PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE
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Mission Statement
OUR MISSION is to produce quality, intimate, performances in which the interaction between artists and audience is paramount. We hold theatre to be a space in which ALL people can come together to celebrate the complexity of our shared human experience. OUR VISION is a Portland awakened by the wonder of theatre.
About This Cause
As a 2015 American Theatre Wing “National Theatre Company grant” recipient, Portland Playhouse (PPH) has been recognized as “integral to the fabric of the community and furthering the national cultural conversation in exciting ways.” We achieve this by producing professional theatre in a neighborhood setting, engaging in community outreach initiatives, and offering dynamic educational programs. And there is demand for our work. In seven years our audience has grown from 850 to over 12,000! Named “City’s Best Theatre” and “Light-a-Fire” award winner for Creativity by Portland Monthly, The Playhouse has earned 22 awards for its productions. We established our theatre in NE Portland in 2008 and have quickly garnered a reputation for our innovative approach to both artistic programming and community outreach. We have become integral to the King Neighborhood, performing culturally diverse work from playwrights such as August Wilson, Tony Kushner, Theresa Rebeck, Irdis Goodwin, and Alvin Tarell Mccraney. While most prominent theater companies have impressive venues downtown, PPH resides in a repurposed church in a neighborhood setting. Our desire is to celebrate the lives and history of Black Americans and to use theatre as a platform for social change and justice. Our purpose is to activate surprise, delight, and challenge in our lives by exposing diverse audiences to artistically forward shows. Our community has come to rely on The Playhouse as their neighborhood arts center. Three years ago, when the Bureau of Land Development asked us to vacate the building because of a zoning issue, we began a months-long journey to gain the right to come home. And we made a lot of friends along the way. With the King and Sabin Neighborhood Associations’ support, all five City Commissioners voted in favor of our appeal to return to our home. We felt humbled by the hundreds of neighborhood residents who wrote letters of support and demonstrated their commitment to PPH by filing City Council chambers on the day of our hearing. When asked why she supported our appeal, Barbara Conable said, “I took to see MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM, a neighbor friend of mine. I’ve lived in Sabin four years. She’s lived there all her life, and she is five days older than I am. When it was finished she grabbed my hand and shook it over and over and said, “They got it right. Barbara, they got it right…” Now, in our neighborhoods there is an ‘it’ to get right, and this facility, this institution addresses that, and we need it.” (March 1, 2012 City Council Hearing, retrieved from: http://www.portlandonline.com/auditor/index.cfm?c=56674&a=380509). We embrace inclusion because diverse people and ideas allow us to understand people who are different from us. We are better equipped to explore new ideas on stage and connect to others. Theatre can be a social agent of change, promoting justice, equality, and well-being. We are committed to bringing a voice to the black community through the arts. In 2013, PPH participated in the Portland Equity in the Arts Consortium (PEAC), a pilot project funded by the Miller Foundation to help theatres find new ways to diversify audiences. Through PEAC, PPH received leadership training focused on bringing the lens of equity to our everyday activities and to develop new approaches to building authentic relationships. Relationship building is the cornerstone of success in engaging any community. Creating meaningful and sustainable relationships with diverse participants is not unlike making new friends. It takes intention, curiosity, flexibility and time. We realize that we cannot make new friends without being changed by the experience. OUR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION VISION is to build an audience that reflects our neighborhood’s diversity in its many expressions. This bold vision outlines the philosophy that forms the foundation of our commitment to Audience Development and will be used to guide the development of our core values, behaviors and attitudes as we go about the business of providing our product. It will also be used to establish future benchmarks and strategies. PPH ALSO HAS A SUCCESSFUL HISTORY OF FOSTERING NEW WORK. In 2010, we won an award for producing the world premiere of WILLOW JADE by Portland playwright Hunt Holman. The following year, we produced THE MISSING PIECES by local playwright Nick Zagone as part of the Fertile Ground Festival. In 2012, we commissioned Christina Anderson's THE ASHES, which was later presented at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in 2014. In 2013, we presented the world premiere of Quincy Long’s THE HUNTSMAN, which won a Sundance Time