3
Street roots
Jan. 18, 2013
Playwright takes the stories
of the streets to the stage
BY ALEX ZIELINSKI
S T A F F W R IT E R
ruce Hostetler wants to tell stories
that aren’t being told.
B
After moving to Portland a few
years ago and volunteering at JOIN - a
local nonprofit helping homeless individuals
transition into housing — Hostetler became
aware of an untapped pocket of society with
an abundance of stories to tell: Portland’s
homeless population.
“So many people forget that homeless
people are human beings with their own
stories and experiences,” Hostetler said.
“That’s what drove me to create the play.”
From talking to a variety of clients at
JOIN, Bud Clark Commons, Sisters of the
Road and other homeless organizations,
Hostetler directed a play through his local
production company, Compass Works,
based on his interviews with Portland’s
homeless. Called “Feral,” the play aims to
illustrate the individuals masked behind the
homeless stereotype.
“I want to make sure the play is not
about being homeless, but about being a
person with a story,” Hostetler, who
recently inherited Compass Works, said.
Members of the community — both
homeless and housed — are invited to
provide feedback on the work following the
performances. Hostetler says he also plans
on making the script available to advocacy
groups and unicipalities throughout the
United States andCanada.
Part of Hostetler’s drive to create this
interview-based play comes from its stark
contrast to anything he’s written before.
P rio r to m oving to P o rtlan d , H o s te tle r
spent 25 years on staff at Ashland’s Oregon
Shakespeare Festival.
“I was tired of writing plays about dead
white guys for rich people,” Hostetler said.
“This is definitely something new.
Something that speaks to a different
community.”
The play itself is structured around a
main character living on the streets for the
first time. Taken in by a seemingly scary
homeless group, the man eventually learns
how to cope with his new life and realizes
the humanity behind the homeless façade.
“In the beginning, the audience sees the
characters as feral and wild animals. But by
the end, they become people,” Hostetler
said. “The main character’s mindset
changes along with the audience’s.”
Hostetler made sure
that the characters he
created bore little
resemblance to the
actual people he
interviewed, to protect
their privacy.
Additionally, each
character is made up
of a combination of
different people
Hostetler met along
the way, a technique to
combine the plethora
of stories he gathered.
When it came to
speaking with the
homeless population,
Bruce
Hostetler said he
rarely found a person
not willing to share.
“Most of the folks I interviewed were
generally open to talk. It’s not that often
that they are asked about their history and
their personal life, if they are noticed at
all,” Hostetler said. “Our stories are what
humanize us.”
“Feral” will be performed at the Bob
White Theater Warehouse, 6 4 2 3 SE Foster
R oad in P o rtlan d . Show tim e s are 7:30 p.m .
Jan. 24, 25, 26, 31 and Feb. 1-2, and 3 p.m.
Jan. 27 and Feb. 3.
Tickets are $15 and $12 for students and
seniors.
The play is directed by Asae Dean and
presented in partnership with the Portland
Area Theatre Alliance’s Fertile Ground
festival of new works. The production was
made possible by grants from the Regional
Arts and Culture Council, the Kinsman
Foundation and Portland-area donors.
Rally begins 10am
at the VOZ Worker
Center (MLK & NE
Everett).
We’ll march to Right
2 Dream Too to learn
about the work being
done there.
From there, we
march together
across the river.
Then it’s on to Sisters
for hot soup and snacks,
music and more!
SISTERS
more details and to rsvp, visit the
OF THE
■book event at http://on.fb.m e/w 9o8v09. RQftp
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X
A Pigeon’s View
By Michael Vance
Soggy paper
Shattered glass
Dirty shirt to wipe that ass
Flocks of seagulls
Pigeons, too.
Poop on the sidewalk
Next to the loo.
Smelly bedding
Ripped up books
Used syringes,
Take a look!
A lake of vomit,
A sea of tears.
Screaming sirens,
Empty beers,
Septic wasteland.
No one cares
Make a change
No one dares.
This my classroom,
Downtown streets.
Hostetler
waul to
mafee sure
tbe play Is
not about
being
bontelesSf
bat about
being a
persea w itli
a story/*
Learned the hard way
My own defeat.
Alive again
A different view
Wouldn’t change a thing,
How about you?
Haikus
By David Mair
destiny is a
whore knocking at your door for
the money you owe
That’s her kitty in
the rain, her purr like her tears
crying for answers