Artslandia at the Performance: Portland Playhouse Nov/Dec 2014 | Page 37

GOD BLESS US, EVERYONE
Portland Playhouse is known for producing artistically forward –
and often new – works of theatre. Yet here we are, for the second
year in a row, presenting A Christmas Carol, one of the most wellknown and loved stories of all time. 
The idea of staging A Christmas Carol started off simply
enough; our Education and Outreach program was looking for
a way to provide our apprentice company with performance
opportunities, and a way to reach new and diverse audiences in
our neighborhood. We didn’t have much money to lend to this new
idea, so that meant going with simple costumes and the barest of
scenic elements. The actors would double as the musicians, and
also serve the beer and popcorn! Low-key.

We do believe theatre makes our community vibrant and healthy,
and we believe it should benefit ALL people. That’s why we gave
away hundreds of free tickets last year, and why this year our goal is
to give away at least 300 tickets to members of our community.
So, we need your help!
First, if you know of a family who cannot afford to come, please let
us know so we can get some of those free tickets into their hands.
Second, if you love what you see, please JOIN US for the balance of
our season. Season ticket buyers make our work possible, all of our
work, including what you see today!
Sincerely,

But the deeper we got into the production process the more we
realized how truly special the show was turning out to be. We
also realized that A Christmas Carol presented us with a unique
opportunity to live up to our mission: We hold theatre to be a space
in which people of ALL social, economic, racial, sexual and political
backgrounds can come together to celebrate the complexity of our
shared human experience.

Brian Weaver

Kevin Kruse

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

MANAGING DIRECTOR

WON’T YOU JOIN US FOR THE REST OF SEASON SEVEN?
SOJOURN THEATRE’S

HOW TO END POVERTY
IN 90 MINUTES

THE OTHER PLACE

Conceived and written by Michael Rohd
Directed by Liam Kaas-Lentz
Devised in collaboration with the cast
WORLD PREMIERE

What does it take before we finally “let go”
and seek help from those who care about
us? Juliana Smithton, an accomplished
scientist and pharmaceuticals pitchwoman, is a dominating personality who’s
always in command. Until, that is, a fleeting
bout of dementia turns her world upside
down. As the extent of Juliana’s affliction
deepens, she comes to doubt anything and
everything about her life. What is “real” and
what is merely the fabrication of a brain
under siege? Audiences will be guessing
until the very end. A riveting psychological
drama hailed by critics as “piercing” (New
York Magazine) and a “taut, incisive puzzle
play” (Backstage).

(with 99 People you may or may not know)

It’s not a performance, a workshop, or a
public conversation — it’s all of these things.
How To End Poverty In 90 Minutes… invites
audiences to consider the questio