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58 IN THE SPOTLIGHT: JIMMIE HERROD
9 FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Portland Center Stage at The Armory welcomes their new Artistic Director, Marissa Wolf.
12 THE COLOR PURPLE 26 A LIFE 42 FROM THE
EDITOR-AT-LARGE An actor should be able to play any part, and yet... Barry Johnson steps through the challenges impeding much-needed progress toward equality in the arts.
46 IN THE SPOTLIGHT: LILA DOWNS
Activist and musician Lila Downs brings authenticity to the stage and Portland.
54 IN THE SPOTLIGHT: SAMANTHA WALL
Celebrated visual artist Samantha Wall unveils her latest deeply personal exhibit.
We looked into having the magazine play Herrod’s silky smooth vocals when the page is turned to his profile but had to shelve the idea to meet our press deadline. We’ll keep working on it but, in the meantime, get to know this spectacular artist.
62 OUR STAGES, THEN AND NOW: THE ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL
Three cheers for history! Unearthed among the treasures at Oregon Historical Society, Artslandia shares vintage photos of our favorite spots in Portland alongside present-day images and a brief tale of yore.
LEFT TO RIGHT: Lila Downs, photo by Marcela Taboada; Samantha Wall, photo by Christine Dong; Jimmie Herrod, photo by Ernie Sapiro.
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GION MATSURI 祇園祭
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THE WORLD’S OLDEST URBAN FESTIVAL Kyoto has celebrated its vibrant Gion Matsuri festival for more than a thousand years. For the first time
Arlene Schnitzer and Jordan Schnitzer
Photo by Akira Nakata
ever, the sights and sounds of this colorful celebration – Japan’s largest festival – come to life in Portland for a one-of-a-kind exhibition.
HOLIDAYS AT THE ARMORY! Nov. 24 – Dec. 30
Nov. 27 – Dec. 23
BRAVO Youth Orchestra wind students, recipients of Oregon Cultural Trust grants. Photo by Richard Kolbell.
TOGETHER, WE FUND 1,400+ CULTURAL NONPROFITS IN OREGON. INCLUDING THESE YOUNG MUSICIANS. Oregonians have a unique opportunity to fund cultural activities in the state and double their impact for free - with the cultural tax credit. Make sure you are claiming yours. Doing so takes three simple steps that do so much for Oregon. Talk to your CPA, or learn more at (503) 986-0088 or CulturalTrust.org.
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JOIN US IN WELCOMING OUR NEW ARTISTIC DIRECTOR,
MARISSA WOLF Welcome to Portland Center Stage at The Armory’s 2018-2019 season! As we come together to experience the transformative power of The Color Purple and the aching humor of A Life, I am overjoyed to join this team of talented artists, staff and board as the new artistic director. When I stepped inside The Armory for the fi rst time this summer during the JAW festival, I could immediately feel the breathtaking vibrancy of this space. Hip-hop dancers took to the fl oor, artisans showed their handcrafted wares and audiences queued up in long lines, waiting with anticipation for the wild new play readings. “This is it!” I thought. “This nationally celebrated company is living its mission every day, inspiring Portlanders both on and off stage, and I feel like I’ve arrived home.” It will be a great pleasure to get to know each of you over this season. As I welcome audiences to the theater during The Color Purple and A Life, I hope you’ll come say hello. I’d love to hear your Portland Center Stage stories, whether this is your fi rst time at The Armory or you’ve been coming for decades. Together with Managing Director Cynthia Fuhrman, I am excited to lead this theater into the next era of growth as part of the continued artistic vanguard of the American theater. Here’s to a season brimming with humor, heated drama and journeys into the depths of the heart! All my best,
Marissa Photo by Tess Mayer/The Interval NY
ABOUT MARISSA WOLF Marissa served as the Associate Artistic Director/New Works Director at Kansas City Repertory Theatre for three seasons, launching OriginKC: New Works Festival, a program that supports the creation, development and production of new work from a diverse body of major national playwrights. As part of the 2016 OriginKC: New Works Festival, Marissa directed the world premiere of Fire in Dreamland by Rinne Groff (co-commissioned by The Public Theater and Berkeley Repertory Theatre) and went on to direct its Off-Broadway premiere at The Public Theatre in June, 2018. Additional directing credits at Kansas
City Repertory Theatre include the world premiere of Man in Love by Christina Anderson, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Diary of Anne Frank and A Raisin in the Sun. Prior to Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Marissa served as the Artistic Director of Crowded Fire Theater in San Francisco for six seasons, where she directed numerous West Coast and world premiere productions for the company, including The Late Wedding by Christopher Chen, The Taming by Lauren Gunderson, The Bereaved by Thomas Bradshaw, Good Goods and DRIP by Christina Anderson, and Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven by Young Jean Lee. Other selected credits include 77% by Rinne Groff at San
Francisco Playhouse, Precious Little by Madeleine George at Shotgun Players, Act II of The Lily’s Revenge by Taylor Mac at Magic Theatre, and the Bay Area Premiere of Thom Pain (based on nothing) by Will Eno at The Cutting Ball Theater. Additionally, Marissa has directed workshops at The New Group, Berkeley Rep’s Ground Floor, Marin Theatre Company and Playwrights Foundation. She was nominated for Best Director from Broadway World San Francisco and the Bay Area Critics Circle Award. Marissa previously held the Bret C. Harte Directing Fellowship at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and has a degree in drama from Vassar College, with additional training from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
FEARLESS IS FEARLESS IS NEVER LOSING NEVER LOSING YOUR INNER CHILD YOUR INNER CHILD
With the card that opens doors to the top doctors and medical centers, you have the power to push yourself further.
With the card that opens doors to the top doctors and medical centers, you have the power to push yourself further.
REMODELS NEW HOMES COMMERCIAL WINDOWS & DOORS
Marissa Wolf
Artistic Director
Cynthia Fuhrman
September 15 – October 28, 2018
Managing Director
On the U.S. Bank Main Stage
THE COLOR PURPLE Based upon the novel written by Alice Walker and the Warner Bros./Amblin Entertainment motion picture.
Book by
Music & Lyrics by
Marsha Norman
Brenda Russell
Allee Willis
Stephen Bray
Directed by
Timothy Douglas
Music Director & Conductor
Choreographer
Scenic Designer
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Darius Smith
Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi
Tony Cisek
Kara Harmon
Peter Maradudin
Sound Designer
Associate Sound Designer
Associate Music Director
Fight Captain
Dance Captain
Sharath Patel
Jeffrey Childs
Ithica Tell
Neil Totton*
Matthew M. Nielson
Stage Manager
Janine Vanderhoff*
Assistant Stage Manager & Fight Choreographer
Kristen Mun*
Production Assistants
Casting
Alexis Ellis-Alvarez Molly Shevaun Reed
Harriet Bass, New York Will Cotter, Local Brandon Woolley, Local
Performed with one intermission. The Color Purple was produced on Broadway at the Broadway Theater by Oprah Winfrey, Scott Sanders, Roy Furman and Quincy Jones. The world premiere of The Color Purple was produced by the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia.
The Color Purple is presented through special arrangement with and all authorized performance materials are supplied by Theatrical Rights Worldwide (TRW), 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036. 866.378.9758 theatricalrights.com
The video or audio recording of this performance by any means is strictly prohibited. If you photograph the set before or after the performance, please credit the designers if you share the image.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
SEASON SUPERSTARS
SEASON SUPPORTING SPONSORS
SHOW SPONSORS
WHAT SHE SAID SPONSORS:
HELEN STERN & FAMILY
A CELEBRATION OF WOMEN PLAYWRIGHTS
DAN WIEDEN & PRISCILLA BERNARD WIEDEN
RONNI LACROUTE BRIGID FLANIGAN DIANA GERDING
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Danea C Osseni Nia Marché Lauren Du Pree C. Mingo Long Isaiah Tyrelle Boyd Maritza Bostic Martavius Parrish Neil Totton
Felicia Boswell Shalanda Sims Ithica Tell Gregory Brumfi eld Chaz Lamar Shepherd Maiesha McQueen Lana Gordon Juson Williams
CAST
in order of appearance
Felicia Boswell*
Celie
Danea C. Osseni*
Nettie/Ensemble
Shalanda Sims*
Soloist/Olivia/Ensemble
Nia Marché*
Church Lady/Ensemble
Ithica Tell
Church Lady/Ensemble
Lauren Du Pree*
Church Lady/Ensemble
Gregory Brumfi eld*
Preacher/Ol’ Mister/ Ensemble
C. Mingo Long*
Pa/Ensemble
Chaz Lamar Shepherd*
Mister
Isaiah Tyrelle Boyd*
Harpo
Maiesha McQueen*
Sofia
Maritza Bostic*
Squeak/Ensemble
Lana Gordon*
Shug Avery
Martavius Parrish*
Adam/Ensemble
Juson Williams*
Buster/Grady/Ensemble
Neil Totton*
Bobby/Guard/Ensemble
ORCHESTRA Darius Smith
Music Director/ Conductor/Keys 1
Jeffrey Childs
Associate Music Director/Keys 2
Marc Grafe
Reed 1
Mieke Bruggeman-Smith
Reed 2
Levis Dragulin
Trumpet
Ross Seligman
Guitar/Dobro/Harmonica
Will Amend
Bass
Mitch Wilson
Drums
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
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THE COLOR PURPLE SONG LIST
FROM THE DIRECTOR: TIMOTHY DOUGLAS “ Have faith that what is in your consciousness can be communicated to the consciousness of all.” —Alice Walker
ACT I Huckleberry Pie –Celie and Nettie
Mysterious Ways –The Company
Somebody Gonna Love You –Celie Our Prayer –Nettie, Celie, Mister
Big Dog –Mister and Men
Hell No! –Sofia and Women
Brown Betty –Harpo, Squeak and Men
Shug Avery Comin’ to Town –Mister, Celie, Company
Too Beautiful for Words –Shug
Push da Button –Shug and Company
Uh Oh!
–The Company
What About Love? –Celie and Shug
ACT II African Homeland –Nettie, Celie, Company
The Color Purple
So relatable, intoxicatingly cathartic, and healing are Celie’s trials and transformation for all who give over to their Afro-Dickensian sensibilities. And yet, for those who do not identify as black and/or female, it is possible to swiftly and unintentionally lose sight of the fact that The Color Purple’s shared experience is wholly that of a black woman’s — a truth that is sometimes unintentionally subverted precisely because the observer gets so completely caught up in the reverie of fully relating to the canonized universality of Celie’s story. While my primary charge as the director with this production is to fi rst and foremost be sure that audiences experience the story fully through Celie’s eyes and sensibilities, there remains an inextricably linked challenge that also infl uences my approach to this production: my awareness and dis-ease surrounding the oft-critiqued aspect of Walker’s novel in how the men come off as two-dimensional with their
Miss Celie’s Pants –Celie and Women
Any Little Thing –Harpo and Sofi a
I’m Here –Celie The Color Purple (Reprise) –Celie and
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I more than willingly acknowledge that my chafi ng at such an unappealing portrayal is directly linked to my own unavoidable black maleness, but I nonetheless remain committed to the purity of the storytelling embodied in the novel. I have made every effort to ensure that the journey is experienced from the sole perspective of Celie herself. It is essential that this production not retreat in any way from the inexcusable acts perpetrated by some of the men in this story, along with the devastating impact. That being said, there remains the challenge of affording the male characters a threedimensional portrayal. As with any play I direct, an ultimate goal is to make sure the characters receive a balanced treatment. And while I don’t require audiences to like the more challenging characters, it is essential that audiences are, at the very least, able to recognize their motivations.
“Storytelling, you know, has a real function. The process of the storytelling is itself a healing process, partly because you have someone there who is taking the time to tell you a story that has great meaning to them. They’re taking the time to do this because your life could use some help, but they don’t want to come over and just give advice. They want to give it to you in a form that becomes inseparable from your whole self. That’s what stories do. Stories differ from advice in that, once you get them, they become a fabric of your whole soul. That is why they heal you.” —Alice Walker
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inexcusable violence toward women. This particular criticism was aimed at the novel itself, and while it is up to the reader’s own imagination and life infl uences to determine for themselves if the criticism is merited, I fi nd that the potential stereotyping of the men in the story becomes palpably exacerbated when expanded into the two-dimensional realm of the silver screen, and exponentially so when brought onto the three-dimensional world of the stage.
–Shug
Mister’s Song –Mister
Company
As soon as it was birthed into the greater consciousness of American storytelling, the wholly unique message of Alice Walker’s seminal The Color Purple instantly transmuted the primal black female pain and catapulted its impact into the lofty heights of a genuine universality. And yet, while doing so, it seemed to almost instantly obscure the roots of its uniquely black female journey.
“ I want it to stand as an expression of the possibility of our absolute freedom. And especially our spiritual freedom. Because until the spirit is free it’s very hard to free any other part. And we desperately need to be freed from so many shackles.” —Alice Walker on The Color Purple
A SNAPSHOT LOOK AT
ALICE WALKER’S THE COLOR PURPLE 1944 Alice Malsenior TallulahKate Walker is born the youngest of eight children to sharecroppers in Eatonton, a rural farming town in Georgia.
1982 THE COLOR PURPLE IS PUBLISHED. A BESTSELLER, THE NEW YORK TIMES CALLS IT A “STRIKING AND CONSUMMATELY WELL-WRITTEN NOVEL.”
2003 BBC’s The Big Read poll names The Color Purple as one of the top 200 best-loved novels of all time.
2004 Workshops begin for the musical adaptation at Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.
2015 PREVIEWS BEGIN FOR THE BROADWAY REVIVAL USING JOHN DOYLE’S PRODUCTION.
1961 Walker graduates as valedictorian and attends Spelman College, where she meets Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and social activist Howard Zinn becomes her mentor.
1983 Walker becomes the fi rst black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction for The Color Purple.
1984 The novel is first challenged as appropriate reading for high school honors classes in Oakland, California.
2005 THE ORIGINAL MUSICAL ADAPTATION OF THE COLOR PURPLE OPENS ON BROADWAY.
2007 LaChanze wins the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
2016 The Broadway revival wins the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical and Cynthia Erivo wins the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical.
1965
1967
Walker graduates from Sarah Lawrence College after spending her junior year abroad in Africa and Europe.
1985
Walker marries Melvyn Rosenman Leventhal, a Jewish civil rights lawyer; they become the fi rst legally married interracial couple in Mississippi.
1990s
A MAJOR MOTIONPICTURE FILM ADAPTATION PREMIERES, DIRECTED BY STEVEN SPIELBERG AND STARRING WHOOPI GOLDBERG AND OPRAH WINFREY.
Walker is involved in a romance with singersongwriter Tracy Chapman, and refuses to label herself as bisexual, saying “I’m open to the spirit of a person whether that’s a man or a woman or whoever.”
2013 The fi rst international production opens in London. Directed by John Doyle and starring Cynthia Erivo, this stripped down version feels like a different show from the original production in 2005, but the songs are virtually the same and the text is missing fewer than 20 lines.
2017 The Color Purple is still banned in Texas prisons. Mein Kampf is not. The novel ranks at number 17 on the American Library Association’s Top 100 Banned or Challenged Books.
