Magpie Artists' Ensemble

Magpie Artists' Ensemble Magpie Artists' Ensemble
Pushing the boundaries of print and performance mediums, bringing diverse stories to life in exciting and accessible ways.

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Join us June 27th for the 4th installment of our beloved Qabaret: A Q***r Cabaret series, celebrating Q***r joy - and ma...
04/28/2026

Join us June 27th for the 4th installment of our beloved Qabaret: A Q***r Cabaret series, celebrating Q***r joy - and making musical theatre even gayer! This year's setlist features both new q***r spins on musical theatre classics and some of our "greatest hits" from Qabarets past.

Tickets are free, but limited! See the 🔗 in bio to reserve a seat.

***rtheatre

"The Tale of the Fisher King...The tale of King Anfortas, who suffers Endlessly...The wound is upon him and the land - f...
06/09/2025

"The Tale of the Fisher King...The tale of King Anfortas, who suffers Endlessly...The wound is upon him and the land - for they are one. And the land lies bleeding, aching, dying, until the day that the one who knows best what chivalry is can ask of the Fisher King the secret healing question."
Swipe for a peek at the choreographed weaving the ensemble used to tell the tale of the Fisher King - one of our favorite sequences from Arthuriana!

📸
Directed by
Costumes + floor by
Lights by Aurora Asay

Arthuriana opens (and closes) this weekend! Arthuriana is a magical and mysterious devised physical theatre piece explo...
05/30/2025

Arthuriana opens (and closes) this weekend! Arthuriana is a magical and mysterious devised physical theatre piece exploring lesser-known Arthurian tales through a Q***r lens. It runs in rep with a campy, heartfelt Q***r take on Camelot that's more relevant today than it was in 1960 - so come for the familiar and stay for something new! Festival passes are just $15.

Don't miss the epic romance, campy antics, and poignant and relevant message of Camelot, playing THIS WEEKEND ONLY at Th...
05/28/2025

Don't miss the epic romance, campy antics, and poignant and relevant message of Camelot, playing THIS WEEKEND ONLY at Theatre Off Jackson!
Lerner & Loewe's Camelot is one of Magpie's signature "staged readings on steroids," a concert staging with a few surprises 👀⚔ī¸ It's presented as part of Arthuriana Fest, a celebration of Arthurian legends, which includes everything from the classic Camelot to experimental Tanztheater-inspired devised work. There's something for everyone, and festival passes start at just $15 for both shows!
🎟ī¸ in bÃŽo!

Arthuriana Fest Design Spotlight: Guenevere Read on for some background on the design choices resident costumer Michelle...
05/20/2025

Arthuriana Fest Design Spotlight: Guenevere

Read on for some background on the design choices resident costumer Michelle Marais made when designing Guenevere's costumes (but beware spoilers!):

A controversially tragic figure, Guenevere finds herself caught between two men she loves in very different ways - reflected here in the purple of her dress, which creates a gradient between the red of Camelot and the blue of Joyous Gard. The costume for Arthuriana (left) is simpler and more restrictive, reflecting the way the play explores women's objectification and limited agency within the Arthurian canon. The Camelot costume (right), meanwhile, is full and detailed, and allows for more freedom of movement for dancing as Guenevere embodies the joy and pleasure that she and Arthur insist upon in "civilized" society.

You can see the real-life costumes and read more about its design at Arthuriana Fest, May 31st-June 1st! 🎟ī¸ in bio!

Arthuriana Fest Design Spotlight: MordredRead on for some background on the design choices resident costumer Michelle Ma...
05/19/2025

Arthuriana Fest Design Spotlight: Mordred

Read on for some background on the design choices resident costumer Michelle Marais made when designing Mordred's costumes (but beware spoilers!):

Though the details of his identity and betrayal vary across time and retellings (was he a hated son or trusted nephew to Arthur? Did he marry Guenevere?), Mordred is always a harbinger of the end of Camelot and all it symbolizes. A dramatic cloak and greyscale color scheme make him stand out amidst colorful yet uniform court. For Arthuriana, an addition to his costume is the literal stain of sin on his hand: charcoal that over time stains his companion Galahad, who seems to be the only one who sees it - a manifestation of his near-pathological obsession with idealogical purity over more realistic good deeds.

You can see the real-life costumes and read more about its design at Arthuriana Fest, May 31st-June 1st! 🎟ī¸ in bio!

Arthuriana Fest Design Spotlight: Galahad & LancelotRead on for some background on the design choices resident costumer ...
05/18/2025

Arthuriana Fest Design Spotlight: Galahad & Lancelot

Read on for some background on the design choices resident costumer Michelle Marais made when designing Galahad and Lancelot's costumes (but beware spoilers!):

Purity (in mind, body, and spirit) is possibly the most important trait a knight could possess throughout most of the Arthurian canon. You'll hear Lancelot boast - rather comedically - of his virginity in "C'est Moi" during Camelot; but both his famous affair with Queen Guenevere and his illegitimate son Galahad, a main character in Arthuriana, is proof that he can't sustain his purity. This failure puts even more pressure on Galahad as the new "chosen one," whose unshakeable purity and chivalry make him the savior Lancelot fails to be.
Michelle reflects these themes in the color schemes of the two costumes - both have a white base, with dark blue to contrast Lancelot's former purity and a red cross to represent Galahad's holy mission...but will Galahad be able to keep his halberd clean, or is Lancelot's fall simply foreshadowing of his son's fate? White cloth is a perfect canvas for sinful stains, and Michelle's been researching how to clean fabric on the fly 👀

You can see the real-life costumes and read more about its design at Arthuriana Fest, May 31st-June 1st! 🎟ī¸ in bio!

Moments from rehearsals for Camelot, performing May 31st & June 1st at ! Be prepared for the campiest production of thi...
05/11/2025

Moments from rehearsals for Camelot, performing May 31st & June 1st at ! Be prepared for the campiest production of this classic that you've ever seen 🌈

🎟ī¸ 🔗 you-know-where!

***rtheatre

Arthuriana Fest Design Spotlight: The Fisher King Read on for some background on the design choices resident costumer Mi...
05/06/2025

Arthuriana Fest Design Spotlight: The Fisher King

Read on for some background on the design choices resident costumer Michelle Marais made when designing The Fisher King's costume (but beware spoilers!):

The Fisher King's tale is a medieval classic. The Fisher King, Anfortas, represents the traditional connection between a King and his land; when a King is wounded, the land also suffers until he is healed. Anfortas in particular suffers a would that refuses to heal, which throws his country into an endless drought. This is represented through his costume in the form of decay - the fabric itself is rotting off of him, and blood flows continuously from his wound. As a bonus, his costume is reversible, allowing the actor to transform between the Fisher King and Merlin at a moment's notice!

You can see the real-life costume and read more about its design at Arthuriana Fest, May 31st-June 1st! 🎟ī¸ in bio!

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409 7th Ave S
Seattle, WA
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