December 3, 2013
• NFS(2U) – by John Servilio
Speedy has hired John for the evening, but for some reason, John drags Speedy to an art gallery first. In the course of trying to decipher one of the artist’s works, John discovers how special the artist really is. And Speedy, despite his quest for a quick happy ending, is the person to show him.
• THE FLIMFLAM SHAMBLE – by Brad Bolchunos
William “Flimflam” Barrington strives to see the world in a magical way, and his vision might be contagious. But one day in a train station, an encounter threatens to unleash his greatest fear.
The meeting will be held in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, the Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW Eleventh Ave.
November 19, 2013
• THIRD TUESDAY WORKSHOP/CRITIQUE GROUP – for pre-registered participants
The meeting will be held in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, the Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW Eleventh Ave.
November 5, 2013
• FROM THE RUBY LOUNGE – by William Thomas Berk
A collection of twelve monologues bridging the varied, fascinating and complex stories of women involved with a fictitious Portland strip club.
The meeting will be at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
October 15, 2013
• THIRD TUESDAY WORKSHOP/CRITIQUE GROUP – for pre-registered participants
The meeting will be at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
October 1, 2013
• SHADOWS – by Redmond Reams
Mark, an abused baby, has decided to stay safe and emotionally disconnected. Yet he is adopted by a couple who desperately wants to love and be loved. Can they all find a little light in the dark of the shadows?
The meeting will be at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
September 17, 2013
• DEMONSTRATION: THIRD TUESDAYS – by Dave Chapman
PDX Playwrights embarks on its Third Tuesday Worskhop format with a discussion about how the intensive critiques will work and a demonstration using works in development, including the following (longer works will be excerpts):
• CANDIED – THE ODYSSEY OF YOUNG INGENU – by John Servilio
When young Ingenu fails to save an earthworm from the forces of nature, he is told by his master that it is all for the best. More than that: In this best of all possible worlds, everything in life happens for the best. But when what’s best the for the world isn’t so great for Ingenu, he has a hard time holding onto his optimism. Join our young hero on his bittersweet and often absurd journey around the world as he navigates the waters of despair, pragmatism and hope in this modern adaptation of Voltaire’s Candide.
• OBJECTS MAY SHIFT DURING FLIGHT – by Miriam Feder
How are we marked and revealed by our trail of belongings? We’ve all hear the warning. Miriam Feder’s short play features some people, their stuff, and some odd realignments.
• UNMEDIATED – by Brad Bolchunos
When a reporter confronts a mysterious following in a small town, the backlash threatens his newspaper, the safety of others, and possibly his life.
The meeting will be held in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, the Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW Eleventh Ave.
September 3, 2013
• EXPIRATION – by John Servilio
Judith is losing control of her life, her family, and the English language as her library’s funding dwindles for lack of interest. In a desperate act she calls upon her estranged son Jay to help with his father, a man confined to an iron lung who has recently fallen into a stupor, but Jay is too preoccupied with his mother’s strict authoritarianism over the English language to care, especially when it triggers his asthma attacks. Jay’s Indian friend Raja, who speaks impeccable English, looks like she may be Judith’s one real ally, at least until Raja turns the library into a fast-food stand. And Flo, the chatty rat exterminator who appears to have read only one book, the Bible, ends up being the one who offers Judith the hope she requires to keep going. Expiration is a quirky story of a woman’s world rapidly changing before her ears and an allegory of the conjunction of language and capitalism.
The meeting will be held in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, the Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW Eleventh Ave.
August 20, 2013
• THE TRUST- by Nick O’Connor
How much is love worth? Is there a dollar limit? And what the hell is love, anyway? A woman shocks her friend into a new understanding of these eternal questions.
• TWO AUTHORS IN SEARCH OF A PLOT – by Carmen Balas
Ever wonder where ideas really come from? Two desperate playwrights, facing an impossible deadline, show you how it’s done. Secrets are revealed. The mystery unfolds.
The meeting will be at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
August 6, 2013
• PARA PHYSIN – by Matt Russell and Beth Damiano
In para physin, two stories unfold. A woman tries to find a way to get revenge on the man who killed her brother years ago in a high school shooting rampage by starting a twisted correspondence with the convict. Meanwhile, an evangelical Christian, taking advice from his therapist, tries to get over his homophobia by making friends with a gay man on the Internet. Eventually the two stories intersect.
