SUMMER 2019
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
Summer 2019
Volume 15, No. 7
In This Issue Arts, culture and community
are our priority here at Encore and it is these three pillars on which we were founded almost 50 years ago. Since then a lot has changed. Though we have evolved and extended our reach to new places and digital platforms, we are still the Encore that you have come to expect over the years—the Encore program you hold in your hands, enhancing your experience at every performance. Enjoy the show.
PAUL HEPPNER President MIKE HATHAWAY Senior Vice President KAJSA PUCKETT Vice President, Sales & Marketing GENAY GENEREUX Accounting & Office Manager
Production SUSAN PETERSON Vice President, Production JENNIFER SUGDEN Assistant Production Manager ANA ALVIRA, STEVIE VANBRONKHORST Production Artists and Graphic Designers Sales MARILYN KALLINS, TERRI REED San Francisco/Bay Area Account Executives DEVIN BANNON, BRIEANNA HANSEN, AMELIA HEPPNER, ANN MANNING Seattle Area Account Executives CAROL YIP Sales Coordinator Marketing SHAUN SWICK Senior Designer & Digital Lead CIARA CAYA Marketing Coordinator Encore Media Group 425 North 85th Street • Seattle, WA 98103 800.308.2898 • 206.443.0445 info@encoremediagroup.com 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. ©2019 Encore Media Group. Reproduction without written permission is prohibited.
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Feature 3
Pacific Northwest Ballet Thinks Outside the Box with OUTSIDE/IN
Dialogue 9
A Conversation with Choreographers
12 David Hsieh on Kim’s Convenience
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 Stages is a publication of Encore Media Group. We also publish specialty publications, including the SIFF Guide and Catalog, Official Seattle Pride Guide, and GSBA Guide & Directory. Learn more at encorespotlight.com. Encore Stages features the following organizations:
Pacific Northwest Ballet Thinks Outside the Box—and the Theatre!— with OUTSIDE/IN
PNB School students in Christopher D’Ariano’s Youthquake at NEXT STEP: OUTSIDE/IN, 2018. Photo by Lindsay Thomas
Danielle Mohlman gets the inside scoop on Pacific Northwest Ballet’s summer public performance, NEXT STEP: OUTSIDE/IN.
Once summer rolls around, nothing can stand between a Seattleite and the outdoors. Which is why the Pacific Northwest Ballet made outdoor performance an annual tradition.
Ask any Pacific Northwest resident what their favorite time of year is and they’ll answer, without hesitation and with a resounding amount of verve, summer. Every workday ends with a detour through the Olympic Sculpture Park or a jaunt around Green Lake. Every weekend is filled with long lazy trips to Golden Gardens or taxing treks in hiking boots. But we’re still art lovers. Just don’t make us go inside.
When it comes to merging a love of the outdoors with a love of art, Pacific Northwest Ballet has you covered. In June 2016, PNB started what will hopefully be a very long tradition of outdoor summer performance, beginning with Sculptured Dance at the Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park in 2016 and 2017, and continuing on with an annual series of performances on their home turf in 2018 and, now, 2019. Longtime ballet audiences may remember the first iteration of PNB’s outdoor performance series: summer performances held at Chateau Ste. Michelle from 1992 to 1995. Audiences encorespotlight.com 3
Museum. When PNB moved their outdoor performances from the Olympic Sculpture Park to Seattle Center in 2018, Gatsby came along for the ride. With the entire Seattle Center campus available as a canvas, Gatsby chose to choreograph for the International Fountain, using the mythology of Oshun, the Yoruba goddess of art, love, beauty and fresh water as inspiration. When Gatsby is choreographing for indoor performance, they’re conscious of the limitations of the space and how those limitations affect the dynamics of the performance.
The Purple Lemonade at Summer at SAM: Sculptured Dance, 2017. Photo courtesy of Ron Gatsby
were charged admission and, as the story goes, there was always a little too much rain. The best part of this new and improved outdoor performance tradition? Admission is free and open to the public. Peter Boal, artistic director of the Pacific Northwest Ballet, cited access, inclusion and a total removal of entrance barriers as the main reasons these outdoor performances are, and always should be free. “One of the reasons that we have been interested in outdoor performances of late is to create easier access to ballet,” Boal said. “We had 5,000 attendees at our first Sculptured Dance, many of whom were seeing PNB for the first time. New settings bring new inspiration and new audiences.” And those new audiences sometimes surprise themselves. Boal recounted the joy he felt whenever an audience member stumbled upon Sculptured Dance or NEXT STEPS: OUTSIDE/ IN—as they biked across the Olympic 4
Sculpture Park bike path, played in the Pocket Beach or walked around Seattle Center. It’s a joyous challenge for dancers and choreographers. “I think both choreographers and dancers love a new canvas,” Boal said. “So much of dance is created in a studio for the stage. A backdrop of sculpture, water or landscape can inspire fresh perspective.” Boal says there’s a lot to look forward to at this year’s OUTSIDE/IN performance, but the performance he’s most excited about is a groupchoreographed piece created for the Kreielsheimer Promenade and Fountain by PNB’s newest and youngest class of choreographers: the nineteen choreographers who make up New Voices: Choreography and Process for Young Women in Dance. Ron Gatsby, artistic director of Purple Lemonade Collective, first became involved in PNB’s outdoor performance tradition through Purple Lemonade’s partnership with the Seattle Art
“When I’m choreographing for an outside environment,” Gatsby said, “I really allow myself to choreograph movement without concern for the space around me. I can jump higher, reach farther and really stretch myself—both literally and figuratively.” Gatsby begins every rehearsal for his upcoming NEXT STEPS: OUTSIDE/ IN performance with a spoken piece, a story or a meditation on the goddess Oshun. This sets the tone for that day’s rehearsal, preparing the dancers for a new set of choreography or a movement workshop. “One thing we’ve recently incorporated is rehearsing in Cal Anderson Park in addition to a traditional studio space,” Gatsby said. “This allows us to see how the public organically responds to the movement.” There are many things you can’t control when it comes to outdoor performance but the biggest outlier is always going to be the weather. Gatsby said that the worst thing a dancer could face when performing outdoors is the possibility of rain. But with the entirety of their piece taking place in the International Fountain, the scariest factor—water—is confronted head on. But that doesn’t make it any less of a challenge.
“The fountain has an effect on everything from the wardrobe to the way we move,” Gatsby said. “Because we are working with the fountain, I have to choreograph movement that is both dynamic and safe enough for the dancers to perform. I have to consider how they’re going to feel dancing in wet clothes, the type of footwear they wear.” But Ron Gatsby will be the first to tell you: he loves a challenge. Donald Byrd, artistic director of Spectrum Dance Theater, has been involved in this new tradition of outdoor PNB performance from the very beginning. When Peter Boal invited Byrd to choreograph a piece for the inaugural Sculptured Dance performance in 2016, he was eager to return to site-specific choreography. “I saw it as an opportunity to return to a kind of work that had given me great pleasure earlier in my career,” Byrd said. “I also thought it would be a lot of fun.” And it was fun. Byrd enjoyed the challenge of drawing the audience’s attention to the unique outdoor space, especially in the case of Untitled, which was performed at the Roy McMakin sculpture of the same name.
verdi
“There is an interplay among the various elements,” Byrd said. “The terrain, sculpture, dancers, movement, audience and sound—including audience sounds; ambient sound like traffic, dogs and sirens; and the predetermined sounds that the choreographer has chosen—all play a role.”
AUGUST 10–28 THE COST OF CORRUPTION Verdi’s thrilling tale of lechery, betrayal, and revenge runs the emotional gamut in true operatic fashion while filling the stage with brilliant melodies, including the iconic “La donna è mobile”. This powerful and evocative new staging mixes grit and glamour while drawing comparisons to newsmakers of today.
NEW-TO-SEATTLE PRODUCTION! In Italian with English subtitles. Evenings 7:30 PM Sundays 2:00 PM
MCCAW HALL 206.389.7676 SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/RIGOLETTO
2019/20 SEASON SPONSOR: IN MEMORY OF KARYL WINN PRODUCTION SPONSOR: KREIELSHEIMER ENDOWMENT FUND
© Philip Newton
Byrd was incredibly aware of the audience’s role in the performance of Untitled. Because of the dancer’s proximity to the audience, and the audience’s ability to view the performance from any angle, he choreographed the piece as something to be eavesdropped on. It was a breakup.
RIGOLETTO
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Noelani Panatastico’s Picnic at Sculptured Dance, 2017. Photo courtesy of Pacific Northwest Ballet
The biggest challenge in choreographing for Sculptured Dance was being okay with the audience missing part of the performance—either because they were standing too far away or because other audience members were obstructing their view. In the end, it was something Byrd simply had to be at peace with.
are underserved,” Byrd said. “None of them get enough.”
“I had to submit to the realness of the circumstances,” Byrd shared.
