10/26/2025
To everyone who shared one of the most magical nights of theatre with us last night — thank you.
With 27 minutes left in our show, the power went out. After a quick dash to confirm that the entire block was dark, we asked the audience to hold for just a few seconds. Then, with our amazing stage manager Sarah Ross, we hatched a quick plan: to have every audience member whip out their phones and light the stage for our actors.
They were game.
With our cast on board, we recalibrated and carried on — performing the rest of the show illuminated only by the glow of our audience’s phones. Meanwhile, Sarah in the booth and Brandon backstage provided the necessary sound effects, while the real wind and storm outside created a hauntingly perfect soundscape for our little horror comedy. It added an unexpected poignancy to Kellen Conway Blanchard’s brilliant writing.
I have never been more proud than I was watching our Manor Troupe pull off the impossible — made possible by the shared spirit and quick thinking of everyone in the room. It was a once-in-a-lifetime memory for me, and a testament to the true magic of live theatre.
The joy of creating art with your friends was alive last night at Seattle Open Arts Place.
We have five more chances to see what Meg Carleton, Sarah Rose Nottingham, Lucien Oberleitner, Dylan Smith, and Brandon Ryan and all of our wonderful designers can do with Kellen’s wonderful script.
"The Manor" by Kelleen Conway Blanchard
