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800 Maynard Ave S, Suite 200, Seattle, WA 98134
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This:
"But they got booted from the Rep's PONCHO theater (its smallest stage) to an obscure rehearsal room that wasn't big enough to hold all 50 folks. Why'd it get booted? The people from Fences wanted to use the PONCHO for a rehearsal.
So a performance of a new play (a reading is a quasi-performance) got demoted from a stage to a rehearsal room so a rehearsal could move to a stage. See how that works? It's a small thing, but it's the kind of small thing that happens too often and indicates (and exacerbates) the bad blood between the big houses and the locals."
is kind of inaccurate.
These days (and past decade) the Poncho Forum is used as a rehearsal space for all shows that go up in the Bagley Wright. So while the Poncho is a performance space, during the rep's season it's really more of a rehearsal space. We do rent the space out to other theatre companies (mine included) and we produce workshops and reading in there from time to time. The rehearsal room you mention is meant for/was built for/is called the Leo K. Rehearsal Hall. It's shape and size is closer to the shape/size of the Leo Stage (I say is closer because it's actually smaller).
Point of trivia: Before the Leo Kreielsheimer theatre was built all Bagley shows were rehearsed at either the Center House (4th floor) or the "Mountaineers" space (down by Homewood Suites). The Poncho Forum was very much a second albeit smaller stage back then.
Thanks, John. We're sure to make progress now, with you delivering iced tea to the entrenched in their trenches. Should be a nice comfortable battle for them.
Dead playwrights everywhere rejoice! John Longebaugh feels your ghostly pain and will protect you from the big bad living playwrights of Seattle.
Uhh...what? The board of NPA, not just me thank you very much, believes that Brendan mischaracterized Monday's reading, and as a group we composed this letter. Then they all signed off on it.
Paul, sometimes you're throwing punches at the right people. Sometimes you're throwing punches at the wrong people. Right now, you're just shadow-boxing.
More important, though, is the growing energy around building pipelines. There are many ways to do it, and I think that there is soon going to be great movement in this direction. Let's put our energy there.
There, NOW all five of your readers have responded.
And I suppose that speaks to my larger point. There's a lot of talk of "partnership" but the partnerships are not even close to equal, as exemplified by the fact that if a playwright dares ask the question of why such a move in venue took place or complain that it did, said playwright is shouted down as a half-cocked "shadow puncher".
Fact is, I spend a lot of time in the trenches, as an actor and playwright with other actors and playwrights. And every single one of them that I mentioned this venue change too was demoralized by it. Anecdotal? Of course, but the Big Houses tend to dismiss all unhappiness as grumbing while holding up programs like this reading series as proof of their commitment to new works. So I guess one could say that they are NOT doing it out of the kindness of their hearts, but that in fact, they get something out of it. If they get something out of it, then it is not wrong to ask that they satisfy appropriate terms of respect in return.
Clarity and parity will be achieved when they finally admit in their own hearts, and not just play lip service to, the fact that they need playwrights just as much if not more than we need them.
We'll get there. I know we'll get there.