february 1.2002*
I
A s if his partners don’t provide enough, Dan conjures his own torturous mind games
excited about sharing his work with Portland.
is to create a dialogue within the com m uni
“This is a piece of theater that clearly is not
ty, and he hopes to attract both queer and
going to he accepted by all people. And even
straight audience memhers. “ I want the audi
though that’s the type of art 1 want to do, on
ence to leave at the end o f the show with
the
flip side, I’m still a human being, and we
their hair standing up and leaving the the
all want our work to be liked. ” j n
ater talking about this.”
Zrehski says producing this “work in
AFTER THE Z ipper runs 8 p.m. Thursday to
progress” with the input o f a director and
Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday through March 2 at
three actors has been fulfilling. “Working
Stark Raving Theatre, 2257 N.W. Raleigh St.
closely with another passionate director is
Tickets are $10-$20 from 503-232-7072 or
challenging, thought-provoking and wonder
ful all at the same time, which is exactly
wuw.starkravingtheatre. org.
what good art is. You come together, you
debate, you
butt heads and
you
m eld... and
that’s exactly
what this
process has
been. It has
udience memhers will have an opportunity to voice reactions to
yielded a much
Stark Raving Theatre’s production of After the Zipper during two Just
stronger text.”
Out nights Feb. 9 and 16.
He under
“What excites us the most about this,” exclaims playwright Matthew
stands Zipper is
Zrebski, “is the opportunity to spark lively discussion and debate over the
a big risk hut is
material, opening up a dialogue with the queer community.”
Included will be a show
ing of After the Zipper as
well as an interactive dis
cussion with the writer,
director and actors followed
by a wine-and-cheese
reception and Dorothy
Hirsch’s comedic one-
woman show Where’s Toto?
Tickets are $20 for the
entire evening.
Zrebski adds, “We feel
both these shows comple
ment each other beautifully
to provide a well-rounded
evening of theater.” *
A fter After the Zipper
Stark Raving Theatre invites you to talk back
A
>
I
Writer Matthew Zrehski (left) and director Robert
Tollefson call their play “ unapologetically adult"
conversation with Dorothy
Hirsch is like talking to a
cartoon.
An endless source of
one-liners, accents and characters, she
always has a story to tell. Ask her how
she got her start in performance art, and
she’ll tell you: “I was bom in the Wilcox
Memorial Wing of Good Samaritan Hos
pital. It was March 19, and it was a rainy
midday. Shortly thereafter, I was chosen
as the demonstrator baby for teaching
new mothers how to wash their infants.
And I believe that’s how I got my start.”
A bom performer, the Portland
native’s one-woman show Where’s Toto?
is a combination of her vast writing and
improvisational talent. It is running con
currently with Stark Raving Theatre’s
production of After the Zipper because
they Kith have gay themes.
“There is lesbian content,” Hirsch
notes, “because I am a lesbian, and it
speaks to my life experience.” However,
the similarities between the two shows
end there.
Toto is a 75-minute adventure of com
edy with numerous characters created by
Hirsch based on her own life experiences.
“Most of the stories are true,” she says,
“but I’ve certainly taken poetic license.”
The audience will meet a chansmatic
feminist faith healer, a spirit medium and
a referee, among others. The act is light
hearted and funny, with moments of ad-
libbing and opportunities for audience
interaction. Thematically, the show will
stand in stark contrast to Zipper, bringing
audiences who see Kith performances
full circle by the end of the night.
Although Toto contains moments
of improvisation, Hirsch will perform
from a script. “While I have a great
deal of fun going off on tangents for
two hours at a time, that can turn out
to be absolute brilliance— or incredibly
Kiring," she says.
The title of Hirsch’s show might
seem somewhat mysterious, but the
explanation is simple. As a member of
The Wizard of Oz generatkin and with
a name like Dorothy, she constantly
was approached as a child by people
joking, “Hey Dorothy, where’s Toto?”
This experience became tedious
quickly, and she turned it into a sub
ject for comedy. Now, Toto the Dog is
a character in her performance piece.
27
■■ey
Dorothy,
where’s
Toto?
Onstage and off,
this comical dyke has
multiple personalities
by Sarah Leimert
ike many successful folks in the
business of acting, Hirsch’s
i career began with a college
major that had nothing to do with the
Dorothy Hirsch has a bone to pick with Oz’s Dorothy—
ater: Russian. After graduating from Uni
and her little dog, too
versity of Denver, she moved to Wash
Feudal Express Messenger at the Maryland
ington, D.C., and worked in the Library of Con
Renaissance Festival," the actress shares. She
gress stacks, which, she says, was “quite a hoot.”
spent 10 years in various capacities at the festi
As a woman whose goal in life is to avoid
val. “It really gave me a good, all-around the
regrets, Hirsch decided to take some theater
ater
education,” she says. When she isn’t per
classes in D.C. Since then, she has done a great
forming, Hirsch is a highly ranked women’s
deal of stage, comedy and improvisational work
lacrosse referee and a librarian.
on Kith coasts.
She is excited to be back onstage in Port
Hirsch, who lives back in Portland now, says
land and to be working with Stark Raving
the most important thing she learned during
Theatre. “I very much enjoy performing,” she
her time in the nation’s capital was the differ
exclaims, “and so I tend to think audiences
ence between acting and standup comedy. “I
enjoy coming to my shows. They have, in the
think that’s what created this hybrid of what
past, laughed! Support the arts, come to live
my performing tends to be— a combination of
theater. It’s different than the movies.”
monologues and character pieces,” she explains.
Her résume Kiasts a nearly equal amount of
stage and comedy work, along with some direct WHERE’S T o to ? runs 10:30 p.m. Friday and
Saturday through March 2 at Stark Raimg Theatre,
ing, producing and much script writing.
|
2257 N.W. Raleigh St. Tuckets are $12 from
“One of the longest-running and most use
503-232-7072 or wuw.starkravtngtheatre.org.
ful gigs I did was as Lucretia G. Swiftly, the
I
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