In 1976, six Seattle Pacific University (SPU) seniors banded together for an experiment. Having no idea how to use their theater degrees, the students formed an acting company and spent their summer touring locally, performing "positive, one-act plays."
Thirty years later, the Taproot Theatre company bears little resemblance to its humble beginnings. It has a building, staff members and an acting studio, but the group has not lost its fundamental emphasis on community and faith.
Founded in confusion
Scott Nolte, one of the six SPU graduates who started Taproot, said the group began in the spirit of confusion that accompanies most college seniors when they graduate.
"On the spring break before graduation, we were going, 'Well, what do we do now that we have a theater degree and are on the edge of graduation?'" he said.
The solution was to perform original material at any location that welcomed the group.
"We started as a touring company, touring one-act plays that were in the 35- to 50-minute range to churches, libraries, military bases, prisons and community centers. And that kind of began an opportunity to establish a constituency and a mailing list," Nolte explained.
A nonprofit theater
Touring was successful for the early members of Taproot because few churches had incorporated drama into their ministry in the late 1970s. The touring became intense, and so by 1978, Taproot members decided to commit to the company full time.
While they continued touring, they grounded themselves with a permanent location at the St. Thomas Center in Kenmore and began to do main-stage productions in 1983.
In 1977 the acting company incorporated as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. This aided efforts to draw financial support from Taproot's constituents, which helped pay the rent and later raise funds to buy the building it now owns.
"We weren't city-funded, and we weren't funded in a lot of the ways that your larger companies are funded," said Pam Nolte, another founding member. "It really was a lot of grass-root support that built the theater."
Serving the public
Though many of Seattle's local theaters have struggled to keep their doors open, Taproot's community has provided stability. Many people who saw its first production still attend current productions and donate to the theater company.
Scott Nolte said that being a nonprofit group, however, gives Taproot a focus that is different than many of Seattle's other theaters.
"Not-for-profit theaters really exist to serve the public the best they can," he said.
Taproot offers affordable performances in various ways, including senior matinees, pay-what-you-can nights and student discounts, to encourage community members with small budgets to attend performances.
To accomplish this, Scott Nolte finds "individuals, corporations and foundations that believe that the play is so important, the themes are so important, the artistic experience is so important that [they want] to help you keep it as affordable as possible for the general public."
Though ticket prices range from $20 to $30, Scott Nolte said that nearly twice the charged price is needed to cover production costs. Support from individuals and local businesses cover those costs through sponsorships and advertising.
"[Businesses] like what we're doing; they like that we are serving the public," he said. "They're looking at it like they want to do something for the community good, for the public good, and they want to be identified as being a civic-minded law firm, maker of airplanes or whatever that is. There's something to be gained in their part."
Taproot's spiritual roots
Jeff Kyle, who owns a financial-services agency in Everett, is sponsoring this year's senior matinees to reach his target demographic. He also sees commitment to the theater as a way to enrich the community.
"I'm a believer in Taproot. I like that it's a Christian-based theater and that they raise the same values that I do," he said. "They have the senior market, they espouse the values that I embrace and that's something that I don't mind putting some money into and partnering up with."
Taproot's Christian spirit is rarely pushed on stage, but the company feels stigmatized at times from local media because of its affiliation.
Scott Nolte said that the spiritual standards are applied mostly when selecting which plays to perform. The biggest effect of the company's faith, however, is the togetherness that members feel toward each other.
"At the beginning of each rehearsal and before a play, we have a blessing time," said associate arts director Karen Lund. "We ask a blessing on what it is that we are trying to do. The blessing is that we can serve the audience, we serve the playwright and that we serve the actors. Nobody is required to take part in that, but that's something we offer because it's who we are."
Defining the spirit
The themes that define Taproot's spirit are manifested in the plays the company has selected as a part of its 30-year anniversary season. All of the productions are favorites of the actors, community and critics.
"These were our favorites that helped to define the themes that our theater believes in and wants to explore. Reviving plays isn't always the most popular thing to do, but in this case we've made it a feature," Scott Nolte said.
"An Inspector Calls," which opened on Feb. 3, explores social responsibility in the relationships inside a family dealing with suicide and guilt.
"There's a sense of people having a hand in the tragedy that happens," said Scott Nolte, "but none of them think they do because of their selfishness or their vanity or arrogance.... The moral of the story is that we are all connected.... I find that to be very consistent with my Christianity."
"An Inspector Calls" runs through March 4. Mid-week performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday shows are at 8 p.m., with a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. For tickets, call the theater at 781-9705 for more information.
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