Christopher D’Ariano, a corps de ballet dancer at PNB, first became involved in NEXT STEP: OUTSIDE/IN last year as a participant in both the outdoor and indoor components. As both a dancer and a choreographer in the same 2018 program, D’Ariano performed Donald Byrd’s solo piece Wake the Neighbor and then, mere minutes later, watched a company of PNB Professional Division dancers perform his own choreography: Youthquake. This year,
While Byrd agrees that free public performances like Sculptured Dance and NEXT STEPS: OUTSIDE/IN are important to our community, he warns that “free art” and “accessible art” aren’t synonymous phrases. “In terms of arts exposure, education and awareness, all of our communities 6
Which leaves Byrd wondering: How do we get to a point where art plays a critical role in the health and well-being of all our communities? How do we ensure that art becomes essential?
Christopher D’Ariano in Donald Byrd’s Wake the Neighbors at NEXT STEP: OUTSIDE/IN, 2018. Photo by Lindsay Thomas
“The audience’s proximity to the dancers makes everything more intimate.”
D’Ariano was inspired to create outside the theatre walls. “Outdoor performances are more unpredictable,” D’Ariano said. “The audience is more involved and the dancers’ work is challenged by the direct gaze of every viewer around them. It becomes a more personal experience.” The audience’s proximity to the dancers makes everything more intimate. Audience members are granted access into a 360-degree view of the choreography, giving every single moment a new and specific meaning. Audiences share in the sweat, breath and momentum of the piece, sharing in an orchestration of tension and control. And dancers are stripped of the theatrical protections of the orchestra pit, stage lights and curtain.
Jane Wong
After Preparing the Altar, the Ghosts Feast Feverishly
June 1–September 1, 2019 Image: Jane Wong. After Preparing the Altar, the Ghosts Feast Feverishly (detail), 2019. Photo: Jueqian Fang. Jane Wong: After Preparing the Altar, the Ghosts Feast Feverishly is organized by the Frye Art Museum and curated by Amanda Donnan. Lead support for this exhibition is provided by the Raynier Institute & Foundation through the Frye Art Museum | Artist Trust Consortium. Additional generous support is provided by 4Culture/King County Lodging Tax and Frye members. Media sponsorship provided by KUOW.
704 Terry Avenue | fryemuseum.org | Always Free
“Creating for an outdoor space allows me, as a choreographer, room to explore the limits I can push,” D’Ariano shared. “Will the fourth wall be broken, or will the subject be like a fish in an aquarium? The magic lies in the intention.” Sarah-Gabrielle Ryan, a corps de ballet dancer at PNB, first became involved in the ballet’s outdoor performance tradition as a dancer in Noelani Pantastico’s Picnic at the 2017 Sculptured Dance. The performance was such a success that the entire company was invited back to perform the piece at the 2018 NEXT STEP: OUTSIDE/IN. “The main adjustment we made to dance outdoors was ditching our pointe shoes for sneakers, which I think we all enjoyed,” Ryan said. “We also had a much closer audience than we get in a theatre. I appreciated this because it allowed us to have a greater connection with our audience than we traditionally do from a raised and distant stage.” encorespotlight.com 7
Simply being on the same level as the audience made Ryan feel like she was more than entertainment. She was a human being. Ryan said the rehearsal process for Picnic wasn’t all that different from a traditional ballet rehearsal. Instead of adjusting for set pieces, Ryan was conscious of the placement of Alexander Calder’s The Eagle or the slope of the Boeing Green. “We mostly had to make sure the choreography was feasible for grass so that our bodies were protected,” Ryan said.
June 1 - August 25, 2019 Lightcatcher building See 60 innovative and inspiring quilts that break the rules and make a statement. On display at the Whatcom Museum in Bellingham, Wash. For more information visit: whatcommuseum.org/exhibition/modern-quilts/
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Luke Haynes; [The American Context #68] Double Elvis, 2012; 60 × 71 in. Courtesy of the artist.
Ryan loves that PNB includes free outdoor performance as part of their season. “I could seriously do an entire interview on this subject alone,” Ryan joked. When asked to comment on the importance of accessible art in our community, Ryan said this: “Accessible art is essential to all communities— and I love that PNB is contributing to ours.” This year’s NEXT STEP: OUTSIDE/ IN will be held on Friday, June 14 at and around McCaw Hall. The outdoor portion of the performance is free and will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., surrounded by food trucks, a photo booth and PNB giveaways. Choreography by Dammiel Cruz, Christopher d’Ariano, Ron Gatsby, Mark Haim and the nineteen students from New Voices: Choreography and Process for Young Women in Dance will be featured. The indoor portion of the performance is $25 and begins at 7:30 that evening.
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Danielle Mohlman is a Seattle-based playwright and arts journalist. She’s a frequent contributor to Encore, where she’s written about everything from the intersection of sports and theatre to the landscape of sensory-friendly performances. Danielle’s work can also be found in American Theatre, The Dramatist and on the Quirk Books blog.
2019-2020 Celebrating 30 Years with four thrilling, haunting, magical stories! Everything Is Illuminated By Jonathan Safran Foer Adapted & Directed by Josh Aaseng September 11 – October 6, 2019 When the past does not exist, we exist for the past.
Howl’s Moving Castle By Diana Wynne Jones Adapted & Directed by Myra Platt Music & Lyrics by Justin Huertas November 29 – December 29, 2019 Follow your own path and you will never be left behind.
The Turn of the Screw By Henry James Adapted by Rachel Atkins February 12 – March 8, 2020 It’s time for a tale of love and ghosts and delicious dreadfulness.
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle By David Wroblewski Adapted by Jane Jones & Kevin McKeon Directed by Jane Jones June 3 – 28, 2020 Family know how to love you, and hurt you, truer than anyone.
Subscribe Today! book-it.org • 206.216.0833 boxoffice@book-it.org
A NOTE FROM THE MANAGING DIRECTOR
Hi! For three decades, Book-It has had the privilege of transforming great literature into great theatre for audiences in the Seattle area. With your support and involvement, we will keep bringing the best books to life onstage.
MANAGING DIRECTOR
Kayti Barnett-O’Brien
We’re looking for interested community members to join us on our dynamic Board of Directors, and we hope that’s you! Our Board is an engaged, multigenerational, diverse, and passionate group of people who support and work with us to keep the company strong and thriving. We’d love for you to be a part of this team. If you’re interested, please contact Director of Development Sally Brunette at sallyb@book-it.org or 206.428.6258. Thank you for joining us at the theatre, and we look forward to working with you! Sincerely,
Kayti Barnett-O’Brien Managing Director
encorespotlight.com A-1
2019-20 Arts & Education Touring Season My Name is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz Me llamo Celia: La Vida de Celia Cruz By/por Monica Brown Illustrated by/illustrado por Rafael López Grades: K-6 Tour Dates: October – December, 2019
Celebrate the life and music of the Queen of Salsa, Celia Cruz. It’s a story that’ll make you feel like dancing!
JANE JONES Founder & Founding Co-Artistic Director MYRA PLATT Founding Co-Artistic Director KAYTI BARNETT-O’BRIEN Managing Director
SEASON SUPPORT
Celebra la vida y la música de la Reina de la Salsa, Celia Cruz. ¡Es una historia que te dará ganas de bailar! This production is performed bilingually, in Spanish and English. .........................................................................................................
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut By Derrick Barnes Illustrated by Gordon C. James Grades: K-6 Tour Dates: January – March, 2020
Join us at the barbershop, where young boys of color learn the endless possibilities of a fresh cut and a dope imagination. .........................................................................................................
Wordy Birdy By Tammi Sauer Illustrated by Dave Mottram Grades: K-6 Tour Dates: March – June, 2020
MEDIA SPONSORS
Come listen to one fun and chatty bird as her friends save her from danger and her own bad habits. .........................................................................................................
For more information: book-it.org To book your tour: 206.428.6266 or education@book-it.org If you are interested in being a Touring Stories sponsor, please contact Director of Development Sally Brunette at sallyb@book-it.org.
Additional generous support is provided by numerous local businesses, family foundations, and hundreds of individuals. Many thanks to all our supporters.
