Join us to celebrate and support Profile’s Education Programs. Enjoy light refreshments, meet some of our students, and help us to continue to provide FREE theatre education to schools and programs throughout the Portland Metro area!

Date: Saturday, May 21st
Time: 4-6pm
Location: 1401 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211

BUY TICKETS HERE

Unable to attend, but still wish to show your support?
MAKE A DONATION HERE

All donations made during this event will directly support Profile’s Inside Out Education programs.

I accepted the role of Catherine Givings in Profile Theatre’s production of vibrator play when I was about 5 months pregnant with my first child, knowing that we would go into rehearsals when the baby would be about six months old.  Catherine was a character unlike most I had ever played and I couldn’t make sense of  her impulsiveness, or her knack for putting her foot squarely in her mouth.  My A-type personality didn’t understand her- and honestly, kind of judged her.  When I thought about the production in the final months of my pregnancy, my primary concern was getting myself back into “corset shape” (whatever that is) and planning on learning all of my lines during my down time while on maternity leave. (Ha. Down time on maternity leave….Ha ha ha ha.)  I figured that would allow me to sort out the character in rehearsal.

The last time I read the play before I actually became a parent was about three weeks before I gave birth.  Woah, wait a minute!  I looked at the play in a whole new light. Yes, the play has vibrators.  And the treatment for hysteria is administered on stage.  But – there was a HUGE piece of the play that I had not been considering!

Catherine and Doctor Givings have a baby.  A new baby.  And the baby is not thriving – Catherine’s breast milk is insufficient.  The baby is wasting away and something must be done.  Catherine is fragile.  She is desperate.  She feels inadequate.

When I gave birth, and in the subsequent foggy weeks of early parenthood, when I got overwhelmed, I found myself thinking “Well, this is good research for vibrator play.”  It is a well worn cliche, but for good reason:  Being a parent is hard!  Especially in the beginning.  Especially if, as with Catherine, something is not right.  The cocktail of sleep deprivation, hormones, joy and terror makes new moms (and dads) raw, and vulnerable to doubt and despair.  I felt all of this (sometimes in repeating five minute cycles – fun!)  And in some of those moments of doubt, I found myself thinking about Catherine.  Her frustration and fear and guilt.

And that was it! I realized that I did have something profound and very, very present in common with this character.

Catherine is lost, she is curious, she is in chaos, she is impetuous and she is open.  Generally speaking, these are not nouns that have been used when talking about me.  I have always been very focused and always ALWAYS have tried to appear to have everything together.  But then….BOOM….Motherhood!  Being a mom has been upending all of those habits of mine every single day.  Suddenly, saying something without thinking (or forgetting your keys in the fridge) doesn’t seem so outside of the realm of possibility.

It is not surprising to me that the playwright had a young child as she was writing the play, and I love knowing that she was just about to have twins as the play opened on Broadway. Motherhood is all over this play.  It is as central a theme as is self discovery, sexuality, marriage or family.  And that is wonderful.  And daunting.  And beautiful.

And very familiar.

The Revolutionists
by Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Michelle Seaton
May 4 & 5, 2015
Get Tickets Here

Cast: Foss Curtis, Elizabeth Rothan*, Mariel Sierra, Cari Spinnler, Andrea White
Stage Manager: Jake Turner

*Member Actors’ Equity Association, the professional union of actors and stage managers.

Throughout the run of In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, Profile Theatre is thrilled to partner with Dress for Success. Dress for Success helps women get jobs, keep jobs and transition out of poverty. They promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. We are so excited to work with this fantastic non-profit that is really making a difference in women’s lives.

Profile will be helping Dress for Success by holding a professional clothing drive. When you come to the theatre for In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, please bring a donation of professional women’s attire. We’ll have a donation station in the theatre lobby.

ACCEPTED DONATIONS:

– Skirts
– Dresses
– Pants/Slacks
– Blouses/Professional Tops
– Blazers/Jackets/Winter Coats
– Professional Shoes
– Handbags
– Jewelry
– Accessories: Belts, Scarves, Umbrellas, Gloves
– Bras & Hosiery (new & packaged)
– Cosmetics (new & packaged)

Dress for Success accepts clothing, shoes and accessories that would be appropriate to wear in an office setting. Please donate items that are clean, in-style, and in excellent condition.

In the Next Room, or the vibrator play examines the Victorian era’s foreplay: the first stirrings of women’s rights.

A popular early 20th century periodical, Heart’s International, advertised the latest home electrical appliance with the following slogan: “A Gift That Will Keep Her Young and Pretty: Star Home Electric Massage.” Thomas Edison’s channeling of the electrical current made way for the invention of small machines, such as the 1870s electric massager. This new-fangled device, considered as innovative as the vacuum cleaner, made young men’s sweethearts youthful and vibrant once again. By simply flipping an on-off switch and applying the gyrating head to the point of distress, physicians miraculously transformed their female patients into their finer selves. During the mid-nineteenth century, the very curious and popular male-driven invention called the vibrator treated common afflictions from headaches, to backaches, to hysteria – the malady associated with the weaker sex.