2018 The Color Purple has sold over 5 million copies and been translated into 25 languages.
Want to dive deeper? Learn more at pcs.org/walker. Timeline compiled by Alice Hodge, Marketing & Publications Specialist
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MEET THE CAST Felicia Boswell, Celie Emmy Award nominee, twotime Helen Hayes Award winner (Outstanding Lead Actress), Broadway World Award winner (Best Lead Actress), Jeff Award and Suzi Bass Award nomination (Best Lead Actress). Broadway: Josephine Baker in Shuffle Along; Diana Ross in Motown; Felicia Farrell in Memphis. National Tours: Felicia Farrell in Memphis; Deena and Lorell in Dreamgirls. Regional highlights: Anita in Jelly’s Last Jam at Signature Theatre; Medea in Medea at Bay Street Theatre; Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar at Paramount Theatre; Aida in Aida at Sandler Center; Aldonza in Man of La Mancha at Barrington Stage; Mimi in Rent in Atlanta Lyric Theatre; Caroline, or Change at Guthrie Theatre; and Molly Cunningham in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at Leila Barlow Theatre. TV/Film: Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (NBC); Macy’s Day Parade (NBC); Last Week Tonight with John Oliver; Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Selma, Lord, Selma; and, most recently, Melissa on Power (Starz). feliciaboswell.com Maritza Bostic, Squeak/Ensemble Maritza is excited to be making her Portland Center Stage at The Armory debut. Maritza is a Reading, Massachusetts, native now based in New York. Regional: The Song of Bernadette at Adirondack Theatre Festival; Camelot, Sondheim on Sondheim and Into the Woods at The Lyric Stage Company of Boston; Rent at Ivoryton Playhouse; and Alice: A New Musical and Hairspray at Wheelock Family Theatre. Film: Detroit directed by Kathryn Bigelow. B.F.A. in acting from Salem State University. Maritza is also a very proud threeyear touring cast member of Speak About It, a performancebased presentation about consent, boundaries and healthy relationships. Endless thanks to God, the creative team, Harriet Bass Casting, and, of course, her family and friends for all the love and support. For Gma with love. maritzabostic.com
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Isaiah Tyrelle Boyd, Harpo Isaiah is excited to make his debut at The Armory with The Color Purple. Other credits include Judas (u/s) in Jesus Christ Superstar at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Tyrone in A Bronx Tale at Paper Mill Playhouse. A Bay Area/San Francisco native, Isaiah spent two years as a principal performer in the longest running musical revue in the country, Beach Blanket Babylon. Other favorite California credits include Victor in Smokey Joe’s Cafe and Otto in Spring Awakening at Center Repertory Company, and Seaweed in Hairspray at Contra Costa Musical Theatre. Isaiah is a proud member of Actors’ Equity. Special thanks to the staff at The Armory for this opportunity, and West Coast friends and family for the continued support. Ashe. @isaiahboyd3069 Gregory Brumfi eld, Preacher/ Ol’ Mister/Ensemble Gregory is delighted to perform in this production of The Color Purple, his first with Portland Center Stage at The Armory. A native of Gary, Indiana, and now living in Corvallis, Oregon, Gregory spent many years in Madison, Wisconsin, working with the Children’s Theater of Madison, as well as performing and teaching with other companies. He is currently a regular chorister with Portland Opera, and has performed as a soloist and/or chorister with Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Madison Opera, The Dallas Opera, Virginia Opera and Wichita Grand Opera. His favorite musical roles include: Jim in Big River; Booker T. Washington in Ragtime and Javert in Les Misérables. Next up is Stumptown Stages’ Jesus Christ Superstar as Caiaphas. Gregory received his degree in theater from the University of WisconsinMadison. Thanks to Roberta for her constant support. Lauren Du Pree, Church Lady/ Ensemble Lauren is excited to be making her Portland Center Stage at The Armory debut. She began her career in Washington, D.C., after
receiving her B.F.A. from Howard University, working at theaters such as The Kennedy Center (Orphie in Orphie and the Book of Heroes), Signature Theatre and Ford’s Theatre. Since moving back to her hometown, Seattle, she’s been seen on stage at The 5th Avenue Theatre in The Pajama Game, Ragtime (Sarah’s Friend), Holiday Inn and Man of La Mancha (Antonia), and at Village Theatre in Dreamgirls (Deena), My Heart Is the Drum (Kanika) and String (Lachesis). Lauren is an original cast member of the nationally syndicated PBS television show Biz Kid$, and she also writes and produces her own content and manages a blog on health and wellness. Thank you for the support and love from her family and friends and all glory to God. @justdu.pree Lana Gordon, Shug Avery Lana most recently performed as Velma Kelly in Chicago on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut as an original cast member of The Lion King (Nala/Shenzi) and also appeared in the revival of Jesus Christ Superstar (Soul Sister) on Broadway. An accomplished dancer, she was a member of the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble and Donald Byrd/The Group. Lana spent 10 years performing all over Europe and the Middle East in roles such as Velma in Chicago, Deloris in Sister Act, Kala in Tarzan, Anita in West Side Story, Carmen in Carmen Cubana and on the European tour of Hair as Dionne. She was also a guest vocalist for Jazz at Lincoln Center in Doha, Qatar. She is ecstatic to play the role of Shug and make her Portland Center Stage at The Armory debut in this wonderful production. Lana remains grateful to God and soon-to-be husband Robert. @lanajeangordon C. Mingo Long, Pa/Ensemble Broadway: South Pacific, Purlie and House of Flowers. C. Mingo has performed in several national tours, including the First National Tour of Parade directed by Harold Prince, two national tours of Les Misérables and the European tour of Higher
and Higher. Off-Broadway: Samuel in Liberty: A Monumental New Musical and Under the Bridge by Kathie Lee Gifford. His favorite roles include Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in Ragtime, Delray in Memphis, Poppa in Starlight Express, Jake in Side Show, Andrew Carnes in Oklahoma!, Spotin’ Life in Porgy and Bess and many others. Thanks to casting, the director and my manager, Bobbie Merrit, for their support and trusting my talent; my partner, Bob, for his continued support; and my best friends Maestro Jalmari and Dr. Reynolds. cmingolong.com Nia Marché, Church Lady/ Ensemble Nia is a very proud graduate of Pace University with a B.F.A. in musical theater. She was last seen as Maggie in A Chorus Line directed by Baayork Lee; Crystal in Little Shop of Horrors at Fulton Theatre; Melpomene in Xanadu; and Radio in Jeanine Tesori’s Caroline, or Change. You might have also seen Nia singing alongside Cynthia Erivo and Ben Platt in Broadway Backwards, an annual benefit concert for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center, and at Elsie Fest, New York’s fi rst music festival featuring stars and songs of the stage and screen. She would like to thank God for all of her blessings, and all of her friends and family for believing in her. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins! @niamarche Maiesha McQueen, Sofi a Maiesha is thrilled to be returning to Portland Center Stage at The Armory for a third time with The Color Purple. Previously at The Armory, she was seen as Ethel Waters in the one-woman show His Eye is on the Sparrow and in Ain’t Misbehavin’. First National Tour: Waitress. Off-Broadway: Peaches. Regional highlights: Chasin’ Dem Blues, Black Nativity, Little Shop of Horrors and Show Boat. Film credits include: DayBlack (ArtistDirector Media) and Down to Earth (Paramount Pictures). Maiesha previously served as co-founder
and musical composer for Progress Theatre, whose work has been presented at The Public Theater, 14th Street Playhouse, The Kennedy Center and World Music Theatre Festival in Amsterdam. She holds a B.F.A. in musical theater from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, a master’s in education from Fordham University, and she spent over a decade teaching in both the public and private sectors. Love to family, “tribe” and manager, Natarsha Garcia. @ maieshamcqueen Danea C. Osseni, Nettie/Ensemble Danea is beyond thrilled to make her Portland Center Stage at The Armory debut in The Color Purple. It’s a dream come true! Hailing from the beautiful island of Jamaica, Danea is an actor, model and singer currently residing in New York. Past credits include Tiana Vocalist at Hong Kong Disneyland, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Smokey Joe’s Cafe, Hairspray, Death of a Salesman, Sophisticated Ladies and the OffBroadway hit show, Sistas the Musical. Danea fell in love with performing at the age of nine and has since been pursuing it as a career, sharing her love, passion and talent with the world. She’s thankful to God, her parents, family, friends and her precious husband for their support and love. Martavius Parrish, Adam/Ensemble Martavius is incredibly excited to be making his Portland Center Stage at The Armory debut in such a powerful show. He was last seen in The Heart is a Lonely Hunter at Arkansas Repertory Theatre. Other favorite credits include Jimmy in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at Ogunquit Playhouse and The Gateway; The Time Machine at New York Musical Festival; Plath. at New York International Fringe Festival; and the Equity staged reading of Words of Fire with music direction by Shelton Bector (Shuffle Along on Broadway). Martavius has been a featured performer at The Beacon Theatre and Yankee Stadium. He holds a Bachelor of Science in neuroscience from Duke
University and a Master of Music in vocal performance in musical theater from New York University. Thanks to his loving friends and family for their unending support. martaviusparrish.com Chaz Lamar Shepherd, Mister A native of Philadelphia, Chaz has performed for audiences around the world as a soul artist and actor. He performed the role of Harpo in the original Broadway production of The Color Purple; Billy Flynn in Chicago on Broadway; and Curtis Taylor, Jr. in the national tour of the revival of Dreamgirls. Television credits include guest starring roles in The Game, 7th Heaven, Marvel’s Luke Cage, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Blue Bloods and Haters Back Off. Film credits include Set It Off and The Temptations. An accomplished musician, composer and producer, his debut album Love & Truth is available on most major music media platforms. Chaz’s charisma, passion and love shine through every performance whether in a living room, church, screen or on stage. Shalanda Sims, Soloist/Olivia/ Ensemble Shalanda is grateful for the opportunity to be back on stage. Favorite credits include Dreamgirls at Portland Center Stage at The Armory, The Pirates of Penzance in collaboration with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival at Portland Opera, Black Nativity at PassinArt: A Theatre Company and Gospel Christmas at Oregon Symphony. Shalanda is the director of World Stage Theatre, author of the newly released children’s book, Night Rhythms, and has written several plays including Church Girls, Vanport, Too Good To Be True, Full-Time Woman and Who I Am Celebrating Me. Film and television credits include The Hunted (Paramount), Extraordinary Measures (CBS Films), Leverage (TNT), Secrets of Successful Dating (Otter Creek), Harvest House (Harvest House) and Faith (Camp Productions). When not performing or writing, she’s spending quality
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time with her family, teaching students and involved in her community. Love and gratitude to my amazing God and family! shalandasims.com Ithica Tell, Church Lady/ Ensemble/Fight Captain Ithica is delighted for another round of play with Portland Center Stage at The Armory, where she was formerly seen in for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf. Ithica has had the great pleasure to perform as Ursula in Bon Temps Roulez at the Shakespeare Cafe at the Bremer Shakespeare Festival in Germany; Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar directed by Michael Streeter (PAMTA Award) and Othello in Othello at Post5 Theatre; The Selector in How We Got On at Portland Playhouse; and Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing at Willamette Shakespeare. Ithica has appeared on Grimm (NBC), The Librarians (TNT), The Benefits of Gusbandry (web series) and Life After First Failure (CW Seed). Ithica sends love and thanks to older sister Isha for infecting her
with “The Acting Bug,” and to Ethan, for bringing the perfect balance to life with his love. ithicatell.com Neil Totton, Bobby/Guard/ Ensemble/Dance Captain Neil is a singer, songwriter, dancer/ choreographer, performance artist and CEO of Totton Body Lab. His work blends music, video, fitness, storytelling and dance. He has danced with Ballet Black in London, served as the assistant choreographer for the national and international tours of Elton John and Tim Rice’s musical Aida, and has played leading roles in A Chorus Line, Hairspray and The Wiz. He has produced benefit concerts to support New York-based organizations that serve the needs of the LGBTQ youth and childhood sexual abuse survivors. In 2012, he wrote, produced and self-released the mixtape Becoming Relevant. Most recently, Neil conceived and produced a fitness concert The Fit Prince of New York at Hub Seventeen. He is grateful to appear in this production of The Color Purple. Praises to Abba! neiltotton. bandcamp.com
Juson Williams, Buster/Grady/ Ensemble Juson is a four-time Audelco Award winner who starred in the original The Color Purple’s First National Tour and at White Plains Performing Arts Center in New York state. He is excited to be a part of the revival version here at Portland Center Stage at The Armory. A proud alumni of Boston Conservatory, his New York credits include: The Fortress of Solitude at The Public Theater; The Scottsboro Boys at Vineyard Theatre; The Wiz at Encores, City Center; and Stormy Weather and Central Avenue Breakdown at Signature Theatre. Tours and regional credits include: Bobby in Memphis, Adrian in Smokey Joe’s Cafe starring Gladys Knight; Ken in Ain’t Misbehavin’; Ron in It Ain’t Nothing But the Blues; and Blue in Chasin’ Dem Blues. Juson’s choir, JW’s Inspirational Singers, has been featured on the 60th Annual Grammy Awards with Sam Smith, NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center,” and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. He lives to inspire the world.
MEET THE ORCHESTRA Marc Grafe, Reed 1 Marc, a Portland native, is a performer, conductor, composer and sound designer. While working at The Kitchen in New York, he toured with the Robert Ashley Ensemble and John Cage’s Song Books. Locally, he has worked with Columbia Symphony, Newport Symphony, Ne Plus Ultra Jass Orchestra, Felicidades and Arundo!, a reed quintet. Pit work includes Guys and Dolls, Beauty and the Beast, Billy Elliot, Addams Family, West Side Story and Man of La Mancha. Marc has taught at Warner Pacifi c University and Reed College; is the recipient of a Meet the Composer, Inc. grant; collaborated with Ursula K. Le Guin; and recorded for Lyrichord, Nonesuch Records and CRi: Music. A specialist in the repair of
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professional fl utes and clarinets, his favorite music is what’s on the stand in front of him. Mieke Bruggeman-Smith, Reed 2 Mieke is a performer, educator, composer, arranger and the education and community coordinator for the Portland Jazz Composers’ Ensemble (PJCE). She performs regularly with the allfemale sax quartet, Quadraphonnes; the Afro-Cuban band, Melao de Cuba; PJCE; Mystery Seed; and the Ezra Weiss Big Band; as well as performing in musicals. Recent productions at The Armory include: Fun Home, Dreamgirls and Fiddler on the Roof. Mieke also enjoys teaching private lessons at her home studio and co-teaching at Roosevelt High School, Beaumont Middle School and the Portland Youth Jazz
Orchestra. She is heavily involved in promoting music education and loves collaborating with her music community. Music is the one outlet that, as author Tom Robbins might say, keeps the oxygen from leaking out of her life! Levis Dragulin, Trumpet Levis began performing on trumpet when he was 11 years old. In 2006, he was awarded a Bachelor of Science in music from Portland State University. His work on Royal Caribbean cruise lines as lead trumpet for the theater band allowed him to travel the world for four years to places such as Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, Mexico, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean. In the last six years, Levis has been involved in around 30 musical productions in
the Portland area, including Annie Get Your Gun, Bye Bye Birdie, South Pacific, La Cage aux Folles, Cats, My Fair Lady, Beauty and the Beast, Show Boat, The Music Man, Dreamgirls, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Oklahoma!, Anything Goes, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Chicago, Man of La Mancha, Gypsy and Billy Elliot. Ross Seligman, Guitar/Dobro/ Harmonica Ross is thrilled to be back home at Portland Center Stage at The Armory. Most recently, Ross was music director and guitarist for the regional tour and Broadway production of A Night With Janis Joplin, which originated here at The Armory. Other Portland Center Stage credits include West Side Story, Bat Boy: The Musical, The Fantasticks, Cabaret and It Ain’t Nothin But the Blues. Ross is a board member of the Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre, and, when he is not making music,
Ross is a principal real estate broker at Living Room Realty here in Portland. Limitless love and gratitude to my extraordinary wife, Leah Yorkston, son Max and baby girl on the way. Will Amend, Bass Will is delighted to be back at Portland Center Stage at The Armory for The Color Purple. He has previously been a member of the pit orchestra for The Fantastics, West Side Story, Cabaret, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Little Shop Of Horrors and Fun Home at The Armory. Portland credits include Les Miserables, Gypsy and Always … Patsy Cline at Broadway Rose Theatre Company; Mars On Life at Artists Repertory Theatre; The Full Monty at Pixie Dust Productions and others. Will plays and tours with Christian Kane, Echo Helstrom, Garett Brennan, The Heritage and Pink Lady & the John Bennett Jazz Band. He teaches upright and
electric bass and cello. He would like to thank his wife Nicole, who is probably putting their two boys to bed right about now. Mitch Wilson, Drums Mitch is an accomplished musician and performer. A student with Portland jazz royalty Mel Brown and Thara Memory, and a graduate of The New School Jazz, Mitch has performed with Taylor Momsen, Mike Tyson and on Broadway. Mitch was the founding drummer and on the creative team for Tony Awardnominated A Night With Janis Joplin at The Armory in 2011 and went on to open Janis on Broadway in 2013 after a two-year national tour. Other Broadway credits include: The Last Ship written by and starring Sting and Liberty: A Monumental New Musical. Now in Portland, Mitch performs for The Armory and Broadway Rose Theatre Company as well as leading the band, S.O.S., A Tribute To The Police.