By Imbolo Mbue Adapted & Directed by Myra Platt THE CAST
in alphabetical order Marcel Davis* DJ Dell Beth DeVries* Bailey Ellis Kamaria Hallums-Harris Ronnie Hill Sylvester Foday Kamara* Anjelica McMillan David Quicksall* Elijah Savage Selena Whitaker-Paquiet Jonas Winburn
Bubakar/Ensemble Liomi Cindy/Ensemble Vince/Ensemble Betty/Ensemble Winston/Ensemble Jende Neni/Ensemble Clark/Ensemble Liomi Fatou/Ensemble Mighty
Maria Gray* Aviona Rodriguez Brown
Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager
THE ARTISTIC TEAM Brandon J. Simmons Christopher Mumaw Emily W. Leong Danielle Nieves Justin Johnson Robin Macartney Minita Gandhi Gin Hammond Ian Bond Kamaria Hallums-Harris Amy Jurkiewicz Lillia Polyanskiy
Associate Director Scenic Designer Lighting Designer Costume Designer Sound Designer Props Designer Dramaturg Dialect Coach Fight Choreographer Dance Consultant Child Supervisor Substitute Youth Supervisor
*Member of Actor’s Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
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BEYOND THE BOOK PARTNER:
A NOTE FROM THE ADAPTER/DIRECTOR At Book-It, every time we adapt a novel for the stage, we face the reality that there is no way to fit it all into the script. So, if you haven’t already, I hope you will read and experience Imbolo Mbue’s stunning debut novel. This book won the Pen/ Faulkner Award, was a New York Times
It is our great privilege to partner with Seattle-Limbe Sister City Association (SLSCA) to let our audiences know about the wonderful, impactful work this organization is doing in Limbe, Cameroon and Seattle. Please, take a moment to read here, and out in our lobby, about our new partners: Limbe, an Atlantic port city in Cameroon, has been linked to Seattle as a sister city since 1984. The SeattleLimbe Sister City Association has focused on forging people-to-people relationships between residents of our two cities. SLSCA also works to make Seattle a more connected and supportive place by connecting a diverse community of volunteers. Each month, SLSCA members come together around a common cause: making washable, reusable feminine care kits for Cameroonian schoolgirls, so they can stay in school when they have their periods. More than 250 members regularly participate in sewing circles at four locations (First AME Church, Baitul Ahsaan Mosque, Congregation Beth Shalom, and Assumption Catholic Church). Since 2015, three delegations have traveled to Africa to deliver kits, teach reproductive health, and train women to create the kits themselves. SLSCA has provided nearly 5,000 kits to girls in Cameroon, helping to prevent interruptions to their education each month. A-4 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Notable Book, and was named one of the best books of 2016 by top journalists from coast to coast and across the seas.
ADAPTER/DIRECTOR
Myra Platt
Behold the Dreamers depicts America’s opportunities and abundance as seen through the eyes of immigrants, a couple from Cameroon, seeking to fulfill their dreams of independence and respect, and with the dear hope of providing their son a better life. Jende and Neni Jonga may, at first, be considered innocent or naïve, yet their intelligence and courage quickly reveal and shatter such prejudicial thinking. New York City, a place filled with dreamers from around the globe. A place filled with an anonymous chorus of beating human hearts, striving to become somebody, fearful of simaltaneously being judged and being ignored. From the Great Recession to the Mueller Report, the bombardment of shocking world events in the last ten years continues to unfold at alarming rates. We wonder, how we will manage? And when will this country learn that the hopes and dreams of America belong to not only privileged, white Americans? I am humbled by the commitment of all who contributed to this process. This show is a product of a burgeoning collaboration with dozens of artists, whose varied perspective informs and betters my own, beginning with Chicago-based actor/director Lanise Antoine Shelly. Her bold creativity jump-started everything. Guest dramaturg/ playwright, Minita Gandhi, offered keen insight, helping guide the shape of the script. Associate director Brandon J. Simmons brought wit and wisdom daily to the rehearsal process. I am ever grateful for these fiercely talented artists.
Dramaturgy
AN INTERVIEW WITH MYRA PLATT, THE PLAYWRIGHT AND DIRECTOR OF BEHOLD THE DREAMERS. BY: MINITA GANDHI
themselves and each other in the third person. The aesthetic invites the audience to use their imagination as the production values are minimal, suggestive, and abstract. The actors use their virtuosity as performers to be constantly creating the world while telling the story, so that audience and performer become one. MINITA: Adapting a play from a novel is a very different writing process than writing other plays. Myra, you’ve adapted 17 plays. What are some of the things you love about the adaptation process? What are some of the challenges?
MINITA:
MYRA:
Book-It has always had their own innovative aesthetic. For those who are attending a Book-It show for the first time, can you speak to Book-It’s aesthetic and what makes your shows different than something you might see at another theatre?
The challenges and joys of adapting a novel into a play are equal parts deliciousness and devastating. The deliciousness is in immersing yourself in the world the author has created, living inside their language, their characters, the poetry, and the incredible piecing together of an incredibly complicated puzzle of a plot. The devastating part is figuring out how to honor and celebrate their original intent while editing it down to a
MYRA: Book-It strives to preserve the author’s unique narrative voice. So, you will hear the characters speak about
encorespotlight.com A-5
The devastating part is figuring out how to honor and celebrate their original intent while editing it down to a 2-hour play. 2-hour play. There are scenes I wish could be presented but are sacrificed due to narrowing the focus of the through line.
playwright can’t solve, the director must. And what decisions the director makes, the playwright has to shrug and say, maybe the next director will figure out how to make that work the way you first imagined it.
MINITA:
MINITA:
Can you speak to what it is like to be both the playwright and director of a play?
Myra, what first drew you to the novel, Behold the Dreamers?
MYRA: Well, you have a lot of conversations and arguments with yourself. What the
According to Forbes Magazine, “The Americas, driven by a resurgent Brazil, and the U.S. are the only two regions that have more billionaires than they did a year ago. There are now a record 607 in the U.S. That includes 14 of the world’s 20 richest.” A-6 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
MYRA: To be honest, the author’s photo on the back cover…her eyes and smile captivated me, made me curious. Then, I read the literary praise on the inside of the book (7 ½ pages worth)!! There was this undeniable excitement, where every single critic seemed captivated by her voice and her character’s perspective on America, capitalism, marriage, immigration, racism – all in one fell swoop. How do these numbers and the drive for much more than a white picket fence define what the ‘American dream’ is today and who is privy to it? And what are we willing to sacrifice to attain it?
of two very different families who face the devastation of the 2008 financial crisis, which many economists consider to be the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression in 1929.
Playwright/Director Myra Platt’s adaption of Imbolo Mbue’s 2016 debut novel, Behold the Dreamers, asks us to face these exigent questions. The novel, which was featured by Oprah’s Book Club in 2017, parallels the lives
Through Book-It’s ensembledriven style, Platt weaves us through the fabric of the lives of the Jongas and the Edwards. Determined to make a better life for his family, optimistic Jende Jonga from Limbe, Cameroon,
Dramaturgy MINITA:
MYRA:
Why do you think this show will speak to Seattle audiences?
This country seems to be at yet another tipping point with regard to defining what it means to be American, what our shared dreams are, and what matters most to us as a nation. There are more billionaires than ever in our history, while at the same time racism, classism, and the mistreatment of immigrants is as egregious as ever. White male patriarchy still dominates, and the main topic in the news is whether we know how to tell the truth. We continue to wrestle with reconciling the birth of our nation being inseparable from enslaving Africans, and amassing wealth drives our decisions. And yet, we feel simultaneously hopeful and appalled. Because at the end of the day, we all want to love and cherish each other. We all want to take care of our children. And we all want what we want as individuals. And to get what we want, we will do whatever it takes, including making mistakes. Imbolo Mbue inspires and challenges us and leaves us with more questions than answers.
MYRA: Seattle is experiencing huge growth—economically, demographically, geographically. Welcoming and getting to know our neighbors not as strangers, but as contributors to our civic community, is essential. MINITA: You had mentioned during the first day of rehearsal that this play is very relevant to what’s happening in the world right now. Can you speak a bit more about that?
and his ambitious and welleducated wife, Neni, find themselves in the bustle and scurry of New York City (a far cry from their native Cameroon, located in West Africa and about the size of California). Neni is working towards becoming a pharmacist, and Jende had acquired a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a top executive at Lehman Brothers, in 2007.
While the play lives in fiction, the story of a family coming from a country whose per-capita annual income is US$1451.90*, to live in the United States, where our per capita income is US$59,927.90*, to pursue the promises of our Lady Liberty is very real. Just as real are snags that begin to unravel the threads of this promise. The obstacles of immigration laws, patriarchal structures, and stifling freedom begin to make us question how we
can truly build the home of our dreams. What do we do when as Neni says “America has beaten you and you don’t know what to do…”? *figures from World Bank, 2017
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Book-It transforms great literature into great theatre, through simple and sensitive production, and inspires our audiences to read. We do it all for you… to enjoy, to ponder, to imagine, to dream. Help us dream big and reach our $100,000 goal! Donate by June 30 and your gift will be matched 1:1 by a generous donation from Sage Foundation.
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MEET THE
CAST
(in alphabetical order)
Marcel Davis
Bubakar/Ensemble Marcel is honored to return for his third production with Book-It! In his last performance with Book-It, Marcel played the 1940’s Jazz saxophonist in the record-setting production of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Marcel also performed as Mr. Rose in BookIt’s highly-acclaimed, award-winning production of Cider House Rules, Part II. Marcel has performed locally with Seattle Shakespeare Company (Measure for Measure, Henry V), Seattle Public Theater (Of Mice and Men, Master Harold...and the Boys), Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center (Death of A Salesman, Diva Daughter’s Dupree, Bobby and Jerome), and several other local theatres. Marcel has also performed internationally, (Panafest ‘05 in Ghana, West Africa), as a member of Seattle’s own Nu Black Arts West Theater. TV credits include guest starring roles on Leverage (TNT), Grimm (NBC), as well as several local and regional commercials. Marcel is eternally grateful for the support and inspiration provided by his wife, children, entire family, friends, and colleagues.
