UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Theater Program

UP Theater Presents: The Prom (Apr. 11-21)

Join your friends at UP Theater for the hit musical The Prom! This funny and heartwarming production follows Emma, an Indiana high schooler barred from bringing her girlfriend to the prom. Four Broadway actors pledge to help bring justice to Emma (and a little publicity to themselves). With her new Broadway friends, Emma is reluctantly made a courageous rallying force for LGBTQ youth, bringing together her classmates and the whole town to discover that love is what unites them all.

Celebrate in style! Dress to the nines and wear your prom best to the Prom. Patrons attending The Prom can take their own prom pics at our selfie station and use the hashtag #UPTheaterProm to be included in the daily contest to be crowned Prom Royalty for that performance! Winners will be announced via the PFA Instagram the next day!

Performances are April 11-13 and 17-20 at 7:30pm and April 14 and 21 at 2:00pm in the Mago Hunt Theater.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students.

We invite our queer community and allies to join us on Thursday, April 18, for Pride Night!

Faculty and staff are eligible for half-price tickets with the promo code HALF4FACSTAFF and students are eligible for free student rush tickets on Wednesday, April 17 starting at 7:00 at the Box Office window.

PURCHASE TICKETS

Go to up.edu/theater for more information. The Prom is presented through special arrangement, with all authorized performance materials supplied by Theatrical Rights Worldwide: 1180 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 640, New York, NY 10036. www.theatricalrights.com

Pre-Play Reception and Panel for The Prom (Apr. 13 & 20)

All show ticket holders for The Prom are invited to enjoy a complimentary small bites and wine reception as campus experts highlight what to look and listen for, courtesy of the Garaventa Center.

Saturdays, April 13 & 20, Mago Hunt Center.

Reception at 6:15 p.m., Pre-Play Panel at 6:45 p.m., Show at 7:30 p.m. 

Info: up.edu/garaventa or 503-943-7702. ADA compliant event.

“Peter and the Starcatcher” (Nov. 10-19)

You are cordially invited to UP Theater’s second production of the 2023-24 school year.

Based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Peter and the Starcatcher, by Rick Elice, takes the audience on a fanciful adventure into the backstory of Peter Pan. When a band of motley heroes join forces aboard the Neverland ship, the characters learn about love, friendship, and forging unbreakable bonds. With staging devised collectively by an ensemble of twenty-four UP students from across the University, this imaginative romp is a delight for audiences of all ages.

The Mago Hunt Theater will host matinee and evening performances throughout November.

Evening performances will be held November 10-11 and 15-18, at 7:30 p.m.

Matinee performances will be held November 11, 12, and 19, at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students.

Faculty and staff are eligible for half-price tickets with the promo code: HALF4FACSTAFF

Students are eligible for free student rush tickets on Wednesday, November 15, starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Box Office window.

Tickets may be purchased through our online box office at the link below.

Purchase Tickets

Go to up.edu/theater for more information.

UP Theater Presents: A Workshop Reading of “TBA” by Carla Ching (Oct. 4–7)

You are cordially invited to UP Theater’s first production of the 2023-24 school year, a workshop reading of TBA by Carla Ching. Carla is an exciting up-and-coming voice in the theater, who has also written for several TV shows like Graceland and Fear the Walking Dead. She describes herself as being drawn to writing “plays that interrogate why people do terrible things to people they love.” TBA follows a young man named Silas who hasn’t left his apartment since being dumped and spends his time writing visceral stories that no one reads. When a literary agent surprisingly offers Silas a book deal, he believes he’s close to becoming “the next big thing.” But when Silas’ adoptive brother Finn shows up at his apartment, Silas’ stories start to change. TBA asks probing questions about self-fashioning and identity in our modern world.

Performances are October 4-7 at 7:30 p.m. and October 8 at 2:00 p.m. in the Mago Hunt Theater. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students. Faculty and staff are eligible for half-price tickets with the promo code “HALF4FACSTAFF”. Students are eligible for free student rush tickets on Wednesday, October 4 starting at 7:00 p.m. at the Box Office window.

Tickets may be purchased online HERE. Go to up.edu/theater for more information.

