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Recent posts
November 05 2009
Seth Walker
My organization, Ecotrust, recently conducted a survey. We asked thousands of people, “Has the world entered a new era?” More than 80 percent of respondents said yes. When we... More
November 02 2009
Carole Shellhart
In late summer of 1979 Dale Eldred created a series of interconnected sculptures of refractive light panels sited at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, across expansive lawns and... More
October 29 2009
Sara Guest
Before I turn forty I feel destined to complete an odyssey that began when I was five and my parents drove the kids from Ohio to Florida. I’d like to spend time in all fifty... More
October 26 2009
Jennifer Allen
I spent a weekend earlier in October at a place called Smoke Farm north of Seattle. It’s a beautiful spot—360 acres along the Stillaguamish River that is home to an old dairy... More
October 20 2009
Kate Sokoloff
I had an O. Hm moment during the Live Wire! Wordstock Extravaganza earlier this month. As a producer for Live Wire, I frequently work with people who are famous. Sherman Alexie is... More
October 14 2009
Raina Hassan
I am bad at something. It is called the violin. If you know me, or if you’ve read my bio on this website, then you probably know this. I talk about it a lot (and I put that... More
October 06 2009
Laura Becker
Do you remember the first time you discovered something outside of the mainstream, outside of what your parents or teachers or the television told you about? I’m not talking about... More
October 02 2009
Tim DuRoche
Sohrab Vossoughi is founder and president of Portland-based ZIBA Design—an award-winning firm that designs everything from workaday stuff (KitchenAid, Black and Decker) to “user... More
September 29 2009
John Frohnmayer
My wife and I have been involved in a construction project for what seems like forever, but in reality, is only about eight months. As it nears completion, but is never quite ready... More
September 24 2009
David Gutterman
I am no musician. I don’t play an instrument beyond a one-fingered version of “Yankee Doodle Dandy” on the piano and the first few bars of “When the Saints Come Marching In”... More
Observations from our staff and colleagues.
Theater as an Act of Communion
The act of gathering together to worship is nothing new. Sometimes that worship takes the form of praising a higher power. Sometimes it takes the form of humans role-playing the lives of other humans. Portland Playhouse in northeast Portland is melding the ideas of worship, community, and shared humanity into an energizing and intimate experience.
Housed in a former church, the Portland Playhouse just wrapped up a forty-show run of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. They originally scheduled twenty performances, which sold out so fast they doubled the run. The theater held talk back sessions (supported in part by a Public Programs Grant from Oregon Humanities), during which the audience discussed the play with the actors, achieving powerful results.
Other plays this season addressed Abu Ghraib (Dying City) and how American society deals with the severely disabled (Telethon). Portland Playhouse also works with local alumni of Portland Center Stage’s JAW: A Playwrights Festival. This is community theater in its best sense. What plays have you seen this season that you’ve loved?
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03 June 2011 | Community Grants
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