NO SESSION DECEMBER 20 NOR THE REST OF THE YEAR
Happy Holidays!
NOTE: When our readings are conducted as virtual sessions, readers usually have been pre-cast by the playwrights. Fellow writers, actors and listeners are warmly invited to participate and offer their reactions, insights, and feedback. We leave it up to the playwrights whether they wish to have their script available before and/or during the read. The timing of the script access, if any, is based on the playwright’s preference. If there is an advance posting of the script or other materials they will be here: https://www.pdxplaywrights.org//scripts/
For our table readings, we plan to continue to host in-person sessions interspersed with virtual meetings. Please continue to monitor this site and our newsletter for details about the specific sessions and locations. We appreciate your patience with our submission review and scheduling processes.
UPCOMING EVENTS
TUESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2023 – LIVE READING
SOLSTICE MOON – by BILL LYNCH
Owen arrives by cross-country ski at his recently-deceased father’s cabin in the Oregon Cascades. He’s come to spread Owen Sr.’s ashes. Along to assist and bear witness are Jessie, Owen’s young son with cerebral palsy, and Taylor, Owen’s lifelong friend, Iraq war veteran and Jessie’s former teacher. Snowbound in the cabin after an overnight storm, Owen is forced to confront difficult truths about his reclusive father, his son’s disabilities, and his own mortality. The Winter Solstice, the Egyptian Book of the Dead, and a set of tarot cards all play a hand in unraveling the mystery of Owen Sr.’s death.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 2023 – LIVE PERFORMANCE
EPIC SHORTS: SEA CHANGE – Produced by PDX PLAYWRIGHTS
Directed by Karen Polinsky, the production will debut 10-minute works written to the theme “Sea Change” by playwrights Valerie Asbell, Nancy Campbell, Tim Krause, John McDonald, Raven Thornton, Scott Stolnack, and Mia Tierney. Featuring everything from four strangers lost at sea to displaced mermen to a tree in need of a vacation, these whimsical, topical plays examine how to find a future in our ever-changing world.
More to come! Please stay tuned…
We have some scripts under review or in the process of being scheduled or cast for our regular readings. If you have submitted a script, we thank you for your patience. That said, we continue to welcome additional script submissions to consider for our readings. If you are interested in submitting a script for consideration, whether a full-length, a one-act, or a 10-minute play, check out our guidelines: https://www.pdxplaywrights.org//faq-playwrights/ … and then send your script (or questions) to submit@pdxplaywrights.org!
In any case, we’ll see you soon!
PAST EVENTS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13 – ONLINE READING
SHORT PLAYS: WORDS FOR WATER – by MAX TOPOGNA,
SOMETHING – by KATHLEEN CAPRARIO-ULRICH,
and HEAVY LIFTING – by DANIEL LYMAN
A trio of new 10-minute plays — among the many strong contenders submitted to our Epic Shorts: Sea Change event — move us into three different worlds through thought-provoking drama and comedy:
WORDS FOR WATER – by MAX TOPOGNA
A brother and sister who live on the coast have spent most of their adult lives fishing. Recently, all the ocean’s fish have been replaced by books. While Billy is disturbed by the ocean’s transformation, and advocates to move somewhere he and his sister can find food, Meg is enchanted by the change and does not want to leave her home. At heart a family play, Words for Water deals with environmental turmoil, the allure of language, and the magic of the natural world.
SOMETHING – by KATHLEEN CAPRARIO-ULRICH
As a middle-aged couple confronts parting ways, their familiarity offers dramatic and comedic overtones of endurance of love after loss—and acceptance.
HEAVY LIFTING – by DANIEL LYMAN
Chris and Sam search for an emotional and intellectual sea change … but is there such a thing as too much introspection? Is moderation the key to successful self-reflection? What cost does our own search for meaningful change have on others? Don’t think about it too much… it might be too heavy.
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30 – EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT
EPIC SHORTS FINALISTS
Your volunteer PDXP Admin Team is announcing the final lineup for EPIC SHORTS: SEA CHANGE event on Wednesday, November 30, so please stay tuned to this site and your newsletters. We will also follow with more information about casting in the coming weeks. Best of luck to all playwrights!
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15 – ONLINE
SHORT PLAYS: WHAT IF SUSAN BOYLE COULDN’T SING – by TAMAR SHAI BOLKVADZE
and SILENCE S’IL VOUS PLAIT! – by KEN HENRY
A pair of distinct 10-minute plays take us to the world of a clinic employee and a traveler abroad, but both employ drama and wit in doing so. Join us!
