Fifth Avenue Theatre
The Play's the Thing
Despite the allure of high tech entertainment choices, 500 cable television options, and the Hollywood movie industry, live theater is still alive in America. And Seattle is one of its hotbeds. Yes, you read that right, Seattle. With more than half a dozen resident professional companies, two large hosts for touring productions, and a myriad of fringe theaters, Seattle has been a mecca for theater artists for more than forty years.
The Intiman theater has generated such critically acclaimed plays as "The Kentucky Cycle" and "Light in the Piazza". And Seattle has attracted such theater talents as the late playwright, August Wilson and Tony-winning musical theater composer Adam Guettel. Seattle's Fifth Avenue theater has collaborated in the creation of two popular Broadway musicals, "Hairspray", and "The Wedding Singer".
But artistic success doesn't necessarily translate into financial solvency. Most of Seattle's big theater companies have been struggling to balance the books. Intiman Theater, recipient of the 2006 Tony Award for Regional Theater, is carrying almost a million dollars in accumulated debt. Two other companies, ACT and the Empty Space Theater, have managed to pull themselves back from bankruptcy, but their financial futures are far from secure.
In the five-part series, The Play's the Thing, KUOW's Special Projects Reporter/Producer Marcie Sillman looks at Seattle's rich theater community and the challenges to its future health.
Written and produced by Marcie Sillman, with research assistance from Robin Dean and technical help from Derek Wang. The series was edited by Steve Scher.
Intiman won a Tony in spring, 2006. Laura Penn (l) and Bart Sher (r).
Seattle: A Theater Town
Monday, October 23, 2006
It's been sixty years since Ethel Merman serenaded Broadway with Irving Berlin's ode to the theater world. These days, television, movies, the Internet all vie with live performance for audiences. Despite the competition, American theater is still alive, in centers like New York, Chicago, and Seattle. Today, in the first story in a five part series about the struggles and strengths of Seattle's theater community, KUOW's Marcie Sillman brings us this overview. More »
ACT company members.
Money: A Tale of Two Theaters
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Make no mistake, there's a reason they call it show business. They may be nonprofits, but according to a recent study by Artsfund, Seattle theaters are a significant local industry. In 2003, the major companies sold more than two million tickets, and generated more than five thousand jobs. Those figures are big, but doing business as a nonprofit theater is tenuous at best. Two of Seattle's oldest companies found that out the hard way. KUOW's Marcie Sillman reports in the second part of her series on the strengths and struggles of Seattle's theater community. More »
Lauren Weedman & Allison Narver of The Empty Space Theatre rehearsing, 'Bust'. Photo by Chris Bennion © 2006.
I Will Survive: Four Seattle Actresses
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
The hours are long, the pay is low and rejection is a constant. So why would anybody want a career in theater? And yet, hundreds of Seattle actors audition for roles every year. Some of them manage to support themselves fulltime in theater, others stitch together a patchwork quilt of jobs to make a living. In the third story in her series on the strengths and struggles of Seattle's theater community, KUOW's Marcie Sillman brings us this look at what it's like to try to make it as a Seattle actress. More »
Seattle Repertory Theater's first season production of King Lear.
Who's that Man Behind the Curtain?
Thursday, October 26, 2006
If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a small army to put on a play. Behind every cast of actors you see onstage, you'll find a crew of artists and technicians who've created everything, from the set to the costumes. Theater work has attracted hundreds of skilled professionals to the Puget Sound region. From carpenters to tailors, they're part of a thriving industry that provides living wage jobs. In the fourth part of her series on the stregnths and struggles of Seattle's theater community, KUOW's Marcie Sillman takes us on a backstage tour. More »
Seattle Children's Theatre Drama School students.
The Future
Friday, October 27, 2006
Sometime in your life, you've probably sat around a campfire eating s'mores and sharing scary stories with your friends. You can think about theater as a bigger campfire circle. The audience gathers together to watch actors share all sorts of stories. scary, funny, and tragic. But it takes more than a pile of firewood and some marshmallows to make good theater. You need money, it's true. But more than that, theater is all about the relationship between the art and the audience. In the final story in her series on Seattle's theater community, KUOW's Marcie Sillman reports on local efforts to keep theater vital. More »
