19 SEASON SPONSOR: LENORE M. HANAUER PRODUCTION SPONSORS: SEATTLE OPERA FOUNDATION ANN P. WYCKOFF Photo: Philip Newton
From the beginning I knew that Rushing was going to be in good hands in Writers Group, but I couldn’t articulate why. I started this play with so many doubts— maybe I’m not qualified enough to write about football, maybe I’m not smart enough to tell this story, maybe this isn’t a play at all and I’m trying to force something that will never be. I still have some of those doubts. But Writers Group gives me the energy to keep going. These artists care for me—and my characters. They question my choices and remind me of seeds I planted in early scenes. They challenge me to be better. And isn’t that the dream? The Umbrella Project Writers Group showcase runs December 7–16. Find out more at umbrellaprojectnw.org.
■
Danielle Mohlman i s a nationally produced feminist playwright based in Seattle. Her play Nexus is among the 2015 Honorable Mentions on The Kilroys list. She is an alumnus of the inaugural class of Playwrights’ Arena at Arena Stage and a member of the 2018 Umbrella Project Writers Group.
Understanding Others, Building Bridges Dear Friends, Do you believe a play can change the world? Bridge a divide? Help heal a Photo by Chris Bennion Pictured: Tyler Dobies, Ulyber Mangune, and Helen Martin.
community? We do. This year our Arts & Education team toured a story called Inside Out & Back Again, which follows a young Vietnamese girl named Hà, whose family relocates to Alabama at the devastating end of the Vietnam War. Our study guide for this play asks students to consider what they would pack if they, like Hà, were forced to uproot their lives and move far away. After our first performance of this play, the students and their teacher took the
story to heart and filled a box with items to donate to a refugee home here in Seattle. Through the story, the students developed the powerful skill of empathy, and used that empathy to connect to their community in a meaningful way. We want to bring transformative stories like this one to as many people as we can. You can help us do that by making a year-end gift now! You can also support Book-It all year with a monthly gift, which adds up to a big impact each season:
•
$10 a month provides books to six schools, engaging students with the text long after Book-It is gone
•
$15 a month underwrites an hour-long workshop in a local elementary school that invites students to engage with a story using motion and props
•
$25 a month supports a two-hour school residency that teaches literacy skills to middle schoolers
• •
$50 a month supports a full workshop day to develop a new Book-It script $100 a month provides a weeklong residency for a high school classroom that challenges students to write original creative pieces for performance
Photo by John Ulman
Your gift will continue to tell moving generational stories like Willa Cather’s My Ántonia. Can you contribute today? On behalf of everyone at Book-It, thank you for your presence and visionary philanthropy. Ántonia Shimerda, like Hà, found her bearing in America through the gifts, kindness, and generosity of her community. We hope you enjoy the show. Sincerely, Jane
Jones & Myra Platt
encoremediagroup.com/programs A-1
JANE JONES Founder & Founding Co-Artistic Director MYRA PLATT Founding Co-Artistic Director KAYTI BARNETT-O’BRIEN Managing Director
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.
A-2 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
MY ÁNTONIA By Willa Cather Adapted and Directed by Annie Lareau CAST Kiki Abba Nabilah S. Ahmed Anders Bolang* Nik Doner Jerik Fernandez Tim Gouran William Hall Jr.* Barbara Lindsay Benjamin N.M. Ludiker Helen Marion Clark Sandford* Judith Shahn Jasmine Jean Sim Tyler Trerise Nina Williams-Teramachi Laura Owens
PRODUCTION AND ARTISTIC TEAM Julia Hayes Welch Ahren Buhmann Kelly McDonald Erin Bednarz Jessamyn Bateman-Iino Laura Ferri Judith Shahn Imogen Love Peter Dylan O’Connor Andrea Kovich
Scenic Designer Lighting and Video Designer Costume Designer Sound Designer Properties Designer Choreographer Dialect Coach Dialect Assistant Fight Director Dramaturg
PRODUCERS Amy & Matt Cockburn
Mrs. Cutter/Willa Cather/Ensemble Ántonia Otto/Peter/Mr. Cutter/Ensemble Pavel/Ordinsky/Ensemble Marek/Ensemble Jim Burden Mr. Shimerda/Mr. Harling/Ensemble Grandmother/Ensemble Charley/Ensemble Yulka/Tiny/Ensemble Grandfather/Ensemble Mrs. Shimerda/Mrs. Harling Lena Lingard/Ensemble Jake/Ambrosch/Ensemble Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager
PRODUCTION STAFF Dan Schuy Benjamin Radin Nick Passafiume Jocelyne Fowler Shawna Grajek Shelby Choo Jessica Christensen Blaine Taylor Charlie Minshall Toby Folkert Adrian Delahunt Levi Plumb Jessica Jones Emily Kight
Production Manager Technical Director Assistant Technical Director Costume Shop Manager Assistant Production Manager Master Carpenter Scenic Charge Artist and Properties Master Scenic Artist Scenic Carpenter Scenic Carpenter Scenic Carpenter Master Electrician/Board Op Sound Engineer/Board Op Dresser
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States encoremediagroup.com/programs A-3
DIRECTOR/ADAPTER NOTES The dog-eared copy of My Ántonia was a staple on my bedside table growing up in Colorado, a part of the country that seemed as if it was created by Willa Cather’s words. I cherished it and re-read it until the pages were falling out. When I first adapted this script in 2008 (and subsequently ended up performing the title role), the play became about home: how we create it when we arrive in a new place and how it can live in the people we surround ourselves with.
DIRECTOR/ADAPTER
Now 10 years later, I find a new story emerging, one Annie Lareau that impels us all to consider how we treat immigrants, how we welcome them, and how we help them find a home. Willa reminds us that unless we are of a Native people, we are all in this country because a family member came here as a slave, a refugee, or an immigrant. Now, only generations after the book was released, our country has folded its arms closed, choosing who can and cannot immigrate based on the religion they practice, the language they speak, or the color of their skin. Willa asks us instead to see immigrants as family, and to shine a light on the upward trajectory and success of those immigrants who have made this country what it is today. When the narrator Jim returns to Nebraska after many years he states, “I always knew I should live long enough to see my country girls come into their own, and I have…Their children are better off than the children of the town women they used to serve.” In one of our first rehearsals I asked the cast to bring in any information they had about their relatives that came to this country. Soon our rehearsal room was filled with stories that took us to Bangladesh, Ukraine, Sweden, Nigeria, Ireland, Japan, France, Australia, and beyond, with family members who arrived with the pilgrims to those who hold a Green Card even now. We began our journey to become an artistic family with our ancestors’ pictures, memories, and energy filling the room. As we tell this beautiful story, may it inspire all of us to continue to fight for the rights of those now arriving on our shores, have compassion as someone surely did for our ancestors, and unfold the arms of our country to let them in. Let us create a new home together.
A-4 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
THE ART OF REMEMBERING Dramaturgy by Andrea Kovich
“Some memories are realities and are better than anything that could ever happen to one again.” — Willa Cather, My Ántonia One of the greatest American novelists of the first half of the twentieth century, Willa Cather stands out for her refreshing focus on frontier life. A significant departure from the urban-centric views of famous East Coast authors, Cather developed a distinctive literary style based on her Nebraskan roots for inspiration. For this reason, early critics of her work often dismissed her as a female writer of regional stories and a female writer unworthy of national recognition. However, despite this unpromising reception, she has gained the stature of other great authors in the American literary canon like Hawthorne, Hemingway, Faulkner, and Wharton.
Willa Cather. Photo by Aime Dupont Studio, New York - Willa Cather Pioneer Memorial and Educational Foundation
A prolific writer with a career that spanned four decades, Cather published 12 novels, six collections of short fiction, two editions of her book of poetry, and nine works of nonfiction and collected articles, speeches, and letters. While her first novel was published in 1911, her literary breakthrough began in 1913 with the publication of O Pioneers!, which was followed by The Song of the Lark in 1915. Along with its two predecessors, My Ántonia completes Cather’s Prairie Trilogy (also called the Great Plains Trilogy). Originally published in 1918, My Ántonia is often considered her masterpiece and best-known work. However, it was her next novel, One of Ours (published in 1922), that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. She maintained her high standard of literary excellence through the novels she published throughout the remainder of the 1920s and up until her death in 19471.