- WHAT IF SUSAN BOYLE COULDN’T SING – by TAMAR SHAI BOLKVADZE
In this captivating one-woman show, Eliana, assigned to escort patients near a clinic, makes a range of observations in a variety of ways as she addresses abortion protesters. - SILENCE S’IL VOUS PLAIT! – by KEN HENRY
A tourist from the United States and a young woman meet one another in a gothic cathedral in Paris, France. The discussion quickly turns to their contrasting views of God, the church, and the meaning of silence.
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15
SUBMISSION DEADLINE 11:59 PM FOR EPIC SHORTS: SEA CHANGE
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 1 – PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE
AUDITORIUM
WORKSHOP: WHAT IS A PLAY? Presented by KAREN POLINSKY with BRAD BOLCHUNOS
This breathtaking workshop demonstrates how to write a compelling drama, from A to Z and back again! Review the basics, get some tips from Yale’s historic theater program, and go! Within minutes you’ll be writing and performing original dramas and comedies with friends. The fun and interactive session may solidify efforts to write and submit an original 10-minute play script to PDXP’s winter showcase “Epic Shorts” —maybe your script will be selected! No playwriting experience is necessary to participate, and all ages are welcome.
The workshop is independent of the “Epic Shorts” contest and not required for submitting to that event. The session will be conducted in the auditorium of the Portland Playhouse. Please bring portable writing tools of choice, such as a pen and paper and a notepad or clipboard. We look forward to seeing you!
NOTE: IN-PERSON EVENT. This session is scheduled for 7 pm in the Auditorium of Portland Playhouse, 602 NE Prescott St. Admission will not occur prior to the workshop. Masks are required for all attendees, and participants may be asked to complete brief paperwork for safety protocols; please see https://portlandplayhouse.org/COVID19 for more information about health and safety at the facility. The session is free for attendees, but donations to offset our expenses are always appreciated.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18 – PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE
COMMUNITY ROOM
CLEAVE and THE WATERFALL and THE ELDER TREE
– by NINA MONIQUE KELLY
Shadows, just in time for Halloween: Cleave and The Waterfall and The Elder Tree. Three one-act plays weave tales of fascination. The work touches upon sensitive themes such as mental illness and grief. The Elder Tree centers on the European witch trials. Dark, poetic, surrealist dramas from the playwright and founder of Whisper Skin Theatre.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 4 – PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE
COMMUNITY ROOM
CARRIAGEHOUSE and FOOLING AROUND – by JAE CARLSSON
These two intentionally casual one-acts are set in 1959 and 1962 Los Angeles, an era and place with an emotional ecology that’s a revealing contrast to present-day Portland. Both plays involve two-person relationships and their emotional transactions. Carriagehouse focuses upon the jaunty conversational rhythm in a long-established relationship as people nudge at sore points. In Fooling Around, two people new to each other, and interested in each other, try in fits and starts to test and establish the hitched rhythm of an emotionally honest conversation—halting just shy of striking attitudes. Both of these mildly-experimental plays explore how “acting as an adult” in a relationship is a kind of moment-by-moment emotional negotiation.
CONTENT ADVISORY: These plays contain scenes involving sexual situations and descriptions some may find uncomfortable.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 – ONLINE
PURSUIT – by NANCY MOSS
and PDXP OPPORTUNITY – by PDX Playwrights
Join us online this Tuesday for the reading of a thought-provoking new short play, followed by feedback, and a discussion about the group itself and an exciting playwriting opportunity we have in the works!
- PURSUIT – by NANCY MOSS
Rose and Charlie take stock of their plans in this timely 10-minute play promoted by abortion-related rulings this year.
- PDXP IN 2023 AND OPPORTUNITY – by PDX Playwrights
We look forward to sharing information about our plans for an upcoming PDXP Shorts Play Contest with submission guidelines to be posted soon! We also invite your participation in an organization conversation.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 – COHO PRODUCTIONS
HEART OF STONE: PREVIEW, REHEARSAL, AND TALKBACK
Written by KAREN POLINSKY
Choreographed and Directed by ALISHER KHASANOV
This Tuesday evening you and your closest friends are invited to attend a live rehearsal of Heart of Stone with award-winning choreographer and director Alisher Khasanov at CoHo Theater, followed by a talk-back. Khasanov and Karen Polinsky of PDX Playwrights, who wrote the piece, will discuss what it’s like to collaborate on a script for dance theater. Producer and dancer Olga Kravtsova, also of PDXP, will share her insights, along with the other collaborators in the cast. This is a unique opportunity JUST FOR YOU! We hope you can make it.
