2020 Fertile Ground Festival Guide by Artslandia

2020

FESTIVAL

GUIDE ®

ABUNDANT ACTS OF CREATION IN PORTLAND!

JAN 30–FEB 9

A CITY-WIDE FESTIVAL OF NEW WORKS

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR PUBLISHER + FOUNDER Misty Tompoles ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Katrina Ketchum SALES DIRECTOR Lindsey Ferguson DIGITAL DIRECTOR Chris Porras MANAGING EDITOR Kristen Seidman ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF EVENTS & SPECIAL PROJECTS Ashley Coates SENIOR GR APHIC DESIGNER Jackie Tran BUSINESS MANAGER Bella Showerman PUBLISHER’S REPRESENTATIVE Nicole Lane PUBLISHING COORDINATOR Mindy Mawhirter PODCAST HOST Susannah Mars VIDEOGR APHER Jordyn Roach CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Heidi Rush SUBSCRIBE ONLINE Published by Rampant Creative, Inc. ©2019 Rampant Creative, Inc. All rights reserved. This magazine or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the publisher. Rampant Creative, Inc./Artslandia Magazine 6637 SE Milwaukie Ave., Suite 207 ∙ Portland, OR 97202

FERTILE GROUND FESTIVAL STAFF NICOLE LANE Festival Director DRE SLAMAN PATA Advisory Board, Fertile Ground Committee Chair ABBY CHRISTOPHER Social Media Manager JESSICA GLEASON Website & Graphic Design GARY CORBIN Festival Pass Coordinator/ BOT Specialist JENNI GREENMILLER Volunteer Coordinator MADDIE ODEGAARD Marketing Assistant LILO ALFARO Fertile Ground Archivist CHRIS RENTZEL Photographer SARA JEAN ACCUARDI PATA, Fertile Ground Committee TRISHA MEAD Founder COMMITTEE AT LARGE Carol Kimball, Nancy Matthews, Karen O'Donnell Stein, Scott Stephens 2 FERTILEGROUNDPDX.ORG

DIG IN, PORTLAND.

Fertile Ground 2020 is verdant. Each year, I’m like a kid in a candy store as I look through the project listings for the first time. Initially, they are submitted to my adept producing partner with PATA, Dre Slaman, who collects them as they come in. When she sends them my way in bulk, I am awash with delight at the inventive, thoughtful, diverse array of creative impulses they comprise. This year is no different, and maybe even more exciting than some years. Looking at this year’s crop, and knowing that dozens of Fertile Ground projects over the past 10 years launched from this festival, it is gratifying to know that Fertile Ground truly serves the artists of our community in such a meaningful way. Each year, Fertile Ground – a project of the Portland Area Theatre Alliance – involves hundreds of artists and welcomes thousands of audience members. Our festival offers artists a safe space for new work of all levels, to be seen and grown. We work to educate audiences about the process of developing new work, and introduce them to new artists and artistic genres. We embolden artists to take chances and share their artistic

impulses, cultivate producing skills, and introduce their work to new audiences. We encourage all artists, of every background and discipline, to jump in so that we can elevate the widest swath of voices and generate an exciting array of artscentric offerings. As I say each year, WE are ALL a part of this creative process — whether we are making the art and creating the platform for cultural conversation, or out seeing these “acts of creation.” As an arts-going community, we give artists permission, and encouragement, to create by demonstrating our shared belief in the value of new work by being present and open to the unique adventure of Fertile Ground. Now, grow forth on some new adventures this year, you curious arts-lovers you, embrace those artistic chances. I hope you’ll encounter newfound experiences, surprise and delight!

Nicole A. Lane Fertile Ground Festival Director

WITH GRATITUDE FOR THE SUPPORT OF OUR SPONSORS

PATA PORTLAND AREA

THEATRE ALLIANCE

OREGONLIVE

2020 WORKS LISTINGS 5x3: A Collection of Short Plays | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Naked at My Age | DANCE NAKED PRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

8-24-9 | GETTING LAO’D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Olding | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

2020 – the New 1920? (Why Vote? Just Ask History) | STORYBUILDING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Olympus | INSPIRATIONS THEATER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

And Everything Nice | LINESTORM PLAYWRIGHTS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHAPEL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Osho Returns | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Beethoven & Chopin (Monster Hunters) Meet the Bride of Frankenstein (A Romance) | COHO PRODUCTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Blind | CHAPEL THEATRE COLLECTIVE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Box in the Jack | ABOUT FACE PRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Change Order | PEARCED FLAGG PRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 Christmas with Truman | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Once In A Blue Moon | PORTLAND STORYTELLERS GUILD . . . . . . . . 13 Path of Glory | LINESTORM PLAYWRIGHTS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHAPEL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Persistent World | LINESTORM PLAYWRIGHTS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHAPEL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Portland’s Mini Musical Festival | LIVE ON STAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Productive Discomfort: IDEA in Portland Theater | PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Circe and Baba Yaga Walk Into a Bar...A Heady Evening of Enchantment and Misadventures | THE CRONES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Recent Unsettling Events | PORTLAND CIVIC THEATRE GUILD. . . . . . 18

Crazy Dukes Instant Play Festival | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . .16

ROUGH RIDERS | HAND2MOUTH. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Crazy Dukes Instant Play Festival Launch | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . .11

Resiliency in Rhythm | I AM M.O.R.E.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Daisy Dukes Shorts Night: 2020 | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Selections from the Chez l’Aisselle and A Bit of Crime and Punishment | PHYSIS PRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Danse Macabre: The Testament of Francois Villon | HAND2MOUTH . . . . 20

Sexology: The Musical | DANCE NAKED PRODUCTIONS. . . . . . . . . . .11

Dearly Departed | SPRING 4TH PRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Sitting Shiva | LUMOS GROUP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Descent from the Andes | LINESTORM PLAYWRIGHTS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHAPEL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Slumber Party to Dismantle the Patriarchy | HAND2MOUTH. . . . . . . . . 18

DISASTER SESSIONS | LINESTORM PLAYWRIGHTS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHAPEL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Dorothy’s Dictionary | LINESTORM PLAYWRIGHTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHAPEL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Downward Facing | ASSOCIATED ARTISTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 End The Cycle - One Act Play | MABEL MADE IT PRODUCTIONS . . . . . 13 Everywoman & Cloning the Colonel | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS. . . . . . . . . . .21 Fly Away, Breath | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Small Bites | LINESTORM PLAYWRIGHTS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHAPEL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Songs from the Stage | LINESTORM PLAYWRIGHTS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHAPEL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Sweet Iago | COSMIC TOMATO PRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Syncopation | WILDWOOD PRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Tear Down This Wall | THE BROKEN PLANETARIUM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Terran’s Aquarium | WHORLS OF WONDER PUPPET THEATER . . . . .19 The Bride of Bellagartёn | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective & ELXR Dance Company | POLARIS DANCE THEATRE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

The Fear of Speaking | FUSE THEATRE ENSEMBLE & THEATREDUST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective & Mark Koenigsberg + Sara Naegelin | POLARIS DANCE THEATRE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism: a comedy | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 Featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective & Polaris Junior + NEO Youth Companies | POLARIS DANCE THEATRE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

The Magic Fish | LEAVEN DREAM PUPPETS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective, and NW Fusion | POLARIS DANCE THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Hannah and Other Stories | LINESTORM PLAYWRIGHTS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHAPEL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 HOMEBREW 2020: A PDX INDIE ANIMATION SHOWCASE | ARTFUL RAVEN STUDIO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman | DANCE NAKED PRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Interplay | ECHO THEATER COMPANY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 Invisible Friend | DHFUKS CONSULTING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Itch | RUTABAGA STORY CO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Jephthah's Daughter | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Jose’s Heroes | LINESTORM PLAYWRIGHTS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHAPEL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Junction | A-WOL DANCE COLLECTIVE, TEMPOS CONTEMPORARY CIRCUS & PUSH/FOLD . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Lost In Elder World | ELDER WORLD PRODUCTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

THE GHOST OF DAVID BELASCO | LAKEWOOD THEATRE COMPANY. . .21

The Jade Decanter | ARTFUL RAVEN STUDIO. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 The Mysterious Affair at Styles | LINESTORM PLAYWRIGHTS, IN ASSOCIATION WITH CHAPEL THEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 The Prime Solution | MASQUE ALFRESCO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The Roosevelts' Women | PDX PLAYWRIGHTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde | EXPERIENCE THEATRE PROJECT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The Trump Follies | NINE BRIDGES PRESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 THE WAYS WE COPE | RED BALLOON THEATRE COLLECTIVE. . . . . . . .9 Three by Ten & More | PASSINART: A THEATRE COMPANY . . . . . . . . . .9 To End All Wars | TWILIGHT THEATER COMPANY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 Too Late! | YOCTOTHEATRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Two Takes on the Madness of Herakles: Path of Glory & Huck is Dead | ORPHIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Volume II: Climate Crisis | MORE DEVOTEDLY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 Vortex 1 | BIODEGRADABLE PRODUCTIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 When “WE” Cry | VADM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Young Playwrights Festival | LAKEWOOD THEATRE COMPANY . . . . . 12 ARTSLANDIA.COM 3

FERTILE GROUND 2020 CALENDAR THURSDAY JANUARY 30 12pm

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

6:30pm

Naked at My Age

7pm

Dearly Departed

7:30pm

Beethoven & Chopin (Monster Hunters) Meet the Bride of Frankenstein (A Romance)

Blind

Portland’s Mini Musical Festival

Selections from the Chez l’Aisselle and A Bit of Crime and Punishment

Syncopation

Too Late!

8pm

How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman

Tear Down This Wall

FRIDAY JANUARY 31 12pm

Descent from the Andes

2pm

THE WAYS WE COPE

6:30pm

Naked at My Age

7pm

Daisy Dukes Shorts Night: 2020

Dearly Departed

Three by Ten & More

7:30pm

8-24-9

Beethoven & Chopin (Monster Hunters) Meet the Bride of Frankenstein (A Romance)

Blind

Resiliency in Rhythm

Olympus

Portland’s Mini Musical Festival

The Prime Solution

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience

Too Late!

8pm

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective & Mark Koenigsberg + Sara Naegelin

Interplay

How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman

9pm

Crazy Dukes Instant Play Festival Launch

10pm

Sexology: The Musical

The Jade Decanter

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 1 12pm

Lost In Elder World

Persistent World

1pm

Selections from the Chez l’Aisselle and A Bit of Crime and Punishment

Syncopation

2pm

Portland’s Mini Musical Festival

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience

The Trump Follies

THE WAYS WE COPE

Young Playwrights Festival

4pm

Downward Facing

5:30pm

Volume II: Climate Crisis

5:45pm

End The Cycle - One Act Play

6:30pm

Naked at My Age

7pm

Olding

Three by Ten & More

7:30pm

Beethoven & Chopin (Monster Hunters) Meet the Bride of Frankenstein (A Romance)

Blind Olympus

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 2 12pm

Lost In Elder World

The Roosevelts' Women

1pm

End The Cycle - One Act Play

Itch Syncopation

Volume II: Climate Crisis

2pm

Blind

Beethoven & Chopin (Monster Hunters) Meet the Bride of Frankenstein (A Romance)

Junction Olympus

Portland’s Mini Musical Festival

Resiliency in Rhythm

Sitting Shiva

Sweet Iago

The Bride of Bellagartёn

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience

The Trump Follies

2:30pm Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective & ELXR Dance Company 3pm

Circe and Baba Yaga Walk Into a Bar...A Heady Evening of Enchantment and Misadventures HOMEBREW 2020: A PDX INDIE ANIMATION SHOWCASE

Once In A Blue Moon

Portland’s Mini Musical Festival

Resiliency in Rhythm

Sitting Shiva

Interplay

Too Late!

Three by Ten & More

The Prime Solution

5pm

End The Cycle - One Act Play

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience

Osho Returns

When “WE” Cry

8pm

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective & Polaris Junior + NEO Youth Companies

5:30pm

The Magic Fish

Volume II: Climate Crisis

6pm

Downward Facing

Path of Glory

How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman

7pm

Crazy Dukes Instant Play Festival

Interplay Junction 9pm

Daisy Dukes Shorts Night: 2020

The Jade Decanter

Volume II: Climate Crisis

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Sexology: The Musical

Junction Tear Down This Wall

10pm

7:30pm

8-24-9

Box-in-the-Jack: a transdimensional mid-life real estate

The Prime Solution

THE WAYS WE COPE

MONDAY FEBRUARY 3 12pm

Jose’s Heroes

7pm

Invisible Friend

Vortex 1

7:30pm

Box-in-the-Jack: a transdimensional mid-life real estate

THE WAYS WE COPE

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 4 10:30am Recent Unsettling Events 12pm

DISASTER SESSIONS

6:30pm A Slumber Party to Dismantle the Patriarchy 7:30pm

THE WAYS WE COPE

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 5 12pm

Dorothy’s Dictionary

3pm

To End All Wars

6:30pm

A Slumber Party to Dismantle the Patriarchy

7pm

7:30pm

Blind

Danse Macabre: The Testament of Francois Villon

Olympus

The Prime Solution

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience

Too Late!

8pm

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective, and Mark Koenigsberg + Sara Naegelin

How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman

Interplay 9pm

Fly Away, Breath

10pm

Sexology: The Musical

The Jade Decanter

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience

Too Late!

Two Takes on the Madness of Herakles: Path of Glory & Huck is Dead

8pm

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective, and NW Fusion

How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman

Interplay

Tear Down This Wall

9pm

Christmas with Truman

The Jade Decanter

10pm

Sexology: The Musical

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 9 10am

The Fear of Speaking

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 8

11am

Change Order

Dearly Departed

10am

The Fear of Speaking

12pm

2020 – the New 1920?

7:30pm

Recent Unsettling Events

11am

Change Order

Fly Away, Breath

THE WAYS WE COPE

12pm

Hannah and Other Stories

Lost In Elder World

8pm

To End All Wars

Lost In Elder World

1pm

Syncopation

1pm

Itch

2pm

Jephthah's Daughter

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 6

Syncopation

12pm

Small Bites

2pm

2020 – the New 1920?

6:30pm

Naked at My Age

Tear Down This Wall

7pm

Circe and Baba Yaga Walk Into a Bar...A Heady Evening of Enchantment and Misadventures

Terran’s Aquarium

THE GHOST OF DAVID BELASCO

Dearly Departed

7:30pm

Blind

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience

4pm

Downward Facing

Syncopation

Too Late!

8pm

How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7 12pm

Songs from the Stage

5pm

2020 – the New 1920?

