Jen Rowe News

Since 2010 Central Standard Theatre has been producing thought inducing, innovative theatre.  Based in Kansas City, CST offers an international angle to the local theatre scene.  With productions touring Britain, Ireland, Canada and Australia, CST offers the world a unique view of who we are in the Heartland by showcasing our culture at theatre festivals around the world. CST also brings the world to Kansas City.  Annually, The Invasion features the best solo work from International theatre artists.

Following a sold-out run in May, The Theatre Company returns with The Thin Place by award-winning playwright Lucas Hnath, October 22–29.

The Theatre Company has announced the live Oregon premiere of The Thin Place by award-winning playwright Lucas Hnath, May 15-20, 2022. Presented in partnership with Revolution Hall at Washington High School, The Thin Place uses the intimate surroundings of the Sunset Room to help create an immersive exploration of the fragile boundary between our world and the one just beyond. 

After 15 months of strategizing, planning, and pivoting, The Theatre Company has announced the first film in a series of six: The Broken Heart Spread by Claire Willett. This film is a part of The Playwright Initiative: Solo Works - a robust commissioning series featuring six exciting playwrights turned screenwriters for this specific moment in time.

The Theatre Company has announced The Playwright Initiative: Solo Works, the 2021-2022 season of six new plays adaptable to both filmed and live stage performance. Writers Yussef El Guindi, Idris Goodwin, Emily Gregory, Ren Dara Santiago, DeLanna Studi, and Claire Willett have all accepted commissions for the 18-month initiative.

The Theatre Company will present a re-imagined cozy but revolutionary 2020 season featuring fully produced podcast recordings of The Moors by Jen Silverman and Vinegar Tom by Caryl Churchill October 9 - November 14. It's dangerous to be a woman and different.

The Theatre Company presents its inaugural production, The Moors by Jen Silverman, March 18-April 11. Founded with the intention of transforming found spaces with bold, theatrical endeavors, The Theatre Company has chosen Copeland Commons at Taborspace in the heart of SE Portland's Mt. Tabor neighborhood as their non-traditional performance venue. While Copeland Commons has hosted small scale concerts and other arts events in the past, TTC's production of The Moors marks the first time a professional theatre company has staged a multi-week residency in the space. Co-Artistic Directors Jen Rowe and Brandon Woolley chose the venue specifically for its connection to the community and the story being told.

Jen Rowe and Brandon Woolley are teaming up to launch The Theatre Company in Portland, OR. They will oversee the artistic vision of the company as CoArtistic Directors with their first season beginning in 2020. As staples in the Portland theatre community in multiple roles (director, actor, casting director, producer), these two thirty-somethings plan to present Portland premieres of timely, socially relevant, and culturally conscious plays. The Theatre Company's mission is to enliven their community by transforming found spaces with bold, theatrical endeavors. Their inaugural two-show season will premier in March 2020 with The Moors by Jen Silverman and Vinegar Tom by Carol Churchill in October 2020. Woolley directs and Rowe leads the cast of The Moors as Huldey in a production that will transform Copeland Commons at TaborSpace in Southeast Portland. Rowe directs Churchill's Vinegar Tom staged at The Hallowed Halls, a recording studio at Holgate and 64th Avenue in Southeast Portland. 

Quick + Dirty is excited to introduce Philip Ridley's work to Chicago. Tender Napalm is a force of human spectacle and its virtues were proven when Quick + Dirty swept the 2018 Portland Oregon Theater Awards, honored 6 times for their 2017 production including Best Production, Director, Outstanding Movement Achievement, Actor, Actress, Fight Choreography and a nomination for Sound Design. Playing December 15th- January 13th, at Nox Arca Theatre, 4001 N Ravenswood Ave. #405 in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at quickanddirty.art, by calling (805) 886-8485, or in person 30 minutes before the show.

Quick + Dirty is excited to introduce Philip Ridley's work to Chicago. Tender Napalm is a force of human spectacle and its virtues were proven when Quick + Dirty swept the 2018 Portland Oregon Theater Awards, honored 6 times for their 2017 production including Best Production, Director, Outstanding Movement Achievement, Actor, Actress, Fight Choreography and a nomination for Sound Design. Playing December 15th- January 13th, at Nox Arca Theatre, 4001 N Ravenswood Ave. #405 in Chicago. Tickets are currently available at quickanddirty.art, by calling (805) 886-8485, or in person 30 minutes before the show.

Join Live On Stage for Portland's own festival of all new musicals with six brand new 15-minute shows by local writers and composers. The festival has been a huge hit for the past two years and performances have been completely sold out. Brett Campbell from Oregon ArtsWatch wrote Portland's Mini Musical Festival is 'one of the most enjoyable theatrical experiences of the year.' We'll delve (albeit briefly) into musical tales of a man who is in love with his personal drama, a clueless inspector from Scotland Yard, lovers unable to seal the deal, hope in the face of a loveless marriage, murder by le machine, and more.

Remember the movie 9 to 5? Now picture it with chainsaws. Add in a very heavy dose of internalized sexism, and you'll come close to having THE SECRETARIES, written by the comedy troupe Five Lesbian Brothers, aka Maureen Angelos, Babs Davy, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey, and Lisa Kron.

Playwrights West in association with CoHo Productions presents The Sweatermakers, a world premiere drama by Andrew Wardenaar. The Sweatermakers marks the third year in Playwrights West's ten-year mission to present quality, professional productions of its members' works.

Playwrights West in association with CoHo Productions presents The Sweatermakers, a world premiere drama by Andrew Wardenaar. The Sweatermakers marks the third year in Playwrights West's ten-year mission to present quality, professional productions of its members' works.