Projects
- Caught
October 1, 2017 – October 29, 2017
Artists Repertory Theatre on the Morrison Stage
An installation of visual art and live theatre presented in partnership with The Chújú Gallery/SF and The Geezer Gallery
“Lin Bo’s artwork – in combination with the theatrical installation, Qín (Caught) – is a fascinating labyrinth. The performance itself is compulsively engaging, chockfull of twists and impish conspiracy. Spoiler Alert: Come prepared to be surprised!” – San Francisco News
Ripped from today’s headlines and breaking the theatrical mold, artist Lin Bo’s work, Qín (Caught), presents a sly philosophical puzzle that investigates the murky intersections of fact and fiction in the crafting of art and news. The show features Lin, a dissident visual, performance and conceptual artist whose piece, Shìwēi (‘Rally’) led to his arrest and two-year detention by the Chinese government in 2012. After his release, Lin moved to San Francisco and launched a traveling exhibition of his work to Vancouver BC, Tacoma, Portland, Las Vegas and Minneapolis. In each city, Lin is partnering with theatre companies rather than traditional gallery spaces; in Portland, Artists Rep is hosting the exhibit.
The Artists Rep exhibition includes his current work, as well as a new theatrical piece, Qín (Caught), a lively exploration of the American obsession with ‘story’ and ’narrative’ as markers for ‘authenticity.’ Lin will be introducing the work at each performance, and discussing his harrowing experiences in detention under the Chinese authorities. Recently profiled by The New Yorker Magazine, he is writing a book about his journey as a dissident artist in an authoritarian culture, which will be published following this tour.
In Portland, Lin is collaborating with artists: playwright Christopher Chen, Dmae Roberts, Chris Harder, Sara Hennessy, Greg Watanabe, Horatio Law, Megan Wilkerson, Sarah Gahagan, Jennifer Lin, Rodolfo Ortega, Mary McDonald-Lewis, Samson Syharath and Shawn Lee to recreate this piece for Portland viewers.
Static elements of Lin Bo’s work may be viewed throughout October in the Morrison Lobby at Artists Rep on Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 6pm. Tickets to the live performance, where attendees can hear Lin’s introductory remarks, are available starting Aug. 1.
- Proscenium Live – Festival of New Work
FESTIVAL SCHEDULE:
All performances are free!
No ticket reservations are necessary and seating is general admission.
August 4 – 7:30 pm
Artist Repertory Theatre’s Table|Room|Stage Selection and Oregon Play Prize Winner
Signs
by Steve Rathje
Directed by Michael Mendelson**
Cast Members: Chris Harder*, Crystal Ann Muñoz*, Sarah Overman*, Claire Rigsby, Joshua J. Weinstein*
Signs is a surrealistic comedy about love, purpose and the little things that seem to matter so much to us. April reads horoscopes. Lydia writes horoscopes. April reads them devoutly, using them to guide her life choices. Lydia just makes them up, using the money she makes from them to support herself while she completes her novel. When April comes in contact with Lydia, the all-too-familiar force who has been transcribing April’s fate through her horoscopes all along, the story turns upside down. Signs is the winner of the $10,000 Oregon New Play Prize and is being developed and produced at Artists Repertory Theatre. Signs was also a finalist for the National Eugene O’Neill Playwrights Conference.
August 5 – 7:30 pm
Santos
by C.S. Whitcomb
Directed by Michael Mendelson**
Cast Members: Claire Aldridge, Bobby Bermea*, Michel Castillo, Anthony Green, Matt Sepeda, Julana Torres, Lolly Ward*, Danielle Weathers*, Mamie Wilhelm
Santos is a new play set in Pasadena, California, circa 1968. Rafael Santos, in his heart, is Don Quixote, but in the real world is just trying to get cast as a bandito bit player while teaching high school drama and keeping his family together. A comedy with a side of tango. C.S. Whitcomb wrote last year’s Proscenium Live offering Dracula’s Father (Stoker). Whitcomb was commissioned by Portland Shakespeare Project to write Lear’s Follies, presented in 2012. Recently produced in Portland have been her plays Seven Wonders of Ballyknock (Lakewood Theatre) and Holidazed (with Marc Acito, Artists Repertory Theatre). She has been nominated for the Angus Bowmer, Emmy, Drammy, Edgar Allan Poe and Writers Guild Awards. She has written roles for Jason Robards, Ellen Burstyn, Anjelica Huston, Martin Sheen, Gena Rowlands and many others. Her play Parnassus on Wheels will be produced at Lakewood Theatre beginning in January 2018.
