Dear Friends,
As part of the Seattle Shakespeare community, I wanted to share some exciting news with you: this morning Seattle Shakespeare and ACT Theatre announced that we are exploring the potential of merging our two theatre companies.
We have had a vision for years of finding a theatre home for Seattle Shakespeare, one that is a hub for classical work, a welcoming space for audiences and for artists, a constant engine of reinterpretation that respects the legacy of these plays, a place of creation that revitalizes our city from within. The combination of the two theatres would create a new entity while preserving both Seattle Shakespeare’s brand of robust classic theatre and ACT’s contemporary vision, respecting the histories, identities, and visions for both theatre companies in the amazing performance venue that is Eagles Auditorium.
What has made Seattle theatre incredibly special over the years is the sense of collaboration and collegiality among the different theatre organizations. This is what makes Seattle one of the most important cities for theatre in the country, and the heart of this powerful community began with the leadership of Greg Falls, founder of ACT. It is especially exciting to explore a merger between these two companies, with nearly 100 years of combined theatrical service in Seattle, to create something stronger, more vibrant, more impactful than either alone for artistic community, our city, and our region.
As my colleague, John Langs, Artistic Director at ACT wrote: “This is not only about ACT and Seattle Shakespeare, but also about the city of Seattle. What better way to assist in the revitalization of downtown than to join together the forces of two storied arts organizations into our historic Seattle landmark building. We see this as a first step to becoming an arts center in the heart of the city. We feel this is out of the box, collaborative thinking where all parties benefit, and that the real winner will be this great city.”
While exploring this opportunity, we continue to work toward a summer of Wooden O, with Shakespeare in the parks, with our production of Two Gentlemen of Verona directed by award-winning local director Kelly Kitchens. Performances will run from June 27 to August 4 at parks throughout the area. You can view a schedule at https://www.seattleshakespeare.org/woodeno/.
We also anticipate having season tickets available for our 2024-2025 series soon; the season will begin with Love’s Labour’s Lost at the Center Theatre this fall.
As we move forward in exploring this opportunity, we want to hear your thoughts. Please feel free to contact us at feedback@seattleshakespeare.org.
Thank you!
All the best,
John Bradshaw
Executive Director