Warner Storyteller’s Fellowship and received developmental workshops at Portland Center Stage, New York Theatre Workshop and Playwrights Horizons. Later that year, we also co-produced a new play with Hand2Mouth Theatre, which was an adaption of Portland’s own Ursula K. Le Guin’s renowned novel "The Left Hand of Darkness." In early 2015, we worked with Sojourn Theatre to produce the professional theatre premiere of HOW TO END POVERTY IN 90 MINUTES. And in early 2016, we playwright Mia Chung will be in residency working on her new play YOU FOR ME FOR YOU, which we will present in February 2016. OUR EDUCATION PROGRAMS FURTHER OUR VISION. We began introducing young people to the joys of theatrical performance when we launched our Fall Festival of Shakespeare in 2009. This 10-week in-school residency links students’ first encounter with Shakespeare’s prose to the thrill of participating in live performance. The program stresses three ideals: a spirit of collaboration (not competition); audience engagement; and an aural method to learn texts. We use a traditional Elizabethan-style approach, removing the language barrier reading Shakespeare often creates. This oral way of learning (hearing and repeating) levels the playing field for students with varying abilities. Specific reading level is not a prerequisite for participation. When young people experience Shakespeare as actors, what once seemed daunting and arcane comes alive. Our program is modeled after the highly successful Shakespeare & Company program in Lenox, MA. Shakespeare & Company is an innovative leader in the field of incorporating the arts into education and is regarded by the Arts Education Partnership, the GE Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation and the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities as a “champion of change.” Since their program was founded in 1978, over a million students have taken part. Our Fall Festival of Shakespeare is significant to the community we serve. Over the years, area schools have endured significant budget cuts and many of them have reduced classes in performing and visual arts. PPH seeks to restore these opportunities, inspiring young people to discover their “inner light” of self-confidence and leadership through the magic of the theatre. A significant body of research demonstrates a positive relationship between study in drama and literacy/language development. In early childhood, theater prepares students for achievement in reading and writing by increasing and refining oral language skills and story understanding. In middle and high school, participation in drama is linked to increases in use of complex language and expressive ability. And of special significance, studies find that arts education engages students who are often underserved in public schools, including students from low socioeconomic status backgrounds and that these students do better in arts-rich schools than in schools that do not have robust arts programs. “I’ve just been blown away by their [students] ability to take it on.... It’s a lot of work, but it’s been a really great experience because they are starting to take ownership for it.” – Josh Forsythe, Jefferson High School teacher. “I loved how I was able to communicate with people I've never met before… I loved that moment because I was never able to talk to people normally and I felt really confident… that feeling is following me everywhere now" – De La Salle student. “The combination of respect, push, inquiry, challenge and passion that Nikki brought forward and demanded of all participants is an exemplar of effective arts education… I congratulate Portland Playhouse on creating a powerful education program that advances mission and inspires the next generation of artists.” – Eric Friedenwald-Fishman, Fall Festival Parent, Metropolitan Group creative director/founder. OUR APPRENTICE PROGRAM IS ONE-OF-A-KIND. Each year, PPH also welcomes a small group of young pre-professionals for a year of training. Since 2010, we have served as a bridge between the university and the profession, developing each individual's skills by working alongside professional artists. Every year, over a hundred people audition to be in our program to study acting, voice/movement, and serve as understudies and ensemble in our productions. This annual program begins mid-August and runs through early June; we serve 8-12 young artists every year. In total, 37 artists have benefited from the program and 97% have gone on to work professionally in the arts - locally, nationally, and internationally. “It was grueling, exhausting, frustrating at times-- but ultimately the most rewarding and creatively affirming experience I could ask for at the start of my professional career.” – Joshua Weinstein (Artists Rep 2014 Resident Artist Company Member). AUDIENCE DEMOGRAPHIC: While our audiences generally reflect the Portland community as a whole, we have a particular focus on under-served populations. To reach these communities, we participate in the "Arts for All" program and offer complimentary tickets to high school students and organizations that work with disadvantaged youth.