Announcing THREE New Play Commissions for Artists Rep's Table

Artists Repertory Theatre has extended three play commissions, as part of the company's ambitious new play development program Table|Room|Stage (T|R|S), to Linda Alper, Larissa Fasthorse and Andrea Stolowitz.

Artists Rep's T|R|S program will commission a total of eight plays by 2017 - at least four of the eight commissions will go to writers of color, at least four will go to women, one play will be written for young adults and one will be the Oregon Play Prize, awarded to an Oregon writer.

Projects include The Only Place Left, The Thanksgiving Play, Refugee Radio, & The Talented Ones.

Alper, FastHorse and Stolowitz join Yussef El Guindi, the first playwright commissioned through T|R|S, to craft new plays with the support of Artists Rep. From varied cultural backgrounds and perspectives, these writers are asking provocative questions, playing with the form and structure of theatre, and challenging perspectives. Artists Rep is proud to begin work with this diverse group of playwrights and offer them the support they need to develop the stories they are compelled to tell. The works created by these writers through T|R|S will enrich the national new play landscape.

T|R|S was established by a $125,000 Oregon Community Foundation "Creative Heights" grant to create a robust new play program that offers development opportunities for local and national playwrights, ensures that underrepresented voices are heard on stage, and establishes Artists Rep and Portland as an engine for new play development.

"We are excited to launch Table|Room|Stage at Artists Rep with these esteemed playwrights," said Dámaso Rodriguez, Artistic Director. "It's our goal to see these diverse, dynamic and fascinating new plays, as well as future T|R|S projects, fully realized on our stages and at theatres around the world."

Artists Rep has become a significant presence in American Regional Theatre with a legacy of world, national and regional premieres of provocative new work with the highest standards of stagecraft. Our commitment to local artists is embodied by our company of Resident Artists, 24 professionals of varied theatre disciplines who are a driving force behind Artists Rep's creative output and identity. This commissioning program will position Artists Rep as an engine for new play development in the region and beyond. With this New Play Development program, Artists Rep strives to empower and support Oregon-based playwrights while also creating a Portland home for writers from around the country to develop their work. Additionally, this program will make a meaningful impact on equity in the arts by mandating opportunities for women writers and writers of color, and cultivating the next generation of theatre- goers by creating work specifically for young people (13 and up).

Portland's premiere mid-size regional theatre company is led by Artistic Director Dámaso Rodriguez and Managing Director Sarah Horton. Founded in 1982, Artists Repertory Theatre is the longest-running professional theatre company in Portland. Artist Rep became the 72nd member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) in May 2016 and is an Associate Member of the National New Play Network (NNPN).

Artists Rep's 2016/17 season offers a stylistically diverse season of seven imaginative and entertaining plays that grapple with family and the pursuit of happiness. The season features one World Premiere commissioned by Artists Rep's new play development program Table|Room|Stage, along with five Northwest Premieres (including a musical) by some of the best emerging contemporary playwrights in the country, and one re-imagined classic featuring an all-female cast. The 2016/17 selections emphasize the aesthetic and scope of work Artists Rep has been committed to producing for almost 35 years as Portland's premiere mid-size regional theatre.

Artists Rep productions feature the work of a core group of 24 multidisciplinary theatre professionals. Hailing from around the country, our Resident Artists are nationally renowned and award-winning actors, directors, writers, designers and educators who have chosen to make Portland and Artists Rep their artistic home. Working together and independently, they create inventive and theatrically rich experiences for our audiences while playing a major role in defining Portland's cultural landscape.

Artists Rep is also home to the ArtsHub, serving as a community arts center, where our performance venues and lobbies buzz with creative energy and Portland's arts-loving audiences can gather. We offer a home within our facility to a diverse range of artists and arts organizations. They can thrive here with access to affordable administrative, performance and rehearsal space, as well as a myriad of support services. Over the last year, hundreds of performances, events and happenings by Portlanders found a place in our building.

Artists Repertory Theatre's mission is to produce intimate, provocative theatre and provide a home for artists of varied backgrounds to take creative risks. We are committed to world-class acting, directing, design and stagecraft that support new playwriting and aspire to embody great literature, moving audiences to truly feel - to experience - storytelling in a way that only the best Live Theatre can.

The 2016/17 Artists Repertory Theatre season is presented by Ronni Lacroute/WillaKenzie Estate and David and Christine Vernier. Other season support comes from the Regional Arts Culture Council, Oregon Community Foundation, Collins Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation and Work for Art.

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