On Sale Now! The Williams Project’s
Thought-Provoking New Production of Tony Kushner’s
A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY
October 25 – November 18 at Hillman City CollaboratoryA story about the struggle between conscience and comfort – how much are you willing to sacrifice for your beliefs? All tickets pay-what-you-can and available now.
Seattle, WASH. (September 5, 2018) – The Williams Project today announced that single tickets to its production of Tony Kushner’s A Bright Room Called Day, directed by Ryan Guzzo Purcell, are on sale now. Set in Germany in the early 1930s, during Hitler’s rise to power, A Bright Room Called Day follows a group of ordinary Berliners. This circle of friends, all artists and activists, resembles Seattle today: diverse, theoretically progressive but largely comfortable, unsure how bad things will get, struggling between practicality and militancy, idealism and realpolitik. As their story unfolds amidst a gathering national storm, Kushner’s prescient work tackles questions of community and civic responsibility that will sound eerily relevant in our time and place. How should everyday people engage with politics in a dangerous time? How do we know what tactics to use? How do we build coalitions, despite our differences? The Williams Project’s A Bright Room Called Day will run October 26 – November 18, 2018 at the Hillman City Collaboratory in South Seattle – all tickets are pay-what-you-can and available now at TheWilliamsProject.org.
“It’s a play about politics, and creeping fascism, so of course everyone will say it’s about Trump,” says Artistic Director Ryan Guzzo Purcell. “And, I guess it kind of is. But this play is amazing because it was written thirty years ago. Tony Kushner predicted our present political moment not because he knew Trump was coming but because he understood how the stories Americans tell themselves might someday clear the way for someone like Trump. And so, the play becomes about us. About Seattleites, in 2018, and what we need to do to change ourselves, our city, and our country. And because it’s Kushner, this play finds a way to rigorously engage that debate and still be funny and sexy and theatrical and human.”
Building upon The Williams Project’s commitment to making theatre that sparks civic discourse and connects communities, performancesof A Bright Room Called Day will feature partnerships with other local nonprofits and advocacy organizations, highlighting for audiences ways of becoming more civically engaged. After specially-designated performances, stay to talk with representatives from partner organizations about how their work makes a difference in Seattle communities and how you can get involved. Look for updates on these non-profit partnerships in the coming weeks at TheWilliamsProject.org.
About the Venue
The Hillman City Collaboratory is a social change incubator, where community forms across boundaries and visionaries bring their dreams to life. The Collab is a cooperative, multi-purpose space shared by grassroots organizations and individuals who care about social justice, creative expression, and community building. The Collab strive to be an instrument of transformation, providing a built environment and programming that supports community and equips change-makers. Learn more at hillmancitycollaboratory.org.
FOR CALENDAR EDITORS
WHAT:
A Bright Room Called Day
By Tony Kushner
Directed by Ryan Guzzo Purcell
A new president has just come to power by the slimmest of margins. Though his rhetoric is alarming, democratic institutions are strong and the opposition is looking good heading into the next election. This is Berlin, in 1932. In Agnes Eggling’s apartment, a group of artists and activists struggle between their conscience and their comfort, trying to decide how much they are willing to sacrifice for their beliefs. First produced in 1985, this prophetic play by Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning playwright Tony Kushner is a wake-up call and warning for contemporary America, posing timely questions about citizenship, resistance, and complicity. In Williams Project fashion, this production will partner with local nonprofits and activist organizations to connect audiences with new avenues for civic engagement in their communities. All tickets are pay-what-you-can and available now at TheWilliamsProject.org.
WHERE:
Hillman City Collaboratory
WHEN:
October 25 – November 18, 2018
Thursday-Sunday (with two exceptions, there is no performance on Thursday, October 8, and instead there is a performance on Monday, October 12).
Show begins at 7:30 p.m. (Saturday and Sunday matinees are at 2:00 p.m.)
Opening Night is Friday, November 26, 2018. Media Invite to come.
All seating is general admission. Learn more about The Williams Project’s inclusive approach to ticket pricing here: http://www.thewilliamsproject.
