The Fertile Ground Festival of New Works is a citywide, multi-week performing arts festival taking place in venues throughout Portland, Oregon and the surrounding areas.

This year's lineup includes site specific theatre, dance, solo shows, aerial performance, puppetry, and dozens upon dozens of brand-new scripts by some of Portland's most celebrated and prolific playwrights.

Schedule of Events:

April 4, 2025

7:30PM - LineStorm Playwrights Present: SMALL BITES by Accuardi, Block, Hyun Houghton, Lewis, Rubin, and Ward

Swing by for a bite of six sweet and savory short play readings by LineStorm Playwrights members Sara Jean Accuardi, Audrey Block, Heath Hyun Houghton, E. M. Lewis, Rich Rubin, and Lolly Ward.

Performance Length:
70 minutes

Rating/Recommended Age:
All ages

Location: Artists Repertory Theatre 1515 SW Morrison St Portland, Oregon, 97205

7:30pm - Great White Goes Down by Ajai Tripathi & Patrick Hilton

Over the past two seasons, audiences have marveled at the beauty, rawness, and candor of Ajai Tripathi’s Great White Gets Off and Great White Gives it Up. The final installment of the Great White Trilogy, Great White Goes Down, invites us to join Sandeep and Bert as they bring closure to their whirlwind relationship that has traveled the world and spanned centuries. Didn’t see one or both of the first two plays? That’s ok because we will be presenting those plays as special performances during the run.

Performance Length:
85 minutes, no intermission

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Location: The Back Door Theater 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97215

Rasputin by David Wagstaff

Since the early 1990’s, a faction within the Russian Orthodox Church has advocated for Grigori Rasputin’s canonization as a saint. I, David Wagstaff, the author and director of this one-man play “Rasputin,” offer my personal, yet secular, seconding of this move to canonize this much misunderstood and maligned holy man.

Performance Length:
60 - 70 minutes

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Location: 21ten Theatre 2110 SE 10th Ave Portland , Oregon , 97214

7:30pm - Moments of Reckoning - Works by Nancy Campbell, Mishelle Apalategui, & Timothy Krause

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7:30pm - Moments of Reckoning - Works by Nancy Campbell, Mishelle Apalategui, & Timothy Krause

There comes a time when the conversations we’ve been avoiding demand attention. When we can choose to ignore them or face them head on, though resolution isn’t guaranteed. This collection of plays highlights pivotal moments: co-raising a new puppy, deciding what we owe to family, parenting through tragedy, and the meaning of a life well-lived, that encourage the characters - and the audience - to contemplate their next move.

Performance Length:
60 minutes, no intermission

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Location: Ki Coffee 4655 SW Griffith Dr #160 Beaverton , Oregon , 97005

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April 5, 2025

11:00am - Rogues by Charlotte Higgins

ALL Characters have a deep sense of humor.  Irony and connection of Humanity.  They are ALL fighting to stay above board.  Keep their heads above water.  They all have a sense of FIGHT in them to survive and move forward.  

They are at varying degrees of course, but the thing they have in common is.......Hope and survival.  Do they succeed?

That is the journey.

The play is a realistic, unsentimental, often funny, and sometimes brutal story of the plight of the Caregiver.  It portrays the poignant loss of loved ones and the life they had hoped to live, while struggling not to lose themselves and maybe even their own lives.

Location: 21ten Theatre 2110 SE 10th Ave Portland , Oregon , 97214

What the Fox? by Jed Sutton

In "What The Fox?," a vibrant, coming-of-age comedy follows an LGBTQIA+2S and neurodivergent Scout troop on an unexpected adventure when their smartphones fail. Stripped of social media feeds, they delve into an exploration of nature, collaboration, adversity and encounter a mystical nine-tailed fox that challenges their beliefs, fostering self-discovery and camaraderie through a ritual calling to the ancestors - the Legendary Mothers of Harlem ballrooms. The play opens with an excerpt from Ms. Bittner’s "Mountain Woman," setting the mood for the journey ahead. With Bittner’s transcendent score and Andrea Parson’s joyful choreography, audiences are transported to the Oregon desert and beyond, where laughter, heart, hope, and magic await!

Performance Length:
90 minutes, no intermission

Rating/Recommended Age:
13+ for coming-of-age themes and brief coarse language.

Location: The Back Door Theater 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97215

LineStorm Playwrights Present: 545 by Francisco Garcia

2:00pm - LineStorm Playwrights Present: 545 by Francisco Garcia

545 is inspired by the 2020 events of the 545 migrant children who were separated from their families by the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy and have yet to be reunited with their parents. 545 explores the hardship of two young sisters, Luli and Oli, who are separated from their mother and held in custody on the border, as they struggle to find hope in the darkest of places. 545 was originally commissioned for Portland Playhouse's Wonderland Festival of New Works and made into a short film during the pandemic. This staged reading of 545 features a new updated script for LineStorm Playwrights and the Fertile Ground Festival and will mark the first time it is being presented on stage.

Location: Artists Repertory Theatre 1515 SW Morrison St Portland, Oregon, 97205

2:30pm - VIRAL by Meg Morrigan, Katie "AL" Rodgers, & Matt Sunderland

In an era when social currency is stronger than the dollar, VIRAL explores the interconnected infections that affect us all. A young woman desperate for attention meets a stranger who promises her fame. But as her popularity spreads, so does an increasingly disturbing series of accidents and events, and soon her following has a body count. Investigating addiction to attention, contagious fear and despair, and malicious ideas spreading like wildfire, VIRAL delves into the broken psyche of the deeply alienated denizens of our world. Drawing on inspiration from classic texts like The Bacchae, Faustus, and Paradise Lost, historical events like the 1518 dancing plague, and contemporary social media horrors, VIRAL is a journey into social psychosis and its individual manifestations.

Viral began with a question: what happens when the need for attention and recognition collides with the harsh economic realities of today's world? We took that idea one step further—imagining a society where attention is literally currency. This concept opened the door to exciting research and creative exploration. Inspired by classic stories like Faustus, real historical events like the 1518 dancing plague, and the darker side of social media, we’ve built Viral using a mix of collaborative writing and devised theater techniques. For those of us on the core team, this project marks a creative milestone—working together in new ways, sometimes in roles that push us outside our comfort zones. We are excited to share this work with you in this year's Fertile Ground Festival. We’re eager to hear feedback from audiences and actors alike, as we refine and develop the piece, with the ultimate goal of bringing it to a fully realized production.

Directed by: KATIE "AL" RODGERS

Performance Length:
70 mins, no intermission

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Location: The Back Door Theater 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland , Oregon , 97215

6:00PM - 52Blue by Caitlin Nolan

A saturation diver survives what should have been a certain-death experience. After, life on land may never be the same. This 50-minute horror solo show explores themes of loneliness, alienation, and what's hiding in our depths.

