PlayWrite August 2023 Newsletter
Hola, kaixo, zdravo, hallo, g’day!
Our August quote: “If your heart is broken, make art with the pieces.” ― Shane Koyczan
Who and what we value (and why)
First, foremost, always: We value the kids we work with and for.
Most of them are teens with, from, or in troubled/troubling circumstances. Our work uses concepts and constructs of theatre to demonstrate strategies and tactics, and new ways to view and interact with the world, with the emphasis on building internal strengths to deal with whatever life may bring. Cheers to the kids who take on the challenge and emerge stronger!
Second: Our amazingly talented, dedicated coaches and actors. Our coaches light the fuse of change through one-to-one connections with our kids. Our actors bring kids’ visions to full-blooded life, showing those kids just how powerful their own work can be. Bravo, brava, PlayWrite coaches and actors.
In rehearsal: A student working with Cecily Overman and Victor Mack
And then… our STAFF. Our supporters and donors. Our board, our working partners: the schools and social/cultural organizations and theatre companies that open their doors to help us do our work. The drum-beaters, the paperwork finaglers, the energy sources. It does take a village.
Donors and patrons at Write On! Photo by Jamie Bascomb.
And then, there is the act of theatre itself. Writing, directing, choreographing, acting, expressing, sublimating, collaborating, risking. Seeing, hearing, thinking, feeling.
We value theatre and all the many things it calls for, manifests, makes real. That’s why we did the Write On! 24-Hour Play Festival — a high-wire celebration of theatre. This event brought together eight local playwrights, eight directors, and 22 actors to write, direct and perform eight new short plays—all in 24 hours. (This production did not involve the students we work with, or their plays. We’re in the early planning stages for a showcase of recent student works, all TBD.)
Write On! emcee Poison Waters, judges Beth Harper (The Actors Conservatory), David Koff (Change Through Play), and Nik Whitcomb (Bag&Baggage). Photo by Jamie Bascomb.
All the Write On! playwrights and all the actors and directors did fabulous work. Let’s celebrate the winners, who received special Write On! clocks as prizes:
Judges' Choice
The Horror by Jenna Cady. Directed by Jane Unger, starring Magnolia Brown, Zero Feeney, and Saren Nofs Snyder.
Best Use of Prop
Hellscape by Mishelle Apalategui. Directed by Jeffrey Puukka, starring Sanjana Venkat and Sean Arlo.
Best Use of Line
Housecat by Brian Kettler. Directed by Tom Cocklin, starring Barbara Passolt and Mele Satsuma.
Audience Choice
A Good Life by Valerie Asbell. Directed by Ashley Olson, starring: La'Tevin Alexander, and Anthony Green Caloca.
What’s Happening
Helensview School provides individualized instruction and specialized support services for youth ages 12–21 who have dropped out of school or who are experiencing chronic attendance/behavioral issues. Our first workshop with Helensview is scheduled for September.
We’re making a proposal for a hybrid three-day workshop for the beginning of the school year at Park Academy, an independent school in Lake Oswego for students challenged with dyslexia.
News About PlayWrite Coaches, Actors, Staff & Board Members
PlayWrite coach/actor Bobby Bermea plays the lead in the Scottish play, with Paul Susi (another PlayWrite coach/actor) as Macduff.
As critic Marty Hughley writes in ArtsWatch: “…there aren’t many actors in the area as suited to deliver the title character’s gravity and complexity as Bermea is. But on the other hand, you might say that not understanding is a crucial part of Macbeth: Amid its dark portents and accelerating evils is a core of mystery, a knot of bedeviling questions about human will and tragic fate.”
Image: Art credit goes to Heath Hyun Houghton and Alex Albrecht
Produced by Salt and Sage, running at Shaking the Tree theatre, 823 SE Grant Street, Portland. Performances are Friday and Saturday evenings through August 26th. Masks required. Tickets start at $15. Use discount code Take10 for $10 off or Take5 for $5 off. THIS RUN IS SOLD OUT! Check whether tickets have become available here.
Coach/Actor Chris Harder has been teaching "Authentic Connection," his fun, supportive acting class for 15 years. Using the Meisner technique, you'll learn to build connection through attentive observation, listening, repetition, and moment-to-moment authentic responses. Open to all levels. Classes upcoming. Get more info.