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MEET THE CREATIVE TEAM Marsha Norman, Book Marsha won the Pulitzer Prize for her play, ‘night, Mother and a Tony Award for her book of the Broadway musical, The Secret Garden. Ms. Norman is cochair, with Christopher Durang, of the Playwriting Department of the Juilliard School and vice president of the Dramatists Guild of America. Her other plays include Getting Out, Traveler in the Dark, Sarah and Abraham, Trudy Blue and Last Dance. Her published work includes Four Plays, Vol. I: Collected Plays of Marsha Norman and a novel, The Fortune Teller. She has numerous film and TV credits, Grammy and Emmy nominations, and awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and the Fellowship of Southern Writers. She is a native of Kentucky who lives in New York and Long Island with her two children. Brenda Russell, Music & Lyrics Brenda has a unique musical perspective, intimate voice and prolific treasure-trove of lyrics that prove that a truly glowing talent only deepens with time. Composer of the classics “Get Here,” “If Only For One Night,” and the Grammy-nominated “Piano In The Dark,” Brenda’s songwriting prowess and chameleon-like ability to shift between musical genres and combine styles trumpeted ovations in 2005 with the opening of the Tony Award-winning hit Broadway musical The Color Purple, for which she, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray co-wrote the music and lyrics. Brenda and her co-authors were also nominated for a 2007 Grammy in the Best Musical Show Album category for the original cast album. Allee Willis, Music & Lyrics Allee is a one-woman creative thinktank. A multi-disciplinary artist and visionary thinker whose range of imagination and productivity knows no bounds, her success exuberantly defies categorization; ‘unique’ pales as a descriptor. Willis is a Grammy-winning and Emmy- and Tony- nominated composer whose hit songs — including Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September” and “Boogie Wonderland,” The Pointer Sisters’ ‘Neutron Dance,” Pet Shop Boys with Dusty Springfield’s “What Have I Done To Deserve This,” and 20
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The Rembrandts’ “I’ll Be There For You” (Theme From Friends)” – have sold more than 50 million records. In 2006, Willis’ songs were also featured in three of the top grossing films of the year, Happy Feet, Night at the Museum and Babel. Stephen Bray, Music & Lyrics Stephen is thrilled to be making his Broadway debut with The Color Purple. After beginning music studies with private instruction in Detroit, Bray continued training at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. Working with Madonna, he wrote and produced many of her top 10 recordings, including “Angel,” “Into the Groove,” “Papa Don’t Preach,” “True Blue” and “Express Yourself.” Performing with Breakfast Club, he earned a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist and a top 10 single. He has composed and produced for multiplatinum artists, including The Jets, Gladys Knight and Kylie Minogue. Film and television projects include Beverly Hills Cop II, Who’s That Girl?, All About The Benjamins and the theme for PBS’s California Connected. Stephen is developing artists for his Soultone label and looks forward to more musical theater. He would like to thank his daughter Milena for her eternal patience and his family for their continuing support. Timothy Douglas, Director Timothy returns to The Armory after directing the productions of Anna in the Tropics, A Feminine Ending and His Eye is on the Sparrow. He is a New York-based theater director who currently serves as an associate artist at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, where he has staged seven productions, including the world premiere of Keith Josef Adkins’ Safe House. Recent credits include Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced for the Great Theatre of China (Shanghai); Seven Guitars for Yale Repertory Theatre; Nina Simone: Four Women, Disgraced and King Hedley II for Arena Stage; Father Comes Home from the Wars, parts 1, 2 and 3 for Round House Theatre; Richard II for Shakespeare & Company and BRONTE: A Portrait of Charlotte presented Off-Broadway. Timothy counts among his many productions the world premieres of August Wilson’s Radio Golf for Yale
Repertory Theatre; Rajiv Joseph’s The Lake Effect for Silk Road Rising (2013 Jeff Award for Best New Work) and Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea (six Helen Hayes Award nominations) for Theater Alliance. He was the associate artistic director at Actors Theatre of Louisville, 2001-2004, where he directed 16 productions including three Humana Festival premieres. The list of theaters Timothy has made productions for include American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Cleveland Playhouse, Downstage (New Zealand), Folger Shakespeare, Guthrie Theater, Juilliard, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Pioneer Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Public Theater, PlayMakers Repertory Company, South Coast Repertory, Steppenwolf Theatre, Sundance Theatre Lab/ Morocco, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and many others. Timothy earned his M.F.A. from Yale School of Drama. timothydouglas.org Darius Smith, Music Director/ Conductor/Keys 1 Off-Broadway: This Ain’t No Disco, Futurity, Three Little Birds. OffOff Broadway: Raisin (AUDELCO Award Outstanding Music Direction). Regional: The Wiz at Ford’s Theater; Nina Simone: Four Women (Helen Hayes nomination for Outstanding Music Direction) at Arena Stage; Jelly’s Last Jam (Helen Hayes nomination for Outstanding Music Direction), La Cage aux Folles, Soon at Signature Theatre; The Producers, Once on this Island at Olney Theatre Center; and Choir Boy (Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Music Direction) at Marin Theatre Company. Original works: Marcus Nate is Alive and Great and Living in Detroit (workshop), The Snowy Day (Best TYA Production, Helen Hayes nomination); U.G.L.Y. (Signature Theater SigWorks MT Lab, The Kennedy Center Page-toStage). Upcoming: Nina Simone: Four Women (Bermuda), The Watsons Go to Birmingham (The Kennedy Center), A Strange Loop (Playwrights Horizons). Lady Dane Figueroa Edidi, Choreographer Dubbed the “Ancient Jazz Priestess of Mother Africa,” Lady Dane is a Nigerian, Cuban, Indigenous, American
performance artist, two-time Helen Hayes Award nominated choreographer (2016, 2018), author, teacher, speech writer, advocate, playwright (Absalom, Kyltmnestra: An Epic Slam Poem, Guilty, Roaring: The Musical, For Black Trans Girls), founding member of Force Collision and a coeditor of the Black Trans Prayer Book. She is the founder of The Inanna D Initiatives, which curates, produces and cultivates events and initiatives designed to center and celebrate the work of Trans and Gender NonConforming artists of color. She is the first Trans woman of color (TWOC) to be nominated for a Helen Hayes Award (2016) and the first TWOC in Washington, D.C., to publish a work of fiction, Yemaya’s Daughters (2013), and have her play, Absalom, chosen for Theater Alliance’s Hothouse Festival and The Kennedy Center’s Prelude Festival. Tony Cisek, Scenic Designer Tony has collaborated with Mr. Douglas on over 30 productions, including Anna in the Tropics and A Feminine Ending for Portland Center Stage at The Armory; Hospice + Pointing at the Moon at Alliance Theatre; Disgraced and King Hedley II at Arena Stage; A Raisin in the Sun at Indiana Repertory Theatre and Syracuse Stage; The Trip to Bountiful at Cleveland Play House; and productions at South Coast Repertory, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Pioneer Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Folger Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Round House Theatre, Virginia Stage Company, Theater Alliance and the Guthrie Theater. Select credits at The Armory include Astoria: Part One and Two, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Our Town, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion. His work has also been seen at Roundabout Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Two River Theater, New York Theatre Workshop and The Kennedy Center. tonycisek.com Kara Harmon, Costume Designer Regional: Ragtime and The Mountaintop at Trinity Repertory Company; The Wiz at Ford’s Theatre; Seven Guitars and We, the invisibles at Actors Theatre of Louisville; A Raisin in the Sun at Indiana Repertory Theatre and Syracuse Stage; Nina Simone: Four Women at Arena Stage; A Guide for the Homesick at
Huntington Theatre Company; In the Heights at Geva Theatre; Native Gardens at the Guthrie Theater and Arena Stage; The Legend of Georgia McBride at Marin Theatre Company; Barbecue at Geffen Playhouse (NAACP Award for Best Costume Design); Ethel and God of Carnage at Alliance Theatre; Much Ado About Nothing and The Comedy of Errors at Oregon Shakespeare Festival; and Safe House at Cincinnati Playhouse. New York: Dot at Vineyard Theatre. Assistant costume design for television: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Season 2, Amazon); Daredevil (Season 2, Netflix) and Boardwalk Empire (Season 5, HBO). Training: NYU Tisch School of the Arts. karaharmondesign.com Peter Maradudin, Lighting Designer Peter is pleased to return to Portland Center Stage at The Armory, where previous work includes His Eye is on the Sparrow, Great Expectations, Threesome, Othello, Ragtime, Crazy Enough, West Side Story, Anna in the Tropics, Hamlet, King Lear and Terra Nova, among many others. He is also the lighting designer for the lobby spaces of The Armory. On Broadway, he designed the lighting for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and the Pulitzer Prizewinning The Kentucky Cycle, and Off-Broadway, Threesome, Hurrah at Last and Ballad of Yachiyo. Peter has designed more than 300 productions for such companies as the Guthrie Theater, American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, La Jolla Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Old Globe Theatre and South Coast Repertory. He is the author, under his pen name Peter Alexei, of the novels The Masked Avenger and The Queen of Spades. Matthew M. Nielson, Sound Designer Off-Broadway: The Public Theater/ New York Shakespeare Festival, 59E59 Theaters and Lincoln Center. Regional: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Delaware Theatre Company, Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Smithsonian, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Barrington Stage Company, Contemporary American Theater Festival, Signature Theatre, Studio Theatre, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Olney Theatre Center, Round ARTSLANDIA.COM
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House Theatre and Theater Alliance. Film and television: The Hero Effect, Death in Time, Elbow Grease, Blue, Epix Drive-In, From Hell to Here and The Long Road. Nielson is a founding member of the audio theater company The Audible Group and creator of the audio web series Troublesome Gap. He has won several Helen Hayes Awards and various film festival awards for his work in theater, film and television. He currently runs the post-production house and recording studio Sound Lab Studios and the production music library Curious Music Company. curiousmusic.com
Deadland, A Year With Frog and Toad (Drammy Award) and others with Oregon Children’s Theatre; and Violet and 13: The Musical with Staged!. Jeffrey is also an instructor for summer camps and classes at Oregon Children’s Theatre and Spotlight Musical Theatre Academy. Before moving to Portland, he owned and operated Theatre ETC., a performing arts school for children, was the staff accompanist at California State University, Chico, and a member of the Broadway Junior development team at Music Theatre International in New York.
Sharath Patel, Associate Sound Designer Sharath was raised between Appalachia and India, and spent the following years studying across Europe and New England. Recent designs: Artists Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theater, Seattle Repertory Theatre, A Contemporary Theatre, California Shakespeare Theater, 12th Avenue Arts, East West Players, Tantrum Theatre, Portland Playhouse and Profile Theatre. Additional designs credits in New York City, Washington D.C., Norfolk, Raleigh, Aspen, India, France, England, Germany and Romania. He has previously served as a visiting assistant professor, lead designer, guest artist, instructor and lecturer at Reed College, Yale, Columbia, Fordham University, Willamette University, Ohio University, Portland State University and Butler University. Sharath is a member of the Theatrical Sound Designers and Composers Association (TSDCA) and is an arts envoy for the U.S. Department of State. He holds an M.F.A. in sound design from the Yale School of Drama and is very proud to be a resident artist at Artists Repertory Theatre. sharathpatel.com
Janine Vanderhoff, Stage Manager Janine is thrilled to be back for her fourth season at The Armory. Last season, she stage managed Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Kodachrome and A Christmas Memory/Winter Song. Other favorites include: Wild and Reckless, Lauren Weedman Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, The Santaland Diaries, The Oregon Trail, Great Expectations, Our Town and JAW: A Playwrights Festival. In New York, Janine had the opportunity to work on The Lion King on Broadway, as well as with many Off-Broadway and regional companies. Portland credits: Portland Opera’s Sweeney Todd, DC Copeland’s Play, Portland Playhouse’s How to End Poverty in 90 Minutes and The Other Place. Touring: The Graduate (starring Morgan Fairchild), Cats, The Vagina Monologues, Jekyll & Hyde and Show Boat. Production management: The Daily Show with Jon Stewart “Democalypse 2012 Republican National Convention” (Tampa, FL); Straz Center (Tampa, FL); The Fox Theatre (Atlanta, GA). Proud NYU graduate and AEA member.
Jeffrey Childs, Associate Music Director/Keys 2 Jeffrey is a Portland-based music director, pianist and vocal coach. Previously at The Armory, Jeffrey was conductor for Little Shop of Horrors and assistant music director for Dreamgirls, Fiddler on the Roof and Sweeney Todd. Local credits include Guys and Dolls, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The World Goes ‘Round (Drammy and PAMTA awards) and many more at Broadway Rose; James and the Giant Peach, Jasper in 22
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Kristen Mun, Assistant Stage Manager/ Fight Choreographer Kristen is originally from the island of Oahu and holds a B.F.A. from Southern Oregon University. She is excited to return for her sixth season at Portland Center Stage at The Armory. Previous credits at The Armory include stage manager for Constellations and Major Barbara; assistant stage manager for Fun Home and Astoria: Part Two; and production assistant on many others. Kristen has been in the world of stage combat and fight choreography for almost 15 years and has been awarded a Drammy Award for Best Fight Choreography for her work on Tender
Napalm (2018), Henry IV, Part I (2013), Oedipus El Rey (2012) and Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (2012). Outside of Portland, she has choreographed at Utah Shakespeare Festival and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Thank you to Adam and her family for always having her back. I love you mom! Alexis Ellis-Alvarez, Production Assistant Alexis is thrilled to be starting her fi rst season as a stage management apprentice at Portland Center Stage at The Armory. Outside of Portland, she has worked at Huntington Theater Company as the production assistant for Tartuffe; ArtsEmerson as the assistant stage manager for the world premiere of Mala; Cygnet Theatre as the production assistant for Animal Crackers; and stage manager for staged readings of Spamalot and Hair. Alexis studied stage and production management at Emerson College, where she worked on Antigone Project as the stage manager and Guys and Dolls as the production assistant. She also enjoys working on conventions, and has spent four years volunteering and then working for VidCon, an online video convention. Alexis would like to send love to her parents and sister, who have always been extremely supportive of her. Molly Shevaun Reed, Production Assistant Molly is thrilled to be joining Portland Center Stage at The Armory this season as a stage management apprentice, where she most recently served as a production assistant for JAW: A Playwrights Festival (Pick a Color and The Birds of Empathy). Originally from Denton, Texas, Molly has worked in stage management, props design and developing new work as a director in Dallas and Portland. Local credits include Spectravagasm X (stage manager), the one-woman original play Endless Oceans (director/ designer/producer) and The Few at CoHo Productions (assistant director/production assistant). Dallas credits include Dry Land at Upstart Theater (stage manager) and Nomad Americana (formerly titled Rooting) at Nouveau 47 Theatre and WaterTower Theatre’s Out of the Loop Fringe Festival (director/designer). Molly holds a B.F.A. in theater performance from Baylor University. Love and thanks to Cam, Fam, Lyss and Bear.
THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS OF THE COLOR PURPLE HELEN STERN & FAMILY I am proud to have been associated as a donor for over 30 years — beginning with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. From those beginnings, Portland Center Stage at The Armory has become one of the biggest theaters and greatest in the Northwest in its own right. It is an honor to be a supporter, a fan in the audience and a booster for The Color Purple. Here’s to the next 30 years! DAN WIEDEN & PRISCILLA BERNARD WIEDEN Kudos to Portland Center Stage at The Armory for producing The Color Purple here in Portland. Conversations arising from her masterpiece are as relevant today as when Alice Walker wrote the book in 1982. Art creates necessary conversations and we are so pleased to support The Armory along with all the fabulous actors and crew. Enjoy and converse about it! CURTIS T. THOMPSON, M.D. & ASSOCIATES, LLC We at CTA Lab are thrilled to support this production of The Color Purple as we enter Portland Center Stage at The Armory’s creative and diverse season celebrating women writers. Alice Walker’s story is important to Portland and the Pacific Northwest, given the history of treatment of people of color in this region — a shameful past that continues to haunt and reveal itself in modern times. May The Color Purple help change and heal our future. GBD ARCHITECTS GBD is immensely proud to once again support our neighbors, Portland Center Stage at The Armory. To have designed their home was such an incredible privilege. We will be forever grateful for the backstage pass it afforded us to witness fi rsthand the magic that drives their productions and enriches our community. THE STANDARD The Standard was founded in Portland, Oregon, in 1906 to better serve local customers, and we’re still in the business of helping people achieve financial well-being and peace of mind. For the last 112 years, our company and employees find ways to give back, and we’re especially proud to support storytellers such as Portland Center Stage at The Armory. Through productions such as The Color Purple, The Armory reminds all of us of the power of art to entertain, engage, inspire, challenge and — most importantly — ensure a more vibrant community for all. THE VISTA We are proud to support Portland Center Stage at The Armory as one of the gems of our neighborhood. The Pearl is known for significant architecture, the diversity of thriving residential communities, creative cultures, shops, services and the open expanses of gardens and parks. An important cultural anchor, our very own regional theater brings beautiful productions like The Color Purple to our community and inspires a vibrant, livable, thoughtful and thriving place to live.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE. Everyone deserves a life free of domestic and sexual violence. If you or someone you know is in crisis, help is available.
CALL FOR SAFETY Formerly the Portland Women’s Crisis Line 24-hour crisis line, advocacy, in-person medical advocacy and support groups 1.888.235.5333 calltosafety.org THE GATEWAY CENTER FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES 10305 East Burnside Street Portland, OR 97216 Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. 503.988.6400 portlandoregon.gov/gatewaycenter NATIONAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE HOTLINE 24-hour crisis line 1.800.799.SAFE (7233) Deaf callers on video phone: 1.855.812.1001 (Monday–Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. PST) LOCAL DOMESTIC VIOLENCE EMERGENCY SHELTERS Bradley-Angle House: 503.281.2442 Clackamas Women’s Services: 503.654.2288 Columbia Co. Women’s Resource Center: 503.397.6161 Domestic Violence Resource Center: 503.469.8620 Safechoice/Vancouver YWCA: 360.695.0501 Salvation Army West Women’s & Children’s: 503.224.7718 Yolanda House of YWCA: 503.977.7930 or 503.535.3266 LINES FOR LIFE 24-hour Suicide Lifeline 1.800.273.8255 Text 273TALK to 839863
GET HELP NOW. If you are experiencing an emergency, please call your local emergency phone number. In most communities you should dial 911. ARTSLANDIA.COM
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SPEND THE DAY WITH US. On October 20th join us for a WORKSHOP on The Changing Family at the Old Church Concert Hall followed by a TOUR of six homes ARCIFORM remodeled for wonderful northeast Portland families. Wrap up the day at the AFTER PART Y at Christiane Millinger’s Showroom of artisan rugs. $20, Saturday, Oct. 20th, ArciformHomeTour.eventbrite.com All proceeds benefit the Oregon Humane Society.
A RC I F O RM . C O M
(503)
493-7344
The Oregon Community Foundation can help your tax-deductible gift pave the way toward a bolder, brighter outlook for Oregon’s future.
oregoncf.org
Marissa Wolf
Artistic Director
Cynthia Fuhrman
September 29 – November 11, 2018
Managing Director
In the Ellyn Bye Studio
A LIFE By Adam
Bock
Directed by
Rose Riordan
Scenic Designer
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Sound Designer
Tony Cisek
Alison Heryer
Diane Ferry Williams
Casi Pacilio with Scott Thorson
Stage Manager
Production Assistants
Casting
Mark Tynan*
Molly Shevaun Reed Sarah Stark
Harriet Bass, New York Will Cotter, Local Brandon Woolley, Local
Performed without intermission.
Originally commissioned and produced by Portland Center Stage at The Armory, Portland, Oregon, Chris Coleman, Artistic Director, Rose Riordan, Associate Artistic Director. A Life was workshopped at JAW: A Playwrights Festival produced by Portland Center Stage at The Armory.
A Life was developed, in part, at the 2015 Sundance Institute Writing Studio at Flying Point. Playwrights Horizons, Inc., New York City, produced the New York City premiere of A Life Off-Broadway in 2016 A Life by Adam Bock is presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
The videotaping or making of electronic or other audio and/or visual recordings of this production or distributing recordings of any medium, including the internet, is strictly prohibited, a violation of the author’s rights and actionable under United States copyright law. For more information, please visit: samuelfrench.com/whitepaper. If you photograph the set before or after the performance, please credit the designers if you share the image.
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
SEASON SUPERSTARS
SEASON SUPPORTING SPONSORS
SHOW SPONSOR DOUG & TERESA SMITH
STUDIO SPONSOR MARY & DON BLAIR
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Gary Norman Dana Green
Nat DeWolf Cycerli Ash
CAST
in order of appearance
Nat DeWolf*
Nate Martin
Gary Norman
Curtis
Cycerli Ash*
Ellen and others
Dana Green*
Jill and others
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
MEET THE CAST Cycerli Ash, Ellen and others Cycerli is honored and excited to make her Portland Center Stage at The Armory debut. She gives all glory to God for blessing her with this gift. She received her M.F.A. in acting from the University of Tennessee, and her bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University. She was honored last year as part of the Drammy Award-winning PassinArt: A Theatre Company, where she played Mary in Black Nativity by Langston Hughes and Risa in Two Trains Running by August Wilson. Cycerli’s recent television credits include Skinned (TVOne) and Tales (BET). Recent regional theater credits include work at Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Clarence Brown Theatre and Dominion Theatre. She is the CEO of the faith-based nonprofit theater company, Dae Productions, located in Atlanta, GA. Special thank you to Papa Paul and Ma Susan Schwarz for all you have done for me. Nat DeWolf, Nate Martin Nat is thrilled to be making his debut at Portland Center Stage at The Armory. New York credits include Take Me Out on Broadway and The Public Theater, and Antlia Pneumatica and Betty’s Summer Vacation at Playwrights Horizons. Regional theater:
Two River Theater, American Repertory Theater, Westport Country Playhouse, Huntington Theatre Company, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, TheaterWorks Hartford, Barrington Stage Company, Boise Contemporary Theater and Kitchen Theatre Company. Film credits include Lisa Picard is Famous, which he co-wrote and co-starred in, A Most Violent Year, The Preppie Connection and We Are What We Are. Recent TV credits include House of Cards, Gotham, The Black List, Pan Am and Law & Order: SVU. He is a graduate of Boston Conservatory and A.R.T. Institute at Harvard University. Dana Green, Jill and others Dana is delighted to be back at Portland Center Stage at The Armory, where her credits include Major Barbara, Constellations, Great Expectations, Othello and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Other Portland credits include Scarlet at Portland Playhouse; d.b. at CoHo Productions; Gidion’s Knot and The Realistic Joneses at Third Rail Repertory Theatre; and Dead Man’s Cell Phone at Profile Theatre. She spent four seasons with the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and has performed at numerous
regional theaters including The Old Globe, South Coast Repertory, Yale Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, California Shakespeare Theater, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Court Theatre, Meadow Brook Theatre and Shakespeare Festival of Dallas. Television credits include Early Edition, Grimm, The Librarians, Here and Now and American Vandal. Gary Norman, Curtis Gary is thrilled to return to Portland Center Stage at The Armory. Past credits include Our Town at The Armory; Fly By Night and Chicago at Broadway Rose Theatre Company; The Receptionist by Adam Bock and The Outgoing Tide at CoHo Productions; One Flea Spare at Shaking the Tree; The Playboy of the Western World at Artists Repertory Theatre; and The Adding Machine and The Long Christmas Ride Home at Theatre Vertigo, where he was a member of the acting ensemble. He has also appeared on the small screen, guest starring in Grimm (NBC); Leverage and The Librarians (TNT); and Life After First Failure (CW Seed). Gary is an accomplished portrait and headshot photographer. Originally from Virginia, Gary has called Portland home for 21 years and vows never to go back.
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AN INTERVIEW WITH
ADAM BOCK Portland Center Stage at The Armory’s relationship with Adam Bock, author of A Life, is rooted in a longtime partnership between him and Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan. Their relationship extends back nearly fifteen years, when they fi rst worked together on Bock’s play The Thugs, which was featured at JAW: A Playwrights Festival in 2005. Since then, four of Bock’s plays have been produced at The Armory and three of his scripts have been developed at JAW, all directed by Riordan. A Life was commissioned by Portland Center Stage and developed at JAW in 2014. It is the fifth Bock play to be produced at The Armory, following its world premiere in 2016, starring David Hyde Pierce, at Playwrights Horizons in New York. This production is the West Coast premiere. You’ve described Portland Center Stage as “a second home.” Can you talk about your relationship with this theater? I’ve been lucky because one, I developed a relationship with Rose as a director but two, how you all do things here matters to me. I like the way you relate to your community — I think that’s really important — the community part is almost as important as the theater, but the theater has to be good. And I’ve had beautiful productions here. Often you can feel like you’re floating out in the ether when you’re a writer: “If I send them something, will they read it?” When I send work here, they always say, “Of course, we’ll read it.” It’s exciting to know that if I need to develop something, I can send it to you and say I need help. It’s great to have places that do that.
“My goal in this play was to make you fall in love and let you get to know an older gay guy in his 50s.” What does it mean to you to receive a commission? We, as playwrights, are self-generators. We almost always have to set our own deadlines and to figure out what we’re going to write. And to figure out how we are going to support ourselves while we do it. When someone says “I want to commission you,” they’re saying, “I’d like to give you some money to buy you some time.” Which is huge. Also, “We’d like to read it and help you develop it once it’s fi nished.” Also huge because suddenly I’m not alone in this generative period. Photo by Patrick Weishampel/Blankeye.tv
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FROM THE DIRECTOR: ROSE RIORDAN Director Rose Riordan is known as a champion of playwrights. What is it like to work with her? She’s the best and completely herself as a director. I talk without being afraid that she won’t be interested. The other night, we started talking about A Life and I was babbling on and she was perfectly happy to be sitting with me while I was doing it. It’s very lucky to fi nd someone who is interested in solving similar problems. She supports my process by giving me space. She doesn’t say a lot about “you should do this or that.” It’s really more about “What were you trying to do?” and that’s a very different question. You’ve always been very outspoken about your identity as a gay writer. How does being gay inform you as an artist? It has to. I remember when I first got that question about 20 years ago and they said, “Do you mind being called a gay writer?” and I said, “What else would I be called?” It’s a perspective I have in the world and it’s my job to show what I see, so how could I cut that out? We see a lot of younger gay people represented, we see a lot of flashier gay people too and I wanted to show someone older who, like so many guys I know, is just walking through the world and happens to have this extra thing of being gay that has complicated his life in some way. I wanted to make a character that might feel like someone you knew or someone that could be in your family. And you can start recognizing he’s just another person. Just as our culture is racist, it’s also homophobic. Homophobia’s just built into the system we live in. We breathe it. I don’t think that straight people really know the impact it has and I don’t think gay people really know the full impact it has had on us. It feels important for me to explore that. Because everyone has gay people in their lives. Your plays are known for not conforming to the typical dramatic structure. How would you characterize your approach as a playwright? I remember saying in The Typographer’s Dream, “If you change the way the story of the world is told, the world itself has to change.” And that’s what we do as playwrights. We say something different and then suddenly people can’t see the world the old way they used to anymore.
Read the full interview at pcs.org/bock. Interview by Alice Hodge, Marketing & Publications Specialist
My relationship with playwright Adam Bock began in 2004 when I read his play The Thugs as one of the JAW submissions. I felt so excited when I read that play, I could barely sit still. It was thrilling and hilarious and unique. I was fortunate in that I subsequently directed the reading for JAW, followed by the 2006 production. Personally, it is still a career highlight for me. I went on to direct five more plays of Adam’s — all with their own unique charm. My relationship with A Life started in 2013, as a commission with Adam. We did a couple of workshops and developed it at JAW in 2014. My feeling when I read any Adam Bock play is always the same. I am enthralled with the sparseness, and with his ability to capture the human experience on such an insightful level. After directing so many of Adam’s plays, I feel uniquely qualifi ed to orchestrate this journey. It also takes a specifi c kind of actor to “speak Bock,” and I was lucky enough to fi nd four of them. It’s a gift. For me, with any good story, it’s not so much what happens but why it happens and the impact that makes the story interesting. That’s the human part. The way Adam tells a story may seem casual at fi rst, but, as you get to know it, you realize the depth of his observations and understanding of the human experience. I always learn something. A Life is precisely that. A Life. What we value, hold dear and treasure. Who we share it with, how we take inventory, and what becomes of it all in the end. With Adam’s keen eye and ear for the human journey, he captures it in exactly the right way. I am really looking forward to sharing it with you.
