Artists Rep Announces Upcoming Season: THE BIG MEAL, FOXFINDER and More

Artists Repertory Theatre's 2013/14 season will continue our vision of finding and producing adventurous, provocative work that challenges audiences and artists alike. Next season's play offerings will enhance Artists Rep's role as Portland's premiere mid-size regional theatre company by offering nine of the most cutting-edge plays available today, written by internationally prestigious playwrights, and guided by esteemed directors, all while deepening our commitment to our company's Resident Artists.

The 2013/14 season selection was a collaboration between outgoing Artistic Director Allen Nause who has been at the artistic helm for 25 years, and incoming Artistic Director Dámaso Rodriguez. This potent and diverse lineup of thrilling plays is an invigorating confluence of artistic ideas intended for Artists Rep's intimate stages and for our audiences who seek the delight of theatrical discovery.

With the 2013/14 season, Artists Rep will experience an exciting transition in artistic leadership that will further strengthen its remarkable dedication to vibrant theatre over its 30-year history. Although a theme for the season was not consciously sought, each of the plays-whether outrageous comedies or nail-biting dramas-share a conspicuous thematic interplay between perceptions of one's past and future and their impact on the present.

Embracing the future, outgoing Artistic Director Allen Nause will join Artists Rep's ensemble as its newest Resident Artist. Moving forward, incoming Artistic Director Dámaso Rodriguez plans to grow Artists Rep's artistic ensemble with Portland's finest talent of all theatrical disciplines. Current Resident Artists in the Artists Rep acting ensemble are Vana O'Brien, Michael Mendelson, Todd Van Voris and now, Allen Nause.

ARTISTS REPERTORY THEATRE'S 2013/14 SEASON

The Big Meal
Sep 3 - Oct 6
Written by Dan LeFranc
Directed by Dámaso Rodriguez
West Coast Premiere

Set in a quintessential American restaurant, entire lives whiz by for a modern family whose stage and age are short-order fare. From birth to that inevitable last course - and every corndog, calamari and Cadillac margarita in-between - a multi-generational potluck of characters live life's major and minor moments around the dinner table. Expect humor and heartache as eight actors portraying 26 characters and five generations serve up a veritable theatrical feast. • Off-Broadway Hit • New York Times Outstanding Playwright Award Winner
Alder Stage

Mistakes Were Made
Sep 17 - Oct 20
Written by Craig Wright
Directed by Michael Mendelson
Northwest Premiere

Felix is a NYC theatre producer about to blow a gasket. Jabbing at the hold button as he negotiates with a playwright, a movie star, a deep-pockets funder and an agent, all while mediating a Middle East crisis (involving sheep and militant rebels), this non-stop, fast-talking chameleon is bound for no good. With his overweight pet fish, Denise, as his only confidant and the weight of the world on his shoulders, the stage is set for a high-speed comedic train wreck of a tale. Todd Van Voris will star in this tour-de-force role. • Off-Broadway Hit • Multiple Award-winning playwright & TV screenwriter
Morrison Stage

Foxfinder
Oct 29 - Dec 1
Written by Dawn King
Directed by Dámaso Rodriguez
U.S. Premiere

At the heart of this gripping, futuristic parable beats an incendiary plot that pulses with menace and suspicion. In rural England, a blight of bad luck has befallen the countryside and a fox infestation may be to blame. The totalitarian government sends an agent, a "Foxfinder," into the home of Judith and Samuel Covey and the invasive inspection whirls simple lives into a frenzy of finger-pointing and distrust. As the bizarre scrutiny intensifies, guilt, fear and distorted realities fuel a feverish hunt to explain the unknown. • Susan Smith Blackburn Prize 2012/13 Finalist • Critically acclaimed London hit
Alder Stage

XMAS UNPLUGGED
Double-bill: 2 comedies • 1 show
Nov 26 - Dec 22
PLAY 1: The Reason for the Season
Written by Matt Pelfrey
World Premiere
PLAY 2: The Night Before Christmas
Written by Anthony Neilson
Northwest Premiere

Spend an outrageous Christmas Eve with a churlish Santa, a kidnapped elf and a handful of hapless souls in need of some holiday spirit. Amid the shrapnel of yuletide yearning, broken dreams and poignant revelations, can the magic of the season spark hope in their hearts? With these two riotous, irreverent short plays that even Ebenezer Scrooge could appreciate, be prepared for a pair of good old-fashioned, foul-mouthed, feel-good holiday anti-classics ... and just a wee dusting of that cherished Christmas feeling. • Two award-winning playwrights • A holiday debauchery double-bill for mature audiences
Morrison Stage

The Monster-Builder
Jan 28 - Mar 2
Written by Amy Freed
Directed by Art Manke
World Premiere

A maniacal scheme of fantastical proportions lurks deep inside world-renowned mega-architect Gregor Zubrowski's post-modern steel and glass structures. His commanding presence and curious creative process both titillate and manipulate design professionals and patrons alike into submission. After he casually steals a career-making project, two fledgling architects dare to challenge this monster-builder at his own game. Expect the unexpected from this absurdly funny, wickedly smart new comedy. • Pulitzer Finalist nationally renowned playwright • A hit at the Pacific Playwrights Festival
Alder Stage

The Motherf**ker With the Hat
Feb25 - Mar 30
Written by Stephen Adly Guirgis
Directed by Kevin Jones
Northwest Premiere

Recovering addict Jackie, fresh out of jail, is determined to get straight and settle down in NYC with the support of his girl Veronica, his AA sponsor Ralph D, and his loyal cousin Julio until ... he finds a hat that isn't his own left conspicuously behind in his bedroom. His quest to track down the motherf**ker with the hat threatens to put him right back where he started. Take a breakneck ride with this poetically profane, kick in the karmic cojones that becomes a raw, touching and thoroughly hilarious dive into the quest for transformation. • Tony-nominated Broadway and regional theatre sensation
Morrison Stage

The Invisible Hand
Apr 8 - May 11
Written by Ayad Akhtar
West Coast Premiere

This riveting, shockingly relevant, modern-day play proposes that the ability to anonymously manipulate market outcomes for money, ideology and power could be the ultimate mechanism for total control. When an American futures trader is kidnapped in Karachi, his desire for self-preservation is tapped by his bright Pakistani guard who demands he be tutored in market trading skills. Tense scenarios unfold as the trader works to earn his release while potentially handing the tools for financial chaos and political vindication to his captor. • Special guest actors from Pakistan.
Alder Stage

The Playboy of the Western World
May 20 - June 22
Written by J.M. Synge
Directed by Dámaso Rodriguez
Rare Revival

Truth, fiction or wishful thinkin'... you decide. On the run and reinventing himself along the way, a young stranger arrives in a remote Irish village with a dark secret begging to be told. Gossip and outrageous speculation stir up passions when this fine teller of tall tales turns winner of women and sport, and bumbles his way into romance and celebrity. In a rare revival of the explosively funny Irish classic that caused riots after its 1907 Dublin debut, this farcical, lilting masterpiece takes the stage by storm and unleashes a peculiar poetic justice. • "One of the most significant plays of the 20th Century." - National Theater Platform
Morrison Stage

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