BOOK-IT REPERTORY THEATRE
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Mission Statement
Book-It Repertory Theatre's mission is to transform great literature into great theatre through simple and sensitive production and inspire our audiences to read. The mission for Book-It’s Arts and Education Program extends from this core objective and is to provide an interactive relationship between youth and literature through theatrical productions and educational programs that promote the joy of reading, embrace diversity, enhance student and teacher learning, and inspire the imagination. Since 1990, Book-It has produced over 70 world-premiere stage adaptations of great literature. Valuing a spare aesthetic and celebrating the beauty of the spoken word, each production creates a powerful communal experience using the trademarked “Book-It Style” of adaptation; the author’s voice is preserved by weaving narrative text into the characters’ dialogue, giving audiences the thrill of seeing and hearing the book come to life on stage.
About This Cause
Mainstage Subscription Season Each year, Book-It produces mainstage premiere adaptations of great literature—both contemporary and classic—each title selected for its unique voice, exceptional literary accomplishment and for its potential to inspire a love of reading in our audience. Each season invites our audience to take a journey through diverse worlds, to see other points of view and other experiences in ways that enhance understanding, broaden knowledge and increase empathy. Each title is adapted by local dramatists in the trademarked "Book-It Style." Introduced by Founding Co-Artistic Directors Jane Jones and Myra Platt, and developed by the Book-It company of Seattle artists, this unique approach to theatre preserves an author's prose by having several actors speak narrative text as if it were dialogue rather than using the device of a single "narrator." It’s a model that demands a simplicity of staging - hence our signature spare production aesthetic - and one that invites our audiences both to focus on the words being spoken and to participate actively and imaginatively in the dramatic event, essentially returning theatre to its storytelling roots. We are unstinting in our pursuit of artistic excellence; our adaptation, casting and production processes are rigorously executed with an uncompromising eye to detail and exacting standards. Whenever budget allows, we hold weeklong workshops in advance of our main rehearsal period to give our new adaptations the chance to evolve and strengthen in response to critical feedback. Our Founding Co-Artistic Directors, with a shared legacy of over 50 years of professional theatre experience, either direct, adapt or personally oversee each production to ensure that the vision of the company is advanced, that the work stretches artistically, and that what is essential and powerful about the original book is realized in a theatrical event that takes our audiences on a transformational journey. Over nearly 25 years, we have partnered with the Seattle Public Library, King County Library System, the ACLU, Audubon Society, Great American Waterways, and People for Puget Sound, among many others, to participate in community conversations that dovetail with, and deepen the impact of, our work; we are proud that our company has forged grassroots connections that have fed our own work and the vitality of our community. Arts Education Now in its 18th season, Book-It’s Arts and Education program teaches an active approach to reading through theatre with the goal of inspiring a lifelong passion for the theatre arts and literacy. The program aligns its performances, programs, and learning materials with research-based reading instruction and state standards so that all students connect with books on multiple levels. Currently one of the largest arts education programs in Seattle, our program reached well over 55,000 students and community members last year-- approximately 30% were low-income and approximately 18% of whom live in rural communities in thirty-eight school districts and fourteen counties of Washington State. The program has five components which deepen students’ engagement with reading and theatre in multiple ways. 1) 4-5 Touring productions of culturally-diverse stories. 2) Long-term (2-10 week) in-classroom residencies*. 3) Internships that give young professionals an opportunity to gain valuable experience within the arts industry. 4) Student matinees of main stage productions. 5) A teacher professional development program. The goals of our program include: Providing all youth, including those in diverse and underserved populations, access to a professional arts experience; leveraging students’ literacy experience through our tours, workshops, and residencies; and extending our reach into more remote geographic areas throughout Washington State. * The deepest impact our Education Program makes on student learning is through residency programs. These long-term (2-10 week) programs are customized to address specific curricula, academic standards, and student needs as they guide students through a “page to stage” process of adaptation and staging. Reading a text and transforming it into action is a powerful technique for comprehension. Students engage in rigorous literary analysis in order to adapt text for the stage – they read and re-read with a purpose; make mental pictures; make inferences, ask questions; make connections; and dialogue with others. As one Roosevelt High student said, “As I’ve been introduced to Book-It, I’ve noticed I take much longer to read books than I used to. I realized that with my basic understanding of ‘activating narrative’ and ‘purple words,’ every sentence in a book has an abundance of meaning. You have reopened my mind to reading. I love it.”