Directing

ACT’s Artistic Director, Kurt Beattie, takes great care in selecting directors for each of the mainstage productions. Several considerations are taken into account in matching a director to a play, including style, genre, content, size, visual requirements, and scheduling requirements.

The directors at ACT are responsible for making decisions about the artistic concept and interpretation of the script, selecting a dynamic team of designers and actors, staging and rehearsing the play, and orchestrating all of the elements that go into the finished performance.

Our 2010 slate of directors includes Victor Pappas, Allison Narver, Steven Dietz, Valerie Curtis-Newton, and Kurt Beattie. Other recent directors at ACT include R. Hamilton Wright, Pam McKinnon, Stephen Terrell, and Larry Moss.

Acting

ACT’s success stems from the quality of the actors who grace our stages. Our actors have just over three weeks to learn and rehearse their roles.
In order to work so quickly, they must possess a full range of acting skills, including character building; vocal control; a broad movement vocabulary; and a well-developed sense of imagination.

While ACT does not operate with an acting “company” per se, the acting community in Seattle functions much like a company with many seasoned actors appearing on stage not only here at ACT,
but Seattle Repertory Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Seattle Children’s Theatre, 5th Avenue Musical Theatre, and Village Theatre, among others.
Primarily we employ professional actors and stage managers who are members of the Actors Equity Association. A few non-union positions and roles are also available each season.

Acting opportunities at ACT extend beyond the mainstage and include several play readings and/or workshops throughout the year, as well as during our Young Playwrights Festival.

For more information about casting and auditions, please contact Margaret Layne at (206) 292-7660 ext. 1226, or artistic@acttheatre.org.