PATRON'S CLUB READING SERIES – History
TOPDOG /
UNDERDOG
by Suzan-Lori Parks
with Bari Robinson
and J.H. Smith III
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
A 2002 Pulitzer Prize winner, TOPDOG / UNDERDOG is a darkly comic fable of brotherly love and family identity. The play tells the story of Lincoln and Booth, two brothers whose names were given to them as a joke, foretelling a lifetime of sibling rivalry and resentment. Haunted by the past, the brothers are forced to confront the shattering reality of their future.
Topdog/Underdog photo by Emily Delamater
Georg Büchner's
WOYZECK
directed by Tess Van Horn
with Mariah Bergeron, Matt Delamater,
Christopher Reiling, Nick Schroeder
and Michael Dix Thomas
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Written in the 1830's, Büchner's last work is one of the most performed and influential plays in the German Theatre repertory. It is considered an "unfinished" work, and Lorem Ipsum's (Threepenny Opera, Blood Wedding) Tess Van Horn will give her take on this often interpreted work. The play can be seen as working class tragedy, though it can also be viewed as having another dimension, portraying the perennial tragedy of human jealousy.
Van Horn explains "I want to tighten up the translation, to try and make it as minimal of a cast as possible, with most actors playing multiple characters. I like this idea to heighten the sense of "madness" that the character of Woyzeck slowly slumps into as the story progresses. What is "real" to the character? What is "real" to the audience? Are these characters that keep interacting with Woyzeck real or progressively more and more surreal?"
Woyzeck photo by Emily Delamater
Seven Sisters
by Lynne Conner
with
Maureen Butler, Moira Driscoll,
Kim Gordon, Abbie Killeen, Erica Murphy,
Rhonda Musak, Casey Turner
Monday, November 18, 2024 at 6pm
Mayo Street Arts
10 Mayo Street, Portland
Seven sisters. Seven decades. The extraordinary in the ordinary.
Seen through the eyes of seven sisters born into rural poverty, this memory play focuses on the siblings’ shared and at times clashing dreams and all that came of them— the challenges, joys and disappointments. A hymn to the beauty and magnitude of ordinary women, Seven Sisters explores sisterhood, love, loss and aging with humor, compassion and a healthy dose of snark.
by Lynne Conner
with
Maureen Butler, Moira Driscoll,
Kim Gordon, Abbie Killeen, Erica Murphy,
Rhonda Musak, Casey Turner
Monday, November 18, 2024 at 6pm
Mayo Street Arts
10 Mayo Street, Portland
Seven sisters. Seven decades. The extraordinary in the ordinary.
Seen through the eyes of seven sisters born into rural poverty, this memory play focuses on the siblings’ shared and at times clashing dreams and all that came of them— the challenges, joys and disappointments. A hymn to the beauty and magnitude of ordinary women, Seven Sisters explores sisterhood, love, loss and aging with humor, compassion and a healthy dose of snark.
At The Table
by Michael Perlman
with
Kyle Aarons, David Bliss,
Bluee Brewster, Tyler Costigan,
Trevor Frederick, Kat Moraros,
Maya Williams and Sarabell Wrigley
directed by Nathan Speckman
Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 7:30pm
Six friends head out of the city on their annual retreat for the weekend. With no social media, no cell phones, no internet allowed at all, this leaves them with one thing to do…look up from their screens and talk to each other. And when the liquor starts flowing and the tongues start to loosen, no conversation is uneventful and no topic is off-limits. AT THE TABLE is a comedy that begs the question: What happens when those with privilege are pushed to the periphery and a marginalized minority suddenly finds its voice amplified? Who is allowed at what discussion table, and who isn’t?
by Michael Perlman
with
Kyle Aarons, David Bliss,
Bluee Brewster, Tyler Costigan,
Trevor Frederick, Kat Moraros,
Maya Williams and Sarabell Wrigley
directed by Nathan Speckman
Tuesday, May 14, 2024 at 7:30pm
Six friends head out of the city on their annual retreat for the weekend. With no social media, no cell phones, no internet allowed at all, this leaves them with one thing to do…look up from their screens and talk to each other. And when the liquor starts flowing and the tongues start to loosen, no conversation is uneventful and no topic is off-limits. AT THE TABLE is a comedy that begs the question: What happens when those with privilege are pushed to the periphery and a marginalized minority suddenly finds its voice amplified? Who is allowed at what discussion table, and who isn’t?
