Gees Bend

Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PA I D
Seattle, WA
Permit No. 333
P.O. Box 30946
Seattle, WA 98113-0946
Between The Lines
Volume 17, Issue 1
Taproot Theatre Company’s Subscriber Newsletter
Address Service Requested
The Production
By Daytona Strong - Communications Manager
A story of courage, hope and beauty
Taproot Theatre Company opens its 2009
Mainstage season this month with the regional
premiere of Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder’s celebrated play, Gee’s Bend, a story of courage and
hope spanning over 60 years in the African
American community of Gee’s Bend, Alabama.
Between the Lines
Gees Bend
,
By Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder
Directed by Karen Lund
Corresponding with Black History Month,
this play captures the rich story of the women of Gee’s Bend, many of whom are descendants of the slaves who used to live on
the plantation located there. The women of
this community have become known for
their distinctive quilts: pieces of old, tattered clothing transformed into works of
art that are now displayed in museums.
Taproot Theatre’s
Subscriber Newsletter
Inside:
• About Gee’s Bend
• Get to know actor Geoffery Simmons
• A Taproot Theatre wedding
• Find out who’s playing Morrie and
Mitch in Tuesdays with Morrie
… And more!
Welcome to Taproot’s 2009 Season!
I hope you enjoy this first edition of BTL for 2009! Inside you’ll find lots of helpful information for you as a subscriber, plus details on our upcoming production, Gee’s Bend. Please feel free to contact me with feedback or topics you’d
like to read about in future editions. I’d also like to encourage you to check out the online version of BTL; just e-mail
me with “Online BTL” in the subject line to sign up. We’re happy to have you as a subscriber this season!
Daytona Strong
Communications Manager
daytona@taproottheatre.org
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“Them quilts could tell stories these people’ll
never know,” says the main character, Sadie,
whom we see grow up throughout the course
of the play. “Little pieces of our lives sewn up
in those quilts. Little pieces of our history.
We made them, cause we had nothing else.”
“I think this play comes at the perfect time
in our country’s history,” said director Karen
Lund, “especially with the tough economic issues ahead for everyone. The people of Gee’s
Bend faced these same issues repeatedly and
have prevailed. With President Obama being
sworn in, it’s also a great time for us to look
back at the tragedy of our past racial relations
and begin to celebrate how far we’ve come.”
Gee’s Bend is the celebrated play that won
the playwright the 2008 M. Elizabeth Osborn New Play Award from the American
Theatre Critics Association. It premiered at
the
Alabama
Shakespeare
Festival in January 2007, and has received
strong
positive
audience
response.
Faith Russell, Tracy Michelle Hughes, Geoffery Simmons and Samantha Rund in Gee’s Bend. Photo By Erik Stuhaug.
Bend are so poor they reuse scraps of fabric er Richard Schaefer. Anne Hitt serves as
to create quilts and put newspapers on their stage manager and Katrina Moore as drawalls to keep out the drafts. The main char- maturg. Edd Key is the musical director.
acter, Sadie, is inspired when she encounters
Martin Luther King, Jr., and is determined to
Performance Information
take a stand for equality, no matter the cost.
“It’s very encouraging to see that this community has repeatedly faced challenges and
triumphed over them, and that this small
rural area has become world renowned for
the way the people stand up against every type of problem—from slavery to economic depression to racial discrimination,
and even now to modernity and how they’re
dealing with modern times,” said Lund.
Gee’s Bend features a talented cast of Taproot newcomers and familiar faces, including Samantha Rund as Sadie; Tracy Michelle
Hughes; Geoffery Simmons, last seen at Taproot Theatre as Jim in last summer’s Big River:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; and Faith
Russell, who will be remembered for her roles
The play speaks to the courage and hope of in Taproot’s productions of Doubt: A Parable
people who’ve fought for equality in times and Big River, among others. The producof segregation, and those who’ve perse- tion team includes scenic and sound devered through economic difficulties. During signer Mark Lund, costume designer
the time the play is set, the people of Gee’s Sarah Burch Gordon and lighting design-
Previews: January 28 & 29
Friday Opening: January 30
Running: Wednesday–Saturday
through February 28
Show Times
Wednesday & Thursday, 7:30 p.m.