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MEET THE CREATIVE TEAM Adam Bock, Playwright Adam’s plays include The Colby Sisters (Kiln Theatre, formerly known as Tricycle, London) Phaedra (Shotgun Players, dir. Rose Riordan), A Small Fire (Playwrights Horizons, Drama Desk nomination), book for We Have Always Lived in the Castle, with music by Todd Almond (Yale Repertory Theatre), The Receptionist (Manhattan Theatre Club, 2008 Outer Critics nomination, Best Plays of 2007-2008, The Evidence Room with Megan Mullally), The Drunken City (Playwrights Horizons, 2008 Outer Critics nomination), The Thugs (Soho Rep, 2007 OBIE Award for Playwriting), The Shaker Chair (2005 Humana Festival), Swimming In The Shallows (Second Stage Uptown, Shotgun Players, 2000 BATCC Award, Clauder Prize), Five Flights (Encore Theatre and Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 2002 Glickman Award, ACTA nomination, Osborn nomination), and The Typographer’s Dream (Encore Theatre/Shotgun Players). Mr. Bock is a Guggenheim fellow, NEA grantee, a three-time resident at Yaddo, a former member of the Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab and New Dramatists, a NYTW Usual Suspect, a Clubbed Thumb Associate, a TDF Open Doors mentor and a member of the board of Space on Ryder Farm. Mr. Bock’s plays are published by Samuel French, Dramatists Play Service and Playscripts, Inc. A Life is his fifth play produced at The Armory, following The Typographer’s Dream (2014), A Small Fire (2014), The Receptionist (2010) and The Thugs (2007). His work has also been featured at three JAW festivals, including A Life (2014), which was commissioned by Portland Center Stage at The Armory and the Perkins Coie’s “Innovative Minds” program. Rose Riordan, Director Rose is in her 21st season at Portland Center Stage at The Armory, where she serves as associate artistic director and has previously directed Kodachrome, Every Brilliant Thing, Lauren Weedman Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Wild and Reckless, The Oregon Trail, Our Town, The People’s Republic of Portland (2013 and 2015), Vanya
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and Sonia and Masha and Spike, The Typographer’s Dream, LIZZIE, A Small Fire, The Mountaintop, The Whipping Man, The North Plan, Red, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, A Christmas Story, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Receptionist, A Christmas Carol, Frost/Nixon, How to Disappear Completely and Never Be Found, Doubt, The Underpants, The Pillowman and The Thugs, which won four Drammy Awards, including Best Ensemble and Best Director. Rose has recently directed, for various other theaters, Adam Bock’s Phaedra and The Receptionist, The Passion Play and Telethon. In 1999, she founded the annual JAW: A Playwrights Festival. JAW has been instrumental in developing new work for the company’s repertory, including this season’s production of A Life and Storm Large’s Crazy Enough, as well as Kodachrome, Lauren Weedman Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Wild and Reckless, Threesome, Bo-Nita, The People’s Republic of Portland, The Body of an American, The North Plan, Anna Karenina, Outrage, Flesh and Blood, Another Fine Mess, O Lovely Glowworm, Celebrity Row, Act a Lady, The Thugs and A Feminine Ending. She enjoys being part of a company committed to new work and having a beautiful building in which to work. Tony Cisek, Scenic Designer Tony has collaborated with Ms. Riordan at Portland Center Stage at The Armory on productions of Our Town, A Small Fire, The Whipping Man, The North Pool, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, The Christmas Story and Frost/Nixon. Also for The Armory, he has designed The Color Purple, Astoria, Ain’t Misbehavin’, A Feminine Ending, Sometimes a Great Notion and Anna in the Tropics; and his designs here have received five Drammy Awards. Tony’s work has been seen Off-Broadway and regionally at Roundabout Theatre, Arena Stage, Guthrie Theater, Goodman Theatre, Ford’s Theatre, South Coast Repertory, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Alliance Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville,
Baltimore Center Stage, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, New York Theatre Workshop, Cleveland Play House, Folger Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Round House Theatre, Studio Theatre, GALA Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group and Signature Theatre. tonycisek.com Alison Heryer, Costume Designer Alison is a costume designer for theater, film and print. She is thrilled to be returning to Portland Center Stage at The Armory, after designing costumes for Kodachrome, Fun Home, Lauren Weedman Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, Wild and Reckless, His Eye is on the Sparrow, The Oregon Trail, Ain’t Misbehavin’, Our Town, Three Days of Rain and Threesome. Other design credits include productions with Steppenwolf Theatre Company, 59E59 Theaters, La MaMa, The New Victory Theater, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Portland Opera, Artists Repertory Theatre and The Hypocrites. She has exhibited work at the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, World Stage Design and the Prague Quadrennial of Design and Space. Alison is on the faculty of the School of Art + Design at Portland State University and a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829. alisonheryerdesign.com Diane Ferry Williams, Lighting Designer Diane is pleased to be returning to Portland. Diane has worked for many theaters around the country and abroad. Her most recent design is an international tour of How to Succeed ... beginning in Beijing, China. In the U.S., her work has been seen at The Marriott Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Theatre Under the Stars, Goodspeed, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, ACT-Seattle, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Ford’s Theatre, Hubbard Street, Regional Dance America and elsewhere. Other international work includes The Harlem Gospel Singers (Paris and the European tour) and Die Shone Und Das Biest
(Berlin and the European tour). She has also lit several national tours and premieres. Awards include a Jeff Award, an After Dark Award, a Carbonelle Award, Drammy Awards – including the 2015 Drammy for Ain’t Misbehavin’ – and seven Jeff nominations. Diane has an M.F.A. in theatrical design from Northwestern University. Casi Pacilio, Sound Designer Casi’s home base is The Armory, where recent credits include Kodachrome, A Christmas Memory/ Winter Song, Wild and Reckless, His Eye is on the Sparrow, The Oregon Trail, Little Shop of Horrors, A Streetcar Named Desire; A Small Fire and Constellations with composer Jana Crenshaw; and 12 seasons of JAW. National shows: Holcombe Waller’s Surfacing and Wayfinders; Left Hand of Darkness, My Mind is Like an Open Meadow (Drammy Award, 2011), Something’s Got Ahold Of My Heart and PEP TALK for Hand2Mouth Theatre. Other credits include Squonk Opera’s Bigsmorgasbord-WunderWerk (Broadway, PS122, national and international tours); I Am My Own Wife, I Think I Like Girls (La Jolla Playhouse); Playland, 10 Fingers and Lips Together, Teeth Apart (City Theatre, PA); 2.5 Minute Ride and Fires in the Mirror (Profile Theatre). Film credits include Creation of Destiny, Out of Our Time and A Powerful Thang. Imagineer/maker of the Eat Me Machine, a dessert vending machine. Scott Thorson, Original Sound Designer, JAW 2014 Scott is a local sound designer and job captain with BRIC Architecture, a
local K-12 design firm. Credits at The Armory include sound design for The Mountaintop, The Typographer’s Dream, Sex With Strangers (Drammy nomination), and four seasons of JAW, including the original sound design for A Life in 2014. Other Portland designs include Sweet and Sad, Noises Off, Middletown and The Night Alive for Third Rail Rep; Ivy and Bean for Oregon Children’s Theatre; and Uncanny Valley for Hand2Mouth Theatre. Mark Tynan, Stage Manager Imagine being in a room full of artists, watching the birth of an idea, a movement given purpose, a sentence, phrase, scene, act given life. Then imagine that room translating to the stage with lighting, sound, costumes, scenery and props; then you can imagine what Mark’s job is like. Special thanks to the phenomenal stage management apprentices, Alexis Ellis-Alvarez, Molly Reed and Sarah Stark, who help keep the vision attainable. Prior to The Armory, Mark toured nationally and internationally with musicals including Dreamgirls, The King and I with Rudolf Nureyev, How to Succeed …, Grand Hotel, The Phantom of the Opera, Rent and Jersey Boys. Other Portland credits include several summers with Broadway Rose Theatre Company in Tigard. Regional credits include Alley Theatre (Houston, TX), La Jolla Playhouse (La Jolla, CA) and Casa Mañana Theatre (Fort Worth, TX). Molly Shevaun Reed, Production Assistant Molly is thrilled to be joining Portland Center Stage at The Armory this season as a stage
management apprentice, where she most recently served as a production assistant for JAW: A Playwrights Festival (Pick a Color and The Birds of Empathy). Originally from Denton, Texas, Molly has worked in stage management, props design and developing new work as a director in Dallas and Portland. Local credits include Spectravagasm X (stage manager), the one-woman original play Endless Oceans (director/ designer/producer) and The Few at CoHo Productions (assistant director/production assistant). Dallas credits include Dry Land at Upstart Theater (stage manager) and Nomad Americana (formerly titled Rooting) at Nouveau 47 Theatre and WaterTower Theatre’s Out of the Loop Fringe Festival (director/ designer). Molly holds a B.F.A. in theater performance from Baylor University. Love and thanks to Cam, Fam, Lyss and Bear. Sarah Stark, Production Assistant Sarah is a recent Portland transplant from Chicago, where she graduated from the University of Chicago with a degree in theater and performance studies. Chicago stage management and assistant stage manager credits include: Little Shop of Horrors (American Blues Theater); Civility! (The Syndicate); Ellen Bond, Union Spy (The House Theatre of Chicago); Love’s Labour’s Lost, She Kills Monsters, Belleville, Urinetown: The Musical (The University of Chicago). Most recently, Sarah has worked as an assistant stage manager for several productions at The Glimmerglass Festival. She is thrilled to be continuing her work and education at The Armory this season!
THANKS TO OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS OF A LIFE DOUG & TERESA SMITH We are pleased to be sponsoring Adam Bock’s A Life, which fi rst appeared at Portland Center Stage at The Armory’s JAW festival in 2014 and premiered in New York City in 2016. The JAW festival has been an important incubator of new works for 20 years, with more than 80 plays developed. These have gone on to be staged at more than 100 theaters nationwide. A Life is full of surprises. Please enjoy the show.
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THE COLOR PURPLE
Sep. 15 - Oct. 28
A LIFE
Sep. 29 - Nov. 11
A CHRISTMAS MEMORY paired with WINTER SONG
Nov. 24 - Dec. 30
TWIST YOUR DICKENS
Nov. 27 - Dec. 23
SENSE & SENSIBILITY
Jan. 12 - Feb. 10
BUYER & CELLAR
Jan. 19 - Mar. 3
Based on the book by Cheryl Strayed
TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS UNTIL THE FLOOD
503.445.3700
Mar. 16 - Apr. 21
CROSSING MNISOSE
Apr. 13 - May 5
THE BREATH OF LIFE
May 4 - June 16
NATIVE GARDENS pcs.org/season-tickets
Feb. 23 - Mar. 31
May 18 - June 16
Special engagement!
CRAZY ENOUGH
June 25 - 30
p o r t l a n d ’ s h o t e l t o th e ar t s
IN THE HEART OF PORTLAND’S WEST END DISTRICT
409 SW 11TH AVE PORTLAND | 503.224.3293 | MARKSPENCER.COM 32
PCS.ORG
THANK YOU PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY is honored to collaborate with corporate and community partners who demonstrate a commitment to civic leadership, and advocate for our value as a vital community and cultural resource. We would like to recognize the generosity and support of the businesses, foundations, organizations and individuals that help make the 2018-2019 season possible.
$25,000 + Collins Foundation Curtis T. Thompson, M.D. and Associates, LLC Meyer Memorial Trust James F. & Marion L. Miller Foundation Oregon Cultural Trust The Regional Arts & Culture Council, including support from the City of Portland, Multnomah County, and the Arts Education and Access Fund The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation/Arlene Schnitzer & Jordan Schnitzer Shubert Foundation The Standard US Bank The Vista The Wallace Foundation
$10,000 - $24,999 AHA! Broughton & Mary Bishop Foundation GBD Architects Gerding Edlen Henry Lea Hillman, Jr. Foundation Jackson Foundation
SEASON SUPERSTARS
KeyBank The Kinsman Foundation Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund Moda National Endowment for the Arts NW Natural Oregon Arts Commission, a state agency PGE Foundation Stoel Rives LLP The Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust Wells Fargo
$2,500 - $9,999 Autzen Foundation Davis Wright Tremaine LLP The Holzman Foundation/Renée & Irwin Holzman H.W. Irwin & D.C.H. Irwin Foundation Leupold & Stevens Foundation Siletz Tribal Charitable Contribution Fund Spirit Mountain Community Fund Travel Portland Juan Young Trust
$1,000 - $2,499 Bank of America Classic Sash & Door D A Davidson & Co. D’Amore Law Group Farleigh, Wada & Witt Global Incentive Group
Klarquist Intel Corporation Michael Allen’s Clothier Native Arts and Cultures Foundation PCC Structurals, Inc. Prem Group D. Margaret Studley Foundation
$500 - $999 Benjamin Buckley Young Actors Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Swigert-Warren Foundation
In-Kind Argyle Winery Art of Catering Artemis Foods ChefsTable Catering Delta Airlines Devil’s Food Catering Diana Gerding Hunt & Gather Catering Market of Choice Mike Golub Pearl Catering Performance Promotions Tanner Creek Tavern Umpqua Bank Vibrant Table
SEASON SUPPORTING SPONSORS
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DONORS $25,000+ Anonymous (1) Keith & Sharon Barnes Don & Mary Blair Mary & Tim Boyle Andy & Nancy Bryant Dream Envision Foundation Ginger Carroll Glenn Dahl & Linda Illig Jess Dishman Brigid Flanigan Diana Gerding Rob Goodman* Heather Killough James & Morley Knoll Hilary Krane & Kelly Bulkeley Ronni S. Lacroute Ralph & Jean Quinsey Pat & Trudy Ritz/Ritz Family Foundation The Stern Family Dan Wieden & Priscilla Bernard Wieden
$10,000-$24,999 Anonymous (1) Scott & Linda Andrews Roger Cooke & Joan Cirillo Martin & Karin Daum Ray & Bobbi Davis Margaret Dixon Kelly K. Douglas & Eric H. Schoenstein William & Karen Early Finley Family Foundation Tasca & Paul Gulick Kevin Hogan & Aron Larson Dr. Barbara Hort & Mark Girard Marilyn & Ed Jensen Yuki & Craig Johnston Chuck & Carol Langer Dedre J. Marriott J. Greg & Terry Ness The Franklin & Dorothy Piacentini Charitable Trust Reynolds Potter & Sharon Mueller* Dana Rasmussen Drs. Ann Smith Sehdev & Paul Sehdev* Marilyn Slotfeldt Douglas & Teresa Smith Rosemarie & Wes Thompson Tyler & Kara Tatman Christine & David Vernier Elaine Whiteley