Mercury
by Steve Yockey
with Grace Bauer, Shannon Campbell, Hannah Daly,
Robbie Harrison, Ella Mock, Erik Moody and Andrew Sawyer
directed by Hannah Cordes
Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at 7:30pm
Three stories cross outside of Portland, OR in a pitch black comedy with an illicit affair, a couple hanging on by a thread, bears at the window, the worst curiosity shop on the west coast, and an adorable missing dog named Mr Bundles. No one's happy, people stop being nice, and blood spills. This mash up of myth, missing empathy, and "good neighbors" explores what happens when the mercury rises.
by Steve Yockey
with Grace Bauer, Shannon Campbell, Hannah Daly,
Robbie Harrison, Ella Mock, Erik Moody and Andrew Sawyer
directed by Hannah Cordes
Tuesday, March 10, 2020 at 7:30pm
Three stories cross outside of Portland, OR in a pitch black comedy with an illicit affair, a couple hanging on by a thread, bears at the window, the worst curiosity shop on the west coast, and an adorable missing dog named Mr Bundles. No one's happy, people stop being nice, and blood spills. This mash up of myth, missing empathy, and "good neighbors" explores what happens when the mercury rises.
Revolt She Said. Revolt Again.
by Alice Birch
with Marie Stewart Harmon, Emily Grotz, Ashley Hamboyan
Meg Lydon, Benn May, Nick Schroeder
directed by Lauren Stockless
Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 7:30pm
You are expected to behave...
Use the right words.
Act appropriately.
Don’t break the rules.
Just behave.
This play is not well behaved.
Alice Birch examines the language, behaviour and forces that shape women in the 21st century and asks what’s stopping us from doing something truly radical to change them.
by Alice Birch
with Marie Stewart Harmon, Emily Grotz, Ashley Hamboyan
Meg Lydon, Benn May, Nick Schroeder
directed by Lauren Stockless
Tuesday, November 12, 2019 at 7:30pm
You are expected to behave...
Use the right words.
Act appropriately.
Don’t break the rules.
Just behave.
This play is not well behaved.
Alice Birch examines the language, behaviour and forces that shape women in the 21st century and asks what’s stopping us from doing something truly radical to change them.
9 CIRCLES
by Bill Cain
with Joseph Bearor, Christopher Holt and Sally Wood
directed by Sally Wood
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at 7:30pm
A psychological thriller based on actual events, 9 CIRCLES tells the story of an American soldier on trial for his life. The young soldier—honorably discharged but then accused of an unspeakable war crime in Iraq—Daniel Reeves is forced to navigate a Dantesque labyrinth of commanding officers, public defenders, lawyers, preachers and military psychiatrists. By turns shocking, mesmerizing and bitingly funny, 9 CIRCLES accompanies this astonishing young soldier on a tour de force journey to a shattering conclusion in which the infinite size and tremendous power of a young man's soul is revealed
by Bill Cain
with Joseph Bearor, Christopher Holt and Sally Wood
directed by Sally Wood
Tuesday, June 4, 2019 at 7:30pm
A psychological thriller based on actual events, 9 CIRCLES tells the story of an American soldier on trial for his life. The young soldier—honorably discharged but then accused of an unspeakable war crime in Iraq—Daniel Reeves is forced to navigate a Dantesque labyrinth of commanding officers, public defenders, lawyers, preachers and military psychiatrists. By turns shocking, mesmerizing and bitingly funny, 9 CIRCLES accompanies this astonishing young soldier on a tour de force journey to a shattering conclusion in which the infinite size and tremendous power of a young man's soul is revealed
Late, A Cowboy Song
by Sarah Ruhl
with Joseph Bearor, Ella Mock and Bridgette Kelly
directed by Todd Brian Backus
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 at 7:30pm
Mary and Crick have been in love since the second grade, but when Mary meets Red, a lady cowboy, just outside of Pittsburgh she wonders about things she hasn't explored, beyond the binaries of red and blue, man and woman, and husband and wife.
