NOVEMBER 2016
OUR 2016-1 7 SEASON A TALE FOR THE TIME BEING • TREASURE ISLAND • A MOVEABLE FEAST • WELCOME TO BRAGGSVILLE
Women Painters of Washington
December 2016 Volume 13, No. 3
& National Association of Women Artists Women Artist Coast to Coast:West At the Washington Convention Center Oct 13, 2016 - Jan 11, 2017
Paul Heppner Publisher Sara Keats, Jonathan Shipley Encore Stages Editors Susan Peterson Design & Production Director Ana Alvira, Robin Kessler, Shaun Swick, Stevie VanBronkhorst Production Artists and Graphic Design Mike Hathaway Sales Director
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Brieanna Bright, Joey Chapman, Ann Manning, Rob Scott Seattle Area Account Executives Marilyn Kallins, Terri Reed San Francisco/Bay Area Account Executives Jonathan Shipley Ad Services Coordinator Carol Yip Sales Coordinator Sara Keats, Jonathan Shipley Online Editors
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Paul Heppner President
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FALL 2016
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Contents 5 Dialogue Encore Stages in conversation with Deaf Spotlight
9 Treasures Told Dialect coaching pirates at Book-It Rep
13 Daring Young Teens Circus Arts at SANCA 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:
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Dialogue Encore Stages in conversation
Deaf Drama Camp for Youth 2016, photo courtesy of Deaf Spotlight
Deaf Spotlight inspires, encourages, and showcases creative works of, by, and for Deaf people in the Pacific Northwest through events that celebrate Deaf culture and American Sign Language.
We recently sat down with Patty Liang, Deaf Spotlight’s executive director, to discuss Deaf culture, how Deaf arts goers’ experiences differ from hearing patrons’ experiences, and how you can help the organization.
What does Deaf Spotlight do?
The purpose of Deaf Spotlight is to build stronger platforms featuring Deaf art forms by, on and about the Deaf community. We feature various Deaf artists, filmmakers, designers, directors, writers, poets, playwrights and community patrons in our programming. Deaf Spotlight offers, in alternating years, two major events—a theatrical production written by a Deaf playwright and performed by Deaf actors, or the Seattle Deaf Film Festival showcasing Deaf filmmakers from around the world. In addition, Deaf Spotlight offers Deaf Epic Jam that showcases poetry and storytelling in American Sign Language by local, regional and national Deaf artists, as well as workshops, lectures, and interpreted museum and gallery tours.
encore artsseattle.com 5
Seattle Deaf Film Festival 2016 volunteers, photo courtesy of Deaf Spotlight
Deaf Spotlight believes in supporting Deaf artists and their work and creating opportunities for the Deaf community to learn and embrace the arts in ASL. We’ve been able to achieve that the past five years and we seek to do more.
When I moved back to Seattle, I had the opportunity to join a committee who wanted to set up a Seattle Deaf Film Festival. From there, Deaf Spotlight grew from a core committee’s passion and determination to cultivate, showcase, and support Deaf artists and their work.
How so?
Who does Deaf Spotlight primarily serve?
Recently, we offered new programming, Deaf Drama Camp for Youth. We hired two artists in residence along with thirteen local and out-of-state artists who are either Deaf or fluent in ASL. Not often do Deaf youth have opportunities to interact and work with Deaf role models in their expertise. We were thrilled to make it happen this summer.
Deaf Spotlight’s primary audience consists of Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind people. However, hearing college students, interpreters, teachers, families, and youth with a connection to the Deaf community also attend our events.
How did you get involved?
Deaf people as a linguistic minority have a common experience of life, and this manifests itself in Deaf culture. This includes beliefs, attitudes, history, norms, values, literary traditions, and art shared by Deaf people.
What is Deaf Spotlight’s purpose?
A WORLD PREMIERE STAGING OF THE NOVEL BY RUTH OZEKI SEPT 14 – OCT 9, 2016 TICKETS ON SALE NOW
TICKETS AT BOOK-IT.ORG 206-216-0833
BOOK-IT.ORG 6 ENCORE STAGES
I am a Deaf arts administrator. I majored in Ceramics from the University of Washington and Nonprofit Management for the Arts from New York University. For my MA degree, I started doing research on how to set up a Deafcentered art organization that would offer different opportunities for Deaf artists to maintain their careers.
Can you tell me a little more about Deaf culture?
Deaf culture is at the heart of Deaf communities everywhere in the world. Each Deaf community is a cultural group which shares a sign language
and a common heritage. Members of Deaf communities all around the world therefore identify themselves as members of a cultural and linguistic group. Identification with the Deaf community is a personal choice and is usually made independent of the individual’s hearing status, and the community is not automatically composed of all people who are Deaf or hard of hearing.
Deaf Spotlight believes in supporting all Deaf artists and wants to inroduce different mediums, expressions and more to the community.
[The Deaf community’s experience of the arts] is unique because there are two different approaches to illicit emotions, thoughts, and dialogue [within and about] the community. One group believes in creating art from the Deaf experience, while the other group believes in creating art through different mediums based on their talents [and they] happen to be Deaf. They [would] rather focus on their work to elevate the message, not on the Deaf perspective first. Deaf Spotlight believes in supporting all Deaf artists and wants to introduce different mediums, expressions and more to the community. How can someone help your organization?
People can support our organization by coming to our events, donating to our ongoing programming, and encouraging others to learn about our community, culture and language. <
© Philip Newton
How are the arts different for someone who is Deaf?
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Business, meet box office. Encore Media Group connects businesses and brands to the best of arts & culture in Seattle and the Bay Area. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re proud to have published programs for Seattle-area arts organizations since 1976. From jewelers and restaurants to galleries and schools, smart business owners know Encore is the best way to get their brand in the spotlight.
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Geoffery Simmons and Alex Silva; photo by John Ulman.
What do you treasure? ’Tis the season to treasure the people who fill our lives with fellowship, to treasure the circumstances that allow us to live a life of abundance, and to treasure a community that feeds our souls with cultural offerings.
of staff and volunteers who give their time to keep our sails filled.
Today we ask you to give back with a charitable gift to Book-It, so we can spread the joy of reading while enriching our community with the treasure of engaging “There is more treasure At Book-It, we believe and challenging theatre. in a book than in all of literature is a treasure that Please make your contrithe pirate loot on makes us all richer. bution to Book-It today Treasure Island.” That’s why we work so and help us fill the trea— Walt Disney hard to turn some of the sure chest this holiday best literature ever writseason. You can make ten into great theatre that inspires our your gift in the lobby, by mail with the community to read, including more than gift envelopes provided, at book-it.org 55,000 youth that we reach every year or by calling 206.428.6202. through our Education program. On behalf of the entire Book-It team, As an audience member, you can see how thank you. much we treasure the literature we adapt. Sally Brunette And we hope to inspire you and thousands of others to read with the gift of theatre — experienced actors giving us heartfelt performances, designers giving us richly imagined worlds, and dozens W E L C O M E T O T R E A S U R E I S L A N D
OUR 2016-17 SEASON:
TREASURE ISLAND
A MOVEABLE FEAST
November 22 — December 24, 2016
A THEATRICAL CULINARY COLLABORATION WITH CAFÉ NORDO AT NORDO’S CULINARIUM
February 9 — March 26, 2017
WELCOME TO BRAGGSVILLE June 6 — July 2, 2017
Apply your ticket to a three-show subscription package. Ask the box office how! SUBSCRIBERS SAVE MONEY, GET GUARANTEED SEATS TO SOLD-OUT SHOWS, ENJOY FREE EXCHANGE PRIVILEGES, AND MORE.
Adventure awaits.
