FRIDA...A SELF PORTRAIT Kicks off Portland Center Stage's 2021-2022 Season

Live theater returns to The Armory in October when Frida ... A Self Portrait kicks off Portland Center Stage's 2021-2022 season. Written and performed by Vanessa Severo, and directed by Joanie Schultz, Frida ... A Self Portrait begins preview performances October 9, opens October 15, and runs through November 7 on the U.S. Bank Main Stage. Tickets are on sale now, with special pricing available on September 28, during PCS's season-wide One Day Sale.

"I'm thrilled to launch the season of live performance on stage with this fierce, beautiful play," Artistic Director Marissa Wolf said. "Vanessa Severo is magnetic in this role; from the moment she locks eyes with the audience, you understand that you're on a gripping journey of the soul."

Set on the eve of Frida Kahlo's death, this intimate solo show plunges into the brilliant, nuanced world of Kahlo's tumultuous, extraordinary life - but goes far beyond biography. Instead, Brazilian writer and performer Vanessa Severo cracks open a powerful portal between herself and the celebrated Mexican artist, bringing breathtaking physicality and raw honesty to this stunningly creative production. Ultimately, the play paints a portrait of two artists, blending Kahlo's life with Severo's own experiences as a child born with a congenital disorder to parents who were newly immigrated to the United States.

"We are drawn to self-portraits, memoirs, and other forms of autobiography; it makes us feel seen, and not so alone," Director Joanie Schultz said. "This becomes even more important when we are those who disappear: women, people of color, people with disabilities, queer people, and trans people across the world look at Frida's self-portraits and see themselves because they recognize the pain she articulates so well in her work."

Frida ... A Self Portrait had its world premiere at the Living Room Theatre in 2014 and continued to evolve as Severo deepened her research on Kahlo, including journeying to Mexico City to visit La Casa Azul. In 2019, KCRep developed and produced the show at its OriginKC: New Works Festival. The script was featured on The Kilroys' List in 2020 and has been further developed for its PCS debut. The KCRep creative team comes together once again for the Portland production.

Vanessa Severo's acting credits include Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Sex with Strangers, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, August Osage County, Cabaret, Lot's Wife (KCRep); Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night (Heart of America Shakespeare Festival); The Revolutionists, Men on Boats, Mother F***er with the Hat, Venus in Fur, and The Clean House (The Unicorn Theatre). More information is available at vanessasevero.com.

Director Joanie Schultz (A Doll's House at WaterTower Theatre; Venus in Fur at Goodman Theatre) is joined by Scenic Designer Jacqueline Penrod (Around the World in Eighty Days at Lookingglass Theatre), Costume Designer Katherine Davis (Dracula; a Song of Love and Death with Kansas City Actor's Theatre), Lighting Designer Rachael Cady (Of Mice and Men at KCRep), Sound Designer Thomas Dixon, who also composed the original music (A Doll's House at Steppenwolf Theatre Company), and Stage Manager Janine Vanderhoff (most recently Hedwig and the Angry Inch at PCS).

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