Performance Length:
50 minutes

Rating/Recommended Age:
16+

Location: 21ten Theatre 2110 SE 10th Ave Portland , Oregon , 97214

7:30pm - LineStorm Playwrights Present: HALF by Susan Faust

What do you do when you find out you have 63 half-siblings you never knew about before? Start a social media group, of course! A pack of Millennials who’ve all had their identities blown to bits squabble like any family, start their own traditions, and try to come to terms with the dark secret that brought them all together. The seed of this play came from a newspaper article I read about a doctor who secretly used his own sperm to impregnate patients at his fertility clinic. This resulted in large numbers of children within a 25-mile radius who were all unknowingly related to each other. As adults, some of these offspring used DNA testing sites which eventually led them to each other.

Performance Length: 90 minutes

Rating/Recommended Age: 13+

Location: Artists Repertory Theatre 1515 SW Morrison St Portland , Oregon , 97205

2:30pm - Shelf Life by Rebecca Berger-Howe

Shelf Life is a solo show written and performed by Rebecca Berger-Howe, and directed by Brooke Totman. It follows the journey of a woman who revisits her childhood memories, stashed away in the attic of her childhood home. As she slowly opens each box, she takes audiences through her childhood memories via the mementos stored inside. Audiences will see the transition of a young girl dreaming of becoming a world famous pop-star, only to see the realities of adolescence and adulthood dragging those hopes into question. How is one girl supposed to become an international superstar when they can’t get a grasp on their own catholic guilt, their parent’s divorce, or the landmines of navigating puberty?

Performance Length:60 minutes, no intermission

Rating/Recommended Age:
12+

Location: 21ten Theatre 2110 SE 10th Ave Portland , Oregon , 97214

Fertile Ground, a flagship program of the Portland Area Theatre Alliance, is new works performing arts festival spanning the entirety of the Portland Metro Area. The Festival was founded in 2009 by Tricia Pancio Mead and flourished for over a decade under the leadership of Festival Director Nicole Lane.

Fertile Ground features the new work of our LOCAL artists, performers, and resident theatre companies from Portland and the surrounding areas, ensuring that the artistic and financial benefits of the festival stay in the community. Where other new works festivals are typically curated by one entity, this Festival is collaboratively shaped by community participation, uplifting a variety of aesthetic voices.

In 2021, Fertile Ground created the GROW Grant program was created to increase access to presenting work in the Fertile Ground Festival for marginalized and traditionally underrepresented artists. Through the GROW program, Fertile Ground seeks to support the artistic and professional growth of these artists, and to enrich the Portland arts landscape by providing direct support to artists from underrepresented communities.

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3:00PM - The Crystal Ball - PREVIEW

For the young and young at heart, Portland Eurythmy presents a dress rehearsal of the Crystal Ball, a Grimm’s tale about a fearless young boy who escapes his own enchantment and risks his life to set a princess free. We work with beloved storyteller, Daniel Stokes, to bring the story to life with movement, music, color, puppetry and a whole lot of magic.

After the story, we will bring you more music and poetry to lighten your life.

Performance Length:
40 minutes

Rating/Recommended Age:
All Ages

Location: Portland Waldorf School 2300 SE Harrison Street Milwaukie , Oregon , 97222

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April 6, 2025

12:00pm - LineStorm Playwrights Present: JUNIOR YEAR ABROAD by Sofia Molimbi

June has a dream, and it’s not just to be on Junior Year Abroad in France, oh no, it’s to become a whole new person, perhaps even a French person? The only problem is she’s going to need to find the legendary Christie B. to make this dream come true. Journey through the dark cobblestone streets of Paris with June and her friends, whose search leads them down pathways they never could have imagined, only to discover, wherever you go, there you are. Junior Year Abroad by Sofia Molimbi is a fast-paced comedy about being young and experiencing the world beyond home.

Performance Length:
75 minutes, no intermission

Rating/Recommended Age:
All ages

Location: Artists Repertory Theatre 1515 SW Morrison St Portland , Oregon , 97205

Conciliation by David

1:30PM to 3:00PM - Conciliation by David

“Conciliation” is a play that portrays a therapy session in Germany where descendants of Nazi perpetrators and descendants of Holocaust victims meet to act out their fraught histories and seek a path towards understanding. The play focuses on the possibility of making amends and can be viewed as a Holocaust education tool. It also speaks out to the truth that must be faced in our people’s past and the international violence and issues of anti-Semitism on the current world stage.

Performance Length:
70 minutes (including an introduction) + 25 minutes for an audience response talk-back

Rating/Recommended Age:
PG-13. Primarily relevant to adults given the Holocaust subject matter.

Location: The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education (OJMCHE)724 NW Davis Street Portland , 97209

2:00pm - UNFIT: The Tale of One Pregnant Teen in the Bible Belt before Women Had Choice by Lani Leigh

In the decades between World War II and Roe v. Wade, an astounding 1.5 million girls and young women were sent to maternity homes and coerced into relinquishing their babies. Lani Jo Leigh was one of those girls.

In 1971, it was the Age of Aquarius and a time of sexual freedom, yet in Moore, OK, sex, drugs, and rock & roll were still the devil's handiwork. In the repressed fundamentalist culture of her small hometown, Lani Jo struggled with the "sin" of her sexuality. When she learned that she was pregnant, she was given one option--banishment to a maternity home in New Orleans. While most girls were sent away for the third trimester, Lani Jo spent six months at Sellers Baptist Home for Unwed Mothers. UNFIT tells the story of her time there--a time of despair, rage, betrayal, and abandonment. With 24 high school and college age girls resideing at the Home at any one time, it is also the story of friendship and genuine caring told with humor and pathos.

Now that women's reproductive rights are once again fueling a divisive national debate, UNFIT provides a poignant, heartbreaking and personal look into our nation's grim history when abortion was illegal, sex education was almost non-existent, and birth control was tightly restricted.

Performance Length:
60 minutes, no intermission

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Location: Clinton Street Theater 2522 SE Clinton Street Portland , Oregon , 97202

5:00pm - LineStorm Playwrights Present: SONGS FROM THE STAGE by Holly Richards & Lolly Ward

Join Holly Richards and Lolly Ward for an evening of music and insight featuring talented Portland musicians! We'll be sharing songs from our collaborative projects, including new material from CESSAIR (you might remember Act I from Fertile Ground last year). We'll also delve into our past work and share stories from our songwriting journey.

Performance Length:
60 minutes, no intermission

Rating/Recommended Age:
All ages

Location: Artists Repertory Theatre 1515 SW Morrison St Portland , Oregon , 97205

Shelf Life by Rebecca Berger-Howe

Shelf Life is a solo show written and performed by Rebecca Berger-Howe, and directed by Brooke Totman. It follows the journey of a woman who revisits her childhood memories, stashed away in the attic of her childhood home. As she slowly opens each box, she takes audiences through her childhood memories via the mementos stored inside. Audiences will see the transition of a young girl dreaming of becoming a world famous pop-star, only to see the realities of adolescence and adulthood dragging those hopes into question. How is one girl supposed to become an international superstar when they can’t get a grasp on their own catholic guilt, their parent’s divorce, or the landmines of navigating puberty?

