With a gift of $15 to Portland Center Stage, you could provide one young person with a new experience; a chance to see a live theater performance! Or send a group of ten students for $150. Make a difference in someone’s life and introduce them to the arts by making a donation today.

Our education programs seek to provide young people with opportunities to experience and directly participate in the art of theater. Such opportunities are especially important now, since funding cutbacks in public education budgets throughout Oregon have seen in-school drama programs and field trips seriously reduced.

Our Stage Door Program, launched in 2004, aims to greatly increase the number of young people, especially economically disadvantaged youth, to experience high-quality, professional theater performances in a context that supports their academic success. The program includes: deeply subsidized tickets ($15) to PCS productions, with 2,000+ free tickets for Title I schools and nonprofit organizations; free student workshops that provide background information on the plays; free “Beyond the Proscenium lecture/tours that give students a backstage glimpse of the workings of a professional theater, as well as insight into the concepts of green building, sustainability, and historic preservation embodied in the Platinum LEED-rated Gerding Theater at the Armory; financial assistance to schools for bus transportation and substitute teachers; and free resource guides on the season’s plays. In 2008/09, the program served more than 4,700 youth.

To make a donation and pay for one youth or several to have a chance to come see a live performance at Portland Center Stage, please donate here or you can also mail in a donation, call or email.

Please contact Jessy Friedt, Donor Relations Manager, with any questions or to make a gift. 503/445-3744 or jessyf@pcs.org.

The Cratchitt family

The holidays mean family time. Lots and lots of family time! And welcome as that may be, sometimes you need a great actiivty to keep them occupied and out of your hair/kitchen/media room. How about a visit to Portland Center Stage and A Christmas Carol?

From November 24, through Thanksgiving weekend, and up to December 6 are Family Days at the Charles Dickens holiday classic. Which means great values on tickets!

All adult tickets are just $30 for all performances during those days; and children, students, and anyone under age 30 can purchase tickets for just $15. So bring everyone (or send everyone!) and get them in the holiday spirit at the very start of the season.

Banish the Bah! Humbug! Order your Family Days tickets today.

Your phone just got more festive thanks to our new FREE Carol inspired downloadable ringtones. Each tone has a bit of Carol-ian music plus the voice of this year’s Scrooge, Ebbe Roe Smith. It’s instant holiday cheer (or tongue-in-cheek Humbuggish snark, depending on your personal holiday philosophy).

Choose from Traditional, Hip Hop, and my favorite CALYPSO CAROL version.

Download yours right here.

{photo: Amidst the post-Thanksgiving holiday shopping hubbub, we invite you to join us for a brief, relaxing Oasis at the Armory on Saturday, November 28th from 11 am to 7:00 pm. Palm trees not included.}

Planning to be downtown getting a jump start on holiday shopping this Thanksgiving Weekend? On Saturday, November 28th we invite you to take a break mid-marathon and join us for a relaxing Holiday Oasis at the Armory- you can pick up A Christmas Carol tickets at half price* when you show a Pearl District shopping receipt, cross some theater (and cupcake!) lovers off of your shopping list, and spend some precious moments rejuvenating with a FREE chair massage, a cocktail and the soothing sounds of our Holiday Jazz Trio.

Bring the kids and they can get their photo taken by our production photographer Owen Carey in our Victorian Family Photo Booth and then enjoy some free hot chocolate and some holiday cartoons on our big screen while you check out the offerings at the cafe.

{photo: The Cratchit Family Photo Outtake. photo by Owen Carey.}

Here’s some of what we’ve got planned:

FREE Victorian Family Photo Booth. 11 am to 3 pm.
Dress the family up in their finest and get your holiday photo taken in front of our Victorian backdrop by professional photographer Owen Carey. We’ll email you the picture- feel free to use it in your holiday e-cards!

FREE Live Holiday Jazz. 1 pm to 4 pm and 5 pm to 7 pm.
Chill out to the jazzier holiday classics from the Dan Gaynor Trio from 1 pm to 4 pm and the soulful stylings of Ali Ippolito from 5 pm to 7 pm.

FREE 15 minute Chair Massages. Prep for the next leg of your shopping marathon with a quick chair massage from professional massage therapist <XX>.

FREE Package Check. 11 am to 7 pm. Don’t want to make the trip back to the car? Check your holiday packages at the Armory Coat Check. We’ll keep an eye on them till you get the car pulled around.

Kids Colouring Lounge. 11 am to 7 pm.We’ll have A Christmas Carol themed Colouring Activities and Holiday Movies on the big screen TV for the kids to chill out with. They can redeem their completed coloring activity for a complimentary cup of hot cocoa from the Armory Cafe.

Holiday Themed Treats at the Armory Cafe. All day long we’ll be serving post-Thanksgiving holiday treats, including Turkey/cream cheese/cranberry sandwiches, harvest salads, mulled cider, and a whole bevvy of holiday cocktails at the upstairs bar.

Hot Deals on A Christmas Carol. Show your Pearl District shopping receipt at the box office and get 2 for 1 adult tickets to A Christmas Carol. Choose a performance before December 7th and tickets are $15 for kids and $30 for adults- a family of four could see the show for just $60 TOTAL if they show a Pearl District shopping receipt on Saturday!

Great Green Gifts for Everyone on Your List. Give the gift of experience this holiday season for a LEED Platinum certified holiday experience. Give PCS Gift Certificates and you can double the value of your certificate purchase when you mention the PDX Green Gift Guide.

Instant Gratification Giving: Our Sweetness and Spotlight gift package includes a pair of tickets to any PCS performance plus a dozen cupcakes from Cupcake Jones for just $75. Buy yours on Saturday and walk away with a complimentary cupcake for yourself (while supplies last).

What are you waiting for? Marshall the troupes and make a day of it! We look forward to helping make your downtown holiday shopping a bit more enjoyable this Thanksgiving weekend.

Week three of nanowrimo 2009, and it’s supposed to be a great ride from here on out to 50,000 words, the finish line, the whirr and rattle of the printer spitting out the winner’s certificate. Instead, I’m having the worst couple of writing days so far this month. So I’m taking some time to do some research about the following items, all of which (and more!) play a role in my high-speed novel:

1) cutting an album (what do I even call that? pressing a cd?),

2) EFP (explosively formed penetrator) roadside bombs, and,

3) the roosting habits of the Little Brown Myotis. (I am already aware that these bats can eat their own weight in mosquitoes every night. That would be like you or me eating thirty pizzas in one go. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but… well I am. It can’t be done. I’d hate to see the Big Brown Myotis bat.)