BOOK-IT.ORG • 206.216.0833 A-2 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
JANE JONES & MYRA PLATT, FOUNDING CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
TREASURE ISLAND BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON Adapted by Bryan Burch Directed by Corey McDaniel
CAST
in alphabetical order
Eric Ray Anderson* Ian Bond Marianna de Fazio Tom Dewey Jim Gall* Tim Gouran Gin Hammond* Benjamin McFadden Arjun Pande Alex Silva Geoffery Simmons* Ray Simon Jordan Whidbey Emma Pihl Shane Unger
Squire Trelawney Pew / Redruth / George Merry / Ensemble Ben Gunn / Ensemble Officer Dance / Abraham Gray / Ensemble Billy Bones / Captain Smollett Israel Hands / Bible Dick Johnson / Ensemble Mother / O’Brien / Ensemble Black Dog / Anderson / Ensemble Dr. Livesey Jim Hawkins Long John Silver Dogger / Ensemble Pinkie / Hunter / Tommy / Ensemble Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager
PRODUCTION AND ARTISTIC TEAM Christopher Mumaw Evan Anderson Jocelyne Fowler Kyle Thompson Rebecca Fredrickson Alyssa Keene Tom Dewey
Scenic Designer Lighting Designer Costume Designer Sound Designer Dramaturg / Assistant Director Dialect Coach Fight Choreographer
* Member Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
season support
media sponsors
sage foundation 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
NOTES FROM THE
A
DIRECTOR
Assistant Director Rebecca Fredrickson and Director Corey McDaniel
s a young boy, I remember reading Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and dreaming of sailing the high seas, searching for buried treasure and having my own swashbuckling adventure. After all, Treasure Island is the origin of most pirate mythology: one-legged seamen, parrots at sea, treasure maps, and the search for hidden riches. Needless to say, it has indeed been an adventure to finally experience this childhood desire as an adult with this group of highly inspired theatre artists and creators. Treasure Island, among other things, is a coming of age story. There are many elements I love about Robert Louis Stevenson’s iconic tale, but above all, I am particularly drawn to the experience of witnessing a young boy leave behind his childhood and find his own voice, his sense of responsibility and in essence, his adulthood. Young Hawkins’ world is one where morals are fluid, ethics are questionable, and the lingering promise of wealth-beyond-reason motivates choices. Through “It’s the glory of the sea that the developmental processes of has turned my head.” contributing to the creation of the script, collaborating with ~ Squire Trelawney, the designers, and exploring the TREASURE ISLAND text with the actors, it has been Jim’s perspective that I wanted to remain closest to throughout. Jim’s perspective has been an exceptionally fulfilling lens through which to see this world of pirates, nights on the open seas, and uncharted islands promising Captain Flint’s buried treasure.
R
ABOUT THE
obert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on November 13, 1850. He declared that he would be a writer at age six, before he was even able to perform the act of writing. Later, he studied law at his father’s request. In 1875 he did pass the bar exam, but did not begin to practice, preferring instead to continue on his path as a writer. His first volumes were non-fictional, detailing his travels through continental Europe. In September 1876 in France, he met Fanny Osbourne, her daughter Belle, and her son Lloyd. Belle was 18 and beautiful; Fanny was 35, headstrong, and still married to her estranged husband. After a brief pass at Belle, RLS and Fanny became lovers, and they married in 1880 after her divorce was finalized. RLS suffered for most of his adult life from lung problems — possibly tuberculosis. However, this did not stop him from traveling. He traveled the South Seas with his wife and stepson, and in December 1889, the three of them moved to Samoa where he lived until his death in 1894. His
It is a rare experience in the world of theatre to take part in the birth of a new play. It’s even rarer to have source material such as Treasure Island to build upon. It requires asking hundreds of questions and co-creating with inspired minds to weave together (literally) thousands of ideas and elements of the story that, as we find, connect in the most unique and unexpected ways. I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the experience of bringing this well-known novel to the stage with the Treasure Island team here at Book-It. Thank you for joining us on this seafaring adventure! A-4 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
_ Corey McDaniel
His signature work,
FROM THE
ADAPTER
AUTHOR grave is adorned by his 1887 poem called “Requiem”: “Under the wide and starry sky, / Dig the grave and let me lie.” The Writing of Treasure Island In August 1881, while living in Scotland, RLS sketched out a treasure map and labeled it “Treasure Island”. He was so taken with this island that he decided to write a story for boys about it, and from there, the words seemed to flow like water. He wrote the first 15 chapters in 15 days, and every night he would read them aloud and receive feedback from his father and stepson. However, here he hit a block; it took him nearly two months to write chapters 16-20. That October, his health forced him and his family to retreat to Davos, a colony in Switzerland where there was a tuberculosis sanatorium. There, he regained his inspiration and wrote the final 14 chapters in 14 days. He took a
15th day to re-read the manuscript and, satisfied, sent it off to London to be published serially. He was paid just 30 pounds for the completed manuscript in November of 1881. RLS seems to have drawn from a host of sources for Treasure Island. In addition to nods to actual pirate culture, such as the name of the pirate Israel Hands (second-in-command under Blackbeard), he drew from such diverse sources as his social circle (Long John Silver is based on a close friend), English naval history (for the namesake of the Admiral Benbow Inn), and Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta The Pirates of Penzance. Although initially unremarked upon, Treasure Island was republished as a single-volume novel in 1883, for which RLS was paid the heftier sum of 100 pounds. This volume was dedicated to Lloyd, his stepson. In a letter to a friend, RLS revealed his hope that the book “will do to reprint, and bring something decent at that.” Even he could not have imagined Treasure Island’s success; it has never been out of print. Dramaturgy by Rebecca Fredrickson, Book-It Artistic Intern
Treasure Island, has never been out of print.
I
Geoffery Simmons as Long John Silver: photo by John Ulman
t is easy to imagine the ubiquitous, theatrical, yo-ho-ho pirate type, but take a moment to consider that one who becomes a pirate does so for compelling life reasons. Each sailor-turned-pirate, very likely, has a complex, or at least, individual, human story. Greed, deception, easy murder and a lust for rum are common threads of that story, and yet, every pirate started as a sailor, who, for some set of reasons, turned to a life of crime. In Jim Hawkins’ telling of Treasure Island, those who choose to mutiny on the promise of gold beyond belief are a savvy group of fortune hunters capable of befriending and then deceiving not only a thirteen-year-old country boy, but several experienced adults who, against their better judgment, put their lives at considerable risk.
_ Bryan Burch encore art sseattle.com A-5
PIRATE
ECONOMY
P
becoming unbearably crowded, irate economics were inextricably causing citizens to look for an escape. connected with the Atlantic triangular Some of this resulted in migration to trading system. In this system, which the Americas, which at this point were lasted from the late 16th to early 19th still tax-paying British colonies. Other centuries, merchant ships would sail English citizens, however, decided from Europe to the British colonies to take their economic futures into in Africa and trade European goods their own hands by operating outside and supplies for cargoes of slaves. The the law. They recognized that the slaves would then be brought to the huge, heavily loaded merchant ships West Indies and the Americas, where operating the they would triangular be traded for trade would goods such Piracy was absolutely be ideal as sugarcane, targets for rum, and no joke in terms opportunistic tobacco. pirates. of economics. Then, the ships would Piracy was bring that absolutely no cargo back to Europe to be sold. Ships joke in terms of economics. Working that made it back to Europe earned a in the Royal British Navy, a capable huge paycheck. seaman could expect to earn up to 33 pounds a year (up to $8,800 in today’s Merchants, nobility, and the royal money). This was a tiny pittance family were doing very well during compared to the money that could be this period because of the massive made pirating. For example, in 1720, wealth generated by the international a pirate called Captain Christopher shipping trade. However, there Condent captured a treasure that was also a widespread economic depression; the countryside was A-6 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Continued on page A-12
the law of the seas L
egal punishments for piracy were harsh and often fatal. Generally, in the 17th century, all British pirates were sent to London for trial, where they would be locked away in the dismal Newgate Prison. This hostile environment also included the ‘pressing yard,’
A
TREASURE ISLAND
s s a child, RLS was nicknamed ‘Smout,’ which is Scots for ‘young salmon.’ Toward the end of his life, he received another more appropriate nickname: ‘Tusitala,’ from the Samoan for ‘writer of stories.’ The adventurers say that the treasure on Treasure Island is worth 700,000 pounds as of 1765. That’s roughly equivalent to $150 million today. The characters in this production of Treasure Island speak with over 10 different accents and dialects, including Received Pronunciation (standard British), Cockney, Irish, Scottish, and Jamaican.
where jailors would tie suspected pirates to the ground and place heavy weights on their chests until they either confessed to piracy or died. If they managed to survive the unfriendly conditions of Newgate, they would face trial and, if found guilty, hanged. These hangings would occur at low tide, and the incoming tide would actually cover the bodies. They were often left hanging for days to serve as an example to others considering a similar career. Occasionally, pirates would be pardoned, especially if they were young and potentially reformable. Also, pirates who could prove that they were pressed into service were sometimes spared.
