Seattle Repertory Theatre
Ott left Berkeley in 1997 to become the artistic director of the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Under her leadership, a successful $15 million endowment campaign was completed, and the Rep's annual budget grew from $6 million to $9 million. She maintained a subscription audience of 14,000 and grew the overall audience for the Rep from 140,400 in the year prior to her arrival to a high of 185,000. Ott re-introduced the classics to the Seattle Rep audiences, directing Shakespeare and Shaw herself, and producing the work of Stephen Wadsworth, Mary Zimmerman, and Tina Landau. She maintained the Rep's long term association with August Wilson, producing the world premiere of Wilson's King Hedley II and How I Learned What I Learned, Wilson's autobiographical solo performance work. Ott also produced the world premiere work of several major new artists to the Rep, such as Ping Chong, Phillip Kan Gotanda, and Nilo Cruz.
Read more about this topic: Sharon Ott
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