The Hombres by Tony Meneses
the ripple, the wave that carried me home by Christina Anderson
American Fast by Kareem Fahmy
True Story by E.M. Lewis
Artists Repertory Theatre (ART) Interim Artistic Director Luan Schooler and Executive Director J.S. May announced the long-running company’s 40th season. The line-up of plays includes provocative work, new to the Portland stages as well as a co-production with Portland Center Stage @ The Armory (PCS). This season, produced in the Ellyn Bye Studio at PCS, will mark the last season ART is “on tour,” as ART plans to move into their newly renovated space in the fall of 2023. This season offers patrons a vibrant mix of poetic and exhilarating stories that will surely delight frequent theatre goers and new ones alike.
Since its establishment in 1982, ART has been Portland’s preeminent producer of new plays. This season is no different; ART is thrilled to offer the Portland premiere of Tony Meneses’ play, The Hombres, a hilarious, fresh, nuanced look at the complexity of male friendships through the lens of machismo culture; Christina Anderson’s the ripple, the wave that carried me home (a co-production with Portland Center Stage @ The Armory), drawing on history, this deeply moving story explores the joys and challenges of forgiveness, justice and family legacy, as a young woman reconciles a childhood she has tried to forget; an ART commission and rolling world premiere of American Fast by Kareem Fahmy, depicts a top-ranked basketball standout, Khady Salama, as she is faced with winning at all costs while grappling with her faith and relationships; and finally, ART caps the season with Mellon Playwright-In-Residence, E.M. Lewis’ play, True Story, which draws from the classic film noir, it’s a propulsive examination of how facts, biases and perceptions are manipulated — and asks if discovering the truth is worth the ultimate price?
Of the upcoming season, Interim Artistic Director Luan Schooler says, “For our 22/23 season, we’re digging into plays that explore family, friends, truth and lies.” Schooler continues, “the pandemic showed us all how much we need our friends and family, as well as how tricky it can be to be fully truthful with each other.” ART’s plan to produce plays that are appealing to a wider audience is deliberate. Schooler goes on to say, “we’re excited to share these warm, provocative, funny, plays with our audiences. The families and friends in these plays may not be exactly like our own, but anyone who has ever lied to their mother, hidden something from friends, or thought they knew the truth, can see themselves in these plays.”
The importance of audience engagement extends beyond the onstage productions. It also helps propel ART into our newly renovated building at 1515 Morrison. Executive Director, J.S. May continues to lead RISE: The Campaign for Artists Repertory Theatre. To date, $24.32 million has been raised on the $30 million goal. “The final phase of construction will begin in the fall of 2022 and we intend to open our 41st Season in the fall of 2023 in a state-of-the-art building. We just need a little help from our community of supporters to get us over the top to this goal,” states May.
While ART continues to produce provocative new works and programs that sustainably amplify the work of writers of color, women, trans and gender nonconforming playwrights, it’s also creating accessible theatre for our patrons. Starting with the 2022/23 season, all single tickets are available on a sliding scale six weeks before a show opens; you get to choose the price point that matches what you can give. Your support is not only a direct investment to local artists and groundbreaking work, but also funds ART’s commitment to pricing accessibility.
Artists Rep is offering our patrons the ART-ADVANCE ticket packages. Like a subscription, ART-ADVANCE allows you to pick your show dates for all of our on stage performances (with the exception of the co-production) and you will get priority seating. With the purchase of the ART-ADVANCE ticket package, you will receive the promo code to the co-production at the ART-ADVANCE ticket package price. ART-ADVANCE ticket packages are on sale now and can be arranged by visiting our website at artistsrep.org or calling the Artists Rep box office at 503.241.1278. Single tickets will go on sale six weeks before each show, starting at $10 for previews and $20 for the regular run. Artists Rep also participates in Arts for All, a program that entitles members $5 tickets at participating arts organizations.