One of the pirates of Treasure Island, Israel Hands, is named after a reallife pirate — in fact, the second-incommand to Blackbeard!
TRIVIA
The first known appearance of the pirate exclamation “Aargh!” came in Walt Disney’s 1950 movie adaptation of Treasure Island. It is known that RLS saw a production of The Pirates of Penzance less than a year before he started writing Treasure Island. It should be noted that the ‘pirate dialect’ that RLS used for the pirates in Treasure Island is suspiciously similar to a south-western English dialect, like the accents of Cornwall — or Penzance. RLS started a forest fire near San Francisco because he wanted to test if Spanish moss was flammable. It was. This resulted in him nearly being lynched by an angry mob of firefighters who were fighting another fire nearby.
Among the pirates themselves, there was no official law or code, though there were some standards that were generally followed. While naval and merchant vessels had strict chains of command, pirate ships were run democratically. The Continued on page A-12 encore art sseattle.com A-7
MEET THE
CAST
Eric Ray Anderson*
Squire Trelawney Eric is an early adopter of Book-It, having worked here on and off since the days of verbatim short stories in libraries. He appeared in Peter Pan, Moby-Dick, or The Whale, and Sweet Thursday, among others. He has performed at most local professional theatres since coming to Seattle in 1981, and at many others around the country. Most recently he played Louis de Rougemont in Shipwrecked! at Key City Public Theatre. Eric coaches Shakespeare text for colleges and theatres, including Twelfth Night at University of Puget Sound, and Two Gentlemen of Verona at Key City Public Theatre. He plays ukulele in a couple of rockin’ local bands: Miss Mamie Lavona the Exotic Mulatta and her White Boy Band, and Eray and the Lost Positives.
Ian Bond
Pew / Redruth / George Merry / Ensemble Ian Bond was previously seen at Book-It in Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus and is thrilled to return for “a little swash, a bit of buckle.” He has performed regionally with Seattle Public Theater (Bad Jews), Taproot Theatre Company (Jeeves Intervenes, Diana of Dobson’s), Seattle Shakespeare Company (Titus Andronicus), Sound Theatre Company (Holiday of Errors), Washington Ensemble Theatre (The Things Are Against Us), Seattle Immersive Theatre (HARVEST), and eSe Teatro (Don Quixote and Sancho Panza: Homeless in Seattle). Ian is a former resident ensemble member of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company where favorite roles include Romeo, Mr. Darcy, Hamlet, Banquo, and Al Joad (The Grapes of Wrath). He is represented by Topo Swope Talent.
Marianna de Fazio
Ben Gunn / Ensemble Marianna works locally as an actor across all media as well as a coach for dialect, presentations, and accent modification. Recent acting credits include Duels (amador/stokes), The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Sound Theatre Company), and A-8 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Romeo and Juliet (Seattle Immersive Theatre). Recent coaching credits include The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge (Taproot Theatre Company), The Pride (Theatre22), and The Brothers K (Book-It Repertory Theatre). Treasure Island marks her Book-It stage debut. Marianna received her MFA from the University of Washington. www. mariannadefazio.com
Tom Dewey
Officer Dance / Abraham Gray / Ensemble Tom has been a Seattlebased actor and fight choreographer for nearly eight years. For Book-It, Tom acted in Border Songs, and choreographed the violence for Great Expectations, The Financial Lives of the Poets, She’s Come Undone, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Little Bee, Slaughterhouse-Five, The Brothers K, and A Tale for the Time Being. You may also recognize his voice from the BookIt Box Office. He has worked with Seattle Shakespeare Company, Taproot Theatre, Theater Schmeater, Theatre22, Greenstage, Harlequin Productions, Copious Love Productions, and many more. Favorite roles include Titus Lartius in Coriolanus (Seattle Shakespeare Company) and The Douglass in Henry IV, Part I (Wooden O). Tom graduated from the Theatre Arts and History Departments at the University of Puget Sound.
Jim Gall*
Billy Bones / Captain Smollett Jim is so happy to be back at Book-It. This will be his eighth world premiere with these great folks starting with originating the role of Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice many years ago. Recently, Jim was nominated for a Gregory Award for his portrayal of Kurt Vonnegut in BookIt’s Slaughterhouse-Five. He is grateful to Jane and Myra for providing so much opportunity for this community. He is married to the beautiful Kelly Kitchens.
* Member Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Tim Gouran
Israel Hands / Bible Dick Johnson / Ensemble Tim is so honored and grateful to be included in this amazing group of folks. He has performed with many Seattle theatres including Seattle Repertory Theatre, ACT Theatre, Azeotrope, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, New City Theater, Washington Ensemble Theatre, and Strawberry Theatre Workshop. He got his start with The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. He has appeared in several movies and T.V. episodes.
Gin Hammond*
Mother / O’Brien / Ensemble Gin Hammond received her MFA from the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University/ Moscow Art Theater. She received a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for her performance in The Syringa Tree, and has performed in Russia, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, and England. She is co-founder of the Seattle Voice Institute where she teaches a wide array of vocal techniques such as voice-over, public speaking, and accent/dialect skills. Hammond’s voice can be heard on commercials, audiobooks, and a variety of video games including “Undead Labs: State of Decay,” “DotA 2,” “Aion,” and “Halo 3: ODST.”
Benjamin McFadden
Black Dog / Anderson / Ensemble Benjamin is thrilled to return to Book-It Repertory Theatre for his seventh production. Most recent Book-It credits include Paul Lazzaro in Slaughterhouse-Five, Skeet in The Financial Lives of the Poets, and Young Dr. Larch in the awardwinning production(s) The Cider House Rules. Locally he’s worked with Washington Ensemble Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, MAP Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Sandbox Radio, ArtsWest, as well as many other companies and workshops across town. Benjamin is also an educator and has taught with Book-It’s Arts & Education Program, Seattle Shakespeare
Company, Seattle Children’s Theatre, and Icicle Creek Center of the Arts. He is also one-half of Team McMartin who will be relocating to Los Angeles later this winter.
continue developing and increasing the dimension and visibility of American Blackness in theatre, art, and our community. www.geofferysimmons. com
Arjun Pande
Ray Simon
Dr. Livesey Arjun is so glad you came to see the show. This is his second show with Book-It Repertory Theatre, his first being Emma last year. He has also been in The Comedy of Errors, The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet at Seattle Shakespeare Company. Arjun is a graduate of Brown University where he received a degree in theater and the performing arts.
Alex Silva
Jim Hawkins Alex Silva most recently appeared in Book-It’s production of The Brothers K. He has appeared locally in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Seattle Children’s Theatre); Titus Andronicus and Waiting for Godot (Seattle Shakespeare Company); Our Town (Strawberry Theatre Workshop); A Christmas Carol (ACT Theatre); and Bill Irwin: On Beckett (Seattle Repertory Theatre). Alex has enjoyed working with Seattle Shakespeare Company’s Short Shakes education program as Dogberry and Leonato in Much Ado About Nothing and Seattle Children’s Theatre’s Summer Season.
Geoffery Simmons*
Long John Silver Geoffery Simmons is thrilled to be alongside such superb talent in Book-It’s wonderful production of Treasure Island. A Seattle native, he has been acting, singing, and performing for over 30 years. Credits include My Heart is the Drum (Village Theatre); Sideshow, Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Tacoma Little Theatre); Big River (Taproot Theatre Company); All My Sons (Intiman Theatre); Prairie Nocturne, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Uncensored (Book-It). He served in the Navy for 11 years, lived in Tokyo for nine years, has sung backup for Mariah Carey, works in television and movies, and is a proud member SAG/AFTRA. Geoffery is thankful, motivated, and as always inspired to
Dogger / Ensemble Ray Simon is experienced in screen acting and makes his debut in live theatre with this production. He loves art no matter what form it takes: acting, dancing, martial arts, drawing, and sports are among some. Ray always loved the challenge of live theatre and to be able to tell a story in front of a live audience. He is grateful to be part of this amazing production.
Jordan Whidbey
Pinkie / Hunter / Tommy / Ensemble Jordan-Michael Whidbey is excited to step on the Book-It stage for the first time. You may have recently seen Jordan at Fantastic Z in Devil Boys from Beyond, at Annex Theatre in Terra Incognita as X and Simon, and Eat Cake as Sam. Or you may have seen him as Steve and many of the monsters that were battled in Tacoma Actors Repertory Theatre’s production of She Kills Monsters. Jordan studied acting at Central Washington University before moving back to Seattle in 2015 to pursue his career. When not working on his acting, Jordan is working on his second self-produced Hip-Hop album.
