SEQUIM — Olympic Theatre Arts’ 2019-20 season will open in September with a continued spirit of collaboration in the community.
“Season tickets are on sale now for this exciting new season during which OTA is celebrating its fortieth anniversary,” said Carol Willis, executive director of the theater at 414 N. Sequim Ave.
“We encourage our patrons to make live theater a part of their lives by buying tickets now and also taking advantage of the discounted prices offered to season ticket subscribers.”
Memberships for the new season also are available, granting reduced ticket prices, voting privileges and member invites to special events.
This season will feature comedies taking a poke at “the system,” period dramas shedding light on women’s roles in American history, a tongue-in-cheek look at rural America and an alternative tale of Christmas.
OTA has once again gathered community artists to collaborate with the theater, according to organizers.
These have created original artwork to go with the season’s productions.
It will be used as the centerpiece for each production’s visual marketing materials and will be raffled off during the run of the show to the benefit of the contributing artist.
Contributing artists are:
• Susan Noyes for “Greater Tuna,” which will run Oct. 4-13.
This show is a reprise of a popular OTA show featuring the original cast — OTA founder Rick Waites and Michael Aldrich.
Other OTA contributors will spice up the presentation with anecdotes from OTA’s 40-year history.
• Priscilla Patterson for “Silent Sky,” which is slated for Nov. 8-24.
“Silent Sky” is the true story of the 19th century astronomer Henrietta Leavitt exploring a woman’s place in society during a time of both immense scientific discoveries and when women’s ideas were dismissed until men claimed credit for them.
• Gail McLain for “Another Night Before Christmas” scheduled for Dec. 13-22.
The show tells about a seemingly innocent gesture trapping a disillusioned social worker with a homeless man claiming to be Santa Claus.
It’s described as a comedically touching musical battle between cynicism and belief, organizers said.
• Debbie Harding for “Quilters,” slated to start the 2020 season on Feb. 21 and running through March 8.
This is a musical story of a pioneer woman and her six daughters.
“‘Quilters’ blends love, warmth, rich and lively humor and the moving spectacle of simple human dignity and steadfastness in the face of adversity,” organizers said.
• Jim Bradrick for “A Facility for Living,” set for May 1-17 and June 19-28.
Joe Taylor, a retired actor, moves into a prison-turned-elder-care facility shortly after the demise of Medicare and discovers a community of inmates bent on bucking the dehumanizing system in which they have landed.
• David Willis for “Let Me Down Easy,” scheduled for June 19-28.
A comedy-drama constructed from verbatim interview transcripts, “Let Me Down Easy” examines human resilience through the lens of the national debate on health care.
• Sharman Owings for “Miss Lillian, A Life of Some Significance,” an OTA Special Event, Jan. 18-19,.
This show invites the audience to step inside the personal history of Jimmy Carter’s mother in this one-woman show starring Carol Swarbrick of Sequim, an internationally known stage and television actress.
OTA is also continuing its longstanding community outreach campaign with other area nonprofits, having approached organizations such as the Sequim Food Bank, Story People of Clallam County and the Sequim PC Users Group in the hopes that theater goers might become more aware of the various needs of the community by having a presence at the theatre.
Olympic Theatre Arts is a registered nonprofit community theater.
For tickets and for more information, call 360-683-7326 or visit www.Olympic TheatreArts.org.