August 6 – 7:30 pm
Three New Plays, Commissioned by Portland Shakespeare Project and Proscenium Journal
A Maiden of Venice
by Aleks Merilo
Directed by Josh Rippy
Cast Members: John Corr, Chris Karczmar*, Claire Rigsby
In the walled Jewish Ghetto of Venice, a girl comes of age with only her money-lender father to guide her. When her father lashes back at men who have persecuted him, she is forced to choose between love, faith, and the debts we owe to family. A Maiden of Venice an adaptation of Shakespeare’s most controversial play, told from the point of view of the Shylock’s daughter, Jessica. Aleks Merilo is an award winning and internationally produced playwright from Palo Alto, CA. His script, The Snowmaker, was winner of the Playwrights First Award, Winner of The Chameleon Theatre Circles New Play Contest, and Playhouse on The Square’s New Works @ The Works Festival, and was a finalist for the Oregon Play Prize. His play, The Widow of Tom’s Hill, played Off-Broadway at 59E59, where Broadway World called it “A truly distinctive piece of theater.” His play, Exit 27, was called “The best original play to be produced this season” by the Houston Chronicle, and was voted best new play by Broadway World, Houston. He has an MFA in playwriting from UCLA, and lives in the Pacific Northwest. He is represented by the Robert A. Freedman Dramatic Agency. Aleksmeriloplaywright.com.
Coyote Play
by Susan Mach
Directed by Josh Rippy
Cast Members: Bobby Bermea*, Lauren Hanover*, Steve Rathje, Samson Syharath, Danielle Weathers*, Mamie Wilhelm
Coyote Play (working title) is a contemporary re-imagining of the French-Romanian playwright Eugene Ionesco’s Rhinoceros, an absurdist piece which examines the normalization of Fascism. Sue Mach’s plays have been produced by Theatre for the New City in New York, Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, Portland Repertory Theatre, Icaras Theatre Ensemble, Artists Repertory Theatre, Third Rail Repertory Theatre, and CoHo Theatre. Her plays Angle of View, A Noble Failure, and The Yellow Wallpaper have all been finalists for the Oregon Book Award. She won the Oregon Book Award for The Lost Boy.
Patchwork Dreams
by Patrick Wohlmut
Directed by Brenda Hubbard
Cast Members: John Corr, Robert Hamm*, Sarah Overman*, Steve Rathje, Lolly Ward*
Penny is a Patchwork: an automated, obedient servant created from the bodies of deceased people. But when an accident results in the development of consciousness, Penny becomes something much more complex, problematic, and potentially terrifying – not just to others, but to herself. Patrick Wohlmut’s writing has been produced by several companies in Portland. His play, Continuum, was a winning commission from Portland Center Stage and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and was featured at PCS’s JAW Festival in 2011. It went on to be produced by Playwrights West – of which Patrick is a member emeritus – in 2012. His play, The Waves, was written for Southwest Stageworks at Wilson High School via the Teen West Project and was performed there in February 2014. He has also been a contributing writer to two productions at Shaking the Tree Theatre: 2011’s The Tripping Point and 2014’s Masque of the Red Death.
*Member, Actors’ Equity Association, the professional union of actors and stage managers.
**Member, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society
This event is being produced by Proscenium Journal (prosceniumjournal.com) and Portland Shakespeare Project, in association with Artists Repertory Theatre (artistsrep.org). The festival is supported in part by an Ozy Genius Award, awarded to Steve Rathje by Ozy Media, and by Portland Shakespeare Project. In keeping with Proscenium Journal’s mission to share new plays with the largest audience possible, all performances are free!
- Mnisose
Portland Center Stage has commissioned four of the most passionate and inventive artists working today to lend their voices to a new series of plays, Northwest Stories. The four artists — James David Beaton, Mary Kathryn Nagle, Dan O’Brien and Lauren Yee — will craft plays that examine the Pacific Northwest with heart, humor and consummate humanity, creating works to enchant the senses and ignite dynamic dialogues about the events and places that define our region.
