Press Release

Release: Immediate
Date: July 23, 2002
Contacts: Barbara Stewart, (206) 362-7397 or
Megan Bond, (206) 283-3352

More information about Clothespin Productions'
and Tedious Brief Theatre Company's

Tedious Brief Theatre Company director, Jesse P. Howard, brings his teen-aged actors to Nippon Kan Theatre for this year’s “Summerstage” performance, Man of La Mancha. Tedious Brief Theatre Company was officially founded in 1999, with about 20 students. Most of them had already been working with Howard for many years…and loving it. Experience, love and excitement are the core ingredients of this company, and the result is energetic and heart-felt performances that audiences come back for show after show.

By now, several members have been involved in over 15 productions, including plays produced since 1994 when Howard just came to town and the kids were just in elementary school. Their last three hits were musical versions of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Romeo and Juliet (with songs composed by the multi-talented Howard), and last year’s Little Shop of Horrors.

One of the reasons company members keep coming back is the welcoming atmosphere and supportiveness of the whole cast. They all agree that friendships they’ve made during the productions are some of the best ever.

They also love the intense process. In just three weeks, they not only audition for roles, learn lines and songs, rehearse scenes, and put on the show, but also take on all the technical jobs of lighting, sound, set, props and costume design, stage managing, and even Web site creation/management (see www.tbtheatre.com). The excitement and enthusiasm that result from such deep involvement is obvious in each performance.

This year’s show is especially poignant because it will be the last Summerstage performance, as director Howard will be leaving Seattle shortly after it closes. Man of La Mancha is a fitting choice. This acclaimed musical—about the famous Spanish literary hero Don Quixote who, while perhaps mad, gallantly tries to rid the world of evil and sees beauty where it’s not ordinarily found—is a compelling and challenging play with excellent music and much depth, and the entire cast can be on-stage for the whole show. But Howard and the cast also see parallels between themes of the play and the company’s own experience throughout its existence. “Don Quixote himself is like the unspoken force that has bound our group together, beckoning us over and over to look below the surface for hidden depths and beauty,” says Howard. “Quixote’s dream is ‘impossible,’ yet we have had a slice of it by putting something real on a stage year after year.”