$2,500-$9,999 Anonymous (1) Brenda K. Ashworth & Donald F. Welch Ted & Kathi Austin
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Julia & Robert S. Ball Peter & Susan Belluschi Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Debby Benjamin, Mary Kay & Russ Dragon Daniel Bergsvik & Donald Hastler Phil & Julie Beyl Bill Byrne & Dennis Scollard John & Linda Carter Greg & Gina Chandler Duke & Brenda Charpentier M. Allison Couch & Tom Soals* Sarah J. Crooks Joan & Jim English* Randy Foster Lois Seed & Dan Gibbs Mike Golub & Sam Shelhorse Allyson Harris Roy Schreiber & Carole Heath Steven & Marypat Hedberg Tom & Betsy Henning Gregg & Diane Kantor Kevin & Karen Kelly Jina Kim & Hyung-Jin Lee Joseph Sawicki & Kirsten Lee Drs. Dolores & Fernando Leon David & Julie Machado Chrys A. Martin & Jack Pessia Shelly McFarland Peter K. McGill David & Valerie O’Brien Madeline & Allan Olson Jim & Linda Patterson Brenda J. Peterson Fred L. Ramsey Robert Reed Halle & Rick Sadle Kelly Saito & Jennifer Kalberer Stephen & Trudy Sargent* Patti Norris & Mark Schlesinger Richard & Marcy Schwartz Elba, Ralph, Russell, Lorraine & Renee Shaw CollierTrust Randy & Janet Smith Sue & Drew Snyder E. Kay Stepp John Taylor & Barbara West Jack & Ginny Wilborn Trudy Wilson & Terry Brown Susan & Jim Winkler Steven & Deborah Wynne Mort & Audrey Zalutsky David & Sherri Zava Steven & Kris Zika
$1,000-$2,499 Anonymous (4) Ruth & Jim Alexander
Generous donations as of September 6, 2018
Phyllis Arnoff* Barbara J. Baker Cheryl Balkenhol & James Alterman David Bennet & Ginny Groenewold Chris Bisgard, Lisa Denike & Ella Bisgard Lawrence S. & Susan W. Black Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Bob Schuler & Debra Blanchard The Bohanan Family Kate & Bill Bowman* Norma Bradfish Ann Brayfield & Joe Emerson*
Edwards Lienhart Family Foundation Shari & Frank Lord Jean & Steve Mann Jim & Jennifer Mark Charles & Kathy McGee Lindsey & Marilen McGill Carolyn McMurchie Steve Cox & Vikki Mee* Laurie & Gilbert Meigs Bill Moffat Michael & Susan Mueller Betsy Natter Hester H. Nau Neilsen Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation
Linda & William Brown John Bush & Greg Zarelli Rick Caskey & Sue Horn-Caskey Kevin & Beth Cavenaugh Dr. Richard & Nancy Chapman Betsy Cramer & Greg Kubicek* Gustavo J. Cruz, Jr. Judy Dauble Edward & Karen Demko Gerard & Sandra Drummond Carol Edelman John & Jane Emrick Jean Erickson Robert Falconer* John Briggs & Jeffrey Feiffer Mike & Chris Feves Larry & Deborah Friedman Daniel & Leah Frye Cynthia M. Fuhrman* Tom Gifford Dana Green & Scott Cromer John & Jacque Guevara Bill & Elaine Hallmark Donald F. Hammond Paul & Samantha Harmon* Lani Hayward Donald Helfgott MJ & Lee Alan Helgerson Herman Charitable Foundation Paul & Ruth Herrington* Sharon & Henry Hewitt Barbara & Mark Hochgesang Donna Hodgson Dale Hottle Brad & Judy Johnson Dennis C. Johnson Kathy & Steve Johnson Jessie Jonas Tim Kalberg Steven & Nancy Kassel Ruth Knepell Susan Lair & Doug Trobough Ray & Terry Lambeth Brad & Cindy Larsen*
Fall Newsom David & Ranata Niederloh Bob & Beth Nist Susan & Peter Norman Steven P. & Eileen O’Neill Odum Thomas Palmer & Ann Carter Duane & Corinne Paulson Joan Peacock David Pollock Pat Reser & Bill Westphal Kelly Ritz-Eisenstein & Scott Eisenstein Bobbie & Joe Rodriguez Mary & Craig Ruble Lisa Sanman* Raj Sarda, MD* Carol Schnitzer Lewis Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Marian & Elihu Schott Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Michael & Karen Sherman Peter Shinbach Geoff & Susie Strommer Jonathan Singer Carl Snook George & Molly Spencer Rick & Denyse Stawicki Eric Steinhauser & Gregg Macy Mr. & Mrs. W.T.C. Stevens Ray & Pat Straughan Mary & Jeff Strickler Donald & Roslyn Sutherland Dr. Jeffrey & Mrs. Roberta Swanson Libbi Layton & Lawrence Tamiyasu Calvin & Mayho Tanabe Don & Judy Thompson* Ronald E. & Ivy L. Timpe Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation
Generous donations as of September 6, 2018
Susan & Robert Torch Katherine & Nickolas Tri Andrew Tweedie Dave Underriner & Barbara Rossi-Underriner Eleanor & Peter van Alderwerelt Wally Van Valkenburg & Turid Owren Ted & Julie Vigeland Joan & David Weil Jill Whittaker Dennis & Jean Wilde Lisa & Lou Williams Jay Wilt Charlene Zidell
$500-$999 Anonymous (1) Charles & Gloria Adams Margaret & Stuart Albright Richard & Kristin Allan Joan & Brian Allen Philip & Pip Allen* Susan Bach & Douglas Egan Katie Ball Warren & Nick Warren Robin & Thomas Barrett Susanne Baumann & John Gragg Benjamin Buckley Young Actors Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Dr. Janet Bennett Jamie & John Birkett Lesley Bombardier Michael Bonner* Stephen & Marge Brenneke Larry & Marie Brigham Cormac M. Burke Mary Beth & Michael Butkovic Cynthia Church Kristine & Derrick Coder Lisa & Skip Comer Billie & John Courtney Dave & Debbie Craig Erik Cubbage Bryan Concannon & Debi Dereiko Stephen Early & Mary Shepard Patricia Edwards Ron & Becky Eiseman Gregory Flick Joy & Allen Fowler Ronald Fraback Charles & Kyle Fuchs Jerome & Mary Fulton Paul Gehlar Melissa & Robert Good Kris & Michael Gorriaran Patricia & Tim Gray
Gail & Walter Grebe Andrew Gustely Koleen & Jeff Hall* Kregg & Andrea Hanson Marcia Hauer & Jeanne Knepper Richard L. Hay Patsy Heinlein Frances & Hunter Hicks* Leslie S. Homer Charitable Fund Terri & Robert Hopkins Carroll Hutchinson Susan Immer Sonny Jepson & Felice Moskowitz Raymond & Marilyn Johnson Douglas & P.J. Jones Larry Juday* BettyLou Koffel & Philip Moyer Rudy Kohnle & Krista Larson Jon Kruse & Karen O’Connor Kruse Ed & Margaret Kushner Bonnie & Mike Leiser Sharon W. Lukasevich Elaine & Richard Lycan Carol & Charles Mackey Stephen & Christine Mason Robert Matheson & Kimberly Porter J.S. & Robin May Alice & Harold McCartor Karen & Brent McCune* Jessica McVay Robert & Violet Metzler Bradford & Linda Needham* Deborah Neft & Salvatore D’Auria David & Anne Noall Gloria Norton Brian & Emily Owendoff Vicki & Greg Page John & Carolyn Parchinsky Stanley & Susanne Penkin Elizabeth Perris Steve & Melissa Peterman Sue & Joe Petrina Ellie Picologlou Amy Polo Wallace & Elizabeth Preble Michael R. Rankin Dick & Linda Reedy Drs. Scott & Kay Reichlin Leslie Rennie-Hill & Ken Hill Dr. Mark & Angela Reploeg Becky Ross Colin Rowan & Shannon Hartwell Ted & Holly Ruback Steven & Carol Sandor Dianne Sawyer & Richard Petersen
Carl R. Shinkle Virginia Shipman & Richard Kaiser J & C Skuster Walter & Carol Smith Charles E. Smith Janice Stewart & Gordon Allen Zach & Vassie Stoumbos John & Shirley Sutton Roger & Gale Swanson Beverly Terry William & Lori Thayer Lori Van Gordon Lewis & Susan Van Winkle Virginia Vanderbilt & Michael Garrison Dan Volkmer & Frank Dixon Richard Wallace & Patricia White Wendy Ware & Dan Gleason Dr. & Mrs. Bennett Wight Alan Winders Jeff & Jaynie Wirkkala Ruth Fischer-Wright & Craig Wright Fabian & Julie Yeager
$250-$499 Anonymous (5) Joey Alcarez Thomas R. Anderson & Joan Montague Ana Andueza Linda & Jerry Aso* Jean & Ray Auel Jean & David Avison Thayne & Mary Anne Balzer Diane & Arthur Barry Sidney & Barbara Bass Kathleen Bauska Robert Blum & Carol Black Brian & Karen Borton Brian & Bridget Brooks Douglas Browning & Jo Shapland Mary Butler Julie Ann Carson & Guy Whitehead Clay & Carolyn Carter John & Lou Chapman Melissa A. Charbonneau Susan F. Christensen Bruce & Janis Collins Sonja L. Connor Karen Costello John & Diane Cronin Karen & Ward Cunningham Arthur & Winnifred Danner Betty Daschel Michele & Dave Daterman Craig & Julie Dewey* Bill Dickey
Linda & Jerry Dinan Steve Dotterrer & Kevin Kraus Beverly Downer Julie & Jim Early Janet & Barry Edwards Mary A. & Peter Eisenfeld Kris & R. Thomas Elliott Ed & Marilyn Epstein Brian Ferriso & Amy Pellegrin Greg & Susan Fitz-Gerald Christina Flaxel & B. Randall Jerry Fong Sharon Frank Marc Franklin Richard Smith & Patricia Frobes Lisa Goldberg & Yeng Chen John Goodwin Barbara & Marvin Gordon-Lickey Polly Grose Dylan Gulick Sudee & J. Clayton Hering Diane M. Herrmann Donald & Lynnette Houghton Joanne Jene, M.D. Becky & Jarrett Jones Joan Jones Susan Jossi & Bob Connors Ross Kaplan & Paula Kanarek Rebecca & Gerald Karver Katherine Keene Catherine Keith & Jennifer Person Jane Kennedy Jeffrey & Carol Kilmer Frederick Kirchhoff & Ronald Simonis Kohnstamm Family Foundation Keith & Merle Koplan Robert & Sally Landauer Peter & Janice Linsky Lisa & John Lynch Linda & Ken Mantel Kathy Maritz Mr. & Mrs. Michael Marlitt Steven McMaster & Kathleen Brock Gayle & George McMurria-Bachik Karolyn Meador Charitable Fund Julia Meck Ruth E. Medak Susan Sammons Meyer & Dennis Meyer Bruce & Cathy Miller Alison Mitchell Doug & Malinda Moore Clint & Donna Moran Bill & Pat Nelson
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Generous donations as of September 6, 2018
Ann Nickerson Landscape Design Bonnie & Robert Olds Linda O’Neill Eileen & Alfred Ono Susan & Milt Parker Gail & Alan Pasternack Karen Piper Nancy Pitney David & Margo Price Jay & Barbara Ramaker Bonnie & Peter Reagan Michael Robertson & Gwyn McAlpine* Jeanne Robinson & Simon Dietsch Charles & Judith Rooks Alise R. Rubin & Wolfgang Dempke John & Stephanie Saven Karen Sheridan Rodger Sleven & Marcella Flores Kimberly Smith-Cupani George Soule & Maurice Horn Peter Stark & Amy Ragsdale Judy & Greg Tatman Ann & Dave Taylor Grant & Sandra Thurston Lou Ann Tiedemann Mary & Tom Troxel Cathy Unis Dawn Vermeulen The John & Frances Von Schlegell Family Fund Shu-Ju Wang & Mike Coleman Richard & Leslie Wong J. Marcus Wood & Sue Hennessey Tom Kelly & Barbara Woodford Paul Wrigley & Deborah Cross Jack Wussow & Kyle Adams* Russ & Mary Youmans
$150-$249 Anonymous (4) Keith & Christine Abernathy Robert & Bonnie Adams Lynn Allen Kris Alman Linda C. Anderson Patricia Anderson Mr. & Mrs. John K. Ankeney Nigel & Kerry Arkell Roy & Jane Arnold Lee & Lynn Aronson Mr. & Mrs. Peter Barnhisel Molly & Tom Bartlett George W. Bateman Dawn Bauman John Bauman Richard Baumann Donald C. & Doris Beard
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Alta Benhard Donald Berg & Carol Cooke Anita & Clark Blanchard Robert Brands Dennis Brophy & Cathy Gwinn Patsy Bruggere Scott Cameron & Margaret M. Maguire Tim & Susan Carey Michael Carter & Teresa Ferrer Jean Carufo & Barb Engelter Gordon B. Chamberlain Bob & Patty Chestler Rick & Jean Collins Philip F. Copenhaver William & Harriet Cormack Jean & Jerry Corn John & Ann Cowger Kathryn Crandall Marian & Neale Creamer Sharon Davidson Maureen Sproviero Davis & Kerwin Davis Carroll & Gerry DeKock Carolyn DeLany-Reif Ken & Laura Dobyns Gilbert & Ellen Feibleman Renee Ferrera & James Johnson Terry Ferrucci Patrick & Eileen Fiegenbaum Colleen Finn Sally & Jerry Fish Peter & Nancy Fisher Sherry & Paul Fishman Mary Flahive & David Finch Steve & Susan Ford Terry Franks & Carolyn Duran Bruce & Kate Frederick Brian Friesz Susan & Seth Garber Colleen Gekler Tom & Karon Gilles* Richard & Janis Gottlieb Becky Graham Nancy & Ron Gronowski Lorraine Guthrie & Erik Kiaer Valerie Halpin Irv & Gail Handelman Ulrich H. Hardt & Karen Johnson Tom & Jan Harvey Fred & Sara Harwin Mark & Paige Hasson Judy & Dave Heller Jean Himmelstein Barry & Fanny Horowitz Dr. Hal Howard Robert & Jill Hrdlicka Kathy & Tom Iberle Robina Ingram-Rich & Tim Rich Lore Joplin
Jack & Farol Kahle Franki Keefe Judy Carlson Kelley Heather Kientz Nancy Kingston Lucien & Sally Klein Michael Knebel & Susan Shepard Tricia Knoll & Darrell Salk David Lapof Shelley Laurance & Bob Sternberg Roger J. Leo Brian & Chris Lewis* Bob & Debbie Lindow Craig & Anne Lindsay Steve Rosenberg & Ellen Lippman Bill Bagnall & Clayton Lloyd Ralph London David & Marnie Lonsdale Christine L. Mackert, MD Caroline Mann Susan Manuel Joe Marrone & Ann Belzell Kenneth & Nancy Martin Mr. & Mrs. Mason Pamela Matheson Oscar & Mary Mayer John A. McCarthy Maryl M. McCullough Betty McDonald & William Hansen Gretchen & Larry McLellan Bart McMullan Jr. & Patricia Dunahugh Mariellen Meisel & Steve Glass Peter & Joan Melrose Louis R. Miles Roger & Karen Miller Kate & Jack Mills Tom & Lia Mills Thomas & Rosemary Mitchell William Apt & Grant Molsberry Robb & Peggy Moretti Mike & Jan Morgan Dave & Megan Muessle Laura & Joseph Munoz John & Debbi Nagelmann Fran Nay Frank & Bonnie Nusser Ron & Janet O’Day Lynda Paige Jan & Rich Parker Robert Pater Janet Peek Jennifer Peery Kevin Phaup Donna Philbrick Joe & Kris Phillippay Suzanne Pickgrobe & Mike Hoffman Jennifer Politsch
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For more information about supporting live theater, please contact Jack Ridenour at 503-445-3744 or jackr@pcs.org.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
DONOR TRIBUTES Tribute gifts as of August 28, 2018
In memory of Dave Bany Randy Foster In loving memory of Ben Buckley Joan Peacock In honor of David Coleman Jean Himmelstein In memory of Carol Howard Hal Howard In memory of Kory Mahaffy Julie & Ted Vigeland In loving memory of Sarah E. Mitchell The Armory In honor of Janna Starr Lynda Bersani In memory of Alan Beard Julie & Ted Vigeland “Alan was a true believer in Portland Center Stage. His knowledge, listening skills, collaborative style, smarts, and passion all led to the building of The Armory that we all know and love today.” —Julie & Ted Vigeland
PORTLAND CENTER STAGE AT THE ARMORY is the largest theater company in Portland and among the top 20 regional theaters in the country. Established in 1988 as a branch of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the company became independent in 1994. An estimated 150,000 people visit The Armory annually to enjoy a mix of classic, contemporary and world premiere productions, along with a variety of high quality education and community programs. Eleven productions are offered each season, in addition to roughly 400 community events created — in partnership with 170+ local organizations and individuals — to serve the diverse populations in the city. As part of its dedication to new play development, the company has produced 26 world premieres and presents an annual new works festival, JAW: A Playwrights Festival. Home to two theaters, The Armory was the first building on the National Register of Historic Places, and the first performing arts venue in the country, to achieve a LEED Platinum rating.
We welcome ALL, including all races, all countries of origin, all sexual orientations, all gender identities, and people of any religion or none at all. We humbly acknowledge that the Portland metropolitan area rests on the traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla and many other Tribes who made their homes along the Columbia (Wimahl) and Willamette (Whilamut) rivers. Today, Portland’s diverse and vibrant Native communities are 70,000 strong, descended from more than 380 Tribes, both local and distant. We take this opportunity to offer respectful recognition to the Native communities in our region today, and to those who have stewarded this land throughout the generations.
Portland Center Stage at The Armory operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United State, and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. Portland Center Stage at The Armory is part of LORT, Theatre Communications Group, Portland Business Alliance and Travel Portland.