Performance Length:
60 minutes, no intermission

Rating/Recommended Age:
12+

Location: 21ten Theatre 2110 SE 10th Ave Portland , Oregon , 97214

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April 7, 2025

7:30PM - The Long Reach of the Alligator by Sean Arlo

Adrift in the sea of life? Grab the nearest buoy and escape the jaws of a shady pyramid scheme at the Portland premiere of this musical comedy! Searching for meaning and security, Vanessa falls under the spell of a get-rich-quick ploy and online dating, only to realize that something evil lurks beneath the surface. As her world crumbles, she realizes there is only one way out. Can she outswim… The Long Reach of the Alligator?

This show is in no way associated with Mary Kay, Cutco Knives, or your aunt who sells Amway. Any similarities are purely satirical.

Performance Length:
60 minutes, NO intermission

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+
Location: The Back Door Theater 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Portland , Oregon , 97215

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April 8, 2025

7:30pm - Camp Fire Stories by Murri Lazaroff-Babin

This piece is about home and memory; and the attempt to conjure both.

It’s about how the idea of home changes over time, and the interesting ways in which we fill in the gaps of blurred memories from childhood. It also explores how we experience loss, danger, adventure, weird grown-ups, and weird surroundings as children.

This piece is an attempt to allow the audience to remember the unique things about their own individual homes. Most of all, it’s an homage to the thousands who lost their homes in the 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California.

Rating/Recommended Age:
16+

Performance Length:
65 minutes (no intermission)

Location: CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland, OR 97210

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7:30pm - Predator Pray by Pearson Kunz

A New Queer Thriller by Pearson Kunz

Predator Pray is a challenging new two-act thriller making its world premiere at the Backdoor Theatre as part of the Fertile Grounds festival with the support of the festival’s GROW Grant. This gripping drama is the first full-length play by playwright and local queer theater artist Pearson Kunz - a proud member of FUSE Theatre Ensemble.

Set in the immaculate kitchen of a devout Mormon household, Predator Pray unfolds the morning after Joseph returns home from his two-year mission, only to find that his queer best friend, Devon, has mysteriously vanished in his absence. As Joseph struggles to reconnect with his life, his mother, Evelyn, exerts a suffocating control over their reunion, spinning a tangled web of faith, deception, and moral reckoning. What begins as an intimate family drama spirals into a chilling confrontation with faith that forces Joseph to face the darkest depths of his home, his past, and himself. With razor-sharp dialogue and a slow-burning tension that builds to a shocking conclusion, Predator Pray explores repression, queerness, and the devastating consequences of extreme faith.

Join us at the Back Door Theatre for an unforgettable night of suspense, twists, and fearless storytelling!

Rating/Recommended Age:
14+

Performance Length:
90 minutes with intermission

Location:The Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR

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April 9, 2025

5:00pm - The Wonderful Woman of Oz by Erin Fitzgerald & David Koff

This once-in-a-lifetime theatrical experience will leave you and your family laughing and amazed. Emmy Nominated voice actor Erin Fitzgerald recreates the entire "Wizard of Oz" story, playing every single role in the story with no props, sets, costumes, or special effects.

This superhuman feat required Erin to memorize 80+ pages of dialogue, create voices and body language for 27 different characters, learn how to create dozens of her own sound effects, and create a dozen, different, virtual sets in her mind, so she would know how and where to rotate between characters and "set pieces". It must be seen to be believed.

Our production is a modern, hysterical, and unauthorized re-imagining of L. Frank Baum's classic novel which took over six years of writing, refining, and improvising to develop and then perfect the script.

Rating/Recommended Age:
Safe for all ages. Understandable for ages 6+,

Performance Length:
90min + one intermission

Location: CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland, OR 97210

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7:30pm - Citizen Executioner by Erik James

The play consists of 8 episodic scenes, in which a cast of 9 actors portray 22 different characters.  Most of them real historical figures now finding themselves comically represented in their own history.

Rating/Recommended Age:
12 and up

Performance Length:
1 hour 20 minutes (average)

Location: 21ten Theatre, 2110 SE 10th Ave, Portland , OR

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7:30pm - Dave's Basement by David Wester

Let’s hide from the world! Descend into Dave’s Basement — a solo sketch comedy show that walks the line from despair to delight. Mr. Basement invites you to join his cast of characters in a concrete palace of the mind. Featuring enchantments such as: grandiosity, sincerity, amusing scenarios, audio-visual mayhem, and (at least) one person on a stage.

Nobody leaves the basement unchanged.

David Wester’s comedy has been featured in the Portland Mercury Undisputed Geniuses of Comedy, Portland Sketchfest, and Seattle Sketchfest. You may have seen him around town at The Siren Theater (as half of the duo D&D and part of Lone Wolves), Kickstand Comedy (as a Secret Aardvark host and performer), and the grocery store (as a man buying a rotisserie chicken).

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+ recommended

Performance Length:
50 minutes; no intermission

Location: The Siren Theater, 3913 N Mississippi Ave, Portland , OR

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5:30pm - PDX Playwrights: Shakespeare in the Dark by Adam Harrell

Shakespeare in the Dark  by Adam Harrell

Irwin, a struggling theater director caught in the throes of an artistic slump and midlife crisis, must rediscover his creative spark when the theater gods send the ghost of William Shakespeare to haunt his disastrous production of The Tempest.

Paul, the lovesick stage manager, pines for lead actress Teena, though their lives couldn’t be more different. Abby, cast as Caliban, searches for love in all the wrong places. Jen, almost Ariel in spirit, is fiercely loyal but often overlooked. Cybil, the fading diva playing Prospero, abandoned pleasantries long ago. At the chaotic center stands Irwin, battling his self-doubt under the unpredictable gaze of Gloria, his extravagant aunt and precarious financier.

As fantasy, magic, and romance collide, Irwin must confront his demons to save his career—and the beloved but crumbling Tillman Theater—from ruin. Brimming with star-crossed lovers, soliloquies, and the comedic twists of a Shakespearean romp, this heartfelt new play celebrates the transformative power of storytelling.

Rating/Recommended Age:
15+

Performance Length:
80 minutes, no intermission

Location: The Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie , OR

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7:30pm - PDX Playwrights: See Jane Run: An Indo Story by Jane Vogel Mantiri

See Jane Run: An Indo Story by Jane Vogel Mantiri

Directed by Cycerli Ash

See Jane Run: An Indo Story is a solo memoir play written and performed by Jane Vogel Mantiri. It confronts grief, inspires hope, and is a universal story steeped in love. The play is an exhale after decades of silence. Indo refugee immigrants fleeing Indonesia after World War II suppressed their Indo identity because it was a source of danger and shame. They wanted their children to be spared the pain, and encouraged, cajoled, and forced them to assimilate to a new culture. Now Indos around the world are calling out to each other to tell their stories, and reclaim their identity before the culture vanishes. For the ancestors and for future generations, the rich legacy of Indo culture lives on in storytelling. This play is one Indo’s story about love, loss, generational trauma, racism, forced displacement, resilience, and being happy.

