PCS: Love in the Time of Pinatas 10/24/2020

Portland Center Stage presents 

an interpreted one-time live-streamed event

Love in the Time of Piñatas

staged reading

ASL interpreted

[video: no dialogue; salsa song plays throughout. solid dark pink flamingo background, 

cut lime green crepe paper banner on top, white English text about show content, 

with changing images, such as a donut, donkey pinatas, photos of the creator-performer 

in a fishnet shirt, black tight shorts, make-up, glittery beard.]

Love in the Time of Piñatas

Written and Performed by Baruch Porras Hernandez

Directed by Richard A. Mosqueda

Date & Time: Saturday, October 24th, 2020 at 7:30 pm

Location: Link will be live on the PCS website day of the event.

Tickets: Pay What You Will starting at $5 and are available here. 

Interpreter: Laurielle Middleton-Aviles

"Hilarious and deliciously biting, this play brings love, piñatas, and donuts to the fight against injustice, hatred, and oppression in all its flavors (but especially the orange-tinged variety). Writer, performer, and comedian Baruch Porras Hernandez shares stories of his journey as a Queer Latino boy growing up in Toluca, Mexico, and immigrating to California. Using poetry, stand-up comedy, and sweaty go-go dance vibes, Baruch serves up everything from Rainbow Brite realness to Frida Kahlo glitter magic along the way. Love in the Time of Piñatas played to sold-out crowds in San Francisco and this staged reading is a special adaptation for the PCS Remix: Play Reading series. Grab your party hat and get ready to take a bite of this deep-fried, frosted goodness!"

reminder: "Dorothy's Dictionary" *free* staged reading

LineStorm Playwrights
in association with Lakewood Center for the Arts
presents

"Dorothy's Dictionary"

by E.M. Lewis

Tickets: FREE - reservation requested

Date & Time: Wednesday, May 29th at 7:30 pm 

Location: Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S State St., Lake Oswego 97034

Interpreters: Dot Hearn and Kassie Hughes

Synopsis:
In this intimate two-character play -- a new work in progress by E. M. Lewis -- Zan is forced to choose between community service and juvenile detention after a violent incident in his high school. He picks community service. But when he's assigned to read to Dorothy, a librarian who has just entered hospice care, neither of them is sure he's made the right decision. Between difficult conversations and battles over books, they build an unbreakable bond.

Playwright:
E. M. Lewis is an award-winning playwright, teacher, and opera librettist. Her work has been produced around the world and has been published by Samuel French.

DOROTHY'S DICTIONARY is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Theatre as Fresh as it Gets: interpreted

Portland Center Stage at The Armory
presents



JAW

(Just Add Water)

a playwright festival

Sat July 29 & Sun July 30

4:00 and 8:00 pm each day

(see full schedule below)

All reading are free and open to the public (no reservation required)

Portland Center Stage at The Armory

128 NW Eleventh Ave, Portland, OR

 Four new plays. Four playwrights. Ten days of workshop. A large company of stage managers and actors, directors and productions assistants, and more.

Four readings in two days. One performance of each and all four will be interpreted.

Be among the first to see these fresh off the computer plays.

THE SCHEDULE

Saturday July 29

4 p.m. – Tiny Houses by Stefanie Zadravec

8 p.m. – Testmatch by Kate Attwell

Sunday, July 30

4 p.m. – In Old Age by Mfoniso Udofia

8 p.m. – Small Steps by Briandaniel Oglesby

THE PLAYS

Tiny Houses
by Stefanie Zadravec

On July 17, 2014, Malaysian Flight MH-17 rained down upon a tiny, war-torn Eastern Ukraine village after being targeted by a surface-to-air missile launched by pro-Russian Separatists. Bodies and objects alike become fodder for those trying to escape the circumstances in which they were born. TINY HOUSES is a comic riff on Pandora’s Box that explores the ripple effect on several women who suddenly realize they can disrupt the status quo.


