| Home | Festival Guidelines | Productions | Press | CDs | Tickets | Contact | About |
Narrative art is hot and word of mouth has made Portland Story Theater one of the hottest tickets in town. Riding on the wave of sold-out success and standing ovations, PST is excited to announce its upcoming 2010-11 season.
Our solo festival, Singlehandedly, generated a lot of enthusiasm for the spoken word art form. Audiences have demanded more so PST is launching its 2010-11 season with an autobiographical journey that combines Penny Walter's solo shows, With My Own Two Hands and Out of The Box. It's a double feature running September 24th and 25th for one weekend only at PST's home, the intimate and inviting Hipbone Studio.
Walter creates musicals that are an ingenious combination of true stories and puppetry. Audiences rave about these shows, saying that they "bring up a lot of feelings and tap into some very real issues." Walter knows how to keep the audience laughing while exploring those life experiences everyone has: making a living while finding your way and following your dreams, all while dealing with crazy clients, wild work demands, and a family only a daughter could love.
From Edinburgh's Literary Pub Tour to Portland's own Wordstock, October is the time to honor traditional literary arts. So Portland Story Theater has made October Literary Month. In a bit of a departure from PST's trademark brand of true, personal stories, Lawrence Howard, co-founder of PST, and Jonah Weston of Action Talks Productions, join forces for a literary co-production.
Weston performs his rendition of Shel Silverstein's epic adult poem The Devil and Billy Markham. Hailed as a triumph by The Oregonian, Weston "deserves credit for understanding the kind of art that people still need -- stories of life and love, and heaven and hell -- presented in a way that is funny and whimsical and that people can relate to." Weston looks listeners right in the eye while he makes those conversations with the devil genuine, gritty, real.
Celebrated as "the Homer of Portland," The Oregonian says Howard holds audiences "entranced from start to finish." Expect nothing less with his delivery of The Devil and Daniel Webster. This award-winning short story by Stephen Vincent Benét is a retelling of the classic Faust tale. This version revolves around a trial "fought nip and tuck and no holds barred against the Devil himself." It's a powerful story of good overcoming evil brought to life by Howard's compelling performance.
What will we call this diabolical double-feature? Devilishly Good of course. Come beat the Devil with PST! Opening October 15th.
Then on October 30th, the night before Halloween, Portland Story Theater creates an evening of scary stories at the beautiful and historic John Palmer House. Built in 1890 and reputed to be haunted, the John Palmer House is the perfect setting for these Terrifying Tales. Only fifty tickets will be issued for this very special, one-night-only event; small groups of listeners will move through the different rooms of the house until they have heard all the stories. An extraordinary inside glimpse at this private, historical home.
The Armchair Adventurer Series has become a hallmark of Portland Story Theater's work. Audiences flock to these shows because Howard's performances are top-notch, "a feat of storytelling… riveting." Following on the heels of Shackleton's Antarctic Nightmare and Mawson's Mettle, PST's Lawrence Howard premieres another epic tale of heroism and hardship in the frozen south. Polar Opposites: Amundsen, Scott, and The Race for The Pole tells of the heroic and tragic events in Antarctica one hundred years ago. This is a tale of agony and ecstasy, of accomplishment and failure, of glorious defeat outshining victory. Opening January 21st at Hipbone Studio.
Portland Story Theater's Valentine's show is always the best date in town, with wine, chocolate, and stories of real love and romance woven together in a funny, sexy and intimate evening of story theater. PST founders Lynne Duddy and Lawrence Howard share the stage with dynamic guest artists for a fast-paced and delightful encounter with all the facets of love including the dreamy, the mystical, and the scandalous! Valentine's weekend, opening February 11th.
For the past two years the intimate Hipbone Studio has been packed with audiences enthralled by the artists of Singlehandedly, Portland Story Theater's annual solo performance festival. Art Scatter describes Singlehandedly as "theater, comedy, confessional, short story, maybe even a little improv when the juices are flowing." This year PST is going to think global and act local, collaborating with some of the Pacific Northwest's finest narrative artists to continue bringing PST audiences the high quality performances they have grown to expect. It's adult stories for adult audiences. Each artist singlehandedly holds the stage and creates a story drawn from personal experience - from a desire to make sense of the world and the human need to figure out our place in it. Opening April 22nd.
For further information or to schedule an interview with Lynne Duddy, please call Portland Story Theater at 503 284 2226.
Friday September 24th and Saturday September 25th
Penny Walter in With My Own Two Hands and Out of The Box
Fridays and Saturdays, October 15th, 16th, 23rd, 24th Devilishly Good
Each night is a double-feature with
Jonah Weston in The Devil and Billy Markham and
Lawrence Howard in The Devil and Daniel Webster
Saturday, October 30th, Portland Story Theater Terrifying Tales
Special Event at The John Palmer House, Tickets $50
Fridays and Saturdays, January 21st, 22nd, 28th, 29th
Lawrence Howard in Polar Opposites: Amundsen, Scott, and the Race for the Pole
Valentine's Weekend, February 11th, 12th, 13th
Lynne Duddy, Lawrence Howard, and Special Guests
Fridays and Saturdays, April 22nd, 23rd, 29th, 30th, May 6th, 7th and Friday May 13th
Singlehandedly Solo Performance Festival
$15 General Admission All shows 8 PM at Hipbone, 1847 East Burnside (except otherwise noted).
Portland Story Theater was launched in 2004 to bring the urban community together for a unique performance experience, telling tales that stimulate the mind and rouse the heart. We are a grass-roots operation, building awareness and appreciation for narrative. In late 2009, we established ourselves as a not-for-profit business. PST uses a unique collaborative approach to produce shows of people performing stories drawn from real-life experiences. We also offer workshops and one-on-one coaching for people who want to learn how to tell stories. Portland Story Theater has been recognized by The Oregonian for our groundbreaking work that "keeps audiences entranced from start to finish."