6:30pm

Naked at My Age

7pm

Dearly Departed

Terran’s Aquarium

The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism: a comedy

Three by Ten & More

6:30pm Naked at My Age 7pm

Everywoman & Cloning the Colonel

Terran’s Aquarium

Three by Ten & More

7:30pm

8-24-9

Blind

Danse Macabre: The Testament of Francois Villon

Olympus

ROUGH RIDERS

Sitting Shiva

The Prime Solution

Olympus

Sitting Shiva

Terran’s Aquarium

The Magic Fish

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience

3pm

Interplay

Three by Ten & More

4pm

The Magic Fish

5pm

Productive Discomfort: IDEA in Portland Theater

The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism: a comedy

6pm

And Everything Nice

Downward Facing

7pm

5x3: A Collection of Short Plays

7:30pm

8-24-9

Box-in-the-Jack: a transdimensional mid-life real estate

The Prime Solution

8pm

Tear Down This Wall

ARTSLANDIA.COM 5

IT TAKES A VILLAGE…

Portland’s phenomenal 11-day Fertile Ground Festival comes together every year because of an array of people who generously contribute their time, talents and support to allow this oneof-a-kind new works festival to thrive each year, among them are: Dre Slaman, PATA Advisory Board Fertile Ground Committee Chair, the Board of Directors of the Portland Area Theatre Alliance; all the Fertile Ground Festival committee members particularly Abby Christopher and Jessica Gleason, along with website consultant Andy Lindberg; Caitlin Barile with Box Office Tickets who has been on Fertile Ground since its inception; Misty Tompoles, Heidi Rush, and the entire crew at Artslandia who have become a vital voice for all things going on in the Portland arts scene; Gary Corbin for both Fertile Ground and PDX Playwrights and Sara Anderson with Polaris Dance Theatre for hosting festivals within the festival; the warm welcome from Farm to Fit, Milagro and Deep End Theater for hosting events; the attentive Portland media for valiantly covering this deluge of artistic events over just 11 days; all of our marketing table ambassadors and the venues that generously hosted us; and the dozens of producers and artists who have planted their projects in Fertile Ground to watch them grow!

Philanthropy is a lost art and yet these lovely donors are artists. Our deep gratitude to all of these arts-lovers who made a donation to Fertile Ground ― their support of our festival is so appreciated!

JOIN THEM! If you love what Fertile Ground is for artists, for the Portland community and for you, we ask for your support. We extend our gratitude to all of you donors who WILL donate in support of Fertile Ground…contributions, large and small, help seed new work in Portland within this unique festival. Fertile Ground is a program of the Portland Area Theatre Alliance, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. Your donations are fully tax deductible. Your contribution ensures that new art will continue to flourish in Portland.

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THANK YOU! SPECIAL THANKS TO THESE FERTILE GROUND DONORS: Bennett Battaile Valri Chiappetta Howard Cutler Kyle Fuchs Joseph Galante Ignacio Gonzalez Robert Holub Beth Kahlen Ronni Lacroute John Manson Nancy Matthews Hillary McKay Meffer Margie Miller Jon Oshel Virginia Oshel Edward Paladino Steve Perkins Tiffany Rousseau Benson Schaeffer Amaya Santamaria W. Sam Stein Gary Taliaferro Danelle Till Thomas Tilton James Ward Gretchen Young Rebecca A Youngstrom John Zajac

HOW TO USE this guide Events are listed chronologically by date and time, then alphabetically by producer. Full listings for each event appears only once on the first date of the show. Please see full listing date references for additional information.

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE

Fertile Ground offers festival-goers a wide variety of World Premiere projects. Listings that fall under “Fully Staged World Premiere” typically mean the show is fully formed and will offer a production experience that involves design and technical elements like light, sound, set, costumes and props. However, for some in this category fully staged means the producer/ creator has developed a new show that they are ready to share with the public.

DANCE

Dance and theatre performances share common (fertile) ground in their development process and often in their form and presentation. Although founded in the theatre arts, Fertile Ground is an opportunity for audiences to experience a diversity of art forms. We are delighted to once again offer the wide variety of companies and choreographers who make up Polaris Dance Theatre’s Groovin' Greenhouse, as well as welcome Echo Theatre back with their dance and circus-infused show Interplay.

WORKSHOP

These projects are not quite ready to premiere, but are itching to be on their feet in front of an audience in a big way. These workshop productions are a wonderful opportunity to see a piece that is on the road to completion and perhaps lend your thoughts to its end product.

STAGED READING

Most works of theatre have a multistage journey before they hit the stage as a World Premiere. A staged reading is one point in that trajectory. More than a script reading, a staged reading involves actors bringing a script to life with stage movement (blocking) while working through some design and technical ideas.

READING

Take a chance! Come listen in as a playwright, with actors, shares the dialogue of a script with an audience—often for the first time and sometimes with fresh revisions. This is your opportunity to participate in the development of a play. These readings often feature some of Portland’s best-regarded playwrights and actors, and will give you a unique glimpse into the plays that will grace our stages of the future.

OTHER

Some Fertile Ground listings do not easily fall into standard categories, so the creators selected their own special genre inviting you to take an adventure with them.

THEATRE

CONCERT READING LineStorm Playwrights, in association with Chapel Theatre, present

Dearly Departed

Blind

By Agatha Christie Adapted for the stage by Matthew Miller Directed by James Dixon

ADDITIONAL RUN DATE: Jan 29 @ 7pm

THURSDAY, JANUARY 30 THEATRE

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

FESTIVAL DATE: Jan 30 @ 12pm

VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: FREE

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org There’s been a murder at Styles and only one detective can solve the crime — Hercule Poirot! Who did it? Why? And what’s with all the endless exposition? Examining issues of sexuality and race, this adaptation of Agatha Christie’s first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, hopes to answer all these questions and so much more. This reading of The Mysterious Affair at Styles is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. ASL interpretation will be provided.

THEATRE

WORKSHOP Dance Naked Productions presents

Naked at My Age

By Charla Hathaway Directed by Eleanor O'Brien

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 30, 31; Feb 1, 6, 7, 8 @ 6:30pm VENUE: Prism House 5516 SE Foster Rd, Portland OR 97203 TICKETS: $10-15

BUY TICKETS: charlahathaway.com Grandma’s surprising Sexual Renaissance leads to risk, lust and healing in the Oldest Profession. Charla Hathaway tells a story of growing up sexually curious, seeking an abortion before it was legal, and forging an unusual marriage. At age 50, She proposes a one year ‘Marriage Sabbatical.’ In her solo year, she charts new erotic territory, loves more than one man, and makes a discipline of pleasure. Her initiation into sex work is fraught with illegal and isolating choices— though her late-life adventures lead to an unexpected profession—teaching empowered sexuality, writing books and leading international workshops on erotic play. As she enters her 70s, Charla continues to expand the definition of sex and lead others in joyful discovery.

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Spring 4th Productions presents By Tobin Gollihar & Ian Paul Sieren Directed by Tobin Gollihar & Ian Paul Sieren FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 30, 31; Feb 5, 6, 7 @ 7pm VENUE: Performance Works Northwest 4625 SE 67th Ave, Portland OR 97206 TICKETS: $15; $10 students/seniors

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org | 971-212-1020 It’s 1974. A Mom runs away from home and lands in a small town tavern. A Son drops out of college; because, I mean, what even is the point, anyway? A Dad idly contemplates which coffin is best suited for burying the tattered remnants of a life built on lies. This dark comedy, about how bad decisions always make perfect sense…until they really don’t, follows a family scattered to the winds, and fumbling to find themselves after the weight of the family secret has become too much to bear. Dearly Departed is the 16th original two-act play from Spring 4th Productions’ writing/performing team Tobin Gollihar and Ian Paul Sieren.

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Chapel Theatre Collective presents By Bonnie Ratner Directed by William Earl Ray

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 30, 31, Feb 1, 6, 7, 8 @ 7:30pm; Feb 2 @ 2pm

ADDITIONAL RUN DATES: Jan 17, 18, 23, 24, 25 @ 7:30pm; Jan 19, 26 @ 2pm VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: $25

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org | chapeltheatrecollective.com It’s 1967: Harold Stein travels from his home on Long Island to his small shoe store in a predominantly black Brooklyn neighborhood. Fearful of being robbed, or worse, Stein operates his store behind a locked door while his wife, Sylvia, remains trapped at home by her own demons and a culture that denies her dreams. Millie True is a teacher and her son, Jimmy, is a Black nationalist like his father, Millie’s ex. When Millie witnesses a young black man trying to get into Stein’s store, the ensuing events challenge not only Stein and the community, but also those of us who bear witness to his journey.

THEATRE

MUSICAL THEATRE

Beethoven & Chopin (Monster Hunters) Meet the Bride of Frankenstein (A Romance)

Portland’s Mini Musical Festival

WORKSHOP CoHo Productions presents

Created by Philip Cuomo with the CoHo Clown CoHort FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 30, 31, Feb 1 @ 7:30pm; Feb 2 @ 2pm

ADDITIONAL RUN DATES: Jan 23, 24, 25 @ 7:30pm; Jan 26 @ 2pm VENUE: CoHo Theatre 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland OR 97210 TICKETS: $5–$30, sliding scale

BUY TICKETS: cohoproductions.org | 503-220-2646 Step into the lab… What happens when you take Mary Shelley’s classic horror novel Frankenstein—mix elements from James Whale’s cinematic interpretation and Abbot & Costello shtick—then introduce classical music legends Beethoven and Chopin—add a healthy sprinkling of Romanticism—and distill it all with the pure physical comedy of clowning? Sounds like an experiment for the CoHo Clown CoHort! The ensemble that brought you Philip’s Glass Menagerie and Witch Hunt returns for a third consecutive year of Fertile Ground mischief.

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Live On Stage presents

Writers & Composers: Rick Lewis, Reece Marshburn, Karl Mansfield, Shawn Rogers, Chari Smith, Marianna Thielen, John Vergin & Matthew B. Zrebski Directed by Kevin Paul Clark, Clara Hillier, John Oules & Marianna Thielen Curated & Produced by John Oules FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 30, 31, Feb 1 @ 7:30pm; Feb 1, 2 @ 2pm

VENUE: Brunish Theater at Portland’5 Centers for the Arts 4th Floor, 1111 SW Broadway Ave, Portland OR 97205 TICKETS: $29.50

BUY TICKETS: liveonstage.us | 503-902-5052 Portland’s Mini Musical Festival is back for its fourth year with six brand-new shows created just for Fertile Ground 2020. These 15-minute musical gems are homegrown and written by many of Portland’s best playwrights and composers. This festival is a huge hit and the past three years have been completely sold out! Brett Campbell

MANAGE YOUR FESTIVAL PASS AT boxofficetickets.com or email fertileground@boxofficetickets.com

of Oregon ArtsWatch wrote Portland’s Mini Musical Festival is “one of the most enjoyable theatrical experiences of the year.” Come and find out what all the fuss and excitement is about! Our 2020 Festival is ALL NEW and promises to be the best year yet. We’ll delve (albeit briefly) into musicals that range from hilarious and titillating to tender and poignant. We’ll explore a murder from beyond, a pizza delivery boy who turns safecracker, what happens at book club we never knew, and what’s really troubling happiest girl in the whole USA? These nuggets and others will be presented in the intimate Brunish Theater where there truly is not a bad seat in the house. Now, grab your friends, buy your tickets, and join us for the perfect night out for every musical theatre lover!

THEATRE

MUSICAL SELECTIONS Physis Productions presents

Selections from the Chez l’Aisselle and A Bit of Crime and Punishment By Zach Hudson

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 30 @ 7:30pm; Feb 1 @ 1pm VENUE: The Siren Theatre 315 NW Davis St, Portland OR 97209 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Selections from the Chez l'Aisselle presents songs from The Chez l'Aisselle, a comedic operetta in the style of Gilbert and Sullivan. Snooty restaurateur D'Oyly Fitzgibbon thinks his new Portland restaurant is going to bring haute cuisine to new heights. Suddenly his daughter Helena shows up, announcing her engagement to a lowbrow celebrity chef. Then a new cook accidentally gives the kitchen staff food poisoning, and a food critic turns out to be D’Oyly’s ex-wife, bent on revenge. It falls to a creative sous-chef, Sue (in love with Helena), to recruit Maroun and his son Nassim (in love with Sue) from the food cart outside to save the day. A Bit of Crime and Punishment presents songs from Crime and Punishment, a hard-rock adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s classic novel. In 1860s Russia, a young man named Raskolnikov kills and robs a pawnbroker, convinced that it can be justified for the “greater good.” As the police investigate, he moves from smugness to torment. Meanwhile, Sonya, a kind-hearted prostitute, loses her father and then stepmother, and has to care for her younger siblings, and Raskolnikov’s sister Dunya is caught between a bad marriage and an evil suitor.

THEATRE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE WildWood Productions presents

Syncopation

Conceived & Directed by Theresa Carmody FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 30, Feb 6 @ 7:30pm; Feb 1, 2, 8, 9 @ 1pm VENUE: Deep End Theatre 211 SE 11th Ave, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $16/PWYC

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org A married couple, three grown children, and the rhythms of life. George and Edie reminisce about their 60 years together, the course of their lives, and the syncopated offbeats provided by their grown children. Theresa Carmody, a member of Portland’s improvised theatre community, has created a full-length play that is partially scripted, partially improvised. This show will examine what happens when the comfortable rhythms of a long-term relationship are disrupted by the syncopations of life events. What happens when emphasis is placed on beats not normally stressed? Can the relationship evolve into more complex and beautiful rhythms? Or will it break free from the beat entirely? Each night will bring new syncopations (improvised story elements) that will alter the dynamic of the relationships, making every performance a unique experience.

THEATRE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE YOCTOtheatre presents

Too Late!

Conceived by Mary Rose Created by Mary Rose, Sean Bowie & the Portland Action Theater Ensemble (PATÉ) Directed by Mary Rose & Sean Bowie FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 30, 31, Feb 1, 6, 7, 8 @ 7:30pm

VENUE: The Headwaters Theatre 55 N Farragut St, Portland, OR 97211

TICKETS: $20 advance; $20 suggested donation at the door (20 walk-up tickets held each night) BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org

Got any regrets? Anything you wish you’d done differently? Any roads not taken that you wish you took?…So do we! We’re navigating stories of regret and loss through an absurd mélange of theatre, movement, music and imagery. We’re probing the chocolatey center of the human condition—how we collectively and individually deal with those spiritual weights that hold us down. And at the end… hopefully…we’ll laugh a little, cry a little, heal a little—ourselves, each other and maybe, just maybe a little bit…our world.