The writing process will span roughly two years, during which time Portland Center Stage’s artistic staff will provide creative and dramaturgical support tailored to the needs of each artist. The commissions are supported in part by The Wallace Foundation’s Building Audiences for Sustainability program. PCS was one of 26 arts organizations selected nationwide for this six-year, $52-million initiative aimed at developing practical insights into how exemplary performing arts organizations can successfully expand their audiences. These four commissions follow two Northwest Stories projects that are currently in development: Astoria: Part One, based on the best-selling book by Peter Stark and adapted by Chris Coleman, and Wild and Reckless, a new musical event by local folk rockers, Blitzen Trapper.
ABOUT NORTHWEST STORIES
Portland Center Stage’s Northwest Stories series is a celebration of the essence of our region. From fresh looks at history to dynamic explorations of contemporary culture, Northwest Stories blends adventurous storytelling with local impact, all created with the immediacy and vibrancy that only live performance can bring. PCS already has a rich history of producing productions that touch on the Northwest experience — with celebrated shows ranging from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest to Snow Falling on Cedars and Crazy Enough. PCS also has a long history of developing new work for the stage. In the past 17 years, more than 70 scripts have been developed during its annual festival of new work, JAW: A Playwrights Festival. PCS has also produced 20 fully-staged world premieres. More than 150 professional theater companies have gone on to produce plays that were developed at PCS.
MARY KATHRYN NAGLE
Mary Kathryn Nagle was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She graduated summa cum laude from Tulane University Law School, where she was the recipient of the Judge John Minor Wisdom Award. Her play Manahatta was recently featured in The Public Theater’s inaugural Public Studio workshop production series. Other recent productions include Amerinda Inc.’s presentation of Miss Lead at 59E59 Theaters in 2014. Nagle is an alum of the 2013 Emerging Writers Group at The Public Theater, and an alum of The Civilians’ 2014 Research & Development Group, where she developed her play, Fairly Traceable. Nagle is the executive director of the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program, designed to develop Native voices in the American theater and ensure that Native plays reach the American stage. She is also a partner at Pipestem Law, P.C., where she works to protect tribal sovereignty and the inherent right of Indian Nations to protect their women and children from domestic violence and sexual assault. She is the author of Sliver of a Full Moon, a play that has traveled to theaters and law schools across the country to educate the public on the need for restoration of tribal criminal jurisdiction over non-Indians in the 2013 re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act. She has been commissioned by Arena Stage and The Rose Theater in Omaha, Nebraska.
- 26 Miles
June 15 – 25, 2017
Profile TheatreMorrison Stage
Directed by Rebecca Martinez
Charming, spunky, and ultimately heartrending. The car trip from Paoli, PA to Yellowstone Park is transforming and restorative. –The New York Times
A desperate midnight phone call spurs a spontaneous road trip for a brilliant teen and her estranged mother. The reunited pair runs fast and furious from the secrets in their lives. So what if reality’s nipping at their heels? Colliding together, they find connection, forgiveness and a part of their identities that has been missing all along.
Featuring: Jimmy Garcia*, Chris Harder*, Alex Leigh Ramirez, Julana Torres*
Creative Team: Kristeen Crosser (Lighting Design), Sarah Gahagan (Costume Design), Daniel Meeker (Scenic Design), Sharath Patel (Sound Design)
Dates to Note:
Previews June 15th & 16th.
Opening Night June 17th.
ASL interpreted performance June 23rd.Evening performances 7:30pm. Matinees 2:00pm
Running Time: 90 Minutes. No intermission.*Member Actors’ Equity Association, the professional union of actors and stage managers.
For tickets go here!
- Marjorie Prime
Marjorie Prime
By Jordan Harrison
Directed by Adriana BaerFebruary 7, 2017 – March 5, 2017
Alder Stage
In this inquisitive new drama, a family grapples with the difference between a life lived and a life remembered as 85-year-old Marjorie struggles to keep hold of her memories and identity, gently assisted by an artificial version of her late husband, Walter. An exploration of aging, memory and technology, MARJORIE PRIME peers into what lies ahead and how our past is rewritten to face today.