MEET THE
ARTISTIC STAFF Bryan Burch
Adapter Bryan has adapted novels for the Seattle Public Library’s popular Seattle Reads author-in-residence program with Book-It. He holds an MFA in creative writing and another in theatrical production and management. He has been a Broadway stage manager and raised puppies for Guide Dogs for
the Blind. Check out his website that asks the question why people read a novel beyond the beginning at www. first10pages.com. Until recently, he was production manager for Book-It and is thrilled to be adapting Treasure Island.
Corey McDaniel
Director Corey McDaniel is a producer, director, actor, and teaching artist based in Seattle. His most recent director credits include The Pride, Wizzer Pizzer, and The Hours of Life for Theatre22, Julius Caesar with Island Shakespeare Festival, Good Kids and Bonnie and Clyde for Cornish College of the Arts, and The Wild Party with Sound Theatre Company. He has directed, performed and taught in Mexico, Canada, Italy, Japan, and Brazil. Locally, he has served as the education director for GreenStage prior to stepping into the role of artistic director at SecondStory Repertory. He is also a co-founder of the TPS Gregory Awards and served on the selection committee for The 14/48 Projects. Corey is the founder and producing artistic director of Theatre22.
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. He has worked on more than 50 productions over the last ten years. Scenic Design credits include School of Rock: the Musical (Village Theatre KIDSTAGE); Little Women, Death of a Salesman, Violet: the Musical, and Judy’s Scary Little Christmas (ArtsWest); The Brothers K, The Dog of the South, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Book-It); Great Expectations (Portland Center Stage); Grease: the Musical (The 5th Avenue Theatre), Heart Mountain and The Rape of Lucretia (Vespertine Opera Theater), The Magic Flute (Pacific Music Works), SPRAWL (Washington Ensemble Theatre), and The Last Five Years (Cornish College of the Arts). www. ChristopherMumaw.com
Evan Anderson Lighting Designer
Evan is a lighting designer and musician hailing from Bainbridge Island. Recent collaborations include The Holler Sessions (ACT Theatre); Clear and Sweet (zoe|juniper); Clock encore art sseattle.com A-9
That Mug or Dusted (Cherdonna); Caught (Seattle Public Theater); and The Motherfucker with the Hat (Washington Ensemble Theatre). This is his first show with Book-It! He is a company member of CabinFever and a graduate of the University of Washington. www. evancanderson.com.
Jocelyne Fowler
Costume Designer Jocelyne Fowler has designed for BookIt Repertory Theatre (Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein; or The Modern Prometheus, Anna Karenina, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant), Seattle Shakespeare Company (Mrs. Warren’s Profession, Titus Andronicus, and Richard II), Wooden O (Henry IV, Part I, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Tempest, and Henry V), Tacoma Musical Playhouse, Seattle Musical Theatre, Vashon Opera, Youth Theatre Northwest, Harlequin Productions, Theatre 9/12, SecondStory Repertory, ReAct Theatre, Live Girls! Theater, Ghost Light Theatricals, Pork Filled Productions, Bellevue College, Overlake School, and Seattle Pacific University. Upcoming work can be seen in Meet Me in St. Louis at Tacoma Musical Playhouse and Big Fish at Overlake School.
Kyle Thompson
Sound Designer Kyle is thrilled to be making his BookIt mainstage debut, having previously designed for last year’s Arts & Education Tour. Since 2010, he has designed sound for over 35 productions in the Seattle area, including Love’s Labour’s Lost (Wooden O/Seattle Shakespeare Company); The Wedding Gift (Forward Flux Productions); Annapurna, Water by the Spoonful (Theatre22): 4,000 Miles, Every Christmas Story Ever Told (ArtsWest); Marisol (The Collision Project); Terre Haute (Bridges Stage Company, ACTLab); Oedipus el Rey (eSe Teatro, ACTLab); H.P. Lovecraft: Stand-Up Comedian!, Blood Countess, The Underneath, Undo, and Kittens in a Cage (Annex Theatre). Kyle is also a trumpet player and founding member of the Jazz Underground big band.
Emma Pihl
Stage Manager Emma is happy to be returning to BookIt with Treasure Island. Emma’s previous shows with Book-It include Pride and Prejudice, I Am of Ireland, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Truth Like the Sun, and Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus, as well as Pink and Say, one of Book-It’s educational touring shows. Emma’s recent credits include The Winter’s Tale and Titus Andronicus (Seattle Shakespeare Company); As You Like It (Seattle Shakespeare Company’s Wooden A-10 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
O); Assassins (ACT Theatre and The 5th Avenue Theatre); Elephant and Piggie’s “We Are in a Play!” (Seattle Children’s Theatre); Cabaret (Village Theatre); The Flick (New Century Theatre Company); and The Explorer’s Club (Taproot Theatre).
Shane Unger
Assistant Stage Manager Previously, Shane has worked on Emma as assistant stage manager and Little Bee as properties master for Book-It. Other recent credits include Wedding Band (Intiman Theatre Festival), The Realization of Emily Linder (Taproot Theatre Company), Mrs. Warren’s Profession (Seattle Shakespeare Company), and Bad Jews (Seattle Public Theater). He also stage managed summer camps at Taproot Theatre for the past two years. Shane previously lived in Chicago, and worked with Lookingglass Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Albany Park Theatre Project, and Victory Gardens Theatre. He has a BFA in Stage Management from Syracuse University.
Rebecca Fredrickson
Dramaturg / Assistant Director Rebecca is ecstatic to be making her Book-It debut as dramaturg for this swashbuckling production! She recently moved back to Seattle after acquiring her MA in Shakespeare Studies in Stratfordupon-Avon. In the past, she has directed Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare Institute Players), performed dramaturgy for A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Azusa Pacific University), and acted as the assistant musical director for Beauty and the Beast, Shrek The Musical, Les Miserables, and Thoroughly Modern Millie (Studio East).
Alyssa Keene
Dialect Coach Recent coaching credits include Assassins, A Christmas Carol, Bloomsday, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (ACT Theatre); Paint Your Wagon (The 5th Avenue Theatre); To Savor Tomorrow (Café Nordo), and Mrs. Warren’s Profession (Seattle Shakespeare Company). Recent acting credits include Mary in Hotel Nordo (Café Nordo), Yvette in Mother Courage and Her Children (Seattle Shakespeare Company), Mrs. Carter in It’s a Wonderful Life (The 14/48 Projects), and Helen in Wizzer-Pizzer: Getting Over the Rainbow (Theatre22). Alyssa is a member of the faculty at Cornish College of the Arts, Freehold Theatre Lab, Seattle Film Institute, and Jack Straw Productions. In addition to performing and coaching dialects, Alyssa can be found leading food tours throughout Pike Place Market and its environs with Savor Seattle.
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 27 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 The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, Singles, Homeward Bound, Twin Peaks, and Rose Red. 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 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
Myra has helped Book-It produce over 100 world-premiere mainstage productions and over 30 education touring productions. Most recently she directed and adapted Little Bee, and directed The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, which won the 2014 Gregory Award for Outstanding Production and received a Seattle Times 2014 Footlight Award. She directed Persuasion, Plainsong, Cry, the Beloved Country, and Sweet Thursday, and she adapted and directed The Financial Lives of the Poets, The River Why (by David
James Duncan), Night Flight, 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, and A Child’s Christmas in Wales. She adapted The Art of Racing in the Rain, co-adapted Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant with Jane Jones, and composed music for Prairie Nocturne, Night Flight (with Joshua Kohl), Red Ranger Came Calling (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. Her acting credits include Prairie Nocturne, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears, The Awakening (West Los Angeles Garland Award), Howards End, and the original production of The Cider House Rules, Parts I and II. She has performed at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, New City Theatre, and the Mark Taper Forum. 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 20-year contribution to life in the Puget Sound region.
PRODUCTION
SPECIAL
THANKS
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.
Bellevue Youth Theatre Cuttysark Nautical Antiques Brian Engle Bill Johns John Lynch Queen Anne Frame Tristan Roberson Savage Color Press Luke Saylor Seattle Repertory Theatre Ryan Spikard
CONCESSIONS
THEATRE PUGET SOUND THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP
PARTNERS
We’re so grateful to these civic-minded companies who help to make your experience at Book-It more delicious and more enjoyable.
