April 14, 2011 – Seattle. Pamala Mijatov was recently named Artistic Director of Annex Theatre Company, officially succeeding former Artistic Director Bret Fetzer on August 9, 2010*. Remarked Fetzer, “Pamala Mijatov has been a crucial member of the Annex Company for more than a decade, not only creating art but also working in the trenches: taking out the garbage, sewing costumes, and arguing about season selection. Her intelligence and creativity have already been shaping Annex’s future as an Artistic Associate; becoming Artistic Director is the natural next step for her and for Annex. I am delighted to be placing the theater in her capable hands and look forward to working with her on the upcoming shows I’m directing.” (Fetzer served two tenures as Annexʼs Artistic Director: 2001-2004 and 2007-2010. He will continue to create new work at Annex: directing the final episode of Penguins, Annexʼs long-running late-night serial, in August; overseeing the Fall 2011 ensemble-generated production c.1993; and curating Spin the Bottle, Annexʼs monthly late-night variety show.)
Pamala Mijatov, a 1999 graduate of Cornish College of the Arts, has been an Annex company and staff member since 2001. She made her Annex debut in Pearl, the final mainstage production at the companyʼs original 4th Avenue location. Other Annex acting credits include Stage Door, Hothouse 2001 & 2004, Passport, Keep the Light On, and The Moon Is A Dead World. During her first decade with the company, Mijatov has worked as an actor, director, designer, stage manager, and dialect coach on over 30 productions and special events, including world and Northwest premieres by local and nationally-recognized playwrights including Anne Washburn, Dan Dietz, Paul Mullin, Elizabeth Heffron, Mike Daisey, Rachel Atkins, Scotto Moore, Bret Fetzer, and Juliet Waller Pruzan. From mid-2008 until her August, 2010 appointment as Artistic Director, she served as an Artistic Associate, focusing on company cultivation, staff involvement, and artist advocacy.
Mijatov said, “Annex Theatre has been a vital part of Seattleʼs theater community for well over two decades, producing a staggering number of raw, daring, and audacious productions – the vast majority of which were world premieres. It is an amazing laboratory for new art and new artists, nurturing the careers of generations of new theatrical voices, including my own; I came to Annex as an actor and, like many in our company, have since enjoyed tremendous opportunities to work in almost every other aspect of play development and production alongside some of the most exciting artists in Seattle. Iʼm thrilled and proud to be a part of Annexʼs past, present, and future.” Mijatov intends to return to Annexʼs roots and offer greater support to developing playwrights and directors via progress showings, longer development timelines, and increased dramaturgical resources. “Now that Annex has settled into our new home and codified our rigorous production model, we can turn more of our energy back where it belongs: shepherding new works of art from initial conception through final production, and deepening our pool of talented collaborators.”
On behalf of Annex Theatreʼs Board of Directors, Board Member and Company Historian Ed Hawkins stated, “We were thrilled to unanimously endorse Pamalaʼs appointment to the Artistic Director position. She joined the Annex company when we were still downtown. She remained fiercely loyal to Annex during its challenging ʻdiasporaʼ years (2001-2007). And she played a significant role in securing, improving, and branding the always-bustling new space on Capitol Hill. Pamala not only understands our history, she has experienced much of it personally. That experience, coupled with her clear communication skills, level-headed ability to build consensus, and measured yet palpable artistic passion, makes her uniquely equipped to oversee Annexʼs continuing company-driven artistic evolution while remaining true to its roots as Seattleʼs home for ʻbig cheap theatreʼ and bold, new work.”
ABOUT ANNEX THEATRE
Annex Theatre is a democratic collective of theatre artists dedicated to creating bold new work in an environment of improbability, resourcefulness and risk.
In addition to new plays by living playwrights, Annex produces radical reinterpretations of classic scripts, ensemble-generated non-linear spectacles, and dynamic solo performances, as well as our monthly late-night variety show Spin the Bottle, now in its 14th year. All productions are chosen by the Annex company as a whole, through a process of proposals, interviews, readings, frenzied argument, and, ultimately, consensus. Annex Theatre now resides at the corner of 11th Ave and E Pike St. in the heart of Capitol Hill. After early stirrings on Bainbridge Island, Annex Theatre began its Seattle incarnation in 1988 at a former dance studio on 4th Avenue in downtown Seattle. Since then the theater has produced hundreds of world and Northwest premieres, including new plays by Stranger Genius Award winners Chris Jeffries and Paul Mullin; dozens of other local playwrights, including Elizabeth Heffron, Jeff Resta, Kelleen Conway Blanchard, Scotto Moore, Keri Healey, Scot Augustson, John Kaufmann, and Heidi Heimarck; and nationally recognized playwrights such as Erik Ehn, Naomi Iizuka, Glen Berger, Anne Washburn, Jeffrey M. Jones, and Nicky Silver.
Former Annex company members (aka “Annex alumni”) can be found throughout the Seattle arts community, including Allison Narver**, freelance director and former Artistic Director of the Empty Space; Weir Harman, Executive Director of Town Hall; Andrea Allen**, Education Director of Seattle Repertory Theatre; Ed Hawkins, Advertising Manager for Seattle Opera; Josef Krebs, Development Director for ACT Theatre; and Gillian Jorgensen**, Seattle Children’s Theatre Teaching Artist; as well as in the local and national film industry—such as directors SJ Chiro**, Garrett Bennett, and Mike Shapiro, and actors Jillian Armenante and Paul Giamatti. We believe that Annexʼs distinctive collective working model (which cultivates a combination of initiative, diligence, and the ability to play well with others) is responsible for this remarkable track record of producing leaders in the arts.
*Note: Mijatov was officially named Artistic Director at a special Annex company meeting on August 9, 2010. Please excuse our delay in drafting this press release and announcing the happy event. We were busy making art.
**indicates former Annex Theatre Artistic Director.
