The Fertile Ground Festival of New Works is a citywide, multi-week performing arts festival taking place in venues throughout Portland, Oregon and the surrounding areas.
This year's lineup includes site specific theatre, dance, solo shows, aerial performance, puppetry, and dozens upon dozens of brand-new scripts by some of Portland's most celebrated and prolific playwrights.
Schedule of Events:
5:30pm - PDX Playwrights: Shakespeare in the Dark by Adam Harrell
Shakespeare in the Dark by Adam Harrell
Irwin, a struggling theater director caught in the throes of an artistic slump and midlife crisis, must rediscover his creative spark when the theater gods send the ghost of William Shakespeare to haunt his disastrous production of The Tempest.
Paul, the lovesick stage manager, pines for lead actress Teena, though their lives couldn’t be more different. Abby, cast as Caliban, searches for love in all the wrong places. Jen, almost Ariel in spirit, is fiercely loyal but often overlooked. Cybil, the fading diva playing Prospero, abandoned pleasantries long ago. At the chaotic center stands Irwin, battling his self-doubt under the unpredictable gaze of Gloria, his extravagant aunt and precarious financier.
As fantasy, magic, and romance collide, Irwin must confront his demons to save his career—and the beloved but crumbling Tillman Theater—from ruin. Brimming with star-crossed lovers, soliloquies, and the comedic twists of a Shakespearean romp, this heartfelt new play celebrates the transformative power of storytelling.
Rating/Recommended Age:
15+
Performance Length:
80 minutes, no intermission
Location: The Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie , OR
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7:30pm - PDX Playwrights: See Jane Run: An Indo Story by Jane Vogel Mantiri
See Jane Run: An Indo Story by Jane Vogel Mantiri
Directed by Cycerli Ash
See Jane Run: An Indo Story is a solo memoir play written and performed by Jane Vogel Mantiri. It confronts grief, inspires hope, and is a universal story steeped in love. The play is an exhale after decades of silence. Indo refugee immigrants fleeing Indonesia after World War II suppressed their Indo identity because it was a source of danger and shame. They wanted their children to be spared the pain, and encouraged, cajoled, and forced them to assimilate to a new culture. Now Indos around the world are calling out to each other to tell their stories, and reclaim their identity before the culture vanishes. For the ancestors and for future generations, the rich legacy of Indo culture lives on in storytelling. This play is one Indo’s story about love, loss, generational trauma, racism, forced displacement, resilience, and being happy.
Rating/Recommended Age:
15+ (for example)
Performance Length:
75 minutes, no intermission
Location: The Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie, OR
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