MY ÁNTONIA encoremediagroup.com/programs A-5
PRAIRIE MEMORIES Willa Cather’s most autobiographical novel, My Ántonia contains several elements that parallel her own life experiences. Like her fictional narrator Jim Burden, Cather was uprooted from the familiar surroundings of her early childhood and transplanted in Nebraska. Born in the small farming community of Back Creek, Virginia in 1873, her parents decided to join family members in Nebraska when she was almost ten years old. Traveling by train to the prairie lands of Webster County, Nebraska, the family settled on a homestead near the town of Red Cloud in 1883. After a short period of intense homesickness, Cather began to spend her time with the neighboring immigrant families. She later described these neighbors as “mostly Swedes and Danes, Norwegians and Bohemians.” The friendly immigrants understood her homesickness and would tell her stories about their European homelands. The time spent with these immigrants left a deep impression on the young Cather, who reminisced in an interview in 1913: “I used to ride home in the most unreasonable state of excitement; I always felt that they told me so much more than they said—as if I had actually got inside another person’s skin.”2 During the winter of 1884, the Cather family moved into town where Cather could attend public school. A bustling pioneer community with a population of about 2,500 at that time, Red Cloud was a division center for the railroad during the 1880s. Eight passenger trains passed through Red Cloud’s Burlington Depot daily on their way from Kansas City to Denver. Part of the great Western railways, the Burlington route was crucial to the development of Red Cloud. It was in town that Willa met the “hired girl” Anna Sadilek, who would eventually serve as the model for Ántonia. The Sadilek family had emigrated from Bohemia four years earlier, first settling in Webster County, Nebraska. Shortly after arriving, Anna’s father had become overwhelmed by the harsh conditions of frontier life and committed suicide. Anna later moved into town, where she worked for Cather’s neighbors, the Miners. In an interview she gave in 1921, Willa Cather explained that Anna was “one of the truest artists I ever knew in the keenness and sensitiveness of her enjoyment, in her love of people and in her willingness to take pains.”3 Cather would visit and send gifts to Anna Sadilek (later Pavelka) throughout her life. Like Jim, Cather also delivered her high school graduation speech and moved to Lincoln in 1890 to attend college at the University of Nebraska. During her time at the university, she became involved in journalism and began to work as a reporter for the Nebraska State Journal. After graduation, she headed east to start a literary career, stopping in Pittsburgh for several years, where she worked as a journalist and teacher. In 1906, she moved to New York to be a magazine editor until pursuing a fulltime writing career in 1912. Cather spent the remainder of her life in New York, but she traveled extensively and frequently visited Red Cloud. It was one of these visits in the summer of 1916 that inspired her to transform her childhood memories into the novel My Ántonia4, which became a popular and critical success immediately after it was published in 1918.
MY ÁNTONIA A-6 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
A Nebraska frontier family poses in front of their sod house, ca. 1888. Courtesy Nebraska State Historical Society.
Willa Cather explained that Anna was “one of the truest artists I ever knew in the keenness and sensitiveness of her enjoyment, in her love of people and in her willingness to take pains.” 3
The Homestead Act of 1862 gave settlers, including newly arrived immigrants, the opportunity to purchase land for $18 with the additional terms that the settler must reside on the land and make improvements to it for five years.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT While drawn from Cather’s memories, the story of My Ántonia was heavily influenced by the surrounding social and historical context. Set during the third major wave of immigration, which lasted from approximately 1880 to 1920, millions of immigrants like the Shimerda family came to the United States in search of a better future5. Many of these immigrants, who were primarily from Southern and Eastern European countries, were attracted by tales of the abundant economic opportunities. Encouraged to head west by the Homestead Act and the expansion of the transcontinental railroad, many immigrants settled on the plains of Nebraska. The Homestead Act of 1862 gave settlers, including newly arrived immigrants, the opportunity to purchase land for $18 with the additional terms that the settler must reside on the land and make improvements to it for five years. Out on the plains, settlers faced the harsh conditions of an unforgiving environment, often living in primitive shelters like dugouts or sod houses. As if that weren’t enough, during the late 19th century, the Nebraska prairie was beset by unusually cold winters and fierce blizzards.6 Also reflective of the time period when it was written, Cather began work on the novel in 1916, a year before the U.S. joined World War I in April of 1917. The impact of wartime can be seen in various ways, including in the recurring theme of the vulnerability of peace that is suddenly disturbed by violence. In addition, anti-German sentiment was high at the time and this can be seen in the ethnicities highlighted in the novel. Despite the facts that Germans were actually the largest immigrant group settled in Nebraska, or that German and Jewish immigrants figured prominently into Cather’s childhood, she chose to focus on her more socially acceptable neighbors.
In addition, anti-German sentiment was high at the time and this can be seen in the ethnicities highlighted in the novel. The sixth W.T. Benda illustration: Jim and Ántonia.
encoremediagroup.com/programs A-7
“Optima dies... prima fugit.” The above quote, which is the epigraph of My Ántonia, translates to: “The best days are the first to flee.” Taken from the Roman poet Virgil’s Georgics (ca. 29 BCE), a work that celebrates country life and agricultural work, the epigraph reflects the melancholy that imbues the novel. It also expresses one of the key ideas of the novel: the transience of youth. An early modernist novel, it doesn’t have a formal plot structure, but is comprised of episodes that are filtered through Jim’s memory. The introduction, or preface, sets the nostalgic tone for these memories. As he looks back on his childhood, Jim also reflects how life has changed and progressed. The Bohemian immigrant, W.T. Benda, depicted these moments in his evocative pen drawings for the novel. The first edition and most subsequent editions include these memorable illustrations. Cather felt that they perfectly captured the tone of her novel in a way that words never could.
Praised for its multicultural view of America, My Ántonia showcases the diversity of a society built by immigrants. Significantly celebrating the resilience of the “hired girls,” the novel combines a nostalgic remembrance of the past with a clear-eyed view of the on-going progression of life. Beloved for the intimate quality of the relationships depicted, as well as the rich human variety of the characters, the novel is both poignant and genuine in expression. A novel of feeling, it explores the universal themes of time, death, youth, and friendship. One hundred years later, this timeless story continues to speak to generations of readers—most of whom are immigrants themselves. Perhaps it can best be described as Cather’s friend and companion, Edith Lewis, once expressed it: “the whole book was a sort of love story of the country.”
| “About Willa Cather,” About Willa Cather | Willa Cather Foundation - Red Cloud Nebraska (NE), October 27, 1970, accessed October 14, 2018, www.willacather.org/learn/aboutwilla-cather-test.
1
2
| Interview with Philadelphia Record, 1913; reprinted in Norton Critical Editions of My Ántonia.
3
| Interview with Lincoln Sunday Star, 1921; reprinted in Norton Critical Editions of My Ántonia.
4
| Willa Cather, My Ántonia: Authoritative Text, Contexts and Backgrounds, Criticism, ed. Sharon O’Brien, Norton Critical Editions (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2015).
| Batalova, Jeanne and Elijah Alperin, “European Immigrants in the United States,” Migrationpolicy.org, August 22, 2018, , accessed October 24, 2018, www.migrationpolicy.org/article/european-immigrants-united-states.
5
6
| “Willa Cather’s Nebraska,” Chicago Public Library, accessed October 14, 2018, www.chipublib.org/willa-cathers-nebraska/.
MY ÁNTONIA SAVE THE DATE FOR BOOK-IT’S ANNUAL GALA CELEBRATION
SATURDAY, APRIL 7, 2019
6:30PM – 10:00PM
HYATT AT OLIVE 8
206.428.6202 IANS @ BOOK-IT.ORG
A-8 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
MEET THE
CAST
Kiki Abba
Mrs. Cutter/Willa Cather/Ensemble Kiki Abba is an actor, marketer, and producer around town. Recent credits include Everything You Touch (Washington Ensemble Theatre), The Flight Before Xmas (Seattle Public Theater), No More Sad Things (Forward Flux Productions) and Belleville (MAP Theatre). She was recognized as the People’s Choice Award Winner for Outstanding Actress at the 2016 Gregory Awards.
Nabilah S. Ahmed Ántonia
Nabilah is thrilled to be working with Book-It for the first time. Her previous stage credits include No More Sad Things as Guidebook (Forward Flux Productions), The Country Wife as Harcourt (Theater Schmeater), and King Lear as Cordelia (Wooden O). Most recently, she played Amal in Forward Flux’s A Small History of Amal, Age 7 and made her debut at On the Boards in SoloFest. Nabilah is a proud BangladeshiMuslim, and first-generation american.