Caffe Vita Coffee Ex Libris Anonymous
STAFF
Lowercase Brewing Malika Oyetimein Queen Anne Book Company Schilling Cider Dan Schuy Street Treats
Dan Schuy Production Manager
Benjamin Radin Technical Director Adrian Delahunt Charles R. Minshall Suzi Tucker Scenic Carpenters Carmen Rodriguez Charge Scenic Artist Gemma Cody-Anders Kathleen Le Coze Scenic Painters Trevor Cushman Master Electrician / Light Board Operator David Torres Sound Engineer Sound Board Operator Rachel Miller Production Assistant Stage Management Intern Cedric Wright Props Designer Anna Bowen Wardrobe Head
Book-It Repertory Theatre
2017
Adventure awaits.
Mark your calendars for Book-It’s most glam event of the year
OUR ANNUAL GALA
Hold Saturday, March 25 for your date with Book-It We’ll be at the W Hotel in downtown Seattle 6 – 11 pm Tickets for this event go on sale January 4, 2017
If you wish to be a table sponsor, or donate goods or services to our auction, contact Development Associate Ian Stewart at 206.428.6202. encore art sseattle.com A-11
PIRATE
ECONOMICS
Continued from page A-6
earned every pirate on board 3,000 pounds (about $800,000). And that was in one battle. Even smaller crews, such as that of John Evans, could earn a pirate 300 pounds ($80,000) a year. That’s a lot of rum. Although these pirates bettered their own economic situations, their parasitical business model was a drain on global economics as a whole. They were siphoning, not creating, wealth. Often, this meant that resources were leaving Britain and never coming back. On the other hand, this lust for gold was occasionally a positive force. For one thing, because pirates sought profit, they generally avoided blowing their prizes to bits. This led to the constant possibility of re-capturing stolen wealth, as well as a relative minimization of casualties.
In addition, this greed led to relatively progressive institutions and practices. Pirate ships were operating as constitutional democracies over 150 years before the American experiment even began. Pirates also were socially progressive, accepting persons of color and even women into their ranks — as long as those persons were capable sailors and fighters. Because all that mattered was the bottom line, things like class, gender, and race fell by the wayside. Even so, the world at large was less interested in progressing towards democratic equality and more interested in protecting the interests of the ruling class. This led to a major international crackdown on piracy. After peaking in the late 1710s, piracy sharply declined, leading to scattered, ragtag bands of buccaneers like those depicted in Treasure Island.
the law of the seas Continued from page A-7
captain was elected by the crew, and if they felt the captain was doing a poor job, the captain could be voted out and replaced. Any attack or heading would also be put to a vote. However, the acting captain had absolute power over the ship during pursuit and battle. Pirate ships were also governed by “articles,” documents of rules that would be drawn up at the beginning of voyages and upon the election of a new captain. They would be signed by every member of a pirate crew. These articles outlined punishments for rule-breaking and principles for the division of loot as well. It was also nearly universal that these articles protected the individual crew members’ right to get drunk, and alcoholism was rampant.
PLEASE HELP BOOK-IT FILL THE TREASURE CHEST AS 2016 COMES TO A CLOSE. When you give, you suppor t the actors, ar tisans, pirates, and scallywags who create the exciting work you see on stage and in schools all season. Meet the loyal crew, listed at right, who all help make Book-It thrive! We hope you will join them.
MAKE YOUR GIFT AT BOOK-IT.ORG, IN THE LOBBY, OR BY CALLING 206.428.6202. A-12 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Honoring Book-It Contributors LITERARY LEGENDS’ CIRCLE $75,000+ The Boeing Company Sage Foundation
LITERARY CHAMPIONS’ CIRCLE $25,000+ ArtsFund Matthew N. Clapp, Jr. N. Elizabeth McCaw & Yahn W. Bernier Shirley & Dave Urdal
LITERARY HEROES CIRCLE $10,000+ Sonya & Tom Campion Amy & Matthew Cockburn Jane & Bob Cremin Lucy Helm Ellen & John Hill Stellman Keehnel Lucky Seven Foundation Stephen & Ellen Lutz Bill & Holly Marklyn Nesholm Family Foundation The Norcliffe Foundation Mary Pigott Michell & Larry Pihl Safeco Insurance Fund The Seattle Foundation Kris & Mike Villiott
PARTNERS’ CIRCLE $5,000+
Anonymous ArtsWA Charlotte Martin Foundation Laura & Greg Colman† Emily Davis Gretl Galgon Margaret Kineke & Dennis West Nordstrom Nick & Lynne Reynolds Ellen & Michael Rosenberg
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE $2,500+
Monica Alquist Emily Anthony & David Maymudes Karen Brandvick-Baker & Ross Baker Donna & Anthony Barnett Lenore & Dick Bensinger Bryan Burch Joann Byrd George & Carolyn Cox D.A. Davidson & Co. Stuart Frank & Marty Hoiness Laura & Erik Hanson
MANY THANKS TO OUR ‘TREASURE ISLAND’ CO-PRODUCERS Amy and Matt Cockburn Holly and Bill Marklyn BECOME A PRODUCER
Learn how to help Book-It create vibrant theatre by contacting Book-It’s development staff at development@book-it.org.
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE, CONT.
Jane Jones & Kevin McKeon Ellen Maxson Shyla Miller Shirley Roberson Charyl Kay & Earl Sedlik Kate & Stephen Robinson Steve Schwartzman & Daniel Karches Drella & Garth Stein Deborah Swets† Tulalip Tribes Charitable Contributions U.S. Bank Foundation Elizabeth Warman
NOBEL PRIZE CIRCLE $1,000+
Anonymous (2) John Aldaya & Tom DeFelice Cinnimin Avena Ruth Bailey James Barnett Stephen & Salli Bauer Judy Brandon & H. Randall Webb Sally Brunette Diana & Chuck Carey Karen & Tom Challinor Donna Cochener Carol & Bill Collins Nora & Allan Davis DeNormandie, Sidlo & Associates PLLC Merck Foundation Jayn & Hugh Foy Julia Geier & Phil Borges Susan George Jean Gorecki & Dick Dobyns Craig & Darcy Greene Jay Hereford & Margaret Winsor Mary Fran & Harold Hill Robert Hovden & Ronald DeChene KeyBank Foundation Debbie Killinger The Kowal Family† Marsha Kremen & Jilly Eddy Richard LeBlanc Leslie Fund, Inc.
NOBEL PRIZE CIRCLE, CONT. Darcy & Lee MacLaren Melissa & Don Manning Marcia Mason Anne McDuffie & Tim Wood Doug & Kimberly McKenna Mary Metastasio Terry & Frank Michiels Microsoft Matching Gifts Program Minar Northey LLP Moccasin Lake Foundation Kelly Munn & Steven Thues Terri Olson Miller & Tom Miller Deborah & Jeff Parsons† Myra Platt & Dave Ellis Michelle Rebert & Tom Laughlin Nathan Rodriguez John Schaffer SEI Giving Fund Martha Sidlo Mary Snapp Sara Thompson & Richard Gelinas Karen Van Genderen Ruth & Jerry Verhoff Leora & Robert Wheeler Judith Whetzel Williams Miller Family Foundation Christina Wright & Luther Black
PULITZER PRIZE CIRCLE $500+
Anonymous (3) Connie Anderson Elizabeth Braun Patricia Britton Christiane Pein & Steven Bull Margaret Bullitt Tré Calhoun Cathy & Michael Casteel Clipper Seafoods, LTD. Deborah Cowley & Mark Dexter Julie Edsforth & Jabez Blumenthal Sara Elward Rob & Kim Entrop Judi & Steve Finney Margaret Griffiths† Mark Hamburg Kathryn Hazzard Karyn Henry† Barbara & Randy Hieronymus Chris Higashi Wendy Hilliker & Eric Tishkoff Joyce & John Jackson Jane Austen Society of Puget Sound Judith Jesiolowski & David Thompson Melissa & Bill Joyce Karen Lorene & Don Bell encore art sseattle.com A-13
Honoring Book-It Contributors PULITZER PRIZE CIRCLE, CONT.
