JAW Play Reading: Say Gay Plays
Curated by Wayne Maugans at Voyage Theater
In partnership with Fuse Theatre Ensemble
A not-to-be-missed rocking time of new short-plays by top American playwrights with something to say! 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 short plays by queer playwrights to for LGBTQ+ communities across America. In a collaboration between Say Gay Plays, Fuse Theatre Ensemble and Portland Center Stage, the JAW lineup includes a fabulous range of work from searing satire to heartfelt moments, featuring playwrights Fernanda Coppel, Marquis D. Gibson, Haruna Lee, Derick Edgren Otero, Harrison David Rivers, SMJ, Doug Wright, and the premiere of a new piece from Portland playwright, Carlos-Zenen Trujillo.
JAW New Play Festival FREE! July 28-30
A week-long assembling of artists and audiences to create new plays! Artistic teams, including playwrights, directors and actors, come together to rehearse — and a lot of times rewrite! — a play. The final piece of the process happens during the weekend, when we share “music stands readings” with audiences so the playwrights can hear their work, often for the very first time!
Carlos-Zenen Trujillo (they/them) is a Latine theatre artist from Bejucal, Cuba. Carlos' written work includes: The Island in Winter or La Isla en Invierno, and Our Utopia (Bag&Baggage Productions); Christmas, Contigo (Oregon Cabaret Theatre; Teatro de las Americas; TheatreWorks Tampa); Conchita (a play about a dog) and WILD/CAUGHT (Artist Repertory Theatre); The Image of the Black Madonna and Abundancia (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); The Long White Line (LimeArts Productions) and Queen of Deseret (FUSE/OUTWright). They are an ordained babalocha in Regla de Ocha and served as a Lucumí Religious Consultant for Dear Dead Drug Lord (Washington Ensemble Theatre; CRAVE Theatre) and The Brothers Size (Portland Center Stage). They have been seen on stage in Spinning Into Butter (Bag&Baggage) WILD/CAUGHT, Sube y Baja, Speech and Debate (ART) and Oculus Anubis (Pyramid Scheme). Carlos-Zenen holds a BFA in Theatre Arts from Southern Oregon University. They also hold a degree in Culinary Arts from the Northwest Culinary Institute and are a Certified Home Care Worker with the State of Oregon.
Current & Upcoming
JAW Street Dance Showcase
Join us as we kick things off for JAW weekend with this wildly popular yearly showcase, presented by DJ NorthernDraw and featuring street, club, and urban dance styles, performed by artists from a variety of local Portland area dance crews and institutions.
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. Part zany comedy, part pageant, and fully heart-filled, The Sugar Hole speaks directly to what makes a community, a community.
JAW Community Artist Lab: Using Images to Catalyze New Work with Dr. Taylor Barfield
Playwrights from August Wilson to Stephen Sondheim have found inspiration for their dramatic works on the canvas of a visual artist. In this workshop, we'll use images and music as a way to launch the playwriting process, craft language, and listen for character.
JAW PRESS PLAY: Bridging Voices choir
Bridging Voices is a youth chorus for LGBTQ+ and allied youth, ages 13-21. We strive to be a safe, accessible place for youth to experience empowerment and unity through music. Bridging Voices is Portland’s first LGBTQ+ and Allied Youth Chorus and is one of the largest choruses of its kind in the nation.
JAW Play Reading: Teen Playwrights Showcase
Celebrate the newest generation of theater artists in this high-energy showcase of 8-10 minute plays written by local teens. These young writers are selected from PCS’s year-round education programs and the PCS Teen Council. The playwrights are commissioned to create bold new works that reflect their voices and experiences.
JAW PRESS PLAY: The Latino Network's Ballet Folklórico dancers
A performance by the Latino Network’s Ballet Folklórico students, a program that honors and promotes Mexican culture, heritage, and identity through traditional dance classes and performances for youth and the community.
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).
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