Rating/Recommended Age:
15+ (for example)

Performance Length:
75 minutes, no intermission

Location: The Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie, OR

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7:30pm - Hillsboro Artists' Regional Theatre (HART): The Pros and Cons of Killing Your Husband by April Aasheim

In the small Midwestern town of Cowbell, MO, Gertie’s 50th wedding anniversary takes a darkly comedic turn when her husband gifts her a fishing pole instead of the diamond ring she’s longed for. Fueled by decades of repressed frustrations, a cocktail of dubious pills, and the encouragement of her lifelong friends, Gertie begins plotting her husband’s untimely demise. With sharp humor, unexpected twists, and heartfelt revelations, The Pros and Cons of Killing Your Husband explores the complexities of love, friendship, marriage, and the lengths we’ll go to rediscover ourselves. A laugh-out-loud dark comedy that’s deadly fun!

Rating/Recommended Age:
PG-13 / 16 +

Performance Length:
100 Minutes (15 min Intermission)

Location: HART Theater, 185 SE Washington St, Hillsboro , Oregon , 97123

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April 10, 2025

5:30pm - PDX Playwrights: Underground Live! by Michael Meyers & Nervous Triptych by Brad Bolchunos

Underground Live! by Michael Meyers

When a grieving woman meets a grieving man doing standup comedy in a cemetery, she’s challenged to reckon with how best to honor a loved one. The two connect over their sorrow but soon discover in their friendship a courage to celebrate those who have died but live within us.

Nervous Triptych by Brad Bolchunos

Trying to tame a nervous tic? Nervous Triptych might do the trick, confronting anxiety with absurdity. In the Bag unfolds in a city park where danger looms amid a peculiar bout of adult keep-away. A hot air balloon pilot and her husband reach new heights of emotion mid-flight in Up, Up, and Away, while Run Salmon Run embarks on a daring home-bound journey inspired—and complicated—by fish. When you’re laughing, it’s okay to twitch.

Rating/Recommended Age:
14+

Performance Length:
75 minutes, including a brief intermission between selections

Location: The Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie , Oregon , 97222

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7:30pm - PDX Playwrights: Regret: A Gothic Tragicom by Karen Polinsky

Regret: A Gothic Tragicom by Karen Polinsky

At a rustic property in Oregon—attacked by crows but suddenly worth millions—a dysfunctional family gathers to pay respects to a dying patriarch and his problematic wife, at long last turning their regrets into murder. Meanwhile, an endangered squirrel is running out of time. This show offers a fun look at how toxic family relations can be!

Starring Jon Bolden, Jessica Curtiss, Maia McCarthy, Inna Pustakhanova, Nick Buri, and Gillian Wildfire. With an original score by Michael C. Hays and Esmé Schwall of Pythias Braswell, performed live.

This play also features the visual art of Inna Pustakhanova, also playing the part of the Ghost-Squirrel. Inna, who came here from Belarus about four and a half years ago, explains why she instantly connected to the role. “I had a favorite work by writer Anatoly Kim, a novel called Squirrel. My mother was a book lover and we had 3000 books in our small apartment. This book once accidentlally fell off the shelf. Right on the floor I started reading it and got carried away…”

Rating/Recommended Age:
15+

Performance Length:
75 minutes, no intermission

Location: The Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie , Oregon , 97222

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6:00pm -  Harvest of Woman by Olga Kravtsova

Step into a world of cracked vessels, spilling water, and whispered voices. Harvest of Woman is an immersive solo performance blending visceral movement, evocative design, and raw storytelling to uncover the unseen labor and quiet resilience of women. Witness, feel, and ask—what will you do with what you have seen?

Rating/Recommended Age:
+18

Performance Length:
40 (-ish) minutes without intermission

Location: CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland , Oregon , 97210

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7:30pm - 3X2: Three Plays. Two Authors. One Hour. by Bill Lynch & Timothy Krause

Three one-act plays by Bill Lynch and Timothy Krause, directed by Scott Stroot.

Home Game: A young woman struggles to keep her family together following the death of their mother. Her efforts are complicated by her younger brother’s decision to camp on the street to escape the wrath of their conservative father. Cast: Tricia Castañeda-Guevara and Jonathan Hernandez

Pen Pal: Having recently lost his wife, a former NYC building supervisor writes to an inmate during the pandemic lockdown for advice about living with the burden of loneliness.  Cast: Paul Rober

Now Are You Afraid of Me: A biographer, obsessed with the life of a notorious felon, is forced to confront his morally questionable motives when paying his subject an unwelcomed visit. Cast: Edward Lyons, Jr., and Joe Johnson

Rating/Recommended Age:
16+ (for example)

Performance Length:
60 minutes, no intermission

Location: 21ten Theatre, 2110 SE 10th Ave, Portland , Oregon , 97214

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April 11, 2025

5:30pm - PDX Playwrights: If These Walls Could Talk by Meg Wiles

If These Walls Could Talk by Meg Wiles

In a forgotten basement in a derelict old house lives Lucille, an ill-tempered ghost who has never been one for change. Kept company solely by the abandoned items of the past, Lucille clings to the contents, memories, and shadows that inhabit her room. When the new homeowners start gutting the house, Lucille is thrust into turmoil as, item by item, her fondest “friends” are being ripped from her. What can you do when the past is deemed unimportant, the present holds no place for you, and the future promises only unpredictable change?

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Performance Length:
75 minutes, no intermission

Location: The Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie , Oregon , 97222

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7:30pm - PDX Playwrights: Scenario at Chapel - Whippersnappers - by Donna Arasin, Stan Matthews, and Michael Meyers

Whippersnappers - by Donna Arasin, Stan Matthews and Michael Meyers

Scenario Selection at Chapel Theatre

We play many roles throughout life. Friend, parent, teacher, boss. Those roles can change in an instant. Old age is a time of life when a parent often starts acting more like a child – and their children, more like the parent. The result is sometimes drama, sometimes comedy, often both. Whippersnappers includes four plays that examine the changing dynamics of the parent child relationships as parents age. The plays are: Gonna Rain Like Hell by Stan Matthews, Baggage by Donna Arasin, Flint and Stone by Michael Meyers, and Momma’s Back by Stan Matthews. These pieces are among the most creative and daring new works by playwrights who participated in the Scenario workshop led by PDX Playwrights in collaboration with CoHo Productions. We invite you to check out these enthralling and thought-provoking acts of creation. Another wonderful and distinct set of four short works from Scenario will be presented at CoHo Theatre

Rating/Recommended Age:
15+

Performance Length:
75 minutes, no intermission

Location: The Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie , Oregon , 97222

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5:30pm - PDX Playwrights: Scenario at CoHo - New Experimental Works - by Stefan Feuerherdt, Brook Hinton, and Urks Io

New Experimental Works - by Stefan Feuerherdt, Brook Hinton, and urks io

Scenario Selection at CoHo Theatre

In Brook Hinton’s We Have Ten Minutes To Reach An Understanding Or At Least Convince Ourselves That We Have, three strangers confront themselves under the shadow of a rumored cataclysm. The audience delivers 21 New Messages, by Stefan Feuerherdt, in which the story of a woman coming to clean her mother’s home is revealed through messages on the mother’s telephone answering machine. Food Play, by urks io, is an in-process, experimental devised theatre piece that explores the historic and ritual use of food as a lens through which to uncover our society’s health and ills. These pieces are among the most creative and daring new works by playwrights who participated in the Scenario workshop led by PDX Playwrights in collaboration with CoHo Productions. We invite you to check out these enthralling and thought-provoking acts of creation. Another wonderful and distinct set of four short works from Scenario will be presented at Chapel Theatre.