Anders Bolang* Otto/Peter/Mr. Cutter/ Ensemble
Anders has performed at Baltimore Center Stage, Delaware Theatre Company, Book-It, Yale Repertory Theatre, Centennial Theatre Festival, Oldcastle Theatre, Rutgers Summerfare, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Harlequin Productions, Tacoma Actors Guild, Seattle Shakespeare Company, and as a guest artist with The Boston Pops. In New York, performances at BACA Downtown, NADA con Todo, the Performing Garage, New York Theatre Workshop, La Mama, and the East European Theatre Festival. On camera, “As the World Turns” and “One Life to Live” and the feature films Helene and Police Beat. He has also done many industrial training films for General Electric and others, voiceovers for Time/Life books on tape, and was a spokesman for Nissan Corporation. He is a graduate of Whitman College and the Yale School of Drama.
Nik Doner
William Hall Jr.*
Pavel/Ordinsky/ Ensemble
Mr. Shimerda/ Mr. Harling/Ensemble
Nik Doner is a Seattle native producer, actor, and voiceover artist with a BA from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. In addition to lending his voice to video games (“HALO WARS 2”, “ReCore”) and commercials, Nik produces, directs, and edits high school and middle school educational videos. Recent theatrical appearances include Hostages (Radial Theatre), Greensward (MAP Theatre), In Arabia We’d All Be Kings (Theater Schmeater), Dirty (Washington Ensemble Theatre), and We Are Proud to Present... (Pony World Theatre). The world premiere of his highly praised autobiographical solo show Cuddling with Strippers had two separate runs last year. In May of 2019, his production house White Rabbits Inc and Libby Barnard will be co-producing Blackbird by David Harrower, directed by Paul Budraitis at 18th & Union.
William is a veteran actor of the Seattle acting community and is very pleased to be returning to Book-It where he appeared in Cry, The Beloved Country. Recent Seattle productions include Two Trains Running (Seattle Repertory Theatre), The Crucible (ACT Theatre), The Whipping Man (Taproot Theatre Company), and A Lesson From Aloes (Thalia’s Umbrella). William’s regional works include Driving Miss Daisy at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Miss Evers’ Boys at Repertory Theatre St. Louis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the Guthrie Theater, and Fences at the Syracuse Stage. Film credits include Farewell to Harry, Trouble in Mind, Driving Miss Daisy, and Safety Not Guaranteed. William is a member of Actor’s Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA.
Jerik Fernandez Marek/Ensemble
Jerik Fernandez has just finished his twoyear stint with the Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, performing in Twelfth Night (Curio), You Can’t Take It With You (The Man), Beauty and the Beast (Swing), and Argonautika (Castor/Others). He is currently an acting major at Cornish College of the Arts where he’s been seen in Spring Awakening (Adult Males) and Much Ado About Nothing (Dogberry). He was last seen in Grease (Vince Fontaine/ Ensemble) this summer at Berkeley Playhouse!
Tim Gouran Jim Burden Tim is so glad to be back at Book-It, where he was last seen in Treasure Island. He has performed with many Seattle theatres including Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, New City Theater, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Strawberry Theatre Workshop, Theatre22, and Azeotrope Theatre. He got his start with The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. He has appeared in several movies and TV episodes, as well as many voice overs for radio and video games.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
Barbara Lindsay
Grandmother/Ensemble Barbara is so pleased to be reprising her role as Grandmother Burden in Annie Lareau’s beautiful adaptation of My Ántonia. Babs has been an actor all her life, working on stage and in film, TV, and commercials, first in Los Angeles and now very happily in Seattle. Besides at Book-It, she has been seen at Stone Soup, Annex Theatre, and Theatre Off Jackson. She is also a playwright whose works have had more than 400 national and international productions. Big love to her amazing husband Bill. And to all of us, let’s remember to be very, very kind to one another.
Benjamin N.M. Ludiker Charley/Ensemble
Benjamin N.M. Ludiker is eager to be launching his career with BookIt. He was last seen working with Annie Lareau in Cornish College of the Arts production of Much Ado About Nothing. He will graduate from Cornish with a BFA in Acting this winter. Look out for his next performance as Peter in the Indiana Repertory Theatre and Seattle Children’s Theatre’s co-production of The Diary of Anne Frank. neilludiker.wixsite.com/benjaminludiker
encoremediagroup.com/programs A-9
Meet The Cast (cont)
Helen Marion
Jasmine Jean Sim
Helen grew up in Western Australia, where she studied English and Creative Arts at Murdoch University. Since moving to the United States in 2010, she’s been a TV host on The CW Channel and other screen credits include commercials for Microsoft, Delta Airlines, and Seattle Sounders. Her most recent stage roles include Belle in Beauty and the Beast (Centerstage Theatre) and Margot in Legally Blonde the Musical (Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre). She first worked with Book-It earlier this year, playing the role of Hà in the touring production of Inside Out & Back Again. She is delighted to once again be working with Book-It, turning great literature into great theatre!
Jasmine Jean Sim’s recent credits include The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes and Hairspray (Village Theatre); Boys from Syracuse (Showtunes Theatre Company/ Village Theatre); The Nance (ArtsWest), Here Lies Love (Seattle Repertory Theatre); The Pajama Game (The 5th Avenue Theatre), and Dangerous Liaisons, Stupid F@#*ing Bird, and A Christmas Carol (ACT Theatre). Jasmine is a member of ACT Theatre’s Core Company. Love always to Mom, Dad, and Andie. www.jasminejeansim.com
Yulka/Tiny/Ensemble
Lena Lingard/Ensemble
Clark Sandford*
Grandfather/Ensemble Clark has worked at most of Seattle’s professional theatres over his 40+ years in the biz. He was last here at Book-It in Prairie Nocturne, the first production of My Ántonia, as well as the wonderful Plainsong, and two versions of Cowboys Are My Weakness.
Judith Shahn Mrs. Shimerda/ Mrs. Harling
Judith Shahn is also the dialect coach for this production and coached My Ántonia at Book-It 10 years ago. She has coached dialects at most Seattle area theatres for the last 35 years; most recently Skylight and Oslo at ACT Theatre. Last year she was seen as Cominius in an all-female production of Coriolanus at 12th Avenue Arts. Judith taught at the UW PATP for 26 years and retired two years ago.
Tyler Trerise Jake/Ambrosch/ Ensemble
This is Tyler’s first production with Book-It. Past projects include Julius Caesar (Seattle Shakespeare Company); A Civil War Christmas, Lady Windermere’s Fan, and The Whipping Man (Taproot Theatre Company); and The Flick (New Century Theatre Company).
MEET THE
ARTISTIC TEAM Annie Lareau Adapter/Director
Annie Lareau is a professional director, actor, and co-artistic director at Seattle Public Theater. She has received two Seattle Times’ Footlight Awards for Acting and was nominated twice for California’s Elly awards in Direction. Annie holds a BFA in Acting and Directing from Syracuse
AFFILIATIONS
Actors Equity Association This theater 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.
Theatre Puget Sound
A-10 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Theatre Communications Group
University and her master’s from Harvard University. Directing credits include The Vanishing Point and Grand Concourse (Seattle Public Theater), Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet (Book-It and Community Asian Theatre of the SierraCATS); Chinglish (ArtsWest and CATS), Little Dog Laughed (ArtsWest), As You Like It and Pericles (Seattle Shakespeare Company), Doktor Kaboom: Live Wire (Kennedy Center for the Arts) and Forever Plaid (Mount Baker Theatre). Acting credits include the original Ántonia in My Ántonia and Maggie Jones in Plainsong (Book-It), Mistress Ford in Merry Wives of Windsor, Elizabeth in Richard III, and Bawd in Pericles (Seattle Shakespeare).
