Article: Taproot Theatre, Seattle

Nice piece on Seattle's Taproot Theatre in the current Comment Magazine. Taproot is something of a sister theatre to Pacific, and provided an inspiration and model as Pacific Theatre was being formulated and launched. Kevin Brady, one of PT's apprentices (you saw him in HOSPITALITY SUITE and THE CLEARING), moved to Seattle as soon as he finished his time with us and has acted in many of their mainstage shows.


Bringing beauty and hope to the social discussion
November 02, 2007
by Rick Barry and Luann Jennings

For American theatres, longevity is success. Success doesn't show up in financial statements  all theatres live on the edge. Just sticking around, being allowed to continue doing what you're doing, is the mark of a successful theatre. By this standard, Taproot Theatre Company of Seattle, Washington, is a wild success.

"Taproot" started as a touring company dedicated to "creating theatre that explores the beauty and questions of life while providing hope to our search for meaning." After thirty-one years, during which dozens of other theatres in Seattle have opened and closed, Taproot performs for more than 100,000 people every year: for 34,000 on their permanent, main stage, and double that with over 250 touring performances.

The idea for Taproot surfaced during spring break in 1976. A half dozen friends, all in their senior year of college at Seattle Pacific University, realized that they should start thinking about what to do once they graduated. Seattle had a deep love for the arts and a deep aversion to religion, so the friends decided to start a theatre company that would produce work that discussed issues from a redemptive, Christian point of view. They were too young and too brash to realize what they were in for.

Read the rest of the article here