It is a Wonderful Life!

I just got back from a matinee performance of It's a Wonderful Life by the Public Playhouse which is being performed at CoHo. I loved it. It's was the classic story that I adore so much around this time of year with a brand new twist. It's a radio show! Set in Portland! And it has only five actors playing the fifty roles required to have a production of It's a Wonderful Life! All the lovely moments of the story come to life before you. Believe me, even my all time favorite part tugged at my heart the way it did the first time in this show! I've always loved the moon monologue when George and Mary are out on a summer's walk after the dance. The images and feelings connected with George lassoing the moon and making Mary swallow it have always intrigued and touched me. In this production Chrissy Kelly (Mary) and James Sullivan (George) capture this entire scene beautifully. Even in as entertaining and touching a show as this one, that scene sparkled as an obvious gem.
Mary McDonald-Lewis, a friend of mine, and the director of this production is also a voice actor, and her understanding of both theatre and voice acting behind a microphone gave this show the gleaming quality it so readily displays. Good show, indeed. When there's theatre like this, it is a wonderful life!
The show is running tomorrow and next week as well, so please check it out! http://www.publicplayhouse.org

Greenhouse School of Theater

So, Portland Center Stage has this great thing going on. Hopefully most everyone is aware of their Greenhouse School of Theater. I just finished a voice acting class their with local expert Mary McDonald-Lewis, and had a wonderful and informative time. Actually, our whole class had a great time, and we were sorry to see it come to an end. I've had several friends take classes from them and they have always enjoyed themselves!

Holiday Revelry

For the first time last night I went to see The Christmas Revels at the Scottish Rite Center. Set this year in Scandinavia, The Christmas Revels was an enjoyable little show. I'm a friend of the set designer, Larry Larsen, who has designed the annual revels for many years, and I was rather impressed with his work. I particularly enjoyed the birch trees.
I thought the production was fun and cute with a lot of lovely music, dancing and folklore. The kids in the audience were having such a good time, though, I think this is one of those Christmas productions where you really have to have your family along to enjoy it.
My personally favorites in the show were the featured performers, the Karelian Folk Music Ensemble. Every time they took the stage I was mesmerized. I also loved all the culture and folky feeling brought to the show.

Shout to Louisville

I just wanted to give a quick shout out to my dear friends Ami Jhaveri and Jacob Wilhelmi who are in the acting apprentice program at the Actors Theatre of Louisville right now! They are both performing in the theater's production of A Christmas Carol, and Jake has a role in their upcoming show, Shipwrecked! Break a leg to both of them! They sound like they're having a blast!

Eleemosynary at UP

We had our opening last night. I think it went quite well. My parents were in the audience. I think they were proud.

Capstone

I haven't written much lately because I have been busy working on my own show, my capstone role for my undergraduate work, actually. I am playing Artie in Eleemosynary (you may remember me writing about this play when Readers Theatre Repertory did it back in September). Our production will be performed at the University of Portland's Mago Hunt Performing and Fine Arts Center on Wednesday, December 3rd and Thursday, December 4th at 7:30.
I have had an outstanding time doing this play, but I have to say that it has been one of the most challenging experiences of my young acting career. The show is about three women belonging to the same family; a grandmother, her daughter, and her daughter. Playwright, Lee Blessing poetically displays the difficulties of how daughters deal with motherly pressure and unseen motherly love through this play. The audience is taken on an almost dreamlike journey with these three characters through their tribulations in learning to be extraordinary women while still remembering where they came from.
All of us who have been involved with this show have worked so hard, we'd love to see all of you there!

Love Conquers with Comedy

Last night I watched Portland State University's production of The Triumph of Love by Pierre Marivaux. It's always nice to see another University theatre's work, stirs up some healthy competition! No, I'm just kidding. Actually I thought the show was really cute. Clara Weishahn who plays the leading role did a very good job as a disguised heart heavy princess.
I could tell that the production did find a challenge in marrying the classic comedia style to our more natural modern theatre traditions. Trying to make the Harlequino be an Harlequino and still be believable put them at a little bit of a tug-o-war with styles. That is a common problem when old works are set against a background of modern traditions, and I found the scenes with Harlequino quite humorous all the same.
Apparently Portland State University's theatre is currently being renovated, so this show was actually performed in one of Artists Repertory Theatre's (ART) spaces. It was wonderful to see a local theatre being so supportive of local collegiate theatre work. I thank them!
Tonight is closing night of The Triumph of Love. It begins at 7:30 at ART.

