Portland Playhouse

PRODUCTION OF QUALITY, INTIMATE PERFORMANCES IN WHICH ARTISTS/AUDIENCE INTERACTION IS PARAMOUNT.

IN SEASON 14 (2021-2022) WE PRODUCED 5 SHOWS THAT DREW 8,506 IN-PERSON AUDIENCES AND SOLD 500 TICKETS FOR ACCESS TO DIGITAL RECORDINGS. OUR NUMBERS WERE LOWER THAN ANTICIPATED DUE TO THE PANDEMIC AND RELUCTANCE TO ATTEND IN-PERSON SHOWS. WE ARE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT ALL FIVE SEASON SHOWS SPARKED PRAISE AND DISCUSSION BY CRITICS AND AUDIENCES ALIKE. TWO OF THE SEASON'S MOST CHALLENGING PLAYS, WHICH BOTH ADDRESS RACIAL TRAUMA AND JOY IN UNIQUE WAYS, WERE ESPECIALLY WELL RECEIVED.THIS SEASON ALSO SAW THE CONTINUATION AND DEEPENING OF IMPORTANT PARTNERSHIPS. WE COLLABORATED WITH SHAKESPEARE & COMPANY WHICH RESULTED IN A GUT-WRENCHING PRODUCTION OF "TITUS ANDRONICUS." THE SEASON ALSO SAW THE CONTINUATION OF A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE NATION'S LEADING AFRICAN AMERICAN THEATRE COMPANY, PENUMBRA THEATRE (BASED IN ST PAUL, MN). "THURGOOD"(A ONE-MAN PLAY ABOUT THE LIFE OF JUSTICE THURGOOD MARSHALL) WAS PRESENTED IN COOPERATION WITH PENUMBRA. THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND A NEW INITIATIVE TO DRAW BLACK, INDIGENOUS, AND PEOPLE OF COLOR, WE SERVED A MORE RACIALLY DIVERSE AUDIENCE THAT REFLECTS THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. IN SEPTEMBER 2021 WE LAUNCHED "BIPOC NIGHTS" 3-4 NIGHTS IN THE RUN OF EACH SHOW AIMED AT WELCOMING BIPOC AUDIENCES WITH "PAY-WHAT-YOU-WISH" TICKET PRICING. THESE EVENTS CONSISTENTLY DREW A STRONG SHOWING FROM BIPOC, AND PARTICULARLY BLACK AUDIENCES. LAST SEASON WE ALSO DEEPENED OUR WORK TO PRACTICE ANTI-RACIST THEATRE. IN COLLABORATION WITH CONSULTANTS KEELA JOHNSON AND DR LISA COLLINS, WE EMBEDDED CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACIAL TRAUMA AND HEALING INTO OUR STAFF TRAINING; CREATIVE TEAM REHEARSAL PROCESS; AND POST-SHOW DISCUSSIONS. OUR COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND PARTNERSHIPS HAVE CONTINUED TO DEEPEN. UNDER THE JOINT LEADERSHIP OF COMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR RAMONA LISA ALEXANDER AND PRODUCING DIRECTOR CHARLES GRANT, WE PRODUCED THREE MAJOR COMMUNITY EVENTS, GROUNDED IN STRONG COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND A BURGEONING NETWORK OF BIPOC CREATIVES.IN JAN. 2022 WE HOSTED YOUTH AND ADULTS FROM JACK AND JILL PORTLAND WILLAMETTE VALLEY CHAPTER FOR AN EVENT IN CELEBRATION OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR'S LEGACY. IN SEPT. 2022 WE PARTNERED WITH ALBINA VISION TRUST TO PRESENT AN IMMERSIVE TWO DAY EVENT: "PORCHES & STOOPS: AN AFRO-TOPIA POP-UP". HELD IN THE LOWER ALBINA NEIGHBORHOOD, THEPOP-UP FEATURED INSTALLATIONS, MADE BY DOZENS OF LOCAL CREATIVES, TO HONOR THEIR VISION OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD'S FUTURE BASED IN BLACK DIASPORIC COMMUNITY AND SOVEREIGNTY. IN SEPTEMBER, WE PRODUCED FOUR ORIGINAL WORKS FOR FILM CURATED BY CHARLES GRANT AND PRESENTED AT THE KENNEDY SCHOOL, CINEMA 21, AND THE PLAYHOUSE. "RETURN TO WONDERLAND" WAS A FOLLOW-UP TO THE PROJECT'S POPULAR FIRST ITERATION IN 2020, "WONDERLAND."

WE HOPED TO RETURN TO OUR REGULAR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING IN FALL 2021, BUT SCHOOLS WERE STRUGGLING TO RESPOND TO STUDENT MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS, AND STAFF WERE STRETCHED THIN. WE CHOSE TO PUT OUR EFFORTS INTO SUPPORTING EDUCATORS DIRECTLY BY PROVIDING RESOURCES AND FACILITATING MUTUAL SUPPORT EVENTS HUMOROUSLY CALLED TEACHING EDUCATOR ANGST (TEA), WHICH WERE WELL-RECEIVED. ONE TEACHER SHARED, "BEING AROUND OTHER EDUCATORS WHO CAN NOT ONLY LISTEN, BUT DEEPLY UNDERSTAND THE DIFFICULTIES I HAVE FACED THIS YEAR IS SO IMPACTFUL. TEA BUILDS COMMUNITY AND ALLOWS FOR TIME TO PROCESS EXPERIENCES IN AN INCLUSIVE SPACE."THIS SPRING, PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE ADJUSTED OUR PROGRAM TO ADDRESS THE PANDEMIC CHALLENGES WE FACED IN THE FALL WHEN SCHOOLS HAD LIMITED CAPACITY TO HOST AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS. WE BROUGHT STUDENTS FROM MULTIPLE SCHOOLS TOGETHER IN A SINGLE COHORT HOSTED AT OUR THEATRE RATHER THAN AT INDIVIDUAL PARTNER SCHOOLS. WE SERVED A SMALL BUT COMMITTED COHORT OF 5 STUDENTS WHO SELECTED A SOCIAL ISSUE OF RELEVANCE TO THEM (HOUSING JUSTICE), MET WITH A COMMUNITY PARTNER ORGANIZATION WORKING ON THAT ISSUE (P:EAR), AND COLLABORATIVELY CREATED AN ORIGINAL FILM BASED ON THEIR RESEARCH AND EXPERIENCE.