Julia Hayes Welch Scenic Designer
Ms. Welch is pleased to be back at Book-It after designing Howl’s Moving Castle last season. Recent credits include Skylight, Alex and Aris, Bad Apples (ACT Theatre), HIR, Barbecue, Bootycandy (Intiman); O+E, The Three Feathers, An American Dream (Seattle Opera); Arms and the Man, The Government Inspector (Seattle Shakespeare Company); Coriolanus (Rebel Kat Production); Ironbound, Grounded (Seattle Public Theater); The Things Are Against Us (Washington Ensemble Theatre – Footlight Award, Gypsy Rose Lee Award); An Octoroon, Peter and the Starcatcher, Really Really (ArtsWest); Big Rock (Onward Ho! Productions); Free Boy (The 5th Avenue Educational Tour); Trojan Women (Civic Rep Theatre); Pride and Prejudice (Theatreworks UCCS); Through the Looking Glass, Land of the Sweets (House of Verlaine). She has an MFA from University of Washington. Much love to W. www.jhwelchdesigns.com
Ahren Buhmann
Lighting and Video Designer Ahren Buhmann is a lighting and video designer based out of Seattle. Previous shows include Grounded, Vanishing Point, The Flight Before Xmas, and Christmastown: A Holiday Noir (Seattle Public Theater), Cyla’s Gift (Taproot Theatre Company); The Happiest Song Plays Last, Burn This, The Pride, and Annapurna (Theatre22); Angels in America (Berkeley Repertory Theatre), The Trial of Elizabeth Cree (Chicago Opera and Opera Philadelphia); Earnest Shackleton Loves Me (Tony Kiser Theater); Every Five Minutes (Washington Ensemble Theatre); The Who’s TOMMY and H.M.S. Pinafore (Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society); and Carefree (New Jersey Performing Arts Center). Ribbet.
Kelly McDonald Costume Designer
Kelly McDonald is a Seattle-based costume designer and this is her first show at Book-It. Previous designs around town have been seen with ArtsWest, Café Nordo, Cornish College of the Arts, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Public Theater, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Taproot Theatre Company, and Village Theatre.
Erin Bednarz Sound Designer
Erin Bednarz is an interdisciplinary artist who has worked with 40+ arts organizations over the last nine years. She serves as company member with LiveGirls! Theater and Annex Theatre, is on 14/48 Invitations and Gregory Award Nominator committees, and is co-founder of new play accelerator Umbrella Project. Her produced work has gained literary nods from HowlRound, City Arts Magazine, and Encore Arts Seattle. She completed the Intiman Theatre Sound Design Apprenticeship in 2016 and has since expanded her designs to national and institutional levels, earning her a Gregory Nomination. As a teaching artist, Erin’s knowledge of design and performance has been shared at universities and in communities across Washington state. She is also the dramaturgical component to 4Culture grant recipient ensemble Cheat Day.
Jessamyn Bateman-Iino Properties Designer
Jessamyn is a Seattle-based props designer and is the resident prop designer at Theater Schmeater. Past favorite productions include Year of the Rooster with MAP Theatre, and Welcome to Arroyo’s and Two Sisters and a Piano with Theater Schmeater.
Laura Ferri Choreographer
Laura is delighted once again to create some dancing magic for this beautiful play. She has choreographed period dances for Anna Karenina, Ethan Frome, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice. A company member for almost 30 years, Laura adapted A Tale for Time Being, winner of a 2016 Seattle Times Footlight Award and Prairie Nocturne, winner of a 2012 Seattle Times Footlight Award. She adapted and directed Broken for You for the mainstage and as well as the Danger: Books! series for Book-It’s Arts & Education Program. Her adapting and/ or directing credits also include special
editions of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, Stories for Boys, and The Call of the Wild.
Nina Williams-Teramachi Stage Manager
Nina is an actor and stage manager originally from Sapporo, Japan and Portland, Oregon working in Seattle. Nina recently stage-managed the world premiere of Mario and the Comet, directed by Courtney Sale at Seattle Children’s Theatre and was on the stage management team at Seattle Repertory Theatre’s Public Works The Odyssey. They are especially passionate about training fellow arts administrators on applying equity, diversity, and inclusion skills in the workplace and surviving the arts as queer and/or persons of color. Nina was last seen onstage in Seattle Public Theater’s The World of Extreme Happiness and Washington Ensemble Theatre’s Straight White Men. Nina works as a teaching artist/educator from Shakespeare to musical theatre and also co-teaches kindergarten as part of Seattle Public Schools.
Laura Owens
Assistant Stage Manager Laura Owens is thrilled to be working on her first Book-It production! Previous stage management credits include Native Gardens (Intiman Theatre); Welcome to Arroyo’s (Theater Schmeater); The Merchant of Venice (Seattle Shakespeare Company); Nadeshiko and Rules of Charity (Sound Theatre Company); The Lost Girls and Girl (Annex Theatre), Pterodactyls (Promethean Theatre Company); and Sunday in the Park With George, The Shape of the Table, Pentecost, The Prisoner’s Dilemma, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, KidsWrite! A New Play Festival, and On Her Chemise (Burning Coal Theatre).
Judith Shahn Dialect Coach
See bio, page 10
Imogen Love
Assistant Dialect Coach Imogen was recently seen as Victoria/ Ensemble in Book-It’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, during which she also served as dialect assistant to Gin Hammond. Following Dorian Gray, she played Mistress Quickly in Wooden O’s production of The Merry Wives of Windsor. Her most recent stint as dialect coach was for Edmonds Driftwood Players’ Something’s Afoot. She is delighted to be part of this production and assisting Judith Shahn.
Peter Dylan O’Connor Fight Director
Seattle Shakespeare Company fight direction includes Richard III, two productions of King Lear, Shakespeare in Love, Julius Caesar, Bring Down the House, Hamlet, Twelfth Night, Henry V, Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, Pericles, As You Like It, Othello, and The Taming of the Shrew. Other credits include A Streetcar Named Desire, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Crime and Punishment, The Children’s Hour, John Baxter Is a Switch Hitter, and Bootycandy (Intiman Theatre); As You Like It (Oregon State College); Henry IV (Freehold’s Engaged Theatre); as well as work with New Century Theatre Company, UMO Ensemble, Cornish College, The 14/48 Projects, Emerson College, Capitol Hill Arts Center, Theater Schmeater, Theatre Under the Influence, Consolidated Works, The Globus Theatre (Novosibirsk, Russia) and the Novosibirsk College of Acting.
Andrea Kovich Dramaturg
Andrea is a Seattle-based freelance dramaturg, writer, and member of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas. Local dramaturgy credits include Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus and Howl’s Moving Castle (Book-It); Persuasion and Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery (Taproot Theatre Company); and The Rules of Charity (Sound Theatre Company). She was also the curator for ILLUMINATE: Six Plays by Deaf and Disabled Playwrights with Sound Theatre. Currently, she’s a dramaturg in Umbrella Project’s 2018 Writers Group. She earned an MA in Theatre Arts (emphasis in Dramaturgy) from San Diego State University.
Jane Jones
Founder, Founding Co-Artistic Director Jane is the founder and founding coartistic director of Book-It Repertory Theatre, with Myra Platt. In her 30 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. 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 encoremediagroup.com/programs A-11
Meet The Artistic Staff (cont)
enjoyed successful runs in Seattle, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles (Ovation Award, best director) and in New York (Drama Desk Nomination, best director). Jane’s most recent directing credits include Native Gardens at Arizona Theatre Company. With Portland Center Stage she directed, Cyrano, Twelfth Night (Drammy awards, Best Direction and Production) and Book-It’s adaptations of Great Expectations and Pride and Prejudice. For Book-It her credits include The Maltese Falcon, 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, 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 the founding co-artistic director, Myra has helped produce over 130 worldpremiere mainstage productions and over 30 education touring productions. Most recently she directed and adapted the new musical Howl’s Moving Castle. Previously, she adapted and directed 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). Other 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, and A Child’s Christmas in Wales. Adapting credits include I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Little Bee, The Financial Lives of the Poets, The River Why, Night Flight: An Operetta, The Art of Racing in the Rain, Red Ranger Came Calling, The House of the Spirits, Giant, Cowboys Are My Weakness, Roman Fever, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, 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
SpeciaL Thanks Seattle Center Stepan Simek Susanna Burney Theatre Puget Sound Washington Ensemble Theatre
A-12 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Pageant, A Child’s Christmas in Wales, 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 2008 Unsung Hero and Uncommon Genius for their 20-year contribution to life in the Puget Sound region.
Kayti Barnett-O’Brien Managing Director
Kayti has been with Book-It since 2015, first serving as general manager (2015-2017) and managing director (2017-present). She looks forward to ushering Book-It into its next chapter through new strategic planning and equity initiatives. Kayti was previously the managing director at New Century Theatre Company, and a former board member for Theatre Puget Sound. Kayti is a member of the Leadership for Social Change cohort with artEquity and holds an MFA in Arts Leadership from Seattle University.
