First rehearsal for The Night Watcher

We’re happy to welcome actress/playwright Charlayne Woodard and director (and long-time former Seattle Rep Artistic Director) Daniel Sullivan into the Seattle Rep building for the start of rehearsals.

During our first "Meet and Greet" of the season this morning, we got the low-down on the set (some cool projections on a really awesome wall of venetian blinds, but mostly plenty of room for Charylane to tell her amazing stories), and got to hear from Charlayne herself. "I call it The Night Watcher because I feel like in the dark times in my life I've always had someone who showed up with the light and got me from a to b to c," she said. The Night Watcher is her collection of stories about the children she's mentored and guided in her life as an aunt and godmother. The piece, she told us, is a way to pay homage to all the aunts and uncles who step in to help raise the children in their lives.

The Night Watcher opens Sept. 25.

Jerry Manning Promoted to Acting Artistic Director

If you haven't heard already, our current Artistic Director David Esbjornson announced a few months ago that he would be stepping down after three season here at the Rep. We are about to launch an extensive search for a new AD, but in the interim longtime Casting Director Jerry Manning will take over as Acting Artistic Director. Here's the official word:

Seattle Repertory Theatre announced today that Jerry Manning will take the helm as Acting Artistic Director at Seattle Rep. Manning has been with Seattle Rep for over eight years where he has served as Casting Director while juggling multiple assignments in producing the work on all three of the company's stages. Manning directed Thom Pain (based on nothing) leading off the Leo K. Theatre season in 2006 and will direct Boom this year. Before joining Seattle Rep in 2000, Manning served as Artistic Associate at the New York Theatre Workshop. While Manning will be assuming the position of Acting Artistic Director, Braden Abraham will assume responsibilities as Manning's principal associate in addition to those that he currently holds as Literary Manger.

The theatre is currently evaluating its organizational model to determine the appropriate artistic and business management structure for the future. That process will be completed before beginning a search for a new artistic director. Current Artistic Director, David Esbjornson, had announced earlier this spring that he would not be renewing his contract. "David has contributed significantly to the growth and strength of our artistic productions and to the caliber of the work we present to our audiences," says Board President Jane Zalutsky. "As we begin this leadership transition, we are confident that Manning will support Seattle Rep's artistic vision with his characteristic passion and diligence and his considerable experience as a theatre practitioner. With his strong ties to the community, we are assured that Jerry will lead this organization through an exciting season, which will further secure Seattle Rep's position in the forefront of Seattle's theatre community."

Seattle Weekly Loves Our Brochure

The Seattle Weekly ran an article about how cool our season brochure is, with our Seattle Rep staff members photographed as characters in the upcoming shows. Sweet, right? Check out the article here and the brochure here.

Cast Announced for The Three Musketeers

Fourteen actors, many of them local, will draw swords for our new adaptation of The Three Musketeers:

Jim Abele, Cardinal Richelieu
Geoffrey Alm, Father/Treville/Ensemble
Hans Altwies, Athos
Jeffrey M. Bender, Porthos/Ensemble
Cheyenne Casebier, Milady/Ensemble
Montana von Fliss, Sabine/Ensemble
David Goldstein, Ensemble
Jennifer Sue Johnson, Constance/Ensemble
Ellen Karas, Queen Anne/Ensemble
Kate Kraay, Ensemble
Shawn Law, Rochefort/Ensemble
Mike Rossmy, Ensemble
Ryan Shams, Aramis/Ensemble
Andrew William Smith, D’Artagnan

New Seattle Rep Website

We've launched the new Seattle Rep website. Black and white and red all over. Check it out. Coming soon: a brand new online magazine.

Mid-summer check-in

OK, so it's been a while. I don't call, I don't write. I know. But you should know that in my absence, I've been scheming ways to make the blog and the Rep's internet presence way better. Actors, directors, designers blogging. An online magazine. Podcasts. So, I hope the wait will be worth it.

In the meantime...

Because of some scheduling conflicts, we've replaced A Winter People in the coming season with Carrie Fisher's new one-woman autobiographical show, Wishful Drinking. I just read it. It's so funny and a bit shocking, all about her crazy Hollywood childhood, drug abuse and, of course, Star Wars. Here's the description:



Let Hollywood legend Carrie Fisher take you on a hilarious, shocking and totally true ride through her own Hollywood party…and hangover. With the same unflinching wit that made her book Postcards from the Edge a bestseller, Fisher dishes on her unbelievable life: Debbie Reynolds is her mother, Paul Simon was her husband (for a while), and in between battling addiction and vacationing in various mental institutions, she happened to star in a little film called Star Wars. Fisher’s tale is a tabloid vivant the Los Angeles Times calls a “Beverly Hills yard sale of juicy anecdotes.”

Tickets go on sale August 18 at (the newly redesigned) www.seattlerep.org

I promise more to come soon with casting info—there are some awesome people lined up already.

—Joanna