DJ Dell Liomi
DJ is excited to be in his first production at Book-It. Previously DJ was seen as Young Shrek in Shrek the Musical and Youth Ensemble in Willy Wonka Jr. at Village Theatre KIDSTAGE. DJ also enjoys collecting and modifying Nerf Blasters and has a Black Belt in Taekwondo. Shout out to my Kidstage mentors and friends, also thanks Mom & Dad.
Beth DeVries Cindy/Ensemble
Beth has worked locally at Village Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, 5th Ave Theatre, ACT, ArtsWest, and others. She has performed nationally in California, Arizona. New York, and Michigan. Notable roles include
Diana in Next to Normal (Gregory Award Nominated), Velma VonTussle in Hairspray, Fantine in Les Miserables (Gregory Award Nominated), Laura in Goblin Market, and Sue in Snapshots. You can also see and hear her in several commercials, radio ads, and audiobooks. Behold the Dreamers marks Beth’s first show with Book-It.
Bailey Ellis Vince/Ensemble Bailey is honored to return to Book-It’s stage after his theatrical debut with Book-It in 2007 in Peter Pan, an experience that influenced his love of theatre and acting forever. Bailey is a recent graduate of Western Washington University’s theatre program where he earned a BA in theatre arts with a concentration in acting, and where he appeared on WWU’s Mainstage in shows such as A Doll’s House and Hir. Bailey was a company member of Western Summer Theatre for four consecutive summers and appeared most recently in Young Frankenstein the Musical and I Began Anyway, a devised piece created in collaboration with New York-based theatre company Blessed Unrest. Bailey is eternally grateful to his theatre family at WWU for their endless gifts and for the unparalleled love and support of his friends and family who have made his dreams possible.
Kamaria Hallums-Harris
Betty/Ensemble/Dance Consultant Kamaria is from Greer, South Carolina. It is in South Carolina where she originally discovered her love for the theater. Kamaria attended South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities for her last two years of high school as a drama student. It was then that she decided that Seattle was the place for her to be during this time of her life. Kamaria is now a graduate of Cornish College of the Arts, with a degree in Original Works, and she could not be happier with where this journey has led her, thus far, and where it will continue to take her. Kamaria’s most recent credits are Neverwhere (Cornish Playhouse), Milk Like Sugar (Theatre Battery), A Christmas Carol (ACT), Mwindo (Understudy, SCT), Waning (Annex), and Barbecue (Intiman). She would like to thank the special gems in her life that have made this moment in history possible.
Ronnie Hill Winston/Ensemble Ronnie is a Seattlebased theatre and film actor/artist, returning to the Book-It stage for Behold the Dreamers in the role of Winston. Some of his Book-It roles include Uncle Willie and Freeman in I Know why the Caged Bird Sings, and Jack and Hollister in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: Uncensored. More recently, he has been seen performing at Nordo in Tom Robbins Jitterbug Perfume. Ronnie attended The U of M for fine arts with an emphasis in performing, and also Freehold Theatre.
Sylvester Foday Kamara Jende
Sylvester was last seen in The Seagull Project’s production of Uncle Vanya as Mikhail Astrov, directed by John Langs. Previously at Book-It, you may have seen him in The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears and Cry, the Beloved Country. His next production is with Freehold’s Engaged Theater tour, bringing Shakespeare to under-serviced communities. He would like to thank you for supporting Book-It Repertory Theatre.
Anjelica McMillan
Neni/Ensemble
Anjelica is ecstatic to be making her Book-It debut! Previous credits include Oya in Anansi & the Halfling (Annex Theatre), Gertrude/ Marcellus in Hamlet (The Horse in Motion), Julia in Row Yr Boat (Annex Theatre), and Vicki/Barbara in Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom (Theater Schmeater). Professional staged readings: Reed in Don’t Call it a Riot (The Neptune Theater), Sabina in Anton (Parley), and Cleo in When a Tree Falls (Parley). Television: Portlandia and The Wonderland Murders. Voice-over: Sam Hoffman in the video game State of Decay, and Jill in the audio drama Five Levels of Fear. Up next: The Revolutionists with Theater 22. Anjelica holds a BFA in Theater from Pacific Lutheran University. She would like to thank her family for always believing in her and her husband, Spencer, for his love and support.
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David Quicksall Clark/Ensemble
David has a long history at Book-It, starting as an actor in the 2001 production of Amy Bloom’s Silver Water. Since then, David’s work as an actor, adaptor, and director has been seen all over the Book-It stage. Those Book-It patrons with a long memory may remember David’s directed adaptations of If I Die In A Combat Zone Box Me Up And Ship Me Home; Dracula: Jonathan Harker’s Journal; Don Quixote (co-adapted with Annie Ludlum); MobyDick; and Frankenstein—or, the Modern Prometheus. As an actor, David is a member of The Seagull Project and has worked throughout the Puget Sound region—most recently at The 5th Avenue Theatre in The Man of La Mancha, 18th & Union in his original one-man show An Evening With Satan, Tacoma Arts Live in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and ArtsWest in the role of Gallimard in M. Butterfly.
singer/songwriter and was a vocalist, writer, and bassist for the female punk band, NighTraiN, and produces the micro-music festival “Hoodstock,” which is in its 11th year. Selena also works as a paralegal in the area of Intellectual Property Law and is currently an active board member for NW Folklife.
Jonas Winburn Mighty Jonas is honored and excited to be appearing in his first show at BookIt! He is an 11-year-old 5th grader with a love and true passion for theatre. Regional theatre credits include West Coast Premiere of Matilda the Musical (Bruce Bogtrotter and Tommy) at Village Theatre and ZM (Billy Jr.) with Village Theatre Beta Series. Community theatre credits include Guys and Dolls (Sky Masterson), Seussical (JoJo), Beauty and the Beast (Lefou), The Lion King (Young Simba), James and the Giant Peach (James), Elf (Michael), Into the Woods (Jack), and Shrek (Pinocchio), all at Seattle’s Performers. Jonas would like to thank his twin sister, Ava, his parents, teachers, friends, and mentors for all of their love and support.
Elijah Savage Liomi
Elijah is excited to be in his first production with Book-It! Elijah has performed in three shows (The Lion King Jr., Shrek Jr., and Willy Wonka Jr.) at Village Theatre KIDSTAGE, where he also attends their musical theatre training program. Elijah also loves to draw, sing, and play piano. Elijah would like to thank his family for their love and support, and the Book-It production and stage management teams for their guidance and encouragement.
Selena Whitaker-Paquiet Fatou/Ensemble
Selena is from Seattle and this is her third Book-It production (The Awakening and Cry, the Beloved Country). She has been doing theatre, film, and television since the age of 11. Selena has traveled throughout the U.S. and Canada as a stand-up comedian participating in such shows as Evening at the Improv and Def Comedy Jam. She is a A-10 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
Lives of the Poets, The River Why, Night Flight (an operetta with music by Joshua Kohl), Red Ranger Came Calling (a musical with Edd Key), The House of the Spirits, Giant, Plainsong, Cowboys Are My Weakness, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (2002 original production), Roman Fever, and A Child’s Christmas in Wales. DIRECTING: The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay; Persuasion; Cry, the Beloved Country; and Sweet Thursday. ADAPTING: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (2017 with Malika Oyetimein), The Art of Racing in the Rain, and Owen Meany’s Christmas Pageant (with Jane Jones). PERFORMING: Prairie Nocturne, The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears, The Awakening (West Garland Los Angeles Award), and Howards End. Outside of Book-It, Myra has performed at Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman, New City Theatre, and Mark Taper Forum, among others. She originated the role of Candy Kendall in The Cider House Rules, Parts I and II, directed by Jane Jones and Tom Hulce. In 2010, Myra, and Jane Jones received a Paul G. Allen Family Foundation Anniversary grant and the 2010 Women of Influence from Puget Sound Business Journal. In 2008, Myra and Jane (and Book-It) were honored to be named by The Seattle Times as one of seven Unsung Heroes and Uncommon Genius for their 20-year contribution to life in the Puget Sound Region.
Brandon J. Simmons
MEET THE
ARTISTIC TEAM Myra Platt
Adapter/Director/Founding Co-Artistic Director As founding member and founding coartistic director with Jane Jones, Myra has helped produce over 90 world-premiere mainstage productions and over 30 education touring productions. Most recently she adapted and directed the new musical Howl’s Moving Castle (music by Justin Huertas) and The Brothers K: Parts I and II, and she directed The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (2014 Gregory Award for Outstanding Production and The Seattle Times Footlight Award). Past credits include the following: ADAPTING and DIRECTING: The Brothers K: Parts I and II, Little Bee, The Financial
Associate Director Brandon is a multi-disciplinary theater artist. As a director, he has led and assisted projects at ArtsWest, Annex Theatre, Forward Flux, Seattle Public Theater, Theatre Battery, and Pittsburgh Public Theatre. His original and adapted scripts have been staged with Washington Ensemble Theatre, Book-It’s Novel Workshop Series, 14/48: The World’s Quickest Theatre Festival, The Great Soul of Russia, Sandbox Radio Live, and Annex Theatre, which premiered his two full-length original plays The Tale of Jemima Canard and Is She Dead Yet? (a white comedy), which received the 2016 Gregory Award for Outstanding New Play. As an actor, Brandon has appeared with numerous theaters in Seattle, including Book-It, Washington Ensemble Theatre, New City Theatre, The Williams Project, and many performances with Seattle Shakespeare Company. Brandon cofounded The Seagull Project, where he served as an ensemble member, producer, and administrator from 2011-2018.
