In partnership w/ UW World Series and One Coast Collaboration
A series of five free, public readings of representative plays from seminal Seattle theatres of the past. As part of the School of Drama’s 75th Anniversary, we’ll be celebrating the Seattle theatre community of which we’re an integral part. The reading series will pay tribute to inspiring companies no longer up and running: Alice B. Theatre, Bathhouse Theatre, Empty Space Theatre, Northwest Asian American Theatre, and the Seattle Group Theatre.
SEPTEMBER 28, 2015
Our series kicks off with a celebration of the Alice B. Theatre and a reading of The Night of the Tribades by Per Olov Enquist, directed by Susan Finque. Reception will follow the reading.
The Night of the Tribades
by Per Olov Enquist
Directed by Susan Finque
The Night of the Tribades, set in Copenhagen in 1889, portrays the reunion, after a long separation, of the eccentric August Strindberg, his ambitious ex-wife Siri von Essen, and her alcoholic lesbian friend Marie Caroline David at a rehearsal of Strindberg’s one-act play The Stronger. This powerful drama, based on Strindberg’s own letters and writing, depicts the conflict between the social and sexual role of a dominant male and a woman’s right to assert her own humanity.
CAST
Jillian Armenante- Marie
Julia Prud'homme - Siri
Burton Curtis - Strindberg
Zach Virden - Viggio
Justin Huertas - Photographer
ALICE B. THEATRE
The Alice B. Theatre was Seattle's first theater ensemble dedicated solely to work by gay and lesbian playwrights. Playwright Eric Des O'Del (formerly known as Rick Rankin) first sensed the demand for gay theater in Seattle after presenting an original show at New City Theatre in 1984, and then (with Sandra Nelson) organizing the city's first Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival. He co-founded the Alice B. with director Susan Finque in 1985 as "a gay and lesbian theater for all people."
The ensemble, never had its own theater facility, yet produced full seasons of shows at Broadway Performance Hall and Theatre Off Jackson. They also hosted gay drama festivals, bringing in such nationally known artists as Quentin Crisp, Split Britches, and Marga Gomez.
According to The Seattle Times (at the time of its dissolution): "Alice B. was one of the hottest alternative troupes in town" between 1985-97, with a mixed audience of young gay men and lesbians who mingled with older straight couples to cheer performances of the company's nostalgic '30s musical, The Gay Deceivers.
COMPLETE SERIES DATES
September 28, 2015: Alice B. Theatre
November 9, 2015: Seattle Group Theatre
January 25, 2016: Bathhouse Theatre
February 8, 2016: Northwest Asian American Theatre
March 14, 2016: Empty Space Theatre