The Pocket Theater

10/28/2019

Big Announcement - Pocket Theater closing

Dear Pocket community,

I’m writing with sad news today. After five years and thousands of performances, my heart hurts to announce that the Pocket is closing at the end of 2019. The Pocket has been struggling financially and has proven unsustainable.

The last night of shows will be Saturday, December 21st, 2019. We have lots of performances scheduled throughout November and December. My hope is that we’ll blow out the last few months with parties, hugs, and mimosas.

Our community is big, resilient, strong, and compassionate. And certainly bigger than a physical space. As we mourn the loss of the Pocket space, I’m curious what our community will create next.

Thank you for being part of this community. Thank you for performing, running tech and bar, donating through our Pocket Protector program, cheering on artists, throwing parties, teaching, EVERYTHING! Thank you. I’m so grateful.

Sarah
Owner/Manager - Pocket Theater

07/23/2019

The Fix pay-what-you-want comedy writing workshop is canceled for tonight, but we'll catch you next Tuesday at 7pm-9pm!

07/03/2019

ANNOUNCEMENT! So excited to share that the Pocket is starting a New Play Development program! Submit your work NOW!

The Pocket Theater is partnering with local playwright and director Leonard Goodisman to give support to new 20-minute plays!

You wrote a 20-minute play and you want support in getting it performed. You want to know what it's like with performers and an audience. You want feedback to keep growing your work. Maybe you could use support in casting, directing, or production planning. Maybe it would be nice to have another set of eyes on your script.

The Pocket is accepting submissions of plays up to 20 minutes in length. We'll put up one of these plays each month beginning in October 2019. We want new works. We want passion projects, the idea you just can't get out of your head.

*We will not accept work that is racist, misogynistic, transphobic, ableist, ageist, anti-immigrant, or fascist.*

If we select your play, we provide these things (you're welcome to use a few of these resources or all of them):

- Support in self-producing your 20-minute play

- Writing feedback (up to 3 hours)

- Production planning help (up to 1 hour)

- Casting support (up to 4 hours)

- Directing support (up to 4 two-hour rehearsals)

- One free 2-hour rehearsal at the Pocket Theater (1 hour with a director)

- One performance of your 20-minute play plus time for feedback that is pay-what-you-can for audience members (total of 90 minutes). We'll staff the event at no charge to you and manage seat reservations. For pay-what-you-can performances at the Pocket, the Pocket keeps the proceeds from the performance.

If we select your play, you will:

- Work with us to put on your 20-minute new play you've written at the Pocket

- Tell people about the show

- Communicate with us and be a kind person

- Have a great time and feel accomplished!

Questions? Email [email protected]

The Pocket Theater is partnering with local playwright and director Leonard Goodisman to give support to new 20-minute plays! You wrote a 20-minute play and you want support in getting it performed. You want to know what it's like with performers and an audience. You want feedback to keep growing yo...

04/29/2019

Are you ready for strawberry-lemonade mimosas and laugh your face off, award-winning comedy shows? Are you ready for the bizarre Bachelor parody of your dreams, a well-deserved Seahawks bro skewering, and cringe-in-your-spine horror comedy?

Sketch Comedy Month kicks off THIS WEEKEND with the best and weirdest comedy shows to shake up your weekend, leave you feeling lighter, and give your out of town friends a glimpse of the artsy underbelly of the city.

34 unique shows, 6+ shows every weekend, pay-what-you-want craft beers.

www.thepocket.org/watch

04/22/2019

Did you know you can rent the Pocket for company meetings, workshops, parties, photo shoots, and more? Find us on Peerspace, angels, and we'll take good care of you!

Our home is your home when you host an event with us. Customize the space and delight your guests with lots of options to create an eve

04/04/2019

Spring is here and it's comedy time, baby!

Get the best and strangest comedy the entire month of May at the Pocket Theater. Laugh your face off with award winning comedy shows from teams who have toured all over the country, and new and bizarre experimental performances you've never seen before and may never see again. Make it a night with board games in the lobby and pay-what-you-want craft beer at the show, then hang out with the comedians at their favorite neighborhood bar.