Christopher Mumaw Scenic Designer
Christopher is a freelance theater artist based in Seattle. He received his MFA from the University of Washington and his BFA from Wright State University. Scenic design credits include I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Treasure Island, The Brothers K, The Dog of the South, and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay (Book-It); Great Expectations (Portland Center Stage); Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Lady Day at Emersons Bar and Grill, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Frozen, Mothers and Sons, Little Women, Death of a Salesman, and Violet: the Musical (ArtsWest).
Emily W. Leong Lighting Designer
Emily is a Seattle-based lighting designer who has worked professionally in the area for the past seven years. This is Emily’s first design with Book-It, and she is very excited to have joined the team on this production. Some of her previous works have been seen with Pratidhwani, Pony World Theater, Cafe Nordo, Seattle Public Theater, and ArtsWest. She has been on staff at the Theatre Off Jackson as a technical liaison and resident lighting designer during her time in Seattle. Due to her work as a theatre practitioner, Emily received the Gregory Awards Melissa Hines award in 2015.
Danielle Nieves Costume Designer
Danielle is honored to make her Book-It debut. She is currently the costume design associate at Seattle Repertory Theatre. Regional: Real Women Have Curves (Dallas Theater Center). Off Broadway: Pity in History, No End of Blame, Gertrude The Cry, and Lovesong of the Electric Bear. At the Kyoto Costume Institute, she completed the certified curatorial training program for Japanese and Western costumes and textiles. She is grateful for this opportunity and is humbled by the amazing talent of the artists at Book-It. daniellenieves.com
Justin Johnson Sound Designer
Justin is a sound designer and audio engineer originally from NYC, now based in Seattle. Over the last three years, he’s designed over 15 shows, with much of his work being focused around creating immersive sound designs and pushing the boundaries of using sound-interactive technology in theatre. When he’s not working in theatre, he’s an avid partner
dancer and enjoys traveling the world for blues and swing events. Past credits include: Shakespeare Dice: As You Like It (Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Center), Kayfabe (Ballard Underground, Seattle), Cherubim (NYC Fringe), and My Lingerie Play (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, NYC).
Robin Macartney Props Designer
Robin is a freelance set and props designer who has been fortunate to work with a large number of the theatre companies in Seattle. She is the resident set designer/front of house manager at Theatre Off Jackson, as well as the scene shop supervisor for the University of Puget Sound’s Theatre Department. This is her fourth show with Book-It.
Maria Gray Stage Manager
Maria happily joins Book-It for another production. Latest credits include: We Will Not Be Silent (Taproot Theatre Company); A Bright Room Called Day (The Williams Project); Richard III (Seattle Shakespeare Company/upstart crow collective); Familiar (Seattle Repertory Theatre); All’s Well that Ends Well, The Merchant of Venice (Seattle Shakespeare Company); and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Book-It Repertory Theatre). She is a transplant from Philadelphia, as well as the road where she was head of props on several bus & truck national tours from 2013 through 2017. Maria also works as a corporate stage manager, event project manager, and stagehand with a focus on electrics and properties; and she is a proud member of IATSE Local #8.
Aviona Rodriguez Brown
SpeciaL Thanks Aaron Alonso Aishé Keita Lamar Legend Jasmine Lomax Jéhan Osanyin Patricia Sadate-Ngatchou Dedra Woods Seattle Center Theatre Puget Sound 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
Assistant Stage Manager
Aviona is debuting with Book-It’s mainstage as the assistant stage manager. Aviona is an afrolatinx curvaceous person who bends time and space itself to be involved in the theater. Aviona is a Seattle-based actor, director, model, teaching artist, stage manager, student social justice leader, and producer. As a social justice leader, Aviona is working to begin a detention replacement program that teaches at risk children and adults art therapy. Graciás a díos para todo que ha pasado en mí vida. Díos lo sabe todo y yo soy su sirviente. avionabrown.weebly.com
Minita Gandhi Dramaturg
Minta is a dramaturg/playwright/actress based in Los Angeles. Gandhi was born in Mumbai and lived in Chicago for over
Theatre Communications Group
+United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE is the union representing Lighting and Sound designers in this Live Performance.
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a decade. She is most known for her critically acclaimed solo-show, Muthaland. Muthaland was Jeff-nominated for best new work and best solo performance in 2018. Gandhi has been seen at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre. She can also be seen in the recurring role of Dr. Prospere on Chicago Fire and as news anchor Nina Shankar for The Onion News Network. Upcoming: Florida Studio Theatre (Muthaland for the 2019 NNPN Women in Playwriting Festival). She is co-director of the StateraArts national mentorship program for women* in the arts. www.minitagandhi.com
Gin Hammond Dialect Coach
Gin is an award-winning, Harvard University/Moscow Art Theatre graduate and certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework™. Gin is the director and dialect coach for the video game Post-Human W.A.R. and has worked with the Academy Award-winning MoCap Now Studios to develop a course in motion capture training, in Seattle. Hammond teaches voice, voice-over, public speaking, and dialect coaching, and can be heard on commercials, audiobooks, radio plays, and a variety of video games including BattleTech, DotA 2, Undead Labs State of Decay 1 & 2, Aion, and Halo 3 ODST.
Ian Bond
Fight Choreographer Ian is grateful to be a part of Behold the Dreamers. Most recently, he choreographed the violence for Washington Ensemble Theatre’s Feathers and Teeth. This season at Book-It, he portrayed Tom Hansen in American Junkie, as well as many other characters, including Pilot the dog in Jane Eyre. Previous Book-It shows include Treasure Island, Frankenstein, and The Picture of Dorian
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Gray. Ian has also performed locally with ACT, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Public Theater, Taproot Theatre Company, Seattle Shakespeare Company, The Horse in Motion, Sound Theatre Company, Forward Flux, Live Girls!, Seattle Immersive, and eSe Teatro.
Amy Jurkiewicz Child Supervisor
Amy is happy to be back at Book-It after working on The Brothers K, Part I. Previously, Amy has worked as a child supervisor on productions at The 5th Avenue Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Village Theatre, Seattle Opera, and ACT Theatre. She holds a Masters degree in Theatre Education from the University of Northern Colorado and also works as a teaching artist specializing in creative drama.
BOOK-IT REP Jane Jones
Director/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 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 American Junkie at Book-It and 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 she was a finalist for the American Union for Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation’s 2012 Zelda Fichandler Award.
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 Slaughterhouse-Five; 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. Josh’s work has been recognized with two Seattle Times 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 April 1, 2018 – April 30, 2019.