Rating/Recommended Age:
15+

Performance Length:
75 minutes, no intermission

Location: CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland , Oregon , 97210

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8:00pm - Who's Who by Marshall Welch at 21ten

16-year old Onnie Thomas likes to listen to heavy metal music, steal from the convenience store and get high in the cemetery in her hometown of Stafford, Kansas. Her luck runs out when she’s caught siphoning gas. She is ordered to complete community service hours at the library.

While archiving books, Onnie stumbles upon a bundle of letters hidden in a 1940 volume of Who’s Who written by a girl her age. The yellowing pages reveal a tragedy buried in the past. She he is compelled to search for the mystery author with the hope of returning the time capsule to her. Her quest ends in an unexpected friendship bridging two generations with a bittersweet balm that heals past wounds inflicted and the teenage angst of living in today’s digital world.

Rating/Recommended Age:
12+

Performance Length:
60 minutes, no intermission

Location: 21ten Theatre, 2110 SE 10th Ave, Portland , Oregon , 97214

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9:00pm - One Thousand Times adapted and directed by Eric Martin Reid

What if there were no more evil in this world?

This new, immersive work, places you in the midst of a conversation between an exalted and wise spiritual leader who comes across Satan, mortally wounded…with only moments to live.

One Thousand Times- adapted and directed by Eric Martin Reid

A new work based on the profound short story “Satan” by Lebanese-American artist Kahlil Gibran (author of The Prophet). Produced by Lydia Sheehey, Eric Martin Reid, and The Studio NW- Premier Acting Studio.

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Performance Length:
75 min

Location: The Studio NW, 734 NW 14th Ave, Portland , Oregon , 97209

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April 12, 2025

12:00pm - PDX Playwrights: The Real Houseplants of Portland, Oregon: Workshop - by Genderbomb

The Real Houseplants of Portland, Oregon - Workshop

Written and Produced by Ezra Fockens in association with members of the Genderbomb ensemble

This event will be a theater workshop using the complexly interconnected world of plants to explore Queer interpersonal conflict and social dynamics. Using the tropes of reality TV, combined with group movement storytelling and a dynamic soundscape, we will encourage our attendees to envision themselves as houseplants going through petty mundane drama, before everything is put into perspective. We will ask: When plants stop being watered, how do they put aside their differences to find a way to nurture themselves and their community?

Rating/Recommended Age:
14+

Performance Length:
60 minutes

Location: The Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie , Oregon , 97222

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2:00pm - PDX Playwrights: Epic Shorts: Brave Enough

Epic Shorts: Brave Enough by PDX Playwrights

As part of our annual lineup of Fertile Ground performances, PDX Playwrights will once again be hosting our ever-popular Epic Shorts event! This spectacular series of curated stories will showcase a handful of 10-minute plays based around this year's chosen theme, "Brave Enough."

Participants are invited to work with the theme however they wish. The theme was inspired by Amanda Gorman's "The Hill We Climb" from the 2020 inauguration ceremony, words that still ring true today:

"[W]hen the day comes we step out of the shade aflame and unafraid, the new dawn blooms as we free it, there is always light if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it."

Rating/Recommended Age:
15+

Performance Length:
75 minutes, no intermission

Location: The Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie , Oregon , 97222

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12:00pm - The Poison Squad by Anthony Orkin

The late 19th century was the Wild West of food. The supermarket was a lawless place, where manufacturers could put whatever they wanted into the can, and there was no list of ingredients. Your peas don’t look green enough? Pour some copper sulfate on them. Your fish smells fishy? Try a sprinkling of borax. Your milk doesn’t have an appetizing froth on its top? Add some whipped cats’ brains. The newspapers were filled with stories of mass poisonings, when a bad batch of something hit the shelves. The spirit of free enterprise driving the industrial revolution also drove food companies to chase profit at the expense of the public’s health. Women’s groups were especially appalled; how were they to take care of their families? They wrote letters to Congress, but the food companies, with their ‘campaign contributions’, spoke louder than any mail. Would no one save us from these rapacious robber barons?

'The Poison Squad' takes us through that epic legislative battle, poking gentle fun at Wiley and his boys. While certain parts of the story (you'll know which) are invented, many of the strangest bits are true. So sit back, enjoy the show, and try to enjoy that snack you're eating without wondering: what's in it?

Rating/Recommended Age:
6+

Performance Length:
2 hours, with intermission

Location: CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland , Oregon , 97210

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1:00pm - Exemplar by Jody Read: A Staged Reading and Feedback Session

At The Company, everything is as it should be. Women have the power, and the men are only around for busy work (and a bit of eye candy). It takes a second for meek new hire Sam Harper to get used to her new spot at the top, and she's still not quite comfortable with how her inferiors are treated. But when rumors of a men's revolt begin to make their way up to her office, she is faced with a pivotal choice...

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Performance Length:
Less than an hour, No Intermission

Location: Old Moody at Zidell Yards, 3121 S Moody Ave, Portland , Oregon , 97239

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3:00pm - Portland Storytellers' Guild presents Dancing with Death

If you were to believe the stories, Death seems pretty easy to outwit. Or maybe he’s just more compassionate than one would think. Come decide for yourself when Storytelling Crones, Anne Penfound, Pam Maben, Barbara Fankhauser and Julie Strozyk tickle your funny bone and shiver your spine with a collection of their favorite stories of everyone's final dancing partner.  From the promise of saving one's soul -- or sole-- to a rollicking birthday bash and a visit to a graveyard, we promise you’ll never think of death in quite the same way.

Rating/Recommended Age:
Mature teens and adults

Performance Length:
90 minutes with one 10 minute intermission

Location: The Artichoke, 2007 SE Powell Blvd, Portland , Oregon , 97202

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3:00pm - Hanuman’s Shadow: Echoes of Laos and America by Samson Syharath

This solo performance explores the intersection of myth, identity, and hidden histories, weaving together the story of Hanuman, his journey in the Ramayana/Pralak Pralam, with the Secret War in Laos and lesser-known events in U.S. history. The performance delves into the secrets and shadows of history that have shaped the identities of marginalized peoples globally, including the impact of U.S. intervention in other countries and territories. If ticket prices are a barrier, please email [email protected] and we will work with you to ensure access to the performance.

