Show blog

From a Hole in the Ground

Corrib Theatre, April 26 - May 19

by Ken Yoshikawa

seen: May 3rd

Ashland

Crave Theater, Portland, OR, April 5 – 27

by Isabel Estelle

seen: April 25th

Faena

Chapel Theater, Milwaukie, OR, April 19, 21

by Dylan Hankins

seen: April 19th

Dylan's show!!! I remember talking to him about his ideas for this one way back in October as we worked on My Bedroom is an Installation together.

I loved the presentation and the surreal style of this show, which came through clearly even in a staged reading.

The Government Agent

Chapel Theater, Milwaukie, OR, April 17, 20

by Adam Harrell

seen: April 17th

An adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's The Inspector General, presented as a staged reading. The actors did a wonderful job given the limitations of the reading, the script was well-done and well adapted (though it's been a while since I read the original).

Far From Home

Chapel Theater, Milwaukie, OR, April 17, 19, 20

by Olga Kravstova & Julia Rahmanzaei

seen: April 17th

Two beautiful presentations of the determination of immigrants from two different countries. They were originally written seperately but performed back to back in a way that highlighted the connecting themes so well you'd think they'd been created in tandem to present this way.

The description on the site calls this an "attempt to depict two stories", and I'm very curious what their thought process was in that choice of words. Do they think their production might fall short if its own merit, or because the themes and emotions are so complex that the idea of communicating them to the audience seems impossible?

Waiting 4 2 Blow

Chapel Theater, Milwaukie, OR, April 16, 17

by Bill Lynch

seen: April 17th

Very poetic in it's absurdity, the premise of Sasquatch & DB Cooper meeting the last man living on Mt. St. Helens before the eruption seems farcical. But although this was definitely a very funny show, it felt very grounded the entire time. I loved the discussion of what makes a legend, how we can and can't decide what we'll be famous for.

Whose Lion is it Anyway? and Underlings

Chapel Theater, Milwaukie, OR, April 16, 17, 19

by Brad Bolchunos

seen: April 17th

TheTNTGamer

Curious Comedy Annex, Portland, OR, April 13, 14, 20, 21

by Annabelle Wright

seen: April 13th

My first show of the Fertile Ground Festival this year! (So, technically, ever) I wish I could make it to more, but I'm in my own show at the moment which makes that difficult.

TheTNTGamer had me dying, of laughter and emberassment at the same time. The concept hooked me from when I first saw it on the Fertile Ground guide, like the creator I was also a preteen on YouTube with dreams of making it big. Though of course, in 2007 when the bulk of the show is set I was too busy being 5 years old, I wasn't playing RuneScape by then I was playing Minecraft. But I also have many of those early attempts at online fame hanging around in the back of my head, that earnest kid who really just wanted to make something and put themselves out there.

Partway through the show Annabelle talked about a friend she had made online, didn't know that well, and was secretly hoping would have found her and made it the show that day. There was a long, hanging, hopeful pause.

And though the moment was funny, too, it hit me deep immidiately.

I have met so many wonderful people in my time online, a handful have been lucky enough to meet in person and have those wonderful reunions. But there's still many I haven't had the chance to see, yet. So when Annabelle asked if anyone else had had an online friend, I already had someone in mind and found myself nodding quite enthusiastically.

Which of course, got me singled out for audience participation! But as emberassing as being asked about my friends was, I was excited for the chance to make that connection with the piece and with the performer. I think about meeting that friend in particular in person all the time, especially now that we've lost contact for a time. There are so many online friends I've had and lost, but the connection that we had was so much more deliberate and meaningful, that I don't think I'll ever stop being reminded of him.

The participation I was singled out for was to write a little song about me, a re-creation of a song she had written for an online friend back in 2007. I love the concept here of re-creating and embracing "cringey" and "dumb" things you created as a kid. That's when we were at our most earnest and genuine, and the drive to create and put oneself out there was stronger than the self-consciousness. Anyone who creates things wouldn't be where they are without that dumb cringey kid, and to me, TheTNTGamer embracing it, re-enacting it, was a celebration of how important that part of our lives is to building our sense of creativity and confidence today.

Links:

• TheTNTGamer at Fertile Ground

Resurrection

Alberta Rose Theater, Portland, OR, March 31st

by The Steep and Thorny Way to Heaven

seen: March 31st

Quixote Nuevo

Portland Center Stage, Portland, OR, March 2nd – 31st

by Octavio Solis

seen: March 28th

I am a huge Don Quiote fan, it's always been a story I found comfort and connection to, as someone who often lived inside my own head as a kid. My favorite adaptation has previously been Man of La Mancha, which I've always wanted to direct in a modern adaptation to put more sympathy on Alonso Quijano's perspective. Quixote Nuevo was everything I could ever have wanted to do, and more!

The costumes for the ensemble were simply stunning. Their leader, Papa Calaca (played by Raúl Cardona) had a powerful stage presence that blurred the line between the real world of the story and the piece as a performance, existing outside the boundaires of their world and singing most of the songs. The puppets were beautifully crafted and blended well into the story, even if I would have liked to see more of them I understand why they held back, this isn't a puppet show.

Links:

• PCS Website

Port Authority

Imago Theater, Portland, OR, March 8th - 24th

by Conor McPherson

seen: March 17th

Full disclosure that this is a show I worked on, I was the scenic painter and I spent a lot of time in an out of rehersals. So I knew everyone involved to some extent.

