The Seattle Repertory Theatre is one of America's largest and best-known professional, resident theatres. Internationally known for it's consistently high artistic and technical standards, the theatre was awarded the 1990 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Now entering its 36th season, Seattle Rep attracts an average of nearly 20,000 season ticket holders each year, and serves an annual audience of nearly 200,000 people.

Seattle Repertory Theatre strives to create theatre with the highest standard of artistic excellence. By developing a body of work by the finest playwrights, directors, and actors, Seattle Repertory Theatre attempts to challenge and entertain our audience with plays and productions that reflect the human experience in all its complexity.

THE LIVELY NORTHWEST CULTURE

Seattle lays claim to a lively arts scene. Seattle's symphony, art museum, opera and ballet companies are known throughout the country, but the glory of the city is its theatres. When trustee emeritus Bagley Wright and the founding trustee members established Seattle Repertory Theatre, the city was a remote outpost of the theatre world. Thirty-six years later, Seattle Repertory Theatre is an organization of national prominence at the head of a thriving theatre scene. There are seven professional theatres in the city along with a multitude of alternative and fringe theatres.

OUR BEGINNINGS

Seattle Repertory Theatre opened in 1963 in response to a heightened community interest in supporting a professional theatre company. During our first two decades, Seattle Repertory Theatre played in the Seattle Center Playhouse, a legacy from the Century 21 world's fair. In 1977, the city passed a bond issue, which included funds for a new facility--the Bagley Wright Theatre. In 1983 Seattle Repertory Theatre opened its 21st season in its new home, which is recognized as one of the finest producing facilities in North America.

The Bagley Wright Theatre seats 566 on its orchestra level and 290 on its mezzanine. The main floor is only 18 rows deep, and the mezzanine is only 32 feet from the proscenium stage.

Ground breaking for additional performance space, the Leo Kreielsheimer Theatre, began in the fall of 1995 and opened to great public acclaim in January 1997. Named after a native northwest benefactor, the Leo Kreielsheimer Theatre (Leo K.) contains 192 seats in the orchestra, 94 balcony and box seats and a state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment.

PROGRAMMING

Theatrical fare at Seattle Repertory Theatre ranges from classics to contemporary works with an emphasis on entertaining, affecting plays of true dramatic and literary worth. Although the theatre is in operation year-round, performances run from October through May.

Seattle Repertory Theatre is also committed to the discovery and development of new dramatic literature. Of the nearly 1,000 scripts submitted to the theatre's nationally recognized New Play Workshop Series, two to four are selected each year for further development. Readings and staged presentations of these new works take place in the 199-seat PONCHO Forum.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Seattle Repertory Theatre's community outreach and education programs include an annual state-wide school tour; in-class teaching artist residencies; "Careers in the Arts" seminars; teacher workshops; student matinees; study/curriculum guides; scholarship tickets; and post-performance discussions.