Play Titles Announced for 2011 JAW: A Playwright’s Festival

Portland Center Stage is proud to announce play selections for JAW: A Playwrights Festival 2011. JAW consists of a two weeks of dramaturgy, rehearsals and rewrites for four plays-in-progress selected from hundreds of submissions received from around the country. An important next step in the development of new work, the festival culminates in free to the public workshop readings that allow the playwrights to collaborate with professional actors and dramaturges and expose an early draft of their work to audience feedback. The following plays will be workshopped during the JAW.

JAW Festival Plays
Anna Karenina Adapted from Tolstoy by Kevin McKeon
Tolstoy's Anna Karenina explores moral, ethical and spiritual conflict as one couple's uncontrollable passions explode against the responsibilities of family and the expectations of society.

The Body of an American by Dan O'Brien
The true story of a haunted war reporter, and the playwright who went searching for him.

The Huntsmen by Quincy Long
The boy has dark dreams. They lead him into trouble - all the trouble there is - and into song.

Tales from Red Vienna by David Grimm
Set just after the first World War, the story of Tales from Red Vienna follows Helena, a young widow forced into prostitution by her financial circumstances. A friend introduces her to a potential suitor. But does this so-called friend really have her best interests at heart? And is Helena even in a position to date? Helena's search for happiness leads her to unexpected places.

In addition to the main festival readings, the Made in Oregon series will feature free to the public readings of the following plays by Oregon playwrights.

Made in Oregon Plays
Continuum by Patrick Wohlmut
Peter is an astronomer who once had a promising career ahead of him, but that was before his work on the true origins of the planet Jupiter stalled, and was finally rendered invalid. Craig is a con man, brilliant in his own right, who recently used Peter to steal thousands of dollars in research funding - money Peter was hoping to use to re-enter the research world. Craig has played this game before, but this time he's been caught. When Peter approaches Craig in prison, looking for closure, what follows is a game of cat-and-mouse that tests the intellects of both men, as betrayal, past injuries, hopes, fears, and the deep friendship both of them shared opens up a psychic hall of mirrors from which neither man can escape.

Forky by Matthew B. Zrebski
Macy and Banks are married. Macy and Banks are not happily married. Macy and Banks are, in fact, teetering on a line that divides reality and a universe of might-have-beens. Within a mere forty-eight hours, the cracks split wide. The view down roads not chosen is hilariously revealed by other dimensional specters - creatures hellbent on battling the mundane, on awakening something unexplored. Assaulted by family ghosts, lonely lovers, science teachers, rude baristas, and bank customers demanding crispy cash, Macy and Banks must take comfort in the potential for a fractured universe - where at least one world doesn't find them again sitting on the sofa, again holding hands, again zoning into a television and not into each other - where perhaps the dream has come true after all...

Personal by Brian Kettler
What happened to Alice Cain? On the eve of her final performance, the world's foremost starlet vanishes. In her wake, she leaves behind a legion of confused and desperate fans. Six months later, Lucy fights to uncover the truth about Alice's disappearance. But she is trapped in a rehabilitation center, programmed to forget that Alice Cain ever existed. On top of that, she must ward off the awkward romantic overtures of Ronald, a fellow patient. Funny and frightening, Personal is a story about celebrity obsession, first love, and the twisted road to self-acceptance.

All readings will take place July 18 -24, with specific times and dates forthcoming.

ABOUT JAW. For 13 years JAW has created a space for playwrights to grow as writers and as professionals. Of the 40 plus plays that have received workshops at the festival, more than 50% have received world premiere productions at a regional theaters ranging from the NY Theater Workshop to Steppenwolf to Berkeley Rep to Portland's own Third Rail Rep. Ten JAW plays have later received fully staged productions at Portland Center Stage, giving Portland a strong national reputation for not only incubating new work, but helping to see that work to successful fruition.

JAW: A Playwright's Festival is made possible in part by funding from Boeing; The Kinsman Foundation; and The Oregon Cultural Trust, investing in Oregon's arts, humanities and heritage.

Portland Center Stage inspires our community by bringing stories to life in unexpected ways. Established in 1988 as a branch of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, PCS became an independent theater in 1994 and has been under the leadership of Artistic Director Chris Coleman since May 2000. The company presents a blend of classic, contemporary and original productions in a conscious effort to appeal to the eclectic palate of theatergoers in Portland. PCS also offers a variety of education and outreach programs for curious minds from six to 106, including discussions, classes, workshops and partnerships with organizations throughout the Portland metro area.

THE GERDING THEATER AT THE ARMORY houses a 599-seat Main Stage and the 200-seat black box Ellyn Bye Studio. It was the first building on the National Register of Historic Places, and the first performing arts venue, to achieve a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification. The Gerding Theater at the Armory opened to the public on Oct. 1, 2006. The capital campaign to fund the renovation of this hub for community artistic activity continues.

 

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