By LEAH WEATHERSBY

In May, an important Seattle arts institution got a new leader. Hal Ryder replaced Lauren Marshall as the artistic director of Seattle Public Theater, the theater company which rents Green Lake's Bathhouse Theatre building.

Ryder, 51, has worn many hats in the theater business during his career. He has run theatre companies in London, England, and Orlando, Fla., and also served at the establishing director for the Drama Studio of London at Berkeley, Calif., in the early '80s. Since moving to Seattle in 1982, Ryder has worked as a professor in the theater department at Cornish College of the Arts and as freelance director. In recent years, he as also served as artistic director of Open Door Theater, a touring company which focuses on plays about sexual abuse and violence. He also founded Education Arts Resource Services Inc., a company which uses technology such as databases to help educators and artists.

Seattle Public Theater is the group most recently added to Ryder's lengthy resume. Founded in 1988, the group has always produced plays about social issues, usually touring them to schools and other venues.

Seattle Public Theater became part of the North Seattle arts scene when it moved into Green Lake's Bathhouse building last year. For almost two decades, the Bathhouse building, located at 7312 W. Green Lake Drive N., had been home to a theater company called the Bathhouse Theatre led by Arne Zaslove. But in 1999, Zaslove's company declared bankruptcy, and a Seattle Public Theater was selected by the Parks and Recreation Department as the theater's new tenant.

Ryder first became involved with Seattle Public Theater a year and a half ago when he directed a touring play called "In Between," about violence. While touring shows had always been successful for the company, moving into the Bathhouse proved financially difficult. According to Ryder, the 2000-2001 season put the company heavily into debt. The theater also lost several board members during the first season.

"The theater, when I came, was in a pretty shaky position," Ryder said. "I knew I could run the company, I didn't know if I could pull it out of the muck."

So far, Ryder has focused on choosing a 2001-2002 season that is has both commercial and social value. The season started in September with "Little Murders," a dark comedy about violence. He has rented out the Bathhouse for late-night theater performed by The Habit, a sketch comedy group. Seattle Public Theater will also offer senior drama class as well as a variety of youth drama classes this fall. Ryder says that how quickly the theater gets back into the black will depend on their ticket sales.

"It's pretty exciting to go forward," Ryder said, "but it's a great adventure, too." (