A Conversation on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Tacoma's Theatre Community

SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 2020 at 7:00pm

CLICK HERE TO JOIN

Please be a part of the first in an upcoming series of conversations about Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (JEDI) in Tacoma's Theatre community. While we wish we could be meeting in person, these events will be held via Zoom until it is safe to do otherwise.

The first conversation will be discussing our community and where we see ourselves today and how we can continue to grow and be stronger.

Each subsequent conversation will focus on specific areas of JEDI.

These gatherings are for Tacoma's artisan community to come together and make sure that we are all doing our part to make the arts representative of our community. Please be respectful to others and the purpose of this forum. We hope for these to be productive conversations that will generate respectful, forward looking dialogue.

To register, please click the button below

GEORGE MCCLURE, MD

2019 ANNUAL FUND DRIVE

Dear Friend of Tacoma Little Theatre: 

Our next century has begun, and with it being our 101st, what better way to celebrate than with “A Season of Firsts”. It’s our first time performing each of our seven mainstage shows, and the first time that we are remodeling the auditorium. Calendar Girls was a wonderful way to start off the season, the most successful opening in the last 10 years. This is because of the support of you, our community, and your trust in this century old Tacoma treasure.

 “I have so much pride when I say we are season ticket holders each year because I feel this theatre embodies what theatre is all about – heart, soul, and passion.  You all bring it every single time with love!” -A TLT Season Ticket Holder

 In June of 2019, TLT was honored to attend the American Association of Community Theatre Festival held in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with our production of The Pillowman. TLT came home with top awards for Best Supporting Actor (Sean Neely), the Adjudicator National Award for Best Ensemble, Best Set Design, and Overall Best Set Designer for Bell, Book and Candle. (Blake R. York). TLT is now Washington’s Oldest National Award-Winning Community Theatre!

The “Grab A Seat And Enjoy” campaign for the auditorium upgrades is well on its way. Demolition is planned to start in June after the last performance of The Manchurian Candidate. When our 102nd Season begins, you will have an entirely new auditorium experience complete with new seats, seating chart, sightlines, and accessibility. These are all items that have been requested by our patrons for the past six years. We take your suggestions very seriously, so please always let us know what you’re enjoying, and what we could improve upon. TLT staff members are always available to answer your questions, and inform you about what’s happening in your theatre.

“Just wanted to tell you how brilliant A Little Night Music was. I'm always afraid to see a musical, as they all seem to demand the highest talent. However, like a fool, my smile was particularly broad all the way through this production as it found that talent.”-A TLT Patron after seeing A Little Night Music

TLT provides the South Puget Sound region with an education program serving youth and adults in the community year-round, helping them reach their creative potential.  During the 2018/19 season attendance for this program continued to increase, and our Summer Camps were filled to capacity. Last season we expanded outside of our walls and have brought theatre to the schools of Pierce County with our Students on Stage (SOS) program. Through SOS and our Scholarship Program, TLT is committed to providing access to Performing Arts education to every child in our community.

“She learns how to work as a team and support others, which, we as her parents like, as we know that is lifelong. She loves spending time with friends she's made there and singing.”

“We can't speak highly enough of this program. We are eternally impressed and grateful. Thank you! All we want to know is...when's the next one!?” -TLT Parents after Summer Camp

Your generous donations have helped sustain TLT for over 100 years along with the performing arts in our region.  It is only through the continued support of our community members that the arts can thrive.  We offer a range of donation options that are listed at the bottom of this letter.  You can even pledge your donation amount over a monthly or quarterly payment schedule.  If you are interested in establishing a legacy gift of support through planned (estate) giving or stock transfers, please contact me directly.  Remember that any amount helps us, from $1 to $10,000. TLT is a recognized 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and may be fully tax-deductible (please check with your tax advisor).

If you have already donated to us this season, thank you!  If you are considering donating to us now, thank you!  Please fill out the bottom portion of this letter or visit us at our website, www.tacomalittletheatre.com, to make a donation online.  To donate over the phone, you may call me personally at 253-272-2281.  It’s always a delight to have the opportunity to speak with you, one of our generous patrons that will keep TLT thriving into the next century.

All my best,
Chris Serface
Managing Artistic Director

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

MARIA-TANIA BANDES B. WEINGARDEN, SECRETARY

BOARD TERM 2022-2025

Maria-Tania Bandes B. Weingarden (she/her) is an artist/scholar who has recently joined UWT as an Assistant Teaching Professor in the department of Arts Media and Culture. 

