Perseverance Theatre (PT) is dedicated to “tapping the potential of Alaska through the passionate creation and presentation of theatre.” This mission statement originates in our organizational values: engaging community, pursuing excellence, embracing risk, and inspiring self-discovery.
We were founded in 1979 in Juneau, Alaska’s state capital and a community of 30,000 that is only accessible by plane or boat. More than a quarter century later, we are the state’s flagship professional theatre, serving upwards of 20,000 Alaskan artists and audiences annually with classical and contemporary productions on our Main and Second stages; extensive education programs for adults and youths; statewide tours; an annual Alaska Native performance festival; and outreach collaborations with groups ranging from Ilisagvik College in Barrow to Juneau’s Filipino Community, Inc. In 2001, we signed an agreement to become the resident theatre at the University of Alaska Southeast, offering theatre minors and, eventually, majors to their students.
We are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization with an annual budget that has nearly doubled over the past five years to over $1 million. In December 2002, we were one of just seven theatres nationwide to have been awarded a $500,000 endowment challenge grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation in New York, through their Leading National Theatres Program. We are also in the final stages of a $1.1 million facility renovation and expansion project.
In 29 seasons under Artistic Directors Molly Smith (now the Artistic Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., and pictured at right with Paula Vogel), Peter DuBois (now the Artistic Director of Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, MA), PJ Paparelli (now the Artistic Director at American Theatre Company in Chicago, IL), and Art Rotch, we’ve premiered over 50 new plays by Alaskan and national playwrights, among them The Long Season (2005), a World Premiere musical about the Filipino Alaskan experience; and columbinus (2005), a World Premiere exploration of adolescence and the phenomenon of school shootings. Both productions received reportage in American Theater magazine and on National Public Radio. The Long Season was subsequently presented at New Jersey’s George Street Playhouse; meanwhile, columbinus was produced off-Broadway in May 2006 at New York Theatre Workshop. Paula Vogel’s 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning play How I Learned to Drive was also written and developed at PT.
PT is a theater of place which places a special emphasis on working with Alaskan artists. We maintain a local resident acting company and training and development opportunities are an essential element of all our artistic operations. We are also committed to engaging artistic work which speaks directly to the Alaskan experience. Moby Dick (2001) was a World Premiere fusion of Melville with the whaling traditions of the Iñupiat Eskimos. Performed by a multi-ethnic cast of Alaskan performers, this production later toured to Anchorage, Fairbanks, and Barrow, the northernmost settlement in North America. Meanwhile, Macbeth (2004) was set in the context of Southeast Alaska’s indigenous Tlingit culture and was performed by an all-Alaska Native cast. This piece later toured the state and, in March 2007, was remounted a third time for performances at the new Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C., in association with the citywide Shakespeare in Washington festival. This strong history of work with the Alaska Native community garnered PT a four-year, $400,000 award from the Wallace Foundation in 2003 to deepen and expand our engagement of Alaska Native artists and audiences.
Recent artistic projects have included the World Premiere of Yeast Nation, the newest musical by the creators of Urinetown, Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann.