Testmatch
by Kate Attwell

Present day: A rained out women's cricket match between India and England leaves tensions bare and as the rainy day drones relentlessly on, no one can play nice any more. Then: The British East India Company rules in eighteenth century West Bengal, as two members of the Royal Cricket Team, ardent players of the game, debate the rules of engagement, the problem of the women, the trouble with mosquitoes, all against the backdrop of a country that they are destroying through famine. And before that?... Testmatch is a new play about women’s sports, mangos, cricket, and ever present legacy of colonialism; written for an all-female cast.


In Old Age
by Mfoniso Udofia

Isolated within the walls of her derelict New England home and suffering the residual pain of years of abuse, an ancient Abasiama Ufot makes an unlikely spiritual connection with an elder stranger, Azell Abernarthy. Just as life takes a new turn, Abasiama and Azell learn the true nature of love and forgiveness.


Small Steps
by Briandaniel Oglesby

Finally fed up with the bot-and-disappointment-filled world of online gay dating, Skip Powers volunteers to go to Mars. And NASA says, “You'll do.” This is a comedy that traverses 50 million miles and a million years.

PCS's JAW *4 interpreted plays* 7/29 & 30 - free

Portland Center Stage at The Armory announced that they will be interpreting all four of the JAW staged readings on the weekend of July 29 and 30.

What is "JAW,"? you may be thinking. Let me start by explaining what it is, and then I will tell you about these exciting new plays which are going to be presented to the public for free. There will be one staged reading of each of the selected plays, and all of the performances will be interpreted.

JAW (Just Add Water) is PCS's  annual playwright festival. Selected playwrights, chosen from over 200 submissions, come to Portland "to spend two weeks collaborating with directors, dramaturgs, actors, and other theater professionals from across the nation. During these workshops, JAW playwrights get to hear, revise, and sometimes completely rewrite their plays in a supportive environment where their creative needs set the agenda. The festival culminates in a vibrant outpouring of artistic energy: staged readings of the JAW plays are presented to the public, while unique performances from local artists enliven our building and bring our community together. "

This festival is about "the vitality of this ever-changing, crazy fun, wild world of theater."

This will be the first time these plays are presented to the audience. The work is fresh and exciting, the stories vibrant and alive.

You can visit the JAW webpage for more information about the process and the festival, and about the playwrights. Below is the schedule and a summary of each play.

Schedule of JAW 2017 play readings

Saturday July 29 at 4 p.m.

Tiny Houses

by Stefanie Zadravec

On July 17, 2014, Malaysian Flight MH-17 rained down upon a tiny, war-torn Eastern Ukraine village after being targeted by a surface-to-air missile launched by pro-Russian Separatists. Bodies and objects alike become fodder for those trying to escape the circumstances in which they were born. TINY HOUSES is a comic riff on Pandora’s Box that explores the ripple effect on several women who suddenly realize they can disrupt the status quo. 


Saturday July 29 at 8 p.m.

Testmatch

by Kate Attwell

Present day: A rained out women's cricket match between India and England leaves tensions bare and as the rainy day drones relentlessly on, no one can play nice any more. Then: The British East India Company rules in eighteenth century West Bengal, as two members of the Royal Cricket Team, ardent players of the game, debate the rules of engagement, the problem of the women, the trouble with mosquitoes, all against the backdrop of a country that they are destroying through famine. And before that?... Testmatch is a new play about women’s sports, mangos, cricket, and ever present legacy of colonialism; written for an all-female cast.


Sunday, July 30 at 4 p.m.

In Old Age

by Mfoniso Udofia

Isolated within the walls of her derelict New England home and suffering the residual pain of years of abuse, an ancient Abasiama Ufot makes an unlikely spiritual connection with an elder stranger, Azell Abernarthy. Just as life takes a new turn, Abasiama and Azell learn the true nature of love and forgiveness.