Ted Austin Chair, Senior Vice President, U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management Betsy Henning Vice Chair, CEO & Founder, AHA! Strategic Communications Sarah J. Crooks Vice Chair, Partner, Perkins Coie, LLP Brigid Flanigan Treasurer, President, Shamrock Holdings, LLC Steve E. Wynne Secretary, Executive Vice President, Moda Health Mary Boyle Immediate Past Chair, Civic Volunteer Sharon Barnes Community Activist Phil Beyl President, GBD Architects Greg Chandler Vice President, IT, The Standard Gustavo J. Cruz Jr. Senior Council, Farleigh Wada Witt Saskia M. De Boer Partner, Stoel Rives, LLP Kelly K. Douglas Manager, State Investments, LLC Lana Finley Community Activist Diana Gerding Community Volunteer Mike Golub President Of Business, Portland Timbers Tasca Gulick Community Activist Lani Hayward Community Activist Renée Holzman Community Volunteer Linda Illig Retired, Community Volunteer Yuki “Lynne” Johnston Advocate for the Arts Jim L. Knoll President, James L Knoll, PC Dedre Marriott Retired, Former CEO & Professor Joseph F. Mitchoff CEO, Viridian Reclaimed Wood Karen L. O’connor Partner, Stoel Rives, LLP Turid Owren Partner, Tonkon Torp, LLP Dana Rasmussen Retired, Attorney Joseph Sawicki Vice President & General Manager, Design-To-Silicon Division, Mentor Graphics Dr. Ann E. Smith Sehdev Physician, Cascade Pathology Doug Smith Retired, Sr. Vice President, AMEC Foster Tyler Tatman Finance Controller, Intel Corporation Rosemarie Thompson Managing Partner, Roselake Property & Designs, LLC Michelle Weisenbach Oregon & SE Washington Market President & Commercial Bank Leader, Key Bank J. Greg Ness Armory Theater Fund Chair Director Emeritus, Chairman, CEO & President, Standard Insurance Stancorp Financial Group H. Pat Ritz Director Emeritus, Chairman & CEO, Footwear Specialties International Julie Vigeland Director Emeritus, Civic Volunteer In Memoriam: Bob Gerding
The Scenic, Costume, Lighting and Sound Designers in LORT are represented by United Scenic Artists Local USA-829, IATSE
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STAFF ARTISTIC Rose Riordan, Associate Artistic Director Benjamin Fainstein, Literary Manager Will Cotter, Associate Producer Meagan Mulgrew, Company Manager
EDUCATION & COMMUNITY PROGRAMS Kelsey Tyler, Education & Community Programs Director
Jonas Angelet, Community Programs Manager
Clara-Liis Hillier, Education & Community Programs Associate
Matthew B. Zrebski, Resident Teaching Artist
ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE Creon Thorne, General Manager Lisa Comer, Finance Director Caitlin Upshaw, Director of HR, Equity & Inclusion
Lydia Comer, HR Coordinator Ticia Evans, Accounting Manager Alan King, Accountant Chris Beatty, IT Administrator Dylan Howe, IT Associate
MARISSA WOLF
CYNTHIA FUHRMAN
Artistic Director
Managing Director
Meg Morrigan, Charley Praither,
Nelsen, Hannah Rice, Concierges RaChelle Schmidt, Volunteer Coordinator Michael Rocha, Lead House Manager Jenna Barganski, Nhu Nguyen,
Patron Services Representatives
Chris Gonzalez, Megan Harned, Tonea Lolin, Hope McCaffrey, Patron Services Sales Associates
PRODUCTION
FOOD & BEVERAGE
Liam Kaas-Lentz, Production Manager Katie Nguyen, Production Coordinator Kristen Mun, Mark Tynan, Janine Vanderhoff, Stage Managers, AEA Alexis Ellis-Alvarez, Molly Shevaun Reed, Sarah Stark,
Melissa Larrabee, Café & Bar Manager Erin Rubin, Kitchen & Catering Manager Marguerite McLean, Bar Lead Ryan Smith, Café Lead Leesidhe Blackburn, Kitchen Assistant Ben Bartu, Danie Binks, Justin Charles, Katrina Hall, David Long, Drew Patton, Will Ramis, Andrew Rubin, Logan Starnes, Antonio Swift,
Stage Management Apprentices
Derek Easton, Technical Director Seth Chandler, Scene Shop Manager Nick Foltz, Master Carpenter Christian Cheker, Nathan Crosby, Michael Hall, Phil A. Shaw, Carpenters Michael Jones, Properties Supervisor Lauren Chilton, Rachel Peterson Schmerge, Lead Properties Artisans Emma Van Halsema, Properties Artisan Kate Webb, Scenic Charge Artist Kiona McAlister, Shawn Mallory, Scenic Painters
Alex Wren Meadows, Costume Shop Manager
Sydney Dufka,
DEVELOPMENT
Assistant to the Costume Shop Manager
Lisa Sanman, Development Director Jennifer Goldsmith, Associate Development Director
Eric Steinhauser, Individual & Planned Giving Manager
Marlene A. Montooth, Grants Manager Celia Ferrer, Development Events Manager Jack E. Ridenour, Development Associate
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Director of Marketing & Communications
Claudie Jean Fisher,
Paula Buchert, Eva SteingrueberFagan, Cutter/Drapers Larissa Cranmer, Associate Draper Barbara Casement, Costume Crafts Artisan Bonnie Henderson-Winnie, Wardrobe Supervisor
Jessica Miller, Wig Supervisor Em Douglas, Lighting Supervisor Alexz Eccles, Master Electrician & Programmer, U.S. Bank Main Stage
Alex Agnes, Master Electrician & Programmer, Ellyn Bye Studio
Sharon Martell, Associate Director
of Marketing & Communications
Alice Hodge, Marketing & Publications Specialist
Kate Kerns, Communications Associate Mikey Mann, Graphic Designer Kate Szrom, Multimedia Designer Christian Bisgard, Webmaster Patrick Weishampel, Production Photographer
PATRON SERVICES Luke Robertson, Audience Services & Ticketing Manager
Avi Sheehan, Lighting Apprentice Casi Pacilio, Resident Sound Designer & Sound/Video Supervisor
Evan Duckworth, Associate Sound & Video Supervisor
Patron Services Box Office Manager Patron Services Group Sales Manager Patron Services Assistant Manager Senior Patron Services Representatives
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FOR THIS PRODUCTION The Color Purple Tai Thompson, SDCF Observer Bryce Gill, Carpenter Matt Burlingame, Thomas Chapman, Props Artisans
Julia Braun, Claudia La Rue, First Hands Foggy Bell, Elspeth Vance, Stitchers Jackson Berhow, Costume Crafts Evan Duckworth, A1 Mixer Emily Schider, A2 Ian Hale, Myke Rodriguez, Christopher Stull, Follow Spot Operators Alex Agnes, Amy Beery, Nick Campbell, Kelly Cullom, Gabe Costales, Mike Cino, Cody Decker, Rob Forrester, Molly Gardner, Zahra Garrett, Ian Hale, Amanda Kishlock, Eric Lyness, Mary Michels, Megan Moll, Megan Moelhman, Ruth Nardecchia, Ken Potts, Kai Rain, Ben Rosenthal, Avi Sheehan, Evan Smiley, Christopher Stull, Lisa Yimm, Electricians
A Life
Gregery Lee, Facilities Lead Tim Taylor, Facilities Assistant
FACILITY & EVENT RENTALS
VOLUNTEER COMMITTEE
OPERATIONS Katie Cronin, Operations Manager Destry Cloud, Operations Lead Eric Murray, Amanda Nelsen, Operations Assistant
Elizabeth Hjort, Events & Rentals Manager Katie Martens, Rentals Assistant
Connie Guist, Office Assistants Chair Karen Watson, Supporting Cast Chair
FRONT OF HOUSE
SUPERSTAR STAFF EMERITUS
Emily S. Ryan, Madelyn Clement, David Harper,
Food & Beverage Staff
Jen Rowe, Assistant to the Director Adam Bock, Clara-Liis Hillier, Alice Hodge, Kelsey Tyler, Offstage Voices Matt Burlingame, Props Artisan Jackson Jordan, Sound Board Operator Gabe Costales, Cody Decker, Ian Hale, Eric Lyness, Megan Moll, Myke Rodriguez, Ben Rosenthal, Avi Sheehan, Evan Smiley, Christopher Stull, Connor Ward, Electricians
Emily Schider, Sound & Video Apprentice Tim McGarry, Deck Manager
Sierra Walker, Klint Keys,
House Managers
Miles B. Lewis, Lead Concierge Nsilo Berry, Wynee Hu, Amanda
Sarah E. Mitchell, Rest in Power, Smitch
Life is the world’s greatest improv performance.
The best thing about live theatre is it’s live. Actors can flub a line or start laughing uncontrollably but the show must go on. You improvise, figure it out and keep moving forward. When life changes, it helps to have a trusted financial advisor who can change and adapt right along with you. Umpqua is proud to support Portland Center Stage at The Armory and all the people in the audience who aren’t afraid to improvise a little when things don’t go as planned.
CSG18.0519
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SEPT / / O C T 2018
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Artslandia At The Performance is published by Rampant Creative, Inc. ©2018 Rampant Creative, Inc. All rights reserved. This magazine or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher. Rampant Creative, Inc. /Artslandia Magazine 6637 SE Milwaukie Ave. #207, Portland, OR 97202
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FROM THE
EDITOR-AT-LARGE An actor should be able to play any part she wants. I have believed this since the first time I considered the matter seriously. Yes, a woman could play Hamlet. So could an African-American man. Or woman. No matter his, her, or their sexual orientation. Theater, after all, is only possible because of our willing suspension of disbelief: We were not actually in late medieval Denmark as the tragedy of the Prince and his nation unfolded. No one dies on that “bloody” stage. Our elastic imaginations can encompass that, and we sit there stunned at the end. So the particular characteristics of the actor playing Hamlet aren’t a problem... that was my reasoning, at least. And over the years, this exercise of freedom by theater artists has worked out just fine from my seat in the audience. Just a quick recent example? Sara Bruner’s Mercutio in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Romeo and Juliet is thrilling, the perfect quicksilver, silvertongued, doomed Mercutio. Mercutios don’t come any better: Bruner found Mercutio’s restlessness, exuberance, impulsiveness, poetic gift, and then sadness as his/her/their life starts to ebb. Later the same weekend, I saw Bruner play a newly widowed pioneer woman in Idris Goodwin’s The Way the Mountain Moved—a completely different character that she played with depth and understanding. 42
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The Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s dedication to an acting company reveals the dimensions of the art of actors in the clearest way. Throughout this season’s plays in Ashland, the audience encounters casting decisions that run against traditional ideas and practices, and by the end, you feel that almost any of the company could play almost any of the parts and give you something wonderful. And yet… I had a Twitter interaction with a friend over the new Gus Van Sant movie, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot, based on the memoir of quadriplegic Portland cartoonist John Callahan, who died in 2010. She tweeted that she wouldn’t be going to see the movie because the actor playing Callahan—Joaquin Phoenix— wasn’t disabled, and a straight man— Jonah Hill—was playing a gay character. And recently, Scarlett Johansson dropped out of the role of the transgender man at the center of the movie Rub & Tug after she received intense online pressure to give up the part because she was taking a role that should go to a transgender actor. Haven’t I just said that an actor should be able to play anything? Phoenix’s performance as Callahan in Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot was quite moving, and I suspect that Johansson would have been captivating as Dante “Tex” Gill, whose string of
An actor should be able to play any part she wants. massage parlors became fronts for prostitution in the ‘70s and ‘80s. So yes, they can, once they get in front of the camera or onto the stage. They can lead us to the deepest empathy for the characters and the human situations they are depicting. I don’t think anyone will leave Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot without a heightened awareness both of alcoholism (Callahan was an alcoholic, a major factor in the accident that paralyzed him) and of the daily set of intractable problems that someone in a wheelchair faces—on top of the set of daily problems that nearly all of us face. What if Van Sant had cast a disabled actor in the part? I’m thinking of the astonishing performance by Marlee Matlin in Children of a Lesser God (1986), a deaf actor playing the role of a deaf janitor working at a school for the deaf in New England. It could have been that good and that groundbreaking—Matlin was the first deaf actor to play a starring role in a major film in America since 1926, when films were... silent.
Never Ordinary....
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That would have been great! And that’s one element of the point I’ve been making: Different actors can successfully play other roles. I’d also love to see the imaginary quadriplegic actor in this alternate version of Van Sant’s film play Hamlet. Or Cleopatra. Or Prior Walter in Angels in America. But I get where the criticism came from: Hollywood’s record of hiring actors who aren’t white, well and truly branded, abled and cisgendered is dismal. My imaginary actor in a wheelchair isn’t going to get to play in a superhero movie, not even one in a wheelchair (Patrick Stewart as Professor X) no matter how accomplished he, she, or they are. Changing that is difficult. Even if your heart is in the right place, it’s going to be difficult to pass on casting >>>> ARTSLANDIA.COM
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Doing the right thing nearly always makes us freer.
Only one art town comes with views like this.
>>>> someone you’ve worked with and admired—who happens to be white, able, and cisgender—and choose someone who doesn’t check all those boxes. The changes at Oregon Shakespeare Festival were difficult, and the festival doesn’t (quite) face the financial imperatives that today’s Hollywood movie does. But change does have to happen: equal pay for equal work; hiring outside the narrow band of actors we are used to seeing; the end of physical and mental abuse in the workplaces of the arts. There’s great freedom in that, actually. Doing the right thing nearly always makes us freer. We just have to look at this season at Oregon Shakespeare Festival to see what freedom looks like. In the context of a diverse company, an actor can play any role. I won’t pass up the chance to see a great actor take on a demanding part. But I can think that and also support Johansson’s decision to step down from playing a transgender character in Rub & Tug in favor of a transgender actor, as reductive as that sounds. Freeing ourselves will come in small steps, in stages.
cannonbeach.org
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It will also come ON stages. In 1899, Sarah Bernhardt, then 55 and the most celebrated actor in the world, became the first woman to play Hamlet on a professional stage. Before her, AfricanAmerican Ira Aldridge became the first Black actor to play a Shakespearean role in a British production, in 1825. And what that teaches me? Among its other attributes, art can be a vehicle for freedom, both for the artist and the audience. .
NOV 2–10, 2018 KELLER AUDITORIUM
Photo by Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera
Sung in Italian with projected English captions
LA
TRAVIATA Verdi
Kaminsky
AS ONE MARCH 2019
A Special Concert
BIG NIGHT MAY 2019
Rossini
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA JUNE 2019
Mozart
LA FINTA GIARDINIERA JULY 2019
TICKETS START AT $35 | PORTLANDOPERA.ORG | 503. 241.1802
Glass
IN THE PENAL COLONY JULY / AUG 2019
In The Spotlight:
LILA DOWNS Written by Emilly Prado. Photo by Marcela Taboada.
Downs belts canciones that’ll move you to dance, cry, swig mezcal, and raise your picket signs proudly. Artslandia caught up with her in anticipation of her October show in Portland.
M the people. Long before carving her own niche in
exican-born musician Lila Downs makes music for
the musical landscape with her self-released debut album, Ofrenda, in 1994, winning a Grammy and several Latin Grammys, or studying classical voice as an undergraduate student at the University of Minnesota, Downs began singing songs steeped in tradition just a few short years after learning to use words. “I was five or six when I imitated the performers in old films with Pedro Infante and Lola Beltrán,” she says. “I think, by nature, I was attracted to those songs.”
“[My mother] used to dance in clubs in Mexico City. My dad said that they were clubs, but of course, she said that they were cafes,” Downs recalls with a laugh. “She used to dance and sing in her very Indian manner—very sentimental and attached to rancheras, our traditional form of music, kind of like the blues of Mexico. While holding intense love for culture was a household keystone for Downs’ parents—a Mixtec cabaret singer and a Scottish-American professor of art and cinema— it was an outlook Downs herself had to work diligently toward throughout her life to fully embrace. Now, she commands international audiences while decorated in vibrant huipils and rebozos, her thick black hair woven in braids with satin ribbon, and bellowing songs in native tribal languages, but embracing her rich indigenous roots wasn’t always second nature. “I happen to be from an Indian, or Native American, family in Mexico—the Mixtec—but I wasn’t taught to be conscious of that when I was younger,” she says. “You learn what you’re taught, and [in Latin America, it] is usually about trying to erase your Indianness and trying to be more European or Spanish. That is a 46
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constant contradiction in our identity, and it continues to be an issue in all of Latin America. It’s the story of a lot of us Latin people. [It’s] what we are taught in schools and our socialization.”
When Downs was 16 years old, her father suffered a heart attack and died suddenly. In addition to losing a parent, she felt like she was losing a tie to the U.S. and a tie to the identity she learned to be synonymous with value. “I was left with my short and dark Indian mother with a thick [Mixtec] accent. I was very unhappy and uncomfortable,” Downs says. So, she left to the United States to become a Deadhead (a fervent follower of musical group Grateful Dead) and spent years roaming without a clear sense of direction or purpose. But one fateful trip back home to the Tlaxiaco valley of Oaxaca, Downs’ mother sat her down for a frank conversation.
Music and lyrics by
ADAM GWON
Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer
Downs grew up in flux, evenly splitting her time into yearly intervals between the United States and Mexico with her family, but confrontations of her biculturality were constant on both sides of the border. “On top of being kind of denied by our Anglo family and Anglos around me in the U.S., [indigenous people] also [experience] a denial of existence, in a sense, so it’s very difficult to be proud of yourself,” she says. “I ended up having a crisis of identity.”
A captivating musical that reveals the simple beauty of letting go to truly live.
