@dramatistsguild @DuaneKelly

There are a number of playwright groups in Seattle, ranging from private four to six-member assemblies to larger groups hosted by Seattle Repertory and The 5th Avenue theater companies. Perhaps the largest and most inclusive local group is Seattle Playwrights Circle. Begun seven years ago, the group went through a major transition last year in name, leadership and mission. Guild members John C. Davenport and Glenn Blumstein now lead the organization, which has 15 or so active members. The group focuses on supporting writers working on new scripts.

SPC hosts member meetings for readings of scripts in process, with writers reading the roles, followed by a discussion. The group also presents a public reading involving a director and actors, on the first Sunday of every month in the lecture room at Seattle’s famed Elliott Bay Book Co. These readings attract 20 to 50 audience members and are followed by a talk-back. In July SPC is spreading its wings by producing a one-act festival at Phoenix Theatre.

SPC is open to new members; interested parties should contact John Davenport at john.c.davenport@gmail.com. The group’s primary social media presence is a Facebook group page for Seattle Playwrights Circle.

An exciting structure was added to Seattle’s theatre scene early this year with the debut of two brand new stages in the central Capitol Hill neighborhood. 12th Avenue Arts, as the building is named, features two stages – 149 and 80 seats – and three resident companies: Washington Ensemble Theatre, Strawberry Theatre Workshop and New Century Theatre Company. Their inaugural productions were, respectively, Sprawl (a world premiere written by Josh Conkel), a terrific production of Our Town, and The Flick by Guild member Annie Baker.

12th Avenue Arts is part of a $47 million multiuse project that includes street-level retail, 88 apartments units, offices for nonprofit organizations, a community meeting space, and underground parking for an adjacent police station (whatever gets produced on these stages are not likely to erupt into riots on the streets outside). It’s heartening to see local government support the arts as it has done so admirably in this project.

Laura Penn, Executive Director of the national Society of Director and Choreographers (SDC), hails from Seattle where she held management positions at theatre companies and worked alongside many fine directors, including Dan Sullivan, Doug Hughes and Bart Sher. Laura’s Seattle roots bring her back here occasionally. During a trip here in January she participated in a first for the Seattle region – a joint DG/SDC meeting. Ralph Sevush, the Dramatists Guild’s Executive Director of Business Affairs, joined Laura in a discussion moderated by Todd London, formerly head of New Dramatists and now leader of the University of Washington’s School of Drama. About 25 directors and an equal number of playwrights heard Ralph and Laura describe the difficult and constructive process that recently culminated in a joint DG/SDC statement addressing the thorny subject of playwright/director collaboration agreements. Linda Hartzell, SDC’s regional rep, hosted the meeting at Seattle Children’s Theatre, where she is the Artistic Director.

dkelly@dramatistsguild.com

Photo (above): Duane Kelly introduces Todd London, Ralph Sevush and Laura Penn at Seattle meeting.