by Sarah Ruhl
with Joseph Bearor, Ella Mock and Bridgette Kelly
directed by Todd Brian Backus
Tuesday, November 13, 2018 at 7:30pm
Mary and Crick have been in love since the second grade, but when Mary meets Red, a lady cowboy, just outside of Pittsburgh she wonders about things she hasn't explored, beyond the binaries of red and blue, man and woman, and husband and wife.
LUNGS
by Duncan Macmillan
with Rob Cameron & Rachel S. Price Cooper
directed by Sally Wood
Thursday, June 7, 2018 at 7:30pm
The world is getting hotter, there’s unrest overseas—the seas themselves aren’t very calm—and one couple is thinking about having a child. LUNGS is a smart and funny drama that follows a couple through the surprising lifecycle of their relationship as they grapple with questions of family and change, hope, betrayal, happenstance, and the terrible pain that you can only cause the people you love.
by Duncan Macmillan
with Rob Cameron & Rachel S. Price Cooper
directed by Sally Wood
Thursday, June 7, 2018 at 7:30pm
The world is getting hotter, there’s unrest overseas—the seas themselves aren’t very calm—and one couple is thinking about having a child. LUNGS is a smart and funny drama that follows a couple through the surprising lifecycle of their relationship as they grapple with questions of family and change, hope, betrayal, happenstance, and the terrible pain that you can only cause the people you love.
MUD BLUE SKY
by Marisa Wegrzyn
with Leo Hilton, Laura Houck,
Abigail Killeen, Kathleen Kimball
directed by Daniel Burson
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 7:30pm
One long night in a grungy chain hotel room near O'Hare Airport is enough to make anyone question their aspirations in life, but for middle-aged flight attendants Beth and Sam, it’s just part of a never-ending layover that goes with the job. Joined by their former colleague, and Beth's 18 year-old pot dealer (dressed for his prom), a somewhat ordinary evening descends into something quite a bit more turbulent. MUD BLUE SKY is a comedy about how the small kindnesses we afford each other can inspire us to grab onto life before it flies by.
by Marisa Wegrzyn
with Leo Hilton, Laura Houck,
Abigail Killeen, Kathleen Kimball
directed by Daniel Burson
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 7:30pm
One long night in a grungy chain hotel room near O'Hare Airport is enough to make anyone question their aspirations in life, but for middle-aged flight attendants Beth and Sam, it’s just part of a never-ending layover that goes with the job. Joined by their former colleague, and Beth's 18 year-old pot dealer (dressed for his prom), a somewhat ordinary evening descends into something quite a bit more turbulent. MUD BLUE SKY is a comedy about how the small kindnesses we afford each other can inspire us to grab onto life before it flies by.
FEFU AND HER FRIENDS
by María Irene Fornés
with Deirdre Fulton, Lisa Boucher Hartman, Tarra Haskell
Heather Irish, Caroline O'Connor, Vanessa Romanoff
Casey Turner, Marjolaine Whittlesey
directed by Tess Van Horn
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 7:30pm
It’s spring in New England in 1935 when Fefu invites seven of her closest
female friends to her home to rehearse for a presentation for their charity
toward school education. In an absurdist, non-traditional format, Fefu and
her friends explore what they mean to each other, their relationships to the men who control their lives, and how power and control are simultaneously desired and relinquished. María Irene Fornés is a highly-influential and award-winning Cuban-American playwright and director who was a leading figure of the avant garde Off-Off-Broadway movement in the 1960s. Fornés' themes focused on poverty and feminism.