ADVOCATES CIRCLE - $100,000+ Sage Foundation
LITERARY LEGENDS CIRCLE - $50,000+ Gretl Galgon Mary Pigott True-Brown Foundation
LITERARY CHAMPIONS CIRCLE - $25,000+ ArtsFund Holly & Bill Marklyn Ann Ramsay-Jenkins Shirley & Dave Urdal Kris & Mike Villiott
LITERARY HEROES CIRCLE - $10,000+ 4Culture BMGI The Boeing Company Patricia Britton & Stellman Keehnel Sonya & Tom Campion Laura & Greg Colman The Elizabeth George Foundation Anne Fisher Ravens Stuart Frank & Marty Hoiness Harvest Foundation Lucy Helm Margaret Kineke & Dennis West Nancy Lomneth & Mark Boyd Lucky Seven Foundation The Norcliffe Foundation Michell & Larry Pihl Safeco Insurance Fund Seattle Office of Arts & Culture The Shubert Foundation
PARTNERS CIRCLE - $5,000+ Anonymous John Aldaya & Tom DeFelice Amy & Matthew Cockburn Jane & Bob Cremin D.A. Davidson & Co. Emily Davis Sara Elward Clay Gustaves Hazel Miller Foundation Dan Kuhn Ellen Maxson Kathy & Brad Renner Shirley Roberson Polly Schlitz U.S. Bank Foundation Williams Companies Christina Wright & Luther Black Wyman Youth Trust
PRODUCERS
Brad and Kathy Renner
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 and Gary Miller ArtsWA Diana Carey Laura Carr & Jeremy Derfner Carolyn & George Cox Caroline L. Feiss & Gordon B. Davidson Elizabeth & Paul Fleming Caroline Fox Tina D. Ganguly & Tim Whitwell Jane Jones & Kevin McKeon Peter & Kelly Maunsell Mary Metastasio Microsoft Matching Gifts Program Moccasin Lake Foundation Lynne & Nick Reynolds Steve Schwartzman & Daniel Karches Charyl Kay & Earl Sedlik Nancy & Warren Smith Colleen & Brad Stangeland Drella & Garth Stein Lordia & Jeremy Williams Margaret Winsor & Jay Hereford
NOBEL PRIZE CIRCLE - $1,000+ Anonymous (3) Emily Anthony & David Maymudes Cinnimin Avena Patti Baker Valarie Baker Salli & Stephen Bauer Lenore & Dick Bensinger Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Matching Gifts Program Block Leavitt Foundation Judy Brandon & H. Randall Webb
Don & Karen Brown Emily Cartmell & Quazie Kwaselow Karen & Tom Challinor Donna Cochener Deborah Cowley & Mark Dexter Nora & Allan Davis Dottie Delaney Judi & Steve Finney Laura & Bo Ford Jayn & Hugh Foy Spencer Freeman Kai Fujita Jean Gorecki & Dick Dobyns Craig & Darcy Greene Jeffrey Gural Michelle & Mark Hamburg Lenore Hanauer Foundation Laura & Erik Hanson Delney & Gil Hilen Mary Frances Hill Lisa & William Holderman Joleen & Gareth Hughes Judith Jesiolowski & David Thompson Portia D. Jones & Jonathan Hibbs Jamie & Jeremy Joseph Jeffrey Kadet & Helen Goh Alan Kristal & Jason Lamb Lagunitas Brewing Company Jonathan Lawrence Leslie Fund, Inc. Julie Little Melissa & Don Manning Claire Marshall & Joseph Bakke Anne McDuffie & Tim Wood D.V. & Ida McEachern Charitable Trust Margaret Meyer Shyla Miller & Russ Young Christopher Mumaw Rene & Chuck Murry Marcia Nagae Whitney & Jerry Neufeld-Kaiser Deborah & Jeff Parsons Christiane Pein & Steve Bull Sherry Perrault & Michael Harding Myra Platt & Dave Ellis Point B Evelyne Rozner & Matt Griffin Elizabeth Rutherford SEI Giving Fund Martha Sidlo Laura Skelton & Thomas Buford Nancy Lee Smith Jon Staenberg Christine & Josh Stepherson David & Elise Stokes Gail Tanaka Team Soapbox Jennifer Teunon & Adam Smith Sara Thompson & Richard Gelinas C. Rhea & Wendy Thompson Katherine & James Tune Ruth & Jerry Verhoff Elizabeth Warman Judith Whetzel Paula & Bill Whitham Hope & Ken Wiljanen Williams Miller Family Foundation Carol & Bryan Willison
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PULITZER PRIZE CIRCLE - $500+ Anonymous (2) • Virginia L. Anderson • Donna & Anthony Barnett • Julie Bernstein & Roy Zimmermann • Jessica Foss & Clint Berquist • Lindsay & Tony Blackner • Karen Brandvick-Baker & Ross Baker • Mary Anne Braund & Steve Pellegrin • Alice Braverman & Patrick Kafer • Sally Snyder Brunette • Bryan Burch • Linda & Peter Capell • Sylvia & Craig Chambers • Children Count Foundation • Sally & Curt Clausen • Carol & Bill Collins • Beth Cooper & Dan Schuy • Robin Dearling & Gary Ackerman • Lynn Dissinger • Carol & Kelly Dole • Anna & David Dong • Dropbox, Inc. • Julie Edsforth & Jabe Blumenthal • Jeremy Eknoian • Susan Lynn Ehlers • Lynne & Hollie Ellis • Marilyn Endriss • Pat Fallon • Polly & Eric Feigl • Laura Finn • Liz Fitzhugh & Jim Feldman • Marlene Friend • Suzanne Fry & Richard Moore • Shannon & Graham Gardner • R. Brooks Gekler • Margaret Griffiths • Kathryn Hazzard • Cynthia Hennessy • Barbara Hieronymus • Trish & Doug Honig • Christy and TJ Houk • Robert Hovden & Ron DeChene • Melissa Huther & Gordon Hof • Russell Janney • Dave Johnson • Tom Keener • Rosemary Kelly & Douglas Zatzick • Mary Klubben & Brian Hahn • Mr. & Mrs. Gareld John Kneepkens • Tami & Rob Kowal • Allison Kramer • Emily Krebill • Jonathan Kuhn • Joyce Anne Latino & John O’Connell • Darcy & Lee MacLaren • Teresa McCann • Ann McKee & Dale Hoff • Jacque Mesplay • Becky Monk • Richard Monroe • Sherry & Bob Nebel • Grace Nordhoff & Jonathan Beard • Glenna Olson & Conrad Wouters • Cheryl Papadakis • Christy & George Papadakis • Karen Perry • Cecilia Paul & Harry Reinert • Shannon Phillips & Tarik Burney • Eleanor & Charles Pollnow • Rayna Quinn • Barb & Dan Radin • Monica Ramsey • Shawn & Mike Rediger • Paula Riggert • Jo Ann & Jim Roberts • Kate & Stephen Robinson • Jain Rutherford • Mig Schaaf & Stuart Dunwoody • Lee Scheingold • Joana & Michael Shapiro • Will Stachowiak • Linda & Hugh Straley • Knud Stubkjaer • Deborah Swets • Tanya Trejo & Keane Watterson • Amanda Twiss • Karen & Ron Van Genderen • Susan Ward • Suzanne & Brent Weaver • Siobhan Ginnane & Dan Whalen • Leora & Robert Wheeler • Ann Wyman • Merrily Wyman • Poly Zel
NATIONAL BOOK AWARD CIRCLE - $250+ Anonymous (9) • Gail Anderson • Lisbet Nilson & Mark Ashida • Heather & Mark Barbieri • Susan Bean & Ray Walton • Tanya Bednarski & Greg Johnson • Shari Bitcon • Nancy L. Bittner • Jen Blackwood • Erin Brindley • Christine Caldwell & Michael Richardson • Amy Carter • José Clair & Austin Ward • Pamela Cowan & Steve Miller • Sandy & Paul Dehmer • Elizabeth Dennis • Jennifer Diggdon • Anne & Don Downing • Beth L. Dubey • Evergreen Cares Foundation • Laura Finn • Faye & Dick Gillett • Carla Granat & Stephen Smith • Pat Graves & David Nash • Gail Gray • Victoria Griffith • Diane Grover • Lisa Hanna • Amani Harris • Phyllis Hatfield • A-14 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
GIFTS IN HONOR & MEMORY In honor of Wendy Hilliker Carol & William Roach In honor of Clare O’Regan Marie, Cynthia, & Bev Laper In honor of Zoe Papadakis Julie Bernstein & Roy Zimmermann In celebration of Qamar Schuyler Kinza & Philip Schuyler In honor of Earl & Charyl Kay Sedlik Nancy L. Bittner In memory of Barbara, Dan, & Dave Snyder Anonymous
Margy Heldring • Karyn Henry • Lauren Hill • Barbara & Rob Jirsa • Angie & Tom Johnson • Hillary & Martin Kelly • Debbie Killinger • Eileen Kirkpatrick & Noel Howes • Karen L. Koon • Meredith Lehr & William Severson • Jeff & Kathy Lindenbaum • Thomas Markl • Donna Marie & Rob Saunders • Paul Martini • Elaine Mathies • Ruth McCormick • Mary Jean & Mel McDonald • Gaye McNutt • Susan & Bob Mecklenburg • Sharon Siehl & Jason Mendoza • Tami & Joe Micheletti • General Mills • Jaime Neal • Elaine Nonneman • Karen O’Connor • Cheryl & Tom Oliver • Mona & Kurt Owen • Lara Papadakis & Tobin Weldele • Corliss Perdaems & Carl Kassebaum • Wilson Platt • Terry Podgorski • Miriam Prathiba • Audrey Querns • Linda Quirk • Benjamin Radin • Karen Robins • Dana Rudy • Ellen & Joe Rutledge • Nancy Rutstein • Jamie Scatena • Gail & John Sehlhorst • Virginia Sly • Candace Smith & Steven Bolliger • Diane Stark • Jenness & John Starks • Mary Anne Stusser Martin & Charles Martin • Andrea Suarez • Liann & Stephen Sundquist • Christina Surawicz & James Bushyhead • Megan Sutherland • Jen Taylor • Robin Thomas • Shari & Kerry Thompson • Ginny Trethewey • Penni & Joe Vogel • Michael Wade • Nancy Ward • Audrey Watson • Kayla Weiner • Eddie Westerman & Adam Westerman • Gregory Wetzel • Melinda Williams • Diane Wong & Nelson Dong • Ann Young
PEN/FAULKNER AWARD CIRCLE - $100+ Anonymous (12) • Doug Adams & Scott Fitzgerald • Katie Adrian • Judith Alexander • Louis Allard • Robert Atkinson • Brian Atwater • Shawn Auld • Anne & Roger Baker • Diane Barbour & Jim Rulfs • Judy Barbour • Jo Ann & Tom Bardeen • Chris Barnett-O’Brien • Leslie & Peter Bateman • Chris & Tessa Bennion • Julia Bent • Philip L. Bereano • Hugh & Rebecca Bergeson • Diane Bisset • Inez Noble Black • Beth Blosten • G. Randall Bond • Joan Reddy & Greg Boris • Bonnie
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SUSTAINING DONORS – THE EPILOGUE SOCIETY Members of the Epilogue Society have included Book-It in their will or other estate planned giving vehicles to ensure their support of Book-It will live on and inspire future generations.