Port Authority is one in a genre of shows that I see quite often, and doesn't usually pique my interest. A monolgue piece, centering three very average hetero men talking about their lives. It's a common theme there, something playwrights love to explore it seems, a snapshot of a fairly average life to showcase the chaos and uncertainty inherit in our own humanity. The ups and downs and love and love lost that are universal in some sense, but incredibly individual on the micro level. The kind of media that tells you Look! everyone else is just trying their best to get through it just as much as you are! everyone's lives are chaotic and emotional! and no matter how many times you hear it there's always some catharsis to that reminder. You're not some unique fuck-up, ok? Everyone's lives are absolutely absurd and awful and poetic in its own right.

The acting and directing played a huge part in selling this show to me. As I said, this is a genre I'm weary of, so the presentation is vital. Tori, Matt, and Khail all felt very real in front of us, and their character and sincerity making each story captivating to listen to. They felt very connected to the audience.

Links:

• Imago's Website

We Wrote This With You In Mind

Shaking the Tree Theater, February 10th - March 2nd

by Ken Yoshikawa

seen: Feb 22

I thought the set was absolutely stunning, Alex Meyer has a wonderful way of making her sets look chaotic and lived in, but in a way that blends together into one entitiy and doesn't distract from the action itself. The action was captivating and the constant question of whether there was something genuinely paranormal going on kept me curious the whole time. As well as, of course, wondering if they were ever going to get to eat the rice in the cooker.

Don't Stop Me

Youth Musical Theater Comapny, Malonga Casquelourd Theater, Oakland, CA, Feb 9th - 18th

by Dave Malloy & Krista Knight

seen: Feb 9, 10, 11

If it's not clear by the fact that I travelled to Oakland for this show and then saw it three times opening weekend, I was extremely excited to finally see Don't Stop Me in person!

Dave Malloy is my favorite composer, and this would be the first time I had seen a show of his live. I've been interested in Don't Stop Me since 2020, through various demos and reccordings, and though there have been other performnaces since, I was especially looking forward to this one. The company, YMTC, had been the one to first commission and workshop the musical, and there had been an additional workshop in summer 2023 to prepare for this new production.

For starters, it's a show written about high schoolers by high schoolers, and the creators really listened when they were told that bullying and popularity wasn't the big deal on kid's minds, it was worrying about their future. Don't Stop Me is a perfect high school horror musical, where the pressures and oppression of the outside world manifests in a demonic DJ running a dance-a-thon-till-you-drop and killing them off two by two until only one pair can win the mythical "Prize". This show has no shortage of intense moments and hard-hitting scenes that make you sit with the fear and anxiety felt by these teens as they wonder who will die next and grasp at any fleeting hope of survival. Petty arguments and dreams of popularity are only distractions, and you see the best and the worst of these kids as they are pushed to the brink.

So it was already a show I was in love with. But let me tell you, seeing it live was something else entirely. Opening night we sat in the front row, right in the middle, our feet were literally on the stage. There is nothing more human than live theater, these characters were going through all of that ten feet in front of us. As a teen I loved this show for how relatable it was, but as we come up on my fourth year after graduating (side note, how) looking back at the teens who are in this show now and how relevant it still is... it feels even more important to me now that it exists.

And everyone there was incredibly welcoming and talkative, there was no awkward introductions, we were all theater people, we were already a community. I loved getting to talk to Krista Knight, as well as many of the designers, techs, and actors. AND getting to see it three times meant I could take in every detail, every background moment, every little quirk.

It is a wonderful show, I can't wait to see where it goes. I can't help but think that this is the high school aged show we need, not Be More Chill or Mean Girls or Grease, but one about what the teens are actually facing, finding their place in the real world and hoping it doesn't break them first. We need more schools to be doing this one.

There's something else I wanted to touch on here, because this show was the whole reason I started this new page here, and why I decided to see as many shows as possible. I had an absolutely wonderful time, and it was difficult realizing that I had to say goodbye. Not just to the end of the show as usual, but to these people in general. Sure, I see many of them online now and have formed some loose connections, but in a broad sense it's unlikley I'll ever get to properly see them and talk extensively about their projects, their recent shows, their creative insights. I've been working at Imago for a little more than a year, and in that time become close with many members of the local community, enough that often when I see a smaller experimental show I will recognize at least one name involved. But when I said goodbye to the friends I had made at YMTC in those three short days, I realized I didn't have that chance. I can keep up to date on what they do as much as I want but the simple fact being I don't live in Oakland means I'll probably never make it out to one. With any luck, they'll be in a Shotgun Players show that gets filmed and put online to purchase. Or maybe move out here.

But out of that melancholy came determination. There's a solution to that, why be mourning this lost community when I have one right here? Right around me? I can go see more shows, I can ask people what they're doing, what they recommend I look into. I can build that community around myself where I already am.

Of course a lot of that is star power, it's hard to see YMTC or Shotgun Players as just as small and community driven as my local productions when those are where Dave Malloy worked. He got his start there. But that also gives way to logic pretty quickly, who knows that up-in-coming playwrights I'm experiencing and supporting right now? When I go see things locally? Statistically there have to be some in there. Scrappy unknown artists just like the one Dave was at that point, just like all the things that draw me to him.