Fuse Theatre Ensemble Presents The 2020 Outwright Theatre Festival BE-YOU-T

Fuse Theatre Ensemble presents The OUTwright Theatre Festival, centering our trans and gender nonconforming communities, June 24-28 7pm each night on Facebook & Instagram.

The Fear of Speaking

Written and performed by Jane Comer

June 27 @ 7pm

About The Fear of Speaking: Public Speaking is by far the most common fear among humans. Well, welcome to Ms. Comer's Public Speaking class. Today is the day of the final presentations, but what happens when no one shows up and Ms. Comer is forced to perform each of their speeches? What do we learn about her students? What do we learn about her? A testimony to the importance of owning and sharing our stories, Comer, a pioneering trans performer, takes us on a rollercoaster ride of shifting characters and emotions culminating in a solo show that makes us all feel a little better about who we are and who we can be for each other.

READINGS:

Sensitive Guys

by MJ Kaufman

Directed by Tamara Carroll

June 25 @ 7pm

Starring: Tara Hershberger, Gabie Mbenza-Ngoma, Cat Miller, Greyson Murray, and Danielle Neblock

About Sensitive Guys: A group of young men on a college campus has dedicated itself to honoring and respecting women and helping to implement equity practices campus wide... until one of them is accused of sexual misconduct. A cast of gender nonconforming or female identifying artists play all roles in this provocative play written by one of the Kilroy's most celebrated gender nonconforming playwrights.

The Queers

by Mikki Gillette

Directed by Sarah Andrews

June 28 @ 7pm

Starring: Alex Blesi, Sara Fay Goldman, CR Hostetter, Kate Mura, Juliet Mylan, Rebecca Petchenik, Troy Sawyer, and Robert Torres

About The Queers: Lisa is a teacher at a local high school. Lisa is also transitioning. Festival favorite and Portland's own Mikki Gillette returns with a searing social commentary about what it means to be openly trans in the workplace. At a time when the Supreme Court is weighing whether or not it is legal to fire people for being trans or queer, this script could not be more timely.

KAIT

by Rebecca Jae Petchenik

Directed by Sara Fay Goldman

June 26 @ 7pm

Starring: Ithica Tell, Andrea White, Shareen Jacobs, Shani Harris-Bagwell, Mishelle Apalategui, Gabie Mbenza-Ngoma, Alex Blesi and Atlas Marshall

About KAIT: A second hand sex robot becomes the first artificial intelligence. But is she alive? Caught in between worlds, who will defend her? Featuring a cast of predominantly POC actors and a trans actor in the eponymous role, you don't want to miss this breathtakingly original script.

unde+ec+able

by Rusty Newton Tennant

Starring Sara Fay Goldman, Brodrick Santeze Ryans, and Murren Kennedy

June 24 @ 7pm

About unde+ec+able: Originally presented as part of Fertile Ground 2019 and nominated for a 2019 Drammy for outstanding original script, the play centers on Baron and Rey in the days and months following the Apocalypse. Isolation, hoarding, fear, racial tensions, supply chains and riots are all major themes in our lives today and in this exceptionally timely script about our potential future.

HISTORY OF FUSE

Fuse Theatre Ensemble Dares:

Our audiences to exit their comfort zones, a??

Our peers to collaborate before competing, a??

Our community to manage our resources sustainably.

Shift the Paradigm. a??

Fuse is celebrating over a decade of producing paradigm shifting theatre in Portland, OR, and around the world. The recipient of six 2019 Drammy Awards, Fuse has become a stalwart of socially motivated theatre in the Portland community. Fuse is the recipient of the 2019 Regional Arts and Culture Council Project Grant, 2019 MCCC grant, 2017 Regional Arts and Culture Council Arts Equity Grant, and 2007 Regional Arts and Culture Council Project Grant. They have traveled the world with their production of Suburban Tribe, won Drammy Awards for their productions of Cabaret, Tether: ADHD+BDSM, and Under the Influence and for their props design for Artist Rep's The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Fuse has been an ambassador of the Pacific Northwest theatre touring to New Orleans, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Bali, Adelaide, Australia, and Avignon, France. In less than a decade, Fuse has fostered the creation of 18 original works (Craft/Craeft/Kraft, Slap That Bitch, Suburban Tribe, MySp_ce, #smarter_than_phones, Karaoke Night! (the musical), A Virgin in Neverland, (...), Sonnetscape, Under the Influence, Tether: ADHD+BDSM, The Importance of being Frank, I am an Actress, unde+ec+able, Book of J, The Fear of Speaking, and The Pursuit of Happiness) while also producing Portland's annual celebration of the LGBTQIA+ contribution to theatre, The OUTwright Theatre Festival.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Revival of a Play - Top 3

1. Death of a Salesman

31.4% of votes

2. Every Brilliant Thing

26.7% of votes

3. Oedipus

8.4% of votes

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