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Performance Length:
30 Minutes (No intermission)

Location: CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland , Oregon , 97210

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3:00pm - The Crystal Ball - A Children's Tale by Portland Eurythmy

For the young and young at heart, Portland Eurythmy presents the Crystal Ball, a Grimm’s tale about a fearless young boy who escapes his own enchantment and risks his life to set a princess free. We work with beloved storyteller, Daniel Stokes, to bring the story to life with movement, music, color, puppetry and a whole lot of magic.

After the story, we will bring you more music and poetry to lighten your life. Prior to the story, partake in a 10-minute parent/child class during which we will take you and your young one on a little movement journey.

Rating/Recommended Age:
All Ages

Performance Length:
40 minutes

Location: The Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland , Oregon , 97215

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6:00pm - Raising Josie by Anita Clark

“Raising Josie” is the journey of a widow who finds herself adrift in the turbulent waters of single life after three decades of marriage. Josie must now confront her own grief and redefine her identity in a world that feels foreign and overwhelming. With the support of her Family and Friends, she navigates a comedy of errors that include the challenges of self-discovery, the complexities of Mother-Daughter relationships and living the single life. This heartfelt and light-hearted play invites audiences to reflect on the transformative power of connection and the courage to embrace a new beginning.

Rating/Recommended Age:
PG - 13

Performance Length:
60 minutes, no intermission

Location: Bridgetown Conservatory of Musical Theatre / Black Box, 711 SW 14th Ave., Portland , Oregon , 97205

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7:30pm - AGAIN and AGAIN by Kathryn Claire

This multi-media solo piece weaves together improvised looping on the violin, synthesizer and voice, pieces of poetry and song, dance, and spoken word to explore the cyclical nature of time, what we leave behind as humans, and the way our creativity can lead us back to ourselves.

Kathryn Claire’s work traverses music, movement, poetry/writing and performance. Her creative practice feels most authentic and embodied when she is able to work in multiple mediums and explore the interplay between them. In 2023, Kathryn Claire created a performance piece Proof Enough which combined looped violin and synthesizer, dance, poetry and singing. After sharing the initial work in early 2024, Kathryn began working on an album inspired by many of the themes explored in the piece. Through the process of recording and revisiting this earlier piece, she is combining improvised looping, pieces of poetry and song, dance and spoken word in Again and Again.

Rating/Recommended Age:
12+

Performance Length:
45 mins

Location: Performance Works NW, 4625 SE 67th Ave, Portland , Oregon , 97206

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8:00pm - The Mask I Wear by Jonathan Hernandez

'The Mask I Wear' is a powerful solo performance that explores the internal struggles of a Latino actor caught in the cycle of typecasting and cultural stereotypes. Set in the dreaded waiting room of a casting office, Actor Jonathan battles with the limitations placed on him by the industry, while confronting Johnny H - a successful but compromised actor who has embraced stereotypical roles, and Jon-something-or-other, a talented performer paralyzed by self-doubt. Through these character shifts, Jonathan reflects on his own journey, facing the pressure to conform while yearning to break free. With raw emotion and humor, the show invites the audience into his battle for self-worth, culminating in a triumphant decision to reclaim his identity and choose a path of true artistic expression.

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Performance Length:
45-50 mins, no intermission

Location: 21ten Theatre, 2110 SE 10th Ave, Portland , Oregon , 97214

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April 13, 2025

7:00pm - Sugar & Whiskey Burlesque by Billie Rose

Step into the intoxicating world of Sugar & Whiskey Burlesque—a night where sweet seduction meets a smoky edge. Experience a tantalizing blend of sultry striptease and bold cabaret, served up with a dash of old-school charm. This unforgettable evening promises to leave you breathless and craving more. Sip, savor, and surrender to the magic of Sugar & Whiskey Burlesque!

Rating/Recommended Age:
21+

Performance Length:
90 minutes, 20 intermission

Location: Star Theater and Starlight Lounge, 13 NW 6th Ave., Portland , Oregon , 97209

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7:30pm - Hillsboro Artists' Regional Theatre (HART): Out of Love by James Van Eaton

A seemingly innocuous object at a Mexican restaurant unravels deep family secrets, a horribly violent bar brawl is retold by three of the participants, only two of which are human, a bereaved father and his struggling granddaughter search for a light in their shared darkness, and a man arrives at the home of his one-time love with flowers for the last time. These four stories, which comprise James Van Eaton’s latest collection, Out of Love, explore the depths and limits of that most powerful emotion with a poignant blend of loyalty, heartache, sweetness and hard truth.

Rating/Recommended Age:
PG-13 / 16 +

Performance Length:
100 minutes (15 min Intermission)

Location: HART Theater, 185 SE Washington St, Hillsboro , Oregon , 97123

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April 14, 2025

7:00pm -  New Works at Lakewood Theatre: Young Playwrights Festival

Young Playwrights Festival (YPF) is a collection of short plays by outstanding High School playwrights selected from the Portland metro area to work with professional directors, actors, and playwrights to gain insight, experience, and feedback to develop their plays. The culmination of this process is to experience the audience response at this presentation of their work.

Location: Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S State Street, Lake Oswego , Oregon , 97034

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7:00pm - Everybody's Eyes are on The First! by Teague Shattuck & Naama Friedman

It's the world premier staged reading of "Everybody's Eyes are on The First"! A full-length, dark comedy musical about the first transgender infomercial host by trans writing duo Teague Shattuck and Naama Friedman. Perfect for fans of Rent, How to Succeed in Business, Hairspray, and more!

Pride kitty litter (with plenty of glitter), rainbow pasta makers, and lounge chairs with built-in speakers that only play “Born This Way”: These are some of the quality products you can find on the R&R Productions Shopping Channel!

After a series of problematic infomercials lead to a social-media spurred boycott, Rudy and Rhonda, seasoned hosts of R&R Productions, hire a struggling actor named Rafi to market as the First Transgender Infomercial Host! Drama, sex, hilarity, and moral conundrums ensue on a set that simultaneously declares “Hate Has No Place in Our Studio” and “There’s Nothing Trendier than a Transgender”. Amidst clashing opinions from his girlfriend, Mag, and PR exec fling, Sloane, Rafi must decide for himself how much he is willing to compromise his values for his dreams. Be swept away by catchy tunes, scathing satire, and late-stage capitalism in this disarmingly heartfelt dark comedy!

Rating/Recommended Age:
16+. Harsh language and sexual content. Email accessibility contact with any questions.

Performance Length:
2 hours, one intermission

Location: The Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., Portland , Oregon , 97215

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7:30pm - A Window into Tennessee by Sandra de Helen

The play is a portrayal of Tennessee Williams as a man in his prime, after he's had success, and after he's suffered the loss of the great love of his life. Tennessee laughs too loud, drinks too much, takes too many pills. He appears extroverted in order to compensate for the introverted, painfully shy Tom inside. Michael shows us the real man, the self-destructive, fearful poet who loves too much, and makes us love him in the process. Louanne Moldovan directs.

