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

The 2008-09 season

At a glance...

The Night Watcher by Charlayne Woodard—A one-woman show!

The Three Musketeers by Ken Ludwig—Swords, sexy men and hot ladies!

Boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb—A comedy about the end of the world!

You Can't Take it With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart—The classic comedy about love and a wacky family!

Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett—Starring Bill Irwin and on its way to Broadway!

Rollick by Christopher Evan Welch, James Palmer & Ron Carnell—A wild mash-up of theatre and rock!

The Seafarer by Conor McPherson—Irish drinking and the devil!

Betrayal by Harold Pinter—The story of a woman's affair with her husband's best friend, played in reverse!

A Winter People by Chay Yew—An adaptation of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, set it China!

Season ticket packages, complete with great subscriber benefits, start as low as $85! More info here.

Getting into character

So, we've just launched our 2008-09 season brochure. The concept behind it is pretty cool. We asked Rep staff to "play the parts" of some of the characters in the shows and set up three days of photo shoots. The pictures turned out funny, sweet and really genuine, which we hope reflects the season we have lined up. For a full list of plays, visit www.seattlerep.org. We're kicking things off with a really fun version of The Three Musketeers.

Anyway, you can see the brochure for yourself in a neat flash layout that will let you flip the pages here. And below is a slide show of behind-the-scenes photos and a short behind-the-scenes video I shot during the shoot for You Can't Take it With You. Enjoy!

Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter stars in circus-theater piece

Aurélia's Oratorio opens TONIGHT! Five Night Only!

You Should Know...
Performer Aurélia Thierrée is Charlie Chaplin's granddaughter

Her mother Victoria Thierrée Chaplin—herself a performer and co-founder of several European circus troupes—directed the piece

The show is 70 minutes of "dazzling stage illusion"

Seattle International Children's Festival is co-producing the show, but it's not for kids under 10. In fact Chaplin calls the show a fairy tale but one in which "a puppet commits suicide — but it's over in one second!"

Opens tonight and plays through May 11, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Seattle Center; $10-$35. Tickets at www.seattlerep.org or 206-443-2222.

Want more info?
Check out this preview article in The Seattle Times. Read about Aurélia's stint with British theatrical cult band the Tiger Lillies and what it's like to have your mother direct you in a solo piece.

Spitting, yoga and other mysteries of Troy revealed

You must must must read this interview from Ruby A. of Teen Tix. Teen Tix is a program that provides $5 theatre, art, etc. tickets teens. They also run a young critics program, and one of their young critics interviewed the three The Cure at Troy chorus members. Its is hilarious and charming.

Jon, Guy, and Ben have one very important thing in common: their first names are made of three letters, and that is an amazing feat in and of itself. But more importantly, depending on who you talk to, they also star as Chorus members in the play The Cure at Troy. The following is an interview with the three-lettered phenoms and all the magic, at Troy.

Continue reading the interview.

So...What did you think?

We went down to the lobby last night and asked people what they thought of The Cure at Troy. I'm not lying when I say that all the comments were really positive: I didn't edit any negative things out. And they came from both men and women from high school age on up, which is surprising considering this is a totally unique and different show with crazy singing, a giant mountain for a set and bare-chested men bathing in an on-stage mud pool...all adaptated from a Greek myth.

..

More info on the show, as always, at www.seattlerep.org

A force of nature

Last night was the official opening of The Cure at Troy. Amidst baklava and ouzo cocktails there was a lot of talk about the show. Clearly that's usually what happens at an opening night party, but this play seems to be causing much more conversation. It's a piece that some people are loving fiercely, calling the best piece of theatre they've ever seen. Other people aren't sure what to make of it. The show, after all, turns a Greek myth on its head.

These seem to be universal truths, though: Boris McGiver, playing Philoctetes, gives one of the most raw, gut-wrenching performances you'll ever see; the lighting design is out of this world, from the breaking of dawn at the beginning to the rock show ending; the set is epic and rooted in the story of the play—not just huge or novel for the sake of being huge or novel; and director Tina Landau has made some big, bold choices. It's a force to be reckoned with.

So. Thus ends our season. With a bang.

More info about Troy here.

A mountain out of, well, nothing

As promised, the ridiculously cool time lapse video of the The Cure at Troy 16-foot mountain being built in the scene shop and moved onstage. The set was designed by Blythe Quinlan, it took about three weeks to build, and you can see it live and in person (with hot bare-chested men crawling on it in real mud) April 3-May 3. I think that's all you need to know.

Things of note

There is a sign on the scene shop door that says "Do Not Enter. Foaming." They are spraying foam on a giant volcano, which is the major set piece for The Cure at troy. When I say giant I mean giant. This thing is enormous and covered with rocks and mud. Coming soon: a time lapse video of it being built.

The inside scoop from the rehearsal room is that the show is an action packed hour and a half. The inside scoop from the bare chested photo shoot is that the men in the cast are sexy. I am going to see if I can get my hands on one of those photos to prove it to you.

Other news of note: The How? How? Why? Why? Why? specialty cocktail is a delicious Salty Dog and the admin offices got a new microwave. You may think that's not exciting, but I'm here to tell you it really is.

Next season, plus some accordion!

Well. I apologize. This blog has been taking a big of a nap. Things got crazy around here as we started launching into our renewal campaign—with some awesome plays under consideration including a comedy about the apocalypse, one of my favorite comedies of all time You Can't Take it With You and a fun, fast and family friendly version of Three Musketeers (the U.S premiere!). Read all the titles here.