- 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama
- 2017 film adaptation starring Jon Hamm, Geena Davis & Tim Robbins
- Season 4 writer/producer on Orange Is the New Black
- NW Premiere
For Tickets and Information please go to http://www.artistsrep.org/
“Harder’s a master of stillness and understatement (think back to that quiet yet emotionally staggering performance in 2014’s Intimate Apparel), and he strikes a delicate balance here — semi-sweet, pleasantly plausible, never quite artificial, just a little flat in spots. He’s a sandy-haired anodyne, earnest and inviting, drawing us into this brave new world, where memory is a prime motivator.” ~ Oregon Artswatch Review
“Possibly the most difficult aspect of the characters they portray is, when some are enacting the Primes, they cannot betray emotion but only an “imitation” of it. Not easy, but they do it with conviction, especially Harder.” ~ Dennis Sparks
- Head. Hands. Feet. Tales of Dismemberment
|October 7th – November 5th 2016|
Directed by Samantha Van Der Merwe
Thursdays – Saturdays at 7:30, and Sundays at 5pm.
Location: Shaking the Tree Warehouse, 823 SE Grant St. (Corner of SE 9th & Grant)
If you need extra assistance or have questions, please EMAIL us or call the box-office at 503.235.0635Starring~
Nicole Accuardi, Claire Aldridge, Chris Harder, Matthew Kerrigan, Jamie Rea, Rebecca Ridenour, Beth Thompson, Isabella Villagomez, Katie Watkins, Nikki Weaver, and Kathleen WorleyCreative Team~
Annalise Albright-Woods, Ted Gold, Rhiza Architecture & Design, Trevor Sargent, Natasha Stockem, Samantha Van Der MerweFrom the Portland Mercury Fall Arts Guide:
Making ordinary things seem strange is one of the best things good art can do, but too often, theater companies play it so safe that it’s all but impossible to truly evoke a sense of dislocation from the everyday. Shaking the Tree isn’t one of those theater companies, and Portland’s performing arts community is exponentially richer for Artistic Director Samantha Van Der Merwe’s productions, which pair risky material with intricate, careful directorial and design choices in immersive performances that stay with you. This fall, Shaking the Tree is producing the spooky-sounding Head. Hands. Feet (subtitle: “Tales of Dismemberment”), which combines some of the darkest stories from fairy tales (e.g., the horrifying Bluebeard) and classical mythology (Iphigenia) into a play that’s sure to continue the company’s fall tradition of making theater that’s weird, dark, and well worth your time and attention. Shaking the Tree Warehouse, 823. SE Grant, Oct 7-Nov 5, Thurs-Sat 7:30 pm, Sun . 5 pm, shaking-the-tree.com
- The Skin of Our Teeth
The Skin of Our Teeth
By Thornton Wilder
Directed by Dámaso Rodriguez
May 17 – June 19
Alder Stage
This comedic masterpiece spans the entirety of history, with one ordinary American family who lives through it all. Dad’s just invented the wheel, Cain is throwing rocks at the neighbor kid, mammoths and dinosaurs lounge in the family room and mom frets about how to get all those animals on the boat two by two. Through Ice Ages, biblical floods and political conventions, the Antrobus family of Excelsior, New Jersey perseveres. With a giant cast and time-set across the ages, this theatrical allegory captures the human spirit – of brilliance, idiocy and ultimately sweet survival.- Rare and epic revival of the 1943 Pulitzer Prize winner
- An evening of absurdist adventure in three acts
EXTENDED through June 19RUN TIME = 2 hours 30 minutes including two 15 minute intermissions - We Are Proud To Present…
We Are Proud To Present
A Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as South West Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915
By Jackie Sibblies Drury
Directed by Kevin Jones
March 8 – April 10 2016
Morrison Stage
A multiracial cast of six idealistic actors sets out to improvise a story about the first colonial genocide of the 20th Century in Africa, but get lost in the reality of their undertaking. The unusual presentation, humor and inevitable discomfort of this provocative new play gripped theatre hubs like New York, Chicago, London, Washington D.C. and Seattle with its unique theatrical investigation of prejudice, power and perspective. “90 minutes of original, enlightening, pulse-pounding theater… It’s absolutely thrilling … it is visceral, fiercely intelligent and entertaining.“ – Backstage
- Off-Broadway and regional theatre hit
- Portland Premiere
This play uses irony, satire, racially charged language and symbolic violence to examine power, racism and perspective.
