Lineup Set For The Fertile Ground Festival of New Works

The Fertile Ground Festival of New Works, a flagship program of the Portland Area Theatre Alliance, will return in 2025, celebrating its 16th year of programming with an extended 16-day Festival from April 4-19.

Fertile Ground’s full lineup is available for perusal and purchase on its new ticketing platform, and this year’s Festival Pass options have been expanded to include a 6-punch and 10-punch pass, along with the original Unlimited Pass. This year’s lineup features 46 producers presenting 64 projects - including site specific theatre, dance, burlesque, theatre for young audiences, and of course, dozens upon dozens of staged readings from long-time Festival participants like LineStorm Playwrights, PDX Playwrights, and Lakewood Theatre, as well as many first-time and independent producers.

This year’s biggest Festival news involves a partnership with three local venues: CoHo Theatre, 21ten Theatre, and the Back Door Theatre (operated by Fuse Theatre Ensemble). Each venue will host a variety of producers and shows, with 21ten Theatre hosting a total of 37 performances over the 16-day Festival, and Fuse Theatre Ensemble at the Back Door, in alignment with their mission, is presenting a lineup of exclusively LGBTQIA2S+ creators. Placement in a Festival venue includes deeply discounted performance space and free technical support, thanks to the venues’ generosity, as well as grants from RACC, SE Uplift, and Prosper Portland.

ABOUT FERTILE GROUND

Fertile Ground 2025 is a 16-day, city-wide festival highlighting new work from Portland’s creative community and offering dozens of “acts of creation” for audiences to experience. Fertile Ground is uncurated – the content of each festival is shaped by community participation, demonstrating that Portland is fertile ground for creativity, innovation and daring acts of performance.

Founded by Trisha Mead in 2009, and led by Nicole Lane from 2010-2023, Fertile Ground was launched to provide a platform for local theatre companies and individual artists to showcase their commitment to new work. Projects can range from fully staged world premieres, to workshops and readings, to ensemble, multidisciplinary and collaboration-driven work, to a variety of dance, comedy, film events and more.

Unlike a typical fringe festival, Fertile Ground is an un-juried festival that features new work created by local artists, performers and companies. This ensures that the artistic and financial benefits of the Festival stay in Portland. The Festival works toward creating an inclusive, welcoming platform including underrepresented voices across race, ethnicity, age, gender, sexuality, and physical or intellectual ability.