NOTE: LIVE EVENT. We are honored the cast and crew of the production are offering this sneak preview to PDXPlaywrights. The event runs 7 to 8 pm Tuesday at CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St. The event is free, but donations are appreciated. Masks are required at CoHo. We also urge you to secure your tickets for the show, running Sept. 9-11: https://www.cohoproductions.org/heart-of-stone/
TUESDAY, AUGUST 30
PDXP ADMIN TEAM SESSION
Your all-volunteer PDXP Admin Team used the August 30 Fifth Tuesday opening for a planning session (technically, we conducted it Thursday, September 1) behind the scenes, examining our mission statement, upcoming programming, venue relationships, and other items.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 16 – PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE
COMMUNITY ROOM
THE LAST SHOT – by Bonnie Ratner
The Last Shot explores the ravaging effects of addiction – not only on the addict but on the family. Sometimes called codependents, a clinical identity that pales next to the “sexier” persona of the addict, family members seem to be left with no good choices: Become the world’s worst nag or back off and watch your loved one fall out of reach. The Last Shot is also about love—in a tender song or self-destructive dance, over many years or few, as the greatest gift or the fiercest obsession.
CONTENT ADVISORY: This play contains scenes involving drug use, adult language, and suicide.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 2 – PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE
COMMUNITY ROOM
MR. PONZI’S $CHEME – by Doren Elias
This is the true story of Charles Ponzi, whose name has become the most infamous of eponyms. The play takes place in Boston, during the course of the year 1920 — a time when instant wealth, fame and luxury seemed just as easy as this get rich quick scheme promised. Set against the backdrop of Boston’s financial district, newspaper rooms, and various other locations, Mr. Ponzi’s $cheme traces a mercurial rise-and-fall story of fraud and deception.
CONTENT ADVISORY: This play contains scenes with derogatory language some may find offensive.
TUESDAY, JULY 19 – PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE
AUDITORIUM
ANNE SAXE: A WORLD WAR II-ERA CONTEMPLATION FOR OUR TIMES – by Karen Polinsky
New York, 1942. Despite a double-standard for women, Anne attempts to use her faculty position at Columbia University in New York City to win the war and save her disturbed son. By accident she finds herself enmeshed in the sabotage of The Manhattan Project. This historical play, with a touch of surrealism, examines the development of the field of psychology and asks what it would take for us to truly care for one another.
TUESDAY, JUNE 21
A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE HEREAFTER — by Stan Matthews
A collection of five short end-of-life plays, introduced by the Grim Reaper.
The show opens with Wait Listed in which a veteran comedian, Joey Green, in life-and-death negotiations with a reaper who dreams of retiring to do stand-up comedy.
In I’m Dying Here ailing billionaire Horatio Harris confronts the reality that, as death approaches, wealth loses its power. But he also learns a valuable, if belated, lesson in wielding power—from his long-suffering assistant.
The Art of Dying questions whether the sins of the artist destroy the power and beauty of the artist’s work. As time runs out for world-renowned artist George Stafford, he seeks redemption—not for himself, but for his work.
When Dane and Stephanie return home from the funeral for Dane’s controlling mother, she’s waiting in the living room. What does she want? She can’t tell them, but in Momma’s Back she promises to haunt them until they take care of her problem.
Finally, what do you do when you find out for a fact there’s no need to pay next month’s bills? In No Tomorrow young lovers Pasha and Jessica must quickly decide what is really important.
CONTENT ADVISORY: This play contains scenes involving suicide.
TUESDAY, JUNE 7
R U N — by Alisha Christiansen
College track star Amanda meets Sean. Her parents grapple with their cranky neighbor. Her therapist navigates new territory on the job. An intense psychological look at relationships and what makes us human.
CONTENT ADVISORY: This play contains scenes of intimate partner violence.
This reading was supported by a Make | Learn | Build grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council. It was held in the rehearsal hall of Portland Center Stage at the Armory, 128 NW 11th Ave.
TUESDAY, MAY 31
PDXP ADMIN TEAM SESSION
Your all-volunteer PDXP Admin Team has reserved May 31 for a planning session behind the scenes.
TUESDAY, MAY 3
TWIN TENS: SHORT PLAYS by Kathleen Caprario-Ulrich and Stan Matthews
Connections surface in unexpected ways in two new 10-minute plays coming to our table Tuesday. We relish the chance to delve into the craft through short selections, and all the drama and comedy they can contain. Join us!