SEP. 20 OCT. 14
TICKETS 503.620.5262 • www.broadwayrose.org BROADWAY ROSE NEW STAGE • 12850 SW GRANT AVE., TIGARD
“I remember she locked the door to the room and said, ‘OK, we’re going to have it out now,’ says Downs. “I said to her, ‘I’m ashamed of hanging out with you because you don’t speak correctly.’ She confronted me and [asked why.] That’s when the turning point started.” By singing in indigenous languages such as her native Mixtec and Zapotec and Nahuatl, Downs reclaims her heritage while offering a spotlight for the languages and peoples pushed to the margins for centuries. Even when Downs hasn’t experienced a particular struggle, such as crossing the perilous U.S.-Mexico border, her deep empathy for others and aptitude for songwriting and storytelling serve as a profoundly influential podium. Her musical journey also shares her continued and relevant story of unlearning and rejecting the potent, lingering effects of colonization on the Americas. >>>>
On view now through November 11
DINING IN THE GILDED AGE pittockmansion.org
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c o n t i n u e d f ro m p a g e 4 7
Screening Sunday, October 28 at the World Trade Center Theater
at 4pm and also screening THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME Noon Captured live onstage and presented locally in high-definition video. For tickets, contact Third Rail's Box Office from Noon-4pm, Mon-Fri, at 503 235 1101 or boxoffice@thirdrailrep.org. Or visit our website at thirdrailrep.org.
Presented by
ARGENTINA
TANGUEROS DEL SUR ROMPER EL PISO “BREAK THE FLOOR”
FEATURING TANGO STAR
NATALIA HILLS
“Tango at its truest.” -The New York Times
WEDNESDAY | 7:30 PM
NOVEMBER 14 ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL TICKETS & GROUPS
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whitebird.org
>>>> Salón, Lágrimas y Deseo (2017), her 16th album and latest release that winds subtly between genres, won her a fourth Latin Grammy for the Best Traditional Pop Vocal of 2017. On Peligrosa, Downs channels the deep-reaching howls of Chavela Vargas’ dramatic rancheras and showcases her everlasting operatic vocals, while Urge, opts for a mystical, horn-heavy cumbia soundscape. Indie singer Carla Morrison joins Downs on the downtempo ballad Ser Paloma, which pays tribute to the strength of women and speaks out against domestic violence. The music video debuted earlier this summer and featured 50 cisgender and transgender women and girls of varying ages, nationalities, and occupations, perfectly epitomizing her continued commitment to social justice and equal representation for all. Although indigenous rights and women’s rights have slowly garnered more attention on a global scale over the past few decades, Downs knows the collective fight is far from over. “We have a lot of stigma and racism and ethnocentricism toward original peoples of the Americas to overcome. We still have to work very hard to legitimize our lives. We are on the sidelines of society.” In addition to creating music fueled by equal parts passion and protest, Downs engages in further political activism by speaking boldly against the oppression of all peoples, encouraging people to vote, and joining the nonviolent, nonpartisan initiative El Día Después to urge for peace following the 2018 Mexican presidential elections. Downs is also, naturally, currently working on her 17th album. As she gears up to visit Portland for her show at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and continue her tour of the U.S. alongside the likes of Emmylou Harris and Jackson Brown with the Lantern Tour: Concerts for Migrant and Refugee Families, she says she’s excited to continue helping foster community through her work: “I believe that music can really change society.” .
See Lila Downs with the Oregon Symphony, October 22, 7:30 p.m. at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. orsymphony.org
SoundStories Three unexpected, vividly imagined collaborations
PETRUSHKA
HANSEL AND GRETEL
PEER GYNT
The tale of Petrushka comes to life with exhilarating stage creations by Doug Fitch, weaving together themes of love, loneliness, and brutality, all set against the hustle and bustle of St. Petersburg’s Shrovetide Fair.
The Chicago-based Manual Cinema lights Humperdinck’s fairy-tale opera, set in the depths of the thick German forest, with the dazzling, phantasmic effects of shadow puppetry.
The redemptive journey of Peer Gynt, from his humble peasant village to the troll-infested mountains of Norway, is depicted through the eyes of Peer himself in bold, animated photos and art projected on SoundStories screens above the orchestra.
NOVEMBER 3, 4 & 5, 2018, 7:30 PM
FEBRUARY 1, 2 & 4, 2019, 7:30 PM
MAY 11, 12 & 13, 2019, 7:30 PM
orsymphony.org 503-228-1353 your official source for symphony tickets MOVING MUSIC FORWARD
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PODCAST
#ARTSLANDIAWASHERE @artslandia
ADVENTURES IN ARTSLANDIA WITH SUSANNAH MARS: MARGARET CHO
Behind the scenes at the photo shoot with Storm Large and China Forbes for the Artslandia Portland Arts Guide! @stormof69 @chinaforbes Photo by @saraceaphotography #ArtslandiaWasHere
Susannah joins forces with Dmae Roberts of KBOO's Stage and Studio, interviewing superstar artist and activist Margaret Cho.
AN EXCERPT FROM:
THE INTERSECTION OF SHAKESPEARE: A Discussion on Inclusion & Diversity June 11, 2018
Susannah: What gives you hope in the world right now?
DÁMASO RODRÍGUEZ
Dámaso: As troubling as much of what we read every day in the news is, there’s progress every day. There’re protests, but there’s progress, too, driven by love and connection. That’s, I like to think, how the world basically works over time, despite all these other forces that are always in the way of that. I think progress wins. This podcast transcript has been edited for print.
is the Artistic Director of Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland’s longest-running professional theater company. His extensive directing credits include this year’s production of Romeo & Juliet at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, which runs through October 12.
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In The Spotlight:
SAMANTHA WALL Written by Lucy Volker. Photos by Christine Dong.
Visual artist Samantha Wall leads Artslandia through her creative process and shares insight on her sources of inspiration and hope.
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I ever felt,” says Samantha Wall, a feel more like an immigrant than I’ve
Korean-born Portland artist, of the current political climate.
The last time she experienced this sense of insecurity, she was a child transplanted from South Korea to South Carolina. “That young,” she says, “I wasn’t really able to process it. Assimilating is so much of a part of the fiber of my being.” And it’s from this complicated, emotionally nuanced experience that Wall explores with her art. Her most recent body of work, Inheritance, presents “the story of an immigrant family, told in a way that’s very honest, both beautiful and agonizing, so the truth of it is undeniable.” Wall credits a move to Portland from South Carolina in her early 20s with granting her first opportunity to let her guard down and figure out who she was as a person and as an artist, finally “able to shed the internalization of other people’s expectations, fear, and anger.” She clarifies, “I don’t want to diminish it or make it seem like there aren’t problems in Portland, because there are, but I also feel like there are a lot of people here that are open to listening.”
I love being able to create something that helps to shape the world in a way that I want to experience it. Since her move to Portland, Wall has accumulated an impressive roster of accolades, proving that people are, indeed, listening. She earned her MFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art in 2011 and has since won a Hallie Ford Foundation Fellowship from the Ford Foundation, the Arlene Schnitzer Prize from the Portland Art Museum, two residencies at the Joan Mitchell Center in New Orleans, and the Golden Spot Residency Award at Crow’s Shadow Institute of Art.
Northwest College of Art and, this past year, she worked with fifth-graders at the ethnically diverse Martin Luther King Jr. School in NE Portland through the King School Museum of Contemporary Art. Wall showed the children how to use the same materials she’d been working with for Inheritance—India ink and water. “I was worried that the students would be frustrated with the process,” she says, “but they were at ease from the beginning. They were like sponges. They were fearless.”
Holding the attention of so many people has given Wall a sense of responsibility to be a positive role model for fellow artists and people of color. She serves as a mentor for MFA candidates at the Pacific
Wall herself appreciates the unpredictable nature of the India ink, and it’s part of the reason why she’s featured it so prominently in her recent collections. “This way of working with ink and water
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can be kind of chaotic—there are so many variables,” she says, “and I think that’s why I’ve grown to enjoy it so much. Lately, I’m drawn to this process of surrendering to the materials, and there’s something very freeing about that.” Every piece Wall creates begins with human contact. For her previous body of work, Indivisible, she took as many as 700 photos of each model while engaging them in conversation to help them forget about the camera and capture what Wall calls, after Roland Barthes, the “air” of the person. For Inheritance, the process of collecting subject matter began a bit more organically. Wall felt the first inspiration for the series at a recent family gathering in South Carolina to celebrate her mother’s 60th birthday where she was able to capture the essences of her female relatives on film like never before.
“It’s the women in my family who have been an inspiration to me,” Wall says. The collection includes seven haunting, abstract portraits in India ink and gold leaf that evokes a sense of mythos. Her subjects’ faces dissolve into swirls of ink that seem so fluid it’s almost as if they haven’t had the chance to dry, yet in almost every painting, photo-realistic eyes break through the aqueous mask, making direct, unwavering eye contact. Their wispy forms, when paired with the word “inheritance,” seem to comment on the amorphous shape immigrants’ identities can take when placed in new contexts. In addition to the portraits, Inheritance includes six images of golden rings also inspired by her mother’s 60th birthday. Turning 60 is a significant milestone in Korean culture, in part because, historically, the life expectancy of the population has been short. A traditional first birthday gift for a Korean baby is a hefty gold ring, the start of the child’s savings account. In exploring Korean rituals like this in her art, Wall says she’s discovered a “wealth of history and culture that fuels me. It’s allowing me to
push some of that negativity aside, and I’m finding a way to move forward.” For her upcoming body of work, Phantom Limbs, Wall is continuing to explore Korean culture as a lens for examining her personal experiences. She lost her sister several years ago, and the American funeral didn’t seem to honor her sister’s memory or to bring comfort to her mother. The new work, she says, “is a way of coming back to the beginning of our story and reclaiming my family’s identity, and creating a tribute to my sister… I feel like it’s renewing me.” With current events becoming less and less a source of hope, especially among immigrants, one must find revitalization wherever possible. “Inheritance and this newest body of work are me finding a way to move past the initial reaction of fear and rage and this deep sadness, trying to reach out to something that’s larger than me,” she says. .
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In The Spotlight:
JIMMIE HERROD After several recent, awe-inspiring Portland performances, Artslandia tracked down Jimmie Herrod to answer a few of our most pressing questions.
S
ublime vocalist Jimmie Herrod is wrapping up quite a year. Last October, he joined Grammy-nominated ODESZA for their national television debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and followed up by touring with locally beloved international superstars Pink Martini to great acclaim. He also managed to fit in an appearance as the Oregon Symphony’s featured soloist at their 2018 TEDx Portland showcase this past April. These most recent career highlights should come as no surprise. After graduating Cornish with a degree in composition and performance, Herrod pursued a Master of Music in jazz studies from Portland State University and made a name for himself as a theater artist in Seattle. Authoritative Broadway World deemed his 2015, gender-bending performance as Tunny’s Extraordinary Girl in American Idiot by Seattle’s ArtsWest “a performance for the ages.” PSU has currently engaged him as an adjunct professor of voice for their jazz program, which gave Grammy Award-winner Esperanza Spalding her start. Make no mistake: His star is on the rise, and you’d be well advised to catch a spine-tingling live performance as soon as possible. 58
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Photo by Timothy Nishimoto.
What’s your first memory of a live music performance?
example to defy templates made before one was even born. She studied visual art, a choice her parents never supported. Years later, as my teacher, she was following her heart [and] doing what made her (and not others) happy. The best advice was to trust one’s self and pursue authenticity, principles Linda nurtured.
I recall my first concert being the Christian singer Carman. I don’t recall a thing about the concert, except that so many people were there to hear what he had to offer [and realizing, with amazement,] what music means to so many people.
What role do you think performing arts education plays for young people? What are your thoughts on the current state of performing arts instruction in our public education system?
What’s been your favorite performance experience to date?
If I didn’t have teachers that nurtured the dimmest flames, I don’t know if I would be anywhere near where I am today [given that I’m] still someone who is riddled with self-doubt. It took years for my confidence to catch up to my natural talent, but I had great music teachers growing up that really inspired and supported me musically and in developing self-belief.
In spite of budget cuts or a lack of school support, I think many are seeking out opportunities. For those who can’t afford things like summer camps and after-school programs, I can only hope schools choose to see the validity and impact of the arts.
My band and choir teachers were truly inspirational, each of them taking on a parental role that I saw guide many students away from unfortunate futures.
In undergrad, I had a wonderful composition instructor named Linda Waterfall, who is both an accomplished musician and artist. I learned from her
What is the best lesson or piece of advice you have received with regard to your profession?
Recently, I performed in Paris with Pink Martini. Paris is so highly romanticized that, as much as I wanted to downplay the city’s charm, I found myself humming April in Paris. When we performed at Le Grand Rex, there was no denying how glorious it was and how thankful I was for such an experience. I sang my two songs, then listened to China Forbes sing U Plavu Zoru and just cried at the back of the stage. It was one of those “How did this even happen?” moments.
How did you come to perform with Pink Martini?
I met Thomas Lauderdale through a dear friend who insisted on us meeting. Months later, I found myself at >>>>
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>>>> Thomas’ loft, casually chatting and eventually playing through a number of songs. That day, Thomas asked me if I’d be interested in going on tour, and it’s been such an honor since.
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What are the positives and negatives in your experience of acting in traditionally female roles? Do you approach female characters differently?
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MODERN AMERICAN REALISM Highlights from the Smithsonian’s Sara Roby Foundation Collection October 20, 2018 – April 28, 2019
portlandartmuseum.org Edward Hopper, Cape Cod Morning, 1950. Oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation.
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Playing women in an art form where often women are tragically minimized to narratives surrounded by a woman’s bewildered fawning over a man can be quite an uncomfortable scenario, but I have played roles of women of strength and perseverance. Aside from the Queen of the Underworld [in the opera The Ballad of Ishtar] and Extraordinary Girl [in American Idiot], I played the Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd—my favorite character to date. She isn’t one-dimensional; she’s survived much adversity and has more to sing about than longing for her banished husband. A negative aspect of these opportunities is knowing you are, as a male, taking an opportunity from a woman, which is especially hard when playing characters that defy the norm. For me, there are insecurities about not “passing” or not being believable for the audience, making the whole story unbelievable. Despite some discomforts with others’ perception, playing women are some of the only times I’ve been able to publicly sing as a gay male (playing a women) about a man—the love of a man, the feelings of longing—in the vocal range where my voice naturally sits. I’ve discovered I much prefer playing women to men [and] have been taking a break from theater because it is so hard for me to feel comfortable in my skin playing male roles.
What do you find challenging about your profession?
Inconsistent work is a frightening lifestyle for many, but for me, a life that feels stagnant stirs my anxiety. All the same, having a month with a sparse calendar still worries me that I’m not elevating in my career. .
See jimmiebeingjimmie.com for upcoming live perforamnces.
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OUR STAGES THEN & NOW
The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall 1938
Photo by Wesley Andrews, Paramount Theatre, circa 1938, Oregon Historical Society, bb000873.
2018
Photo by Christine Dong.
IN 1928, the heyday of the movie palace in America, famed theater architects Rapp & Rapp’s opulent 3000-seat, Italian Rococo Revival-style venue opened as Portland Public Theatre on sw Broadway. The massive sign above the marquee first proclaimed “Portland” in 6,000 dazzling lights but was amended to read “Paramount” to match the new namesake in the early ‘30s. Paramount Theatre thrived as a cinema, event space for proms and weddings, and host to wide-ranging musical acts, such as Sinatra and Madonna, before decades of disrepair led to condemnation. The city purchased the theater as part of the new downtown performing arts complex — Portland’5 Centers for the Arts — and renamed it The Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall in honor of a top donor to the $10 million dollar restoration. In a nod to history, the renovation, completed in 1984, included a return to the original wording of the “Portland” sign. The now-iconic sign, refurbished in 2017 for $500,000, is 65 feet high and 12 feet wide! .
Historic photographs for this series are provided by the Oregon Historical Society, a museum, research library, archive, and scholarly asset located in the heart of Portland’s Cultural District. View more photos of historic Portland on the new OHS Digital Collections website at digitalcollections.ohs.org/ portland-cityscapes.
Have an anecdote or old school photograph of you posing in front of the Schnitzer? Post it! Don’t forget to tag #Artslandia and #OurStagesThenAndNow
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