Book-It Repertory Theatre
Book-It seeks to transform great literature into great theatre.
Founded: 1990
Artistic leadership: Jane Jones & Myra Platt (Founding Artistic Directors)
Website: https://book-it.org/
Primary venue: Center Theater
The below information is provided by the theatre company. (All material is condensed & edited for clarity.)
Overview: Mission / Vision
Book-It Repertory Theatre is a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming great literature into great theatre through simple and sensitive production and to inspiring its audiences to read.
Book-It creates world-premiere adaptations of classic and contemporary literature for the stage, preserving the narrative text as it is spoken, not by a single “narrator” but as dialogue by the characters in the production. Book-It’s unique style of acting and adapting books is known as the “Book-It Style”.
Key Initiatives
Book-It’s Arts & Education Program is dedicated to inspiring people of all ages to read. The five components that comprise the program include:
Tours of a diverse range of stories to schools, libraries, and community venues throughout Washington State
Long-term residencies in schools
Teacher professional development
Low-cost student matinées of Book-It’s mainstage shows
Post-college internships
Book-It has partnered with other organizations in the past, including Café Nordo and Young Audiences New York.
History
Book-It was founded in 1990 as an artists’ collective, adapting short stories for performance and touring them throughout the Northwest. Today, with over 100 world-premiere adaptations of full-length novels to its credit, Book-It is widely respected for the consistent artistic excellence of its work. Book-It’s founding co-artistic directors are Jane Jones and Myra Platt.
Recent and upcoming shows include:
2018/19 season:
American Junkie
Returning the Bones
Behold the Dreamers
2019/20 season:
Everything is Illuminated (Sept 11-Oct 6, 2019)
Howl’s Moving Castle (Nov 29-Dec 29, 2019)
The Turn of the Screw (Feb 12-Mar 8, 2020)
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle (Jun 3-28, 2020)
Statement of centering underrepresented voices & stories
Does your company center underrepresented voices and stories in the work your company puts on? If so, how?
Historically, Book-It has generally utilized the canon and contemporary best sellers of Western literature, which have not been good about providing space to diverse voices. Book-It is making conscious efforts to change that practice within the company, seeking out and producing stories from underrepresented individuals and communities.
Does your company center underrepresented voices in your decision-making processes? If so, how?
Currently, Book-It’s executive and senior level staff are primarily White, cisgender, heterosexual, and female. As the company has opportunities to make hiring decisions moving forward, Book-It is interested in bringing a broader scope of identities and experiences to decision-making roles.
Statement of financial accessibility
Book-It offers tickets at various price points, including a pay-what-you-can performance the Wednesday before previews; $10 rush tickets 30 minutes before curtain before all performances; and $20 tickets for AEA/TPS members the day of the show at the Box Office.