I've been scheming plans to make this blog better next season. For one, more artists (actors, directors, playwrights) writing. I know you love me, but I want to get you inside the rehearsal process. But until we get there, an update on what's new. Such as...

How? How? Why? Why? Why?
Kevin Kling's new show. It is amazing. We do audience surveys on every show, and the responses have been overwhelming. I would say 99% say they would recommend the show. We're getting comments like:

"Funny, touching, poignant and rates as one of the best plays I have ever attended."

"CALL THE BOX OFFICE IMMEDIATELY AND GET TICKETS. IMMEDIATELY."

"I have recommended this play to every single friend and close acquaintance I've spoken with in the last week. I told them how masterfully the story was interwoven with the music, and that it was easily one of the best plays I've ever seen."

Here are two videos, filmed during our hot dog roast in the scene shop to kick off the rehearsal process. In the first Simone Perrin, who plays accordion and sings in the show, does an awesome, awesome cover of Hank Williams' "Long Gone Lonesome Blues." In the second Kevin talks about what the title of the play means.

So a French maid walks in a bar...

We had our meet and greet for The Imaginary Invalid yesterday, and I just wanted to give you the inside scoop. This adaptation of Moliere's last comedy is going to be nuts. Lots of modern touches, a set with two giant turntables, a French maid, a "steaming sexpot," spontaneous music and a dance number in doctor scrubs (all of this, of course is subject to change, but it gives you an idea of what you're in for). The director David Schweizer said the theme of the production is expect the unexpected.

Also, the play—about a hypochondriac trying to get his daughter to marry a doctor so he won't have to pay medical bills—is packed full of both low and high brow humor (think witty double entendres and fart jokes). Keep an eye on the Rep web site for a bodily function joke contest and some wacky videos, possibly starring sock puppets.

John Aylward's broken toe

From the P-I:

John Aylward goes on despite a broken toe

Seattle actor John Aylward has every right to look glum. Earlier this week Aylward broke a toe on his right foot during a preview performance of "The Breach," which opened Wednesday at Seattle Rep.

The play -- really three plays in one -- centers on the lives of several people during and after Hurricane Katrina. Ironically, one of the characters Aylward portrays is a man with multiple sclerosis who doesn't have the use of his legs and must leave his wheelchair to swim to safety. Now, he says, life is at least partially imitating art. For another character who is ambulatory, Aylward now gets to use a cane.

From the playwrights...

Here's a short video of the three playwrights talking about the play and the politics of Katrina.

Keeping the light on

Happy New Year. Clearly one of my resolutions wasn't "blog more," but it's never too late to make that one, right? Sorry for the lag. The holidays happened and New Years happened and recovering from New Years happened...

But here we are. The Breach opens tomorrow night. If you haven't heard about it, it's a fascinating look at the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, pieced together by three different playwrights (Catherine Filloux, Tarrel McCraney and Joe Sutton). I saw the play last night, and was amazed at the world created on stage. There is a body of water stretching from one end to the other in which actors swim. There is a boat, there is rain.

But it's not a spectacle piece. Despite those elements, it feels simple. When there is a family stranded on a roof, your attention is on them, the horror and strangeness of the situation. David (Esbjonson, our artistic director) did a meticulous job directing. The play feels both monumental and very small and personal.

But more than that, The Breach has an even more important role. The playwrights have talked a lot about "keeping the light on" in New Orleans, and this play, no matter if you love it or hate it, does indeed keep our attention—here miles away in Seattle—focused on what's still happening in the south.

In the lobby we're selling art, music, jewelry, etc. with all of the proceeds going directly to New Orleans artists. It's pretty cool. On the cocktail front, we've got a Big Easy Collins made with an Absolut Vodka; the proceeds of that also go to rebuilding NOLA (and it's delicious).

The Latest

I didn't drop off the face of the planet, I've just been in Hawaii. Go ahead, hate me. It was 80 degrees and sunny. But, surprise, surprise, Seattle is not. Which, I guess, means it's a good time to head to the theater. So, before I head out for the night, I just wanted to catch you up on a few things.

1. Back Home Again: A John Denver Holiday Concert closes on Monday, Christmas Eve. I saw it last Sunday, and it is actually quite charming. You should know that it's a full-on concert, not a theatre piece, with a mix of Christmas songs and John Denver classics, and Mr. Denver won't be there. Because, he's you know, not living. But the music is great, many of the musicians used to play with John, there's a little twang, fiddle, and boot stomping, and it's the perfect sort of uplifting holiday entertainment to bring your family to. I know, I brought my parents and they loved it. And I even bought them tickets. You can get yours here.

2. We're gearing up in a big way for The Breach, a fascinating new piece by three playwrights responding to Hurricane Katrina with three different stories. We have some great actors already on board, including John Aylward (of ER and West Wing fame).

We also have a ton of great programming lined up to deepen our understanding of what happened in New Orleans during Katrina and what is still happening. Times-Picayune journalist and author Chris Rose is coming to speak, Elliot Bay Bookstore is hosting a reading, The 5-Spot, with a New Orleans-themed menu, will be offering diners discounts to the show, we'll be selling art from NOLA-based artists in the lobby (proceeds going right back to them), and plenty more. I'll keep you updated, and there will be a calendar on our website, but you heard it first, as they say.

3. It's still raining. Ugh.