Tuesday, December 15
DISCUSSION: TAKING ROOT IN FERTILE GROUND
From January 22 to 31, PDX Playwrights will offer staged readings of an astonishing 28 plays by 18 playwrights in the Fertile Ground Festival of New Work. With selections ranging from the brief and tight in the “Daisy Dukes Shorts Night” to one-acts, 10-minute and full-length works, we uphold our reputation as “the festival within the festival.” A discussion among many of the participants will touch on use of performance space, promotion, and helpful strategies. The session is open to writers and others interested in future participation.
Tentative location: Third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, December 1
FOOD MARKET MEETING: ANNUAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
– by Eric Weathers
A fourth-wall-forgetful, interactive-ish experience set in a family-owned grocery-retail chain’s annual meditation on self-improvement.
The reading of this one-act play will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, November 17
18 DAYS OF THE BUTTERFLY – by Kathleen Tomko
A behind-the-scenes tale of activists and spies caught up in the uprising to oust Hosni Mubarak. Yunji helps her friends in the Heart of Egypt Liberation Front to go viral and gets caught in a spiraling intrigue. She is haunted by dreams and traumatized by secret police as her friends continue to risk everything to keep the Front functioning.
This reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, November 3
YOU ARE NOT MY ENEMY – by Peter Armetta
Freely adapted from the traditional Japanese Noh Drama “Atsumori” by Zeami, this new version by Peter Armetta creates an arena where past meets present, the material world meets the world of the spirits, and old enemies are finally brought face to face on a lonely beach in a timeless moment of forgiveness and reconciliation. The play celebrates a contemporary American response to the centuries-old spirit of Noh.
This reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, October 20
SHORT PLAY SAMPLER – One-act and 10-minute Plays
by Robert M. Barr, Brad Bolchunos and Sally Stember
MAKE THIS GO AWAY – by Robert M. Barr
When a stranger breaks into his house in the middle of the night, Fred pulls out his gun to defend his wife and property. But if the stranger is a locksmith sent by the bank, and if the house has been foreclosed, what then?
PARTY FAVORS – by Brad Bolchunos
Social anxiety at a birthday party takes an explosive turn, and Kremmling may not be any help.
THE TOTEM – by Sally Stember
A young, impetuous servant girl persuades an older man to take a walk into the woods with her one night with the promise of a kiss. Once there she proceeds to relate the dark history behind a totem that stand in the woods, and confesses she believes him to be the long lost heir to a fortune.
This reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, October 6
BUSINESS AS USUAL – by Michael Josef
Corporate savagery, bomb threats, and inflatable gorillas — can anyone escape the terror? It’s just a day in the lives of Cindy, Jack, and Sanjeev and their “too big to fail” company, the powerfully indifferent investment firm Craig & Smith.
This reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, September 29
Fifth Tuesday Workshop: ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER
by Gary Corbin and Brad Bolchunos
Using actions rather than dialogue to move a script forward presents a challenge for many playwrights. Common pitfalls include “all talk, no action” scenes and characters using dialogue to discuss problems but not to solve them. In this interactive workshop co-facilitated by PDX Playwrights Gary Corbin and Brad Bolchunos, we’ll use interactive exercises to explore methods for improving our work with an emphasis on action.
This free workshop will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, September 15
NUN OF THE PRESENT PAST – by Gregory Forbes and Harriet Walker, with music and lyrics by Bruce McCollum
When her bus touring Scotland breaks down, a nun and fellow senior citizens take refuge in a castle. She meets one of the ghostly inhabitants only to learn she was married to him 500 years prior. What is to be done? She is a nun, he is dead … and they are still in love.
The reading will be held at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
Tuesday, September 1
THE GATE OF IVORY – by William Thomas Berk
The Gate of Ivory is about a machine that cures insomnia free of charge, with the catch that it pays for itself with advertising inserted into the user’s dreams. It’s a mind-bending, reality-warping romantic dramedy that explores dreams, reality, and living in a world of product placement.
The reading will be held at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
Tuesday, August 18
FAMILY HARDWARE – by Gary Corbin
Willy is a man of a certain age, and his doctor has bad news: his heart is no longer healthy enough for sex. But his wife Katherine, ten years younger, can’t live in a sexless marriage. Reluctantly, Willy agrees to an “alternative arrangement” with a hired escort, who just happens to be a strapping young ex-employee at the family hardware store. The unusual arrangement works out … about as long as you’d expect.
