Ellington

Michelle Witt, the new executive director of Meany Hall and artistic director of the UW World Series, has been on campus less time than it takes for your used book to arrive in the mail.

Witt, who has a background in violin performance, seems to have explored every avenue of artistic expression possible. “We made a documentary film,” Witt said, referring to her time at Robert Moses’ Kin, a renowned dance company in San Francisco. “Do you want to see it?”

She rifles through RMK’s website on her new 27-inch flat-screen computer.

“I love this big screen. I want to watch a movie on it. Come in here with popcorn,” she joked.

Witt has stepped into a newly-devised role that merges two organizations previously managed separately: Meany Hall, the UW’s performance arts venue, and the long-standing UW World Series, one of Meany Hall’s largest users, a music-and-dance series that will feature 21 artists and companies this upcoming season. Witt believes that this merge is strategic in vision and makes sense from a budgetary standpoint.

“This is such an incredible institution to be a part of and I think the way these two organizations [are] coming together really maximizes what we can do at Meany Hall and the World Series,” Witt said. “I think it sets the stage for a lot of different types of opportunity. The collaborative spirit here is really exciting for me.”

Before coming to the UW, Witt served as associate director of Stanford University Lively Arts since 2006, and as director of University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) Arts and Lectures from 2001 to 2006.

“She has a deep understanding of all the variables that drive decisions around artistic direction,” said Matt Krashan, retiring founder and artistic director of the World Series. “As my mother used to say, change is good.”

Krashan believes Witt will continue exploring the magic, beauty and discourse that the arts can bring to society.

Her collaborative vision also incorporates students in new and creative ways.

“I’d like to develop some sort of student advisory group to help curate opening performances for things. It could even start as early as this season,” Witt said, although she stressed that it’s not entirely feasible yet. “I would love to see the lobby used in different ways. Performances could potentially happen in the lobby prior to the performance of the series. Depending on the weather, they might be able to happen out in the square or in front of Meany Hall. I would love to connect with student artists who would like to curate exhibitions in the Meany lobby space.”

Witt’s educational background is in violin performance and philosophy. She received her MA in music at the University of California in 1991, and her BA in liberal arts at the University of Notre Dame in 1988. It was through a volunteer job at the Sun Valley Center for the Arts in Idaho, where she spent a few summers performing in a symphony, that she got involved with the administrative side of the arts. After a director position opened up in 1997, she took a leap of faith and ended up organizing, among other things, a blues festival that featured performers like Lyle Lovett and Bonnie Raitt.

Witt, who recognizes the challenges of conceptual and economic accessibility in performative works, stresses the importance of creating “entry-points”: different ways that someone can enter into a performative world, even if the work is challenging.

“If you don’t know anything about dance, but you love technology, and you love Mac technology, and you learn that [local choreographer] Merce Cunningham has done a piece that involves iPhones, that’s an entry-point for you,” she said. “I rely on trying to understand what the baseline is of a particular community, where there’s a need and an expressed interest, [and] really trying to honor that and work from that. It’s also very intuitive.”

Witt hopes to attract more private funding and possibly lower ticket prices for events like the World Series. However, the most important part of building resources, according to Witt, is offering rich artistic experiences, many points of access and exciting experiences for patrons.

Witt’s enthusiasm for the new job is not only apparent, it’s contagious. Her plans for the next few weeks are simple: meet with as many students, faculty and Seattle art leaders as possible in order to build new coalitions in a new city that she describes as vibrant, young and diverse.

“I’m really thrilled to be here and [am] very much looking forward to the vision for this program moving forward,” she said. “I think we have a strong foundation moving forward. … There’s been a lot of support that has made the coming together of these two departments possible. The academic department chairs are all eager to explore collaboration and interdisciplinary programming.”

Reach reporter Amy Scott at arts@dailyuw.com.