- MOURNING AFTER – by KATHLEEN CAPRARIO-ULRICH
At a funeral, two women find they have more in common than initially meets the eye.
- DEAD AND ALIVE – by Stan Matthews
Zeph has packed her bags and is ready to move on, but she is convinced she’s trapped in a loop in the wrong dimension of the multiverse and that every decision she makes she creates another, alternate universe. Somehow her roommate just doesn’t understand what her problem is.
TUESDAY, APRIL 19
SHORT PLAYS – ANNA: LOVE AND LOSS by Nancy Moss
and RUN SALMON RUN by Brad Bolchunos
A timely take on a courageous poet and a short work about wisdom from the waters find their way to our table Tuesday. Join us!
ANNA: LOVE AND LOSS – by NANCY MOSS
A dramatic one-woman exploration of the poet Anna Akhmatova, who chose to not to emigrate but to write and act as witness to the events surrounding her under Stalinist oppression.
RUN SALMON RUN – by Brad Bolchunos
A contentious encounter on an Oregon highway between a rural young woman and a mature urban drag queen splashes into discovery.
TUESDAY, APRIL 5
WORKSHOP: IF YOU PLANT A SEED – by PDX Playwrights
Inspired by the Dramatists Guild crowd playwriting project for the month of April, PDX Playwrights Karen Polinsky, Alisha Christiansen, Amanda Kelner and Brad Bolchunos will offer a generative 90-minute workshop to help fertilize the soil for a new idea, so you can bask in the sunshine and watch it grow into your next play! Join us, friends, for a workshop featuring a quartet of guided prompts for creative inspiration, fun, fast, and free! Liberate yourself from the woes of winter! Reenergize your inner-playwright! Plant a seed and watch it grow.
TUESDAY, MARCH 29
PDXP ADMIN TEAM MEETING
Your volunteers who keep PDX Playwrights running have reserved this fifth Tuesday for some planning behind the scenes. Stay tuned for public readings and workshops! And, in the meantime, if you have a 10-minute, one-act or full-length script you would like to submit for consideration for a reading, check out our guidelines and send an inquiry (and a draft) to submit@pdxplaywrights.org and let’s begin a conversation!
TUESDAY, MARCH 15
WINTER’S VANISHING: A TALE OF GHOSTS – by John McDonald
A tale of a final winter in a haunted mansion meant for the wrecking ball. Anne, the caretaker, is watched over by the ghost of her mother, but her messages keep getting mixed results. Add in everyone in Anne’s world having an opinion about a future of which she’s never been sure, and it’s enough to wonder—maybe the ghosts of the past really are better company.
TUESDAY, MARCH 1
ELEVATOR THERAPY by Nancy Moss and PEACE ON EARTH by Katie Bennett
We offer an enticing duet of theatrical selections from longtime participants: a 10-minute work and a small one act. The works are short in running time but packed with psychological punch.
- ELEVATOR THERAPY by Nancy Moss
Two people trapped in an elevator begin to make some discoveries. - PEACE ON EARTH by Katie Bennett
A 60-year old artist who balks at being classified as a baby boomer learns her 80-year old mother still has dreams.
JANUARY 27-FEBRUARY 6, 2022
PDX PLAYWRIGHTS IN FERTILE GROUND
Our astonishing assortment of 11 short works of drama and comedy — including Short Plays and the ZOOM INstant Play Fest, will be part of the Fertile Ground Festival of New Works Jan. 27-Feb. 6. Fertile Ground offerings will be live-streamed, with a connection the welcome page of our website! See our page here PDXP in Fertile Ground 2022 and for details of full festival lineup, check the festival site: fertilegroundpdx.org
NOTE: Because of the festival, we will not be hosting readings on February 1 or February 15.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 18
KEY WEST – by David Foley
A play tries to write itself. An old woman sits in a lounger and sorts through the fragments of the past. A young woman from Brazil or perhaps Uzbekistan ruminates on drama and death. A cat contemplates the intricacy of its own formation. A battle is fought over a statue of the Virgin Mary. A couple sits on a hotel balcony and thinks about history. David Foley’s Key West weaves these elements into a swirling meditation on past and present, loss and recovery, solution and dissolution.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4
ALL’S FAIR – by Stan Matthews
A story of the magic that happens when the paths of friends, lovers and strangers intersect at a small county fair.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2021
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM – by William Shakespeare
One-hour Adaptation by Alisha Christiansen
Fairies, Lovers, and Players converge in the forest. Mayhem ensues. The Bard’s traditional twisted plot lines, but faster.