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Book-It Repertory Theatre: A Tale of Two Women
by Ellen Hastings

Shakespeare’s Hamlet tells us “The play’s the thing…” But Seattle’s Book-It Repertory Theatre has established itself with its own genre of theater in which the book’s the thing! The founders and artistic directors of this seasoned company are Jane Jones and Myra Platt, a passionate pair of women aiming “to catch the conscience” of us all.

“Our mission is very distinct,” explains Jones, who originally founded Book-It. “It is to transform great literature into great theater and to inspire our audiences to read.” The beauty of the Book-It style is that it preserves the author’s writing style by keeping the prose intact. Typically, books adapted to the stage either end up being reduced to only characters and dialogue, or being performed by one narrative voice. The Book-It adaptations retain the narrative and descriptive passages by bandying them between the characters as part of active dialogue.

Jones came up with the company’s signature style of adapting literature while acting in New York in the mid-80s. Gathering under the name The 29th Street Project, she and fellow graduates from the American Theatre Conservatory in San Francisco started performing short stories, word for word, from start to finish. When she moved to Seattle in 1987, she started a new troupe called The Collective. Both troupes were democratically run with no hierarchical structure — each member having an equal voice.

“It’s always been artist driven,” Platt remarks. “So much of our history began with not wanting to conform to the traditional structure of theater ... Jane and I coming from an acting background know that actors are really smart and they have great ideas.” Platt had graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in performing literature and joined The Collective during its second year in 1988. The company’s focus was still on smaller short stories performed for adults in area libraries.

When teachers saw their performances, requests came in for selections geared toward schools. That demand led to their educational and outreach program, Book-It All Over, which currently tours shows to schools and libraries, and provides theater residency programs in high schools. Platt shows overt pride for their long-standing residency at Seattle’s Roosevelt High School where “To ‘Book-It’ has become a verb!”

It was in 1990 that The Collective evolved into Book-It: A Performing Arts Company, and was incorporated as a board-run nonprofit organization. Book-It members continued developing their adaptation techniques, resisting any editing and alterations to the original literature. “We didn’t cut anything till 1994,” marvels Jones. “That was seven years … That was how devoted we were to this inviolate determined objective to truly put the literature on stage.” That year, by no coincidence, was also the year that Book-It restructured itself and Jones and Platt stepped into their roles as co-artistic directors. This restructuring allowed for the tough decision-making and clear vision it took for the company to establish its first home in a 50-seat black box theater, to offer its first subscription season, and most frightening of all … to dare to start editing. “It was such a big deal,” states Platt, remembering the first show they edited. “We were terrified,” Jones confesses. “And then it was like the piece should have been edited 50 percent more!”

Committed as always to being true to the literature, Jones and Platt began to focus the company on making sure their adaptations were not just good performances, but also good plays. They started paying more attention to dramaturgy, the arch of the play, and character development. They also started to promote themselves more as a professional theater company, targeting the theater-going population along with the book-loving audiences they had. Their coup de théâtre came when the Seattle Rep decided to produce a Book-It style adaptation of John Irving's The Cider House Rules. Jones helped with the adaptation and co-directed the piece while Platt acted in it. This successful collaboration with the Rep brought local and national attention to the Book-It style, and rooted its position in the Seattle theater landscape.

Another significant aspect of the Book-It style is its focus on “simple and sensitive productions.” They are not about dazzling you with elaborate sets and special effects. They are about bringing theater back to its roots of storytelling. “Myra and I will always say ‘Is this too much?’” exclaims Jones.

The dedication to their partnership and the work they are doing emanates brightly from both women. “This is a much harder marriage than the marriage I’m in,” Jones says. “I spend so much time with Myra … we have grown up together.” Platt expands the thought, saying, “We used to refer to ourselves as midwives for these productions.” It is an interesting image and draws attention to the strong feminine qualities embedded in this company: patience, collaboration and a nurturing community. The staff itself is 80 percent female. Platt suggests that their fierce commitment to a collaborative style may be what has kept more women involved. Walking through the dingy, narrow halls of their administrative offices, familiar faces from past productions show up around every corner. Platt and Jones still perform in the company, but not as often as they would like.

Besides their five-play main stage season and Book-It All Over, there is also Danger: Books! which tours libraries and schools, performing banned books. Originated by a commission received from the ACLU, this program is designed to educate and impassion audiences about first amendment rights. Further demands include the ever-present process of developing great books into plays under the constant threat of Hollywood buying the book rights out from under them. “We don’t own the rights to anything except our adaptations, but they can’t be reproduced until we get permission,” laments Platt.

Looking ahead, they are on the verge of offering in-house novel workshops and partnering with Cornish College to workshop new adaptations. (Currently, adaptations are in the works with changes being made up until 5 p.m. on opening night.) They are also preparing to be displaced from the Center House Theatre in a couple of years, an event they see as an opportunity to find their own space where they’ll have more control.

Facing the modern challenge of competing with TV, cinema and computers for their audiences, Jones and Platt place a lot of value in the shared experience of live theater. “It’s about engaging the community on an individual basis as well as a communal basis,” emphasizes Jones. Referring to their current season she notes, “Dickens has a passage in A Tale of Two Cities that describes what’s happening in Iraq exactly!” Platt quickly follows with “Same with The House of the Spirits!”

So, my tale of Book-It ends here, with its two revolutionary women juggling their multiple responsibilities as they boldly march forth, promoting literacy, community, and the first amendment. Energetic and optimistic, they hold firm to their belief that books can open people’s minds and change the world.

Ellen Hastings is a Seattle-based writer, actress and businesswoman.

©2007 Caliope Publishing Company