History of Seattle Public Theater
At the turn of the 20th century, Seattle’s City Council approved a plan to commission the Olmstead brothers to develop Green Lake as a park. The lake and surrounding area attracted residents not only for its varied recreational opportunities but also for its entertainment venues. In 1950, the Aqua Theater was built at the south end of the lake for Seattle’s first Seafair. It featured productions as varied as the Aqua Follies, a variety show set in and on the lake, and concerts by Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead. The 5,000 seat amphitheater was demolished in 1979 but a small section of the original grandstands remains.
Further north on the lake was the Green Lake Bathhouse. Built in 1927, the bathhouse drew bathers and swimmers to Green Lake by offering a gathering place to change and shower. In 1970, the city took over the bathhouse and converted it into a public theater. The theater was managed by the parks department and hosted a variety of performances, including theatrical productions from Company 70.
In 1980, Arne Zaslove and his Floating Theater company moved into the space. The newly named Bathhouse Theater became a first home for many notable Seattle actors. Unfortunately, after many years of producing shows, Bathhouse Theater struggled for funding and went dark in 1999.
During the same time period, Seattle Public Theater was coming into its own. Late in the 1980’s, four new-to-Seattle artists (Mark Fullerton, Bob Marion, David Baum, and Beth Amsbary) rented a small space on the fourth floor of the Oddfellows building on Capitol Hill and founded the Seattle Public Theater. It was a vibrant time for the arts in Seattle, giving birth to the Grunge rock movement and a crop of ambitious fringe theaters.
For a decade, the company worked out of Oddfellows Hall with a resident season, touring productions, and experiential education programs. The resident season nurtured new talent and plays, serving as a point-of-entry for upcoming Seattle theatre artists. The tours grew to national prominence, due to the intriguing presentation of timely topics. The company was the Pacific Northwest’s inaugural site for Augusto Boal’s landmark educational techniques to awaken and empower. Washington State Legislature declared ???as “Seattle Public Theater Voter Registration Day.”
Seattle Public was a leader in sparking innovative collaborations from its beginning. In 1991, the Seattle Fringe Theater Festival was born following a meeting convened by Seattle Public and was operated under our fiscal umbrella. It was the first and largest fringe festival in the U.S. for many years. Seattle Public also instigated a gathering of other local small companies to form a professional association, the League of Fringe Theaters, the forebear of today’s Theatre Puget Sound.
In 1999, Seattle Public was selected by the city to become the resident company at the Bathhouse Theater. During the past twenty-five years, Seattle Public has staged over one-hundred productions for tens of thousands of audience members. Like all theaters, Seattle Public has weathered its share of ups and downs.Through it all, we have remained a creative home for Seattle’s theatre artists and a community space for Seattle residents.
In 2023, Amy Poisson (formerly the Artistic Director of Macha Theatre Works) took over the helm as Producing Artistic Director. Amy brings with her three decades of experience as a director, producer, stage manager, and arts leader. By nurturing local artists and audiences, Amy envisions a community space that will continue to grow through creative partnerships and be a home for everyone to gather to experience and support art of all kinds.
Seattle Public Theater’s name affirms our goal to be a theater for the people and by the people.
History of Our Productions
History of Special Presentations
History of Affiliated Theaters
-
Co-founded in 2001 by Kristina Sutherland Rowell and Desiree Prewitt, the company's original name, Macha Monkey Productions, was chosen in memoriam to a dear friend whose adopted wild spider monkey provided excellent storytelling fodder and inspired our founders.
-
It started with thirty women in an apartment, reading from scripts and singing with a keyboard. After a successful fundraising campaign, and a sold-out cabaret, a “What if” conversation turned into the nation’s first fully realized all-female production of 1776.
After repeatedly hearing, “Within the first five minutes, I forgot you all were women!”, we knew we had something special. If an audience could suspend its disbelief while watching a woman play Thomas Jefferson or Benjamin Franklin, what else could we attempt?
Reboot strives to find where context breaks the story.
-
Seda Iranian Theatre Ensemble was founded in 2019 as the first Iranian theatre company in Seattle, USA. We named our ensemble Seda – which means ‘voice’ in Persian – because we believe that every human has a voice, and every voice deserves to be heard. We chose the name Seda as we aim to create an opportunity for refugees and immigrants whose voice cannot be heard. In a world where the powerful majority controls the mainstream media and is the dominating voice, theatre is an incredible place to be seen and heard. Theatre is created out of nothing: all it takes is a viewer and a performer. The stage could be a house, a performance hall, an alley, or an abandoned warehouse. At Seda Theatre, we want to amplify and give voice to the issues and stories of immigrants by creating work on stage and through imagination and art. We will teach and learn.
-
SIS Productions is a production company that strives to create, develop and produce quality works that involve Asian American women, their themes, and Asian American issues. SIS Productions encourages opportunities and support for Asian American women to be involved in all aspects of the production of artistic endeavors.
-
The Habit is a comedy troupe from Seattle, WA. The Habit writes their own sketch comedy and stage shows, and produces a comedy podcast.