lu n e 5, 2013
®*!* P o r t hi nò (Bbseroer
Page 13
Arts
X lM
III
ISIIUAIXHIM
When a Soldier Comes Home
Playwright
tackles
friendships, guilt
and staying alive
H ow long does the battle co n ­
tinue after a soldier returns hom e?
A rtists R epertory T heatre presents
O re g o n
p la y w r ig h t A n d r e a
S to lo w itz’s challenging new play,
Ithaka, now show ing through June
3 0 o n the M orrison Stage, 1515S.W .
M orrison.
W ith this new ly com m issioned
play, S tolow itz exam ines the issues
involved w ith com ing hom e from
w ar, for both soldiers and their fam i­
lies.
M arine C aptain E laine Edw ards
has ju s t returned from h er latest tour
in A fghanistan but this tim e things
are different - hom e d o e sn ’t feel
right and nothing m akes sense. A fter
a blow -up fight w ith h er husband
propels h er to skip tow n, she un d er­
takes an O dyssean jo u rn e y through
the A m erican landscape battling her
dem ons, trying to find her w ay hom e.
Ithaka is “about the intensity o f
hum an connections in a w ar zone
and at h o m e ,” says Stolow itz. H er
Marriage Equality
‘Proposition 8’
chronicles
historic trial
T he group Basic Rights Oregon
will present a staged reading o f
"Proposition 8," a play chronicling
th e h is to ric tria l c h a lle n g in g
C alifornia’s Proposition 8, on four
nights, Thursday, June 6 through
Sunday June 9 at A rtists Repertory
Theater, 1515 S.W . M orrison St.
W ritten by A cadem y A w ard­
w in n in g s c r e e n w rite r D u s tin
L ance B lack, "8" is an unprec­
ed en ted account o f the trial to
Oregon playwright Andrea Stolowitz examines the issues involved
with coming home from war, for both soldiers and their families,
in the Artists Repertory Theater play ‘Ithaka, ’ now showing on the
Morrison Stage, 15 15 S.W. Morrison.
w ork draw s from interview s w ith
m ore than 20 veterans and their fam i­
lies.
“It to o k H o m er’s O dysseus 10
years o f w andering to m ake it to his
b elo v ed hom e, Ithaka, after the T ro­
ja n W ar,” says G em m a W helan, the
p la y ’s director. “L anie, a M arine
C aptain in A ndrea Stolow itz’s Ithaka
has returned hom e from A fg h an i­
stan, bu t h a sn ’t been able to leave
the w ar behind; she still carries the
conflict inside o f her. T his play is set
on a large canvas ag ain st a b ack ­
drop o f w ar, the desert, and even a
hy p er-coaster, but it is ultim ately a
overturn a v o ter’s initiative w hich
stripped gay and lesbian C alifo r­
nians o f the freedom to m arry.
“ A s a lifelong O regonian, m ar­
ried to another w om an, m arriage
equality is personal for m e," says
producer and B asic R ights Oregon
very personal jo u rn e y o f how to
begin to m ake peace w ith the p ast.”
F o r tickets, call the box office at
503-241 -1278 or visit artistsrep.org.
D ay Camps & Swim Lessons
In your
neighborhood!
Matt Dishman Community
Center & Indoor Swim Poo
77 NE Knott St
503-823-3673
-
Peninsula Park Community
Center & Outdoor Swim Po
700 N Rosa Parks Way
503-823-3620 - center
503-823-3677 - pool
Star Trek Inspired Improv
Portland’s improvisational theater company the Unscriptables
kicks-off its new season with 2 8 hours o f Star Trek-inspired
improv and then a full run o f USS Improvise The Next Generation:
The Musical. The Trek-a-Thon performances will take place every
two hours starting Friday, June 7 at 8 p.m. and ending Saturday,
June 8 at 1 0 p.m. at the Funhouse Lounge, 2 4 3 2 S.E. 11th St.
The shows are “pay what you want. ” USS Improvise The Next
Generation: The Musical opens June 15. Other shows planned for
the upcoming season are Murder Mystery Machine (Scooby Doo
meets Saw), Big Brother League, (improvised episodes o f Big
Brother, but with Superheroes), and Absolutely Fab.
board m em ber C M Hall. " If safiree-
dom every O regonian deserves—
to be recognized equally fo r w ho we
fall in love w ith.”
Hall said the play is even tim elier
know ing that the Suprem e C ourt is
expected to rule on Prop 8 this month,
and that O regon will face a ballot
m easure in 2014 to repeal O regon ’ s
constitutional am endm ent against
gay marriage.
Black, w ho penned the A cadem y
Award-winning feature film Milk and
the film J. Edgar, based "8" on the
actual w ords o f the trial transcripts,
first-hand observations o f the court­
room dram a and interview s w ith the
plaintiffs and their families.
A ll perfo rm an ces w ill be fo l­
low ed by a talkback w here cast and
au d ien ce m em bers can discuss the
issues presented. T ick ets are $10
an d can be p u rchased b y visiting
B a s ic R ig h ts O r e g o n .o r g
and
search events.
Register Now!
www.PortlandParks.org
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