Around 300 BC, Hippocrates defined hysteria (from the Greek word “hystera” meaning “uterus”), as suffocation or madness of the womb. During medieval times, the renaissance period, and throughout the mid-twentieth-century, symptoms including anxiety, sleeplessness, nervousness, sensations of heaviness in the abdomen and lower pelvic region, and vaginal lubrication led physicians to the diagnosis of hysteria. Although “the disease” concerned the female sex organs, the associations with pleasure, eroticism, and physical love (or lack thereof), remained naively absent from the conversation. As Rachel Maines notes in The Technology of the Orgasm, men drew no association between women’s possible sexual dissatisfaction in their lives and hysteria. Paradoxically, a 1910 study by Havelock Ellis found that half of all American women were not sexually excitable, primarily because Ellis reasoned they lacked the sexual drive of men. Yet again, society blamed women for their apparent frustration and “melancholy.” Furthermore, men blamed women for their lack of enthusiasm because, as 1848 French writer Auguste Debay surmised, “Men like to have their happiness shared.”

Second-century Greek philosopher Galen believed that the movement of the womb throughout the body caused hysteria, and that coaxing the uterus back into the normal pelvic position would inspire the expulsion of fluids and the vexing hysteria would subside. During the Elizabethan age, doctors believed vigorous horseback riding cured the illness. In the Victorian era, although it took time and precision, manual manipulation by physicians and midwifes induced a “paroxysm” (i.e., an orgasm), in an effort to alleviate the affliction. Along with the dawn of the electric age, came the electromechanical vibrator to sooth the female syndrome that Freud characterized as “frigidity.” As with all high functioning industrial machines, it increased efficiency and required little skill to operate. And while the device primarily served the physical (and sensual), needs of women, discovery of the syndrome, the invention of the instrument, and even the marketing for it was created by and geared towards men and lacked any sexual connotation. Sears, Roebuck and Company’s 1918 Electrical Goods catalog encouraged husbands to purchase the appliance to restore their wives’ bright eyes and pink cheeks.

Vibrators’ appearance in 1920s pornographic films broke their wholesome, asexual image and solidified the connection between clinical orgasms and sex. With this taboo identification, the general public no longer associated vibrators with healthcare but rather with amoral sexual pleasure. Not until the 1970s, with the embracement of free love and the continuance of the women’s movement, did vibrators reemerge in the popular American zeitgeist. For instance, in 1977, sex therapist Dr. Joani Blank opened San Francisco’s Good Vibrations, a shop that actively serves female constituents and houses the largest collection of vibrators in the country. With women as designers, marketers and consumers, vibrators became part of the contemporary urban landscape as tokens of pleasure, health, and free sexual expression. In concurrence with this movement, Dr. Annie Sprinkle (former porn star, current performance artist and professor), writes, “Our sexuality is not only something that can be used for the enhancement of an intimate relationship, for physical pleasure, or procreation; it can also be used for personal transformation, physical and emotional healing, self-realization, spiritual growth, and as a way to learn about life and death.” With In the Next Room or the vibrator play, Sarah Ruhl examines the Victorian era’s foreplay: the first stirrings of women’s rights.

– Kristin Leahey, PhD
Literary Director, Seattle Repertory Theatre

Three Sisters
by Anton Chekhov
Adapted by Sarah Ruhl
In collaboration with Reed College
Directed by Linda Alper
March 2 & 3, 2015

Featuring: Don Alder*, Ayanna Berkshire*, Gilberto Martin del Campo, Sam Dinkowitz, Mike Dunay, Michael Fisher-Welsh*, Ella Gehrenbeck^, Dana Green*, Lily Harris^, Shawna Holt, Sean Key-Ketter^, Vana O’Brien*, Pat Patton, Jake Turner and Joshua Weinstein*
Stage Manager: Jenn Lindell

*Member Actors’ Equity Association, the professional union of actors and stage managers.
^ Reed College Student

Saturday, January 31st:
Opening Night Reception | Post-Show

Sunday, February 1st:
Mat Chat with Dead Man’s Cell Phone director Adriana Baer | Post-show

Thursday, February 5th:
Dinner Dialogue (additional tickets required) | 5:15pm
Join Artistic Director Adriana Baer and a member of our production team for an intimate dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants, Gracies. Enjoy a three course meal while engaging in great conversation about the process of bringing Ms. Ruhl’s words to life.

Friday, February 6th:
Poetry Reading by Brittney Corrigan | 6:45pm

Saturday, February 7th:
Live Music in the Lobby | Pre-Show

Sunday, February 8th:
Mat Chat with Dead Man’s Cell Phone cast | Post-Show

Wednesday, February 11th:
45th Parallel Chamber Music performs their chamber music inspired by Dead Man’s Cell Phone | 6:45 PM

Thursday, February 12th:
Lecture with Hannah Fattor
Love The Dead: The Rituals of Grief and Mourning in Dead Man’s Cell Phone | 6:45 PM

Friday, February 13th:
Students from Metropolitan Learning Center present work from their Hands On Theatre residency | 6:45 PM

Saturday, February 14th:
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with live music and cocktails | 6:45 PM

Dead Man’s Cell Phone
By Sarah Ruhl
Directed by Adriana Baer
January 29 – February 15, 2015

Profile wants your old cell phone!! Throughout the run of Dead Man’s Cell Phone, we are partnering with Portland Women’s Crisis Line in a used cell phone drive. PWCL gives out over 1,000 911 cell phones to survivors of domestic and sexual violence to ensure that they have access to law enforcement and emergency services when they don’t have a phone of their own.  Your old phone could help bring a domestic violence survivor to safety!!! Learn more about the program on PWCL’s website here.

When you come to see Dead Man’s Cell Phone bring in your old phone (preferably with charger and battery) and drop it in our donation box. It’s that easy!