The reading will be held at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
Tuesday, August 4
GENERAL HAZARD – by John Byrne
After standing 150 years in a park, General Hap Hazard is tired of being Troy’s Civil War hero. He decides to get down from his plinth and rent it out to raise money to buy a farm. He soon finds it harder than he anticipated to escape other people’s preconceptions and demands.
PLANTED – by Michael Josef
What happens when someone else commits a crime and leaves your digital-fingerprints behind? Options trader Harshad Rama rarely sees eye-to-eye with company counsel Carmel Boatright, yet she does what she can to shield him from FBI Agent Sacha Reynolds’ investigation. Planted examines the collision between feeble electronic security and overzealous enforcement.
The reading of these works will be at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
Tuesday, July 21
CHEAT – by James Y. Kim
It’s been a year since Caleb’s wedding, one that Jake, his former best friend and college roommate, wasn’t invited to. Still bitter, Jake shows up at Caleb’s house and confronts him, and they reveal painful truths about one another. But Jake isn’t here just to talk …
The reading will be held at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.
Tuesday, July 7
PERSPECTIVE – by Redmond Reams
Mark is 14 and trying to figure a lot out — a new girlfriend, his adoptive parents’ divorce, new information about his birth parents, and this whole adolescent identity thing given a complicated history of trauma. How do you be private and have your guard up, connect to others, and not risk more betrayal?
The reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, June 30
Fifth Tuesday workshop: WRITING IS REWRITING
by Dave Chapman
You’ve finally reached the last page, but you know the play isn’t finished. What do you do? Come take part in a hands-on workshop where you’ll learn revision strategies that will help you get from the first draft to the final draft. Bring your laptop computer or tablet if you have one, but please download the following script first. As you’ll see, it needs quite a bit of revising. Use the plain text file if you can’t view Microsoft Word files. Windows users should right-click on the link and choose Save.
Todd and Penelope (Microsoft Word)
Todd and Penelope (Text)
Don’t make changes yet! We’ll do that at the workshop. If you don’t have a laptop or tablet, don’t worry. Hard copies will be provided.
This free workshop will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, June 16
HOLLYWOOD SYNDROME: A PSYCHOMEDY – by Alex Haslett
Step inside the mind of John Prufrock, who wrote a hit play once — only to follow it up with five years of silence. Now, as disaster looms over the set of his long-awaited return to the spotlight, he grapples with paralyzing doubts. Will he overcome his Hollywood Syndrome and give his audience a show to remember? Or will he crash and burn in a hallucinatory blaze of unrealistic expectations, relationship woes, and, worst of all … bad puns?
The reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, June 2
THE FORGIVENESS TREE – by Kathleen Tomko
A “peel the onion” character-centered drama exploring the concept of reconciliation, The Forgiveness Tree is set in the present but woven with flashbacks. The drama follows the little-known but true events of the bombing of an Oregon forest by a Japanese pilot in WWII. The impacts are felt in the life of Martha — a 1960s flower child — and her two adult daughters.
The reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, May 19
BFF – by Matt Russell
Psychotherapist B.F. Foster has his hands full with each of his patients. But there is one in particular who presents a unique challenge: the young man who has confessed desires for him, both romantic and shockingly violent.
The reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, May 5
A YEAR OF GRACE – by John A. Donnelly
Despite Grace’s chagrin at waking in Nate’s bed on New Year’s Day, they become lovers. But they find themselves in a romantic triangle with the Catholic Church as the third party, and sharply opposing attitudes toward the religion in which they both were raised. A romantic dramedy.
This reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, April 21
SHORT PLAY SAMPLER: One-act and 10-minute plays
– by John Byrne and Alex Haslett
GODOT ON TRIAL – by Alex Haslett
Godot stands trial for First Degree Fakery and attempts to defend himself, all the while waiting for the prosecution and defense attorneys to arrive.
SCHINDLER’S CAT – by Alex Haslett
A professor and a pothead confuse the hell out of each other during a lecture on the Schrodinger’s Cat paradox.
SCAMMING GRANDPA – by John Byrne
A bumbling grandfather appears to be falling hook, line and sinker for the grandchild-in-distress phone scam — but are things really that simple?