Friday & Saturday, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday Matinee, 2:00 p.m.
Box Office Information
206.781.9707
box@taproottheatre.org
Tuesday–Saturday, Noon-5:00 p.m.
On performance days, the box office
phone is answered until 30 minutes
prior to show time.
Recommended for ages 12 years and above.
Children under 5 are not admitted.
Approximate running time:
90 minutes, no intermission.
Gee’s Bend is sponsored in part by the Tacoma Art Museum; their gerous support is providing the resources for the
women of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, to be present at Taproot Theatre’s post-play discussion on February 18. Gee’s Bend is
staged in partnership with the Northwest African American Museum. Support for Taproot Theatre’s 2009 season is generously provided by 4Culture; ArtsFund; The Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences; PONCHO; and Washington State
Arts Commission. Thanks to Romio’s Pizza and Pasta, our Special Thursday Pizza Nights sponsor.
Between the Lines
Volume 17, Issue 1
Spotlight on Actor Geoffery Simmons: Q & A with Gee’s Bend’s Macon
A: I was surrounded by music as a kid and
eventually knew I wanted to perform professionally.
Geoffery Simmons (Macon) with Samantha Rund
(Sadie) in Gee’s Bend. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.
Q: Many of our patrons remember you as
Jim in Big River; please describe some of the
things you enjoyed about your experience
last summer and tell us what you’re looking
forward to about performing in Gee’s Bend.
A: As a whole the theatre company is fantastic to work with. Exploring Jim’s character
was exhausting in the approach of leaning
what it meant and cost for black folks who
were enslaved during that time, but ultimately helped me grow as an actor. Working
with Karen was a joy and I’m ecstatic to work
with her again.
Q: What interested you about Gee’s Bend?
A: Exploring the psychology of those who
Patrons who came to last summer’s produc- lived through and shaped such a large,
tion of Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry influential and richly spiritual part of our
Finn will remember Geoffery Simmons as Jim, American culture throughout a very difficult
a role that earned him rave reviews by critics, time of reform.
including one who projected that Simmons Q: When you’re not on stage, how do you
will be performing on Broadway within the spend your time?
decade. This time, Simmons plays Macon, the A: I don’t have a lot of free time but I spend
husband of the main character, Sadie. Born to time riding my motorcycle, enjoying movies
football legend Ahmad Rashad, Simmons was and plays, writing songs and trying to keep
born and raised in Western Washington, and up with family.
has been performing in the area for the past
four years. He’s also performed as far away Q: What else about you would our subscribas Tokyo, in Mariah Carey’s Butterfly tour. ers find interesting?
A: I am collaborating with Ben Sherman to
write a play which we will be developing into
Q: You’ve been performing since you were a
a one-man show.
child; what inspired you to start acting and
singing?
Geoffery Simmons ( Jim) with Robbie Fowler
(Huck) in Big River: The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn. Photo by Erik Stuhaug.
Quilts from Gee’s Bend
Wikipedia Article on Gee’s Bend
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gee%27s_Bend
Books
To us at Taproot, live theatre presents an incredible opportunity to explore the
beauty and questions of life. We don’t underestimate the impact the arts can make
in our lives, attitudes and perceptions of the world around us—theatre can certainly create invaluable and memorable experiences. In 2009 we’re kicking off our first
full season of library preview events at the Greenwood branch of the Seattle Public Library and hosting other special show-specific events throughout the season.
Shortly before each Mainstage show in our 2009 season, we’ll host an event
at the library, during which you can hear from both the director and the cast and
see early renderings of the designers’ visions for the show. The next library event
takes place on Saturday, January 17, at 5 p.m. for Gee’s Bend. Then mark your calendar for the library event for Tuesdays with Morrie: Saturday, March 14, at 5 p.m.
- Inside Gee’s Bend at the Northwest African American Museum - January 24, 5 p.m.
Join director Karen Lund, the cast of Gee’s Bend and members of the Pacific Northwest African American Quilters at one of Seattle’s newest museums, which explores
the history, art and culture of African Americans in the Pacific Northwest. PNAAQ
is partnering with the museum for an upcoming exhibit of quilts.
