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In its second year back after a strategic hiatus, Fertile Ground—the festival of new works started by Portland Area Theatre Alliance in 2009—is living in the moment, which means this year’s offerings serve up everything from queer joy to timely drama in plays, musicals, dance and movement and performance art. Half of this year’s artists have never participated in the festival, according to festival director Tamara Carroll. Fertile Ground’s 16th year runs over 16 days from April 4 to 19. Ensembles and solo performers took to Portland Center Stage on March 18 to showcase their upcoming productions. More than a few shows, from daring physical acts to intimate character studies, showed promise as festival standouts for their inclusivity, variations on known forms, and humor.
LineStorm Playwrights Present
LineStorm is a collective of 13 Portland-area playwrights returning to Artists Repertory Theatre to read new scripts. The three longer pieces are Francisco Garcia’s 545, a staged reading of a one-act play about migrant children separated from their families in 2020; Susan Faust’s Half, a full-length play about a group of 63 adults who learn their mothers all used the same sperm donor; and Sofia Molimbi’s Junior Year Abroad, a full-length play about—you guessed it—a young woman who spends her junior year abroad in France. There will also be Small Bites, six short plays by LineStorm Playwrights members Sara Jean Accuardi, Audrey Block, Heath Hyun Houghton, E. M. Lewis, Rich Rubin and Lolly Ward, and Songs from the Stage, a concert with songs by Holly Richards and Lolly Ward, including from their musical Cessair, which debuted its first act at last year’s festival.
Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison St., 503-241-1278, fertilegroundpdx.org. 7:30 pm Friday, 2 and 7:30 pm Saturday, noon and 5 pm Sunday, April 4–6. Free.
UNFIT: The Tale of One Pregnant Teen in the Bible Belt Before Women Had a Choice
As the subtitle implies, UNFIT is a one-woman show that takes place in the past but is about issues very much affecting us today. Performer and playwright Lani Leigh, 71, who wrote a memoir of the same name about her experience, embodies her 17-year-old self in this “testament to female resilience under the horror of the patriarchy.”
Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton St., 971-808-3331, cstpdx.com. 2 pm Sunday, 7:30 pm Tuesday, April 6 and 8. $10–$30.
The Wonderful Woman of Oz
This one-woman extravaganza features Emmy-nominated actor Erin Fitzgerald playing 27 characters from the MGM classic The Wizard of Oz. Written by Fitzgerald and David Koff, the sensory-friendly musical for audiences young and young at heart is a good fit for your Wicked-obsessed kids (or you).
CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 971-202-6567, fertilegroundpdx.org. 5 pm Wednesday, April 9; 8 pm Friday, April 11; noon Sunday April 13; and 7:30 pm Monday, April 14. $5–$30.
PDX Playwrights: The Festival Within the Festival
The local writers group PDX Playwrights puts on a whopping nine works at Chapel and CoHo theaters, including Epic Shorts: Brave Enough, 10-minute plays inspired by Amanda Gorman’s poem, “The Hill We Climb”; The Real Houseplants of Portland, Oregon by Genderbomb, a comedic send-up of the popular reality show franchise; and Regret by Karen Polinsky, which includes the visual art of Inna Pustakhanova and an original score with live performances by Michael Hays and Esmé Schwall of Portland’s Pythias Braswell.
Chapel Theatre, 4107 SE Harrison St., Milwaukie, 971-350-9675; CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 971-202-6567; fertilegroundpdx.org. Multiple stage times Wednesday–Monday, April 9–14. $5-$15.
Hanuman’s Shadow: Echos of Laos and America
Writer and performer Samson Syharath shares his personal journey as a Laotian American, weaving historical events from the U.S.’s involvement in Laos with his own personal narrative. The show also uses mythology to amplify stories of Laotian immigrants and refugees. The performance blends storytelling, dance and aerial trapeze and is part of this year’s GROW Grants program, which seeks to reduce financial barriers to festival participants.
CoHo Theatre, 2257 NW Raleigh St., 971-202-6567, fertilegroundpdx.org. 3 pm Saturday, 5 pm Sunday April 12–13. $5-$20.
Exemplar
Another project in this year’s GROW program is Jody Read’s workplace comedy and satire, which began as a gender-swapped Mad Men. It’s about the power dynamics of gender in the workplace, told with physical comedy and biting social commentary. The staged reading asks, “What purpose has the binary served throughout history, and what service is it to us now?”
Old Moody at Zidell Yards, 3121 S Moody Ave., 503-228-8691, fertilegroundpdx.org. 1 and 5 pm Saturday, April 12. $5–$15.
Sugar & Whiskey Burlesque
“Saving the world one burlesque show at a time,” this adults-only performance led by Billie Rose features Madison LaMer, Dahlia SparX, Caralynn Rose, Vivid Noir and Marcy May, with Aunt Lena as emcee. The performers promise dance, jazz music, hoops and singing. The “old-school charm” offensive features a combination of striptease and cabaret with a focus on blending classic and modern burlesque, using humor and artistry. The venue, Star Theater, is one of Portland’s longest-standing burlesque halls.
Star Theater, 13 NW 6th Ave., 866-777-8932, startheaterportland.com. 7 pm Sunday, April 13. $20–$40. 21+.
What the Fox?
This high-energy staged reading of the musical devised by Jed Sutton knows you’re going to ask yourself, “What the fox did I just watch?” But these rowdy “spicy cats” don’t care because they are having too much fun spreading the “drama queen cosmic agenda.” The show is about an LGBTQ+ and neurodivergent Scout troop that, devoid of technology, goes on a coming-of-age journey in the Oregon desert, guided by a mystical nine-tailed fox.
The Back Door Theatre, 4319 SE Hawthorne Blvd., fertilegroundpdx.org. Noon and 5 pm Saturday, April 5; 8:30 pm Sunday, April 6; and 5:30 pm Sunday, April 13. Free-$50.