THE MURRKINS – by Alex Haslett
A young couple on their honeymoon overcome their respective differences (and a maniac with a miniature cricket bat) in this political satire originally written for a 24-hour play festival.
This reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, April 7
JOHN BROWN IS DEAD – or – WAITING FOR THE DOUGH
– by Alex Haslett
For lack of funding, two Kansas actors in the John Brown Theatre Ensemble find themselves stuck in the middle of a play, waiting for a bond company agent to arrive and turn the lights back on … if she arrives, that is. Hijinks ensue in this absurdist political satire.
This reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, March 31
FIFTH TUESDAY WORKSHOP: GIVE AND TAKE
How understanding criticism makes us better writers
– by John Servilio
What are we supposed to look for when we read a play script or see a production? And how do we articulate our thoughts in ways that not only help our fellow PDX Playwrights but ourselves in our own writing process? This talk will cover the basics of theatre criticism and critiquing in a workshop environment, and how to use this information when writing, editing, or getting yourself unblocked.
This free workshop will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, March 17
THE DUCK SOUP CAPER and OK COMPUTER: One-Act Plays
– by Charles Michael Province and Tom Moran
THE DUCK SOUP CAPER – by Charles Michael Province
A hard-boiled detective yarn, somewhat tongue-in-cheek. Mike Steele moves to San Diego after being informed his presence in San Francisco is no longer appreciated.
OK COMPUTER – by Tom Moran
What happens when the government decides to play matchmaker?
The reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, March 3
TURN THE HOURGLASS, QUICKLY – by Kathleen Tomko
A political satire and a contemporary farce with three actors playing 18 different roles (a la Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged or Equivocation). Turn the Hourglass, Quickly takes us on a madcap romp using slapstick, tricky puns, caustic asides, and even an interactive guessing game as Angelica leads a quest for the happiness of would-be gods exposing devastating power and greed. She and her two sidekicks slip between past and present in a convoluted time warp, challenging the audience to judge if conditions in the United States are similar to the buffoonery of several historical and fictional characters during the fall of Rome, the fall of the Bastille, and the fall of the South Seas Trading Company. Do these events have something in common? If history repeats, is the world cruisin’ for a bruisin’? You decide.
The reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, February 17
SHORT PLAY SAMPLER: One-Act Plays
– by Jacqueline Salkield, Kathleen Tomko and John Byrne
PERFUME AND CINNAMON/PRETTY KITTY
– by Jacqueline Salkield
Two sisters and the young male suitor of one are involved in the process of deciding which sister gets what she wants. It starts with a ruse. Who will end up with whom, and how?
SETTING PIXIE FREE – by Kathleen Tomko
A two-actor farce offering a glimpse into how old friends deal with tragedies, as Pauline supports and distracts Mattie in her loss with their usual friendly banter and humor.
A NEW DRAFT – by John Byrne
Shakespeare is writing “Romeo and Juliet” but cannot use swordplay because of royal unhappiness over the riot related to Lord Essex. In this seven-character farce, even the Gregorian calendar change might offer an alternative.
The reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Tuesday, February 3
AGATHA ON THE RISE – by Sally Sunbear
All Agatha wants is to be buried next to her ex-husband. How many murders will it take to convince him to change his burial directive? A comedy.
The reading will be in the third-floor conference room of Portland Center Stage, 128 NW 11th Ave.
Friday, January 23 through Saturday, January 31
PDXP in the FERTILE GROUND FESTIVAL – by PDX Playwrights
With staged readings and workshop perfomances of 26 plays of various lengths by 18 area playwrights, our spectacular lineup of comedy, drama and adventure is bound to offer something for everyone — reinforcing our reputation as “the festival within the festival.” Please join us! Descriptions of plays and links to tickets may be found here: see you at the festival!
Tuesday, January 6
CHOPSTICKS AND DIRTY LAUNDRY – by Lisa Lee
An immigrant wife and mother, Mrs. Park is caught between two worlds – the Korean tradition she left behind and the American ideals her three daughters whole-heartedly embrace. When her past comes knocking on the door of her Long Island home, she tries desperately to keep a dark secret from unraveling her seemingly-perfect Korean family.
At the request of the playwright, the reading will consist of a major excerpt and synopses of this full-length play, to afford time for feedback. The reading will occur at Stonehenge Studios, 3508 SW Corbett Ave.