Food & Drink
Risk-Taking Theater Director Isn’t Afraid to Make Us Uncomfortable
ArtsWest’s artistic director Mathew Wright takes on tough topics.
By Niki Stojnic September 7, 2017
This article originally appeared in the September 2017 issue of Seattle magazine.
In 2014, when Mathew Wright accepted the job as artistic director of the ArtsWest playhouse, a nonprofit West Seattle community theater known for small but enterprising productions, he was excited—and surprised. A New Jersey native and recent grad of Temple University’s theater program, Wright had worked previously at Seattle Repertory Theatre and The 5th Avenue Theatre, but had expected to ease his way into the city’s theater scene over the next few years. But he jumped at the rare opportunity presented at ArtsWest.
Now in his third season, he’s enlivened the playhouse with contemporary and sometimes controversial productions, stirring up debate and increasing single-ticket sales by 150 percent since joining the team.
“He has been a tremendous asset to the theater and increased the diversity of talent we employ, as well as the production levels,” says Katie Koch, president of the ArtsWest board.
His debut season opened with an audience-inclusive staging of the Tony Award–winning musical American Idiot (an adaptation of rock band Green Day’s 2004 album of the same name). It was, he says, “by far the highest-grossing show that we’ve produced there.” The first season also included My Mañana Comes, a timely play about undocumented immigrants working at an upscale New York City restaurant intended to provoke discussion about living wages and immigration.
The response to the immersive American Idiot, says Wright, taught him that audiences want “to have a theater experience that is different from what we get with other media. They get really excited by something that is very alive and experiential, that often requires a breaking down of the fourth wall.”
Last season’s lineup mined more topical themes, including the plot of Milk Like Sugar, about a teen pregnancy pact that takes place in a disadvantaged urban area; and Frozen, about a serial killer who molests and murders seven young girls. Each of those plays sparked conversation and some discomfort, Wright says. With Frozen, “We had people who hated the content, but were grateful for the experience of seeing a story like that be told. That content is not there to shock; that content is there because stories like that happen in our culture.”
This year’s six-play season explores themes of identity, individuality and the cultural forces that often impose those constructs. It opens with Ayad Akhtar’s The Who and the What (September 7–October 1), about a Pakistani-American writer whose father and sister discover her novel in progress about women and Islam, sparking intergenerational and interfaith family dialogue. All but one of the season’s shows, the Tony Award–winning Kiss of the Spider Woman, have been written within the past three years and are premiering in Seattle at ArtsWest.
Three years in, Wright remains excited about what’s to come. “We’re small enough that we can afford to take risks. I’m really excited to see how Seattle reacts to the work that we’re going to put out this year.”
ArtsWest “I Am” season, 9/7–7/2018. Times and prices vary. ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, West Seattle, 4711 California Ave. SW; 206.938.0963.
Follow Us
Book Excerpt: Old White Man Writing
Seattle resident Joshua Gidding examines his own white privilege
In his book, Old White Man Writing, Seattle resident Joshua Gidding attempts to come to terms with his privilege. Gidding grapples with the rapidly changing cultural norms in 21st-century America while examining his own racial biases and prejudices. As Manhattan Book Review notes: “Old White Man Writing is an introspective deep dive into an eventful life…
Glacial Expressions
Local scientist and painter Jill Pelto spotlights climate change in a multi-artist show at Slip Gallery
The divide between the arts and sciences is long-fostered and well-documented. From elementary school onward, children are often singled out for their penchant for math or artistic ability and guided toward classes — and later careers — that align with their right or left brain tendencies. For Jill Pelto — a local climate scientist, painter,…
How Taproot Theatre Survived A Financial Crisis
Theatre is planning for its 50th birthday next year
Karen Lund vividly remembers that sinking feeling she had in the fall of 2023. That was when Lund, producing artistic director of Taproot Theatre Co., first realized that the financially strapped, midsized professional theatre in the Greenwood neighborhood might not survive. The theatre had already weathered the worst of the pandemic, but costs were mounting….
Humanities Washington Fights ‘Midnight’ Cuts
Nonprofit loses previously approved federal grants with little warning
The letter came without warning, like a slap in the face from an invisible hand. Humanities Washington CEO and Executive Director Julie Ziegler had already been talking with peers in other states, and she readied herself for the blow. The National Endowment for the Humanities (think DOGE) had terminated her nonprofit’s previously awarded federal grant…