Live theater with Heart comes to Kenmore

Hjalmer Anderson is founding partner of Eastside Actors Repertory Theater

Correction: The original post stated that Anderson's group formerly operated as The Woodinville Repertory Theatre. This is incorrect. Anderson was formerly the artistic director of Woodinville Repertory Theatre, which is still operating in Woodinville with new Artistic Director, Jane Ryan.

Second theater group set to stage performances at KCC hall

HEART Repertory Theatre, a Theatre with Heart, has negotiated a rental agreement with the Kenmore Community Club for use of its hall for live theater presentations.

HEART Repertory Theatre is a non-profit organization under the artistic direction of Hjalmer Anderson, founded during the lockdowns of 2020 and incorporated in 2021.

The organization aims to provide the Seattle Eastside community with a year-round schedule of all forms of theater, including live staged productions, online performances, and films to serve the cultural, educational and entertainment needs of our community. Formerly artistic director of the Woodinville Repertory Theater, Anderson has a long history of involvement in theater in Northshore and Eastside areas.

"We welcome and provide an avocational opportunity for volunteers interested in the theater arts to participate in the many activities of community theater," said founder Hjalmer Anderson. " We also train and support the artistic and financial integrity of theater professionals and promote and support the diverse local community of theater youth educational programs in order to teach the importance of the Arts and lifelong learning."

Anderson worked for the Northshore School District for 41 years first as the Inglemoor Theatre Teacher from 1974 to 1983, then moving to Woodinville High School to build the national and International award winning theater program and finally he was the first theater manager for the Northshore Performing Arts Center when it opened 2005.

For 20 years he was the artistic director for the Woodinville Repertory Theatre which was founded by the late Peg Phillps (a featured player on "Northern Exposure" a TV series in the '90's). Many of Hjalmer's students became professional artists working all over the country from New York, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle. Hjalmer is very excited to come home to Kenmore with this new company where it all started.

The group will collaborate with AsIf Theater group, headed by Cindy Giese, which had just launched its initial season in 2019 prior to the pandemic lockdown. Giese and Anderson are long-time colleagues dating back to Inglemoor High School Drama program when Anderson was the Theater Arts teacher and Giese was a student.