Feature: PDX THEATRES OFFER AUDIO PLAYS, STREAMING FESTIVALS, AND ACTIVITIES TO DO AT HOME

With shows on hold, theatres have started to explore non-traditional ways to connect with audiences. Here's what's new.

An Audio Play

This week, Profile Theatre launched the first episode of its 5-part audio play Claudia, A Viral Love Story.

Travel the world round-trip - by ear! A fishmonger and his granddaughter in Wuhan; A cafe owner and her husband in Tehran; An opera singer and his lover in Milan; A Honduran immigrant at Mar-a-Lago; A screenwriter in LA; And a French-speaking pangolin named Claudia. Find out what they have in common in Profile Theatre's first ever audio play.

Directed by Josh Hecht, the audio play features scenes by Hansol Jung, Hillary Bettis, Dan Kitrosser, Harrison David Rivers, Christopher Oscar Peña, Jason Grote, Philip Dawkins, E.M. Lewis, and Anna Ziegler. The remaining episodes will be available later this month.

Visit the Profile website to start your audio journey.

A Streaming Festival

Next week, Fuse Theatre Ensemble will present its 2020 Outwright Theatre Festival via Facebook and Instagram.

The lineup celebrates trans and gender nonconforming communities:

• The Fear of Speaking, by Jane Comer

• Sensitive Guys, by MJ Kaufman

• The Queers, by Mikki Gillette

• Kait, by Rebecca Jae Petchenik

• unde+ec+able, by Rusty Newton Tennant

Learn more.

Activities To Do at Home

No matter how good it is, digital content can't take the place of a live performance. So, Portland Center Stage and PETE are providing materials for us all to have IRL theatre experiences at home.

PCS has joined Play at Home, a national project where playwrights create short plays for people to perform at home. PCS commissioned works from four local playwrights:

• Three Love Songs, by Anya Pearson

• The Third Prisoner, by E.M. Lewis

• Wing and a Prayer, by Josie Seid

• Joy Frickin' Hates Her Dumb Stupid Room, by Sara Jean Accuardi

Visit the PCS website to download the scripts and also watch videos of the plays being performed by local actors.

Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble (PETE) is also getting into the at-home game with an "isolation version" of their 2015 sound play All Well. You select from a menu of "ingredients" (activities ranging from making your own lantern to sourcing appropriate snacks), and then listen to the soundscape while you experience your fully customized version of the show.

Visit the PETE website for instructions and to access the soundscape.

Have fun!

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