Sunday, July 30 at 8 p.m.

Small Steps

by Briandaniel Oglesby

Finally fed up with the bot-and-disappointment-filled world of online gay dating, Skip Powers volunteers to go to Mars. And NASA says, “You'll do.” This is a comedy that traverses 50 million miles and a million years.


.You can read more about the history of JAW since its inception in 1999.

"Blind" - interpreted Sun 1/29 at 7:30 pm

Community Dream Productions
with support from Third Rail Repertory Theatre presents
an interpreted staged reading of

"Blind"

written by Bonnie Ratner

directed by Bobby Bermea

as part of Fertile Ground Festival

Interpreted performance Sun 1/29 @ 7:30 pm

Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8th Ave, Portland OR

Tickets $10

Interpreters: Rich Hall and Dot Hearn

"Blind, set in the 1960s, is a play for our time, asking hard questions like “Who owns the neighborhood?” and “How can we truly see other as human beings when we’re unwilling to take a hard look at ourselves?” In 1967, Harold Stein commutes from his home on Long Island to his small shoe store in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Like other Jewish merchants in this predominantly black neighborhood, Stein operates his store behind a locked door, fearful of being robbed or worse. On Long Island, his wife, Sylvia, is also trapped—partly by her own demons, but also by a culture that denies her dreams. Stein has no answer for his wife’s troubles or the charged political climate. Sylvia’s answer is to blame the “other.” His daughter Susan’s answer is to accuse Stein of being a “ghetto merchant.” In Bed Stuy, Millie True teaches high school. Her son, Jimmy, is a Black nationalist like his father, Millie’s ex. Millie understands the pull toward that philosophy, although she leans more toward Dr. King’s “Beloved Community.” Millie witnesses a young black man trying to get into Stein’s store. She sees Stein deny him entrance because the merchants don’t let in black males by themselves. She intervenes, disrupting Stein’s fear and isolation. His ensuing relationships with Millie and her family, especially her teenage son, challenge not only Stein but also those of us who bear witness to his journey."

reminder: *free* interpreted performances Tu 7/19 & Tu 7/26

Profile Theatre's In Dialogue Staged Readings

Presented in Collaboration with CoHo Productions

The reading of two plays by Adrienne Kennedy on July 18-19 will be in the Artists Rep building.  The a reading of The Book of Grace by Suzan-Lori Parks on July 25-26 will be at CoHo on NW Raleigh Street. The Tuesday night performances (July 19 and July 26) will be interpreted. The tickets are free, but reservations are encouraged.

An Evening of One Acts:
. Electra
. June and Jean In Concert (Concert of Their Lives)
By Adrienne Kennedy
Directed by Arlena Barnes

*date* Interpreted on Tues. July 19th at 7:30pm

*location* Artists Repertory on the Morrison stage, 1515 SW Morrison, Portland, OR

RESERVE FREE TICKETS HERE

In Electra,  daughter seeks revenge upon the mother who killed her father.  Her long lost brother returns and is persuaded to commit an act of terrible violence, leaving both bereft and conflicted. This muscular, poetic and unflinching adaptation of Euripides Electra explores the the complexities of grief, vengeance and love within a family.

Drawing on Kennedy’s memoir People Who Led to My Plays, June and Jean In Concert (A Concert of their Lives) introduces us to aspiring writers, June and Jean, twin sisters growing up in Cleveland during World War II, then skips forwards and backwards through time, showing flashes of an everyday family touched by disappointment, tragedy and beauty

The Book of Grace

By Suzan-Lori Parks

Directed by Arlena Barnes

*date* Interpreted Tues July 26th at 7:30 pm

*location* CoHo Productions, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland, OR

RESERVE FREE TICKETS HERE

Encouraged by his stepmother Grace to return home to South Texas, young Buddy reunites with his father Vet, a border patrol agent.  The prodigal son confronts his father and everyday life erupts into a battle for personal survival. At once fiercely intimate and explosive, this truly original play finds three people bound together by longing, passion and ambition.