We recommend this play for patrons 16 and older.RUN TIME: 1 hour 45 mintues. No intermission.
POST SHOW DISCUSSIONS
This production is intended to engender conversation.
We invite audiences to stay or return for facilitated conversation about We Are Proud to Present… at these opportunities:Sun, March 13 post 2pm show with Lesli Mones, co-founder Red Door Project
Sun, March 20 post 2pm show with Bennett Garner MD, MHSA
Sun, March 20 post 7:30pm show with Aleksandr Peikrishvili, LCSW, PW.Dipl
Wed, March 23 post 11am show with Director Kevin Jones, co-founder Red Door Project
Sun, March 27 post 2pm show with Roberta Hunte PhD
Sat, April 2 post 2pm show with Jo Ann Hardesty, President, NAACP Portland
Sat, April 2 post 7:30pm show with Paul Susi, The Color of NOW*
Sun, April 3 post 2pm show with Dr. Sandra Jenkins, Oregon Psychoanalytic Center
Fri, April 8 post 7:30 show with Renee Mitchell, Spit/WRITE* & Chisao Hata
Sat, April 9 post 7:30pm show with Charles McGee, President & CEO, Black Parent InitiativeAdditional post show discussions and other events are anticipated, please check back for updates.
*Community Partner Performance – 20% of ticket sale with special code goes to this organization.
Seeing the show again? Support these organizations with your ticket. Look HERE for more info.READ A REVIEW OF THE SHOW HERE!
- The Yellow Wallpaper
JANUARY 15 – FEBRUARY 7, 2016CoHo Productions with Grace Carter and Sue Mach present the world premiere.
Written by Sue Mach
Conceived by Grace Carter
Adapted from the short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Directed by Philip Cuomo
Performed by Grace Carter, Chris Harder & Christy Bigelow
A new expressionistic performance of The Yellow Wallpaper by acclaimed Portland playwright Sue Mach, adapted from the American short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The story follows Charlotte to a single bedroom where she is confined by her doctor/husband for three months in 1890 as a “rest cure” for her postpartum depression and anxiety. Isolated and under-stimulated, Charlotte turns to an interior world of imagination, obsessing on the room’s ghastly wallpaper until a trapped figure appears to her in the pattern. Is it a hallucination, ghost or animus – the personification of her own trapped psyche? This multi-disciplinary live performance features immersive set design and original music, with a script that incorporates letters from Gilman. Descend to Charlotte’s inner landscape to follow this woman writer’s journey through constraint to creativity and transformation.
“Chris Harder’s John has a steam trunk chest full of 19th century confidence in his practicality and the grand roads that empiricism is paving.” – Oregon Arts Watch – full review here
- The Turn of the Screw
By Jeffrey Hatcher
Adapted from the novel by Henry James
Directed by JoAnn Johnson
October 1 – October 18, 2015
Read a review from Oregon Arts Watch HERE and a review from Dennis Sparks HERE and from Willamette Week HERE.
“There is, of course, the purely actorly pleasure of watching Harder switch from character to character, which he does not showily (he never even changes costume, wearing formal Victorian men’s attire from start to finish) but subtly, with the slightest twisting of the apparatus.” – Bob Hicks
“Quite a feat and he does it brilliantly!” – Dennis Sparks
Featuring:
Chris Harder as The Man and Dana Millican as The WomanAs Halloween approaches, Portland Shakespeare Project presents Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of Henry James’s spine-tingling novel that is part ghost story and part psychological thriller. Are the eerie apparitions encountered by a young governess conjured from a vivid imagination – or a chilling reality. Bring a friend.
Performances:
Wednesdays – Saturdays at 7:30 pm
Sundays at 2:00 pmVenue:
Morrison Stage, Artists Repertory Theatre
1515 SW Morrison Street
Portland, Oregon 97205Ticket prices:
Adults: $35
Students: $20Purchase tickets:
Click here to Purchase Tickets
Or Call 503.241.1278 - Drammy Award Finalists Announced!