Judy Brandon & Randy Webb Joann Byrd Mary Carson Sara Elward Chris Higashi Jane Jones & Kevin McKeon Myra Platt & Dave Ellis Ann Ramsay-Jenkins Lynne Reynolds Colleen & Brad Stangeland Melinda & Danny Wheetman To learn more about joining the Epilogue Society and planned giving options at Book-It Repertory Theatre, please contact Sally Brunette, Director of Development, 206.428.6258 or sallyb@book-it.org.
DREAM GALA AUCTION DONORS Our thanks to the businesses and friends across the Northwest who generously gave in support of our mission. We feel incredibly fortunate to be part of your community!
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Sherry Perrault & Michael Harding Michell & Larry Pihl Pike Brewing Company Portland Art Museum Puzzle Break Lynne Reynolds Rhein Haus Shirley Roberson Schwartz Brothers Restaurants Steve Schwartzman Seattle Aquarium Seattle Arts & Lectures Seattle Children’s Museum Seattle Children’s Theatre Seattle Escape Games Seattle International Film Festival Seattle Mariners Seattle Men’s Chorus & Seattle Women’s Chorus Seattle Repertory Theatre Seattle Symphony Seattle Theatre Group Secret Garden Books Jon Staenberg Garth Stein Christine & Josh Stepherson Stevie Rotella Photography T.S. McHugh’s Taproot Theatre Taylor Shellfish Teatro ZinZanni Toro Bravo Inc. Linda Brown & Larry True University Book Store Village Theatre Kris Villiott Wild Waves Theme & Water Park Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience Woodhouse Wine Estates Book-It makes every attempt to be accurate with our acknowledgments. Please contact Development Assistant Annika Bennett at annikab@book-it.org with any changes or corrections.
encorespotlight.com 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
PATRON SERVICES
Charlie Minshall
Josh Aaseng
Sasha Bailey
Associate Artistic Director
Patron Services Manager
Shawna Grajek
Aly Guzmán-Dyrseth
Casting Manager, Entertainment, Holland American
EDUCATION
Michael Ryan Blackwood, Madeleine Levy, Jasmine Lomax, Caroline Rensel, Thalia Shelver, Catherine Blake Smith, Dylan Zucati
Jessica Christensen
Tour Manager
Community Volunteer
Earl Sedlik, Treasurer
Costume Shop Manager
Shelby Choo
J. Woody Lotts
Linda Brown, Secretary
Jocelyne Fowler
Box Office Sales & Data Specialist
Director of Education
Margaret Kineke, Vice President
Sr. VP, Financial Consultant, Davidson Co.
Assistant Technical Director
Casting Associate
Annie DiMartino
OFFICERS Stuart Frank, President
Educator and Supporter
Master Carpenter
Front of House
Mark Boyd Community Volunteer
Scenic Artist
José Clair Supply Chain Analyst, The Boeing Company
Scenic Artist
ADMINISTRATIVE
Torrie McDonald
Bookkeeper
Director of Marketing
Adrian Delahunt
Tom Wahl
Scenic Carpenter
Val Brunetto
IT Support
Charlie Minshall
Toby Folkert
Laura Colman
Healthcare & Human Resources Executive, Retired
Tina Ganguly
Scenic Carpenter
Scenic Carpenter
PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT
Danny Herter
Dan Schuy
Master Electrician/Board Op
Sally Brunette
Production Manager
Jessica Jones
Director of Development
Shawna Grajek
Sound Engineer/Board Op
Annika Bennett
Assistant Production Manager
Development Assistant
Benjamin Radin Technical Director
Chief Financial Officer, Carrix
Cynthia Moore
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Communications Manager
John Aldaya
Scenic Charge Artist/ Properties Master
Blaine Taylor
Charlotte Moss
BOARD MEMBERS
Community Volunteer
Clay Gustaves
Senior Land Rep, Williams Companies
Jane Jones
Founder & Founding Co-Artistic Director, Book-It Repertory Theatre
Mary Metastasio
Senior Portfolio Manager, Safeco, Retired
Christopher Mumaw
Scenic and Experiential Designer
Anna Bowen Dresser
Myra Platt Founding Co-Artistic Director, Book-It Repertory Theatre
Anne Fisher Ravens
Kurt Wolken Graphic Design
Senior Associate, Point B
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Shirley Roberson
CONTACT US
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Steven Schwartzman
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
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BOX OFFICE CONTACT 206.216.0833 • boxoffice@book-it.org
BOX OFFICE Seattle Center
Christine Stepherson Founder, Team Soapbox
Lordia Williams
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EMERITUS BOARD Ross Baker
Joann Byrd
Dan Kuhn
Deborah Swets
Emily Davis Ruth Valine
Kris Villiott
Liz Warman
Audrey Watson
HONORARY BOARD
305 Harrison Street, Seattle ADMINISTRATION CONTACT
ADMINISTRATION OFFICES
206.216.0877 • info@book-it.org
401 Mercer St., Seattle
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A-16 BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
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Sonya Campion Ann Ramsay-Jenkins
Beth McCaw
Tom Robbins
Garth Stein
Dialogue
Encore Stages in conversation
Kiyon C. Ross’s Do. Not. Obstruct. at Summer at SAM: Sculptured Dance, 2016. Courtesy of Pacific Northwest Ballet
A Conversation with Choreographers Dammiel Cruz, Miles Pertl and Kiyon C. Ross
Dammiel Cruz, Miles Pertl and Kiyon C. Ross aren’t yet household names, but they will be. Cruz joined the Pacific Northwest Ballet as an apprentice in 2016 and was promoted to the corps de ballet later that same year. Pertl joined PNB as a corps de ballet dancer in 2015 after being a corps de ballet member at both Stuttgart Ballet in Germany and Het Nationale Ballet in the Netherlands. And Ross joined PNB in 2001, the very same year he created his first piece of choreography. He’s been the NEXT STEP program manager at PNB since 2012, a position he held simultaneously with his career as a soloist at PNB before retiring from dance in 2015. Together, these three represent the past, present and future of choreography at the Pacific Northwest Ballet and beyond. And because we have sunshine on the brain, we wanted to talk to them about their experience choreographing for the outdoors and how performances like Sculptured Dance (2016–2017) and NEXT STEP: OUTSIDE/IN (2018–present) affect the way they choreograph.
encorespotlight.com 9
Sculptured Dance and fell in love with it. I was exposed to choreographers I had never worked with, met amazing dancers from our city and got to dance outside and mingle with those watching. It was so cool! Kiyon C. Ross, choreographer of Do. Not. Obstruct. for the 2016 Sculptured Dance: When choreographing for
PNB School students in El baile final, choreographed by Angeli Mamon and Dammiel Cruz for NEXT STEP, 2017. Photo by Lindsay Thomas
How does choreographing for an outdoor performance compare to choreographing for a more traditional theatre space? Dammiel Cruz, choreographer for the 2019 NEXT STEP: OUTSIDE/IN:
“Art doesn’t need to feel high-minded or elite. By providing accessible art, we provide a place where our entire community can gather.”
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Choreographing for an outdoor setting can be very different. Luckily a lot of the movement involved in my piece can be easily performed outside. Sometimes dancing on concrete or grass can limit one’s ability to turn well. Either way, I believe dancing outside is a great way to get more of the community involved in the arts! Miles Pertl, choreographer of Riding the Wave for the 2018 NEXT STEP: OUTSIDE/IN: Dancing outside offers
the dancers and the choreographers a completely different experience. The audience is so close that you can hear every “Oooh,” every sigh, every chuckle. This is a stark contrast to dancing on the stage at McCaw Hall where the audience appears as a black void, only making themselves known by their applause at the end of the performance. Before OUTSIDE/IN, I had danced in both of the first two years’ iterations of
traditional spaces, I know generally what I have to work with. There’s usually a square space with a number of wings for entrances and exits. Sometimes there’s a space for dancers to cross over behind the cyclorama. And usually there’s a curtain—and at the very least top lighting and side lighting. Creating a site-specific work requires the same level of planning, preparation and creative process as choreographing for the stage. But being in a space already occupied by art (like the Olympic Sculpture Park) and using that art as an inspiration, is unforgettable. I certainly had to approach the site-specific commission with flexibility. But that flexibility allowed me to find new ways of expressing movement. It forced me to consider bodies in space in ways that were completely unorthodox to me. What was your most joyful experience choreographing for Sculptured Dance? Ross: The most joyful experience
for me was being able to share my art with so many people. Making art accessible and approachable is extremely important—especially for an art form like dance. Sometimes going to the theatre can create barriers for people, both economically and socially. Having art in your community where you live and being able to access it with your friends and neighbors is a meaningful experience. Seeing the faces in the crowds—and seeing people take a moment from riding their bikes, walking their dogs or their evening strolls to appreciate dance in a space that is meant to be shared by everyone—is certainly a cherished memory from this experience.
