When the Queen Anne High School was built, America was conflicted over the purpose of high school. Public education was seen as a possible cure for America’s social ills. Some believed there should be an emphasis on liberal arts, while others wanted to use the system to assimilate a surging immigration population, and another push was for vocational training.
In Queen Anne, the demand for a high school came from Seattle’s rapid population growth during the years following the Alaska Gold Rush. Between 1902 and 1910, Seattle’s total high school enrollment leapt from approximately 700 students to 4,500 students. Several elementary schools were constructed on Queen Anne Hill, and it was evident that a new high school would be needed. …Continue reading “Queen Anne High School”→
Jean Burch Falls (1926-2020) worked with her husband Gregory Falls (1922-1997) in the origination of ACT — A Contemporary Theatre — in 1965. ACT produced notable performances in the historic Redding Building, also known as Queen Anne Hall & more recently Behnke Center and home to On the Boards, at 100 West Roy. Later ACT restored Eagles Auditorium, relocating to downtown Seattle in 1996. ACT introduced to Seattle works by such contemporary playwrights as David Mamet, Sam Shepard, and Tom Stoppard, and cultivated a community of actors and theatre workers.
Born and raised in New York City, Jean Burch graduated from Manhattan’s Brearley School in 1942 after attending boarding schools in Virginia and Lausanne, Switzerland. Despite her family’s objections, she studied drama in college, first at Bryn Mawr and then at Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. In 1943, she started to fly planes, hoping to join the WASPs – Women’s Auxiliary Service Patrol. However, the war in Europe ended before she reached the age when she could serve. After a first marriage and the birth of two sons, she began pre-med studies at the University of Vermont — while also directing and acting in community theatre. There she met and married Greg Falls, Director of the University of Vermont Drama Department, and her dramatic activities intensified.
Jean Falls and Bayne Ellis in ACT’s production of A Lion in Winter, July 1968 (courtesy ACT)
Redding Building c. 2016, the original home of ACT 1965-1996
In 1961, the University of Washington appointed Greg Falls as Executive Director of the School of Drama, and the Falls family – now including two daughters — moved to Seattle. Jean performed in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Green Lake Aqua Theatre. After a couple of years, Jean and Greg began to look for a space to open a contemporary summer theatre, to complement the two-year-old Seattle Repertory Theatre that staged classic plays during the winter. This led to the 1965 opening of ACT at its original Queen Anne location on West Roy. Jean noted that Jim Whittaker– the first American to summit Mt. Everest and an originator of REI – had used the Redding Building as a staging area.
In 1974, Jean began to write lyrics, often in collaboration with composer Rob Duisberg. Her work included lyrics for performances at ACT, Empty Space, and Issaquah’s Village Theatre. In 1999, she performed her final stage role in a production of Margaret Edson’s WIT at Seattle Repertory Theatre. She also travelled with the show to theatres in Houston, Phoenix, and Tucson.
Stewart Ballinger, Greg and Jean Falls at ACT’s 20th anniversary celebration in the Rainier Tower, May 1, 1984 (courtesy ACT)
Prepared by The Queen Anne Historical Society And Michael J. Herschensohn, Ph.D., President With the assistance of board members Leanne Olson And Nicole Demers-Changelo
When the Queen Anne High School was built, America was conflicted over the purpose of high school. Public education was seen as a possible cure for America’s social ills. Some believed there should be an emphasis on liberal arts, while others wanted to use the system to assimilate a surging immigration population, and another push was for vocational training.