Rating/Recommended Age:
14+

Performance Length:
60 minutes, no intermission

Location: 21ten Theatre, 2110 SE 10th Ave, Portland , Oregon , 97214

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April 15, 2025

6:00pm -  Theatre Diaspora presents: Ten Minute Tapestry II

This project aims to transcend traditional storytelling boundaries, offering a tapestry of narratives that delve into the richness and diversity of the Asian American experience. Through compelling characters, unique perspectives, and thought-provoking themes, the showcase seeks to captivate audiences while fostering a deeper understanding of the cultural nuances within the AAPI community. If ticket prices are a barrier, please email [email protected] and we will work with you to ensure access to the performance.

Rating/Recommended Age:
13+

Performance Length:
50 minutes (No Intermission)

Location: CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland , Oregon , 97210

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8:30pm - Love, Shakespeare directed by Kristen Schier

Witness the Magic of Unscripted Shakespeare- with some special surprises! Step into the offbeat world of Love, Shakespeare, where seasoned Portland comedians attempt something audacious: performing a fully improvised Elizabethan play based on your suggestions! Each show is an unpredictable tribute to Shakespeare's comedy, filled with ridiculous twists and spontaneous delights. Follow a merry band of players – former buddies of the great Will himself – as they unravel one of the Bard's “unfinished” gems. Love, Shakespeare is a lively celebration that's equal parts homage and hilarity – a comedic gem not to be missed!

Rating/Recommended Age:
All ages welcome although may include bawdy content

Performance Length:
75 minutes, short intermission

Location: CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland , Oregon , 97210

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9:00pm - Nightlatch by Alice Wilkinson

The piece was inspired by my time out West working on ranches and the solace wild places provide.

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Performance Length:
25 minutes

Location: 21ten Theatre, 2110 SE 10th Ave, Portland , Oregon , 97214

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April 16, 2025

7:00pm - New Works at Lakewood Theatre: The Madwomen of Richmond

When her father dies, Elizabeth van Lew frees her family slaves. One of them, Mary, has been raised and educated by Elizabeth. Mary goes North to teach in a black school in Philadelphia. When the Civil War breaks out, Elizabeth realizes her old school friend Varina Davis is now the first lady of the confederacy. She offers to lend her a skilled ladies' maid, which Varina gladly agrees to. So Elizabeth writes to Mary. “If you come back, we may be able to do something important.” And so they became what General Grant called “My most useful spies.”

Location: Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S State Street, Lake Oswego , Oregon , 97034

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7:30pm - Every Pretty Thing co-created by Alanna Fagan & Ken Yoshikawa

Structured more like a house party than a traditional performance, Alanna Fagan and Ken Yoshikawa obliterate the fourth wall in this new devised work. Audiences can expect to dance, mingle, and snack freely on concessions while guided through an immersive narrative as Fagan and Yoshikawa experiment with human interaction. Part social experiment, part avant garde performance art, this guerrilla theatre experiment will be unlike any other audience experience. "Every Pretty Thing" will continue its evolution in the fall of 2025 as the MainStage production of Roots and All. Theatre Ensemble, in collaboration with Coho Productions.

For performer health & safety, masks are required.

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+ (for example)

Performance Length:
85 minutes, no intermission (for example)

Location: 21Ten Theatre, 2110 SE 10th Ave., Portland , Oregon , 97214

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7:30pm - Rally 'Round Sally by Timothy Krause

When Sally Nicholas unexpectedly inherits a fortune, her newfound wealth takes her on a whirlwind journey from Paris to London to New York, where she encounters a mix of romantic entanglements and comedic mishaps. She generously supports her playwright friend in producing his play, deftly navigates her engagement to a self-centered fiancé, and diligently faces the schemes of her conniving brother. Despite setbacks and misunderstandings, Sally remains optimistic, ultimately finding love and happiness with someone who values her for who she is, not her money, in this colorful stage adaptation of PG Wodehouse’s 1920s novel, The Adventures of Sally.

Rating/Recommended Age:
10+

Performance Length:
approximately 2.5 hours including one intermission

Location: CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland , Oregon , 97210

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7:30pm - Hillsboro Artists' Regional Theatre: The Spumoni Skit and The Warming Hut by Sally Stember

Spumoni Skits: The Spumoni Skit is a sharp, hilarious take on post-divorce dating, pandemic-era romance, and the tragic reality of losing out to ice cream. With wit and self-deprecating charm, Sally navigates texting mishaps, aging, and a suitor who prefers Tillamook Caramel Cold Brew over meeting in person. Packed with pop culture nods and risqué fun, this monologue is for anyone who's ever questioned their love life—or their choice of dessert.

The Warming Hut: A mysterious refuge on a snowy mountainside where fate weaves together an unlikely group of souls. Thaddeus, a stoic mountaineer, rescues Mary from a storm, but their sanctuary is soon disrupted by the arrival of Susanne, an ethereal young woman with a haunting secret. As more visitors, both human and canine, converge, buried truths and connections come to light, leading to a profound exploration of love, redemption, and what it means to truly find one's way home. A heartwarming and chilling tale of resilience, humanity, and the ties that bind us all.

Rating/Recommended Age:
PG-13 / 16+

Performance Length:
Short Play in a 2 hour evening of plays with short intermissions

Location: HART Theater, 185 SE Washington St, Hillsboro , Oregon , 97123

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7:30pm - Hillsboro Artists' Regional Theatre (HART): No Ham, No Fowl by Mark Saunders

NO HAM, NO FOWL is a ten-minute play from a holiday-themed series exploring love and identity. Set during Thanksgiving, it offers a light-hearted, romantic twist on the coming-out story. The play is flexible, designed to be performed by any gender mix of couple—man-woman, man-man, or woman-woman—allowing directors to tailor the cast as they see fit. With humor and heart, it brings a fresh perspective to a universal moment of revelation and acceptance.

Rating/Recommended Age:
PG - 13 / 16+

Performance Length:
Short play in a 2 hour evening of shorts with Intermissions in between

Location: HART Theater, 185 SE Washington St, Hillsboro , Oregon , 97123

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7:30pm - Hillsboro Artists' Regional Theatre (HART): Life Agent by Linda Maxon

Life Agent explores a true-life encounter with a mother in dire circumstances and her autistic son, juxtaposed against a wheelchair-bound man’s surprising joy. Based on the playwright's real experiences as a licensed insurance agent, this poignant scene unravels human resilience, tragedy, and unexpected happiness. A first-time playwright, Linda Maxon reflects on decades of theater appreciation and finds new purpose through storytelling, drawing inspiration from life and the enduring magic of live theater.

