Artists Repertory Theatre

Artists Repertory Theatre

Theater building taking up a city block in Southwest Portland
Abbreviation Artists Rep or ART
Formation 1982
Type Non-profit theatre
Purpose Theatrical productions in Portland, Oregon
Location
  • 1515 SW Morrison St., Portland. OR 97205
Artistic Director
 Dámaso Rodriguez
Affiliations Portland Shakespeare Project
Profile Theatre
Traveling Lantern Theatre Company
Polaris Dance Theatre
Portland Area Theatre Alliance
Portland Revels
The Red Door Project
Website http://www.artistsrep.org/

Artists Repertory Theatre (Artists Rep) is a professional non-profit theatre located in Portland, Oregon, United States. The company was established in 1982 and focuses on presenting the works of contemporary playwrights, including world premieres. In addition to producing six to eight productions in Portland annually, the company runs special programming and collaborations. They tour productions nationally with the support and collaboration of partnering theatre companies and the National Endowment for the Arts.[1]

Founded in 1982, Artists Repertory Theatre is the longest-running professional theatre company in Portland, led by Artistic Director Dámaso Rodriguez and Managing Director Sarah Horton. For the 2013/14 season Artists Rep will offer nine new plays. Artists Rep productions will feature the work of a core group of resident artists, working alongside guest artists from Portland and beyond.

Artists Rep runs premieres, re-imagined classics, new play development and educational outreach.

History

1982-1990

Chenoa Egawa portrays one of the ghost narrators in The Ghosts of Celilo

Rebecca Adams (as producing director), Peter Waldron (as designer), Joe Cronin, Amy Fowkes, David Gomes and Vana O’Brien formed Artists Repertory Theatre in 1982; their goal was to present contemporary playwrights' work in an intimate space. Through the early years of the theatre, they used the local YWCA’s 110–seat Wilson Center for the Performing Arts as their performance area. In 1988, Artists Rep appointed Allen Nause to the position of Artistic Director; he would go on to hold the position for over 20 years.

1990-1999

Artists Rep creates an improvisation and role-playing program to teach life-skills named ART Reach (later renamed Actors to Go) in 1990. In 1991, Artists Rep began a development program, focused on creating new plays; and in its first year Artists Rep earned an Oregon Book Nomination for their world premiere production of Nancy Klementowski's After the Light Goes.

In 1995 they began a campaign to raise money for a new facility. After 2 years, Artists Rep was able to raise $1.2 million; with this money they moved into the Alder St. space, which included a 172–seat black box theater, administrative offices, a green room and dressing rooms, set–building shop, wardrobe room and rehearsal hall. In 1997, they were able to expand their presence in the world with an Artists Rep production at an international human rights play festival held on a tour of Pakistan.

2000-2009: To begin the new millennia, in 2000 Artists Rep chose to participate in the first-ever-reciprocal artistic collaboration between the United States and Vietnam, the Vietnam America Theatre Exchange. To accommodate demand, Artists Rep started a second Ssage season in 2002; these productions would take place at an off-site location as the Alder St. space was too small. In 2004 they were one of only six companies nationally to be selected to the largest-ever tour of Shakespeare in U.S. history. This would be a continuation of their previous US/Vietnam collaboration, but extended to a tour of the seven Western states through the National Endowment for the Arts’“Shakespeare in American Communities” initiative.

Later that year, Artists Rep began the expansion of their theatre space with the purchase of a 29,000 sq.ft. area of an entire city block for $4.8 million. The next year, 2005, Artists Rep opened an on-site location, the Morrison Stage, for their second stage productions; it would feature a more intimate setting with 164 seats. In 2008, Michael Mendelson, Vana O’Brien, Amaya Villazan and Todd Van Voris would become Artists Rep’s first Resident Acting Company, and they all still remain members to this day. After opening the Morrison Stage in 2005, Artists Rep planned in 2009 to connect the two theatres with the construction of a staircase and the expansion of the Alder St. Stage’s lobby.

2010-now

Artists Rep kicked off its 2010/11 season with a co-production of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night with the Sydney Theatre Company. The cast included Academy-Award winning actor William Hurt, Australian star of stage and screen Robyn Nevin, Artists Rep Company Member Todd Van Voris, and Sydney Theatre Company Members Luke Mullins and Emily Russell.

In 2012, Artists Rep celebrated its 30th Anniversary season. Allen Nause, the theatre's Artistic Director for 25 years announced his retirement and Dámaso Rodriguez replaced him. In 2013, New Artistic Director Dámaso Rodriguez expanded Artists Rep's resident artists to include not only actors but also directors, designers and writers. Artists Rep became an arts campus and began housing eight arts organizations within its red walls. The arts organizations that occupy the space are Portland Shakespeare Project, Profile Theatre, Traveling Lantern Theatre Company, Polaris Dance, Portland Area Theatre Alliance, Portland Revels and The Red Door Project.

Productions

2016/2017 season

2015/2016 season

2014/2015 season

2013/2014 season

2012/2013 season

2011/2012 season

2010/2011 season

2009/2010 season

2008/2009 season

2007/2008 season

2006/2007 season

2005/2006 season

2004/2005 season

For seasons past the 2004/2005 season, find them at http://www.artistsrep.org/learn-about-us/production-history.aspx?season=2114

References

  1. ↑ http://www.arts.gov/about/NEARTS/2007_v5/story.php?id=p7_artistsrep[]

External links

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