*free* Profile Theatre's In Dialogue series - interpreted performances

Profile Theatre's In Dialogue Staged Readings

Presented in Collaboration with CoHo Productions

For their 3rd In Dialogue Reading of the 2016 Tanya Barfield season, Profile is thrilled to collaborate with CoHo Productions.  Together they will present the work of two game changing African American playwrights, Adrienne Kennedy and Suzan-Lori Parks, whose work has had lasting impact on both the field and on our featured playwright.

July 18-19 in the Artists Rep building, Profile will host the reading of two plays by Adrienne Kennedy.  July 25-26 at CoHo on NW Raleigh Street, they will present a reading of The Book of Grace by Suzan-Lori Parks. The Tuesday night performances (July 19 and July 26) will be interpreted. 

An Evening of One Acts:
. Electra
. June and Jean In Concert (Concert of Their Lives)
By Adrienne Kennedy
Directed by Arlena Barnes

*location* Morrison Stage at Artists Repertory
1515 SW Morrison, Portland, OR

Interpreted on Tues. July 19th at 7:30pm
Interpreters: Dot Hearn and Kassie Hughes

RESERVE FREE TICKETS HERE

In Electra,  daughter seeks revenge upon the mother who killed her father.  Her long lost brother returns and is persuaded to commit an act of terrible violence, leaving both bereft and conflicted. This muscular, poetic and unflinching adaptation of Euripides Electra explores the the complexities of grief, vengeance and love within a family.

Drawing on Kennedy’s memoir People Who Led to My Plays, June and Jean In Concert (A Concert of their Lives) introduces us to aspiring writers, June and Jean, twin sisters growing up in Cleveland during World War II, then skips forwards and backwards through time, showing flashes of an everyday family touched by disappointment, tragedy and beauty

The Book of Grace

By Suzan-Lori Parks

Directed by Arlena Barnes

*location* CoHo Productions

2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland, OR

Interpreted Tues July 26th at 7:30 pm
Interpreters: Dot Hearn, Kassie Hughes, Dana Walls

RESERVE FREE TICKETS HERE

Encouraged by his stepmother Grace to return home to South Texas, young Buddy reunites with his father Vet, a border patrol agent.  The prodigal son confronts his father and everyday life erupts into a battle for personal survival. At once fiercely intimate and explosive, this truly original play finds three people bound together by longing, passion and ambition.

* * *

Profile Theatre's In Dialogue Staged Readings include new and contemporary plays in conversation with Tanya Barfield’s body of work, as well as readings of Barfield plays not included in the Main Stage season.

This Week: pick one, two, or all three! Interpreted Performances

*
There are three interpreted performances happening within the next week. And more to come in the fall months ahead - but, for now, here are three immediate opportunities to catch some great theatre! Including one free performance. Watch for an handy pocket list soon.

Thursday Oct 1st at 7:30 pm
"Our Town" at Portland Center Stage
Classic drama

Saturday, October 3rd at 2:00 pm
"The Understudy" at Artists Repertory Theatre
Comedy

Tuesday, October 6th at 7:30 pm
"Stage Kiss" at Profile Theatre
FREE staged reading

"Our Town" 

by Thornton Wilder
Thursday Oct 1st at 7:30 pm
Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th, Portland OR

An irrefutable classic of the American theater, this Pulitzer Prize-winning work transports us to Grover’s Corners, a small New England town at the turn of the twentieth century whose secret desires, family conflicts, loves and losses are resoundingly familiar to us today. This beloved drama receives a fresh interpretation at PCS, inviting us to ponder what Our Town is today, and celebrating both the marvel of everyday existence and the “something way down deep that’s eternal about every human being.

Tickets $25 with promo code SIGN online, or call the box office at 503-445-3700 and request seats in the interpreted section. 