Rating/Recommended Age:
PG-13 / 16 +

Performance Length:
Short Play in a 2 hour evening of plays with short intermissions

Location: HART Theater, 185 SE Washington St, Hillsboro , Oregon , 97123

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April 17, 2025

7:30pm - unbound: a bookish musical | book & lyrics by erin rachel

This special concert reading of unbound: a bookish musical follows Jane, a recent divorcee who returns to her hometown and finds herself working at Bookish, a beloved neighborhood bookstore. There, she meets a unique group of individuals, each navigating their own personal and professional challenges. Together, they explore ways to build community, embrace creativity, and redefine their understanding of themselves and one another. With book and lyrics by erin rachel and music direction by Daniel Buchanan, unbound: a bookish musical explores themes of love and loss, grief and growth, and the profound journey of reclaiming what you thought was lost.

Rating/Recommended Age:
PG for thematic elements, but generally accessible to all

Performance Length:
65 minute show time, no intermission

Location: 21ten Theatre, 2110 SE 10th Ave, Portland , Oregon , 97214

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7:30pm - Twas the Night Before by Laura Anne Harris

When Claudette comes home for Christmas she expects the typical holiday company - her passionate mother Simone, her tender father Pascal, and her polar opposite sister Gabrielle. However, when a mysterious woman named Rebecca comes to the door with a secret about Simone’s past, it sends a shock wave through the family and threatens to ruin Christmas!

Twas the Night Before is written and directed by award winning theatre artist, Laura Anne Harris. She was seen last year at Fertile Ground in her piece, "Have Fun Kids."

Starring Amy Driesler as Claudette, Maria Porter as Simone, Saren Nofs Synder as Gabrielle, Cecily Overman as Rebecca, Tim Blough as Pascal, Travis James Bilenski, and Cora Beeman as Cherry.

Rating/Recommended Age:
General Audience

Performance Length:
90, no intermission

Location: CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland , Oregon , 97210

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7:30pm - OLCC Confidential by Michael Schein

Where’s Bosom Delux? A stripper has disappeared from vegan strip club Mollycockers, but never fear! OLCC Inspector Bumphrey Hogart and his lovesick sidekick Regulatory Specialist Daisy Chain are on the case in this noir parody set in the scandal-plagued workplace of Oregon’s booze & pot regulators, the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC). Why is a vegan strip club ordering beef, what’s Inspector Hogart doing breaking into his boss’s boss’s boss’s office, and what’s with all that Old Cow swill anyway? To find out the answer to these questions and next week’s Willamette Week headlines, run down to The Chapel Theatre in Milwaukie April 17, 18, or 19.

OLCC Confidential is a work of fiction, loosely based on the so-called “Bourbon-gate” scandal, in which top OLCC executives lost their jobs because they were found to be setting aside rare whiskeys, including Pappy Van Winkle bourbon, for their own purchase.

Playwright Michael Schein worked at the OLCC during Bourbon-gate. In real life, the employees at OLCC are dedicated, hardworking, and caring people. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events, is purely coincidental.

OLCC Confidential is directed by Kaylen Rich, whose work was most recently seen as assistant director of Sweeney Todd at Twilight Theatre. This world premiere original work is a fully staged 2-act play with a run time of approximately one hour fifty minutes (excluding intermission), presented as part of Portland’s Fertile Ground Festival of New Works. There is one 15-minute intermission. Due to mature themes, the show is recommended for ages 16 and above. The Chapel Theatre is fully ADA accessible, with ADA restrooms on the main floor. This show is made possible by the generous support of Executive Producer Robert Crawford - thank you! Content warning: the show contains depictions of marijuana smoking, replica firearms are displayed, and there are gunshot sound effects.

Rating/Recommended Age:
16+

Performance Length:
110 minutes, plus 1 intermission

Location: The Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie , Oregon , 97222

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April 18, 2025

7:00pm - New Works at Lakewood Theatre: Bama Breeze by Mike Westby

The 40th Reunion of the University of Alabama Class of 1984 brings four couples back together. First, the football hero and his cheerleader wife. The second couple, who also met at Alabama, before he went on to be a plastic surgeon. The third couple, a soap opera star who is now married to Ted, his onetime stylist. And the fourth couple are going too, even though he dropped out his senior year and virtually disappeared. Each of them are bringing secrets to the party, things they were hoping to deal with before getting together again. Funny things can and do happen in this comedy drama, when old friends hope to catch up, but not all the way. The winds of change are blowing them all into Tuscaloosa. It’s a Bama Breeze.

Location: Lakewood Center for the Arts, 368 S State Street, Lake Oswego , Oregon , 97034

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7:30pm - The Redemption Show by Sam Cimino, Nikki Flinn, Kat Freya, & Lauren Frey

Sam Cimino, Nikki Flinn, Kat Freya, and Lauren Frey unite to present The Redemption Show at Performance Works Northwest, an evening of ritualistic performance examining power, desire, and institutional control. Through dance, sound, and storytelling, four solos interweave to challenge established systems and reclaim feminine power. Traversing landscapes from the workplace to pop culture, sacred ritual to religious rebellion, each artist's unique voice contributes to a collective song of resistance, crafting a raw, transformative experience that celebrates liberation and invites audiences into a shared journey of reclamation.

Rating/Recommended Age:
18+

Performance Length:
90 minutes with an intermission

Location: Performance Works NW, 4625 SE 67th Ave, Portland , Oregon , 97206

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8:30pm - Who's Who by Marshall Welch at CoHo

16-year old Onnie Thomas likes to listen to heavy metal music, steal from the convenience store and get high in the cemetery in her hometown of Stafford, Kansas. Her luck runs out when she’s caught siphoning gas. She is ordered to complete community service hours at the library.

While archiving books, Onnie stumbles upon a bundle of letters hidden in a 1940 volume of Who’s Who written by a girl her age. The yellowing pages reveal a tragedy buried in the past. She he is compelled to search for the mystery author with the hope of returning the time capsule to her. Her quest ends in an unexpected friendship bridging two generations with a bittersweet balm that heals past wounds inflicted and the teenage angst of living in today’s digital world.

Rating/Recommended Age:
12+

Performance Length:
60 minutes, no intermission

Location: CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St, Portland , Oregon , 97210

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April 19, 2025

8:00pm - Mountain Woman

"Mountain Woman" is a 30 minute solo multimedia performance celebrating the raw power of creation and destruction embodied by a volcano. This piece explores the parallels between the earth’s cyclical movements and the emotional landscape of humanity. Through a series of vignettes, it combines expressive dance, recorded narration, video, music, and scent, immersing the audience in the essence of an evolving mountain. Performed on a set crafted from recycled and natural materials, "Mountain Woman" showcases the sacred feminine spirit, embodying growth, self-destruction, and balance as a call to reconnect with the earth’s cycles. The set and costuming has been created from recycled materials, trash is a treasure trove.

Rating/Recommended Age:
all ages

Performance Length:
30, minutes, no intermission

Location: 21ten Theatre, 2110 SE 10th Ave, Portland , Oregon , 97214

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Date: April 4-19, 2025

Location: Various Location in Oregon

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