Article from The Clyde Fitch Report: Drag Cabaret in Seattle: To Russia, With Love (Interview with Mickey Rowe)
Article from New Queer on the Block Magazine: Theater Reacts to President Putin’s Anti-Gay Laws in Russia
Article from Playbill.com: All-Male Production of Cabaret, Reset in Modern-Day Russia, Will Play Seattle
Seattle Times Footlight Award Winner! *Check out the press we’ve gotten so far. Our press release can be read below.
We are so excited to announce that we are working with The Ballard Branch of The Seattle Public Library on something very exciting. We can’t wait to announce it officially! Keep your ears open. Thanks Jonathan!
I am so excited to announce that we got a generous grant! Thank you so much, Pollination Project! It’s people like you that make projects like this possible! Thank you thank you thank you!
“The tears of the world are a constant quantity. For each one who begins to weep, somewhere else another stops. 
The same is true of the laugh. Let us not then speak ill of our generation, it is not any unhappier than its predecessors. Let us not speak well of it either. Letus not speak of it at all. (Judiciously.) It is true the population has increased.”
August 16th, 17th, 18th, 23nd, 24rd, 25th, 30th, 31st, and September 1st at 7:00pm. Waterfront Park, 1300 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98101.
When asked, “Why Waiting for Godot”, actor Jay Myers poignantly said, “After losing the harbor of a school system in exchange for a degree last year, my life’s changes have taken some getting used to. Disillusioned, directionless, and desperate I’ve been wandering around trying to rediscover who I am and what I am doing. In my adolescent bliss, I had been under the impression that grownups knew what was going on, and once I became a certified adult I would be let in on the secret to life. Rather anticlimactically, I’m coming to the conclusion that nobody really has any idea what he or she is doing. We are all just trying to get by doing the best we can. That is why this project is so important to me. We are all waiting for something, often with nothing but hope holding us together. Whether it is a college degree, a place to sleep, a proposal, a job, validation, salvation, a paycheck, or a man named Godot. Under a lone tree, at a desolate crossroads, the characters in Waiting for Godot have me asking myself, “What am I waiting for? Should stay here a bit longer? Or should I test an unknown road?”
This production, gives new life to Estragon and Vladimir, exploring themes such as economic collapse and youth homelessness, developed through the perceptions and experiences of recent college graduates and struggling young people. We are so excited to share this production with you.
Waiting for Godot taking a young urban Seattle scene and turning the conventions of storytelling upside down with this edgy retelling using Puget Sound, the sunset, and the Pier as it’s back drop starting at 7:00pm. Art will be displayed before and after the show on the Pier by a dozen local artists with music before the show starts!
The event is totally free for all but all donations made at the event and proceeds go to Teen Feed. Teen Feed provides meals and supportive relationships to homeless young people 365 days a year. Teen Feed’s programs work to provide for young people in need ages 13-25 in University District, South Seattle and Auburn areas. For more information, visit http://www.teenfeed.org.
All though we are still young, ranging in age from 20 – 24, we have performed on some of Seattle’s biggest stages, Seattle Opera, Book-It, SCT, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Seattle Shakespeare Company, and more. Last year our production of Romeo and Juliet was called, “Wickedly entertaining. . . ingenious” by the Stranger, “Recalling the great Shakespeare director Peter Brooks. . . Unmistakably Alive” by the Seattle Times, “Pier Pleasure” by Seattle Magazine, and more. But we can’t do it with out your help! This project is made possible in part by a grant from The Pollination Project. http://thepollinationproject.org/
We strive to create incredible theater for you! Yes! You! We also aim to bring quality free theater and arts to families with financial difficulties in the heart of downtown Seattle. We produce free theater in a down town park where many homeless community members live. We feel that great plays and literature brought to life on stage should be available to everyone, not just those who can pay $30 for a ticket like most Seattle Theater’s charge or those who can get dressed up to fit in with the audiences at these theaters. We think it is important to enrich people’s lives with these experiences.
Art, Music, and Theater live on the waterfront. FREE.
Arts on the Waterfront presents Romeo and Juliet: June 15th, 16th, 17th, 22nd, 23rd, 24th, 30th, and July 1st at 7:00pm 1300 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
There has been a tangible lack of free music and arts shows in the heart of downtown Seattle since the historic Summer Nights at the Pier concert series was shut down ten years ago, especially with construction to the viaduct looming closer. But this year but this year a pair aim to bring life back to the waterfront during construction with Arts on the Waterfront. Mickey Rowe and Laurie Roberts, the event coordinators, hope to revitalize and reinvent this event to include both theater and visual art as well as of course the live music that made the series such a staple of the Seattle scene years ago. As a kick-off before the July opening of the new 175-foot-high Ferris wheel at the same location, this event will surely bring life to the Waterfront.
Arts on the Waterfront’s event will be located next door to the Seattle Aquarium and blocks west of the Seattle Art Museum. Buy local produce at the Pike Place Market and enjoy it next door to the Aquarium while watching free public theater followed by live music and moonlit dancing. There will be performances by local bands SolBird, The Horse Thieves, Country Lips, Fortune Dwellers and more for you moonlit lovers to dance the night away under the stars and over the sound.