Aloha!

I just wanted to shout out to all of my friends who were in our University's production of Much Ado About Not(h)ing! It closes today and I just wanted to say what a great job they all did! I was very impressed when I saw it on Friday. Much Ado About Not(h)ing in Hawaii! What could be better than that! Congratulations everybody!

Don't Shylock Away

What if I told you that tonight you should go to a staged reading of a Shakespeare play? What if I said that it isn't actually even a full play, but only one pivotal scene? Now what if I told you that the show is The Trial and Shylock from The Merchant of Venice performed by Readers Theatre Repertory (RTR), and it's quite good?
Sam A. Mowry, aside from being a kind and intelligent person I got the opportunity to meet last night, does lovely work with one of Shakespeare's most debated characters, Shylock. Sam balances Shylock's humaness, his pain, and his lust for vengence.
Personally I was thrilled to see so many familiar faces in the cast. I worked with both Jane Clark who plays Nerissa and Jonah Weston who plays Gratiano in RTR's production, A Song of Ireland last March. The young man who plays Bassanio, Andy Hillstom, I met only once when we were called in to audition for a reading together at Portland Center Stage (PCS). I was proud of all the actors I knew in the cast.
What was especially interesting about the performance was the discussion we had afterward. Hosted by the director, Dacid Berkson, and involving the audience as well as the cast, the discussion brought up a lot of questions about whether The Merchant of Venice was meant to be an antisemetic play or not. I hope, and believe that tonight's production and discussion will be just as fascinating.

La Carpa Del Maestro

Hopefully some of you are aware of the annual Day of the Dead Festival by the Miracle Theatre Group. This year is the group's 25th anniversary, and their work continues beautifully. Tonight I was at their production of La Carpa Del Maestro, a deathly fun show that explores the relationship between a master and an apprentice. They chose a 1950s setting complete with a twisted Leave it to Beaver like family, and oddly chilling "commercial breaks."
I found this production artistic and lovely. It was a thoroughly entertaining evening of music, dance, acrobatics, drama and comedy. It was a deliciously haunting treat infused with an illuminating Latin spark!

Making up Music at Curious Comedy Productions

Completely created on the spot musical theatre? Sounds daunting, doesn't it? Never the less, that's what is happening in Curious Comedy Productions' show, Sam Adams! Sam Adams! Mayor Ex Machina. I went last night, and the show I saw was very funny, and so impressive considering it was totally improvised.

If you're not familiar with Curious Comedy that's probably because they just recently opened their doors on October 10th! They have a lovely space in the new Vanport Square building project at 5225 NE MLK (between Alberta and Killingsworth).

Sam Adams! Sam Adams! Mayor Ex Machina is playing over the next three Saturdays; tonight Saturday the 8th, next week on the 15th, and the week after that on the 22nd. Shows begin at 9:30.

Something to do for Halloween

On Friday night I went to see the most terrifying show, and, if you can believe it, it was an opera! Alright, I know some of you out there are thinking, "Opera? Absolutely not! Musical theatre, maybe, but certainly not opera!" Well, don't judge too hastily on this one. First, it's in English, so you won't have to worry about deciphering Italian or German. Second, they're describing this show as what Alfred Hitchcock would have created had he made an opera, and they could not be more right. And finally, it's at the Someday Lounge so you're welcome to grab a drink from the bar at intermission.
The show is The Medium and it is presented by Opera Theater Oregon, a company that seems to specialize in what they call "alternative Opera." Their mission is to bring opera to new audiences and offer a new angle on the art form for confirmed opera lovers.
I loved the show! It was totally engaging and completely chilling. The perfect Halloween treat. Written in 1946, this production of The Medium is set in the 1950s. Sitting in your seat with your cocktail, you feel as though you are transported into this dark, classic thriller. The cast does a beautiful job. I came specifically to see my voice teacher, Wendy Parker, who does touching work as Mrs. Nolan, a grieved woman who, a year after the untimely death of her sixteen year old daughter, seeks contact with the dead through the medium. Truly, I was impressed by all the performers. Christine Meadows who performs the starring role, Madame Flora, blew me away.
The Medium will also be playing on Thursday, October 30th and Friday, October 31st. I recommend it strongly! For more information visit http://www.operatheateroregon.com/. There are several ways to buy tickets in advance, and it is $15 as opposed the $17 at the door. Buy online at http://www.operatheateroregon.com/tickets.html, or over the phone at 503-205-0715.