Fall Production: Everybody (Nov. 17–20)

You are invited to UP Theater’s second production of the fall, Everybody. The play follows Everybody as they journey from life into death to confront life’s greatest mysteries: who are we? How do you create community? What makes a good life? Award-winning playwright Brandon Jacobs Jenkins brings us on the ride in this irreverent and surprising riff on the 15th century morality play, Everyman. Underscoring the shared hopes, fears, and randomness of the human experience, the cast for this production will be chosen by lottery during each performance. This is a play you will want to see more than once: no two performances will be the same! Join us for this comedic, thought provoking, and immersive theatrical experiment. 

Performances are November 17–19 at 7:30 p.m. and November 20 at 2 p.m. in the Mago Hunt Theater. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students. Faculty and staff are eligible for half-price tickets with the promo code HALF4FACSTAFF. Tickets may be purchased HERE.  

Go to up.edu/theater for more information.

How Can I Keep From Singing–Pre-Play Reception and Panel Discussion (Oct. 8)

All ticket holders for Saturday, October 8, New Works stage reading production of How Can I Keep From Singing, written by queer playwright Claire Willett, a Portland native, former Catholic youth minister, and active member of the parish of St. Andrew’s are invited to enjoy a complimentary food and drinks reception and pre-play panel discussion before the show, compliments of the Garaventa Center. Reception in the Mago Hunt Theater lobby at 6:15 p.m., Pre-Play Panel at 6:45 p.m., Play at 7:30 p.m. For theater tickets: college.up.edu/pfa/theater-program

You’re Invited—How Can I Keep From Singing (Oct. 5–8)

You are invited to UP Theater’s first production of the fall, a workshop reading of How Can I Keep From Singing. This play is UP Theater’s first ever new play commission. This original play was written specifically for the UP community by local playwright Claire Willett, who is an active Catholic and a proud member of the queer community.

The play centers on a young man named Aidan who is Catholic and bisexual. The action of the play begins when he is publicly outed in the local newspaper, which alters his relationship with the members of his home parish and his eldest brother. Aidan, bolstered by the members of his campus LGBTQ+ group, struggles to discover his voice as he bridges the worlds of his faith, his family, and who he truly is—and it turns out music is the key.

Performances are October 5–8 at 7:30 p.m. and October 9 at 2:00 p.m. in the Mago Hunt Theater. Tickets are $12 for adults and $8 for students. Faculty and staff are eligible for half-price tickets with the promo code HALF4FACSTAFF, and students can get into the October 5 performance for free with the promo code YAYOPENING. Tickets may be purchased HERE.

Go to up.edu/theater for more information. And check out our interview with playwright Claire Willett at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbeAGCbkFQU.

This production is sponsored through generous support from Kunal Nayyar.

2015-2016 Faculty/Staff Theater Passes Available Now

comedydramaThe faculty and students of the theater program in performing and fine arts would like to invite all faculty and staff to be their guests in the 2015-2016 academic year. All University ID cards can now serve as season passes for two to all four of main stage UP theater productions.

This year’s fall term season begins on October 7 to 11 with Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House, directed by Andrew Golla. While in search of the funniest joke in the world, Matilde the housekeeper (who hates to clean) hatches a deal with her employer’s sister (who loves to clean) for an arrangement too good to last in this poignant comedy that considers what’s really important in life.

The second show of the semester is Sarah Treem’s Mirror Mirror, from Nov. 18 to 22. In this dark comedy based on the Snow White tale, ten teens love, lose, and betray each other during one autumnal weekend in a kingdom far, far away.

Spring offerings include a rare treat of American Expressionism, The Adding Machine, a comic yet searing look at technology and its effects on human relationships, by Elmer Rice, running February 24 to 28. The main stage season closes with Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, April 8 to 10 and 13 to 15, directed by Andrew Golla.

All evening performances are at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Because of the success of theater program productions, advanced reservations are recommended through the Hunt Center box office at 7287, or in person at the lobby ticket window, which will be open one week before every production. Simply present a UP ID card, and receive your tickets at no charge.

For more information contact Kelly Brown, performing and fine arts, at 7228 or pfa@up.edu.