In Dialogue Staged Readings include new and contemporary plays in conversation with Sarah Ruhl’s body of work, as well as readings of Ruhl plays not included in our Main Stage season.

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

Join us for Profile’s In Dialogue Book Club!  

Over the course of the season we will explore the worlds of our main stage productions by reading a variety of different works, then gathering together and engaging in lively discussion over wine and refreshments.  The book club will be meeting throughout the season at the beautiful NW home of two of our patrons.

2015 Books:
February: Super Sad True Love Story by Gary Shteyngart
May: 100 Essays I Don’t Have Time to Write: On Umbrellas and Sword Fights, Parades and Dogs, Fire Alarms, Children, and Theater by Sarah Ruhl
September: Gilead: A Novel by Marilynne Robinson
November: Orlando by Virginia Woolf

If you have any questions about our book club or other In Dialogue programming, please contact our Director of Education and Community Engagement, Lauren Bloom Hanover.

For additional information, please contact Natalie Genter-Gilmore, Marketing and Communications Manager at natalie@profiletheatre.org or call 503.242.0080.

Dead Man’s Cell Phone Media Release

Production photos can be downloaded here. Click on the image to obtain a larger file.

Dana Millican in Dead Man’s Cell Phone at Profile Theatre running through February 15, 2015. Photo by David Kinder.

Dana Millican and Dana Green in Dead Man’s Cell Phone at Profile Theatre. Running through February 15, 2015. Photo by David Kinder.

Dana Millican and Don Kenneth Mason in Dead Man’s Cell Phone playing through February 15, 2015 at Profile Theatre. Photo by David Kinder.

Jonathan Hernandez, Shawna Holt, Jake Turner, Dana Millican and Don Kenneth Mason in Dead Man’s Cell Phone playing through February 15, 2015 at Profile Theatre. Photo by David Kinder.

Don Kenneth Mason, Dana Millican and Patricia Hunter in Dead Man’s Cell Phone playing at Profile Theatre through February 15, 2015. Photo by David Kinder,

Go deeper into the play and the world of Sam Shepard with unique events before or after almost every performance!

All events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Saturday, November 8th: Opening Night Reception
After the performance, mingle with cast, crew and Profile staff to celebrate the opening of our production in the upstairs Morrison Lobby.

Sunday, November 9th: Mat Chat
Join the director of TRUE WEST, Artistic Director Adriana Baer, in a post-performance Mat Chat as she explores the themes of the play and the way in which they are realized in this production. Alder Stage

Thursday, November 13th: Dinner Dialogue
Join Artistic Director Adriana Baer and members of our Production Team for the final Dinner Dialogue of the season!  Guests will gather in the private dining room at Grüner for a three course meal. Enjoy an intimate conversation about the rehearsal process and performance of this production.
Buy Tickets Here.
Tickets are $55 and dinner service begins promptly at 5:30.

Friday, November 14th: Tamale Night is Back! 
Plus an Encore Screening of Sam Shepard: Stalking Himself
Enjoy an authentic taste of Mexico before the performance, right in our lobby! Locally owned La Bonita will be serving up plates of their delicious tamales for only $5-$7. Then join us for a screening of the PBS documentary Sam Shepard: Stalking Himself  before seeing the performance.  Alder Lobby, 6:45pm

Saturday, November 15th: Lecture- Masculinity and Violence: Cowboys in the Suburbs
Prior to the performance, join Professor David Sumner in a conversation about central themes of TRUE WEST.  Professor Sumner teaches American literature and environmental studies at Linfield College. He has published and presented in the area of environmental ethics, strategies for environmental advocacy, and the ethics and rhetoric of eco-terrorism. His work explores the legal, political and ethical implications of our use of the term “eco-terrorism” and its effect on our public perceptions and political activities.   Midlevel Lounge, 6:45pm

Sunday, November 16th: Mat Chat
Join cast members for a conversation about the production and their performances during a post-performance Mat Chat in the theatre.  Alder Stage

Wednesday, November 19th: Pairings Portland Wine Shop Present TRUE WEST Inspired Wine
We are thrilled to again be partnering with Pairings Portland Wine Shop, who will present 3 wines inspired by the two central characters of the play, and by the playwright himself.  A glass of wine will be $8 – have a small taste of each to make your selection! Alder Lobby, 6:45pm

Thursday, November 20th: Violence Onstage
Violence onstage is a craft and an art.  John Armour, professional fight choreographer will provide a glimpse into the technique, communication and grace required to make things look messy onstage.   Midlevel Lounge, 6:45pm

Friday, November 21st: Belinda Underwood
Enjoy yet another amazing local musician in our lobby!  Belinda Underwood got her early musical training in Classical violin and Jazz upright bass, then spent her adult years continuing musical studies around the world, picking up other instruments along the way. She artfully blends the musical elements of her training along with folk and world music influences to create a sound uniquely her own.   Alder Lobby, 6:45pm

Saturday, November 22nd: Lecture – Western Visions: Shepard’s Place in American Theatre
Join Karin Magaldi, Director of the School of Theatre and Film at Portland State University, for an End of the Season conversation about Shepard’s overall place in the American Theatre landscape. Midlevel Lounge, 6:30pm.