The Full 2022/23 On Stage Season
The Hombres
by Tony Meneses
directed by TBD
September 9-October 10, 2022
Set in New Jersey, The Hombres offers a delicate, funny exploration of masculinity and intimacy of male friendships. Three Latino construction workers are drawn to the yoga studio, initially by voyeuristically watching women in classes from their job site next door. Gradually, their curiosity draws them in, one by one, to private, after-hours classes with the gay instructor whose sexual orientation challenges their machismo and sense of self. A laugh out loud, fresh, nuanced look at the complexity of male friendships through the lens of the machismo culture.
“The Hombres thoughtfully address the bonds that people create … This is a modern play that will both entertain and provoke important conversations.” — Broadway World, New Jersey
“[A] tale exploring the meaning of what it is to be a man. It is a play that must be seen, that deserves to be seen, that is a privilege to see.” — Out In Jersey Review
the ripple, the wave that carried me home
by Christina Anderson
directed by TBD
October 8-30, 2022
Co-production with Portland Center Stage @ The Armory
Like diving into a glorious pool of water, this play suspends you with its joyful humor and healing depth. When Janice is pressed to return to her hometown and speak at a ceremony honoring her father, she has to reconcile with the childhood she’s tried to distance herself from and forget — one defined by her parents’ political activism and fight for the integration of their local swimming pools. Drawing on history that spans from 1930s segregation to the Rodney King trial and beyond, this deeply moving story explores the joys and challenges of forgiveness, justice and the weight of one’s family legacy.
“Anderson is a gifted playwright you want to pay attention to. She has the voice of a poet.” —Variety
American Fast
by Kareem Fahmy
directed by TBD
January 3-29, 2023
An ART commission and launch of the Rolling World Premiere, American Fast centers on a top-ranked college basketball star leading her team into the Final Four. Khady Salama, a 21-year-old college basketball sensation, is set to compete in March Madness, which this year falls during Ramadan. Her religious mother expects her to fast — even on game days. As the tournament unfolds, Khady becomes a role model for young Muslim women everywhere, except she’s lying about fasting. Winning at all costs will force Khady to grapple with her faith and confront some uncomfortable truths about who she’s meant to be.
True Story
by E.M. Lewis
directed by TBD
May 6-June 4, 2023
A troubled writer, raw with grief from the death of his wife, is hired to ghostwrite the biography of a wealthy man accused of murdering his wife but acquitted on technical grounds. Drawing from the classic noir detective stories about the slipperiness of truth and blurring the lines of good and bad, True Story propulsively examines how facts, biases and perceptions are manipulated — and asks if discovering the truth is worth the ultimate price?
ART’S New Programs
Project pushcART is a mobile unit that travels high-quality performances to community spaces traditionally overlooked and underserved by theatrical organizations, such as local parks, community centers and cultural spaces. PushcART launches September 2022 with Pygmalion: A Tall Tale, an ART commission by Keelay Gipson.
About Artists Repertory Theatre
artists Repertory Theatre’s (Artists Rep or ART) mission is to produce intimate, provocative theatre and provide a home for a diverse community of artists and audiences to take creative risks. Artists Rep (est. 1982) is Portland’s oldest professional theatre company and has become a significant presence in the U.S. regional theatre with a legacy of world, national and regional premieres of provocative new work with the highest standards of stagecraft. In 2016, ART became the 72nd member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and is an Associate Member of the National New Play Network (NNPN). Plays developed by ART have subsequently been produced in New York, Chicago, London and throughout the country. Recognition for ART developed plays includes the Dramatists Guild Foundation Award, the Edgerton New Play Award, NEA Funding, the Mellon Foundation National Playwright Residency Program, American Theatre Magazine’s Most-Produced Plays and coverage in the New Yorker and the New York Times. In 2021, the Oregon Media Production Association (OMPA) honored Artists Rep with the Creative Innovation Award for the company’s pivot to digital mediums in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. ART recognizes that we are a predominately white organization and operate within systemic racism and oppression, and that silence and neutrality are actions of complicity. We commit ourselves to the work of becoming an anti-racism and anti-oppression organization, and will work with urgency to end racial inequities in our industry and our culture. To learn more about our organization and programs, please visit artistsrep.org/about.