Josh Aaseng
Associate Artistic Director Josh joined Book-It in 2010 as the education associate then served as literary manager for five years. Book-It credits include directing and co-adapting (with Daemond Arrindell) Welcome to Braggsville; directing and adapting SlaughterhouseFive; and directing Jesus’ Son and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. As a consulting director on Frank Boyd’s The Holler Sessions, he has worked at On the Boards and ACT in Seattle, the Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival in the Netherlands, PS 122 COIL Festival in New York, and the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Josh’s work has been recognized with two Seattle Footlight Awards as well as Seattle Theater Writers Critics’ Circle awards for excellence in playwriting and direction. Josh is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
BOOK-IT
DONORS
This list reflects gifts received October 1, 2017 – September 30, 2018.
ADVOCATES CIRCLE - $100,000+ Sage Foundation
LITERARY LEGENDS CIRCLE - $50,000+ The Boeing Company Gretl Galgon Mary Pigott True-Brown Foundation Kris & Mike Villiott
Many thanks to the supporters whose gifts made My Ántonia possible: PRODUCERS
LITERARY CHAMPIONS CIRCLE - $25,000+ ArtsFund
LITERARY HEROES CIRCLE - $10,000+ 4Culture Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation BMGI Sonya & Tom Campion The Elizabeth George Foundation Harvest Foundation Lucy Helm Stellman Keehnel Margaret Kineke & Dennis West Lucky Seven Foundation Holly & Bill Marklyn The Morgan Fund Nesholm Family Foundation The Norcliffe Foundation Michell & Larry Pihl Seattle Office of Arts & Culture The Shubert Foundation Shirley & Dave Urdal
PARTNERS CIRCLE - $5,000+ John Aldaya & Tom DeFelice Laura & Greg Colman Jane & Bob Cremin D.A. Davidson & Co. Emily Davis Sara Elward Anne Fisher Ravens Stuart Frank & Marty Hoiness Hazel Miller Foundation Nancy Lomneth & Mark Boyd Ellen Maxson Anne McDuffie & Tim Wood Nordstrom Kathy & Brad Renner Shirley Roberson Seattle P-I Drella & Garth Stein U.S. Bank Foundation Christina Wright & Luther Black Wyman Youth Trust
Amy & Matt Cockburn BECOME A PRODUCER
You can bring a book to our stage! By becoming a Producer, you will earn special recognition and exclusive access to the production process of a mainstage show. Learn more by contacting us at development@book-it.org.
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE - $2,500+ Adobe Matching Gifts Program Monica Alquist ArtsWA Diana Carey Laura Carr & Jeremy Derfner Caroline L. Feiss & Gordon B. Davidson Clay Gustaves Peter & Kelly Maunsell Jane Jones & Kevin McKeon Mary Metastasio Glen Miller Shyla Miller Moccasin Lake Foundation Perkins Coie LLP Lynne & Nick Reynolds Steve Schwartzman & Daniel Karches Charyl Kay & Earl Sedlik Nancy & Warren Smith Colleen & Brad Stangeland Christine & Josh Stepherson Williams Companies Lordia & Jeremy Williams Williams Miller Family Foundation Rachel Wilsey & Sam Bernstein Margaret Winsor & Jay Hereford
NOBEL PRIZE CIRCLE - $1,000+ Anonymous (2) Cinnimin Avena Salli & Stephen Bauer Lenore & Dick Bensinger Lindsay & Tony Blackner Block Leavitt Foundation Judy Brandon & H. Randall Webb Karen Brandvick-Baker & Ross Baker Patricia Britton Don & Karen Brown Joann Byrd Karen & Tom Challinor Donna Cochener Deborah Cowley & Mark Dexter Nora & Allan Davis Dottie Delaney Elizabeth & Paul Fleming Laura & Bo Ford Caroline Fox Spencer Freeman Earl B. Gilmore Foundation Craig & Darcy Greene Margaret Griffiths Jeffrey Gural Laura & Erik Hanson Delney & Gil Hilen Mary Frances Hill Heather Howard & Roderick Cameron Joleen & Gareth Hughes Judith Jesiolowski & David Thompson Jeffrey Kadet & Helen Goh Tami & Rob Kowal Dan Kuhn Lagunitas Brewing Company Langdale Chase LLC Jonathan Lawrence Leslie Fund, Inc. Melissa & Don Manning Donna Marie & Rob Saunders Claire Marshall & Joseph Bakke Merck Foundation Microsoft Matching Gifts Program Marcia Nagae Whitney & Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser Christiane Pein & Steven Bull Michele & Kyle Peltonen Point B Shawn & Mike Rediger Kate & Stephen Robinson Evelyne Rozner & Matt Griffin Gail & John Sehlhorst SEI Giving Fund Laura Skelton & Thomas Buford Nancy Lee Smith Janice & Pat Strand Gail Tanaka Jennifer Teunon & Adam Smith Katherine & James Tune Karen & Ron Van Genderen Elizabeth Warman Judith Whetzel Carol & Bryan Willison
encoremediagroup.com/programs A-13
PULITZER PRIZE CIRCLE - $500+ Anonymous • Virginia L. Anderson • Donna & Anthony Barnett • Jessica Foss & Clint Berquist • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Matching Gifts Program • Mary Anne Braund & Steve Pellegrin • Alice Braverman & Patrick Kafer • Sally Snyder Brunette • Linda & Peter Capell • Emily Cartmell & Quazie Kwaselow • Children Count Foundation • Carol & Bill Collins • Robin Dearling & Gary Ackerman • Lynn Dissinger • Jeremy Eknoian • Polly & Eric Feigl • Jayn & Hugh Foy • Shannon & Graham Gardner • R. Brooks Gekler • John Giaever • Jean Gorecki & Dick Dobyns • Kathryn Greenberg • Deb, Tod, Jasmine, & Eliana Harrick • Kathryn Hazzard • Barbara Hieronymus • Robert Hovden & Ron DeChene • Elizabeth Hubbard • Melissa Huther & Gordon Hof • Lydig Construction • Portia Jones • Jamie & Jeremy Joseph • Mary Klubben & Brian Hahn • Mr. & Mrs. Gareld John Kneepkens • Joyce Anne Latino & John O’Connell • Darcy & Lee MacLaren • Medina Foundation • Richard Monroe • Beth Moursund • Sherry & Bob Nebel • Grace Nordhoff & Jonathan Beard • Doris O’Connor • Cheryl & Tom Oliver • Glenna Olson & Conrad Wouters • Deborah & Jeff Parsons • Sherry Perrault & Michael Harding • Olivia Pi-Sunyer & Andrew DeVore • Myra Platt & Dave Ellis • Eleanor & Charles Pollnow • Barb & Dan Radin • Monica Ramsey • Roberta Reaber & Leo Butzel • Paula Riggert • Jo Ann & Jim Roberts • Karen Robins • Jain Rutherford • Mig Schaaf & Stuart Dunwoody • Lee Scheingold • Pamela & Nate Searle • Michael & Jo Shapiro • Will Stachowiak • Jon Staenberg • Linda & Hugh Straley • Andrea Suarez • Deborah Swets • Sara Thompson & Richard Gelinas • Tanya Trejo & Keane Watterson • Amanda Twiss • Ruth & Jerry Verhoff • Leora & Robert Wheeler • Paula & Bill Whitham
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD CIRCLE - $250+ Anonymous (8) • Sara Agassiz Ali & Robert Alexander • Gail Anderson • Lisbet Nilson & Mark Ashida • Heather & Mark Barbieri • Gene Barton • Susan Bean & Ray Walton • Tanya Bednarski & Greg Johnson • Diane Bisset • Nancy L. Bittner • Jen Blackwood • Erin Brindley • Bryan Burch • Christine Caldwell & Michael Richardson • Amy Carter • Beth Cooper & Dan Schuy • Shelton-de Clercq Family • Sandra & Paul Dehmer • Elizabeth Dennis & Mary Dombrowski • Annie & Don Downing • Dropbox, Inc. • Julie Edsforth & Jabe Blumenthal • Lynne & Hollie Ellis • Marilyn Endriss • Evergreen Cares Foundation • Katharine Feehan • Laura Finn • Liz Fitzhugh & Jim Feldman • Siobhan Ginnane & Dan Whelan • Carla Granat & Stephen Smith • Pat Graves & David Nash • Victoria Griffith • Diane Grover • Lisa Hanna • Phyllis Hatfield • Margy Heldring • Karyn Henry • Lloyd Herman & Richard Wilson • Lauren Hill • Trish & Doug Honig • Winifred Hussey • Barbara & Rob Jirsa • Catherine & Dave Johnson • Debbie Killinger • Karen L. Koon • Kikue I. Kubota • Kristen Laine & Jim Collins • The LennonKeegan Family • Jeff & Kathy Lindenbaum • Arni H. Litt • Sherry & Douglas Luetjen • A-14 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