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A PLAYMujahid Abdul-Rashid
The Piano Lesson
Portland PlayhouseJoseph Costa
The Price
Artists Repertory TheatreChris Harder
Intimate Apparel
Artists Repertory TheatreTodd Van Voris
Macbeth
Northwest Classical Theatre CompanyBEST ACTOR IN A PLAY
Michael Elich
The Price
Artists Repertory TheatreChris Harder
The Snowstorm
CoHo Productions
+ Many Hats CollaborationHeath Koerschgen
The Seven Wonders of Ballyknock
Lakewood Theatre CompanyDamon Kupper
The Night Alive
Third Rail Repertory TheatreThank you Drammy committee. Truly an honor to be nominated. See the list of all the finalists at the link below.
- The Centering
Written by Chris Harder & Steve Patterson
There is no escape from his interrogators. Driven to the edge, Davey’s memories reveal a dark and dangerous past. His only hope… the love and wisdom from his circus clown mentor.THE CENTERING
Reviews“…beautifully performed… Harder exhibits masterful command of the script… A mesmerizing and moving, well-written and affecting play- a superb fringe performance.” -SEE magazine – 4 1/2 STARS
“A powerful actor who attacks his role here with a vengeance. …Harder’s performance is utterly riveting.” -VEUWEEKLY
“His clowning talents alone are endearing and truly entertaining and this gifted actor enthralls with simple, yet timeless antics. …a profound, intellectual and intense experiment that succeeds in presenting an unusual theme.” -EDMONTON SUN – Sun Rating: 4 Suns (out of 5)
“Harder’s performance is a tour de force… Most impressive is the ease with which Harder makes difficult, instantaneous transitions from one character to another — moving with suppleness across gender, ethnic and age lines.”
-Richard Wattenberg – The Oregonian“Harder’s collaboration with local playwright Steve Patterson has produced a wonderfully crafted story that is both laugh-out-loud funny and deeply poignant.” -Eric Bartels – Portland Tribune
Please Contact Me if you are interested in helping The Centering tour around the globe.
- Fishing For My Father
CoHo Theatre
August 19, 2010 through August 29, 2010
A family fishing trip turns adventure as an outdoorsman struggles to discover the meaning of fatherhood.This inventive solo show is packed with traditional monologues, impressionistic dance and surreal clown antics, along with original music and recorded interviews from the community. A fast-paced, funny and heartwarming world premier you won’t want to miss!
Devised with some of Portland’s top theatre makers, Chris Harder collaborates with Jonathan Walters (Hand2Mouth Theatre), Philip Cuomo (Third Rail Rep), Steve Patterson (Oregon Book Award), Christine Calfas (Dance/Movement), Gretchen Corbett (Third Rail Rep), Rebecca Martinez (Sojourn Theatre), Tim Stapleton (Set), Jim Davis and Jonathan Kreitler (Music). Photo by Owen Carey
Read the Oregonian Review.
Read the Willamette Week Review. - Cyrano – Portland Center Stage
April 4 — May 3, 2015
On the U.S. Bank Main StagePreviews are Apr. 4-9 | Opening night Apr. 10
By Edmond Rostand
Translated by Michael Hollinger
Adapted by Michael Hollinger and Aaron Posner
Directed by Jane JonesSet in 17th century France, the classic romantic comedy Cyrano tells the story of a great swordsman with a beautiful soul, who is handicapped by a huge nose that makes him believe he is incapable of being loved by the beautiful Roxane. When he learns that Roxane and a handsome young soldier named Christian are infatuated with each other, he writes beautiful love letters for her suitor that lead to a tragic love triangle. Filled with swordplay and wordplay, Cyrano is beloved for its affirmation of love, friendship and the power of a well-developed sense of humor.
General Performance Times:
Evenings: Tuesday – Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m.
Matinees: Saturday and Sundays at 2 p.m.
Thursdays at noon
View the season calendar. - The Snowstorm – CoHo Productions
January 16 – February 7, 2015
By: Eric NordinDirected & Choreographed by: Jessica Wallenfels
Musical Direction & Piano Performance by: Eric Nordin
Script Advisor: William S. GregoryPerformers include: Kira Batcheller, Chris Harder, Elisha Henig, Brian Demar Jones, Matt Kerrigan, Garland Lyons, Jamie Rea, and Beth Thompson.