IN ADVANCE

FESTIVAL $70

PASSES

AFTER JAN 1

Buy and manage your reservations at www.boxofficetickets.com Or by email fertileground@boxofficetickets.com Reservations required. Based on availability. Buy and learn more fertilegroundpdx.org

THEATRE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Dance Naked Productions presents

How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman By Eleanor O’Brien Directed by LouAnne Moldovan FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 30, 31; Feb 1, 6, 7, 8 @ 8pm ADDITIONAL RUN DATES: Feb 13, 14, 15 (venue TBD)

VENUE: Prism House 5516 SE Foster Rd, Portland OR 97203 TICKETS: $15-$30

BUY TICKETS: dancenakedproductions.com How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman is a hilarious, empowering and educational tale that is part storytelling, part stand-up, part TED Talk, part Vagina Monologue. Broadway World calls it “Funny, empowering, and just slightly terrifying all at once...highly recommended!” Eleanor O’Brien’s newest solo show is all about paying lip service to the divine, and learning how to make the pussy purr... How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman celebrates a return to good ol’ fashion Goddess worship, with a modern twist. Whether you are an owner of a yoni, or just a lover of ladybits, How to Reallyx3 Love a Woman is certain to inform, inspire and stimulate all kinds of juicy... conversation! Dance Naked Productions is known for creating edgy, sex-positive theatre that illuminates as much as it entertains (past hits include Inviting Desire: A Theatrical Aphrodisiac, Sex We Can!, GGG:Dominatrix for Dummies and Lust & Marriage). See the show before it debuts at the Edinburgh Fringe 2020!

THEATRE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE The Broken Planetarium presents

Tear Down This Wall

By Laura Christina Dunn Directed by Emilie Landmann Composed by Matt Burlin,

GET A FESTIVAL PASS A CULTURAL ADVENTURE AWAITS! SHOW RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. BASED ON AVAILABILITY. INFO AT FERTILEGROUNDPDX.ORG

Laura Christina Dunn, Kristin Gordon George, Avery Hill, Ali Ippolito, Craig Lardiere, Maggie Mascal, Rachel Sakry & Forest Veil (Monica Metzler) Choreographed by Kelsey Mahoney-Watson FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 30, 31, Feb 8, 9 @ 8pm; Feb 8 @ 2pm

ADDITIONAL RUN DATES: Jan 29 @ 8pm VENUE: Clinton Street Theater 2522 SE Clinton St, Portland OR 97202 TICKETS: $15-25 sliding scale

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org The creators of Sirens of Coos Bay and Frankenstein: A Cabaret present a new musical set in Soviet era Berlin, retelling Ovid's Pyramus and Thisbe, the original star crossed lovers, this time divided by the Berlin Wall. Reflecting on our own political moment of political division and militarized borders, the play documents Pyramus and Thisbe in love through a wall for 20 years before making a last desperate attempt to be together. With an all-female cast and production team, music by the women's choir Resonate Choral Arts (backed by a synthesizer), the lyrical choreography of Kelsey Mahoney Watson, playwright Laura Christina Dunn's whimsical humor, and a guest appearance by three jaded Fates and a very unlikely Zeus, this play examines what are the walls that divide us, and how can we tear them down?

FRIDAY, JANUARY 31 THEATRE

CONCERT READING LineStorm Playwrights, in association with Chapel Theatre, present

Descent from the Andes By Rich Rubin Directed by Roy Arauz

FESTIVAL DATE: Jan 31 @ 12pm

VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: FREE!

A finalist for the 2020 Portland Civic Theatre Guild New Play Award, this modern comedy-drama is about love, jealousy and…Simon Bolivar! Larry, an Ivy League professor, loves the perks of his position. Vicky, an ER nurse, loves Larry. Arianna, Larry’s research assistant, loves Simon Bolivar. Hector—Larry and Vicky’s doorman—loves Chekhov. Will love win out? Will hijinks ensue? Or will it be both? This reading of Descent from the Andes is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. ASL interpretation will be provided.

INTERDISCIPLINARY PERFORMANCE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Red Balloon Theatre Collective Presents

THE WAYS WE COPE

Conceived by The Red Balloon Ensemble Directed by Audrey O’Farrell

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31, Feb 1 @ 2pm; Feb 2, 3, 4, 5 @ 7:30pm VENUE: Alberta Abbey 126 NE Alberta St, Portland OR 97211 TICKETS: $15; $10 student/industry BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org

Within a realm of multidisciplinary art and movement-based communication, we explore THE WAYS WE COPE. The story starts with four words: AVOID, ALTER, ACCEPT, ADAPT. These words are manifested in the performers (Alanna Archibald, Kayla Hanson, Hailey Houser and Myia Johnson) and interact with each other in physical and literal ways. How would an interaction between AVOID and ACCEPT look if they were caught in an elevator? How would ADAPT react to being taught a movement to carry on? This expressionistic piece creates an unconventional experience on themes of teaching, space, and pure resilience. The core of Red Balloon’s mission is to continually choose vulnerability (or as we affectionately call it— to ‘stay soft’) and encourage a dialogue between artist and audience alike. By utilizing our resources and maintaining our stasis of empathy, we’re excited to have audiences become a part of THE WAYS WE COPE. After workshopping the inception of this piece during Shaking the Tree Theatre’s inaugural Open Space Residency in December 2018, audiences remarked that the work was “terrific, in turn fascinating, funny, and poignant. There’s something deeply gratifying about creative people being creative, untethered by rules or restrictions.” and that “It was a resonant and deeply human performance.”

THEATRE

WORKSHOP PDX Playwrights presents

Daisy Dukes Shorts Night: 2020 By Katie Bennett, Gary Corbin, John McDonald, Sean Morgan, Nancy Moss, Lindsay Partain, John Servilio & Louise Wynn Produced by Brad Bolchunos Directed by William Barry

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31 @ 7pm; Feb 1 @ 9pm

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E Burnside St, Portland OR 97214

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Back for the sixth year by popular demand, PDX Playwrights offers a juried selection of “very short shorts” (hence the name) performed by an ensemble cast. These eight plays explore the theme “2020” in wildly different, compelling ways. Don’t miss this urgent and thoroughly modern collection of fresh work from Portland’s finest playwrights! Works featured are: Detained, by Nancy Moss; Everything We Can Do, by Gary Corbin; Penny for your Trauma, by Lindsay Partain; Perfect 2020, by John Servilio; Ping Pong Bro, by John McDonald; Spank, by Sean Morgan; Suicide in the Garden, by Katie Bennett; and The Dating Zone, by Louise Wynn.

THEATRE

STAGED READINGS PassinArt: A Theatre Company presents

Three by Ten & More By S. Renee Mitchell

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31, Feb 1, 7, 8 @ 7pm; Feb 2, 9 @ 3pm VENUE: Self Enhancement, Inc. 3920 N Kerby Ave, Portland OR 97227 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org | 503-235-8079 Three by Ten & More by S. Renee Mitchell is a series of three 10-minute plays that deals with love, history and bullying. Love Me Right is a poetic Valentine’s Day encounter to help a single woman and a married couple recognize that the heart is never safe when it is lured out to play like it doesn’t mind the risk of falling in love. Blood is Thicker Than Color considers a Native American family during America’s dark days of chattel slavery learn that family’s blood is more meaningful than one’s skin color. Shaping of An Avalanche is about the memory of a bullied high school girl whose suicide begins a series of events that turn the tables on her bullying classmates leading to an unexpected and surprising ending. Bonus performances and audience discussion will follow the stage readings. “Words have power. Choose them wisely.”—S. Renee Mitchell, Actress, Director, Playwright, 2019 Spirit of Portland Award Winner

THEATRE

WORKSHOP READING Getting Lao’D presents

8-24-9

By Samson Syharath Created by Samson Syharath FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31, Feb 2, 8, 9 @ 7:30pm

TICKETS: $10

MANAGE YOUR FESTIVAL PASS AT boxofficetickets.com or email fertileground@boxofficetickets.com

VENUE: Orchards of 82 Community Space 8188 SE Division Street, Portland OR 97206 TICKETS: $5-20

BUY TICKETS: gettinglaod.com | 626-722-8677 8-24-9 (Secret Asian Man) is a Movement piece devised in response to the dual-identity of being a Laotian-American. From 1964 to 1973, the U.S. dropped more than two million tons of ordnance on Laos during 580,000 bombing missions—equal to a planeload of bombs every 8 minutes, 24 hours a day, for 9 years—making Laos the most heavily bombed country per capita in history. Samson Syharath will be collaborating with dancer and choreographer, Minh Tran, to create a performance piece presented in the early summer of 2020. This workshop reading will be the catalyst for the physical life of the piece.

SPOKEN WORD THEATRE FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE I Am M.O.R.E. presents

Resiliency in Rhythm - A phantasmagoria of youth storytelling, dance, art & other creative expressions

Conceived by the youth of I Am M.O.R.E. Produced/Directed by S. Renee Mitchell, 2019 Spirit of Portland Award winner Choreographed by Chisao Hata

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31, Feb 1 @ 7:30 pm; Feb 2 @ 2pm (includes talk back with cast) VENUE: the Riveter 501 SE 14th Ave, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $20; $15 students/seniors BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org

This expressionistic collection of heARTivism storytelling reveals authentic journeys of young people in the Portland metro area. Their creative language, which includes music, video, dance, song, fashion, multimedia art and spoken word, is grounded in the real-life experiences of these racially diverse performers who have moved past the emotional grip of their suffering and shifted into the depth of their possibilities. They each have been empowered to look more critically at the experiences that have shaped them, so that they can begin to walk through the world, not as victims, but as heroes of their own re-imagined story. Each performer possesses a unique sense of purpose that has been seasoned by trauma. Their empowering messages are a collective wake-up call for adults to look past challenging youth behaviors – and sometimes, racially based judgments of their potential – and recognize that we are ALL so much MORE than the worst thing that has ever happened to us. And with a little love, support and encouragement, young people have the

potential to shift from rough to resilient … and rise UP! SPOILER ALERT: You will leave each I Am M.O.R.E. performance with a renewed sense of hope, gratitude and joy.

MUSICAL THEATRE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Inspirations Theater presents

Olympus

Written, composed & directed by Torsti Rovainen

imprint of Trey’s deceased wife's brain. And Trey? His enhanced DNA is not working as predicted, so attached to his dead wife he can barely function, reducing him from genius to has-been in his own lifetime. His daughter is no help. Cristal, secretly being groomed for a leadership position, is humming along as a shining example of Prime genetics. This is Masque Alfresco’s sixth production for Fertile Ground, with Artistic Director Fayra Teeters at the helm as producer/director, and starring professional actor Kenneth Dembo as Trey.

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31, Feb 1, 7, 8 @ 7:30pm; Feb 2, 9 @ 2pm

THEATRE

TICKETS: $20; $15 students/seniors

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience

VENUE: Alpenrose Opera House 6149 SW Shattuck Rd, Portland OR 97221 BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org

This is a full-length musical featuring the deities of Olympus. Follow Aphrodite’s struggle against sexism/stereotyping, Zeus’ tenuous hold on power in face of both inner revolt and a war with the titans, and a young demigod Hero’s quest to make a name in Olympus. We also meet Hades, king of the dead, the three wise Graeae sisters, and a host of other colorful and fiery characters in the Greek pantheon. For more information about the show and to hear song samples visit, rovainenmusicals.com/ olympus. Inspirations Theater has been bringing original musicals to Portland since 2013. We also offer summer and autumn theatre programs for youth in the greater Portland area.

THEATRE

WORKSHOP PRODUCTION Masque Alfresco presents

The Prime Solution

By Don Teeters Directed by Fayra Teeters

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31, Feb 1, 2, 7, 8, 9 @ 7:30pm VENUE: Faith on the Hill Fellowship Hall 3615 SE Hill Rd, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: $15; $10 student/seniors

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Trey and Cristal, genetically engineered father and daughter, are struggling to understand each other under the regime of a ruling group called the Prime, a government body that uses genetic engineering to create a better world. Destroyed by war, Earth has become a radioactive wasteland, but most survivors outside the Prime refuse to be enhanced by their invasive genetic techniques. Trey has received a replacement wife, a Radiant Mate that is an exact copy of his deceased wife and uses the same name. Although Cly appears harmless, she seems to know things beyond her classification, as she awaits the encoded

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Experience Theatre Project presents

By Robert Lewis Stevenson Adapted & Directed by Alisa Stewart

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31, Feb 1, 7, 8 @ 7:30pm; Feb 1, 2, 8, 9 @ 2pm

ADDITIONAL RUN DATES: Jan 17, 18, Feb 14, 15, 18 @ 7:30pm; Jan 18, 19, Feb 15, 16 @ 2pm

VENUE: Beaverton Masonic Lodge 4690 SW Watson Ave, Beaverton OR 97005 TICKETS: $36/$65/$125; $20 for seniors over 64/students with ID

BUY TICKETS: experiencetheatreproject.org | 844-ETP-SHOW (387-7469) The Wild West just got a little more dangerous in this brand new, immersive adaptation of Robert Lewis Stevenson’s classic tale of good and evil. Set in the fictional gold rush boom town of Brannock, explore Jekyll’s laboratory, Millie’s saloon, Lanyon’s general store, and even Main Street itself while watching an enhanced adaptation of a classic story performed only inches away. This multi-media experience featuring live music, intimate choreography, and creative projections transcends ordinary storytelling, all while remaining true to the original beauty of Stevenson’s Gothic story. Upgrade your experience with a beer or champagne treatment and get your glass refilled by saloon bar dogs throughout the show. (Appropriate for 18+)

DANCE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Polaris Dance Theatre presents

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective & Mark Koenigsberg + Sara Naegelin FESTIVAL DATE: Jan 31, Feb 7 @ 8pm

GET A FESTIVAL PASS A CULTURAL ADVENTURE AWAITS! SHOW RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. BASED ON AVAILABILITY. INFO AT FERTILEGROUNDPDX.ORG

VENUE: Polaris Dance Theatre’s Black Box 1826 NW 18th Ave, Portland OR 97209 TICKETS: $18-22, $25 at the door BUY TICKETS: polarisdance.org

Returning for the 10th year, Polaris Dance Theatre presents Groovin’ Greenhouse, a program filled with an array of emerging and established Portland-area dance artists, companies and organizations. This event is focused on bringing the Portland dance community together under one roof. Each performance will include work by one or more of Polaris’ companies including the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective, and Polaris Junior + NEO Youth Companies. The opening night performance includes the Polaris Company and ELa FaLa Collective. Artistic Directors, Robert Guitron and Barbara Lima, will merge together for the first time to curate an innovative, dance theatre inspired creation. Each performance will be a new work involving interactions between dancers, audience members and directors as they create a performance piece before your eyes. This process will include vocal and physical prompts, music and lighting cues, and more. The traditional rules are broken as the ideas of performer and audience member are blurred. This piece is playful and process oriented, a unique experience you don’t want to miss! The program is shared with local freelance artists, Mark Koenigsberg + Sara Naegelin. They will present a work-in-progress entitled TIME FOR THREE, a dance celebrating their friendship and love of moving together. They are joined by cellist and wizard of instruments, Emily Dalfoist. If this piece is about anything, it’s the magic of arms and legs, of two bodies moving separately and in unison through time and space. It’s born of the dancers’ wish to bring joy, humor, and lightness to themselves and to others. They’re having fun creating it (still), and they hope you enjoy watching.

