Amid mergers and layoffs, how is Seattle's theater scene doing?

There has been an onslaught of news in Seattle’s theater community. 

Earlier this year, Seattle Rep announced it was laying off the majority of its artistic staff. The non-profit theater’s subscription base is half of what it was before the pandemic.

And that isn’t the only change in the theater world: The 5TH Avenue Theatre is shutting down its new works program. ACT Theatre is exploring a merger with Seattle Shakespeare.

Now, to be clear, these aren’t the only theaters in town, there are many, many smaller theaters throughout King County, like Second Story Repertory in Redmond, and Green Lake’s Seattle Public Theater which has merged with Matcha Theatre Works.

But for major players like the Rep, 5TH Ave, Village Theatre, and ACT, the climb out of the pandemic has been tough.

Guests:

• John Langs, Artistic Director of ACT Theatre
• Sheila Daniels, Assistant Professor at Cornish College of the Arts
• Aviona Rodriguez Brown, Associate Director of Engagement at 5TH Avenue Theatre and founder and CEO of ARB Consulting Arts.

Relevant Links:

• Seattle Times: Seattle Rep layoffs to include majority of its artistic staff
• Seattle Times: ACT Contemporary Theatre and Seattle Shakespeare Company may merge soon
• Seattle Times: John Langs, artistic director of Seattle’s ACT Theatre, to step down

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that Seattle Theater Group merged with Matcha Theater Works; the organization that merged with Matcha Theater Works is called Seattle Public Theater.

An earlier version of this podcast also stated that Seattle Rep and Seattle Children's Theatre merged. This overstates the recently announced partnership between these two theaters. Seattle Children's and Seattle Rep have instead combined forces on a few functionalities like box office, IT, and database administration.

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