Seattle’s Episodic Companies of Color

Abstract

Two early twenty-first century ensembles of color in Seattle—and their methods—anchor this article. The first: sis Productions, which started in 2000 as “Sex in Seattle,” an episodic and humorous theatrical series about the romantic relationships of Asian American women. Conceived of by theater artists Kathy Hsieh, Moi, Serin Ngai, and Amy Villarama Waschke, sis developed brainstorming and scripting methods to collectively storytell at Theatre Off Jackson, Annex Theatre, Nippon Kan Theatre, Center House Theatre, Bathhouse Theatre, and Hugo House, and other venues across Seattle. The second: the Black Collectivity Project, a movement-based ensemble led by Nia-Amina Minor, David Rue, marco farroni, and Akoiya Harris, which conducted historical research about the lives and movements of twentieth century Seattle-based Black artists, including dancer Syvilla Fort, and staged their embodied histories via workshops and productions at 12th Avenue Arts, On the Boards, and other Seattle venues. Through an ethnographic and archival approach, Jasmine Mahmoud argues that both ensembles created specific methods to unearth and represent stories in exceptionally unexpected ways that formally emancipated how minoritized people and their histories are portrayed.