This visceral, sonically vivid new performance piece brings the classical piano music of Rachmaninoff to life through cutting edge physical theatre spun around a classic romance with magical elements of puppetry and mask. The power of music to connect, to ignite, and to heal weaves through this original fable by some of Portland’s most inventive and cherished collaborating theatre-artists.
“Chris Harder’s Dmitri is very impressively drawn. Early on Harder ably portrays the sullen, restrained father who seems to avoid any intimate contact with his son even subtly withdrawing his hand when Pavel reaches for it during their first scene together. Later, however, Harder effectively conveys Dmiti’s struggle as he tries to break through the emotional walls he has erected around himself.” Read a review of the show on Oregon Live Here!
“As the widower, Chris Harder couldn’t be better; he’s stern and unyielding at the beginning, but he gradually melts, and he has some lovely moments throughout; when he finally smiles, it’s like the sun breaking through, and you can’t help smiling back.” Read a review from Broadway World Here!
“the “Ice Dancing” scene, which was so realistic I wasn’t sure that if I walked across the stage I wouldn’t slip on the icy pond.” Read a review from Dennis Sparks Here!
- Intimate Apparel – Artists Repertory Theatre
Artists Repertory Theatre
September 9, 2014 – October 5, 2014
By Lynn Nottage
Directed By Michael MendelsonSet in 1905 NYC, this riveting tale is about the empowerment of Esther, an African American seamstress who creates exquisite lingerie for Fifth Avenue boudoirs and red-light brothels. As she yearns for a different life, she finds unconventional friendships with clients that defy race, religion and class. Artists Rep kicks off the 2014/15 season with the long-awaited Portland debut of this award-winning, Off-Broadway and regional theatre sensation by a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright.
Portland Premiere“Chris Harder is the production’s secret weapon as Mr. Marks, the Romanian Jewish fabric salesman whom Esther visits weekly. His lilting accent and shuffling appearance has the effect of hiding a character of real depth behind a caricature, but the steady unfolding of his connection with Esther, a connection forged over a shared appreciation for fabric despite its own set of significant cultural barriers, provides many of the play’s most touching and meaningful moments.” Read a full review Here at Portland Monthly Magazine
““It is exquisite!” The same could be said about the performance by Chris Harder as that magnanimous merchant, in the production just opened at Artists Repertory Theatre.” Read a full Oregon Arts Watch review Here.
- Othello – Portland Center Stage
April 5 — May 11
On the Main StageBy William Shakespeare
Directed by Chris ColemanSet in 17th century Venice, this is Shakespeare’s profound tragedy of the power of love and jealousy. A highly esteemed general serving the state of Venice, Othello, secretly marries Desdemona, the daughter of a senator. As their marriage is revealed, jealousies around their love match and Othello’s rise to prominence are unleashed, piling secret upon secret, and betrayal upon betrayal. A society seething with intrigue sets the stage for the ultimate tragedy—when love does not trust, and power is prized above all things.
- Fall Festival of Shakespeare
The Fall Festival of Shakespeare is a non-competitive region-wide collaboration between Portland Playhouse and area high schools. The Festival is a spectacular theatrical event, in part because student actors connect well to Shakespeare; they understand the passion, the large stakes, and the disaster. High school is not unlike an Elizabethan Tragedy.The students are not only performers in the festival, but a large and vocal component of the audience. They are most active and vibrant theatre patrons you will ever encounter. They “oooh” and “ahhh”; call out “Oh no she didn’t”; scream and laugh. It’s the closest thing we have to how an Elizabethan audience at Shakespeare’s Globe might have reacted. It’s an unforgettable experience for the students involved, and an engaging cultural phenomenon for everyone to witness.
- 2013 Fall festival Schedule
Middle School Festival at the Playhouse
SUNDAY OCTOBER 27TH, 6PM
St. Andrew’s (Macbeth)
King (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)* 45 minute shows, one intermission. Students in the Festival are free.