As a director, Maria-Tania uses theatre to challenge homogeneous ideology.  She addresses issues of race and gender on stage by not only the content of her work, but often by casting non-traditionally, works that fit within the more traditional canon.

While her area of scholarly specialization is in Theatre History, more specifically Latinx theatre, her research focuses on revolutionary theatre.  Her book, Echoes of Revolution: Nicaragua, aims to expand the knowledge of the canon of works of Central American playwrights as well as explores both the successes and limitations of theatre that has undergone political turmoil.  Echoes of Revolution: Nicaragua, is the first of a three-part series on the revolutionary theatre of Central America. 

Other areas of research include Queer Theatre, more specifically the representation of bisexuality on stage.

Jeanette Sanchez-Izenman, PRESIDENT

BOARD TERM 2022-2025

Jeanette Sanchez-Izenman is a director, teaching artist, dramaturg, intimacy choreographer, stage manager and theatre theorist/historian. She did her actor training at the University of New Mexico where she earned her BFA with honors and returned to complete an MA in Directing and Educational Theatre under the mentorship of Susan Pearson.

 She moved to the Pacific Northwest to study at the University of Washington School of Drama where she achieved her PhD candidacy in Theatre History and Criticism in 2006. While working toward her candidacy, she was a Drama School Intern at the Seattle Children’s Theatre (Class of 2004), where she remained working for several years in the box office and as a dramaturg/consultant for Jason and the Golden Fleece and Night of the Living Dead. She also worked with the marketing team to help promote Tomás and the Library Lady.

 Jeanette highly values public scholarship and earned a fellowship at UW’s Simpson Center for the Public Humanities in 2005. She was in the inaugural cohort of the Project for Interdisciplinary Pedagogy at UW Bothell where she taught theatre and performance studies for nearly a decade. Her classes focused on social change (Latino Theatre for Social Change and Theatre for Young Audiences) and outreach (Education and the Performing Arts) where she partnered with local schools to bring theatre education into their classrooms via UWB students leading creative drama exercises. Her script analysis class, Project Hamlet, became an exploration of languages as she began working with larger numbers of international students and explored how to perform the play multilingually.

She is a co-founder of eSe Teatro in Seattle and has worked as a dramaturg with Teatro Vision in San Jose (Perla) and with Teatro Nuevo Mèxico (Electricidad). Her doomed dissertation was an exploration of women dressing as men in contemporary Latinx productions, most of which were reimagining classical works.

 She works with Lakewood Playhouse as a stage manager and teaching artist. She won a “Woody” in 2017 for her work on The Rocky Horror Show.

 She is a founder of Screaming Butterflies Productions with Kathryn Philbrook in Tacoma. Their indie company seeks to use performance to re-vision myth, community and justice through imaginative, tenacious, unapologetic creativity. She is working with Break the Table RPG, a local streaming group using fantasy and table top game mechanics to shape stories told by and for BIPOC to address some of the current issues we are dealing with. She also helped to found Rise Up: a South Sound BIPOC Theatre Artist Coalition.

 She is currently serving as a commissioner on the Tacoma Arts Commission for District 1.

She is a deep believer in the power of collaboration in theatre, consent and inclusion.

MARTIN GOLDSMITH

BOARD TERM 2022-2025

Martin moved to Tacoma with his wife and two sons in 1992. For the next 25 years he continued his career as a pediatrician, specializing in endocrinology, with Pediatrics Northwest and Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital. During that time he also served as Medical Director for a local summer day camp for children with diabetes. In 2013 he resurrected his high school love for the stage and has acted in several Puget Sound community theatre productions. He retired from his medical practice in 2017 but has continued his desire to heal – now with music: he regularly brings his guitar and voice to the kids and their parents in the playroom at Mary Bridge. In 2020 he joined the TLT Board.

Calendar Girls

Directed by Vicki Webb

September 13 - September 29, 2019
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm
Sundays at 2:00pm

Pay What You Can: Thursday, September 26th at 7:30pm

$25 Adults - $23 Students/Seniors/Military - $20 Children 12 & Under

Funny, sincere, and just a wee bit naughty!

When Annie's husband John dies of leukemia, she and best-friend Chris resolve to raise money for a new settee in the local hospital waiting room. They manage to persuade four fellow Women’s Institute (WI) members to pose nude with them for an "alternative" calendar, with a little help from hospital porter and amateur photographer Lawrence. The news of the women's charitable venture spreads like wildfire, and hordes of press soon descend on the small village of Knapeley in the Yorkshire Dales. The calendar is a success, but Chris and Annie's friendship is put to the test under the strain of their new-found fame.