GIFTS IN HONOR & MEMORY In honor of Samuel Bernstein Hollister Weber In honor of Erika Calhoun Andrea Calhoun In honor of Emily Davis Stephanie M. Hilbert In honor of Wendy Hilliker Carol & William Roach In memory of Julia Mukhalian Martha Mukhalian In memory of Joyce Radke Sara Agassiz In honor of Rem Ryals Karen Van Genderen In celebration of Qamar Schuyler Kinza & Philip Schuyler In honor of Earl & Charyl Kay Sedlik Nancy L. Bittner In memory of Dan & Dave Snyder Anonymous In honor of Christine Stepherson Nancy Ward
Thomas Markl • Paul Martini • Elaine Mathies • Janet McCammon • Ruth McCormick • Ann McCurdy & Frank Lawler • Ann McKee & Dale Hoff • Susan & Bob Mecklenburg • Jacque Mesplay • Tami & Joe Micheletti • General Mills • Min Moon • Christopher Mumaw • Rene & Chuck Murry • Elaine Nonneman • Karen O’Connor • Lauren Offenbecher • Mona & Kurt Owen • Cheryl Papadakis • Cecilia Paul & Harry Reinert • Julie Paul • Shelley & Tim Pearce • Yumi Petersen • Terry Podgorski • Kim Port & Norman Garner • Miriam Prathiba • Audrey Querns • Benjamin Radin • Nancy Rutstein • Jamie Scatena • Paul Schiavo • Janet Schorr • Rachel Shea • Kathlyn & Ken Simkins • Virginia Sly • Candace Smith & Steven Bolliger • Diane Stark • Julie Stohlman • Mary Anne Stusser Martin & Charles Martin • Liann & Stephen Sundquist • Christina Surawicz & James Bushyhead • Megan Sutherland • Ginny Trethewey • Penni & Joe Vogel • Kayla Weiner • Gregory Wetzel • Melinda Williams • Shari & Kerry Thompson
PEN/FAULKNER AWARD CIRCLE - $100+ Anonymous (9) • Doug Adams & Scott Fitzgerald • Melissa Albert • Judith Alexander • Brian Atwater • Shawn Auld • Anne & Roger Baker • Putnam Barber & Valerie Lynch • Judy Barbour • Jo Ann & Tom Bardeen • Claire Beighle • Chris & Tessa Bennion • Julia Bent • Philip L. Bereano • Hugh & Rebecca Bergeson • Inez Noble Black • Beth Blosten • G.
Randall Bond • Bonnie & Webb Bowie • John Bradshaw • Philip Brazil • Bridge Partners LLC • Adelaide Brooks & Robert Pennell • Kim Brotherton • Chris Brown • Patricia Brunetto • Kathleen Caldwell • Erika Calhoun • Zimmie Caner & Tom Edwards • Karen Carlson • P. Caswell • Gerry & Kristy Champagne • Sally & Curt Clausen • Catherine Clemens • Richard O. Coar • John Coburn • Jennifer Collins & Jaron Cook • Serena Cosgrove • Kate Curtis • Virginia Davis • Marianna de Fazio & Agastya Kohli • Melinda Deane & Danny Wheetman • Wendy del Valle • Allison Dennin • Roberta DeVore • Kathy Dickeman • Ron Michael Dohr • Carol & Kelly Dole • Marcia Donovan • Beth L. Dubey • Donna Dughi • Susan Dyer • Karen Eames • Jonathan Eisler • Laura Ellis • Tami Erhart • Linda & Terry Finn • K. Denice FischerFortier & James Fortier • David Fisher • Patricia & Richard Fiske • Ben Fitch • Gayle Fitzgerald & Peter Dixon • Carolyn & Robert Fletcher • Corinne Fligner & Mark Wener • Gregory Flood • Eric Frank • Ron Friedman • Alan & Lisbeth Fritzberg • Dot Fuller • Rachel & Chris Fyall • Tina Ganguly & Tim Whitwell • Jean & Mike Gannon • Cezanne Garcia • Shelley Gibson • Dick & Faye Gillett • Jack & Vicki Goldstein Seznick • Dan & Bri Griep • Linda Haas • Judith Hamilton • Derek Harris • Karen Hartman & Todd London • Molly Hasson & Mark Pessl • Denise Hastings • Anne Heavey • Ellen & David Hecht • Cynthia Hennessy • Diana Hice • Chris Higashi • Pat Highet • Stephanie M. Hilbert • Jean Hilde & Hunter Fulghum • Wendy Hilliker & Eric Tishkoff • Carol & John Hoerster • Kate Hokanson • Lisa & William Holderman • Peggy Holland • Ann Hollar & Steve Orser • Hollister Weber • Dorothy Hopper • Sarah Horrigan • Cheryl Hubbell • Cynthia Huffman & Ray Heacox • Jeanne Iannucci & Terry Holme • Pam & Zacko Ivezic • Lani Jacobsen • Russell Janney • Lisa Jaret • Marcia H. Johnson • Susan Jones • Robert D. Jones • Kris Jorgensen & Margey Rubado • Tom Keener • Erin & Steve Kennebeck • Michael Klein • Klein Family • Monique Kleinhans & Bob Blazek • Hank Knottnerus • Marsha Kremen & Jilly Eddy • Alan Kristal & Jason Lamb • Akshay Kulkarni • Cheri Leavitt • Diane Lefkow • Meredith Lehr & William Severson • Audrey Lew & John Tilden • Larry Lewin • Linda Lewis • Bonnie Lewman • Martha Lloyd & Jim Evans • Brock Loen • Craig Lorch • Mary Frances Lyons • Donald Marcy • Serge Martinez • Elizabeth Mathewson • Susan McCloskey • Paul & Anna McKee • Katie McKellar • The Medtronic Foundation • Kay Meyers • Ellen & Mark Mills • Alex Modelski • Cornelia & Terry Moore • Elizabeth Morrison & Geoff Crooks • Dave J. Morrison • Ken & Nan Munsey • Elisabeth Murata • Jaime Neal • Sue & Max Fain • Sharon L. Nelson • Therese Ogle • Lisa Olason & John Hoey • Phebe O’Neill • Brendan Orta • Carla Patterson • Sara Patton • Leona Pazina • Harold Pelton • Louise Perlman • Karen Perry • Christopher Peterson • Carolita C Phillips • Roger & Christine Pihl • Wilson Platt • Alessandra Pollock • Sara Porkalob • Susan Porterfield • Laurie Radheshwar • Barbara & Joseph Rait • Beverly & Eddie Reed • Esther Reese • Nancy Reichley • Priscilla Rice • Maren Richter • Karen & Eric Richter • Carol & William Roach • Therese Roberson
• Erica Rose • William Rothberg • Jennifer Cells Russell • Deborah Rutherford • Donna Sand • Bernadette Scheller • Polly Schlitz • Julie & Jeff Schoenfeld • Kinza & Philip Schuyler • Martha Sidlo • Eileen Simmons & Roger Berger • Caren Skube • Marilyn Sloan • Jennifer Smith • Barbara Smith • Barbara Snyder • Vicki & Craig Sosey • Carrie Sparlin • Barbara Spear • Benita & Charles Staadecker • Patty Starkovich & Greg Allen • Jane Stevens & Jerry Zimmerman • Stickel
Family • Ericka Stork • Cassandra Tate & Glenn Drosendahl • Jen Taylor • Anne Terry • Matthew Tevenan • Carly Thaler • Barry Thomas • Richard Thorvilson & Phill Mroz • Jennifer Tice • Carolyn True • Eugene Usui • Marcia Utela • Elizabeth Valentine • Ruth Valine & Ed McNerney • Dana Van Nest & Paul Casey • John VanGilder • Minh Vo • Curtis Vredenburg • Jorie Wackerman • Ava Wang • Susan Ward • Barbara Waxman • Suzanne & Brent Weaver • Jennifer Weis •
Julie Weisbach • Joella Werlin • Sara White & Robert Jordan • Jean & David White • Hope & Ken Wiljanen • Rob Williamson • Michael Winters • Paula Wittmann & David Downing • Pamela Wolf • Diane Wong & Nelson Dong Book-It makes every attempt to be accurate with our acknowledgments. Please contact Annual Fund Manager Ian Stewart at ians@book-it.org or 206.428.6202 with any changes or corrections.
