BITFest Company Spotlight: Theatre33

Mar 28

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Name:: Theatre33 Website: theatre33wa.org Contact: info@theatre33wa.org

About Theatre33

Theatre33 is a multilingual non-proﬁt community teaching theater, the only independent theater in Bellevue. Our mission is to provide quality live productions and education to audiences of all ages through the power of storytelling. We provide a unique platform for transplanted immigrants and next generation Americans to retain and maintain a connection to history, literature, and language. We share our rich cultural heritage with the community. We serve as a cultural hub that unites diverse cultures and ages through the love of dramatic arts.

How did your company start, and what inspires the work you do?

Theatre33 incorporated in 2013, playing in friends’ living rooms and venues around Seattle and the Eastside for the first few years. Our very first production, “Let’s talk about Love, Justice and Human Wit,” premiered at the Seattle Armory on October 25, 2013, which we fondly celebrate as the birthday of Theatre33. In 2016, we leased our own little space that we quickly outgrew and began a search for a larger facility in 2021. As challenging as it was for a community theater to find space during the pandemic, we did it and opened our new performing arts facility in the heart of the BelRed Arts District in July of 2023. Our vision is that theatre speaks all languages or conveys the stories in silence; it speaks about any subject, regardless of social or political agenda; it absorbs and brings to stage every culture and mindset; it survived millenniums, every war and every regime. Theatre still speaks from the hearts of creators to the hearts of the audience and will continue to exist while there is at least one actor and one spectator. It can be done by anyone and it should be done for everyone. That’s what inspires us - we want to be a part of this kind of theatre.

What kind of theater do you specialize in?

We do it all - from classical to contemporary, experimental and devised, musical and straight place and integrate new works, adaptations and original compositions into our seasons.

What show are you bringing to the festival, and why did you choose it?

Theatre33 will present “HOME,” a devised movement story that centers around what “home” means, how we search for it or make it, and how it changes as we change.

How would you describe this production in just a few words?

Innovative, colorful, dynamic, playful.

What should audiences expect from this performance?

A unique way of experiencing storytelling. We believe that action is the language of theater. We will tell our story through movement, play with objects, interaction of humans, music and light.

Is there anything unique or special about your approach to this production?

Everything. We have a group of people who have never experienced a project like this physical theater) who have been diligently working, pushing their own boundaries beyond impossible to bring this particular piece to the audiences who may experience this style of storytelling for the first time. Not a single word will be said, but the story that will unfold will hopefully touch every single heart.

What has the creative process been like for this production?

Immersive, demanding, physically challenging, unique, fast-paced, ever-changing and mind-bending.

Have there been any exciting or unexpected challenges during rehearsals?

The unique challenge was taking regular people who spend the bulk of their day sitting and getting them to realize that their bodies are capable of a lot more than they ever imagined.

What’s something about this production that audiences might not know?

This piece did not have any concrete plan when the rehearsals began. Everything was developed immersively and morphed around the concept of a single word - HOME.

What are you most looking forward to about participating in the festival?

Connections, meeting like-minded crazy folks like us who breath and dream theater.

Why do you think theater festivals are important for the arts community?

Absolutely! They offer limitless opportunities for growth, improving skills and making new, meaningful connections.

If someone has never seen your company’s work before, what should they know about you?

We welcome anyone and everyone. Each production is nurtured with respect, care and boundless creativity. We are fueled by curiosity, enthusiasm and commitment, supporting each other and growing together.