Recommended for Ages 12+ 

Featuring:
Shannon Mahan as Chris
Dayna Childs as Annie
Karen Norlin Christensen as Cora
Sharry O'Hare as Jessie
Carrie Sleeper-Bowers as Celia
Dawn Brazel as Ruth
Jen Aylsworth as Marie
W. Scott Pinkston as John
Kerry Bringman as Rod
Tristin Nelson as Lawrence/Liam
Anne Marie Rutt as Brenda/Lady Cravenshire
Stephanie Leeper as Elaine

Program

Reviews

The Weekly Volcano
Drama in the Hood
The Suburban Times
The Tacoma Weekly
The Tacoma Ledger

Evil Dead: The Musical

Directed by Niclas Olson
Musically Directed by Benjamin Bentler
Choreographed by Ashley Roy

October 25 - November 10, 2019
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm
Sundays at 2:00pm

SPECIAL HALLOWEEN PERFORMANCE
Thursday, October 31, 2019 at 7:30pm

Pay What You Can: Thursday, November 7th at 7:30pm

$27 Adults - $25 Students/Seniors/Military - $22 Children 12 & Under

Just in time for Halloween comes everyone’s favorite 80’s cult horror comedy!

Five college students go to an abandoned cabin in the woods and accidentally unleash an evil force that turns them all into demons. It's all up to Ash (a housewares employee turned demon-killing hero) and his trusty chainsaw to save the day. Blood flies. Limbs are dismembered. Demons tell bad jokes ... and all to music. This show has fun with the horror genre and, in doing so, appeals to a wide audience. It's the only show with a "Splatter Zone"—a section of the audience that gets covered in fake blood. And with this combination of blood, jokes, cheesy effects and awesome musical numbers, Evil Dead The Musical is unlike any show you've ever seen.

Recommended for Ages 16+ 

Featuring the talents of:
Ashley Roy as Linda
Zachary Edson as Ash
Molly Ellenbecker as Cheryl
Annelise Martin as Shelly/Annie
Aleks Merilo as Ed
Guy Taylor Simpson III as Scott
Eric Strachan as Jake

Program

Reviews

The Suburban Times
Drama in the Hood
The Weekly Volcano
The News Tribune
The Tacoma Ledger

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Tacoma Little Theatre stands with those who are calling for justice in the tragic killings of unarmed African American citizens, most recently George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor.  TLT stands against all forms of racism, injustice and violence against our black brothers and sisters, both around the country and here in Tacoma.

We at TLT believe that Black Lives Matter.  Black voices matter.  Black stories matter.  As an organization, the leaders of Tacoma Little Theatre are working among ourselves to reach greater inclusion, equity and diversity at our theatre. We are committed to listening to our community and we hope to one day soon encourage and showcase authentic voices of people of color.  

Storytelling is one way communities pass on our values, our hopes and dreams and our pain. Theatre can help.  We hope to be part of the solution, not the pain.  Tacoma, let us know how we can help.

Holmes for the Holidays

Directed by Jennifer York

December 6 - December 29, 2019
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm
Sundays at 2:00pm

SPECIAL ADDED PERFORMANCE
Thursday, December 26, 2019 at 7:30pm

Pay What You Can: Thursday, December 19th at 7:30pm

$25 Adults - $23 Students/Seniors/Military - $20 Children 12 & Under

Run Time: 2:20 with a 15-minute intermission

A hilarious, quirky, and thrilling alternative to your standard holiday entertainment.

It is December 1936, and Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his leading role in the play Sherlock Holmes, has invited his fellow cast members to his Connecticut castle for a weekend of revelry. But when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the festivities in this isolated house of tricks and mirrors quickly turn dangerous. It is then up to Gillette himself, as he assumes the persona of his beloved Holmes, to track down the killer before the next victim appears. The danger and hilarity are non-stop in this glittering whodunit set during the Christmas holidays.

Recommended for Ages 12+ 

Featuring the talents of:
Dave Champagne as William Gillette
Lissa Valentine as Martha Gillette
Frank Roberts as Simon Bright
Robin Mae Becar as Aggie Wheeler
Blake R. York as Felix Geisel
Heidi Walworth-Horn as Madge Geisel
Danielle Locken as Daria Chase
Anne Marie Rutt as Inspector Goring

Program

Reviews

The Suburban Times
Drama in the Hood
The Weekly Volcano