When I jump up everyone sits. When I sit all the kids swing through the air. My feet float through the clouds when all I want is to touch the earth. I am the upside down boy.
Described beautifully by Juan Felipe Herrera, this excerpt from The Upside Down Boy/El niño de cabeza poetically captures what it feels like to be in a new place and having to learn a different language. Did
you know that Seattle school district serves 6,450 English Language Learners and that, according to federal data, our 98118 zip code is home to speakers of 66 languages?
That’s more than any other zip code in the United States! That is why Book-It’s Arts and Education program is proud to be touring The Upside Down Boy/El niño de cabeza bilingually in English and Spanish and why each season we make a
conscious decision to produce work that is reflective of our student audiences and inspire the imagination. We recognize a student’s home language as an asset to learning and whether it is English, Chinese, Somali, Spanish, Punjabi, Arabic, or Vietnamese, or any other, all voices deserve to be heard. After all, as Juan Felipe Herrera so brilliantly states, “Each word, each language has its own magic.” Will you help us celebrate that magic in our youth? You can support our program by contacting Sally Brunette at sallyb@book-it.org or visit our website www.book-it.org Best wishes,
Annie DiMartino Director of Education
encoremediagroup.com/programs A-15
Book-It Repertory Theatre is a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming great literature into great theatre through simple and sensitive production and to inspiring its audiences to read.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
BOOK-IT STAFF Jane Jones Founder & Founding Co-Artistic Director
Myra Platt Founding Co-Artistic Director
Kayti Barnett-O’Brien Managing Director
ARTISTIC
DEVELOPMENT
John Ulman Photography
Josh Aaseng Associate Artistic Director
Sally Brunette Director of Development
Fat Yeti Photography
Shawna Grajek Casting Associate
Ian Stewart Annual Fund Manager
ADMINISTRATIVE
Educator and Supporter
EDUCATION
Annika Bennett Development Assistant
Charlotte Moss Bookkeeper
BOARD MEMBERS
Casting Manager, Entertainment, Holland American
Community Volunteer
John Aldaya
PATRON SERVICES
PRODUCTION
Sasha Bailey Patron Services Manager
Dan Schuy Production Manager
Aly Guzmán-Dyrseth Box Office Sales & Data Specialist
Shawna Grajek Assistant Production Manager
Madeline Levy, Jasmine Lomax, Caroline Rensel, Thalia Shelver Box Office Associates
Benjamin Radin Technical Director
Val Brunetto Communications Manager
Linda Brown, Secretary Earl Sedlik, Treasurer
J. Woody Lotts Tour Manager
Glen Miller Director of Marketing & Communications
Margaret Kineke, Vice President
Sr. VP, Financial Consultant, Davidson Co.
Tom Wahl, IT Support
Annie DiMartino Director of Education
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
OFFICERS Stuart Frank, President
Jocelyne Fowler Costume Shop Manager Shelby Choo Master Carpenter
SERVICES Wolken Communica Graphic Design Alabastro Photography
Jessica Christensen Scenic Charge Artist and Properties Master
Chris Bennion Photography
Chief Financial Officer, Carrix
Mark Boyd Community Volunteer
José Clair Supply Chain Analyst, The Boeing Company
Laura Colman
Healthcare & Human Resources Executive, Retired
Tina Ganguly
Community Volunteer
Clay Gustaves
Senior Land Rep, Williams Companies
Jane Jones
Founder and Founding Co-Artistic Director, Book-It Repertory Theatre
Mary Metastasio
Senior Portfolio Manager, Safeco, Retired
Christopher Mumaw
Scenic and Experiential Designer
Myra Platt Founding Co-Artistic Director, Book-It Repertory Theatre
CONTACT US
Anne Fisher Ravens
Senior Associate, Point B
Book-It is a vibrant literature-based theatre company that transforms great works of classic and contemporary literature into fully staged works for audiences young and old — more than 130 world-premiere adaptations and counting. Book-It’s combined programs ignite the imaginations of more than 80,000 people yearly through the power of live theater. Among the company’s honors: 2010 Mayor’s Arts Award, Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Founder’s Award, 2012 Governor’s Arts Award, and three Gregory Awards for Outstanding Production. www.book-it.org
CENTER THEATRE AT THE ARMORY
BOX OFFICE CONTACT
BOX OFFICE
206.216.0833 • boxoffice@book-it.org
Seattle Center 305 Harrison Street, Seattle
Shirley Roberson Senior Associate, Hughes Media Law Group
Steven Schwartzman
Attorney, U.S. Postal Service, Western Law Department
Christine Stepherson Founder, Team Soapbox
Lordia Williams
Senior Human Resources Manager, Amazon Web Services
EMERITUS BOARD Ross Baker
Joann Byrd
Dan Kuhn
Deborah Swets
Ruth Valine
Liz Warman
Audrey Watson
Kris Villiott
ADMINISTRATION CONTACT
ADMINISTRATION OFFICES
206.216.0877 • info@book-it.org
401 Mercer St., Seattle
HONORARY BOARD Sonya Campion
/bookitrep
@book_it
bookitrep
A-16 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Emily Davis
Ann Ramsay-Jenkins
Beth McCaw
Tom Robbins
Garth Stein
Dialogue
Encore Stages in conversation
Courtesy of Ryan Henry Ward.
Encore Stages recently sat down with the urban artist, Ryan Henry Ward, to discuss the role of children in today’s society, Amazon hackers and where he’d love to paint a mural next.
Even if you don’t know who Ryan Henry Ward is, you’ve seen his work around town. Maybe it’s that weird Sasquatch painting on a building in Fremont. Maybe it’s an elephant on a Value Village wall. Maybe it’s googly-eyed fish, a walrus, a gnome along Interbay. Marking his work “Henry”, his murals have been popping up all over the city for years.
Ryan Henry Ward “Henry”, Seattle muralist. Courtesy of Ryan Henry Ward.
encoremediagroup.com/programs 9
Courtesy of Ryan Henry Ward.
Courtesy of Ryan Henry Ward.
What sparked your interest in art as a kid? What artists did you look up to? Who do you look up to now?
I grew up in rural Montana and had very little influence besides Sunday comics, Saturday morning cartoons and children’s books. I really was influenced by illustrators. Quentin Blake was my favorite. I was in love with how it felt like his drawings took no time at all to make. I always pushed myself to draw cartoons fast because of him. I liked Shel Silverstein and then Jim Unger, Gary Larson and Ralph Steadman as I got older. Presently, I’m being influenced by Hieronymus Bosch and Alex Kuno. I’ve also had a thread of influence as an adult from Diego Rivera, Keith Haring and, as cliché as it sounds, Picasso and Dali. Your murals are often full of odd delight and charmed whimsy. Do you picture yourself that way? If not, how would you categorize yourself?
I find myself to be a pretty lighthearted laid-back guy. I tend to have a lot of funny thoughts going through my head most of the time. But I am a full person; I have a definite shadow side and embrace it. It seems to come out 10 ENCORE STAGES
in my private work more. I do have a basic philosophy as a public artist and that is to acknowledge that children are part of the public. I think a lot of public artists overlook their responsibility towards the children whose eyes are wide open and seeing everything. I’m no Mr. Rogers but I admire him, and Jim Henson too, and find as an adult that I should take into account the development of the generations that will be responsible for taking care of my soon-to-be geriatric a**.
“I do have a basic philosophy as a public artist and that is to acknowledge that children are part of the public.” What do you think is different about a kid appreciating your art over an adult?
It feels like I found an interesting voice that somehow finds people of all ages
to speak to. Five-year-olds, teenagers and adults of all ages enjoying the work in the same show is interesting to watch. I think all ages know when something works; when it has intuitive balance and flow. When you look at something and for an unknown reason want to keep looking. I think that experience happens and transcends the age barrier. I’ve seen it happen with my black-and-white work, my bright color work and my imagery that has nothing to do with fun characters. I think I open the door and allow a big audience in, but I think they see something and can’t easily explain why it works for so many. That’s the fun for me. I get to be the scientist behind the concoctions, so to speak, and watch my experimental process take hold in the hearts and minds of people from all walks of life. What’s your favorite piece that can be seen in Seattle right now? What murals do you miss that are no longer there?