SOCIAL:
Facebook – /TheWilliamsProject
Instagram – @TheWilliamsProject
About The Williams Project
The Williams Project is a theatre ensemble that strives to make theatrical excellence accessible to diverse and engaged audiences, while paying our artists a living wage. The writing of Tennessee Williams shapes our vision of theatrical excellence, so we strive, like him, to create theatre that is:
- Entertaining enough to make everyone feel welcome and a part of the community;
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Ambitious enough to risk humiliating failure;
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Powerful enough to move people to love each other more, even in the face of the temporary nature of theatre and life.
The Williams Project strives to make theatre in a manner consistent with our belief that professional artists are vital to our culture, and that such artists deserve to be compensated in a way that recognizes their value. Great theatre artists sacrifice greatly to make important work, and we pay our artists a living wage in order to support that work.
This production of A Bright Room Called Day is supported, in part, by grants from 4Culture/King County Lodging Tax, the Washington State Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts. The Show Sponsor for A Bright Room Called Day is Verity Credit Union. KUOW is this production’s Media Sponsor.
Seattle offers an extraordinary array of arts and cultural events throughout its diverse neighborhoods and communities. The Office of Arts & Culture’s Neighborhood & Community Arts (NCA) Program supports creativity at a grassroots level by investing in recurring festivals or events that promote arts and cultural participation, celebrate diversity, build community connections, and enhance the visibility of neighborhoods through arts and culture.
The summer musical is an opportunity for local teens to perform on the big stage while learning the business side of theater operations. It allows them to connect, communicate and exchange ideas with youth from other backgrounds and cultures. Summer musical participants earn a stipend for rehearsals and performance during this 9-week summer program. The teen summer musical theater experience is just one more way to captivate our youth while they are in the “hope stage” of their development into young adults. 
Presented by Seattle Parks and Recreation’s Get Moving Initiative, Big Day of Play will be held on Saturday, August 18 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Rainier Playfields and Community Center (4600 38th Ave. S, Seattle WA 98118).
Transform your cultural awareness at Seattle Center Festál: BrasilFest, noon – 7 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 19, at Seattle Center Armory, Mural Amphitheatre and Fisher Pavilion Rooftop. BrasilFest introduces the broader community to this dynamic and diverse culture, whose homeland is known as the melting pot of South America, with live music, dance, visual exploration, authentic foods, ethnic items for sale, workshops, demonstrations and hands-on learning for kids and adults.
Bellevue Arts Museum is celebrating the 72nd BAM ARTSfair next weekend, July 27, 28, & 29 at Bellevue Arts Museum and Bellevue Square. BAM ARTSfair features thousands of original artworks, an exciting mix of community programs, free admission to BAM, live music, and more. Whether you’re a seasoned art aficionado searching for the next piece to add to your collection or are just looking to have some fun, BAM ARTSfair is a destination for everyone who loves art. Plus, it’s free.
Free programs include community art-making, live performance art, and the ever-so-messy KIDSfair. The Sound & Movement Stage features local musicians and artists from 4Culture’s Touring Arts Roster, and the BAMboozle Stage features local music and dance for kids. Admission to BAM is complimentary throughout the entire festival.The first BAM ARTSfair was held in 1947, attracting 30,000 people to the then small town of Bellevue. Both the city and the Fair have grown over the years. Today the Fair attracts hundreds of thousands of people to Bellevue over the final weekend of July and provides a viable marketplace for over 300 independent makers each year. Notable artists including Dale Chihuly, Chuck Close, and Patti Warashina have all participated over the years as well as a number of up-and-coming craftspeople and artists. Bellevue Arts Museum is proud of this unique legacy and looks forward to hosting BAM ARTSfair for many years to come.
Live Aloha Hawaiian Cultural Festival
Seattle Fiestas Patrias
The Italian Festival, 10 a.m.–7 p.m., Saturday and 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 29-30, Armory, Fisher Pavilion and Seattle Center Pavilion, underscores the culture’s influences, achievements and culinary expression in our region. Highlights include: The Swingle Kings live from Perugia, Italy in their first American appearance; celebrity chef Marco Sciortino headlining a lineup of Italian cooking demonstrations; Opera for Kids, four, free 30-minute performances of an interactive version of the beloved opera classic “Hansel & Gretel“; a grape stomping competition and the ever-popular – and expanded – Food Court & Vendor Market. Festaseattle.com.