Interpreters: Carolyn Brockway, Rich Hall, Andrew Weaver, Sign Coaches: Justin Coleman and Guthrie Nutter

"The Understudy"

by Theresa Rebeck

Saturday, October 3rd at 2:00 pm
Artists Repertory Theatre, Alder Stage
1515 SW Morrison, Portland OR

"An understudy rehearsal for a fictional Kafka play on Broadway teeters on the edge of reality when Harry – the understudy for Jake, who is the understudy for Bruce, a Hollywood action star about to land a multimillion-dollar part – must work with the ill-fated production’s exasperated stage manager whose life he ruined long ago. The Understudy is a raucously funny existential exposé on human motivation that examines the underbelly of the theatre business and the personal drama behind the curtain." 

Interpreters: Dot Hearn and Kassie Hughes

 
"Stage Kiss"
by Sarah Ruhl
Tuesday, October 6th at 7:30 pm
FREE staged reading
Profile Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison, Portland, OR

"Art imitates Life. Life imitates Art. When two actors with a history are thrown together as romantic leads in a forgotten 1930s melodrama, they quickly lose touch with reality as the story onstage follows them offstage. Stage Kiss captures Sarah Ruhl’s singular voice. It is a charming tale about what happens when lovers share a stage kiss—or when actors share a real one."

Tickets are FREE, but you must make a reservation. Email boxoffice@profiletheatre.org or call 503.242.0080 to reserve your seats.

Interpreters: Kassie Hughes and Dana Walls
*

"The Lady Onstage" [free] interpreted performance 7/14/15

*
Profile Theatre presents
an interpreted performance of

The playwright, Erin Bregman, with Olga's costume.

The Lady Onstage 

by Erin Bregman

Interpreted on Tuesday, July 14th at 7:30 pm

Profile Theater on the Morrison Stage

1515 SW Morrison, Portland, OR
503.242.0080

This staged reading is presented as part of Profile Theatre's In Dialogue series for the 2015 Sarah Ruhl season. The staged readings are free and open to the public, but seats must be reserved and you will pick up a ticket for your seat at the box office. Request seating in the interpreted section when you make your reserrvation via email or phone:
503.242.0080 / boxoffice@profiletheatre.org

"THE LADY ONSTAGE explores the life and work of Olga Knipper, a name unfamiliar to most, but perhaps best known as “Chekhov’s wife”. Olga was a key creative genius in the history of modern theatre; she was not only the originator of the leading female roles in Chekhov’s four major plays, but also became the de facto chief representative of the Moscow Art Theater when they toured the United States. THE LADY ONSTAGE takes us into the psyche of an actress at the moment when theater changed forever, giving us an inside perspective on the radical choices artists make in the name of Art and Love."

*

FREE "Three Sisters" Staged Reading at Profile Theatre

Profile Theatre presents a FREE interpreted performance of the staged reading

Three Sisters
by Anton Chekov
Adapted by Sarah Ruhl
In Collaboration with Reed College

Interpreted March 3, 2015
Alder Stage at Artists Rep

1515 SW Morrison, Portland OR
7:30pm

Join us for the In Dialogue Staged Reading of Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of the Chekov masterpiece Three Sisters. Tickets are FREE, but you need to reserve your tickets.

 

Make your FREE Reservations Now!

 

In Dialogue Staged Readings include new and contemporary plays in conversation with Sarah Ruhl’s body of work, as well as readings of Ruhl plays not included in our Main Stage season.

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Quick List: Interpreted Performances February & March

*
Here is a quick reference list of some of the interpreted performances for the remainder of February and into March 2015.


