Intiman Theatre Festival facts for kids

The Intiman Theatre Festival is a famous theater group in Seattle, Washington. It was started in 1972 by Margaret "Megs" Booker. She named it after a theater in Stockholm, Sweden, run by a writer named August Strindberg.

Intiman Theatre wanted to focus on having a group of actors who worked together often. They also wanted to stay true to what the playwright (the person who wrote the play) intended. They aimed for a close connection between the actors and the audience. Because of this, Intiman soon became known as "Seattle's classic theater."

Their first season in 1972 included plays like Rosmersholm and The Creditors. Many talented people have worked at Intiman. This includes Tony-nominated director Bartlett Sher and Tony-nominated actress Celia Keenan-Bolger. Even movie actor Tom Skerritt has performed there.

Intiman Theatre was also where the musical The Light in the Piazza first showed before going to Broadway and winning a Tony Award. In 2006, Intiman won a special Regional Theatre Tony Award for its great work.

In 2011, Intiman Theatre decided to take a break to plan for the future. They wanted to create a new way of working that was strong financially and artistically. After getting ideas from artists, audiences, and the community, Intiman started its first summer theatre festival in 2012. This festival was led by Andrew Russell and Keri Kellerman.

The festival featured four plays and a group of 17 actors. These actors played more than 40 different roles! In 2013, the Intiman Theatre Playhouse building was renamed the Cornish Playhouse. It is now managed by the Cornish College of the Arts.

In 2017, Phillip Chavira became Intiman's first Executive Director. He was also the first person of color to lead the organization. At the end of 2017, Andrew Russell finished his time as Artistic Director. Jennifer Zeyl then became Intiman's seventh Artistic Director.

Intiman Theatre: A Look at Its History

The courtyard of the Intiman Playhouse building in 2009.

Intiman Theatre first started in a small 65-seat theater in Kirkland, Washington. In 1973, under the leadership of Megs and John Booker, Intiman officially became a non-profit theater. This means it's a group that uses its money to support its mission, not to make a profit for owners.

Over the next few years, the company performed plays at different places in Seattle. These included Cornish College and Gary Austin's Second Stage Theatre. More and more people came to their shows, and their budget grew each year. By 1978, Intiman was known as "Seattle's Classic Theatre." It had a group of fourteen actors who worked together regularly.

In 1977, Intiman opened offices in Pioneer Square. They hired Simon Siegl as their first general manager. Besides their main season of five classic plays, Intiman also started a program called "New Plays Onstage." This program featured readings of new plays by their actors.

Over the next few years, Intiman received important grants. These included money from the King County and Washington State Arts Commissions. They also got a special grant from the NEA.

In 1982, Intiman took part in "Scandinavia Today." This was a big international event about Nordic culture. It happened in five American cities. Intiman presented readings of new plays and two classic plays: The Wild Duck and A Dream Play. They worked with top directors and writers from Scandinavia.

Meanwhile, the Second Stage, where Intiman had performed for nine seasons, was going to be torn down. This was to make way for the Washington State Convention Center. For several years, Intiman did not have a permanent home. They rented different places around the city for their shows.

Things changed a lot after 1985 when Peter Davis became Intiman's first managing director. Davis had worked as a designer for theaters before. He completely reorganized Intiman's money and how it was run. He successfully arranged for Intiman to use a theater building at Seattle Center.

This building, called the Seattle Center Playhouse, was built for the 1962 Seattle World's Fair. It had been the first home of the Seattle Repertory Theatre. In 1982, the Rep moved to a new building. Intiman received a 22-year lease from the City for this building.

After a $1.2 million renovation, in 1987, Intiman finally had its own place. It had areas for performances, rehearsals, and offices. As they moved into their new home, Intiman hired a new artistic director, Elizabeth Huddle. She worked there for six years. Then, Warner Shook took over in 1993.

In 1994, Intiman became the first regional theater to be allowed to produce Tony Kushner's famous play Angels in America. This play won both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. Part One closed Intiman's 1994 season, and Part Two opened the 1995 season.

Directed by Warner Shook, Angels in America was a huge success for the theater. More than 63,000 people saw it over its two-year run. Over the next ten years, Intiman produced plays by many important American writers.

Recent Intiman Theatre Productions

• The American Cycle was a project Intiman finished in 2008. It was a series of five plays based on important American stories. Four of these were not originally written as plays. They included:
  • Thornton Wilder's Our Town (2004)
  • An adapted version of John Steinbeck's novel The Grapes of Wrath (2005)
  • An adapted version of Richard Wright's novel Native Son (2006)
  • An adapted version of Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird (2007)
  • An adapted version of Robert Penn Warren's novel All the King's Men (2008)

• A new project, The New American Cycle, started in 2009. It began with Robert E. Sherwood's play Abe Lincoln in Illinois.

• From 2008 to 2010, Intiman went through a change in leadership. In April 2011, the theater's board decided to temporarily close Intiman Theatre. They had found the theater was in debt. They started a fundraising effort to pay bills and reduce debt. The board decided to close temporarily to plan how to reopen in 2012.

• On August 5, 2011, the first performance of Seattle Theatresports took place. This show had previously been performed at the Gum Wall Theatre.

• The 2013 Summer Festival featured several plays:
  • "Trouble in Mind" by Alice Childress
  • "We Won't Pay! We Won't Pay!" by Dario Fo
  • "Lysistrata" by Aristophanes
  • "STU For Silverton," a new musical about Stu Rasmussen. He was America's first known transgender mayor.

• The 2016 Summer Festival included:
  • "Stick Fly" by Lydia R. Diamond
  • "Wedding Band: A Love/Hate Story in Black and White" by Alice Childress

• The 2017 Summer Festival featured:
  • "Barbecue" by Robert O'Hara
  • "Dragon Lady," a new musical by Sara Porkalob

Notable Intiman Artists

Many talented artists have worked at Intiman Theatre. Here are some of them:

• Bartlett Sher – He was the Artistic Director from 2000 to 2010.
• Craig Lucas – He served as the Associate Artistic Director.
• Tom Skerritt – A well-known actor.
• Stacy Keach – Another famous actor.
• Reiko Aylesworth – An actress.
• John Aylward – An actor.
• Celia Keenan-Bolger – An actress who has been nominated for a Tony Award.
• Patti Cohenour – An actress.
• Laurence Ballard – An actor.
• Jeanne Paulson – An actress.
• Barbara Dirickson – An actress.
• Jean Smart – A famous actress.