PNB’s outdoor performances are free to the community. Talk to me about the importance of accessible art in our community. Cruz: I absolutely love that PNB’s
outdoor performances are free of charge. I believe it’s incredibly important to have accessible art not only in our community, but communities everywhere because it gives the opportunity for all minds to be inspired. Art provides an outlet for people to express themselves. Pertl: Art doesn’t need to feel high-
minded or elite. By providing accessible art, we provide a place where our entire community can gather. Each one of us gets bogged down with work, school and personal drama. But when you come to an event like OUTSIDE/ IN or any of the other events around our city, you are entering a place of community and shared experience. You get a glimpse into the artists’ lives and their experience might mirror your own. Many of the artists I know are creating art not for the money, but for the opportunity to share it with everyone.
Encore Spotlight: Your backstage pass to each performance. encorespotlight.com
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This Dialogue has been excerpted and lightly edited from three separate interviews, all conducted in April 2019. Danielle Mohlman is a Seattle-based playwright and arts journalist. She’s a frequent contributor to Encore, where she’s written about everything from the intersection of sports and theatre to the landscape of sensory-friendly performances. Danielle’s work can also be found in American Theatre, The Dramatist and on the Quirk Books blog.
June 20-July 20 • 306.786.0151
www.harlequinproductions.org encorespotlight.com 11
Dialogue
Encore Stages in conversation
Annie Yim, Lia Lee and James Yi in Kim’s Convenience at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade
David Hsieh on Bringing ‘Kim’s Convenience’ to the American West Coast Stage One of Seattle’s most prolific directors and actors, David Hsieh is well known for bring diverse work to the stage as the founding artistic director of ReAct. His many credits also include performances in Book-It’s productions of The Brothers K and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, as well as in The Happy Ones and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever at Seattle Public. Co-directing Kim’s Convenience with Taproot Theatre’s founding artistic director Scott Nolte, Hsieh is realizing a longheld ambition in bringing Ins Choi’s warm-hearted comedy about a Korean family and their friends to local audiences. Actor and director, David Hsieh. Photo by John Ulman
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“I think everyone can relate to each of the four family members in different ways, as well as the variety of other characters that visit the store.” Annie Yim and James Yi in Kim’s Convenience at Taproot Theatre. Photo by Robert Wade
Rosemary Jones: Kimbits, as fans of the series Kim’s Convenience are known, largely come from watching the Canadian television sitcom starting in 2016 or streaming on Netflix since 2018. Did you first encounter Ins Choi’s Kim’s Convenience as the stage play or online?
David Hsieh: When the published version of the script was first printed in 2012, a copy of it landed on my desk. (I was the drama book buyer at a local bookstore at the time.) I knew nothing about it but being a play with Asian themes. I added it to my huge ever-shifting pile of plays to read. I didn’t actually get to it until a few years later after hearing Ins Choi being interviewed on the radio one night. He was talking about the play and its great success at the Toronto Fringe and subsequent Soulpepper tour as well as the new series in the works. I dug my copy out the pile and read it, and immediately fell in love with the script. I don’t have Netflix or anything but when Scott first asked me to help with the production, I binge-watched [the series] on YouTube and am now a huge fan of that as well.
Who is your favorite character in the Kim family?
I’m not one who likes to pick favorites. I actually like them all . . . and that’s what I find intriguing about the play and how it’s written. I think everyone can relate to each of the four family members in different ways, as well as the variety of other characters that visit the store. Growing up second generation in an immigrant Asian family, I can definitely relate to both [the Kim’s adult children] Jung and Janet’s characters and what they are going through in the play. But the parents of course are also so wonderfully written, in particular the part of [the father] Appa, who is such a fun role and an amusing take for the audience. On a personal level, I don’t have a strong relationship with my own father, so the storyline between Appa and Jung is particularly affecting for me. What are the differences you see between the Canadian series and the original play?
Well the TV series was inspired by the play, but there are differences. While the family and basic plot is similar, and
there are some scenes and sections of dialogue from the play peppered into various episodes of the series, particularly the first season, there are many differences. For instance, in the play, Jung left 16 years ago and in the series it’s only been about nine years, so the characters are all younger and at a different point in their lives. As each season has unfolded the series has expanded and grown and diverged more and more. There are some things in the play that are quite different, and probably can’t happen in the timeline of the series any more, almost becoming an alternate reality. I think TV audiences will be intrigued to see the play and these differences and what inspired the TV show. When did you hear about the Taproot Theatre production?
Scott Nolte notified me over a year ago that they were hoping to get the rights to do this American West Coast premiere and asked if I’d be interested in working on the project. I immediately and enthusiastically said yes and a few months later, the rights were confirmed. encorespotlight.com 13
How does co-directing work with Scott Nolte?
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I think it works really well. This is my first chance to work at Taproot, a theatre that I’ve admired for decades. Scott and I have known each other for many years. We have the same sensibilities and appreciation of theatre as well as the same take on Kim’s Convenience. He obviously knows the space really well, and of course I have a unique perspective for this play and we make a good team. As co-director, what’s your biggest challenge in preparing for opening night?
Well, as with any production I’ve helped direct, our biggest challenge is to create and present the best production of the play as we possibly can. We have an amazing cast. I think Seattle audiences are really going to enjoy this production. You know it’s going to be a good show when you’re still laughing and being moved to tears by the play deep into the rehearsal process, another testament to the brilliant script created by Ins. Our greatest joy will be to see Seattle audiences enjoying this timely and universal story of family love. It’s been so well received at every place it has been produced. I hope this show will be one of Taproot’s biggest successes.
Taproot Theatre’s production of Kim’s Convenience runs May 15 through June 22. In Collaboration w/
After Kim’s Convenience opens, Hsieh will be directing the West Coast premiere of Salty by AJ Clauss, a play about penguins and zookeepers, for ReAct Theatre at 12th Ave Arts.
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INFO & TICKETS SOUNDTHEATRECOMPANY.ORG Radical Hospitality - Tickets start at $5
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Rosemary Jones h as written about arts and culture in the Pacific Northwest for the Cornish magazine, Capitol Hill Times, Encore, Examiner.com and others. Additional work can be seen at rosemaryjones.com.
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) Antoinette Nwandu’s Pass Over will play at ACT Theatre May 31– June 23. This three-actor meditation on death, joy and survival is inspired in part by the classic play Waiting for Godot. Who wrote Waiting for Godot? a) Samuel Beckett b) Henrik Ibsen c)
George Kaufman
d) Tennessee Williams 2) This summer, June 6–30, Book-It Repertory Theatre will present Behold the Dreamers, based on Imbolo Mbue’s debut novel. The play centers around a family who has recently immigrated to the U.S. from Cameroon. Which of the following countries does not border Cameroon? a) Nigeria b) Chad c)
Gabon
d) Benin 3) Seattle Shakespeare Company performs classic plays for free in Puget Sound parks each summer under the banner of Wooden O. This year they will perform Romeo and Juliet and Twelfth Night. What popular movie is based on the plot of Twelfth Night? a) 10 Things I Hate About You b) A Knight’s Tale c)
She’s the Man
d) Warm Bodies 4) Bright Star will be performed at Taproot Theatre Company July 10–August 17. This new bluegrass musical was written by Edie Brickell and Steve Martin, who is an accomplished banjoist. In which movie did Steve Martin make his earliest film appearance? a) The Jerk b) The Absent-Minded Waiter c)
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
Banjo-mandolin (left) and banjos (right). 5) Also showing at ACT this summer is The Year of Magical Thinking (July 19–August 11) based on Joan Didion’s book of the same name. The role of the bereaved author will be played by Seattle stalwart of the stage Amy Thone. On which local college’s faculty does she sit? a) University of Washington b) Seattle University c)
Seattle Pacific University
d) Gonzaga University
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.
d) Another Nice Mess 1) a—Samuel Beckett. Waiting for Godot is Beckett’s own translation of his earlier play in French En attendent Godot and was first performed in 1955. 2) d—Benin. This country is located on the opposite side of Nigeria from Cameroon, which is bordered by six countries: Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. 3) c—She’s the Man. This 2006 teen comedy stars Amanda Bynes as a scheming soccer player, opposite Channing Tatum. 4) d—Another Nice Mess. Martin played a nameless hippy in this Smothers Brothers-adjacent project seven years before The Jerk. 5) a—UW. Amy Thone has won a Stranger Genius Award, three Gregory Awards and also teaches at Freehold Studio Lab and at Cornish College of the Arts. encorespotlight.com 15
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