Susan & Bob Mecklenburg Tami & Joe Micheletti Ann Morris & John Sobieck Susan & Furman Moseley Cheryl & Tom Oliver Glenna Olson & Conrad Wouters Cathy & Jeff Peda Neave Rake Doris & Charles Ray Mike & Shawn Rediger Janey L. Repensek Jo Ann & Jim Roberts Jain Rutherford Gail & John Sehlhorst Jo & Michael Shapiro Margaret Silver Virginia Sly & Richard Wesley Jenness & John Starks Pat & Janice Strand Paul Stucki Gail Tanaka Wendy & Rhea Thompson Kathy & Jim Tune Janet & Stanley Vail Ruth Valine & Ed McNerney Vanguard Charitable Rebecca Wakefield & Murray Johnson Paula & Bill Whitham Hope & Ken Wiljanen Russ Young Freddie Yudin
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD CIRCLE $250+
Anonymous (3) • Leslie Bateman • Carla & Brad Berg • Diane Bisset • Nancy Bittner • Inez Noble Black • Marisa Bocci • Janet Boguch & Kelby Fletcher • Jonathan Buchter • Kris Campbell • Linda & Peter Capell • Mary Casey-Goldstein • Mary Therese Chambers • Pam & Ollie Cobb • Pamela Cowan & Steve Miller • Margaret Curtin & James Wilder • Robin Dearling & Gary Ackerman • Wendy del Valle • Dottie Delaney • Lynn Dissinger • Expedia Gives Matching Gift Program • Stanley & Jane Fields • K. Denise Fischer-Fortier & James Fortier • Lisbeth & Alan Fritzberg • Siobhan Ginnane • Carla Granat & Stephen Smith • Diane Grover • Patricia Highet • Sandy Hill • Carol Hoerster • Lisa & William Holderman • Doug & Trish Honig • Cynthia Huffman & Ray Heacox • Melissa Huther • Angela & Thomas Johnson • Patricia Keegan & Connor & Thomas Lennon • Gary Kneepkens • Karen Koon • Joyce Latino & John O’Connell • Eleni Ledesma & Eric Rose • Kathy & Jeff A-14 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD CIRCLE, CONT.
Lindenbaum • Lori Eickelberg & Arni Litt • Craig Lorch • Paul Martini • Anne McBride • Ruth McCormick† • Jill & Joe McKinstry • Richard Monroe • Min Moon • Cornelia, Terry, & Tallis Moore • Grace Nordhoff & Jonathan Beard • Martha Oman • John Pehrson • Corliss Perdaems & Carl Kassebaum • Sherry Perrault & Michael Harding • Judy Pigott • David Quicksall & Rachel Glass • Linda Quirk • Carolyn Rees • Paula Riggert • Robert Romeo† • Schwab Charitable • Colleen & Brad Stangeland • Linda & Hugh Straley • Liann & Stephen Sundquist • Jennifer Lee Taylor • Elizabeth Valentine • Jerry Watt • Suzanne & Brent Weaver • Gregory Wetzel • Carol & Bryan Willison • Bo Willsey • Jonella Windell • Shari Zehm & Kerry Thompson
PEN/FAULKNER AWARD CIRCLE $100+
Anonymous (7) • Douglas Adams • Janet & Terry Allen • Maile & Ginny Anderson • Joel Aslanian • Maxine Bailey • Roger & Anne Baker • Carlton Baxter • Janice Behr Block & Kenneth Block • Julia Bent • Maribeth Berberich • Beth & Benjamin Berman • John Bianchi & Scott Warrender • Bob Blazek • Cheryl Boudreau • Alice & Stan Burgess • Kathleen Caldwell • Zimmie Caner • Cory Carlson • Jeanne Carpenter • Casey Family Programs • Melissa Chase • Joyce Chase • Carl Chew • Catherine Clemens • Mary Kay & Ian Clunies-Ross • Samantha Cooper • Mary & Robert Cooper • William Covington • Rebecca Crichton • Brenda Croft • Janice Cummings O’Mahony • Claudette Davison • Sandra & Paul Dehmer • Ron Dohr • Marcia Donovan† • Marcia Douglas • Beth Dubey† • Donna Dughi • Lynne & Hollie Ellis • Marilyn Endriss • Constance Euerle • Laura Fischetti • Liz Fitzhugh & Jim Feldman • Carolyn & Robert Fletcher • Jean & Mike Gannon • Mike Garner • Shelley Gibson • Terry Graham • Patricia Graves & David Nash • Mike Grimm • Linda Haas • Lenore Hanauer • Faith Hanna • Phyllis Hatfield • Lloyd Herman & Richard Wilson† • Stephanie Hilbert • Beth Hogg • Julie Howe & Dennis Shaw • Elizabeth Hubbard • Harriet Huber • Mary & Robert Hunter • Kent Johnson • Kristin Jorgensen • Gil Joynt • Joan Kalhorn • David Kasik • Pam Kendrick • Owen Kikuta • Mary Beth & Marty King • Art Kobayashi • Emily Krebill • Alan Kristal • Kristen Laine & Jim Collins • Ann McCurdy & Frank Lawler • Meredith Lehr & William Severson • Carol Schapira & Michael Levin • Peggy & Ronald Levin Household • Lois Levy • Sylvia & Wayne Levy • Bonnie Lewman
PEN/FAULKNER AWARD CIRCLE CONT.
• Lynn Manley & Alexander Lindsey • Elizabeth Mathewson • Elaine Mathies • Anna & Paul McKee • Elaine Mew • Ellen & Mark Mills • Marion & George Mohler • Susan Jones & Christopher Monck • Margaret Morrow • Catherine Mudge • Lori Mudge • Lynn Murphy • Susan Nivert • Scott & Pam Nolte • Chris Ohlweiler • Carrie Oshiro • Cheryl Papadakis • Janet L. Pauli • Mary Anne Braund & Steve Pellegrin • Cheryl Peterson • Felicia Porter & George Gilbert • Susan Porterfield • Andrea Ptak • Barb & Dan Radin • Benjamin Radin • Esther Reese • Jeannette Reynolds • Eric & Karen Richter • Jennifer Ridewood • Rebecca Ripley • Nancy Risdon • Beth Rollinger • Roger & Fernne Rosenblatt • Ann Rowberg • Beth Rutherford • Lisa Schafer • Lee Scheingold • Julie & Jeff Schoenfeld • Heidi Schor • B. Charlotte Schreiber • Kinza & Philip Schuyler • Lavonne & Josh Searle • Patti & Mark Seklemian • David Shellenbarger • Kael Sherrard & Anne Kiemle • Marilyn Sherron • Marcia & Peter Sill • Marilyn Sloan • Barbara Snyder • Diane Stark • Pat Starkovich • Christine & Josh Stepherson • Julie Stohlman • Constance Swank • Cassandra & Eric Taylor • Anne Terry • Michele & Alan Tesler • Richard Thorvilson • Marcellus Turner • Eugene Usui • Marcia Utela • Verizon Foundation • Jorie Wackerman • Cathy Wales • Susan Warwick • Kristi & Tom Weir • Joella Werlin • Collin, Trevor, & Dan Wheetman & Melinda Deane • Jean & David White • Sara White • Jane Wiegenstein • D.D. Wigley • Rob Williamson • Mary Wilson & Barry Boone • Patricia Wilson • Anthony & Gina Winkler • Michael Winters • Pamela Wolf • Jean Worthen
O’HENRY AWARD CIRCLE $50+
Anonymous (3) • Page Abrahamson • Rebecca Adler • Judith Alexander • Marilee Amendola • Jo Ann Bardeen • Roger Tucker & Rebecca Barnett • Sybil Barney • Brenda Bennett • Chris Bennion • Kimberly Berge • Lisa Bergstrom • Ellen Bezona & Shawn Baz • John Bradshaw • Philip Brazil • Becky Brooks & Jeff Youngstrom • Don Brown • Thomas Burns • Ursula Burns • P. Caswell • Dee & Rich Childs • Deborah Christensen • Richard O. Coar • Joe Copeland • Barbara & Ted Daniels • Richard Detrano • Marie Doman • Ellen Downey • Betty Drumheller • Jim & Gaylee Duncan • Susan Dyer • Pamela Eakes • JoLynn Edwards & Hal Opperman • Nancy Ellingham • Anne Ellington • Mary Ellen Flanagan • Kai Fujita • Claire Gebben • Ann Glusker • Roberta Goodnow • Joanne Harding • Shuko Hashimoto • Kate Hemer • Kate Hokanson • Carol Horton • Susan Howell • Robert Jones • Eve
C O C K TA I L T H E AT R E : G U I LT Y P L E A S U R E S S T Y L E O’HENRY AWARD CIRCLE $50+
Keller • Harriet & Norman Klein • Nancy Koning • Teresa Kottcamp • Barb & Art Lachman • Teri Lazzara • Jane Lear • Larry Lewin • B. Parker Lindner • Cynthia Livak & Peter Davenport • Christine Livingston • Carol Lumb • Mary Frances Lyons • Elizabeth Maurer • Dan Mayer • Susan McCloskey • Morna McEachern • Tracy Middlebrook • Brian Mooney • William Mowat • Chris O’Brien • Pat O’Rourke • Sharon Parker • Elizabeth A. Pearson & Jacyn Stewart • Louise Perlma • Carolita Phillips • Candace Plog • Roberta & Brian Reed • David Richards • Carla Rickerson • Roberta Roberts • Marga Rose Hancock • Debbie & Dave Rutherford • Donna Sand • Cheryl Seraile • Nancy & Warren Smith • Linda Snider • Larry Snyder • Kyoung Kim & Eric Sorenson • Vicki Sosey • Noah Seixas & Dana Standish • Mary Stevens • Ericka Stork • Cappy Thompson • Marilyn Tracey • Shelley Tucker • Joan Voorheis • Laura Weese • Kayla Weiner • Heather Hawkins Weinland & Jay Weinland • Julie Weisbach • Kim Winward • Jodie Wohl & Richard Hert • Diana Woodruff †
GIFTS IN HONOR & MEMORY In honor of Stephen Robinson Janet & Terry Allen In honor of Rainier Beach High School graduate Adam Sedlik Nancy Bittner In honor of Margaret Kineke Gretl Galgon D.A. Davidson & Co. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen’s Emma Dottie Delaney In memory of Elizabeth Ann Robinson Kate & Stephen Robinson
T H U R S D AY, J A N U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 7 7 P M I N T H E B U L L I T T C A B A R E T @ A C T T H E AT R E Guilty Pleasures are campy, trampy adaptations of books you’ll never admit you’ve read. And Cocktail Theatre? We’ll pour you a cold one while you watch our comic send-ups of everything from classic literature to pulp fiction. Plus a rad raffle and grown-up goodies galore. L A S T Y E A R ’ S E V E N T S O L D O U T; B U Y YO U R T I C K E T S N O W AT B O O K - I T. O R G !