Sunday, November 23rd: Get to Know the Guild
Before the performance, mingle with members of The Guild, Profile’s premier volunteer group. Members will share the special perks and fun projects they work on with Profile.  Midlevel Lounge, 1:15pm

Two Prospectors: The Letters of Sam Shepard and Johnny Dark

Despite the publicity his work and life have attracted, Sam Shepard remains a strongly private man who has said many times that he will never write a memoir. However, he has written intensively about his inner life and creative work to his former father-in-law and housemate, Johnny Dark, who has been Shepard’s closest friend, surrogate brother (they’re nearly the same age), and even artistic muse for forty-five years and counting. Two Prospectors gathers nearly forty years of correspondence and transcribed conversations between Shepard and Dark. In these gripping, sometimes gut-wrenching letters, the men open themselves to each other with amazing honesty. Shepard’s letters give us the deepest look we may ever get into his personal philosophy and creative process, while in Dark’s letters we discover insights into Shepard’s character that only an intimate friend could provide.  Illustrated with Dark’s candid, revealing photographs of Shepard and their mutual family across many years, as well as facsimiles of numerous letters, Two Prospectors is a compelling portrait of a complex friendship that has anchored both lives for decades, a friendship also poignantly captured in Treva Wurmfeld’s film, Shepard & Dark.

We are pleased to announce our facilitator for the final Book Club of the year, Professor Stephen Weeks. Professor Weeks is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Lewis & Clark College where he teaches both American and British drama, as well as a full slate of performance courses in acting, directing, and playwriting.  He has also taught at Brown University and the School of Drama at the University of Washington, has been a dramaturg and literary manager in Los Angeles, and is on the Artistic Council at CoHo Theatre.  Professor Weeks received his Ph.D in Drama at Stanford University where he studied under Martin Esslin, the dramaturg at the Magic Theatre while Sam Shepard was the resident playwright.  Professor Weeks also spent some time working at the Magic Theatre in the time shortly after Sam Shepard’s departure.

True West
Directed by Adriana Baer
November 6-23, 2014

Step inside the kitchen of True West with Director Adriana Baer.

True West
November 6-23, 2014

Curse of the Starving Class
by Sam Shepard
Directed by Devon Allen
October 20, 2014 

Cast: Eva Andrews, John Armour, Lorraine Bahr, Talon Bigelow, Tim Blough*, Kristi Bogart, Hans Eleveld, Dennis Kelly, Garland Lyons and Sam Morrison
Stage Manager: Jenn Lindell

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

For media inquiries and press tickets, please contact Marketing and Communications Manager Natalie Genter-Gilmore at natalie@profiletheatre.org

True West Press Release

Production Photos:

Nick Ferrucci and Ben Newman in True West by Sam Shepard at Profile Theatre running November 6-23, 2014. Photo by David Kinder.

  Nick Ferrucci in True West by Sam Shepard at Profile Theatre running November 6-23, 2014. Photo by David Kinder.

Ben Newman in True West by Sam Shepard at Profile Theatre running November 6-23, 2014. Photo by David Kinder.

  Nick Ferrucci and Ben Newman in True West by Sam Shepard at Profile Theatre running November 6-23, 2014. Photo by David Kinder.

  Duffy Epstein in True West by Sam Shepard at Profile Theatre running November 6-23, 2014. Photo by David Kinder.

  Ben Newman and Diane Kondrat in True West by Sam Shepard at Profile Theatre running November 6-23, 2014. Photo by David Kinder.

Pre-Production Photos:

 Nick Ferrucci and Ben Newman in True West by Sam Shepard at Profile Theatre running November 6-23, 2014. Photo by David Kinder.

 Nick Ferrucci and Ben Newman in True West by Sam Shepard at Profile Theatre running November 6-23, 2014. Photo by David Kinder.

Dates of run: January 29 – February 15, 2015
Directed by: Adriana Baer
Featuring: Dana Millican, Don Kenneth Mason*, Patricia Hunter*, Dana Green*, Jonathan Hernandez, Shawna Holt and Jake Turner

“Compelling, intelligently wrought production” – The Oregonian

“Sparklingly oddball” – Oregon ArtsWatch

“Wes Anderson-style whimsy”  – Willamette Week

When Jean takes possession of the cell phone of a dead man, she is thrown into a mysterious journey of self-discovery and awakening. Through this small modern device, she finds adventure, purpose and even love – but at what cost? This hilarious and paradoxical treatise on the digital world probes at the thin line between reality and fantasy, privacy and openness, and even life and death.

Creative Team: Rachel Finn, Carl Faber, Sharath Patel, Kristen Mun , D Westerholm*, Rudy Schuepbach, Ruth Nardecchia, Will Bailey, Jillian Gibson

In Dialogue events for Dead Man’s Cell Phone.

Featured Charity: Portland Women’s Crisis Line. Learn more here.

See the Dead Man’s Cell Phone press kit here.

See the Dead Man’s Cell Phone program here.

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