Bucky

In the studio theatre at Portland Center Stage, R. Buckminster Fuller is alive and well, and giving regular lectures in the one man show R. Buckminster Fuller the History (and Mystery) of the Universe.
I enjoyed myself at this show last Thursday evening.
If you're interested in an evening of mind boggling possibilities, hopeful optimism, rude awakenings, and entering the beautiful, thought provoking, and emotional life of this historic figure, I highly recommend this play.
For more information visit www.pcs.org or call their box office at 503.445.3700. You may also e-mail them at boxoffice@pcs.org.

See The Receptionist at CoHo Productions

Last night I was at CoHo Productions in North West Portland. I was there for the opening of Adam Bock's Obie Award winning play, The Receptionist. Director Rose Riordan, the associate artistic director at Portland Center Stage (PCS), also directed Bock's play The Thugs at PCS last year. A production that she earned a Drammy Award for. Two of the actors from The Thugs appeared again in The Receptionist; Actor and co-producer, Laura Faye Smith, and actor, Sharonlee McLean both gave lovely performances last night. The two other actors appearing in the show were Chris Murray and Gary Norman.
Having seen, and loved The Thugs, I came into The Receptionist with great expectations. I was not disappointed. Bock has a talent for dialogue that rings very true to life, and coupled with Riordan's gift for shaping realistic theatre, both these plays were like looking into real life. The office environment Bock chooses, complete with stifling gray carpets and the bubble of coffee pots, always gives me the impression that I am looking at the human beings onstage like fish in a tank. The characters operate without regard to audience, theater, or stage. They go about their daily business hinting at their personal quirks and striving simply to lead their lives. Bock's humor is not necessarily born out of the oddness of the characters themselves, but seems to arise from the way each of these well developed characters reacts to one another's actions.
It is obvious from watching this production that cast and director alike have a wonderful understanding of the immense humor and also the chilling qualities of The Receptionist. The audience certainly had a fantastic time. Sometimes we were laughing, out loud, riotously, other times we were almost petrified, all of our eyes intently watching the characters. My friend Theresa Hernandez who co-stared with me in Portland Theatre Works' InsomniACTS was working in the lobby of the theater while the show was going on. She told me afterword that it was as though she was listening to a laugh track on a television show, the audience was so vocal.

Go see this show! I can't stress that enough. Really, it's great. For more information visit http://www.cohoproductions.org/ or call them at 503-220-2646.

End of the Season Visit to OSF

I grew up in Southern Oregon, and while the hick town I was actually raised in is a source of embarrassment for me, I take great pride in telling people I lived near Ashland, Oregon, the home of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival(OSF). Typically I blame OSF making me into the theatre enthusiast/practitioner I've grown up to be. I tell people I am entirely the product of being exposed to too much Shakespeare at a young age.
Unfortunately, I haven't been able to see much this season because I spent the entire summer in New York, but last Tuesday, while home visiting my parents I made a trip to OSF. I saw The Clay Cart, a very funny show and extremely well done considering that the script was written 2,000 years ago. It is interesting that even back then themes of common man's triumph over tyrannical government were being explored.
A friend of mine went to see their production of Coriolanus and said it was the best show he'd seen at Oregon Shakespeare Festival ever, a huge compliment considering the number of productions he has seen there.
For more information visit http://www.osfashland.org, and hurry, the season is ending soon!

Working on InsomniaACTS

Last night I worked on a benefit for Portland Theatre Works. They are a not-for-profit organization dedicated exclusively to developing new work for the theatre. They strive to provide playwrights with the time, space, tools, and artistic support required to fully develop their plays and refine their craft.
Anyway, their project last night, InsomniACTS was really fun and really cool. Here's how it went. They had an evening of readings with a bunch of playwrights' works on Friday night, then the audience bid on stipulations for those playwrights next shows. The audience got to choose three props that all the playwrights had to use. They choose a fake blackbird, a giant ladle, and a gas mask. Then to make the playwrights job even more difficult the audience got to bid on the first and last line of each play. Then the playwrights worked all night long. Their shows were due at 6:30 in the morning. The actors, me included, showed up to work at 9:30 on Saturday. We auditioned, read through, blocked, and rehearsed which took us until about 4:00, and then that night we performed. All the work was totally worth it, though. Our audience had a really great time, the playwrights loved seeing their work spring to life so quickly, and we raised money for a great theatre venture.
I loved the play I worked on. If you can imagine anything so absurd, it was the only dramatic piece of the night (the rest were riotous comedies), and it was about, of all things, a sleeping giant. It was written by Ciji Guerin and directed by the lovely Eugenia Woods, a woman who has recently moved to Portland and seems to have brought all her wonderful ideas with her. This event was concieved completely by her.

