SCT's new Board President, Anh Nguyen (left) | Past SCT Board President, Laura Smith (right)
As SCT welcomes newly appointed Board President Anh Nguyen, join her in conversation with past President Laura Smith as they discuss the importance of TYA, the theatre's mission, and their hope for SCT's future. Join us in welcoming Anh and thanking Laura for all of her time and hard work with SCT!
LET’S START WITH A FUN ONE - WHAT’S EACH OF YOUR FAVORITE SCT SHOW? WHICH HAS HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON YOU?
Anh: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. I had never heard of the title before SCT announced it in the 2018-2019 season, and after our family read it together, the story immediately became a collective favorite. True to its nature, SCT brought the achingly beautiful story to life and magically conveyed the story’s messages about love, humility, and resilience. Sometimes you don’t fully understand something until you feel it; the production made all of us connect with the story in a different way, and we still talk about the remarkable costumes and acting that captured our imagination.
Laura: Into the West. My family had just relocated to Seattle about 20 years ago from NYC when we saw the SCT sign for the show about two children and the mysterious white horse, Tir Na n’Og. We have always loved theatre and never knew we would find such an amazing theatre home in Seattle. This story taught love, empathy, and dealing with loss, and fueled imagination in the unique way that only SCT can. This show was performed again in 2017, giving us the opportunity to do the only thing that beats seeing a show at SCT - seeing a show at SCT twice!
Laura: Into the West. My family had just relocated to Seattle about 20 years ago from NYC when we saw the SCT sign for the show about two children and the mysterious white horse, Tir Na n’Og. We have always loved theatre and never knew we would find such an amazing theatre home in Seattle. This story taught love, empathy, and dealing with loss, and fueled imagination in the unique way that only SCT can. This show was performed again in 2017, giving us the opportunity to do the only thing that beats seeing a show at SCT - seeing a show at SCT twice!
TELL US A BIT ABOUT WHAT SCT’S MISSION MEANS TO YOU BOTH?
Anh: SCT’s mission is about inspiration and empathy. Through high quality live productions and education programs, SCT inspires young audiences to engage with critical topics and strive to become better actors—both literally on the stage and figuratively in their communities. We’ve received remarkable letters from youth who talk about how productions helped them become more confident or better advocates; others have told us that a particular production was the nudge that they needed to find support for a personal struggle. At the same time that we hold a space for topics of social value, we also aim to strike a balance, allowing space for laughter and light in our community, too.
Laura: At our core, we are about delivering an incredibly critical product, live theatre, to all children, regardless of their ability to pay. We know that live theatre changes lives and our donors and supporters know that we need lots of support in order to ensure that all children have the ability to experience the transformational power of live theatre. The events of the past 18 months have reinforced our belief in our mission.
Laura: At our core, we are about delivering an incredibly critical product, live theatre, to all children, regardless of their ability to pay. We know that live theatre changes lives and our donors and supporters know that we need lots of support in order to ensure that all children have the ability to experience the transformational power of live theatre. The events of the past 18 months have reinforced our belief in our mission.
LAURA, WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF ACCOMPLISHING DURING YOUR TIME AS BOARD PRESIDENT AT SCT?
Laura: Wow. I am proud of so many things that we have done over the last two years. Our board, our staff and our donors have expertly pivoted from creating miracles on the stage to creating them off the stage. I can sum it up this way - I am proud of not just surviving the pandemic, but thriving.
ANH, WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU HOPE TO SEE REFLECTED ON SCT’S STAGES AND WITHIN OUR CLASSROOMS IN THE COMING YEARS?
Anh: SCT recognizes it has a role to play in building and reflecting an inclusive community. In the coming years, I hope we will double down on our efforts to build a theatre whose stories, actors, educators, teaching artists, and staff reflect our broad community so all voices and experiences are truly valued.
HOW HAVE YOU SEEN THE IMPACT OF THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES IN YOUR OWN LIVES?
Anh: A couple of years ago when SCT was doing a school showing of The Velveteen Rabbit, I happened to walk into the lobby and could hear audio from the theatre piped in at a critical moment and simply heard silence and then a chorus of awestruck elementary school-aged voices say “Wow!” “That’s so beautiful!” and “This is so cool!”. It’s so rare in today’s tech-filled and busy world to see and hear that type of pure entrancement and joy for an uninterrupted 90-ish minutes. It’s a gift! As for our own kids, just this week our seven year old came home from camp and without even saying hello talked for 10 breathless minutes about the new friends she had made, a story that she had co-created, and the long list of costumes and props that she had to start working on immediately. We love the connection, confidence, and creativity that SCT inspires!
Laura: There is nothing more magical than watching an SCT production by watching your own children (or other children!) view it. Their level of understanding and grasp of complex concepts and emotions is seen in their faces in a way that you will never see doing any other activity. After the show, children share with you all the things that you missed, since being a grown up sometimes takes away these gifts.
Laura: There is nothing more magical than watching an SCT production by watching your own children (or other children!) view it. Their level of understanding and grasp of complex concepts and emotions is seen in their faces in a way that you will never see doing any other activity. After the show, children share with you all the things that you missed, since being a grown up sometimes takes away these gifts.
WHAT IS YOUR HOPE FOR SCT’S FUTURE?
Anh: I hope SCT becomes an even more important community asset in our region and beyond by doing at least three things: (1) continuing to lead the field of youth theatre, (2) enabling an increasingly broad and diverse audience to actively participate in shows and classes, and (3) operating with a sustainable funding model with support that will ensure its longevity.
Laura: I am more excited than ever about SCT’s future. The pandemic has shown us that we need theatre just like we need food. Research has proven what we already knew, that theatre is an essential part of building empathy, imagination and many more critical skills needed for our young people to thrive.
Laura: I am more excited than ever about SCT’s future. The pandemic has shown us that we need theatre just like we need food. Research has proven what we already knew, that theatre is an essential part of building empathy, imagination and many more critical skills needed for our young people to thrive.
