Victor Pappas News

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre announces a jam packed summer and fall with shows that cover a broad range of theatre. Finishing out the Mainstage season with three powerhouse Seattle Premieres, ACT presents Gina Gionfriddo's Pulitzer Prize finalist Rapture, Blister, Burn; followed by Will Eno's Middletown; and closing with Sir Alan Ayckbourn's American Premiere of Sugar Daddies - where the theatre legend himself will travel to Seattle to direct. In our Central Heating Lab, where ACT partners with other groups to produce new and exciting alternative theatre, AZEOTROPE returns with a double-header performed in repertory, and Das Fallopia makes their ACT debut with Ham for the Holidays. Fans of new works who love to delve into the developmental process will have plenty to see with ACT's New Play Award, The Construction Zone, and Icicle Creek Theater Festival.

It's a fine line between a biting familial dramedy and diving head first into the realm of back biting reality TV. One lends itself to insightful views on the nature of parent/child dynamics and the other has an overweight little girl spewing forth "Oh no she di'in't" like a circus act to make the viewers feel better and superior about themselves. Luckily Jon Robin Baitz searing play "Other Desert Cities", currently playing at ACT, falls into the category of the former. Yes, the family can get pretty vicious at times but you can also see the heart and compassion through the barbs bringing out the power of the piece.

Conservative parents and their Liberal children square off in Jon Robin Baitz's thrilling drama, Other Desert Cities.

Artistic Director George Mount announced Seattle Shakespeare Company's plans for 2013-2014 that include the return of director Sheila Daniels and the company directing debut of Rosa Joshi and Victor Pappas.

Announcing ACT - A Contemporary Theatre's New Play Award: Red Earth, Gold Gate, Shadow Sky by Mark Jenkins is the recipient for 2013. ACT has also committed to producing the play in the 2014 Mainstage season. Jenkins' play is a harrowing tale of a Cambodian family who lives through the American bombing of Southeast Asia, survives the horrors of the killing fields and the brutal Khmer Rouge regime, struggles to adapt as immigrants in modern Seattle, and has to fight for a place in America where incarceration and deportation are a constant threat.

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre single tickets go on sale to the public for all 2013 Mainstage shows February 12, 2013. ACT is offering 50 percent off of adult price tickets for all Mainstage preview shows throughout the season for one-day only February 12. ACT also shares a glimpse of the casting for the first half of the upcoming Mainstage season.

ACT has announced some of the casting for the first half of the upcoming Mainstage season. ACT's own Artistic Director Kurt Beattie gets back on the boards alongside Jeff Steitzer, Marianne Owen, Julie Briskman, and Laura Kenny in Assisted Living. In Other Desert Cities the critically acclaimed Marya Sea Kaminski makes her ACT debut going head to head with television actress Pamela Reed (Parks and Recreation, Kindergarten Cop) who is a UW Drama alumni and Washington resident. Many other notable local actors will be returning to ACT or making their debut including Jessica Skerritt, Matt Owen, Lori Larsen, Suzy Hunt, Aaron Blakely, and Kirsten Potter to name a few. See the current listing of committed artistic and production talent below.

I should really start off by apologizing, dear readers, as I'm about to share with you a production that you cannot see. Alas it only showed for one weekend but for those like myself who were fortunate enough to catch Showtunes' latest production, "Falsettos" then you realize that, even though it was simply a concert version, it is now the production to which all future productions of the show must be compared.

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre presents a full-scale theatrical celebration of the works of modern master and Nobel Prize Laureate Harold Pinter. Famous for his biting humor and a favorite of professionals, scholars, and people who like their humor on the darker side, ACT looks to introduce the city of Seattle to many of Pinter's lesser known and rarely produced works in its Pinter Festival, running today, July 20 - August 26, 2012.

ACT - A Contemporary Theatre announces a full-scale theatrical celebration of the works of modern master and Nobel Prize Laureate Harold Pinter. Famous for his biting humor and a favorite of professionals, scholars, and people who like their humor on the darker side, ACT looks to introduce the city of Seattle to many of Pinter's lesser known and rarely produced works in its Pinter Festival, running July 20 - August 26, 2012.

A show that is largely monologue narration is difficult to pull off at best. They have a tendency to fall into static rhythms rather than engaging stories. Such was the pitfall of ReAct Theatre's current show "A Language of Their Own" by Chay Yew. And while the show did have a tendency towards that rhythm I mentioned, it also manages some lovely moments and tells a heartwarming tale of what happens when love is denied.

Seattle's ACT - A Contemporary Theatre announces that the casting and directors for the summer of 2012 Pinter Festival have been finalized. Performances begin in July when eleven actors perform a double-bill of The Dumb Waiter and Celebration, then adding Old Times and No Man's Land to the schedule in August. Distinguished British director Penny Cherns will direct No Man's Land and nationally renowned actors Peter Crook and Frank Corrado appear in multiple productions alongside such Seattle favorites as Anne Allgood, Julie Briskman, Darragh Kennan, Charles Leggett, and more.

It's almost over! There's just THREE days of voting remaining for the 2011 Seattle Awards and here is the latest update! Have you voted yet, and helped to spread the word to support your favorites in the hopes that they will be the recipients of a 2011 BroadwayWorld Seattle Award? There is no time to waste, click on the voting link and make your opinion count! Below are the stats so far as of Monday December 26, 2011. Voting ends at midnight on 12/31 so time is running out.

There is no time to waste, click on the voting link and make your opinion count! Below are the stats so far. Voting ends at midnight on 12/31 so time is running out. Click Here to Vote Now!...

There's just 4 weeks left to go in voting for the 2011 Seattle Awards and here is the latest update! Have you voted yet, and helped to spread the word to support your favorites in the hopes that they will be the recipients of a 2011 BroadwayWorld Seattle Award? There is no time to waste, click on the voting link and make your opinion count! Below are the stats so far as of Tuesday November 29, 2011.

Voting is now well underway for the 2011 Seattle Awards and here is the latest update! Now, it's time for you to get out and vote for your favorites in the hopes that they will be the recipients of a 2011 BroadwayWorld Seattle Award. No time to waste, click on the voting link and make your opinion count! Below are the stats so far as of Monday November 23, 2011.