Women Playwrights at RTR

OK, we're not slaving over hand cranked laundry, or getting our milk straight from the cow, or literally standing over a hot stove all day anymore, but in a lot of ways it's still a man's world. So naturally, I think Wendy Wilcox (director) had a beautiful idea when she decided to celebrate women playwrights this month at Reader's Theatre Repertory (RTR). The evening's entertainment was comprised of three separate pieces; Audition by Jane Martin, Anything For You by Cathy Celesia, and finally Tatto Girl by Naomi Iizuka. I chuckled my way through the shows from start to finish. To make things even better, Wendy chose a fantastic cast. All her actors were quite talented and fit their roles very well. I have to say that Elizabeth Garrett and Marsha Allen were wonderful. I was particularly fond of their work together in Anything For You. They brought a humaness to the characters in this piece that really made me forget I was an audience member. They drew me in. Don't forget to come to this evening's performance at the Blackfish Gallery on Ninth Avenue in the Pearl District!
For further information visit them at www.readerstheatrerep.org or e-mail them at info@readerstheatrerep.org.

Don't Forget

Reader's Theater Repertory is doing their production of Tattoo Girl over the next two evenings. I'll be a tomorrow's show.
I can't make it on Saturday because I am in a reading in Portland myself! More info later!

Death Becomes Her

Unfortunately I haven't been able to see too much theatre lately. I've instead been working backstage on our school's production of Blithe Spirit. What a ridiculous play! Apart from my regular costume crew-head job, I am also having a lot of fun helping create the illusion of ghosts by manning devices backstage that allow books to fly off the shelves on their own and mantle pieces to topple over. Too bad I didn't get the job of making the doors open by themselves. That would've been really cool.

Sit Down! You're Rocking the Boat!

Tonight I was at Portland Center Stage (PCS) watching the final dress rehearsal of Guys and Dolls. It officially opens this Friday night and runs until the November 2nd. To get tickets visit pcs.org.
I'm not typically a fan of fluffy musicals, but this one was a lot of fun. The dance number in Cuba was spectacular, and of course there are a few numbers in this show that cannot go wrong. Rocking the boat was fantastic. I could not stop smiling!

Eleemosynary at RTR

Last night I brought a few friends to see the Readers Theater Repertory (RTR) production of Eleemosynary by Lee Blessing. By a few friends I of course me my director and a fellow cast member of our production of Eleemosynary which will be performed at the University in December. The production was lovely, as I imagined it would be, and true to form, Echo's final monologue brought tears to my eyes.
The production is playing again tonight, Saturday September 13, and I highly suggest it. RTR is a little production company close to my heart as I personally know many of the creators and have worked on their stage a couple of times. They don't put on full productions, instead they do staged readings every month, but that's one thing that is so beautiful about their work. The actors' work is organic. They're still in the middle of process and discovery. None of the characters are crystallized yet. They're just people, and because of that the play becomes so engrossing that you forget the actors are holding scripts. You forget the actors. Even though there's minimal set, costume, and lights, the play still takes you over. It's wonderful.
Productions begin at 8:00pm. They play in the Blackfish Gallery located on 9th avenue between Flanders and Glisan downtown. It's only $8.00 to get in, and it's worth every dollar. If you can't make it tonight, their October production of Tatto Girl will play on the 10th and 11th.
For further information visit them at www.readerstheatrerep.org or e-mail them at info@readerstheatrerep.org.

Nice to Meet You

I'm Heather. Duh. I'm an actor, or at least I have plans to be. I'm finishing my undergraduate degree at the University of Portland in Portland, Oregon. Then, God only knows where I'll be. Here's to hoping that a graduate school, or an internship, or a company, or something picks me up. Then at least I will have a set path.
As for right now, the fact of the matter is I am obsessed with the theatre. There's nothing else I can be as happy seeing or being part of. So obsessed, in fact, that I'm having to create this blog just to keep up with my fascination.