NEXT ON TOUR
Book-It’s Arts & Education shows tour all over Washington State. Hitting the road this winter is...
G O I N ’ S O M EPL ACE S P EC I A L by Patricia McKissack Adapted by Annie Lareau Directed by Malika Oyetimein
In honor of Al Worch Ellen & Michael Rosenberg In honor of Myra Platt Carol Schapira & Michael Levin In honor of Julian Mudge-Burns’ passion project AJ Silva, Lori Mudge, Thomas Burns, Catherine Mudge, Kimberly Berge, Ursula Burns, & Jackie McGuire The donor list reflects gifts received October 1, 2015 through September 30, 2016. Book-It makes every attempt to be accurate with our acknowledgments. Please contact Development Associate Ian Stewart at ians@bookit.org or (206) 428-6202 with any changes. †Denotes member of the Silver Jubilee Society
of donors making recurring donations in support of Book-It
Find out how to book a performance at your school, library, or community center at 206-428-6266, or email education@book-it.org. 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.
Book-It STAFF
Board of
Jane Jones
Founder & Founding Co-Artistic Director
artistic Josh Aaseng Literary Manager Shawna Grajek Casting Associate Rebecca Fredrickson Literary & Artistic Intern
DIRECTORS
Myra Platt
Founding Co-Artistic Director
marketing & communications
Larry Pihl, President Chief Financial Officer, Clipper Seafoods
administrative Kayti Barnett-O’Brien General Manager Bill Whitham / Penny Bradley Bookkeepers
Patricia Britton Director of Marketing & Communications Val Brunetto Communications Manager
production
education
Kevin McKeon Graphics and Publications
Dan Schuy Production Manager
Annie DiMartino Director of Education
patron services
Benjamin Radin Technical Director
Dominic Lewis Tour Manager
Sasha Bailey House Manager / Volunteer Coordinator
Jocelyne Fowler Costume Shop Manager
development
Tom Dewey Box Office Manager
services
Sally Brunette Director of Development
A.J. Heinen Aly Guzman-Dyrseth Box Office Associates
Ian Stewart Development Associate
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
Stuart Frank
Sourcing Specialist, 2r 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
CONTACT us
Senior Portfolio Manager, Safeco, Retired
Shyla Miller
BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Community Investor, Global Corporate Citizenship NW Region, The Boeing Company
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 27 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
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
Honorary BOARD
book-it.org FACEBOOK
/bookitrep
@book_it
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bookitrep
A-16 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Sonya Campion Beth McCaw Ann Ramsay-Jenkins Tom Robbins Garth Stein
Treasures Told Dialect coaching pirates at Book-It Rep
Geoffery Simmons and Alex Silva in Treasure Island at Book-It Rep, photo by John Ulman.
Alyssa Keene has a boatload of work to do in the latest Book-It production.
What does a pirate sound like? The company of Book-It’s upcoming production of Treasure Island is endeavoring to find out, hard at work perfecting their dialects. “We want to present sounds to the audience that sound right—authentic, genuine,” says the production’s dialect coach, Alyssa Keene. Keene has been a dialect coach at Seattle Shakespeare Company, ACT Theatre, and Taproot Theatre Company. As a dialect coach, she works closely with actors throughout the rehearsal process to get their voices just right for the part. Crafting and practicing dialects is a lot of work for both the actors and the dialect coach, but it’s an essential part of performing a character.
“You study. You read. You learn,” explains Geoffery Simmons, who plays Long John Silver in Treasure Island, “When you discover the voice of a character, it opens up a whole new world.” “Each accent tells a different story,” says Gin Hammond, an actor in Treasure Island who also happens to be a dialect coach in her own right. “Each sound out of someone’s mouth can teach us something about that person.” What is it like to have a voice coach when you are a voice coach yourself ? “It’s a luxury,” Hammond says. “As an actor, I can just do the business of acting, knowing there’s someone there to help. It’s a safety net.” encore artsseattle.com 9
presents
Global Rhythms February 10, 7:30PM
Treasure Island illustration by N.C. Wyeth, photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
Anna & Elizabeth
Rustic Appalachian-inspired ballads and hymns
with
Miwa Matreyak
Haunting music, magical animation, shadow play
TOWNHALLSEATTLE.ORG
10 ENCORE STAGES
Keene, who has worked as a professional actor, voice talent, and dialect coach since 2000, says her process starts with a careful reading of the script and research. She discovers the origins of the characters, and the setting of the play, noting the time period. “A Londoner today doesn’t sound like a Londoner 100 years ago,” she says, by way of example. Next, she listens to wide variety of source material: online sources like YouTube videos and the Speech Accent Archive, documentaries, first-person sources, and more. Though mimicry is part of the reserach process, it’s just one small part of how Keene prepares to work on a production. She listens carefully for the cadence and melody of a particular accent. Is the accent in a major or minor key? For emphasis, do speakers change their pitch, their volume, or both? How do speakers move their mouths? What do their vowels sound like? The more questions about an accent Keene can answer, the better prepared she is for rehearsal. For Hammond, who plays two roles in Book-It’s production, dialect work starts
with the physical. Hammond considers the mouth’s posture for a given dialect, and how it is different from her natural speech. She notes where the sound resonates and how much air is used to make different sounds. With Keene’s help, she determines the physical motions of her characters’ speech as a way to get them to sound just right. There’s also the matter of the International Phonetic Alphabet, or the IPA, an alphabetic system of phonetic notation, derived by the International Phonetic Association as a standardized representation of sounds of any spoken language. It is, essentially, a code shared across languages to create phonetic transcriptions of language. It’s a huge help to linguists, anthropologists, and— in the theatre—dialect coaches. For particularly tricky words, dialect coaches can turn to “accent tag” videos on YouTube. This is a popular type of YouTube video in which people worldwide record themselves pronouncing a certain set of words (“aunt,” “roof,” “New Orleans,” “mayonnaise,” “pajamas,” etc.) and answer questions (“What do you call
gym shoes?” “What do you call your grandparents?”) giving viewers access to their particular accent. Simmons, in the iconic role of Long John Silver, has perhaps the biggest challenge in the play: he wants to honor the characters history and legacy, while bringing something of himself to the character. Simmons has been on several of Seattle’s stages, including Seattle Children’s Theatre and Intiman Theatre. For Treasure Island, he has been practicing his Jamaican accent.
