EVERY BRILLIANT THING Opens this September at The Armory

Local favorite Isaac Lamb will take the stage for Every Brilliant Thing, a play that tackles the impact of depression using a life-affirming list and a partly-improvised structure that engages audiences in a way never before seen at The Armory. Created by British playwright Duncan Macmillan with comedian Jonny Donahoe, Every Brilliant Thing began as a short-play-turned-art-installation before becoming a full-length theater piece that was embraced at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and Off-Broadway, and adapted into an HBO movie. Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan will direct Every Brilliant Thing in the round in the Ellyn Bye Studio - the first studio show in Portland Center Stage at The Armory's 30th anniversary season. Every Brilliant Thing begins preview performances on September 23, opens on September 29 and runs through November 5.

NEW: Reserved seating is now available in the Ellyn Bye Studio. 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 tickets for all dates/times. $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 14 and up; contains adult situations and references to suicide.

A kid makes a list for his mom. A list of everything worth living for in the world. He needs her to read the list so she doesn't try to leave the world again. As the kid grows up and experiences more life, more love, and more loss, his list of every brilliant thing gets longer and more vital with each addition. Duncan Macmillan's play shines hilarious and compassionate light in dark corners of the human condition, and the way in which the creators have constructed the performance is refreshingly theatrical. A reminder that hope is never truly lost, and a testament to the healing power of storytelling. More information at www.pcs.org/brilliant.

Every Brilliant Thing began in 2009 as a short play created by Duncan Macmillan titled Sleeve Notes. It told the story of girl who created a list to combat her mother's depression. Duncan later adapted the piece to perform it himself at Paines Plough. More performances followed and eventually Macmillan and George Perrin, the artistic director of Paines Plough, decided to create a real list like the one in the story. The list grew with each performance, as well as from contributions online. They turned the list, featuring thousands of entries, into an art installation for nabokov Arts Club, with a second installation at Latitude Festival. Work then began on the full-length play, Every Brilliant Thing, directed by Perrin and performed by comedian Jonny Donahoe who also contributed to the script. Paines Plough and Pentabus Theatre Company produced the world premiere at Ludlow Fringe Festival in 2013. It went on to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a UK tour, and, in 2014, an Off-Broadway premiere at Barrow Street Theatre. In 2016, HBO released a film adaptation of Every Brilliant Thing featuring footage captured during The New York run.

Award-winning actor and director Isaac Lamb has appeared at The Armory in Great Expectations, A Small Fire and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His other credits include the National Tour of Broadway's Defending the Caveman; Assassins and Playboy of the Western World at Artists Repertory Theatre; The Aliens, The Mystery of Irma Vep, Belleville and The Flick at Third Rail Repertory Theatre; and The Sound of Music, The Addams Family and Ripper at Broadway Rose Theatre Company. His film and television credits include Lean on Pete (Film4), North Starr (Sundance, 2008) and Portlandia.

Duncan Macmillan's plays include: People, Places and Things (National Theatre/Wyndham's Theatre, West End); 1984 (co-adapted/co-directed with Rob Icke, Headlong/Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company, West End, Broadway, international tours); Every Brilliant Thing (Lucille Lortel nomination); City of Glass, adapted from Paul Auster (59 Productions, HOME and Lyric Hammersmith); 2071 (co-written with Chris Rapley, The Royal Court/Hamburg Schauspielhaus); The Forbidden Zone (Salzburg Festival and Schaubühne Berlin); Wunschloses Unglück (adapted from Peter Handke, Burgtheater Vienna); Reise durch die Nacht (adapted from Friederike Mayröcker Schauspiel Köln, Festival d'Avignon, Theatertreffen); Lungs (Paines Plough and Sheffield Theatres/Studio Theatre); and Monster (Royal Exchange Theatre).

Director Rose Riordan (most recently Lauren Weedman Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Wild and Reckless at The Armory) leads a creative team comprised of members of The Armory's production staff: Scenic Designer Derek Easton (The Armory's technical director; previous scenic designs for Theatre Cedar Rapids and others); Lighting Designer Em Douglas (The Armory's associate lighting supervisor and studio master electrician; previous lighting design for Michael O'Neill's Journey of a Clown and others); Sound Designer Casi Pacilio (The Armory's resident Sound Designer; most recently designed sound for Lauren Weedman Doesn't Live Here Anymore and Wild and Reckless); with Stage Manager Jamie Lynne Simons and Production Assistant Danny Rosales.

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 23 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 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 Every Brilliant Thing comes from Dorothy Piacentini and The Shubert 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.

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