CIRCUS/DANCE/THEATRE

STAGED WORKSHOP Echo Theater Company presents

Interplay

Weekend A: Sasshole, Noelle Simone, ETC Professional Performance Lab, Rip/Pull Weekend B: Rose City Rope Queen, Flo Buddenbaum, Summer Olsson & Aurora Rupert, Sara Fay Goldman & Marc Schreiner, ETC Professional Performance Lab

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31, Feb 1, 7, 8 @ 8pm; Feb 2, 9 @ 3pm VENUE: Echo Theater 1515 SE 37th Ave, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $15-28 sliding scale

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org | 971-267-3246 Explore. Risk. Unravel. Interplay with us.

Explore what arises when two or more performance disciplines unite to produce an original piece of work. Interplay features dance, video, music, physical theatre, aerial expression, Shibari, and more. The shows highlight work from artists representing a variety of traditionally marginalized communities and will be sex and size positive. Each weekend will feature a different group of artists presenting 10-20 minute vignettes. Weekend A: Heavy Is The Head that Wears the Crown: Mental Health Memoirs of the Black Woman by Noelle Simone; Bad Grrls of Bellydance by Sasshole; self-titled Rip/Pull Effect. Weekend B: CITRINE by Rose City Rope Queen; The Book of J by Sara Fay Goldman & Marc Schreiner; Textured by Flo Buddenbaum, Summer Olsson, & Aurora Rupert. We Belong Here by Echo Theater Company’s Professional Performance Lab is performed both weekends. These unique works-inprogress will push staged expression in new directions. Run time: 90 minutes | Performances suitable for 13+

DANCE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE A-WOL Dance Collective, Tempos Contemporary Circus & push/FOLD present

Junction

Performed by A-WOL Dance Collective, Tempos Contemporary Circus, push/FOLD FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31, Feb 1 @ 8pm; Feb 2 @ 2pm VENUE: A-WOL Dance Collective 513 NE Schuyler St, Portland OR 97212 TICKETS: $20

BUY TICKETS: awoldance.org Local Portland companies A-WOL Dance Collective, Tempos Contemporary Circus, and push/FOLD have joined together for the first time. Each company will create and contribute a unique piece to this three-part performance, blended together into one show featuring dance, acrobatics and aerial into a vibrant new fusion of movement and expression. Concepts of connectivity will be explored by performers from all three companies, bringing both the signature style of each group, as well as fresh interpretations. Appropriate for all ages.

THEATRE

WORKSHOP PDX Playwrights presents

Crazy Dukes Instant Play Festival Launch Produced by Adam Harrell

FESTIVAL DATE: Jan 31 @ 9pm

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E Burnside St, Portland OR 97214

TICKETS: FREE

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org The kickoff of PDXP’s fourth annual Crazy Dukes Instant Play Festival! This Festivalwithin-the Festival-within-the-Festival is guaranteed to be the very newest, freshest work performed at Fertile Ground 2020. How do we know this? Because the work is getting created DURING the festival! Think of it as theatre on a highwire with no net. Six talented playwrights will obtain 3-4 prompts and will be randomly assigned 2-6 cast members on the night of PDXP's Daisy Dukes Shorts Night and after party. The playwrights will then write, rehearse, produce and perform 10-minute plays within 48 hours. Come help kick off the creative process by offering your suggestions of actions, themes, lines of dialogue, or props that MUST be included in all six plays. Then audiences can come back and see the results on Sunday night on Feb 2 @ 7pm. Guaranteed crazy — and guaranteed amazing!

IN ADVANCE

FESTIVAL $70

PASSES

AFTER JAN 1

Buy and manage your reservations at www.boxofficetickets.com Or by email fertileground@boxofficetickets.com Reservations required. Based on availability. Buy and learn more fertilegroundpdx.org

THEATRE

FULLY STAGE WORLD PREMIERE Dance Naked Productions presents

Sexology: The Musical By Melanie Moseley Directed by Eleanor O'Brien FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31, Feb 1, 7, 8 @ 10pm

VENUE: Prism House 5516 SE Foster Rd, Portland OR 97203 TICKETS: $10-15

BUY TICKETS: dancenakedproductions.com Sexology: The Musical cracks open the tyranny of societal expectations when it comes to love, sex and relationship. A powerful and funny story about the journey from monogamy to polyamory (complete with show tunes!), Melanie Moseley’s solo show explores new pathways to intimacy. Through courageous and authentic storytelling, a wide spectrum of relationship options is revealed, and what it means to create your own chosen family. From the agony of jealousy to the

MANAGE YOUR FESTIVAL PASS AT boxofficetickets.com or email fertileground@boxofficetickets.com

joy of true compersion, audiences have the opportunity to peek inside a triad, and hear a firsthand account of love without limits. Previous incarnations of Sexology have won “Best in Show” at the 2019 Boulder International Fringe Festival and “Patron’s Choice” at the PortFringe Festival.

COMEDY/FILM NOIR

FULLY IMPROVISED SEASON PREMIERE Artful Raven Studio presents

The Jade Decanter

Developed by Nathaniel Hadley & Sophya Vidal Directed by Nathaniel Hadley

FESTIVAL DATES: Jan 31, Feb 7 @ 10pm; Feb 1, 8 @ 9pm VENUE: ComedySportz Portland 1963 NW Kearney St, Portland OR 97209 TICKETS: $15; $10 student/seniors

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org We’ve had a wonderful time these last few years, creating brand new intrigue, mystery, and hilarity nightly—as we use the most classic themes of Noir storytelling to create a wholly improvised full-length feature show. If you have missed out before—you better not this time. Next year we will be exploring another world—so don’t miss this! Find out who dies and which shady character did it. With our brand of improv, no mystery will ever be the same. Set right in the gritty dark underworld of crime and intrigue from the 1940s, this premiere of our last Noir Season will be a night to remember. Eight people, two acts, all driven by one thing: your suggestion.

ALSO ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 31 6:30pm Dance Naked Productions presents Naked at My Age | See full listing on Jan 30 7pm Spring 4th Productions presents Dearly Departed | See full listing on Jan 30 7:30pm CoHo Productions presents Beethoven & Chopin (Monster Hunters) Meet the Bride of Frankenstein (A Romance) |See full listing on Jan 30

7:30pm Chapel Theatre Collective presents Blind |See full listing on Jan 30 7:30pm Live On Stage presents Portland’s Mini Musical Festival | See full listing on Jan 30 7:30pm YOCTOtheatre presents Too Late! |See full listing on Jan 30 8pm Dance Naked Productions presents How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman| See full listing on Jan 30

8pm The Broken Planetarium presents Tear Down This Wall | See full listing on Jan 30

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1

THEATRE

READING Elder World Productions presents

Lost In Elder World By Darlene Zimbardi

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 1, 2 @ 12pm (Art Garage); Feb 8, 9 @ 12pm (Multnomah Arts Center)

VENUES: Art Garage/AM Woodling Studio 3219 SE 62nd Ave, Portland OR 97206 Multnomah Arts Center, Conference Room 7688 Capital Hwy, Portland OR 97219 TICKETS: PWYC

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Lost in Elder World is Darlene Zimbardi’s plea for advocacy for our beloved senior citizens. The reading will take you on a daughter’s eye-opening journey as she sails the choppy seas of Elder World to deliver her recently widowed mother and mom’s precious pooch to safety. Doses of dark humor will make you chuckle through Ms. Zimbardi's telling of the perils of aging loved ones and ponderings on those elders adrift with no one to toss them a life preserver. Elder World—we’re all headed there. Are You Ready? After finding assisted living for her mother and pooch, a daughter realizes this is only the beginning of her crash course on elderly advocacy; while soldiering on she uses humor to not drown in the sadness of elders without advocates.

THEATRE

CONCERT READING LineStorm Playwrights, in association with Chapel Theatre, present

Persistent World

By Susan Faust Directed by Matt Pavik

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 1 @ 12pm

VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: FREE!

Fifteen-year-old Oscar spends his time immersed in online role-playing games, hoping his new virtual identity will obliterate his adopted, outcast self. LeeAnne overcompensates for Oscar's missing father and can't seem to figure out how to send a text message. Isaac keeps getting his phone privileges taken away, and Tish just doesn't give a crap— unless she's role-playing, that is. With the power to both connect and alienate, the digital world seems to be taking over. Is anything compelling enough to

prompt a return to reality? This reading of Persistent World is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. ASL interpretation will be provided.

THEATRE

WORKSHOP Nine Bridges Press presents

The Trump Follies

By Warren Bull Directed by Warren Bull

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 1, 2 @ 2pm

VENUE: The Legends Condominium Garden Level Lounge 1132 SW 19th Ave, Portland OR 97205 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org The Trump Follies celebrates, in song and word, the end of the Trump error, um era. The self-proclaimed, “Extremely stable genius” said things including, “Who knew health care reform would be so hard?” “Who knew what a category 5 storm was?” And, “Nobody knows what a community college is.” But heck, even geniuses don’t know everything. Our President gave us important warnings like, “You go to the hospital. You have a broken arm. You come out and you are a drug addict.” California’s forests should be “all raked out” to prevent fires. And “Remember, new ‘environment friendly’ light bulbs can cause cancer.” Wow! Who knew that? It’s important to remember his achievements. As he said, “We have triumphed over evil like nobody has seen before.” “You know I was dealt a lot of bad hands.” “I got a small loan from my father of a million dollars.” And, “President Trump made promises, but he kept many more promises. I mean, far more than I made.” Join us for celebration of the President who’s like we will never ever see again — with any luck.

THEATRE

READING Lakewood Theatre Company presents

Young Playwrights Festival

By Aishwarya Marathe, Emily Imanishi, Lana Sage & Jane Brinkley Program directed by Megan Ward Stevens FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 1 @ 2pm

VENUE: Lakewood Theatre Company 368 S State St, Lake Oswego OR 97034 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: tix6.centerstageticketing. com/sites/lakewoodtheatre/ | 503-635-3901 Young Playwrights Festival (YPF) is a collection of one-act plays by High School playwrights from Oregon who have been selected to work with professional directors and actors to gain insight, experience and feedback to develop their plays. YPF provides

GET A FESTIVAL PASS A CULTURAL ADVENTURE AWAITS! SHOW RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. BASED ON AVAILABILITY. INFO AT FERTILEGROUNDPDX.ORG

an opportunity for these playwrights to learn and discover how to hone their playwriting skills through a series of workshops with theatre professionals. The culmination of this process is to experience the audience response at this presentation of their work.

THEATRE

STAGED READING Associated Artists present

Downward Facing

By Mishelle Apalategui Directed by Molly Shevaun Reed

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 1, 8 @ 4pm; Feb 2, 9 @ 6pm

VENUE: The Shoebox Theater 2110 SE 10th Ave, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org In a newly gentrified neighborhood in the modern American west, gutter punk Flax returns to their squatting ground, a long unoccupied house, only to find it has been leased by yoga enthusiast, Lilly-Anne. Upon finding out that they will be giving up their home to a hippie-new-age impostor, Flax resolves that they will protest the change. Across town, Jenna meets Janna at a bus stop and they begin an electric, yet complicated, relationship surfing the highly independent, borderline aloof, modern dating landscape. When Jenna reveals to Janna that she has recently become pregnant via in-vitro, Janna refuses to admit that she is not ready for such a change. Downward Facing speaks to its audience through its characters’ genuine stoicism coupled with the haze of Hipster culture forcing reconciliation between the life we lead and the life we desire.

IN ADVANCE

FESTIVAL $70

PASSES

AFTER JAN 1

SEE AS MANY AS YOU CAN GET IN!

fertilegroundpdx.org

PERFORMANCE ART

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE More Devotedly presents

Volume II: Climate Crisis

TICKETS: $20; $10 students

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org What does race have to do with collecting wildlife data in Denali National Park? How do we reconcile our armchair activism with our private realities? What emotional response to the changing world around us would you have to experience to incite real, lasting change in your daily behavior? We know enough about the science of climate change to know that we need to take it seriously. Volume II: Climate Crisis, the second installment of the podcast and live performance project More Devotedly, insists that we need to take our feelings about the climate crisis seriously as well. The Bear in the Room, is based on an interview with data scientist Ratnanjali Adhar about her experiences in Denali National Park with music by violinist and looper Joe Kye, shows how even dispassionate research has a human dimension. Poet Lara Messersmith-Glavin’s I Know You reflects on the tension between our public social media performances and our private realities as we address the climate crisis individually and collectively. The event concludes with Stephanie McCollough and Detrick adding movement and music to an audio collage of honest answers to three questions about climate change collected from many diverse contributors. Combining original music, poetry, movement, and audio storytelling curated by multi-instrumentalist, composer and podcaster Douglas Detrick, along with violinist and looper Joe Kye, dancer Stephanie McCollough, and poet Lara Messersmith-Glavin, invite you to open your hearts and minds to the enormity of our collective challenge for a single hour. More Devotedly’s Volume II is supported in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. moredevotedly.com

THEATRE

STAGED READING Mabel Made it Productions presents

End The Cycle―One Act Play By Tiffani Barbour & Stephanie St. James-Werba Directed by Tiffani Barbour & Stephanie St. James-Werba

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 1 @ 5:45pm; Feb 2 @ 1pm & 5pm

Created by Douglas Detrick Composition by Douglas Detrick & Joe Kye Poetry by Lara Messersmith-Glavin Choreography by Stephanie McCollough

VENUE: The 2509 2509 NE Clackamas St, Portland OR 97232 (Important: Please park at least 2 blocks from the venue to allow parking for the venue’s neighbors)

VENUE: Shout House 210 SE Madison St, Portland OR 97214

BUY TICKETS: endthecycleproject.com/ events

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 1, 2 @ 5:30pm; Feb 1 @ 9pm; Feb 2 @ 1pm

TICKETS: $10 suggested donation, must reserve online

“More than 200 women kill their children in America each year, only one of these women admits that she would do it again.” End of Cycle follows the story of Denise, a complex, struggling mother of three who takes the law into her own hands, when she discovers the horrifying truths about her children. While awaiting her fate, an unlikely and hesitant ally emerges in Andrea, a corrections officer suffering losses of her own. As they try to manipulate a broken system, lies intertwine with hope, tragedy brings promise and no one’s life will be the same.