-Post-play discussions with the Pacific Northwest African American QuiltersWednesdays (February 4,11 & 25) *
Representatives from the Pacific Northwest African American Quilters will be at
Wednesday post-play discussions to give a Northwest perspective on quiltmaking
among African Americans. Members of PNAAQ have built a quilt that will be seen
at Taproot Theatre, and the association is also providing several other quilts to be
displayed and auctioned off during the run of Gee’s Bend.
-A special appearance by quilters from Gee’s Bend, AL – Post-play discussion on
February 18*
Thanks to the Tacoma Art Museum for their generous support, which is providing
the resources for them to be here.
Parking Update
with
“Housetop” variation by Mary L. Bennett, 1965.
“Roman Stripes” variation by Deborah Pettway
Young, 1960.
by
Morrie
JEFFREY HATCHER
MITCH ALBOM
&
based on the book by
Pull up a chair and
join professor
MITCH
ALBOMMorrie for
some of the greatest lessons life can offer.
March 25 - April 25
The Quilts of Gee’s Bend: Masterpieces from a Lost Place
By William Arnett, Alvia Wardlaw, Jane Livingston, John Beardsley
Tinwood Books 2002
“You have to go after life and embrace it! And
when you do, sometimes life will embrace you
back in ways you never imagined! - Morrie
Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt
By Paul Arnett, William Arnett, Bernard Herman, Maggi Gordon, Diane Mott, Dilys Blum,
Lauren Whitley, Amei Wallach, Joanne Cubbs
Tinwood Books 2006
Subscribers’ Scoop: You’ll see Taproot Theatre
favorites Nolan Palmer (Susan and God, Over the
River and Through the Woods) and Aaron Lamb
(As You Like It, The Importance of Being Earnest)
as Morrie and Mitch in this production.
Page 2
Meet Mr. & Mrs. Morache
Taproot Theatre’s group sales representative Marie ‘Frederickson’
Morache and assistant production
manager Dustin Morache on their
wedding day, January 11, 2009.
Although they both graduated from
SPU, Marie and Dustin met and fell
in love at Taproot Theatre. Photo by
Mark Morache.
Helpful Information for Subscribers
Tuesdays
The Quilts of Gee’s Bend
http://www.quiltsofgeesbend.com/
Video of Gee’s Bend Women singing gospel
in Kansas City
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uf2BcfcpYY
Special Events in 2009
Up Next at Taproot Theatre:
Online Resources
Freedom Quilting Bee
http://www.ruraldevelopment.org/FQB.html
Volume 17, Issue 1
*Ticketholders for any Gee’s Bend performance may attend these post-play discussions. Simply bring your ticket as
proof to be admitted.
Additional Resources for Gee’s Bend
NPR story on Gee’s Bend
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.
php?storyId=4184856
Additional Special Events for Gee’s Bend:
A list of resources compiled for you by our dramaturg for this production, Katrina Moore.
Multimedia
Between the Lines
Photos from: http://www.auburn.edu/academic/other/geesbend/explore/catalog/slideshow/index.htm
Parking is now available directly behind the theatre in the old McDonald’s
parking lot in spaces marked “TTC
Only.” Parking is also available along
the south side of the Fred Meyer parking lot, closest to 85th Street. Fred
Meyer is located just one block from
the theatre on 85th and First Ave. N.W.
Street parking is also available, as well
as a pay lot on 85th behind WaMu.
Keep checking regularly with Taproot for updates regarding the current
neighborhood changes in Greenwood.
Additional Discounts
Remember, subscribers can purchase
additional tickets for friends and family at a special subscriber discount.
More Information
For information on lost and found,
concessions, volunteering, making
donations and more, visit the Patron Services page on our website at
http://taproottheatre.org/helpful-information-for-you/.
Subscriber Direct Line
206.781.9706
Calls will be answered or returned within 24
hours, Tuesday-Saturday 12-5 p.m.
Subscriber needs can also be
handled through
box@taproottheatre.org.
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