IMAGE: “Shylock and Jessica” by Maurice Gottlieb (1876). A Maiden of Venice will be performed Aug. 6.
Portland Shakespeare Project and Proscenium Journal, in association with Artists Repertory Theatre, present the third annual Proscenium Live Festival of New Work. All performances are free and begin at 7:30pm on Artists Rep’s Alder Stage.
The 2017 festival will offer new plays each night featuring five outstanding playwrights. Full-length plays will be presented on Friday, Aug. 4 and Saturday, Aug. 5; three short plays commissioned by Portland Shakes and Proscenium Journal will be offered on Sunday, Aug. 6.
The Sunday performance will begin with “A Maiden of Venice,” an adaptation of Shakespeare’s most controversial play, told from the point of view of the Shylock’s daughter, Jessica.
The three-night festival features new plays written by award-winning playwrights Steve Rathje, C.S. Whitcomb, Aleks Merilo, Susan Mach and Patrick Wohlmut and are performed in a staged reading format featuring more than a dozen of Portland’s most talented actors on Artists Rep’s Alder Stage.
SCHEDULE
Aug. 4, 7:30pm: Artists Repertory Theatre’s Table|Room|Stage Oregon Play Prize Winner “Signs” by Steve Rathje; Directed by Michael Mendelson.
“Signs” is a surrealistic comedy about love, purpose and the little things that seem to matter so much to us. April reads horoscopes. Lydia writes horoscopes. April reads them devoutly, using them to guide her life choices. Lydia just makes them up, using the money she makes from them to support herself while she completes her novel. When April comes in contact with Lydia, the all-too-familiar force who has been transcribing April’s fate through her horoscopes all along, the story turns upside down.
Steve’s recent play Signs is winner of the $10,000 Oregon New Play Prize and is being developed and produced at Artists Repertory Theatre. ”Signs” was also a finalist for the National Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference.
Aug. 5, 7:30 pm: “Santos” by C.S. Whitcomb; Directed by Michael Mendelson
“Santos” is a new play set in Pasadena, California, circa 1968. Rafael Santos, in his heart, is Don Quixote, but in the real world is just trying to get cast as a bandito bit player while teaching high school drama and keeping his family together. A comedy with a side of tango.
Aug. 6, 7:30 pm: Three new plays, commissioned by Portland Shakes and Proscenium Journal.
“A Maiden of Venice” by Aleks Merilo, directed by Josh Rippy: In the walled Jewish Ghetto of Venice, a girl comes of age with only her money-lender father to guide her. When her father lashes back at men who have persecuted him, she is forced to choose between love, faith, and the debts we owe to family. An adaptation of Shakespeare’s most controversial play, it is told from the point of view of the Shylock’s daughter, Jessica.
“Coyote Play” by Susan Mach, Directed by Josh Rippy: “Coyote Play” (working title) is a contemporary re-imagining of the French-Romanian playwright Eugene Ionesco’s “Rhinoceros,” an absurdist piece which examines the normalization of Fascism.
“Patchwork Dreams” by Patrick Wohlmut, Directed by Brenda Hubbard: Penny is a Patchwork: an automated, obedient servant created from the bodies of deceased people. But when an accident results in the development of consciousness, Penny becomes something much more complex, problematic and potentially terrifying – not just to others, but to herself.
The festival is supported in part by an Ozy Genius Award, awarded to Steve Rathje by Ozy Media, and by Portland Shakespeare Project.
Portland Shakes is a nonprofit theatre company in residence at Artists Repertory Theatre dedicated to educating, enriching and entertaining audiences by producing classical works and contemporary works associated with classical material. Since its founding in 2010 by Michael Mendelson and Karen Rathje, more than 4,500 people have enjoyed the company’s productions of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, Twelfth Night and The Turn of the Screw, as well as a many audience enrichment and education events. More information at portlandshakes.org.
Proscenium is the first free literary journal dedicated to publishing plays. Proscenium publications are free of charge and readily accessible online, allowing playwrights to share their work with a large, web-based audience. Proscenium Journal‘s mission is to support emerging playwrights, make new plays easier to discover, and make theatre easily accessible to new and wider audiences. Proscenium Journal: Supporting playwrights. Encouraging discovery. Making theatre accessible. More information at prosceniumjournal.com.
Rivkah began to play drums after being inspired by a Sevendust concert in Miami, FL. After a few years of being self-taught and playing in local bands, she attended Broward College in Davie, FL, as a music major and studied jazz drum set and classical percussion. Rivkah played and recorded with a variety of South Florida artists, including Andrew Bayuk, the four-time winner of the American Idol Underground Folk Competition.
In 2008, Rivkah moved to Los Angeles to study drumming at Musicians Institute. While being a student at Musicians Institute, she went on tours around California with Jeff Hershey and the Heartbeats, a 1960’s soul-rock band, and recorded and played with many other local artists. Rivkah opened for Dick Dale, the B-52s, and The New Mastersounds with Jeff Hershey and the Heartbeats. The band went on to complete three European tours, performing multiple dates in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, and Switzerland. After touring with the band, Rivkah returned to Los Angeles and continued to play and record with two unique all-female jazz bands, Lady Jazz and the Hard Bop Chicks, as well as other artists. She gained an endorsement through Soultone Cymbals while living in Los Angeles, and performed with Stevie Wonder as part of a drum ensemble on Stevie Wonder’s Annual House of Toys at the Nokia Theater. In 2016, Rivkah relocated to Portland, Oregon, where she continues to perform.
Rivkah loves to teach and is a Certified Facilitator for The Rhythmic Arts Project, a non-profit organization that teaches life skills to students with disabilities using hand drums and specialized curriculum. She has worked with students with disabilities, as well as disadvantaged and chronically ill students, and she has a special interest in working with students who face challenges. Rivkah holds a Master of Education with emphasis in Special Education from Southern New Hampshire University.
Rivkah enjoys being out in nature, spending time with loved ones, writing stories, traveling, dancing, hiking, and inspiring and teaching others, especially girls and women, to play drums. Her favorite drummers are Roy Haynes, Cindy Blackman, Terri Lyne Carrington, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, and Sean Reinert.
Young Adult Adventure – Swing into the Jewish New Year!
Ring in 5780 with the young adult community at Tree-to-Tree Aerial Adventure Park! Work on team building and communication skills as you soar through six courses containing a total of over 60 obstacles and 16 zip lines.
Sunday, September 22
Meet at MJCC parking lot to carpool at 9:45 am or at Tree-to-Tree, 2975 SW Nelson Rd., Gaston at 11:00 am.
Cost: $30 per person (includes snacks and adventure experience)
Space is limited. Register by September 15: oregonjcc.org/treetotree
Co-sponsored by Jewish Federation of Greater Portland
Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28
Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir
Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28
Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir
Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28
Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir
Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28
Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir
Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28
Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir
Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28
Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir
New Year’s Eve at Noon
Join us for this fun family event as we ring in the New Year! Arts and crafts, games, bouncy house, dancing, snacks, pool float, and our annual countdown to 2020 at noon with the balloon drop!
Tuesday, December 31
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Pool Float from 12:30 – 2:00 pm
Free and open to the community.
In partnership with MJCC Day Camp