34 unique shows, 6+ shows every weekend, way too many strawberry lemonade mimosas. It's Sketch Comedy Month 2019. Schedule coming soon!

04/01/2019

The Washington State Department of Corrections recently placed a ban on organizations donating books to incarcerated people. This is super upsetting and hurts a lot of people. We encourage y'all to make a quick phone call or send a quick email encouraging the DOC to lift the ban. Easy sample script below, it only takes a minute.

Prisons Division General Manager Roy Gonzalez
[email protected]
(360) 725-8839

Governor Jay Inslee
https://bit.ly/2FHlUD1
(360) 902-4111

Hello _______,

I'm [calling/writing] as a concerned Washington resident regarding the recent shift in the WA state Department of Corrections disallowing used books from organizations to enter correctional facilities. It's imperative to treat incarcerated people humanely and I'm very concerned by this decision made by the DOC. I urge you to remove the ban. There is no legitimate security threat in prisoners receiving books from organizations like Books to Prisoners, which have been sending tens of thousands of books since 1973.

Thank you,
_________

⚡️MONDAY PHONE ZAP ⚡️

The Washington Department of Corrections has just prohibited prisoners from receiving used books from all nonprofit organizations.

For more information, please see this notice:
https://twitter.com/B2PSeattle/status/1111826799627919361?s=20

Across the country, dozens of volunteer nonprofits respond directly to prisoners' book requests; together, these groups send about 200,000 free books every year to people behind bars. For the many prisoners who can't afford to buy books, these are a lifeline; for prisoners in solitary confinement (around 80,000 at any given time), these book donations may be the only reading material they have. This measure will deny incarcerated people in Washington access to literally thousands of books. We have successfully sent books without incident since 1973. Sadly, this isn't the first time that a DOC has attempted to ban our programs. Most attempted bans cite security reasons -- though few (if any) can cite a single instance where a books-to-prisoners group ever sent contraband material. We stopped this in Pennsylvania in 2018; let's stop it now in Washington.

Please join other prison book program supporters on Monday to call Washington Prisons Correctional Manager Roy Gonzalez to demand that this new policy -- a change to DOC 450.100 -- be rescinded at once:

📞 (360) 725-8839

(After you call, please take a moment to tell us how it went: https://forms.gle/Mw4pmiD7i6KD6KuA7)

03/29/2019

Hello, everyone. I'm sad to report that in compliance with Washington State liquor law, the Pocket is forced to cancel Nudeprov this Sunday as well as all upcoming Nudeprov shows at the Pocket.

It was my understanding that since we did not allow alcoholic beverages into the theater during the performance that we were in compliance with Washington State law, but after a conversation with an enforcement officer this afternoon I have been informed that is not the case. A complaint was filed and we received a verbal warning referencing WAC 314-11-050:

"(1) Licensees may not allow, permit, or encourage employees (including him or herself) to:
(a) Be unclothed or in such attire, costume, or clothing as to expose to view any portion of the breast below the top of the ar**la or of any portion of the p***c hair, a**s, cleft of the buttocks, v***a, or ge****ls.

(2) Licensees may not allow, permit, or encourage any person (including him or herself) on the licensed premises to:
(a) Perform acts of or acts which simulate, or use artificial devices or inanimate objects which depict;
• The displaying of the p***c hair, a**s, v***a, or ge****ls."

Any venue with a liquor license may not feature n**e shows.

All tickets will be refunded this afternoon and I'll follow up over email with each person who purchased a ticket.

I'm sincerely sorry. I feel sad and frustrated at the regressive and arbitrary nature of the law, and frankly that the description of the law is more lewd than Nudeprov ever was. (And even so, it's incredibly puritanical and absurd to prohibit n**e performances for consenting adults even if the content is sexual in nature.) You all are wonderful people and it was a pleasure hosting you at the Pocket. I'm working with the producers of the show to find a suitable venue for the future (if you know of ADA accessible venues ranging from 50-150 seats that do NOT have a liquor license please don't hesitate to reach out). Please email me at [email protected] if you have further questions.

Thank you,
Sarah
Manager, Pocket Theater