Q+A
NICOLE LANE, FERTILE GROUND
FESTIVAL DIRECTOR. PHOTOGRAPHED
AT SAINT SALVAGE IN SOUTHEAST
PORTLAND. PHOTO BY MISTY TOMPOLES.
A Green Thumb for Theatre
Does Portland have a fringe theatre
festival? Well, yes and no. We have
our own twist: The Fertile Ground
Festival of New Works, a non-juried
showcase of all-local performing art
works that turns seven this year and
remains, as ever, full of surprises.
Festival director Nicole Lane (who
daylights as Artists Repertory Theatre’s
marketing and public relations
director) talks to A.L. Adams to give
Artslandia the lay of the land.
INTERVIEW BY A.L. ADAMS.
FERTILE GROUND’S GROWTH
The original notion seven years ago from
PATA (the Portland Area Theatre Alliance)
was to start a fringe theatre festival — like
so many other cities have — in Portland.
We launched an exploratory committee
and quickly learned that the traditional
fringe festival model doesn’t necessarily
benefit local actors, directors and theatre
companies at all; in fact, it often competes
with the