April 23 — June 19
In the Ellyn Bye Studio
Written by and starring Lauren Weedman
Directed by Allison Narver
“A horrific hilarious journey into Prison hell and LA fluff…on track to be one of Weedman's best shows yet.” —Seattle Times
Comedian, writer, and former Daily Show faux correspondent Lauren Weedman has transformed her experience straddling the line between jail and Hollyweird into a hilariously poignant one-woman show. BUST was a smash hit in Seattle several years ago at The Empty Space; this fresh version of the show will mark Weedman’s professional premiere in Portland.
Performance times:
Tuesday - Sunday evenings at 7:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 pm
Thursday matinees at noon
A full list of performances and dates will appear when you enter the Buy Tickets section of the website.
View the Cast and Creative Team Bios
Running time for BUST is approximately 90 minutes with no intermission.
Reviews and Comment
Christi Krug | Kindling [Review 18 May 2011]
Lauren Weedman of the Portland Center Stage production, Bust (playing through June 19), is a writer and actor who can conjure vivid characters and produce laughter as with spontaneous combustion. She can convince me that a few steel beams constitute the Los Angeles County Jail, that a tank top and khakis equal seven different outfits—or nothing at all—and that twenty people fill the empty stage. Not only has she written an intelligent but hilarious play, she has crafted a performance wrought of life experience, weakness and shame. The story: sick of her own drama in life and career, Lauren volunteers to help jail inmates. Her romanticised ideas are far from the heartbreaking reality, and her blunders force her to take an even harder look at herself.
read moreAlison Hallett | The Portland Mercury [Review 18 May 2011]
When actress and comedian Lauren Weedman decided to become a volunteer in the Los Angeles County prison system, it was because, she explains in her one-woman show Bust, she hoped that helping others would force her to think about something other than “career or weight loss.” Weedman portrays a range of characters in Bust, as she describes the consequences of that decision: her unlikely immersion in a labyrinthine, overextended women’s prison, and the volunteers and prisoners she met there.
read moreMedia
BUST art; design by Patrick Weishampel and Justin Flood, art direction by Michael Buchino View on Flickr »
Production blog
Take Lauren Weedman home with you!
18 May 2011 & Posted by Kinsley Suer
Her book, that is. Can’t get enough of Lauren Weedman? After seeing Bust in the Ellyn Bye Studio, be sure to pick up a copy of her hilarious semi-autobiographical memoir, A Woman Trapped in a Woman’s Body: (Tales from a Life of Cringe). From the uproarious account of her time at the Daily Show, where she developed an entirely one-sided infatuation with Jon Stewart, to the time she read her boyfriend’s diary with disastrous results, Lauren’s work is filled with wit, honesty and personality. On sale now in the Armory Cafe for only $15!
MoreLying, Truth and Trust in Lauren Weedman’s Bust
04 May 2011 & Posted by Kinsley Suer
The intricately related themes of lying, truth and trust are seamlessly woven into Lauren Weedman’s Bust, playing now in the Ellyn Bye Studio. Why do people lie? How do people lie? And, most importantly, how do we decide who to trust? Read on for a few clues to look for the next time you think you’re being duped!
More“I wanted to do something that wasn’t about me.”
27 April 2011 & Posted by Kinsley Suer
So says Lauren Weedman, in one of the first scenes of her one-woman show Bust. Throughout the show, Weedman describes her time working with a volunteer support service in the L.A. jail system. Ultimately, her volunteer experience isn’t as, shall we say, smooth as she had expected. Where do you volunteer? Tell us your story and you could win a pair of tickets to Bust, plus a gift certificate to Cassidy’s Restaurant and Bar. What more could any do-gooder ask for?
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