IVY & BEAN, SCHOOL HOUSE ROCK LIVE! and More Set for Oregon Children's Theatre's 2014-15 Season

Award-winning Oregon Children's Theatre announces its 2014-2015 Season featuring two world premieres, an Oregon premiere, and a local Portland favorite!

AN OREGON PREMIERE!
Ivy & Bean: The Musical
October 25 - November 23, 2014 • Newmark Theatre
MEET BEAN. She's a loud and wild 7-year-old with a huge imagination. Bean rules the neighborhood on Pancake Court and the kids love her. MEET IVY. She's new to the street. She's a quiet, nice - and in Bean's opinion - "boooorrrring!" 7-year-old. Clearly, Ivy and Bean will NEVER be friends. But when Bean decides to play a trick on her bossy sister, she discovers that Ivy's proper manner is masking a mischievous witch-in-training. Together they partner up in a rambunctious backyard caper that just could be the beginning of a fabulous friendship!
• Based on the New York Times bestselling book series Ivy & Bean by Annie Barrows.

A WORLD PREMIERE MUSICAL!
Skippyjon Jones
January 17 - February 15, 2015 • Newmark Theatre
Directed by Stan Foote
MEET SKIPPYJON, a Siamese cat who thinks he's a bird. He enjoys sleeping in their nest, sharing their breakfast of worms and bathing in Mrs. Doohiggy's birdbath. In frustration, Mama Junebug Jones sends him to his room to ponder what it means to be a Siamese Cat. Instead, Skippyjon discovers his alter ego - "El Skippito" - a superhero Chihuahua. Clothed in a green cape and mask, he sets off into his closet and emerges in far, far away Mexico for a rip-roaring musical adventure.
• Dallas Children's Theater (DCT) and Oregon Children's Theatre (OCT) are co-commissioning this musical based on the book by Judy Schachner.

A WORLD PREMIERE!
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made
February 28 - March 22, 2015 • Winningstad Theatre
Directed by Marcella Crowson
MEET TIMMY FAILURE. It's not easy being the President and CEO of a detective agency called Total Failure, Inc. But Timmy is undaunted. Despite having a 1,500 pound polar bear for a business partner, and corporate headquarters located in his mother's closet, Timmy knows he's destined for greatness. Things will really pick up when he cracks open his latest case. But first he must confront time-wasting distractions such as school work, his mother's nagging, and his evil competitor - Corrina Corrina. Will Timmy overcome all these roadblocks? Will Total Failure, Inc. be transformed to a multibillion dollar international corporation?
• Adapted by renowned Australian playwright, Finegan Krukemeyer

School House Rock Live!
March 28 - April 26, 2015 • Winningstad Theatre
Directed by Aaron Levin
MEET TOM, a nerve-wracked school teacher on the eve of his first day of class. Will his students like him? How can he inspire them? His solution is a collection of songs that are none other than the educational, catchy, and, beloved Schoolhouse Rock classics! Kids will have a blast learning their civics lessons with "I'm Just a Bill," hone their math skills with "Naughty Number 9," and improve their writing with "Conjunction Junction." Adults will love this nostalgic trip back to 70's Saturday morning television.

Ramona Quimby
May 9 - May 31, 2015 • Newmark Theatre
Directed by Betsy Richard
MEET RAMONA QUIMBY. She lives on Klickitat Street in NE Portland. She's incredibly imaginative, boisterous, at times even exasperating, but always fun. She's beginning third grade where she discovers school is about to become a lot more serious. At home things are getting more challenging too. Her father is fired from his job and returns to college to find another career. Ramona and her big sister Beezus narrate this poignant story of a middle class Portland family in transition. Along the way they don't always get along, but they learn that relying on one another and their family is the best way to overcome life's bumps in the road.
• Portland's own story based on Beverly Cleary's award-winning Ramona Quimby series.

OCT'S YOUNG PROFESSIONALS COMPANY
The Young Professionals Company offers a series of plays and performances presented by our Young Professionals (YPs). YPs are dedicated acting students aged 13-18 who have been selected to participate in a year-long mentoring program where they gain advanced training through exposure to a wide range of college-level workshops and professional development.

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs
December 5 - 14, 2014 • OCT YP Studio Theater
Big, bad wolf? Or misunderstood carnivore? The Honorable Prudence Pig presides over Piggsylvania's porky courtroom chaos. With the aid of the high-tech oink-o-meter, your votes will determine the fate of Alexander T. Wolf. A hilarious musical for the whole family.

Impulse! OCT's Improv Troupe
Directed by: Jake Michels
January 23 - February 7, 2015 • OCT YP Studio Theater
IMPULSE is back! Our undaunted and unflappable Young Professionals will take on hilarious new improvisational games and sketches-all based on audience suggestions. The energy is so contagious; you'll be tempted to join in the fun. Well, this year you can! Following the performance, our Impulse team will invite you to join them on stage to learn an improve game which you will star in and they will direct! Bring your quick wits and get ready for an evening of fun and laughter.

columbinus
April 10 - 19, 2015 • OCT YP Studio Theater
Directed by: Lava Alapai
Sparked by the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, columbinus is a meeting of fact and fiction that explores the events surrounding the shootings and brings to light the dark recesses of American adolescence. The smart and sensitive treatment of the event stirs up thought and feeling in this clean ensemble production, drawn from interviews, police evidence, public records, and the private diaries of the shooters.
• Recipient of five Helen Hayes Award nominations.
• Age 15 through adults (age 13-14 only with a parent): disturbing subject matter and language.

Funding for the 2014-2015 season will be provided in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council and Work for Art, Oregon Arts Commission, and the Shubert Foundation.