Last month new and returning students, faculty, and staff gathered in the 75-year-old Penthouse Theatre to greet one another and the new school year. We do this every year, but this year, I realized, we stand at the center of a history reaching 75 years back—to the founding of the School of Drama--and, potentially (given the youth of the new students) 75 years into the future.
We’ve been talking a lot about our 75th anniversary…and it’s finally underway. At the end of September we held our first reading in the Lost & Founded series, produced in collaboration with UW World Series and One Coast Collaboration. This series celebrates the legacy of Seattle Theatre and the relationship between the School and its greater community. The connections were very much alive at the inaugural reading, honoring Alice B. Theatre, as co-founder Susan Finque is now a candidate in our PhD program. Next up, in November, alumnus Tim Bond will join us to celebrate the legacy of the Seattle Group Theatre. Stay tuned.
In this e-newsletter, you’ll read about Jennifer Lupton, who graduated with an MFA in scenic and lighting design in 1980. Happily, Jennifer is back, working with MFA directing student Sean Ryan on his staging of Loot.
This year, we’re highlighting the bridges between our past and future, our school and its surrounding community. Every day, for the past 75 years, our students, faculty, and staff have been building these bridges. We’ve featured just a few here. Happy reading!