* General admission: $10, $5(under 18). Cash, check, or card at the door.Fall Festival at the Winngstad Theatre
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2ND, 2PM
Ridgefield (Romeo & Juliet)
Catlin Gable (Twelfth Night)SATURDAY NOVEMBER 2ND, 7PM
Trillium (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
Roosevelt (The Taming of the Shrew)SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3RD, 12 NOON
Franklin (The Winter’s Tale)
Fort Vancouver (A Midsummer Night’s Dream)SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3RD, 5PM
Hockinson (Comedy of Errors)
De La Salle (Twelfth Night)
Reverance (all schools)* 75 minute shows
* Dinner break between the matinees and evening performances
* Students in the Festival are free.
* General admission, tickets on sale soon. - Ten Chimneys
April 23, 2013 – May 26, 2013
By Jeffrey Hatcher
Directed By Dámaso RodriguezWhen life and theatre collide it is a beautiful thing, is it not?
This revealing comedy peers into the backstage lives of Broadway power-duo Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in Jeffrey Hatcher’s new play brimming with theatre lore. Set at the couple’s legendary Wisconsin estate in the 1930s, love triangles and family dysfunction reveal themselves when the rehearsal process for an upcoming production of Chekhov’s The Sea Gull becomes a true-to-life plot. A heartwarming and hilarious look into a slightly warped mirror reflects the real depths of truth, loyalty and love in private lives behind the curtain.
West Coast Premiere.Cast
Alfred Lunt Michael Mendelson*^ Lynn Fontanne Linda Alper* Uta Hagen Abby Wilde* Hattie Sederholm JoAnn Johnson* Sydney Greenstreet Todd Van Voris*^ Carl Sederholm Chris Harder* Louise Green Sarah Lucht* *Member of Actors Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
^ Member of Artists Rep’s Resident Acting Company - Mother Teresa is Dead
by Helen Edmundson
Portland Playhouse
March 14, 2013 – April 7, 2013Young wife and mother Jane (Nikki Weaver), gripped by personal and moral crisis, flees her family and her home in the UK without word.
Jane’s husband (Chris Harder) discovers her recuperating in rural India, cared for by an English expat artist (Gretchen Corbett) and counseled by an attractive, Oxford-educated Indian do-gooder.
In this stirring play about love, choice, and personal responsibility in a global age, acclaimed British playwright Helen Edmundson urges us to consider how we set our own priorities.
- Angels In America
Part 1 Millennium Approaches
By Tony Kushner
December 2012Harrowing, uproarious, and magical, Angels in America is a fiercely theatrical modern morality play and a landmark of the American stage. Against a landscape of greed, sexual politics, and the cries of a sweeping AIDS epidemic, a lost America teeters on the tipping point of an unknown future. This story of love, power, and identity follows characters as diverse as a Mormon housewife, an ex-drag queen, and the fiery attorney Roy Cohn. It’s 1985, and an Angel with steel wings is hurtling toward Earth. Angels In America: Millennium Approaches.
- Antigone Now
By Melissa Cooper
December 2, 2010 through December 5, 2010Presented by the Young Professionals of Oregon Children’s Theatre.
Directed by Val Landrum and Chris Harder
In the midst of a bombed-out city still feeling the aftershocks of war, the rebellious Antigone defies her uncle to bury her disgraced brother. This deeply stirring adaptation of Sophocles’ Antigone transforms the poetry of ancient Greece into a contemporary, electrifying production. Great for ages 11 and up.
All tickets are a $5-$10 donation. Call in advance to guarantee seats.
Performances are held in the YP Studio Theater in the Galleria, 600 SW 10th Avenue, 3rd floor. - Fool For Love
by Sam Shepard
October 16, 2009 through November 21, 2009
CoHo opens its fourteenth season with Fool for Love by Sam Shepard; a vicious, erotic and funny, tale set in a rundown hotel room on the edge of the Mojave Desert where Eddie and May fight tooth and nail to escape their catastrophic past.
Dark secrets are revealed in a haunting story of gripping jealousy, brutal betrayal, and the deepest kind of love. Told with reckless abandon and infinite care by one of America’s most renowned and audacious playwrights, Fool for Love is full of unforgettable images and heartbreaking truth.
Photo by Win Goodbody