Birth Place: Philadelphia, PA
The 2026 Fertile Ground Festival kicks off on April 10. This annual grab bag of new works is my favorite time in Portland’s theatre calendar because it gives us a chance to see works at various stages of development, from early readings to fully staged world premieres.
CallSign Productions will throw its cape in the ring for 2026's Fertile Ground Festival of New Works with the world premiere of Bets Swadis's full-length play Anonymous.
The play centers on Evgeny (Bets Swadis) and Dmitri (Orion Bradshaw), two twenty-five-year-olds whose career aspirations – cushy government work and KGB glory, respectively – have been rendered obsolete. With no other work available, they find themselves surveilling a former subversive-pop-star-turned-school-teacher (Ashley Song) instead. All the while, the character of Mother Russia, brilliantly personified by Diane Kondrat, watches her children struggle to understand the implications of their hard-won independence.
Fuse Theatre Ensemble has announced that it will be going into 2024 with an updated space, season, and events schedule. Fuse has revamped their seating, added concessions, and added a weekly late-night event schedule, in addition to announcing their 2024 season.
Portland Center Stage will kick off their 2023-24 season with a spectacular high-energy musical that's all about community: directed by Isaac Lamb, HAIR begins preview performances on September 30, opens on October 6, and runs through November 5 on the mainstage.
The Umbrella Project/PDX Pride Reading Series continues with The Circuit by Tom Enyart aka Empress Elsa Daniels.
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