Seattle Beckett Festival to Welcome Bill Irwin

Cornish College of the Arts, in association with the Seattle Beckett Festival and Seattle University, presents master actor and clown Bill Irwin for an evening of performance and conversation about the works of dramatist Samuel Beckett. Irwin will perform selections from Beckett's canon and discuss his work on the major plays and adaptations with Marcie Sillman, KUOW senior host.

Bill Irwin has a long history with the works of Samuel Beckett including performing Beckett's Waiting for Godot on Broadway and at Lincoln Center; adapting Beckett's Texts for Nothing for the stage; and playing Hamm in Endgame at the American Conservatory Theater in 2012.

"We're so thrilled to have Bill Irwin join us for the Seattle Beckett Festival," said George Mount, artistic director of Seattle Shakespeare Company and festival organizer. "His connection to Seattle and Beckett goes back to Waiting for Godot at The Rep in 1996. During the early planning stages of the Festival, the theatre groups participating talked about bringing in a noted national artist associated with Beckett's works. Bill Irwin was our top choice but we didn't think it could actually happen. We couldn't be more excited."

Irwin's long and rich association with Seattle Repertory Theatre also includes Largely New York (1989), Moliere's Scapin (1995) and Fool Moon (1998), which was presented at the Fifth Avenue Theatre.

In 2012, Irwin was the featured performer at the Cornish annual gala, An Evening of the Arts. As part of this year's trip, he also will be giving workshops for Cornish and Seattle University students.

"This is an incredible opportunity for our students and we're thrilled to be part of this event," said Richard E.T. White, chair of theater at Cornish College of the Arts.

Seattle Shakespeare Company and Theatre Puget Sound, in conjunction with 15 Seattle based arts organizations make up the Seattle Beckett Festival 2014. The festival, which runs from August through November, features play performances and readings of Beckett's poetry and prose, screenings of his films, master classes on Beckett, pop-up performance events, presentations of the radio plays, and more.