The meeting will be at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
July 30, 2013
• PRESENTATION: BREAKING THE PLAY – by Ciji Guerin
What does it mean to make or break a play? Why can a play work well as a text, but fall flat when put up on its feet? Our special “Fifth Tuesday” workshop this month, led by accomplished playwright and new works director Ciji Guerin, will offer insights into the collaborative process of transforming a text into a fully realized work. What is the difference between directing a new work and a previously staged piece? How is it possible to stage a good production of a not-so-good script? This presentation examines the stages of working on a new piece, from unrehearsed and rehearsed readings to workshops, minimally staged readings, workshop productions, and preparing for a full production. Included is a demonstration using “Sparks,” a short one-act work in development by Brad Bolchunos of PDX Playwrights.
The meeting will be held at Hand2Mouth Theatre’s Shout House, 210 SE Madison St., Suite 11, www.hand2mouththeatre.org/shout-house/
July 16, 2013
• SLIDING SCALE – by Kevin Yell
On a sliding scale of 0-6, how comfortable are you with change — especially change over which you have no control? What is your strategy: to embrace it with trepidation or avoid it with fear? For the Corrington family (Paul and Tammy, with teens Thad and Sophie), this is the summer when they’ll have to choose.
The meeting will be held at Cerimon House, 5131 NE 23rd Ave., www.cerimonhouse.org.
July 2, 2013
• NO MEETING DUE TO HOLIDAY
Please stay tuned for meeting and location announcements. Happy Fourth of July!
June 18, 2013
• DANIELA SAYS – by Rob Katsuno
A newly rewritten version of a full-length play reflecting on global cultures and how they affect our lives as Americans: “I’m from Japan where more than anywhere else in the world, people actually die from overwork. So many die there’s a word for it — karoushi, hard work death — which results from mixing long office hours and physical inactivity. My wife is from Rio De Janeiro, where more than anywhere else in the world people actually die from … overpartying. So many die there’s a word for it — carnaval — which results from mixing liquor and naked women.”
June 4, 2013
• BEST FOOT FORWARD – by Ciji Guerin
A coming-of-age tale about two half sisters. Celerity lives as an outcast, suffering from the shame of having unsuitable feet, while 16-year-old Loowella has just been announced for the Grand Ceremony, where she will be presented to society in a pair of golden shoes. When Celerity returns home for the celebration of Loowella’s announcement, the sisters struggle to balance public duties and private realities until the family’s brutal nature drives them to their breaking point.
May 21, 2013
• FORT VANCOUVER – by Sharon Sassone
In this newly rewritten version, a young Sam Grant (also known as Captain Ulysses S. Grant) finds himself demoted to quartermaster at Fort Vancouver after his meritorious leadership in the Mexican wars. Plagued by his weaknesses–liquor, gambling, poor business investments–Grant meets up with Sister Joseph, later known as the founder of the Providence Hospitals, who is also desperate for money to feed her growing group of the orphaned, the infirm, the mad, and the destitute. Add to this the lawless elements–God’s law as well as the law of the West–and you’ve got Fort Vancouver!
The meeting will be held in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, the Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW Eleventh Ave.
May 7, 2013
• MY MOTHER’S A KLEPTOMANIAC – by Gary Corbin
A newly divorced middle-aged woman copes with the sudden drop in her standard of living by stealing – at first little stuff from friends and family, but it soon escalates out of her control, and her kids don’t know what to do with her.
April 30, 2013
• PRESENTATION: GETTING YOUR PLAY PRODUCED IN CONTESTS, FESTIVALS AND THEATERS THAT DO NEW WORK, WITH EMPHASIS ON THE TEN MINUTE PLAY – by John A. Donnelly
Part One: Writing The Ten Minute Play. Writing ten minute plays is much like writing any other play, but involves special rules and techniques, which are discussed in the first part of this program.
Part Two: Getting Your Ten Minute And Longer Plays Produced Outside Your Local Area. Theaters throughout the country annually select hundreds of plays from submissions from playwrights unknown to them. This part of the program deals with finding those theaters and their contests and festivals, and teaches techniques for submission that make your selection chances better. (Most of these contests and festivals present ten-minute plays, but the techniques for submission of full length plays are much the same.) The presentation is given by PDXP member John A Donnelly, who has been submitting plays for several years and has had more than 60 productions of 40 plays in 18 states.