I always say my favorite piece of art is the one I’m about to paint. But of the stuff that exists, I’m most proud of the work I’ve done for Flatstick
Saleea, Age 12
Give the gift. Of pioneering research. Of caring for all kids in all communities. Of helping families afford lifesaving care. Give the gift of hope. The gift of care. The gift of cures. When you make a donation to Seattle Children’s, you provide hope to kids like Saleea. See what your yes can do at seattlechildrens.org/yestosaleea
Mix ingredients. Season to taste. Serve over 17 days. Vancouver stays from $99 CAD* JANUARY 18 to FEBRUARY 3, 2019 PREMIER PARTNER
FESTIVAL PARTNER
PRODUCED BY
™ Trademark of Tourism Vancouver, The Metro Vancouver Convention and Visitors Bureau. * Prices in Canadian dollars. Rates are per night, per room, based on double occupancy and are subject to change and availability.
September 15, 2018–January 6, 2019 Shana Moulton. My Life as an INFJ, 2015. Single channel video, decorative objects. Courtesy of the artist and Crèvecoeur, Paris. © Aurélien Mole. Group Therapy is organized by the Frye Art Museum and curated by Amanda Donnan. Generous support is provided by ArtsFund, the Frye Foundation, the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, and Frye Art Museum members. Media sponsorship is provided by City Arts.
704 Terry Avenue | fryemuseum.org | Always Free
12 ENCORE STAGES
Pub and the ongoing relationship I’ve developed with those guys. The installation on the corner of Mercer and Westlake is really worth experiencing. I had been dreaming of full room interactive installations for a while and I was finally able to do it. I’ve lost a handful of murals, mostly due to the tearing down of old buildings and putting up new ones in their place. It’s hard to see your babies go but it’s also the nature of the game. It’s sad when I lose one because I know how attached the community gets to them and how they become a part of their lives. When someone gets a hold of me and asks for permission to replace or cover it with something new, I feel a responsibility to historic preservation of the work and basically tell them no. Of all of them, I wish my first one was still here. That was on the Triangle Lounge in Fremont. You came close to being able to paint the top of the Space Needle in a competition. What happened there?
Oh, the Space Needle saga. Q13 hired a computer forensics scientist and found an Amazon employee hacked into the voting program and swayed the process. It was weird because I had to remain neutral although I was upset because so many people put so much time and effort into voting for that. In the end they found it was hijacked. I felt horrible for my fans that put the time in and also felt bad for the other artist that was chosen that had to deal with the whole thing on her end. Basically, I don’t enter competitions anymore and have no interest in being involved in games that involve artist’s careers or lives. If you could paint a mural on anything in Seattle, what would it be?
It would be the Seattle Aquarium. I love that place and that wall is a beauty.
■
Jonathan Shipley i s a freelance writer living in West Seattle. He’s been published in the Los Angeles Times, Fine Books & Collections Magazine, and Seattle Magazine, among others.
Dialogue
Encore Stages in conversation
Courtesy of Art with Heart.
Encore Stages recently sat down with Art with Heart’s CEO, Heidi Durham, to discuss the power of art. For 20 years, Art with Heart has been an innovator helping kids build resilience, selfregulation and social-emotional skills to heal from Adverse Childhood Experiences. They use art-based, age appropriate, therapeutic activity books to help abused and traumatized kids heal. They have served 190,000 children so far and are on a mission to provide resources to at least 10 percent of the 35 million kids facing trauma in America in the next 10 years. How did you get involved with Art with Heart?
After over a decade at Starbucks, a year in Ethiopia and two years working at a local brand strategy and design firm, I met our founder who was ready to pass the torch after 20 years. I was so impressed with what she had built. Motivated by the reality that 35 million kids are struggling with various adversities and inspired by the power
of art to help kids heal by accessing the part of the brain where trauma is stored, I jumped at the chance to join.
Heidi Durham, CEO of Art with Heart. Courtesy of Art with Heart.
What sorts of kids participate? What types of traumas/adversities have they faced?
Kids who take part in Art with Heart curriculum are often trying to cope with an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). These kids are not alone. A staggering encoremediagroup.com/programs 13
“. . . making art connects the head, heart and hands like no other method that exists.”
Courtesy of Art with Heart.
“The National Child Traumatic Stress Network estimates that one in four kids has experienced a serious trauma by age 16 . . .” 35 million American children are struggling with one or more ACEs; 28 percent are dealing with physical abuse, 27 percent with substance abuse, 20 percent with sexual abuse, 13 percent with domestic violence and 11 percent with emotional abuse. After exposure to ACEs, kids have twice the risk of heart disease, three times the risk of depression and a greater risk of chronic disease, mental illness, violence and being victimized by violence. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network estimates that one in four kids has experienced a serious trauma by age 16—that’s eight children in a school class of 32. Eight kids who can’t pay attention, sit still long enough to read, or concentrate on the math problem on the chalkboard because their central nervous systems have been hijacked by traumatic stress. If they’re not helped, those eight kids can’t make up for lost time. They’re likely to be shuffled on to the next grade, labeled “disruptive” 14 ENCORE STAGES
and isolated socially while struggling to cope with overwhelming emotions. Knowing so many children are struggling to cope with ACEs with no resources and not enough adults trained in trauma-sensitive interventions is what drives us. Their teachers, parents, family doctor and other caregivers are often at a loss for how to help. They may not understand the effects of trauma on a young, developing brain or have the skills to reach these kids. They may be too strapped for time and money to give kids what they truly need: traumasensitive, guided, therapeutic activities that help them safely express their challenging emotions and build resiliency skills for a healthier, happier future. What are some of the most powerful experiences you’ve had while interacting with the kids?
Art with Heart is successful if kids finish an art project and feel like art is a coping strategy for them when faced
with difficulty. There are so many stories of how art is a powerful tool to help kids through trauma. An 11-year-old said of the program, “Art helped me to get my feelings out on paper. Doing these actives let me know that there is someone out there in the world that has the same feelings as me.” A 16-year-old said, “Over the course of my life, I’ve experienced many negative emotions, there were some good ones as well. I have trouble expressing my emotions in a non-harmful way, so these art projects are a good way to express these emotions.” Why art? How does art reach a child when other things don’t?
Talking about trauma is difficult, in large part because it’s stored in the visual, nonverbal part of our brains. This is how creative expression has a unique role in healing—making art connects the head, heart and hands like no other method that exists. How can someone help?
Make a gift online. Come to an event. Volunteer. You can learn more about Art with Heart’s curriculum, programs and how to get involved by visiting www.artwithheart.org.
■
Jonathan Shipley i s a freelance writer living in West Seattle. He’s been published in the Los Angeles Times, Fine Books & Collections Magazine, and Seattle Magazine, among others.
Intermission Brain Transmission Are you waiting for the curtain to rise? Or, perhaps, you’ve just returned to 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) Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is Taproot Theatre’s Austenian offering this holiday season, running from November 21–December 29. This romantic comedy centers around the life of Mary, the bookish sister of Elizabeth Bennet, the main character in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. What are the names of the other three Bennet sisters? a) b) c) d)
Jane, Martha and Sara Jane, Kitty and Lydia Anne, Kitty and Lydia Emma, Jane and Sara
2) For the 43rd time, ACT presents A Christmas Carol, running November 23– December 28. Which of Charles Dickens’ ten children, who was also a respected painter, collaborated with biographer Gladys Storey on Dickens and Daughter, published in 1939? a) b) c) d)
Sydney Smith Haldimand Dickens Dora Annie Dickens Catherine “Kate” Elizabeth Macready Perugini Mary “Mamie” Dickens
3) Book-It Repertory Theatre presents My Ántonia, November 29–December 30. Based on the novel by Willa Cather, this play takes place over a lifetime in the fictional town of Black Hawk, Nebraska, inspired by the author’s home town Red Cloud, located in Webster County. Which of the following is not one of Nebraska’s 93 counties? a) b) c) d)
Milford Keya Paha Pierce Box Butte
4) Meany Hall will welcome Turtle Island Quartet to its stage on December 8. Since its founding in 1985, this classical string quartet has won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album twice. In which two years did they win? a) b) c) d)
Bob Cratchit and Tiny Tim, from a design by S. Eytinge, Jr.
2004 and 2005 1990 and 1994 2006 and 2008 1989 and 2000
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) b. Jane, Kitty and Lydia. From oldest to youngest: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, Lydia. Jane marries the agreeable Mr. Bingley and Lydia runs away with the dissolute Mr. Wickham in Austen’s novel. 2) c. Kate Perugini. She was married to Charles Collins and Charles Perugini, both artists in their own rights, and died in 1929 at the age of 89. 3) a. Milford. 4) c. 2006 and 2008.
encoremediagroup.com/programs 15