(Photo courtesy of Stage Right Productions)
Stage Right Productions/2nd Street Theater presents another installment of their Rough Draught Play Reading Series, with a Workshop Performance of a new musical dramedy by Bend Playwright, David Forrest.
OCCUPY, directed by Scott Schultz is a musical about a group of diverse strangers that bond amid the occupation of Zuccotti Park during OCCUPY Wall Street.
“During Occupy Wall Street in 2011, it became clear the movement seemed to have no focused velocity, but the way it coalesced people was astounding. It also became the “tipping point” of the polarization we see in our society today,” says author, David Forrest, “That’s when I decided to make the occupation a natural container for this story.” He hopes this musical will provide a healing bridge to help bring people together.
The story is clever, the music is affectious and the cast is made up of talented singers from the area. Joshua Harrison, portrays one of the principle characters, Chip, a Wall Street executive who is high functioning on the autism spectrum. Joshua, a high functioning autistic himself, has appeared in many local productions including Rent, Evil Dead the Musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, Disaster and more. Joshua is excited to be part of the performance and feels this is one of the best portrayals of this type of character.
Unlike a full production, this workshop performance features actors on stage singing and reading from scripts, with a minimal amount of staging. Workshopping, a common practice, gives the playwright and producers an opportunity to have the show seen by an audience and gather useful feedback in order to polish the work with a full production in mind.
The tagline for OCCUPY reads: “If we live on in the hearts and minds of those we touch and what we create, where will you occupy when you’re gone?”
One performance only, Friday, September 21 at 7:30pm. Doors open at 7pm. Tickets are $10 and are available by calling the box office at 541-312-9626 or at our website www.2ndstreettheater.com.