Artists Rep to Present BROOMSTICK, 10/27-11/22

Artists Repertory Theatre is delighted to offer John Biguenet's Broomstick on the Morrison Stage from October 27 through November 22, 2015. A fairytale-twisted yarn of delightful humor and spine-tingling suspense conjures a spooky seasonal experience unlike any other. This production features a tour-de-force solo performance by Portland's premiere actress and Artists Rep Resident Artist, Vana O'Brien. As an Appalachian witch, she tells a heartfelt and poetic tale of her long life from first love, to heartache, to the hair-raising vengeance she wreaks upon those who've crossed her.

Broomstick, winner of the 2006 National New Play Network Continued Life of New Plays Fund Award, has enthralled audiences across America with its wickedly funny and surprisingly insightful tromp through the life, sorrows and triumphs of this entrancing character.

"She has lived a long life, filled with pain and tragedy," said Artists Rep's Broomstick director Gemma Whelan of the Witch. "She carries the weight of her experience in her body, but also literally in her layers of clothing, from pieces of lace representing her first sweet love, to animal bones and teeth and rings, all an outgrowth of her lived years. Her home is yet another layer, an extension of herself, and almost indistinguishable from the encompassing woods."

The creative team for Broomstick features four Artists Rep Resident Artists Kristeen Willis-Crosser (Scenic Design), Gregory Pulver (Costume Design), Mary McDonald-Lewis (Dialect Coach) and Rodolfo Ortega (Sound Design). This team will build an immersive experience for the audience, transporting them to the back woods of Appalachia and conjuring the deepest memories of the Witch to the stage.