by María Irene Fornés
with Deirdre Fulton, Lisa Boucher Hartman, Tarra Haskell
Heather Irish, Caroline O'Connor, Vanessa Romanoff
Casey Turner, Marjolaine Whittlesey
directed by Tess Van Horn
Tuesday, March 10, 2015 at 7:30pm
It’s spring in New England in 1935 when Fefu invites seven of her closest
female friends to her home to rehearse for a presentation for their charity
toward school education. In an absurdist, non-traditional format, Fefu and
her friends explore what they mean to each other, their relationships to the men who control their lives, and how power and control are simultaneously desired and relinquished. María Irene Fornés is a highly-influential and award-winning Cuban-American playwright and director who was a leading figure of the avant garde Off-Off-Broadway movement in the 1960s. Fornés' themes focused on poverty and feminism.
A Developmental Reading
DEATH WINGS
by Bess Welden
with Kat Moraros and Janice O'Rourke
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at 7:30pm
Grand is the maker of death wings. Some people call her the crazy bird-lady artist. Her granddaughter Rachel is determined to fly. Some people call her the enigmatic genius scientist. Both women feel certain that the limitations of the human body that keep us grounded can be transcended. But their approaches to solving the problem of flight couldn't be more different.
DEATH WINGS
by Bess Welden
with Kat Moraros and Janice O'Rourke
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 at 7:30pm
Grand is the maker of death wings. Some people call her the crazy bird-lady artist. Her granddaughter Rachel is determined to fly. Some people call her the enigmatic genius scientist. Both women feel certain that the limitations of the human body that keep us grounded can be transcended. But their approaches to solving the problem of flight couldn't be more different.
MADAGASCAR
by J.T. Rogers
with Daniel Noel, Jackie Oliveri & Leslie Trentalange
directed by Whitney Smith
Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 7:30pm
MADAGASCAR is the haunting story of a mysterious
disappearance that changes three lives forever.
At three different periods in time, three Americans
find themselves alone, in the same hotel room
overlooking the Spanish Steps in Rome.
by J.T. Rogers
with Daniel Noel, Jackie Oliveri & Leslie Trentalange
directed by Whitney Smith
Tuesday, March 11, 2014 at 7:30pm
MADAGASCAR is the haunting story of a mysterious
disappearance that changes three lives forever.
At three different periods in time, three Americans
find themselves alone, in the same hotel room
overlooking the Spanish Steps in Rome.
THE NINA VARIATIONS
by Steven Dietz
with Dan Beaulieu and Christine Penney
directed by Kevin Condardo
Tuesday, June 4, 2013 at 7:30pm
In this funny, fierce and heartbreaking homage to THE SEAGULL, Steven Dietz
puts Chekhov's star-crossed lovers in a room and doesn't let them out. In
forty-three variations on their famous final scene, Nina (a young actress) and
Treplev (a young writer), pit their vibrant wit and soaring passions against
one another in a fast-paced tour de force of romantic entanglement.
by Steven Dietz
with Dan Beaulieu and Christine Penney
directed by Kevin Condardo
Tuesday, June 4, 2013 at 7:30pm
In this funny, fierce and heartbreaking homage to THE SEAGULL, Steven Dietz
puts Chekhov's star-crossed lovers in a room and doesn't let them out. In
forty-three variations on their famous final scene, Nina (a young actress) and
Treplev (a young writer), pit their vibrant wit and soaring passions against
one another in a fast-paced tour de force of romantic entanglement.