THEATRE

STAGED READING PDX Playwrights presents

Olding

By Johanna Courtleigh

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 1 @ 7pm

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E Burnside St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Four original monologues explore various aspects of aging. Clairie reflects on the last stages of her mother’s life and death. Ranya shares about her life as a refugee and caregiver so the people in the facility where she works will feel less threatened by her. Gloria resists her daughter’s desire to have her interned in said facility. And Harry, a 90-something year-old Jewish man, looks back on his life on Atonement Day. Written and performed by Johanna Courtleigh.

THEATRE

LIVE STORYTELLING Portland Storytellers Guild presents

Once In A Blue Moon

Featured tellers: Barbara Fankhauser, Mike Goss, Anne-Louise Sterry & John Wylder FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 1 @ 7:30pm

VENUE: Clinton Street Theater 2522 SE Clinton St, Portland OR 97202

TICKETS: $15 in advance; $20 at the door BUY TICKETS: cstpdx.com

Once in a blue moon, an unexpected event can send us careening off into unknown territory. Events completely upend our carefully made plans. Join storytellers Barbara Fankhauser, Mike Goss, Anne-Louise Sterry and John Wylder for an evening of stories of unexpected turns, oddities, peculiarities and rare out-of-time-moments. Do we grind our gears, or smoothly shift? Can we reframe quickly enough to survive to other side of the unexpected? Four master storytellers unwind tales of once-in-a-blue-moon events. Who knows, perhaps just listening to them may send you off in unexpected, unknown,

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directions. Portland’s premier storytelling group shows its best for Fertile Ground 2020. For more than 30 years, Portland Storytellers Guild has been introducing people of the Pacific Northwest to the joy and power of stories told in person, faceto-face. Once In A Blue Moon is part of the Guild’s annual schedule of monthly storytelling performances.

THEATRE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Lumos Group presents

Sitting Shiva

By Joshua Metzger Directed by Dawn Bonder

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 1, 8 @ 7:30pm; Feb 2, 9 @ 2pm

Lima, will merge together for the first time to curate an innovative, dance theatre inspired creation. Each performance will be a new work involving interactions between dancers, audience members, and directors as they create a performance piece before your eyes. This process will include vocal and physical prompts, music and lighting cues, and more. The traditional rules are broken as the ideas of performer and audience member are blurred. This piece is playful, process-oriented and is a unique experience you don’t want to miss! The program is shared with the Polaris Junior + NEO Youth Companies. They will perform a variety of new work-in-progress that will be fully produced in April 2020. These young, vibrant, and powerful dancers bring a bold tone to this show. These companies are under the direction of M'Liss Quinnly.

VENUE: The Shoebox Theater 2110 SE 10th Ave, Portland OR 97214

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org

IN ADVANCE

TICKETS: $15 in advance; $20 at door Upon the death of their father, three brothers come together to sit Shiva, the Jewish mourning period. They share feelings about their relationships with their father, their families, and each other. Will they be able to reconcile their different versions of reality? Or will what they learn about their father, each other, and themselves cause irreparable rifts among the siblings? Sitting Shiva explores the questions that come at the end of life: for those dying and those who live on without them.

DANCE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Polaris Dance Theatre presents

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective & Polaris Junior + NEO Youth Companies

VENUE: Polaris Dance Theatre’s Black Box 1826 NW 18th Ave, Portland OR 97209 FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 1 @ 8pm

TICKETS: $18-22, $25 a the door BUY TICKETS: polarisdance.org

FESTIVAL $70

PASSES

AFTER JAN 1

Buy and manage your reservations at www.boxofficetickets.com Or by email fertileground@boxofficetickets.com Reservations required. Based on availability. Buy and learn more fertilegroundpdx.org

ALSO ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 1 1pm Physis Productions presents Selections from the Chez l’Aisselle and A Bit of Crime and Punishment | See full listing on Jan 30 1pm WildWood Productions presents Syncopation| See full listing on Jan 30

2pm Live On Stage presents Portland’s Mini Musical Festival | See full listing on Jan 30 2pm Experience Theatre Project presents The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience | See full listing on Jan 31 2pm Red Balloon Theatre Collective presents THE WAYS WE COPE | See full listing on Jan 31

6:30pm Dance Naked Productions presents Naked at My Age | See full listing on Jan 30

7pm PassinArt: A Theatre Company presents Three by Ten & More | See full listing on Jan 31 7:30pm CoHo Productions presents Beethoven & Chopin (Monster Hunters) Meet the Bride of Frankenstein (A Romance) | See full listing on Jan 30

7:30pm Inspirations Theater presents Olympus | See full listing on Jan 31

7:30pm Live On Stage presents Portland’s Mini Musical Festival | See full listing on Jan 30

7:30pm I Am M.O.R.E. presents Resiliency in Rhythm | See full listing on Jan 31 7:30pm YOCTOtheatre presents Too Late! | See full listing on Jan 30

7:30pm Masque Alfresco Presents The Prime Solution | See full listing on Jan 31 7:30pm Experience Theatre Project presents The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience | See full listing on Jan 31 8pm Dance Naked Productions presents How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman | See full listing on Jan 30 8pm Echo Theater Company presents Interplay | See full listing on Jan 31

8pm A-WOL Dance Collective, Tempos Contemporary Circus & push/FOLD present Junction | See full listing on Jan 31

9pm PDX Playwrights present Daisy Dukes Shorts Night 2020 | See full listing on Jan 31 9pm Artful Raven Studio presents The Jade Decanter | See full listing on Jan 31 10pm Dance Naked Productions presents Sexology: The Musical | See full listing on Jan 31

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2 THEATRE

STAGED READING PDX Playwrights presents

The Roosevelts' Women By Thomas & Craig Mason with Annie Leonard

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 2 @ 12pm

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E Burnside St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org No two people could be more complex than Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. Their personal relationships, both marital and extra-marital, took place against a background of two world wars, the Great Depression, and Franklin’s debilitating disease, which keep him in a wheelchair from 1921 to his death. Franklin’s relationship with Eleanor has been wellportrayed. They were probably the most wellknown married couple of the 20th Century. However, aside from Lucy Mercer, only recently have Franklin’s relations with other women been examined. Likewise, only recently have Eleanor’s relationships with other women been exposed candidly. Based on known historical incidents, The Roosevelts’ Women dramatizes the very real, human sides of one of the most famous couples in U.S. history.

GET A FESTIVAL PASS A CULTURAL ADVENTURE AWAITS! SHOW RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. BASED ON AVAILABILITY. INFO AT FERTILEGROUNDPDX.ORG

THEATRE

STAGED READING Rutabaga Story Co. presents

Itch

By Eve Johnstone Directed by Madison Mondeaux

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 2, 8 @ 1pm

VENUE: The Siren Theater 315 NW Davis St, Portland OR 97209 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org A new play brought to you by Rutabaga Story Co, Itch follows the separate but parallel stories of three women and their unique experiences with self-harm. Writing partially from personal experience, playwright Eve Johnstone attempts to deromanticize the idea of self-harm and give this often hushed up topic (and those who have experienced it) a truthful portrayal— all without ever depicting the action itself. Through humor, a flavor of absurdity, and a puppet or two, Itch at its core tells the story of three women fighting a battle both inside and outside themselves. To learn more about Rutabaga Story Co. and our other productions: Instagram/Facebook: rutabagastoryco rutabagastoryco.com

THEATRE

STAGED READING Cosmic Tomato Productions presents

Sweet Iago

THEATRE

STAGED READING PDX Playwrights presents

The Bride of Bellagartёn By Robb Piggot

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 2 @ 2pm

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E Burnside St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org An isolated hunting lodge. An ancient gypsy’s curse. And some very carnivorous eels. Who knows what other dire dreads await nervous newlywed, the fetching Fern Fairthistle, when she is introduced to her eccentric in-laws for a whirlwind weekend of sinister celebrations, perilous parlor games—and perhaps a ritual sacrifice if time allows. From the twisted imagination responsible for last summer’s campy cult classic Bed, Bath and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, comes a ridiculous new comedy that promises to make you think twice before attending your next family reunion.

THEATRE

DANCE

VENUE: Sandy Plaza, Triangle Board Room Cabaret; 1785 Sandy Blvd, Portland OR 97232

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Polaris Dance Theatre presents

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective & ELXR Dance Company

VENUE: Polaris Dance Theatre’s Black Box 1826 NW 18th Ave, Portland OR 97209

By David Wagstaff Directed by David Wagstaff

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 2 @ 2:30pm

VENUE: Northwest Academy Blue Box Theater 1130 SW Main Street, Portland OR 97205

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 2 @ 2pm

TICKETS: $15; $10 student/seniors

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org The year is 2050. Our hero, Iago, chief strategist for the Pentagon, has been relieved of his position. He is to be replaced by the female robot, Cassia. They meet in his office to discuss matters of state, each with an agenda. Iago is acknowledged as a genius, both in the arts of war and strategy, and for his ability to speak in iambic pentameter. In short, he is the most intimidating presence. Yet Cassia possesses all the advantages of artificial intelligence. In addition, she is beautiful and the most charming robot ever to walk the digital landscape. What ensues is Shakespearean in proportion, yet most contemporary in import. Appropriate for 18+

blurred. This playful and process-oriented piece is an unique experience you don’t want to miss! This program is shared with ELXR Dance Company, a theatrical dance company located in Portland. They will present an excerpt from their full length production, Shipwreck'd. Shipwreck'd tells a story of passengers boarding a ship for an adventure only to find themselves in the middle of a catastrophic crash on an island far from civilization. The dancers present a story of disaster, bravery and survival.

TICKETS: $18-22, $25 at the door BUY TICKETS: polarisdance.org

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE The Crones present

Circe and Baba Yaga Walk Into a Bar...A Heady Evening of Enchantment and Misadventures

By The Crones Directed by Barbara Fankhauser, Pam Maben, Anne Penfound & Julie Strozyk FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 2 @ 3pm; Feb 6 @ 7pm

TICKETS: $20; $15 student/seniors

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Wisdom would say different situations call for different solutions...and when has this old world been more in need of wisdom? What fates are deserved by naughty children, domineering men or willful women? How does one find one’s own true heart? Spend an evening with The Crones and find out firsthand. Listen as Barbara Fankhauser, Pam Maben, Anne Penfound and Julie Strozyk... women wise to the ways of the world... enchant you with tales of the practicalities— necessities—and misadventures of getting from one end of life to the other. They have much to share about weaving the weft of life. And who knows, it may change you forever.

MULTI-MEDIA/ANIMATION

WORLD PREMIERE SCREENINGS Artful Raven Studio presents

HOMEBREW 2020: A PDX INDIE ANIMATION SHOWCASE Curated by Sophya Vidal Works by Various Local PDX Animators FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 2 @ 3pm

VENUE: Wacom Experience Center 1455 NW Irving St, Portland OR 97209

TICKETS: $10/ $5 Active ASIFA Members BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org

HOMEBREW 2020: A PDX Indie Animation Showcase is here for year 5! This showcase is as fresh as ever with a new collection of works from local animators making the

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screening beautiful, bold and magical. Organized and moderated by Sophya Vidal, a long-standing member of the local animation and theatre community, creative and thoughtful storytelling are at the heart of the showcase. The screening includes several new works. It will be followed by a panel with many of the creators, so bring your best questions and get to know your Portland Animation Ambassadors. This event is brought to you by The Animation Resource Community Service (ARCS) and Portland ASIFA. Runtime: approximately 2 hours

THEATRE

STAGED READING PDX Playwrights presents

Osho Returns By Ajai Tripathi

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 2 @ 5pm

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E Burnside St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org He has been called spiritually incorrect, the sex guru, Bhagwan, and master of masters. He was wanted by the U.S Attorney and the government. Countless accounts of his influence on his followers, and development of Rajneeshpuram have been detailed. The legal system of Oregon, his followers and detractors, and former assistant Ma Anand Sheela have all spoken at length about him. Now on the 30th anniversary of Osho's ultimate transcendence, once leaving the physical body to unite with the galaxy, his soul and personhood begins once more to replicate. Taking refuge in a local actor, Osho will return once more to speak of his life and his truth.

THEATRE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE VADM presents

When “WE” Cry

Created by Amber L. Trimble, Madina Keita, Diewo Keita & Valerie Yvette Peterson Performed by M. Keita, D. Keita, V. Peterson Directed & Produced by Valerie Yvette Peterson FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 2 @ 5pm

VENUE: The Siren Theatre 315 NW Davis St, Portland, OR 97209 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org When “WE” Cry takes a look into the pain of a woman—Black Woman; and the perils that exist when these truths of pain remain silent. The black family was forced to endure, but our silence has been costly, as we are forced to succumb to the adversities of a new

world order. For generations, the black family has struggled to survive, as we continue the fight to rise above racial boundaries. When others can see themselves through our lens, we ALL can see the strengths that exist among us; creating an enlightened sense of courage to pursue collective unity among women—regardless to color, culture or gender differences. When “WE” Cry seeks to bring about awareness, of the effects in our lives, when we as women, choose to ignore our struggles; as we often times rationalize and cover up the shame. When we become embarrassed, we keep “quiet” and cope… When “WE” Cry seeks to open those painful doors to a fresh freedom in knowing that our “silence will not protect us” (Audre Lorde). For every bout of pain unabated, there lies equal power; a strength that is unequivocally seen, heard and felt through generations of strength.

PUPPET THEATRE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Leaven Dream Puppets presents

The Magic Fish

Written & directed by David Woodin Choreography Anca Hariton & David Woodin Puppet design & build: David Woodin & Anca Hariton FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 2 @ 5:30pm; Feb 9 @ 2pm & 4pm

VENUE: TaborSpace, Dining Room Event Stage 5441 Belmont St, Portland OR 97215 TICKETS: $5 persons ages 3+

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org The Magic Fish is a puppet show inspired by childhood experiences growing up in the Pacific NW. The story is informed by the Irish fairytale Soul Cages, Punch and Judy techniques of historic puppetry and contemporary mask and mime. It follows a little boy who heeds neither to his mom's call nor to convention, and meets with his own adventures, only to return home wiser. This performance engages audiences of all ages, combining innocence and sophistication to address ideas of ethics, the environment and transformation. Leaven Dream Puppets with puppeteers, David Woodin and Anca Hariton, offer an original cast, script, set and choreography. The show runs 30 minutes with additional 15 minutes for questions and meeting the puppets. Audience comments: “We were treated to a fantastic puppet show today! The kids were enthralled!” This project is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

THEATRE

CONCERT READING LineStorm Playwrights, in association with Chapel Theatre, present

Path of Glory By Josie Seid

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 2 @ 6pm

VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: FREE!