Arts on the Waterfront’s stunning two actor plus one cellist production of Romeo and Juliet takes a young urban Seattle scene and turns the conventions of storytelling upside down. This edgy retelling starts at 7:00pm using Puget Sound, the sunset, and the pier as its backdrop. Accompanied by hard-rock-Cellist Brandon Smith.
Art will be displayed before and after the show on the pier by a dozen local artists. This “starlit dance party” of theater events might just be the don’t-miss event of the summer.
And remember the production and event are free and all donations and proceeds go to benefit The Trevor Project: Saving young lives. Find out more at www.thetrevorproject.com.
If you are a subscriber to ACT or Seattle Repertory Theater and RSVP to us with proof of your subscription at artsonthewaterfront@gmail.com we will reserve you seats with your name on them so you don’t have to show up early. Our way of saying thank you for supporting our friends and neighbors.
If you are a visual artist interested in displaying your work or a local band who would like to play after a production let us know at artsonthewaterfront@gmail.com.
If you are a young person in crisis or thinking about suicide you deserve immediate support please call The Trevor Lifeline 1-866-488-7386 (1-866-4-U-TREVOR). The Trevor Project: Saving Young Lives.
Arts on the Waterfront: What inspires you?
Mickey Rowe: Poetry inspires me, and real people. Going on long walks by the water or watching different people on the metro transit. Listening to a good book on tape while going on a walk. When you make eye contact on the bus with someone having a genuine connection or understanding and share a knowing smile.
A on the W: What do you think of political art?
Mickey: I think this is a silly question. All art is political in some way or another. Story, art, and music has the power to pull at our heart strings and effect us in a way nothing else can, and that is an incredibly powerful tool. I think everyone subconsciously understands this power on some level. It’s interesting while working hand in hand with more bureaucratic agencies on this project seeing what parts of your art scare those organizations on some level in their ability to rally people and create change. I don’t think this means that art is or should necessarily be about political issues or particular platforms, but I think a love story is political, a kiss is a political act in some way, and it’s how you tell that love story that decides the power of that act. The reason “Ruined” worked so well politically is because it was a human story. And that is all our job really is, finding the human story or human truth people can connect with, there lies the power.
A on the W: What causes artistic blocks? What do you do to solve them?
Mickey: On this project when I’m working on filling out paper work, or getting permits, filling out grants and kickstarters, the “business” side of it, I can easily get out of the creative groove where I actually knew how to make that thing that I’m advertising or pushing on paper. To help me remember or get back in the groove I take my iPod and go for a walk, and either listen to music or RadioLab, or The Moth, and I’m not allowed to come home until I feel that fire in my belly and good / smart ideas are boiling over the pot again.
A on the W: What did you want to be when you grew up?
Mickey: First I wanted to be a garbage truck driver, then I wanted to be a magician, and I actually did a lot of magic and juggling shows all over for school assemblies and company picnics through Middle and High School. I paid for a lot of my schooling at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center by street performing doing a goofy juggling routine and twisting balloons for little kids.
A on the W: Who are your heroes?
Mickey: Right now my huge inspirations are Rebecca Taishmen who is an incredible director in New York and very visual and physical in her work, Rachel Chavkin of the TEAM, Anne Bogart who’s books “And then you act” and “A director prepares” everyone should read. And Pina Bausch.
A on the W: How do you push yourself?
Mickey: I push myself by putting myself in situations where I have no choice but to learn a new skill and do it well. Whether that be doing a musical at Seattle Children’s Theater where I’m going to need to learn to dance 11 shows a week or by creating an event like this that forces me to make something that I think is cool by a hard deadline. I am forced to rise to the occasion and there just isn’t another choice. I’m are in a show, being paid, and am going to have to dance 11 shows a week, that’s just a fact. It’s going to happen no matter what, so I best learn fast and do it as well as I possibly can. With this project it’s just a matter of pushing myself to make and organize something that I genuinely want to see happen in a limited number of weeks. There’s a great Banksy quote, nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful people with talent, leave the house before you find something worth staying in for.
A on the W: What was the first show you ever saw?
Mickey: The first show I ever saw was “Jack and the Bean Stalk” at Seattle Children’s theater with Auston James as Jack and an amazing puppeteered giant made by the incredible Doug Paasch, I am so lucky to have gotten to work and learn from both of them now and perform two of Doug’s puppets before he passed. I am so lucky to have had that opportunity.
What role would you love to play that you haven’t yet?
Mickey: Right now while I still look 16, or later? Haha, I would love to play Puck in Midsummer, Jason in Rabbit Hole, or Ken in Red while I’m still young. Later I’d love to direct or MC an awesome Brecht like version of Cabaret. Or Godot.
A on the W: Have you experienced any real life actor’s nightmares?