"Tribes" at Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland OR   Sat 2/21 at 7:30 pm

"The God Game" a Brandon Woolley production at Shaking the Tree, , Portland OR   Thu 2/26 at 7:30 pm

"The Laramie Project" at Albany Civic Center, Albany OR  Thu 2/26 at 7:30 pm

"Tribes" at Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland OR     Sat 2/28 at 2:00 pm

"Three Sisters" adaptation by Sarah Ruhl, Profile Theatre's "In Dialogue" staged reading (free), Portland OR   Tue 3/2 at 7:30 pm

"Tribes" at Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland OR   Sat 3/7 at 7:30 pm

"Other Desert Cities" at Portland Center Stage, Portland OR   Thu 3/12 at 7:30 pm

"Hairspray, The Broadway Musical" at Portland Community College, Portland OR   Sat 3/14 at 7:00 pm

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Preview: Interpreted Performances 2015 First Quarter

 Upcoming interpreted performances for January - March of 2015. Watch for updated information and reminders as each show nears. You can also click on each play's title to link to the production website for more information and to purchase tickets. [Updated 1/8/15]

The offerings include a humorous mash-up of Chekov plays; a journey of self-discovery after discovering a dead man's cell phone;  relationship issues in Cairo, family drama pending publication of a memoir; classic Tennesse Williams; a free staged reading done in collaboration with Reed College; a play about politics, religion, and gay rights; and four interpreted performances of "Tribes," the story of a Deaf man's journey to belonging.

Portland Center Stage

Jan 29, 2015 at 7:30 pm

Vanya, Sonia, Masha, and Spike

"Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play, complete with all the comic genius that only Christopher Durang can deliver. Vanya and his sister Sonia tolerate their mediocre middle-aged lives, until their movie-star sister Masha returns for a surprise visit with her boy-toy Spike that really shakes things up."

Profile Theatre
Feb 6, 2015
Dead Man's Cell Phone

"When Jean takes possession of of the cell phone of a dead man, she is thrown into a mysterious journey of self-discovery and awakening. Through this small modern device, she finds adventure, purpose and even love – but at what cost? this hilarious and paradoxical treatise on the digital world probes at the thin line between reality and fantasy, privacy and openness, and even life and death."

Artists Repertory Theatre

Feb 8, 15, 21 at 7:30 pm; Feb 28 at 2:00 pm

Tribes

"A scintillating contemporary drama centered around Billy, the only deaf member of his family, whose search for family acceptance as he delves into the Deaf Community sparks often funny but fierce tensions at home. Grappling with the significance of language and the urge to belong, this Portland debut follows triumphant productions Off-Broadway, at London’s Royal Court and Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre. 2012 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play."

Portland Center Stage
Feb 12, 2015
Threesome

"A World Premiere! Leila and Rashid, Egyptian Americans with ties to Cairo, attempt to solve their relationship issues by inviting a relative stranger into their bedroom to engage in a threesome. What begins as a hilariously awkward evening soon becomes an experience fraught with secrets, raising issues of sexism, possession and independence."

Brandon Woolley at Shaking the Tree Studio
Feb 26, 2015
The God Game
"Politics, Religion, and Gay Rights"

 Profile Theatre

March 3, 2015     FREE Staged Reading

Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of Chekov's

 "Three Sisters"

 In collaboration with Reed College.

Portland Center Stage
March 12, 2015
Other Desert Cities

"In this hit Broadway comedy, Brooke Wyeth returns home after a long absence to celebrate Christmas with her well-connected, conservative parents in Palm Springs. In a dramatic shift, Brooke announces that she is about to publish a memoir dredging up a pivotal and tragic event in the family’s history — a wound they don’t want reopened. In effect, she draws a line in the desert sand and dares them all to cross it. “All family reunions should be this satisfying… The Best New Play on Broadway!” —The New York Times"





Portland Community College
March 14, 2015
Hairspray, The Broadway Musical

"Can Tracy Turnblad achieve her dream of dancing on the Corny Collins show? Can the youth of 1960's Baltimore change the division between black and white by bringing the city to it's feet, or will the adults who can't change bring them to their knees? This beloved musical will certainly bring you to your feet, if you can stop tapping them!"