Glory Rhodes is arguably the most accomplished athlete the world has ever seen. His father, a high-level sports marketing executive, flaunts him for his talent and to boost his career. His stepmother hates him and tries him relentlessly in the most difficult and dangerous competitions around the world. Glory bears the abuse, unable to forgive himself for the crimes of his past. Will his self-inflicted penance ever lead him to redemption? This reading of Path of Glory is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. ASL interpretation will be provided.

THEATRE

WORKSHOP PDX Playwrights presents

Crazy Dukes Instant Play Festival Produced by Adam Harrell

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 2 @ 7pm

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E Burnside St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Back for a fourth crazy year, this Festivalwithin-the-Festival-within-the-Festival is guaranteed to be the very newest, freshest work performed at Fertile Ground 2020. How do we know this? Because the work is getting created DURING the festival! Think of it as theatre on a high wire with no net. Six talented playwrights will have obtained 3-4 prompts and will have been randomly assigned 2-6 cast members on the night of PDXP's Daisy Dukes Shorts Night and afterparty (Jan 31 @ 9pm). The playwrights will have written, rehearsed, and produced 10-minute plays in 48 hours ready for performance. Guaranteed crazy – and guaranteed amazing!

PERFORMANCE ART

ONE PERSON SHOW About Face Productions presents

Box-in-the-Jack: a transdimensional mid-life real estate By Brendan Ramsden Directed by Floyd Labar

GET A FESTIVAL PASS A CULTURAL ADVENTURE AWAITS! SHOW RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. BASED ON AVAILABILITY. INFO AT FERTILEGROUNDPDX.ORG

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 2, 9 @ 7:30pm (Polaris Dance Theatre); Feb 3 @ 7:30pm (The Little Church)

VENUES: Polaris Dance Theater, Studio B 1826 NW 18th Ave, Portland OR 97201 The Little Church 5138 NE 23rd St., Portland OR 97211 TICKETS: $15; $10 student/seniors

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org What happens when a bitty baby America, a creature-citizen, an interstitial imp, a sceptic, a recycler of words, objects and “worlds,” a critic of “privacy” and an advocate of agency, a professor of absurdities, a liar, a puppet and a person walk into a bar? Or a landfill for that matter? Answer: this circuitous, catawampus and extra-ordinary spectral chronicle of an animate entity and the estate it lives in. It’s interplanetary craft! Is it a monolith? A riddle? A time machine? A codex? Does it bake bread? Brendan Ramsden, a physical comedian, sculptor/scenic artist, jester terrestrial and world-renouncing monk of unreason, enters a no place-place where everything is real and nothing is true. Five dimensions are made on a baby’s block. Five fathoms into the everyday epistemic murk of cause and effect, idiom and idiot. Five bananas before arriving to capital S-Self; capital L-Life and capital V-Vision. Crushing cognitions versus things in themselves! Repurpose! Fast-forward, forward-fast to uncertain extinction and other new blasphemies. Give or take a disreputable under-exaggeration. Crossing between intension and attention; the ideal and the real; matter and patter. Jack be nimble. Jack be quick. Box-in-the-Jack. Jack be thick.

ALSO ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2 12pm Elder World Productions presents Lost In Elder World (Art Garage) | See full listing on Feb 1 1pm Mabel Made it Productions presents End The Cycle — One Act Play |See full listing on Feb 1 1pm WildWood Productions presents Syncopation | See full listing on Jan 30

1pm More Devotedly presents Volume II: Climate Crisis | See full listing on Feb 1 2pm Chapel Theatre Collective presents Blind | See full listing on Jan 30

2pm CoHo Productions presents Beethoven & Chopin (Monster Hunters) Meet the Bride of Frankenstein (A Romance) | See full listing on Jan 30 2pm A-WOL Dance Collective, Tempos Contemporary Circus & push/FOLD present Junction | See full listing on Jan 31

2pm Inspirations Theater presents Olympus | See full listing on Jan 31

2pm Live On Stage presents Portland’s Mini Musical Festival | See full listing on Jan 30 2pm I Am M.O.R.E. presents Resiliency in Rhythm | See full listing on Jan 31

2pm Lumos Group presents Sitting Shiva | See full listing on Feb 1

2pm Experience Theatre Project presents The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience | See full listing on Jan 31

2pm Nine Bridges Press presents The Trump Follies | See full listing on Feb 1 3pm Echo Theater Company presents Interplay | See full listing on Jan 31

3pm PassinArt: A Theatre Company presents Three by Ten & More | See full listing on Jan 31

5pm Mabel Made it Productions presents End The Cycle—One Act Play | See full listing on Feb 1

5:30pm More Devotedly presents Volume II: Climate Crisis | See full listing on Feb 1

6pm Associated Artists present Downward Facing | See full listing on Feb 1

7:30pm Getting Lao’D presents 8-24-9 | See full listing on Jan 31

7:30pm Masque Alfresco Presents The Prime Solution | See full listing on Jan 31

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3 THEATRE

CONCERT READING LineStorm Playwrights, in association with Chapel Theatre, present

Jose’s Heroes

By Alan Alexander III Directed by Jon Garcia

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 3 @ 12pm

VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: FREE!

The year is 2030. Sean Hannity is president. The Trump Memorial wall has been completed but it’s being used to keep the Mexicans IN! A dark comedy that somehow feels all too real! This reading of Jose’s Heroes is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. ASL interpretation will be provided.

THEATRE

STAGED READING DHFuks Consulting presents

Invisible Friend

By David H. Fuks Directed by Jane Unger

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 3 @ 7pm

VENUE: Milagro Theater 525 SE Stark St. Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Luna Gomez has been haunted and protected by her older sister Alma since that day, 20 years ago, when 9-year-old Alma was killed while protecting her younger sister. At the time of the accident, Luna was only 3 years-old. Luna has grown up in a house laden with her parents’ unresolved grief over Alma’s death. And now, many years later, Luna must confront her parents and help them face their loss to set her sister’s spirit and herself free. This bilingual reading celebrates the resiliency and culture of a contemporary Mexican American family. Join in this journey as Luna, her Invisible Friend, Alma, and her family struggle for their freedom.

IN ADVANCE

FESTIVAL $70

PASSES

AFTER JAN 1

Buy and manage your reservations at www.boxofficetickets.com Or by email fertileground@boxofficetickets.com Reservations required. Based on availability. Buy and learn more fertilegroundpdx.org

MUSICAL THEATRE

WORKSHOP Biodegradable Productions presents

Vortex 1

Book & Lyrics by Sue Mach Music by Bill Wadhams Arranged by Reece Marshburn Directed by Allen Nause

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 3 @ 7pm

VENUE: The Village Ballroom 704 NE Dekum St, Portland OR 97211 TICKETS: $12; PWYC, $12 suggested donation

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org The Vortex 1 team returns for a workshop of the entire musical. Come gather with us to experience this home-grown Oregon story! In May of 1970, 31 activists were hospitalized after protests in the Park Blocks about the Vietnam War and the Kent State Massacre near Portland State University resulted in a bloody clash with law enforcement. In August of that same year, the American Legion planned to hold its conference in Portland and invite Richard Nixon to be its keynote speaker. The FBI warned then-governor Tom McCall that he

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should prepare for 25,000 Legionnaires and 50,000 protestors to take to the streets. The People’s Army Jamboree led the student protests. A faction of this group called The Family approached McCall with the idea of sponsoring a rock festival to encourage protestors away from the convention, yet still give them a platform. McCall agreed to the plan, as he considered a festival to be the most viable option to prevent the very real threat of violence. This meant that law enforcement had to turn a blind eye to drugs and nudity and allow thousands of young people to camp out in a public park. Vortex 1: A Biodegradable Festival of Life took place in Estacada from August 28 through September 3, 1970. This musical is loosely based on the Vortex I story. “Vortex 1 is an Oregon story that the country needs to hear—get this baby to Broadway!”— Krista Garver, Broadway World.

ALSO ON MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3 7:30pm About Face Productions presents Box-in-the-Jack: a trans-dimensional midlife real estate (The Little Church) | See full listing on Feb 2 7:30pm Red Balloon Theatre Collective presents THE WAYS WE COPE | See full listing on Jan 31

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4 THEATRE

STAGED READING Portland Civic Theatre Guild presents

Recent Unsettling Events By Andrea Stolowitz Directed by Bobby Bermea

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 4 @10:30am; Feb 5 @ 7:30pm

VENUE: The Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza 1785 NE Sandy Blvd., Portland OR 97232 TICKETS: $10 Feb 4, $15 Feb 5

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org | at the door Portland Civic Theatre Guild’s 2020 New Play Winner, Recent Unsettling Events centers on a small liberal college that erupts in protests over its required Western Civilization class. As the fights intensify and the entire campus takes sides, the complexities of identity politics, the limits of free speech, and the consequences of preserving the status quo are examined. Andrea's plays have been developed and presented nationally at theatres such as The Long Wharf, The Cherry Lane, and New York Stage and Film. She has won the Angus Bowmer Oregon Book Award for drama three times for her plays Antarktikos,

Ithaka, and Successful Strategies. Recent Unsettling Events is a Table| Room |Stage commission from Artists Repertory Theatre. In addition to its Portland reading as part of the 2020 Fertile Ground Festival, the play will have a weeklong public showing and workshop in New York City this spring. Andrea will be holding a writing workshop at Artists Rep with Recent Unsettling Events. Director Bobby Bermea is a multitalented actor, director and producer. He holds multiple Drammy Awards including Actor in a Leading Role (The Brother Sister Plays, Portland Playhouse), and Actor in a Supporting Role (Fences, Portland Playhouse and A Raisin in the Sun, Artists Rep). He is co-artistic director of The Beirut Wedding World Theatre Project , a proud member of Sojourn Theatre, and a founding member of Badass Theatre Company, and has worked in theatres from New York to Honolulu.

THEATRE

CONCERT READING LineStorm Playwrights, in association with Chapel Theatre, present

DISASTER SESSIONS

Devised by Audrey Block & Matt Pavik With contributions by members of LineStorm Playwrights & Friends FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 4 @ 12pm

VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: FREE!

How do you balance on a high wire, strung above a shark tank, within a cyclone of tweets? In this devised piece, the tools of artistic persistence are tested against the distractions of the everyday world. This reading of Disaster Sessions is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. ASL interpretation will be provided.

THEATRE

PERFORMANCE INSTALLATION Hand2Mouth presents

Slumber Party to Dismantle the Patriarchy

By Liz Hayden, Erin Leddy, Maesie Speer & Faith Helma Directed by Jen Mitas Dramaturgy by Lucille Dawson FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 4, 5 @ 6:30pm

VENUE: Shout House 210 SE Madison St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: PWYC

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org You’ve been invited to attend a slumber party to dismantle the patriarchy. Drop by during the installation and join us for

the following activities: nostalgic snacks, guest interviews, music, face masks, ouija board. Bring a sleeping bag and your best patriarchy scary story to share. Get interviewed about friendship and help us build a broader perspective to understand and define how the patriarchy shows up in our lives. All are welcome. No participation required. Spectating allowed. Hand2Mouth is creating a new performance titled Slumber Party To Dismantle The Patriarchy. This performance uses the format of the slumber party to uplift sisterhood and to marshal the collective strength and wisdom of the audience in order to build a practical collection of ways and means to fight individual misogyny and structural patriarchy. Ultimately, we see Slumber Party as both an aesthetic/performed response to the persistence of white supremacy and patriarchy AND a critical reflection and revision of our company’s habitual ways of working together. The ensemble will be made entirely of women including designers and outside collaborators. This Fertile Ground workshop will be interactive and performative, and will give us experience starting the conversation and sourcing material from the community for us in the full production in May 2020.

ALSO ON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4 7:30pm Red Balloon Theatre Collective presents THE WAYS WE COPE | See full listing on Jan 31

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5 THEATRE

CONCERT READING LineStorm Playwrights In association with Chapel Theatre present

Dorothy’s Dictionary By E.M. Lewis Directed by Dan Kitrosser

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 5 @ 12pm

VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: FREE!

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 is facing a health crisis, neither of them is sure he’s made the right decision. Between difficult conversations and battles over books, they build an unbreakable bond. This reading of Dorothy’s Dictionary is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. ASL interpretation will be provided.

GET A FESTIVAL PASS A CULTURAL ADVENTURE AWAITS! SHOW RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. BASED ON AVAILABILITY. INFO AT FERTILEGROUNDPDX.ORG

THEATRE

STAGED READING Twilight Theater Company presents

To End All Wars

By David Ritchie Directed by Bob Martin

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 5 @ 3pm & 8pm

VENUE: Twilight Theater 7515 N Brandon Ave, Portland OR 97217 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: At the Door What if you could end all war, but the solution was embarrassing? Two veterans of the First World War and a female psychiatrist meet in a pub in London. Her father was their medical officer during the war and he has told her they have a secret. How will they respond when she suggests they hold the key to ending war? Surely they’ve heard that phrase somewhere before? In the second act we meet, in a railway waiting room to the North of London, older and wiser versions of the same three characters. She has qualified as a surgeon and served in China. One of the two men has married into money. The third character had a building collapse on him when a V2 bomb landed. There’s much to work out in a conversation: romance, banking, camping, the question of where the staff hid the tea before they went home. It’s a comedy with adult and serious questions at its core. Writer David Ritchie and director Bob Martin have previously collaborated on six plays.

ALSO ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5 6:30pm Hand2Mouth presents Slumber Party to Dismantle the Patriarchy | See full listing on Feb 4 7pm Spring 4th Productions presents Dearly Departed | See full listing on Jan 30

7:30pm Portland Civic Theatre Guild presents Recent Unsettling Events | See full listing on Feb 4 7:30pm Red Balloon Theatre Collective presents THE WAYS WE COPE | See full listing on Jan 31

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6 THEATRE

CONCERT READING LineStorm Playwrights, in association with Chapel Theatre, present

Small Bites

By LineStorm Playwrights & Friends Directed by Adair Chappell FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 6 @ 12pm

VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: FREE!