GRUESOME PLAYGROUND INJURIES
by Rajiv Joseph
with Kat Moraros and Nathan Speckman
directed by Whitney Smith
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 7:30pm
Over the course of 30 years, the lives of Kayleen and Doug intersect at the most bizarre intervals, leading the two childhood friends to compare scars and the physical calamities that keep drawing them together.
by Rajiv Joseph
with Kat Moraros and Nathan Speckman
directed by Whitney Smith
Tuesday, April 23, 2013 at 7:30pm
Over the course of 30 years, the lives of Kayleen and Doug intersect at the most bizarre intervals, leading the two childhood friends to compare scars and the physical calamities that keep drawing them together.
DYING CITY
by Christopher Shinn
with Kat Moraros and Andrew Sawyer
directed by Nathan Speckman
Tuesday, October 30, 2012 at 7:30pm
Christopher Shinn's DYING CITY an intimate play, set in a spare downtown-Manhattan apartment, depicts the role of historic events that transform the lives of three closely observed characters. Infusing his play with references to the war in Iraq and to 9/11 and its aftermath, Shinn explores the loss of a loved one who has died while on military duty in Iraq, and the repercussions of this death on his wife, Kelly, and identical twin brother, Peter.
by Christopher Shinn
with Kat Moraros and Andrew Sawyer
directed by Nathan Speckman
Tuesday, October 30, 2012 at 7:30pm
Christopher Shinn's DYING CITY an intimate play, set in a spare downtown-Manhattan apartment, depicts the role of historic events that transform the lives of three closely observed characters. Infusing his play with references to the war in Iraq and to 9/11 and its aftermath, Shinn explores the loss of a loved one who has died while on military duty in Iraq, and the repercussions of this death on his wife, Kelly, and identical twin brother, Peter.
ENDGAME
by Samuel Beckett
directed by Eryn Colleen Snyder
with Karen Ball, Elizabeth Lardie,
Johnny Speckman and Nate Speckman
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 at 7:30pm
“A few words...from your heart”
A seminal Beckett masterwork, presented here with a slight twist.
Four souls, isolated, alone together – dependant. Beautiful
and captivating. “If I could sleep I might make love. I'd go into
the woods. My eyes would see... the sky, the earth. I'd run, run, they wouldn't catch me...”
by Samuel Beckett
directed by Eryn Colleen Snyder
with Karen Ball, Elizabeth Lardie,
Johnny Speckman and Nate Speckman
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 at 7:30pm
“A few words...from your heart”
A seminal Beckett masterwork, presented here with a slight twist.
Four souls, isolated, alone together – dependant. Beautiful
and captivating. “If I could sleep I might make love. I'd go into
the woods. My eyes would see... the sky, the earth. I'd run, run, they wouldn't catch me...”
TOPDOG /
UNDERDOG
by Suzan-Lori Parks
with Bari Robinson
and J.H. Smith III
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
A 2002 Pulitzer Prize winner, TOPDOG / UNDERDOG is a darkly comic fable of brotherly love and family identity. The play tells the story of Lincoln and Booth, two brothers whose names were given to them as a joke, foretelling a lifetime of sibling rivalry and resentment. Haunted by the past, the brothers are forced to confront the shattering reality of their future.
Topdog/Underdog photo by Emily Delamater
Georg Büchner's
WOYZECK
directed by Tess Van Horn
with Mariah Bergeron, Matt Delamater,
Christopher Reiling, Nick Schroeder
and Michael Dix Thomas
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Written in the 1830's, Büchner's last work is one of the most performed and influential plays in the German Theatre repertory. It is considered an "unfinished" work, and Lorem Ipsum's (Threepenny Opera, Blood Wedding) Tess Van Horn will give her take on this often interpreted work. The play can be seen as working class tragedy, though it can also be viewed as having another dimension, portraying the perennial tragedy of human jealousy.
Van Horn explains "I want to tighten up the translation, to try and make it as minimal of a cast as possible, with most actors playing multiple characters. I like this idea to heighten the sense of "madness" that the character of Woyzeck slowly slumps into as the story progresses. What is "real" to the character? What is "real" to the audience? Are these characters that keep interacting with Woyzeck real or progressively more and more surreal?"
Woyzeck photo by Emily Delamater