In 1986 a group of friends started the Annex Theatre to help emerging Seattle artists produce work. Their endeavor and the effort of those who have lead Annex after was honored this month when Capitol Hill’s Annex Theatre received a legacy honor at the Mayor’s Arts Awards. The theatre is celebrating its 30th season in 2017.
After receiving the award, outgoing Annex artistic director Pamala Mijatov carried it off the stage and handed it to the new AD Catherine Smith.
“I said, ‘This is yours. … I carried this for a long time, but it’s yours now,’” Mijatov told CHS.
Annex has produced hundreds of plays put on by thousands of artists to potentially hundreds of thousands of people, Mijatov said. This Saturday the theatre will hold its 30th Season Announcement Party where attendees will hear about productions coming up in 2017 and the artistic director tiara will pass from Mijatov to Smith.
Yes, there really is a tiara.
Mijatov, who has been wearing the crown since 2010, first became involved with Annex as an actor during its last year at its original space on 4th Ave downtown.
During the 15 years she’s been involved with Annex, Mijatov has done nearly every job possible.
“I didn’t really know when I started that new work was going to be my thing, but it’s just really powerful to watch something be completely born from nothing in a short period of time,” Mijatov said. “It’s really addicting watching that happen.”
Now that Mijatov is handing her position over to Smith, she has joined Annex’s board. Mijatov said she feels Annex is designed by, for and about emerging artists, so if an artistic director stays on too long, their personality could push through that. She also has other projects pulling her attention and wants to get back to directing.
“I think that I wanted to hand it over to the next generation of artists and let them try and fail and try again and do better,” Mijatov said.
Smith has been working with Annex since 2012. She has been a stage manager, a production manager, a director and she currently curates the monthly variety show Spin the Bottle.
Within the company, Smith has already been inaugurated as the new artistic director, but will take up the position publicly on Saturday.
Smith has been involved with Annex as it has continued to make a space for arts and performance below 1100 E Pike location even as Capitol Hill changes around it.
The theatre has been at that location since 2007, but was nomadic and took up the space that currently houses Velocity Dance on 12th Ave between moving out of downtown and finding its current home.
“Really something that’s very crucial to Annex’s identity is to have a home, having what we call a clubhouse — a place where artists feel ownership over the space and that helps them feel ownership of the company,” Mijatov said.
While Capitol Hill for a long time served as the fringe theatre district, Annex is one of the few remaining 99-seat theatres, putting it in high demand for rentals.
Annex puts on eight shows a season, but hosts about 20 to 30 other arts groups each year.
The changing demographic of Capitol Hill and disappearing arts spaces has Mijatov and Smith warily monitoring the market.
“I think all arts organizations on the Hill are concerned about rising rents,” Mijatov said. “… Our identity is very much raw, scrappy, untested, messy work and there would be a big education process in telling people who we are and what we do.”
Thankfully their landlord and neighbors in the building are supportive. And as a new board member, the Annex’s long-range plan is something Mijatov will be considering more.
Ironically part of Annex’s identity is closely tied to change within its community as it is focused on emerging artists who come in and create, learn and grow and move on. The theatre is a collective and participants get out of it what they put in, Smith said.
“Annex is however you define it.”
You can learn more at annextheatre.org.