April 16, 2013
• THE MIRROR BOX – by M. Thomas Cooper
Bored and unhappy Ted and Sandy go to the theatre to see a play, The Mirror Box. During the performance Ted sees a clown. The clown, according to the actors in The Mirror Box, is not a character in the play. Ted, after being assaulted by the clown and seeing the Devil, again questions the actors. They have no answers and Ted fears for his sanity. But when one of the actors is also assaulted by the vindictive clown everyone is caught in the surreal vortex of what is reality and what is The Mirror Box.
The meeting will be held in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, the Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW Eleventh Ave.
April 2, 2013
• BEREAVEMENT – by A.J. Franks
For years, Les has been a doormat for those around him. His condescending mother, distant wife, arrogant son, vindictive coworker and manipulative boss have sucked him dry of any passion he once felt for life. When painful secrets are revealed, judgments aired, and resentments expressed, Les begins to feel there is no escape. Then he develops the perfect plan.
• BECKY’S CLOSET – by Sally Sun Bear
With real estate at a premium, good closets can be hard to find. A delve into physical humor.
The meeting will be at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
March 19, 2013
• THE STRANGEST STORY EVER TOLD – by Clinton K. Clark
At the turn of the last century, there’s only one thing on the mind of Harry and his band of Alaskan prospectors: gold. They catch wind from a native of a possible strike in a strange and desolate location know as Thomas Bay. One by one they make the trek with dreams of riches, but one by one they return with nightmares and insanity. The prospectors describe a creature responsible for their conditions; a vulgar, scab-covered monster with long claws and customized attacks. But is is enough to counteract their greed? “The Strangest Story Ever Told” is based on a true story and comments on our obsession with gold, and what we’ll go through to get rich.
The meeting will be held in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, the Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW Eleventh Ave.
March 5, 2013
• NEW YEAR’S BARBECUE – by Nick O’Connor
A middle class American family is trapped somewhere between the 1950s and the end of the world.
• TWO STARCHES – by John Servilio
Mary has made a dinner of stuffed shells for her son, Joseph, but he doesn’t get to have bread with it, and Mary has ulterior motives for making this special treat. In true Italian Catholic form, Joseph’s parents aren’t very good at facing certain subject matter, nor do they practice what they preach.
• KURDS AND WAY – by Gary Corbin
A racist punk harasses his girlfriend’s “Arab” lab partner in a coffee shop until they give him his comeuppance.
• DEAD MEET – by John A. Donnelly
When they met, Craig and Eileen fell for each other immediately. When they wake together the next morning, however, Eileen is concerned about the circumstance of their meeting.
The meeting will be held at a new location for PDXPlaywrights: The third-floor meeting room of Portland Center Stage, the Gerding Theater at the Armory, 128 NW Eleventh Ave.
February 19, 2013
• THE BEATLES DIE ON TUESDAY – by Clinton K. Clark
What would you do if you found yourself stuck back in time? After two brothers find themselves trapped in 1954, one of them, Johnny, decides to steal music that hasn’t been made yet, get famous, and make millions. Everything’s great until it’s not. The Beatles Die on Tuesday is a dark comedy that questions morality with a twist of romance, violence and classic Rock and Roll.
The meeting will be held at a new location for PDXPlaywrights: Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
February 5, 2013
• POST FERTILE GROUND CELEBRATION – by PDXPlaywrights
With the regular meeting schedule hot on the heels of the conclusion of the Fertile Ground Festival of New Work, PDXPlaywrights opted to celebrate at the BridgePort Brewing Co., 1318 NW Northrup St. Playwrights, casts, crews and friends plan to gather informally to share lessons learned, debrief challenging moments and celebrate an array of amazing accomplishments.
January 15, 2013
• THE UNTAME GAME – by Brad Bolchunos
A lovelorn dweeb with an eye for romance and a heap of self-doubt struggles to muster the courage to ask a dancer on a date. When his mind plays host to a parasitic pair of commentators, the challenges mount.
• NO MEETING DUE TO HOLIDAY
Be sure to check our Fertile Ground Festival 2013 lineup on the welcome page — with a link to the full schedule and 15 participants via PDX Playwrights. Stay tuned for special meeting dates and location announcements. Happy New Year!