Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/791562
Carlo or many Seattleites, no year comes to an end with- out a trip to A.C.T.—A Contemporary eatre. e stage's annual rendition of A Christmas Carol marks the holiday season as much as Santa or snow. e popular annual play centers on a classic curmudgeon, but A.C.T. board member Carlo Scandiuzzi couldn't be further from the infamous Ebenezer Scrooge. Raised by Italian parents in Geneva, Carlo studied act- ing and directing there. He also met Seattle native Eulalie Meadowcro, who had moved to Switzerland with her mother. Carlo eventually relocated to the Pacific North- west, married Eulalie, and joined the WAC in 2000. Carlo's entertainment career spans decades and has included time as a film producer, pioneering punk-rock promoter, and actor. He joined A.C.T. in 2007 and became executive director the following year. He speaks warmly about how the WAC exemplifies gracious entertaining. "When I am downtown working, the Club is the place where I meet with artists and colleagues," he says. "e WAC has a certain prestige. A sense of exclusivity that I like very much. When I bring somebody there, there is no worry. Will the service be good? Will the food be good? I already know it's going to be great!" A.C.T. produces everything from world premieres, such as Bloomsday by contemporary playwright Steven Dietz, to Shakespeare, to older works dating back two thousand years. e common denominator, Carlo says, is relevance to a broad audience. "A.C.T. eatre is for the people, by the people," he says. "We're a theater that wants to eliminate all barriers to access, a theater that wants to have interesting and some- times difficult conversations about life, about art, love, hate, death, birth—all the important things we go through in our lives." Recently, Carlo transitioned out of his executive direc- tor role but remains an A.C.T. board member. He's also launching a consultancy, Scandiuzzi Krebs, focused on nonprofit, social service, and cultural entities. Whatever comes next, there's one thing Carlo knows he can count on. "Going to lunch at the WAC." F Scandiuzzi MARCH / APRIL 2017 33