On Saturday April 4th from 1-4pm be part of Satori training! We’re opening our doors so that you can get an inside look at how we prepare for rehearsal and performance. This is your chance to get involved with a local theatre, meet local artists, and to have fun with a group of people who are trying something new.
Our training is a dialogue and we want you to be part of this conversation!
During a three hour session you’ll push physical boundaries while playing with creativity and imagination. These trainings have been collected from around the world and challenge artists to find new expressive abilities.
Wow. Sounds like a good time, huh? Don’t miss it! Contact Training Manager Adrienne Clark (adrienne@satori-group.com) for more details (and to RSVP!)
A big thank you to all who came out to see our (SOLD OUT!) opening night of TRAGEDY: a tragedy. For those of you who didn’t come, you missed a sold out show followed by drinks and revelry and such. Good times all around. I think co-director Adam Standley said it best when he said, “I kinda can’t believe that this play which I’ve had in my head for a year and a half became that show on this night. Awesome.”
So, you missed it? Whoops. But! There is good news! We have more shows!
So come and see the show that someone on my Facebook feed said is “good, and you should see it.”
TRAGEDY: a tragedy, running through April 5th. BUY TICKETS HERE.
The Washington Ensemble Theatre’s adaptation of Titus was named a top show to look forward to in 2009 by the Seattle PI. We heartily agree!
Titus opened Friday May 15th. We’re going to be there and so should you.
Titus features the work of five Satori members
Come out and party with Adam Standley, Anthony Darnell, Alex Matthews, Andrew Lazarow, and Clare Strasser during Titus.
For more information or to purchase tickets visit: http://www.washingtonensemble.org
TITUS
by William Shakespeare
directed by Katjana Vadeboncoeur
adapted by Washington Ensemble Theatre
May 15 - June 15
Thurs. - Mon. @ 8 PM
Political prisoners. Atrocious acts of violence and betrayal. Are there monsters in our midst, or just decent people driven to do the unthinkable by unthinkable situations? Shakespeare’s TITUS ANDRONICUS is known for being his bloodiest revenge drama, yet beneath the guts and gore lies an extremely personal narrative of grief and loss, told through some of the most beautiful words in the English language. Haunting, beguiling, and human, this is TITUS like you’ve never seen it before.
Clare Strasser
Whenever I am in the middle of designing a set, that’s exactly where I am. I forget about the end of the process a little bit. I forget about building and painting the set, and about load in. I end up getting lost in the space I am creating onstage, in the relationship between actor and other physical objects onstage.
But then when I approach the end of the process, ie the building and painting part, I rediscover the another reason why I am in theatre: the actual manifestation of the design. The building part of this journey was a little bumpy at times, (I’m not about to go into it here) but now we are to the painting part…my favorite part. 
There is something really satisfying about watching colors mix on a really big canvas. Sure any artist probably gets the same satisfaction as they are creating, but there is something more to scenic painting.
Take the floor I’m painting for example. It has its own story to tell, one that is in service to the greater production, but it needs to stand alone too. Its an old floor, one that has lived through many people traveling in an out of this room. But if you were to look closer, you could see places that are more worn than others, where people have paced up and down, or maybe boards that have been replaced. In a way its telling both the current story of the news team, but is also hinting at the history of the room. Which is kinda cool.
There’s a lot going on for Satori this month. We’ve got Tragedy: a tragedy opening. And we’ve got even the unlikeliest of sports fans getting amped for the Roller Derby.
If that’s not enough for you this month, here are my picks of some other events to check in March.
Jubilee at Neumos w/ “The Republic” and the Banyas.” Monday March 9th.
Jubilee is a great local band that I met after seeing them play at the Triple Door. They’re friends with Satori, and we’re talking about collaborating together on an original play that Satori plans to show next year. (More on that later!)
Jubilee’s music is laid back and upbeat, using songwriting styles from across the world. They have the normal rockband make-up (Guitars, drums, bass, vocals) plus a piano player and a cellist. If you have a chance look up their album Love is on the Rise
They’re the only band I’ve seen that is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Half of their sales are donated to charities and groups that combat human trafficking and contemporary slavery across the world.
If you want to hear good local music, and know that you’re supporting a good cause, head over to Neumos. I’ll see you there.
Peace Love and Fashion Show, Thursday March 12 at The Showbox.
I’m the kind of guy who follows fashion. I cried a little inside about being across the country during Feb’s New York’s Fashion Week. Really I just want to see one of Thom Browne’s shows in person.
But this month we have the annual runway show put on by the Art Institute of Seattle. Peace Love and Fashion will feature the work of the Northwests’ most innovative designers. It’s produced by Joan Kelly, known for running the “Fashion First” show.
If you felt removed from fashion week, this is a pretty good substitute.
The Broadway Festival, put on by SIFF and Pacific Northwest Ballet. March 12-March 22.
I always get weird looks when I admit I’ve never seen West Side Story. So now is my chance to check it out. For those of you who know it, you can check it out on the big screen.
This month SIFF is screening 3 films based on Broadway musicals to complement PNB’s festival.
They are:
“On Your Toes,” A film version of the musical from the late 1930’s by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
“Carousel,” the 1956 film of the Rodgers and Hammerstien musical that ran 890 performances when it opened on Broadway. The film stars Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones.
“West Side Story,” the 1961 film of the musical by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim which won 10 Oscars including Best Picture.
Visit SIFF’s website for all the details.
Let’s get this straight: I am not a person who likes sports. My whole life I’ve weathered the questions (“You’re from Boston? So you love the Red Sox?” “You’re so tall! You must play basketball,” “Why do you look so funny when you run?”), shrugged, and kept on typing. It’s not that I don’t appreciate athleticism – as a dancer and a physical actor, I certainly have met and befriended The Burn. I can understand, though, why folks might be surprised by the unspeakable and all-consuming passion I feel as a spectator at the Roller Derby.
This sport (yes, a sport, played by true athletes, who are dedicated and fierce) does something to my insides that no sport has managed to do before. I have my favorites – girls whose Derby Names and Numbers I know by heart, and who I can’t imagine meeting in Real Life. They are rock-stars; my heart gets stuck in my throat when they take a bad spill. I elbow my straight male friends every time Juliet Bravo does so much as toss a braid (“Isn’t she dreamy?? Marry her.”). And I find myself counting, my eyes following the group endlessly in circles as they lap the rink, unable to stay in my seat or keep my squealing to a respectable level.
Plus, there’s beer.
With Rat City’s move this year to a brand new home in The Key Arena, they have the opportunity to expand their audience and fan base immensely. The Arena suits them, so far – the energy these women bring to the table can fill a stadium – and I’m looking forward to seeing how they embrace the vastness of space, sound, and lighting that they weren’t confronted with in the old Hanger. That, of course, speaks to the other side of Roller Derby: the pure theatricality of it all. With four teams in varied “uniforms”, mascots (for both the league itself and the teams) looking a range of ridiculous, and a smattering of bombastic hosts high stepping around the Arena, there is no part of this event that doesn’t contribute to the spectacle.
The next Bout is on Saturday, March 7th (doors at 4:30 pm), and most of Satori will be there, probably inebriated, definitely waving signs. I hereby encourage you, mysterious reader, to get out of your house early on Saturday, hop down to the Seattle Center, and join me in the glory that is Rat City.
TRAGEDY: a tragedy, a play by Will Eno; March 26th - April 5th
Buy tickets at Brown Paper Tickets Now!
