Bumbershoot’s stature as one of the most culturally relevant festivals is founded on a 40-year history of programming not only top-notch music, but presenting arts of all disciplines throughout Seattle Center’s theaters, exhibition halls, and grounds. This year, the Festival continues this tradition by offering a roster of arts programming that gives viewers opportunities to laugh, think, discuss, and experience Bumbershoot in new and exciting ways.

WORDS & IDEAS

Words & Ideas is an expansion of the popular Literary Arts program, renamed this year to better encapsulate the breadth of programming presented. This year, the Words & Ideas Stage will feature a series of conversations that examine the point where pop culture, new media, literature, theories, and trends intersect and, from there, often explode into new cultural phenomena.

Words & Ideas features the following programs:

The McSweeney’s Program / The Four Fingers of Death with Rick Moody / Tony Millionaire / Page & Screen: TV Writers and the Comic Novel / Nick Zinner, Zachary Lipez, and Stacey Wakefield / Sound Opinions with Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot / Listen Whitey: A History of Black Power Recordings with Pat Thomas & The Watts Prophets / Kurt B. Reighley’s United States of Americana Road Show / MeTube / Pecha-Kucha / Drawing Rock & Roll: Jay Ryan and Brad Klausen / I’ll Show You a Story! / Why This? Why That? Why Now? Series

PERFORMING ARTS

Bumbershoot’s 2010 Performing Arts lineup features the best in contemporary, urban and experimental dance; exciting performances weaving together elements of juggling, acrobatics, and circus theatricality; and experiments in movement and sound that test the limits of the human body and yield engaging and sometimes unusual visual results.

This year’s Performing Arts Program features:

AXIS Dance Company / Squonk Opera / NANDA / Can Can Castaways / Arts Corps Presents / The 605 Collective / RICOCHET / Dark Divas

SPECTACLE presented by Groupon

The Bumbershoot grounds offer countless opportunities to extend the arts beyond the boundaries of the venue stages to interact and engage Festival attendees on a more personal level. The expanded presence of the arts throughout the grounds is evident with the unique Spectacle programming and random acts of artistic performance.

In 2010, these site-specific, outdoor attractions will feature everything from thrilling acts of daring acrobatics to a unique pedal-powered explosion of carnival roadhouse. In addition, NANDA and Can Can Castaways take their Performing Arts show outdoors to entertain the Bumbershoot masses.

The 2010 Spectacle performances, presented by Groupon, include:

Circus Una Motorcycle Thrill Show / Cyclecide Heavy Pedal Bike Rodeo / Museum of Glass Mobile Hot Shop

THEATRE PROGRAM

Bumbershoot’s 2010 Regional Theatre Program is curated by Theatre Puget Sound, a consortium of theatres and individual artists in the Puget Sound region dedicated to nurturing a healthy and vibrant theatre and arts community. TPS has worked with Bumbershoot since 2003 to curate an exceptional program highlighting local theatre performers and exceptional productions. This year’s Theatre program features enchanting and unique works that will take you on a wild journey through laughter, introspection, frivolty, heartbreak and triumph.

Programming on the Theatre Puget Sound Stage include:

Improvolution / Theatresports / The Jammer / BJ: A Musical Romp / The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee / A Cabaret… Sondheim, Newman, and Weill / The Tastiest Bites of Eat My Shorts