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!