KODACHROME by Adam Szymkowicz Begins Previews, 2/3

Love appears in unlikely places in Adam Szymkowicz's new play, Kodachrome, which makes its world premiere at The Armory directed by Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan. The production opens February 9, with previews beginning February 3 and performances running through March 10 in the Ellyn Bye Studio. Kodachrome was developed at The Armory's JAW: A Playwrights Festival in 2015 under the title Colchester and will be the company's 26th world premiere production.

"During the [JAW] Big Weekend of public readings, it became clear that this play was special and one we wanted to premiere in an upcoming season," said director Rose Riordan, who helped found JAW and serves as the JAW festival director. "I like plays that ponder existence through small ordinary moments," she said of Kodachrome. "Each of the characters in the small, Northeastern town of Colchester are trying to connect - to love, to themselves, to someone else - or, in some cases, to disconnect."

Lena Kaminsky takes on the central role of The Photographer, who observes the small town's inhabitants through her camera lens. Kaminsky made her debut at The Armory in 2012 as Susannah Mullally in Black Pearl Sings!. She is joined by four cast members who are also returning to The Armory: Tina Chilip, John D. Haggerty, Sharonlee McLean and Ryan Tresser. Two cast members make their company debuts: Ryan Vincent Anderson and Kelly Godell.

Regular tickets start at $25. Tickets may be purchased at www.pcs.org, 503.445.3700, or in-person from the box office (128 NW Eleventh Avenue, Portland, OR). Rush tickets are $20. Students and patrons who are 30 or younger can purchase $30 premium tickets. $5 tickets are available for Oregon Trail Card holders through the Arts for All program. Discounts for groups of 10+. Active duty or veteran military personnel and their immediate families get 50% off the price of regular tickets. General performance times are Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. and Thursday matinees at noon (special exclusions apply, see below). Recommended for ages 12 and up.

ABOUT KODACHROME

Welcome to Colchester, a small town where everybody knows each other and the pace of life allows the pursuit of love to take up as much space as it needs. Our tour guide is Suzanne, the town photographer, who lets us peek into her neighbors' lives to catch glimpses of romance in all its stages of development. A play about love, nostalgia, the seasons and how we learn to say goodbye.

THE PLAYWRIGHT

Adam Szymkowicz's full-length plays include Food For Fish, Hearts Like Fists, Incendiary, Clown Bar, The Why Overhead, Deflowering Waldo, Pretty Theft, Adventures of Super Margaret, 7 Ways To Say I Love You, Rare Birds, Nerve and Marian, or The True Tale of Robin Hood. His work has been published by Dramatists Play Service, Samuel French, Playscripts, Broadway Play Publishing and Original Works Publishing. He has been commissioned by South Coast Repertory, Rising Phoenix Repertory, Texas State University, The NOLA Project, Single Carrot Theatre and Flux Theatre Ensemble. He received a Playwright's Diploma from The Juilliard School's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program and an M.F.A. from Columbia University, where he was a Dean's Fellow. He is a two-time Lecomte du Nouy Prize winner, a member of the Dramatists Guild and Writer's Guild of America, and was a member of Primary Stages' Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, the MCC Theater Playwrights' Coalition, and the first Ars Nova Play Group. He has also interviewed 1,000 playwrights on his blog and is the literary manager at The Juilliard School.

THE CAST

Seven actors play the many inhabitants of Colchester, including Ryan Vincent Anderson as The Policeman and The Hardware Store Owner (Indians at Metropolitan Playhouse; We Live Here at Ensemble Studio Theatre); Tina Chilip as The Librarian, The Waitress and Friend (previously performed in Chinglish and Our Town at The Armory); Kelly Godell as Marjorie and The Young Woman (Miss Julie at Shaking the Tree; Noises Off at Third Rail Repertory Theatre); John D. Haggerty as The History Professor, The Perfume Maker and EMT 1 (Our Town at The Armory; Les Misérables on Broadway and the National Tour); Lena Kaminsky as The Photographer (Black Pearl Sings! at The Armory; My Name is Asher Lev at George Street Playhouse); Sharonlee McLean as The Mystery Novelist, The Florist and EMT 2 (Kodachrome will be her 25th production at The Armory); and Ryan Tresser as The Gravedigger and The Young Man (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest at The Armory; Mothers and Sons at Artists Repertory Theatre).

THE CREATIVE TEAM

Bringing the small town of Colchester to life is Director Rose Riordan most recently Every Brilliant Thing and Wild and Reckless at The Armory); Scenic and Lighting Designer Daniel Meeker (scenery and lighting for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and The Typographer's Dream); Costume Designer Alison Heryer (Fun Home and Wild and Reckless); Resident Sound Designer Casi Pacilio (A Christmas Memory/Winter Song and Wild and Reckless); Projection Designer Will Cotter (in his design debut at The Armory where he also serves as company manger; projection designs for American Theater Company and others); Composer Jana Crenshaw (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike and Constellations); with Stage Manager Janine Vanderhoff and Production Assistant Jordan Affeldt.

Portland Center Stage at The Armory is the largest theater company in Portland and among the top 20 regional theaters in the country. Established in 1988 as a branch of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the company became independent in 1994 and has been under the leadership of Artistic Director Chris Coleman since 2000. Around 150,000 visitors attend The Armory annually to enjoy a mix of classical, contemporary and world premiere productions, along with a variety of high quality education and community programs. 11 productions are offered each season, in addition to roughly 400 community events created - in partnership with 170+ local organizations and individuals - to serve the diverse populations in the city. As part of its dedication to new play development, the company has produced 24 world premieres and presents an annual new works festival, JAW: A Playwrights Festival. Home to two theaters, The Armory was the first building on the National Register of Historic Places, and the first performing arts venue, to achieve a LEED Platinum rating.

THE 2017-2018 SEASON

The 2017-2018 season is funded in part by Season Superstars Tim and Mary Boyle and Lead Corporate Champion Umpqua Bank. Further support comes from Season Sponsors the Regional Arts and Culture Council, The Wallace Foundation and Oregon Arts Commission, a state agency funded by the state of Oregon and the National Endowment for the Arts. Support for Kodachrome comes from Keith and Sharon Barnes, Don and Mary Blair, Ronni S. Lacroute, U.S. Bank, Kelly K. Douglas and Eric H. Schoenstein and Ritz Family Foundation. Mark Spencer Hotel is the official hotel partner for the company. Portland Center Stage at The Armory was selected as a participant of the Wallace Foundation's Building Audiences for Sustainability Initiative, a four-year effort with a nationwide cohort of 26 performing arts organizations.