Mickey: Hmm, a real life actors nightmare? Once while I was unicycling in a show at SCT my shoelace got stuck in the unicycles chain (it was a very tall unicycle). That was terrifying and definitely qualified as a nightmare. The whole audience could tell my shoelace was stuck so I was really lucky that I could just make a joke out of it that added to the drama of the event. I just had to cut the shoelace on stage and I’m sure that was the most exciting that routine had ever been for any audience, they loved it. I guess it’s not really a nightmare since the audience and I made it part of the experience and made it add to the event.
A on the W: What kind of artistic training & experience have you had?
Mickey: I basically grew up in the Seattle Opera house/rehearsal studio being in the child chorus and being the little kid that runs around in all of their shows. That was an incredible trial and test ground for a young actor. I owe half of my training to the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center which is an incredible training program, really the best in the world of its kind. Any College or University age actors or directors should go to their website now and apply for one of their education programs, either NTI, NTI Musical Theater, Advanced Directing Semester, Advanced Playwriting Semester, MATS, or Theatermakers. It is worth everything and I promise it will change your life. They taught me how to work, how to memorize, and really just how to think as an actor. How to work smart. The other half I owe to the Seattle Children’s Theater who trusted me more than I trusted myself and gave me the enormous gift of performing in three of their runs. The Children’s Theater does 11 shows a week for ten week long runs, for children. It is an amazing experience. I think all actors should work there at some point. Children’s Theater is where we learn empathy and SCT teaches that to hundreds of kids every day.
Check back next week for interviews for Laurie Roberts, Samantha Stenson, and others. Mickey Rowe is currently appearing in Romeo and Juliet as Romeo and The Nurse. You can read more about Mickey Rowe at www.mickeyrowe.wordpress.com.
I am writing to you because we need donations to make a great theater charity event in Seattle possible.
We are creating a free event that will bring life to the waterfront, provide a free experience to all of the different communities in Seattle, and bring attention to The Trevor Project and the issue of Teen Suicide in LGBT youth.
Click here to go to our Kickstarter page to easily donate now and see the awesome gifts that you will receive as our thank you gift to you!
We need your money to pay for the park for the eight nights of the event, to pay for the equipment needed to create the event, and to rent folding chairs for the audience to sit in.
There has been a tangible lack of free music and arts shows in the heart of downtown Seattle since the historic Summer Nights at the Pier concert series was shut down ten years ago. But this year your wishes have been granted in this year’s summer festival Arts on the Waterfront. As a kick-off before the July opening of the new 175-foot-high Ferris wheel at the same location, this event will surely bring life to the Waterfront.
Arts on the Waterfront’s all ages event will be located next door to the Seattle Aquarium and blocks west of the Seattle Art Museum. Buy local produce at the Pike Place Market and enjoy it next door to the Aquarium while watching free public theater followed by live music and moonlit dancing. There will be performances by local bands SolBird, The Horse Thieves, Country Lips, Fortune Dwellers and more for you moonlit lovers to dance the night away under the stars and over the sound.
Arts on the Waterfront’s stunning production of Romeo and Juliet takes a young urban Seattle scene and turns the conventions of storytelling upside down. This edgy retelling starts at 7:00pm using Puget Sound, the sunset, and the pier as its backdrop. Accompanied by hard-rock-Cellist Brandon Smith.
Art will be displayed before and after the show on the pier by a dozen local artists. This “starlit dance party” of theater events might just be the don’t-miss event of the summer.
And remember the production and event are free and all donations made at the event and proceeds go to benefit The Trevor Project: Saving young lives. The Trevor Project is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Every day The Trevor Project saves young lives through its free and confidential lifeline, in-school workshops, educational materials and online resources and advocacy.
If you are a subscriber to ACT or Seattle Repertory Theater and RSVP to us with proof of your subscription at artsonthewaterfront@gmail.com we will reserve you seats with your name on them so you don’t have to show up early. Our way of saying thank you for supporting our friends and neighbors.
I, Mickey Rowe, am a graduate of the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center (the 2010 Tony winner for regional theater) and a graduate of the University of Washington. I have performed in eight productions with the Seattle Opera: Barber of Seville, Billy Budd, Tosca, Falstaff, Turn of the Screw, Der Rosenkavalier, La Boheme, and I Puritani, three with the Seattle Children’s Theater, the second largest professional theater for young audiences in the country, and have collaborated on and performed in world premiere productions at Washington Ensemble Theater and the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe. You can find out more about me at http://www.mickeyrowe.wordpress.com
Laurie Roberts is a graduate of the University of Washington with a major in dance and drama. Her most notable work includes two collaborative theater pieces that each debuted at the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe, The Grind Show (2009) and Ithaca, I’ll Never See (2010), both receiving the highest praise from festival co-founder Richard Demarco and one winning the Festivals “best newcomer award”. Other credits include The Player in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, The Stage Manager in Our Town, Susan in The Heidi Chronicles, Annie in The Miracle Worker, The Ensemble in Arabian Nights, and Dr. Fuscia in Sakura Rising at On the Boards. She is currently debuting as the lead in the feature film 100% Off: A Recession Era Romance.
Yours very truly,
Mickey Rowe
(206) 954-6568