Enjoy a taster plate of lunchtime shorts with LineStorm, as several local playwrights whip up a range of flavorful topics with sweet and spicy characters. This reading of Small Bites is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. ASL interpretation will be provided. #seeingsounds LED Piano provided by Piano Push Play & CymaSpace.

ALSO ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6 6:30pm Dance Naked Productions presents Naked at My Age | See full listing on Jan 30 7pm The Crones present Circe and Baba Yaga Walk Into a Bar...A Heady Evening of Enchantment and Misadventures | See full listing on Feb 2

7pm Spring 4th Productions presents Dearly Departed | See full listing on Jan 30 7:30pm Chapel Theatre Collective presents Blind | See full listing on Jan 30 7:30pm WildWood Productions presents Syncopation | See full listing on Jan 30

7:30pm YOCTOtheatre presents Too Late! | See full listing on Jan 30 8pm Dance Naked Productions presents How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman | See full listing on Jan 30

IN ADVANCE

FESTIVAL $70

PASSES

AFTER JAN 1

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7 THEATRE

CONCERT READING LineStorm Playwrights, in association with Chapel Theatre, present

Songs from the Stage

By E.M. Lewis & Holly Richards Directed by Brian Shnipper

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 7 @ 12pm

VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: FREE!

From modern musical theatre to opera, join us for the musical works of E.M. Lewis and Holly Richards. Featuring songs from established works and works-in-progress, these two playwrights will share insights

into their creative processes, as well as background on their inspirations. This reading of Songs from the Stage is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. ASL interpretation will be provided.

THEATRE

WORKSHOP StoryBuilding presents

2020―the New 1920? (Why Vote? Just Ask History) By Randi Douglas Direction & Photography by Michael Coe FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 7 @ 5pm; Feb 8 @ 2pm; Feb 9 @ 12pm

VENUE: ShoutHouse 210 SE Madison St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10 general; $5 students

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org 2020 is an election year, exactly 100 years since our nation said “yes” to votes for women. Let’s reflect! Using the StoryBuilding process (interactive, with performer and audience working both in and out of roles) this workshop provides a lively exploration of the meaning of citizenship and a demonstration of “process drama”—a method widely used in Britain for classroom teaching, civic discussions, and script generation (playbuilding). The set-up: The Mayor schedules a lecture by a woman suffrage scholar and requires city council, staff, and interns to attend (that’s you, the audience). The scholar provides dramatizations of key historical moments and figures—but mostly she asks questions and facilitates an audience-generated contemporary story. Randi Douglas, an Equity actress/playwright, wrote Count on Me about Michigan woman suffrage (10 year tour), and designed national award-winning StoryBuilding episodes for the Detroit Historical Museums on social justice/ history including The Underground Railroad and Anishnabe—Original People. Participant comments: “everyone’s mind opens and we stop thinking about differences between us,” “we were thinking and having fun at the same time,” “inspiring and motivating!” Bring someone from a different generation, suitable for children over 10.

THEATRE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Whorls of Wonder Puppet Theater presents

Terran’s Aquarium

By Mary Hildebrand Nagler Created & Directed by Mary Hildebrand Nagler

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 7, 8 @ 7pm; Feb 8, 9 @ 2pm

VENUE: Portland Metro Arts 9003 SE Stark St, Portland OR 97216

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TICKETS: $15; $10 student/seniors

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Terran’s Aquarium exposes the current freshwater crisis in the world. Through the magic of puppetry, and projections the main character, young Terran, wakes to find he has no fresh water in his home! WHOA! Fresh water is integral to ALL aspects of life! He calls Plumber Andy, who, by wielding his magic pipe wrench, puts Terran through a series of magical transformations to learn about our planet’s closed system, water cycle, evaporation, condensation and much more! Our mission is to introduce our audience to the natural forms and forces of Nature they might not otherwise be exposed to. We aim to entertain through the thrill of discovery and to inspire action by imparting a growing respect for our home planet, its workings and its many wonders! Terran’s Aquarium received the 2011 Henson Foundation Family Grant to take the stage. Whorls of Wonder Puppet Theater was invited by Jane Henson to workshop the production at the Carriage House during the P.A.T.C.H series (Puppetry at the Carriage House, NYC). It was an honor! After many years in development, we are very pleased to welcome you to our World Premiere! whorlsofwonder.com

FESTIVAL $70

PASSES

IN ADVANCE

AFTER JAN 1

Buy and manage your reservations at www.boxofficetickets.com Or by email fertileground@boxofficetickets.com Reservations required. Based on availability. Buy and learn more fertilegroundpdx.org

THEATRE

STAGED READING PDX Playwrights presents

four famous whack jobs quit philandering, fix their friendships...and get their sh*t together. It’s Free Money vs. Free Love!

THEATRE

WORK-IN-PROGRESS Hand2Mouth presents

Danse Macabre: The Testament of Francois Villon By Stepan Simek & Jean-Luc Boucherot Directed by Stepan Simek Co-Created by Jean-Luc Boucherot Music by Musica Universalis FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 7, 8 @ 7:30pm

VENUE: The 2509 2509 NE Clackamas, Portland OR 97232 TICKETS: $15; $10 student/seniors

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Francois Villon was the quintessential and vastly influential figure of late medieval France. He was poet, a rabble-rouser, balladeer, thief, and a sort of prototypical “protest singer.” His poetry and his documented lifestyle became an inspiration for several generations of poets, such as Rimbaud and Verlaine in France; T.S. Elliot Ezra Pound, and Allen Ginsberg in England and America, and he’s become something of a patron saint for countless counter-cultural young artists, and singers all over the world, most notably Bob Dylan and the underground dissident artists and singers in the former Eastern block. We are a group of international artists living in Portland – a French actor and a French costume designer, a Czech director, a group of musicians, and a puppeteer, and we’re working with Hand2Mouth Theatre, a company well-known for a highly experimental, modern and unusual production style, to bring alive the words of a 15th Century French poet and to share his insights into what it means to be a human being in 21st Century America. Look forward to a full production in Winter 2020.

The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism: a comedy

THEATRE

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 7 @ 7pm; Feb 9 @ 5pm

Fly Away, Breath

By Maria Choban & Brett Campbell

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E Burnside St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Homeless people riot, underpaid workers strike, thousands starve—but the 1% prosper. Conservatives discredited, liberals divided... sound familiar? In 1906, England is ripe for revolution—or fascism. But a rising movement has a plan to save democracy—if

STAGED READING PDX Playwrights presents By Karen Polinsky

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 7 @ 9pm; Feb 9 @ 12pm

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E Burnside St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org In this wacky gothic comedy about success and intolerance in America, Jonica Wolf, an aspiring comedian, on his way to Hollywood with his fiancé Sandra, drops in on his home

village of Fallowfield, PA to stop his creepy Mom from reopening the family coal mine and unleashing an ancient curse. However, when the family secret is outed – along with a colony of threatened Long-Eared bats Jonica must decide between good and evil, a choice which could determine the future of the town, the nation, the Cosmos – but more importantly, his income stream. This eerie play, both serious and fun, with audience participation, asks the question: in today’s world, who is the real vampire?

ALSO ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 7 6:30pm Dance Naked Productions presents Naked at My Age | See full listing on Jan 30

7pm Spring 4th Productions presents Dearly Departed | See full listing on Jan 30 7:30pm PassinArt: A Theatre Company presents Three by Ten & More | See full listing on Jan 31 7:30pm Inspirations Theater presents Olympus | See full listing on Jan 31

7:30pm Chapel Theatre Collective presents Blind | See full listing on Jan 30

7:30pm Masque Alfresco Presents The Prime Solution | See full listing on Jan 31 7 :30pm Experience Theatre Project presents The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience | See full listing on Jan 31 7:30pm YOCTOtheatre presents Too Late! | See full listing on Jan 30 8pm Dance Naked Productions presents How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman | See full listing on Jan 30 8pm Echo Theater Company presents Interplay | See full listing on Jan 31

10pm Dance Naked Productions presents Sexology: The Musical | See full listing on Jan 31

10pm Artful Raven Studio presents The Jade Decanter | See full listing on Jan 31

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8 THEATRE

WORKSHOP Fuse Theatre Ensemble & Theatredust presents

The Fear of Speaking

By Jane Comer Directed by Sara Fay Goldman

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 8, 9 @ 10am

VENUE: Multnomah Arts Center 7688 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland OR 97219 TICKETS: $10; $5 student/seniors

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Jane Comer returns to Fertile Ground after performing her critically acclaimed work I

GET A FESTIVAL PASS A CULTURAL ADVENTURE AWAITS! SHOW RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. BASED ON AVAILABILITY. INFO AT FERTILEGROUNDPDX.ORG

Am An Actress at Fertile Ground 2017 and 2019. A fear often greater than death is the fear of public speaking. Jane, with many years of speaking experience, has been teaching a class to help people overcome their fear of speaking. And now it’s the big event. The students have practiced their speeches, and are ready to perform them at a public recital. Suzanne has written a eulogy for someone she knew a long time, but never really liked. Beth talks about her very best friend, and that horrible, dreadful thing that happened. Karla has something she calls “Olivia. Newton. John”. We’re not sure what that’s about. Other students will also be speaking, however they were too scared to be mentioned in this announcement. And Jane herself will present the final speech, The Fear of Speaking. And what if none of the students show up and Jane has to give their speeches for them? That could never happen, could it? Is it possible our fear of speaking keeps us from being happy? Come have the laughs, come feel the tears, come experience The Fear of Speaking.

IN ADVANCE

FESTIVAL $70

PASSES

AFTER JAN 1

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fertilegroundpdx.org

THEATRE

READING Pearced Flagg Productions presents

Change Order

By Adrienne Flagg & Clayton Pearce Directed by Jane Fellows

FESTIVAL DATES: Feb 8, 9 @ 11am

at this brunch reading, and the audience will assist in developing this new work through audience feedback forms.

THEATRE

CONCERT READING LineStorm Playwrights, in association with Chapel Theatre, present

Hannah and Other Stories

THEATRE

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 8 @ 12pm

Everywoman & Cloning the Colonel

By Dan Kitrosser Directed by Kristin Skye Hoffmann

VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: FREE!

It's raining in Jenkintown, the kind of storm that starts off quaint, but could slowly overrun the whole town. This is true, and Hannah, who works part-time as a checkout girl in a pet store, has gone missing. The way her absence, and at times her presence, affects the disaffected residents—like the old woman in the yellow house who keeps killing her goldfish, or the young Chinese American woman who works at the take-out joint, or the Weatherwoman who mistakenly predicted sun—shows us an American town on the decline, might be small or large, but in this assembly of stories about (or not about) Hannah, we see the loneliness and humanity of the world amplified. Funny, sad, honest and maybe a little wet, Hannah and Other Stories takes us through the belly of the storm, and perhaps, to the first golden rays of sun. This reading of Hannah and Other Stories is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. ASL interpretation will be provided. #seeingsounds LED Piano provided by Piano Push Play & CymaSpace.

THEATRE

VENUE: Sweet Magic 4810 NE Garfield, Portland OR 97211

READING Lakewood Theatre Company

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org

by C. S. Whitcomb Directed by C. S. Whitcomb

TICKETS: PWYC, $8 suggested donation A new project from the creative team of the award-winning Note to Self. Written by Adrienne Flagg and Clayton Pearce, Change Order explores who we form relationships with and why. When Sandor dies, his second wife, Kim, and his son, Will, must navigate the new reality of their relationship while negotiating life in the increasingly expensive housing market of Portland, Oregon. Pressures from limited healthcare and increased costs of living for the aging put pressure on an already delicate relationship. Is there anything left between these two aside from the run-down house Sandor left behind? Written with love, humor, and experience, the producers invite you to a brunch and reading. Quiche, coffee, and mimosas will be available

dead theatre impresario David Belasco, but from there things go hilariously astray, including freak lightning storms, murder and mayhem. Will this historic theatre be exorcised? Will the actual audience escape with their lives and sanity intact? We shall see. Featuring actors Margie Boulé and Jacklyn Maddux.

THE GHOST OF DAVID BELASCO FESITVAL DATE: Feb 8 @ 2pm

VENUE: Lakewood Theatre Company 368 S State St, Lake Oswego OR 97034 TICKETS: $15

BUY TICKETS: https://tix6. centerstageticketing.com/sites/ lakewoodtheatre/ | 503-635-3901 The Ghost of David Belasco is a farce in the vein of Noises Off and The Play That Goes Wrong. Set in a haunted theatre in 1927, a group of interested characters hire a renowned Russian medium to try and lay the ghost’s angry spirit to rest so the theatre can be safely reopened. They successfully make contact with the long-

STAGED READING PDX Playwrights presents

By Louise Wynn

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 8 @ 7pm

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E. Burnside St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Two plays by Louise Wynn explore the nature of death and immortality. Wynn’s comedy Cloning the Colonel explores issues of nature vs. nurture and comes out firmly on the side of the ultimate goodness of humanity. The Colonel wants to be remembered forever, even though most of the people around him wish to forget him—or maybe even see the end of him. But when he arranges for three clones to be created, will this help or hinder his legacy? And, more importantly, can his clones turn out better than him? In Everywoman, Nora, helped by God, Death and Time, has a chance to confront her past and prepare for what comes next. What will she say to her ex-husband, her daughter, and a former boss? And who will comfort her as she faces death?

THEATRE

WORK-IN-PROGRESS Hand2Mouth presents

ROUGH RIDERS

By Hand2Mouth Directed by Jenni Green-Miller & Giovanni Alva Created by the students of Roosevelt High School

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 8 @ 7:30pm

VENUE: Roosevelt High School 6941 N Central St, Portland OR 97203 TICKETS: $15; $10 student/seniors

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org Roosevelt High School and Hand2Mouth have come together to give the Intermediate Acting students the tools for devising their own show. With Jenni and Gio leading the students, along with the help of other local guest artists, these students will devise their own show all while being graded. Will they get and A for effort?! We sure hope so. Hand2Mouth has launched a year-long residency program at Roosevelt

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High School for teens to learn devising techniques, culminating in the creation and production of a new work created exclusively by the participants. Youth Residency Program students will work with Hand2Mouth company members, resident and partnering artists, using a variety of devising methods and mediums to create an original performance. There is something magical that happens when a group of people decide they will make something together— something that’s never been seen before. You’re required to take risks, hold each other up, look out for one another; sometimes listen and sometimes speak. In devised theatre, you’re a creator: your story, your life, your way of seeing the world, your artistry, that’s what makes the show. To be produced in Spring 2020.