Through Sep 10, 2017
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“When you discover the voice of a character, it opens up a whole new world.” “If you look back at that time, the high seas were a melting pot of all sorts of people and cultures,” Simmons says. “It was a time of exploration and colonization. There were sugar plantations. The spice trade. The slave trade was happening.” And Long John Silver, Simmons hypothesizes, probably spoke in several different vernaculars himself. “He had to play different characters for different people at a dark time,” Simmons explains. It makes for a challenging role, but Simmons is enjoying himself. “It’s exciting to play someone and get into his subconscious and psyche.” Long John Silver isn’t the only character in Treasure Island with unique dialect challenges. When the company gathers at rehearsal and starts warming up, there’s a mix of many different ways to talk like a pirate, which is exactly what Keene wants. “What is the tapestry of sounds that we can use?” Keene asks. By weaving the cast’s voices together EAP 1_2 V template.indd 1
encore artsseattle.com 11 11/2/16 3:22 PM
january 19 - february 26, 2017
Book-It dialogue coach Alyssa Keene
tICKETS ON SALE NOW! VISIT SCT.ORG OR CALL 206.441.3322
she helps create the world of Treasure Island—a world populated with characters from Scotland and Jamaica and the high seas. Dialect research and practice is a huge part of how the actors tell the story of where they’re characters are from and where they’re going. But if they do their jobs right, the accent work won’t look like work at all.
“Each sound out of someone’s mouth can teach us something about that person.” For Simmons, the research into the world of Treasure Island offers a chance to play off the other actors in a more informed way and allows him to further dig into his character. “There are so many elements to this thing,” he says. “You get to see the undercurrents of civilization.” <
12 ENCORE STAGES
The Daring Young Teens on the Flying Trapeze
SANCA’s Cirrus Circus, photo by John Cornicello
SANCA is offering Seattleites a Life Under the Big Top
“We’ll need hot dogs. We need a truck bed,” says one teen excitably, stretching out on a mat. The others chime in, adding to the list. “A tent. We need fire.” They’re listing what they’ll need for an upcoming performance at SANCA, Seattle’s School of Acrobatics and New Circus Arts. These teen are members of the Cirrus Circus, one of SANCA’s youth performance troupes, and they have been stretching, jumping, flipping, balancing, and juggling to prep for this show for weeks. Outside SANCA they might have math homework and homecoming to worry about, but in here, the focus is all about the show. Founded in 2006, Cirrus Circus is a year-round comprehensive program that gives experienced students an opportunity to train intensively. Audrey
Spinazola, SANCA’s youth performance companies manager and coach, looks up at a girl high on a hoop swinging above us. “How many times do you come here a week?” The girl answers, “Six times a week.” The troupe, ranging in age from 12 to 18, perform several times a year in the city and further afield. Every other summer the troupe performs at the American Youth Circus Organization Festival. The kids that Spinazola is coaching do acrobatics, go aerial, juggle, do tightwire, unicycle, and more. She coaches girls literally jumping over each other as Maia LeDoux, SANCA’s marketing coordinator, watches them practice. Some troupe members begin practicing their tumbling routines. Next to them, two girls are working on encore artsseattle.com 13
Make
tells me this as kids are flying, women are jumping and men are showing off how dexterous they can be.
Art
your
Day Job Jugglers, photo courtesy of SANCA
Arts Leadership Programs
Upcoming Events
[RE]CONNECT: Seattle Arts Leadership Conference Saturday, January 28
MFA Program Info Sessions:
(all 6:30-8pm) Thursday, January 12 Monday, February 6 Thursday, March 2 Visit our website for details: www.seattleu.edu/artsci/mfa
14 ENCORE STAGES ARTL_EncoreAdrev3.indd 1
10/25/16 3:24 PM
their choreography while floating on a hoop to the song “Lost Boy” by Ruth B that’s playing on someone’s iPhone. Behind them, two girls are hanging on a trapeze. All of this is being done in a Georgetown facility where, all around us, are others practicing their circus skills. There’s a woman gyrating with a half dozen hula hoops swirling on her. There’s a man with a top hat and cane doing tight circles on a unicycle. Two people are in casual conversation while juggling bowling pins. There’s some middle-aged people on large trampolines. Others are twisting and turning on mats. All of this doesn’t even account for the SANCA School of Flight fly tent across the parking lot. Whether it’s an old man just eager to play on a unicycle for fun, or a young woman vying for a spot in Cirque du Soleil, SANCA is an inclusive place for both physical health and artistry. Indeed, many who attend, or are one of the 50-some coaches SANCA employs, become, or are, professional circus artists. Many have gone on to big tent success. Some, to Cirque du Soleil. Others have toured Europe. Others, more locally, have performed at Teatro ZinZanni, the Moisture Festival and the Fremont Solstice. “They all look normal,” LeDoux says, looking with me at the cross-section of people in the facility. “Then, at this place, they turn into Superman.” She
SANCA is recognized nationally as a leader in circus arts education. Founded in 2004 with five students, they now have over 1,000 who take classes every week. It is the nation’s largest circus school. Course work includes such classes as “Fit Circus,” “Adult Aerial Skills,” Youth Trampoline,” “Adult Hand Balancing,” “Juggling 2,” “German Wheel,” “Adult Aerial Static Trapeze,” and much more. Circus schools are becoming less and less a rarity, Seattle included. Besides SANCA there are outfits like Emerald City Trapeze in SODO, that offers classes in aerial arts, Cyr wheel, pole dancing, and, of course, trapeze. Versatile Arts is another. Established in 2007, it was Seattle’s first full-time school dedicated to aerial arts for adults. Founded by Beverly Sobelman, she has since begun developing a set of software tools for use in the circus industry. Circus schools are being formed nationwide. Since the popularity of Cirque du Soleil began growing in the late 1990s, so has an interest in circus arts. In a circus census done in 2010, the latest numbers available for such things, there were 250 circus schools nationally, 25% of which were created within the last ten years. The main thrust of many of these schools, SANCA included, is to create a “social circus,” a circus that offers communities—regardless of age, sex, socioeconomic status —art, either as spectators or performers. Accessibility is at the heart of it all; SANCA is a non-profit and it has offered $600,000 in financial aid to more than 1,500 students. “There’s a sense of belonging,” LeDoux says. “It’s empowering. It’s a place of successes. There is a community here.” That community just happens to be, at the moment, on unicycles. <
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! Answer the bonus question for a chance to win tickets to a show!
1) Taproot Theatre is presenting a spinoff of A Christmas Carol with The Trial of Ebenezer Scrooge, written by Mark Brown. When was the novella, A Christmas Carol, first published? a) b) c) d)
1823 1843 1883 1903
2) Book-It Repertory Theatre is presenting Robert Louis Stevenson’s famous swashbuckling tale, Treasure Island. On the voyage to Treasure Island, what is pirate Long John Silver’s role on the ship? a) b) c) d)
Captain Quartermaster Gunner Boatswain
3) Seattle Repertory Theatre’s Vietgone is an action-packed road trip story, written by Qui Nguyen. What organization is he a writer for? a) b) c) d)
New York Times Marvel Studios Wired PBS Kids
4) In January, Meany Center for the Performing Arts will present musician Louis Lortie. What does he play? a) b) c) d)
Violin Harp Cello Piano
A Christmas Carol, illustration by John Leech, Wikimedia Commons
5) ACT Theatre is bringing to the stage Charles Dickens’ classic holiday story, A Christmas Carol. What was the actual business of Scrooge and Marley? a) b) c) d)
Money lenders Real estate Warehouse keepers Dickens doesn’t tell us
Bonus Question What was the last 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 – 1843. An instant success, Dickens’ novella has never been out of print. 2) B – Quartermaster. The iconic pirate villain, Long John Silver handled the ship’s food and drink. 3) B – Marvel Studios. Nguyen has also received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Preschool Animated Program for Peg + Cat. 4) D – Piano. Lortie is known for his interpretations of Ravel, Chopin and Beethoven. He has over 30 recordings on the Chandos Records label. 5) D – Dickens never stated what they did, only that they were “men of business.”
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