Autobiographical Devising for Solo Performance with Katherine Murphy Lewis
This workshop is for women and femme-identified people.
Using an innovative approach, Katherine blends her background in autobiographical performance, physical theater, and new play development to offer a one-of-a-kind experience. Participants move through a series of exercises; from physical exploration to research and development, to writing, construction, and editing. Participants will leave with new solo material and a solid toolbox to support the creation and production of future artistic visions. Ideal for theater makers and performers who want to reclaim agency over their creative lives — and anyone else with a story to tell!
Offered in partnership with From the Ground UP.
Given the dearth of women and femme-identified artistic leaders, directors, producers, and playwrights, both locally and nationally, From the Ground UP's current focus addresses this inequality directly by creating space and opportunities to develop skills, build professional networks, and create and produce original works. From the Ground UP is creating a collection of original works by and about women and femme-identified people, and giving these emerging artists the support and experience necessary to enter into these historically male-dominated arenas.
Katherine is the founding artistic director of From the Ground UP. Since 2013, Katherine has championed programming workshops and residencies for underrepresented communities, directing and producing dozens of original works and serving over 1000 participants in the eight-and-a-half years since the organization’s inception. In the past four years, Katherine has spearheaded a refocusing of the organization’s mission towards serving female and femme-identifying populations, launching the Young Women’s Residency Program, as well as a new Advanced Women’s Residency Program for women identifying as being in the second half of their lives. Locally, she was a lead director for four seasons in Portland Playhouse’s Fall Festival of Shakespeare program and taught for Profile Theatre’s Hands On Residency program. In addition to her work in training and education, Katherine is currently working as the co-writer and co-producer on the development of a new play, Tonight Nothing, which premiered at CoHo Productions in the summer 2019. During the summer and fall of 2018, Katherine served as a resident artist with Company of Wolves, a Scotland-based devised theater company, touring their latest work Achilles to three countries around Europe.
"Katherine is able to hold space and guide creation in a way that isn’t scary, and feels like just the support you need ... it is remarkable."
–2021 Participant
"This residency has a unique way of cultivating community amongst women through art. It feels like a secret community of femme super heroes using art as a weapon to slay the patriarchy. The environment is extremely supportive and challenging at the same time."
–2021 Participant
"I feel that this residency is helping me to dive deeper into my own stories and experiences, while also offering tools and support to craft and shape the material that is revealed. I don't think I would be able to go as deeply into this work without the support and guidance of the facilitator and members of this residency."
–2020 Participant
"This residency is a safe place to venture into creative aspects of myself that I have not explored before!"
–2020 Participant
Current & Upcoming
July First Thursday with Pablo Rivarola
July First Thursday will feature live music by the Pablo Rivarola Trio, along with art installations by Krystal Perez and Orlando Almanza, and complimentary beer from our partners at Deschutes Brewery!
JAW Play Reading: The Sugar Hole
By Virginia Baeta and Amy Driesler
A rent increase for a legendary lesbian bar threatens its existence, and Darcy has a plan to save it. Is the 90's-themed Lesbian Pageant she dreams up as a fundraiser the answer? Or do the lesbians around her have different ideas about what needs to be saved? The Sugar Hole skips through time and space - real and imagined - exploring what it means to be a lesbian in a lesbian community, the importance of spaces for queer people, and what makes someone feel they belong.
JAW Play Reading: Teen Playwrights Showcase
Don’t miss this chance to experience some of the newest voices in theater! Four young playwrights have been commissioned by PCS to write short scripts for JAW. This showcase will feature the dynamic short scripts they’ve developed, performed by professional actors.
JAW Play Reading: Out There
Created by William Carlos Angulo, Isaac Gómez & Michelle J. Rodriguez
Music & Lyrics by Michelle J Rodriguez
Book by Isaac Gómez
When MJ, a once-great musician turned recluse, summons his best friends to his beach house with a "code red," old tensions and buried secrets resurface as the characters confront their shared pasts and uncertain futures. A PCS Commission, Out There is a richly layered story about family, love, and redemption told through the intersecting lives of three lifelong best friends—MJ, David, and Lars—and the people bound to them: Marcus, Feli, Joe, Dayana, and Kahliah. Set against storm-lashed coastlines, intimate hotel rooms, and bustling cityscapes, Out There invites audiences into a surreal world, portraying an unprecedented portrait of a modern family that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant.
JAW Play Reading: Say Gay Plays
Conceived in response to the 2022 passage of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill, Voyage Theater Company Founding Artistic Director Wayne Maugans’ SAY GAY PLAYS offers royalty-free short plays by queer playwrights to not-for-profit theatre companies, arts organizations, and educational institutions for local activism and fundraising for LGBTQ+ communities across America. In a collaboration between Say Gay Plays, Fuse Theatre Ensemble and Portland Center Stage, JAW will feature an evening of these short plays, sharing work from playwrights across the country and a brand new commission by Portland playwright Carlos-Zenen Trujillo.
Improvisation Classes for Beginners
Whether you're looking to get more confident in social situations, think quicker on your feet, or get in touch with your imaginative side, these "one-off" improv classes will set you on the path to success!
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).
Season Superstars
Season Supporting Sponsors