THEATRE

WORKSHOP READING Orphic presents

Two Takes on the Madness of Herakles: Path of Glory & Huck is Dead Written by Josie Seid & Jeffy Denight Dramaturgy by Sam Baldwin, Maddie Nguyen, Phoebe Whittington & Kai Hynes Directed by Andrew Wardenaar FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 8 @ 7:30pm ADDITIONAL RUN DATE: Jan 25 @ 7:30pm

VENUE: The Shout House 210 SE Madison St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: FREE! (reservations recommended)

RESERVE SEATS: orphicplays.org/reserve This year, Orphic has commissioned two playwrights, Josie Seid and Jeffy Denight, to adapt the story of Herakles (or Hercules, if we’re going by the Roman name that most of us are more familiar with) from their different perspectives. The tragedians, Euripides and Seneca, have both written a play about the horrible day when Herakles, or Hercules, was overcome with madness and slew his wife and children. The character of Herakles/Hercules is one that has been so frequently portrayed as a white, heterosexual, male, superhuman, demigod, hero. He’s proven his versatility over the millennia, and has appeared as both a boorish brute and a clever trickster. But in terms of gender, and race, he’s rather constrained. Josie and Jeffy are breaking “him” free of that, each in their own way. Josie’s play, Path of Glory, will be presented before the festival, on January 25, with Jeffy’s play, Huck is Dead, coming two weeks later, on February 8. Both readings are free, and both will be followed by a post-show discussion led by our dramaturgs.

DANCE

FULLY STAGED WORLD PREMIERE Polaris Dance Theatre presents

Groovin’ Greenhouse 2020 featuring the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective, and NW Fusion

VENUE: Polaris Dance Theatre’s Black Box 1826 NW 18th Ave Portland OR 97209 FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 8 @ 8pm

TICKETS: $18-22, $25 at the door BUY TICKETS: polarisdance.org

Returning for the 10th year, Polaris Dance Theatre presents Groovin’ Greenhouse, a program filled with an array of emerging and established Portland-area dance artists, companies and organizations. This event is focused on bringing the Portland dance community together under one roof. Each performance will include work by one or more of Polaris’ companies including the Polaris Company, ELa FaLa Collective, and Polaris Junior + NEO Youth Companies. The closing night performance includes the Polaris Company and ELa FaLa Collective. Artistic Directors, Robert Guitron and Barbara Lima, will merge together for the first time to curate an innovative, dance theatre inspired creation. Each performance will be a new work involving interactions between dancers, audience members, and directors as they create a performance piece before your eyes. This process will include vocal and physical prompts, music and lighting cues, and more. The traditional rules are broken as the ideas of performer and audience member are blurred. This piece is playful and process oriented, a unique experience you don’t want to miss! This performance is shared with NW Fusion, a youth company located in Tigard, OR under the direction of Brad Hampton. These talented dancers perform excerpts of their repertoire for the 2019-2020 season. Their pieces vary in style and are guaranteed not to disappoint. Their performance showcases the company’s versatility and athleticism while demonstrating their strong ability to bring the audience in with their mesmerizing stage presence.

THEATRE

STAGED READING PDX Playwrights presents

Christmas with Truman By Alisha Christiansen

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 8 @ 9pm

VENUE: Hipbone Studio, 1847 E Burnside St., Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org

Alisha Christiansen adapts for the stage two of Truman Capote’s best holiday tales, One Christmas and Christmas Memory. Young Buddy and his elderly friend Sook, two unlikely companions, indulge in Christmas magic as they come to terms with the myths, idealized notions of holidays, and family relationships that society teases them to believe in. Ultimately their disenchantment gives way to genuine human love and connection. Illustrator Beth Peck’s nostalgic watercolor backdrop brings warmth and life to these stories while setting the stage at the bottom of the Depression in the south.

IN ADVANCE

FESTIVAL $70

PASSES

AFTER JAN 1

Buy and manage your reservations at www.boxofficetickets.com Or by email fertileground@boxofficetickets.com Reservations required. Based on availability. Buy and learn more fertilegroundpdx.org

ALSO ON SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8 12pm Elder World Productions presents Lost In Elder World (Multnomah Art Center) | See full listing on Feb 1 1pm Rutabaga Story Co. presents Itch | See full listing on Feb 2 1pm WildWood Productions presents Syncopation | See full listing on Jan 30

2pm StoryBuilding presents 2020—the New 1920? | See full listing on Feb 7 2pm Whorls of Wonder Puppet Theater presents Terran’s Aquarium | See full listing on Feb 7

2pm Experience Theatre Project presents The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience | See full listing on Jan 31 4pm Associated Artists present Downward Facing | See full listing on Feb 1

6:30pm Dance Naked Productions presents Naked at My Age | See full listing on Jan 30 7pm Whorls of Wonder Puppet Theater presents Terran’s Aquarium | See full listing on Feb 7

7pm PassinArt: A Theatre Company presents Three by Ten & More | See full listing on Jan 31 7:30pm Getting Lao’D presents 8-24-9 | See full listing on Jan 31 7:30pm Chapel Theatre Collective presents Blind | See full listing on Jan 30

7:30pm Hand2Mouth presents Danse Macabre: The Testament of Francois Villon | See full listing on Feb 7

GET A FESTIVAL PASS A CULTURAL ADVENTURE AWAITS! SHOW RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. BASED ON AVAILABILITY. INFO AT FERTILEGROUNDPDX.ORG

7:30pm Inspirations Theater presents Olympus | See full listing on Jan 31

7:30pm Lumos Group presents Sitting Shiva | See full listing on Feb 1

7:30pm Masque Alfresco presents The Prime Solution | See full listing on Jan 31 7:30pm Experience Theatre Project presents The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience | See full listing on Jan 31 7:30pm YOCTOtheatre presents Too Late! | See full listing on Jan 30 8pm Dance Naked Productions presents How to Really, Really? Really! Love a Woman | See full listing on Jan 30 8pm Echo Theater Company presents Interplay | See full listing on Jan 31

9pm Artful Raven Studio presents The Jade Decanter | See full listing on Jan 31 10pm Dance Naked Productions presents Sexology: The Musical | See full listing on Jan 31

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9 THEATRE

STAGED READING PDX Playwrights presents

Jephthah's Daughter

Join Portland theatermakers in a discussion of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) in our spaces and on our stages. A panel of artists and administrators will share how their organizations are grappling with this work, opening the space for questions and conversation among attendees.

THEATRE

CONCERT READING LineStorm Playwrights, in association with Chapel Theatre, present

And Everything Nice By Sara Jean Accuardi Directed by Tamara Carroll

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 9 @ 6pm

VENUE: Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie OR 97222 TICKETS: FREE!

It’s getting late, it won’t stop snowing, 3-year-old Gloria still hasn’t been picked up, and these daycare employees just want to get home. A play about the pitfalls of sharing and caring. This reading of And Everything Nice is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council. ASL interpretation will be provided.

THEATRE

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 9 @ 2pm

STAGED READING PDX Playwrights presents

TICKETS: $10

By Lisa Collins, Nicky Nicholson-Klingerman & Brad Bolchunos

By Katie Bennett

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E Burnside St, Portland OR 97214

5x3: A Collection of Short Plays

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org

FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 9 @ 7pm

Young time traveler Tali befriends Isaac on the day he is spared sacrifice at the hands of his father, Abraham. They become convinced that the curvatures in the time roads are becoming straight due to the destruction of Yahweh’s feminine counterpart, Asherah. Soon they may not be able to travel in time at all. As the world becomes more linear and patriarchal, Tali fears that her name will be forgotten and that she will be sacrificed by her own warmongering father, Jephthah.

ENRICHMENT

PANEL CONVERSATION Portland Center Stage at The Armory presents

Productive Discomfort: IDEA in Portland Theater FESTIVAL DATE: Feb 9 @ 5pm

VENUE: Portland Center Stage at The Armory 128 NW 11th Ave, Portland OR 97209 TICKETS: FREE!

VENUE: Hipbone Studio 1847 E Burnside St, Portland OR 97214 TICKETS: $10

BUY TICKETS: fertilegroundpdx.org PDX Playwrights presents five short plays from three diverse and accomplished playwrights. Lisa Collins presents two short romantic comedies. In Lunch Room, an executive is trapped with a subordinate, and they are both forced to examine what has been avoided for a long time. In Big Brother or Big iPhone, Anna discovers what her iPhone does with the data it collects—and how technology takes control of her daily life by managing days, times, places and even person-toperson connections. In Nicky NicholsonKlingerman’s Girl in the Leather Jacket, a young lovesick woman finds herself in a bar looking to drown her sorrows after a break-up with her girlfriend. Much to her surprise she gets a lesson in love and life. Two quirky comedies percolate from Brad Bolchunos. In The Curse, a dispute about misplaced affection takes a dark turn

with the arrival of an unexpected visitor. In Waterways, a gamer and a naturopath trapped near a dangerous dam desperately strive to understand the nature of reality— and how to cope with doom.

ALSO ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9 10am Fuse Theatre Ensemble and Theatredust presents The Fear of Speaking | See full listing on Feb 8 11am Pearced Flagg Productions Presents Change Order | See full listing on Feb 8 12pm PDX Playwrights presents Fly Away, Breath | See full listing on Feb 7

12pm StoryBuilding presents 2020—the New 1920? | See full listing on Feb 7 12pm Elder World Productions presents Lost In Elder World (Multnomah Art Center) | See full listing on Feb 1 1pm WildWood Productions presents Syncopation | See full listing on Jan 30

2pm Inspirations Theater presents Olympus | See full listing on Jan 31 2pm Lumos Group presents Sitting Shiva | See full listing on Feb 1 2pm Whorls of Wonder Puppet Theater presents Terran’s Aquarium | See full listing on Feb 7

2pm Leaven Dream Puppets presents The Magic Fish | See full listing on Feb 2

2pm Experience Theatre Project presents The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde: An Immersive Wild West Experience | See full listing on Jan 31 3pm Echo Theater Company presents Interplay | See full listing on Jan 31

3pm PassinArt: A Theatre Company presents Three by Ten & More | See full listing on Jan 31 4pm Leaven Dream Puppets presents The Magic Fish | See full listing on Feb 2

5pm PDX Playwrights presents The Intelligent Woman's Guide to Socialism: a comedy | See full listing on Feb 7

6pm Associated Artists present Downward Facing | See full listing on Feb 1

7:30pm Getting Lao’D presents 8-24-9 | See full listing on Jan 31

7:30pm About Face Productions presents Box-in-the-Jack: a trans-dimensional midlife real estate (Polaris Dance Theatre) | See full listing on Feb 2

7:30pm Masque Alfresco presents The Prime Solution | See full listing on Jan 31

IN ADVANCE

MANAGE YOUR FESTIVAL PASS AT boxofficetickets.com or email fertileground@boxofficetickets.com

FESTIVAL $70

PASSES

AFTER JAN 1

fertilegroundpdx.org

FESTIVAL VENUES THE 2509 2509 NE Clackamas Portland, OR 97232

DEEP END THEATER 211 SE 11th Ave. Portland OR 97214

ALPENROSE OPERA HOUSE 6149 SW Shattuck Rd. Portland, OR 97221

ECHO THEATER 1515 SE 37th Ave. Portland, OR 97214

ALBERTA ABBEY 126 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211

FAITH ON THE HILL FELLOWSHIP HALL 3615 SE Hill Rd. Milwaukie, OR 97267

ART GARAGE/ AM WOODLING STUDIO 3219 SE 62nd Ave. Portland, OR

THE HEADWATERS THEATRE 5 NE Farragut St. #9 Portland, OR 97211

A-WOL DANCE COLLECTIVE 513 NE Schuyler St. Portland, OR 97212

HIPBONE STUDIO 1847 E. Burnside St. Portland, OR 97214

BEAVERTON MASONIC LODGE 4690 SW Watson Ave. Beaverton, OR 97005 CHAPEL THEATRE 4107 SE Harrison St. Milwaukie, OR 97222

LAKEWOOD THEATRE COMPANY 368 S. State St., Lake Oswego, OR 97034 THE LEGENDS CONDOMINIUM GARDEN LOUNGE 1132 SW 19th Ave. Portland, OR 97205

CLINTON STREET THEATER 2522 SE Clinton St. Portland, OR 97202

THE LITTLE CHURCH 5138 NE 23rd Ave. Portland, OR 97211

COHO THEATRE 2257 NW Raleigh St. Portland, OR 97210

MILAGRO THEATER 525 SE Stark St. Portland, OR 97214

CSZ PORTLAND 1963 NW Kearney St. Portland, OR 97209

MULTNOMAH ARTS CENTER 7688 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, OR 97219

DE-CANON LIBRARY AT MILEPOST 5 8155 NE Oregon St. Portland, OR 97213

NORTHWEST ACADEMY, BLUE BOX THEATER 1130 SW Main St. Portland, OR 97205

ORCHARDS OF 82 COMMUNITY SPACE 8188 SE Division St. Portland, OR 97206 PERFORMANCE WORKS NW 4625 SE 67th Ave. Portland, OR 97206 POLARIS DANCE THEATRE 1826 NW 18th Ave. Portland, OR 97209 PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY 128 NW 11th Ave. Portland OR 97209

SELLWOOD PLAYHOUSE 901 SE Spokane St. Portland, OR 97202 THE SIREN THEATER 315 NW Davis St. Portland, OR 97209 THE SHOEBOX THEATER 2110 SE 10th Ave. Portland, OR 97214 SHOUT HOUSE 210 SE Madison, Ste. 11 Portland, OR 97214 SWEET MAGIC 4810 NE Garfield Portland, OR 97211

PORTLANDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;5 CENTER FOR THE ARTS, BRUNISH THEATER 1111 SW Boadway Portland, OR 97205

TABORSPACE 5441 Belmont St. Portland, OR 97215

PORTLAND METRO ARTS 9003 SE Stark St. Portland, OR 97216

THE BOARD ROOM CABARET AT SANDY PLAZA 1785 NE Sandy Blvd. Portland, OR 97232

PRISM HOUSE 5516 SE Foster Rd. Portland, OR 97203

TWILIGHT THEATER 7515 N Brandon Ave. Portland, OR 97217

ROOSEVELT HIGH SCHOOL 6914 N Central St. Portland, OR 97203

THE RIVETER 501 SE 14th Ave. Portland, OR 97214

THE SANCTUARY AT SANDY PLAZA 1785 NE Sandy Blvd Portland, OR 97232

THE VILLAGE BALLROOM 704 NE Dekum St. Portland, OR 97211

SELF ENHANCEMENT, INC. 3920 N Kerby Ave. Portland, OR 97227

WACOM EXPERIENCE CENTER 1455 NW Irving St. Portland, OR 97209