Dive into theater
Peer through a portal into the world of the arts during the Porthole Portals Arts Fest, with shows and workshops running through Nov. 27 at the Newport Performing Arts Center.
Shows
Eric and Aden Nepom and the troupe of professional actors that make up Infinite Improv! will be performing three plays with everything from singing puppets to Shakespeare and movie monsters and even a 1950s musical sitcom with improvised lyrics. The stories change every time based on audience suggestions.
“Avenue PDX: The Musical” • Friday & Saturday, Nov. 11 & 12
The hilarious and heartfelt story of Jack, an optimistic college grad who’s going to change the world. But first, he’s got to find an apartment in Portland. He can only afford to live on Avenue PDX, but that’s okay. His neighbors are a bunch of quirky, “woke” Portlanders, each doing their part to keep their city weird.
“A Comedy of Terrors” • Friday & Saturday, Nov. 18 & 19
Shakespeare meets Frankenstein in this new unscripted show presented courtesy of the Funhouse Lounge. The cast will improvise a never-before-imagined play in the style of Shakespeare, while also weaving in a classic movie monster based on audience suggestion. Perhaps a young human and a young werewolf are star-crossed lovers? Perhaps everyone wonders why the king only goes out at night? Join in the improvised tale of wonder and imagination, as something wicked this way comes.
“I Love Musicals” • Saturday & Sunday, Nov. 26 & 27
Inspired by “I Love Lucy” and ’50s sitcoms, this delicious taste of musical theater is served with a retro vibe and presented by Betse Green, Aden Nepom, Bill Cernansky and Eric Nepom.
With multiple decades of world-traveled improvised skills, these four performers create shows that have flair, flavor and fantastic fun. In this special holiday edition, the cast will be joined by the talented mystery-solving duo the Nancy Boys. Plucky brothers Frank and Joe Nancy, played by real-life husband team Nick and Justin Condon, have solved slews of mysteries and shared dozens of characters. Each mystery is completely improvised, every clue discovered along with the audience as it builds to a climax when the Nancy Boys inevitably get down to the bottom of it.
All Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7 pm, with the Sunday, Nov. 27, matinée at 2 pm. Tickets are $27 to $30. For more information and tickets, go to Coastarts.org or call 541-265-ARTS.
Workshops
Infinite Improv! creators Eric and Aden Nepom will hold improvisation workshops each Saturday afternoon each of which relates to their troupe’s performance that evening. All will begin at 1 pm, last roughly three hours and are open to all skill levels and appropriate for ages 13 and older. Workshop fee is $65 each.
“Diving Deeper: A Workshop in Character Development” • Saturday, Nov. 12
Learn to use mask work, puppets and improvisational techniques to make a one-dimensional character more realistic.
Bringing a puppet to use for this is encouraged, but there will be a handful of puppets available for those in need.
“Style Specific: Improvising in a World Somebody Else Created” • Saturday, Nov. 19
Learn how to take cues from genres, scene descriptions, story structures and tropes to create appropriate characters.
“Cavalcade of Characterization: Musical Improv in a Stylized Genre” • Saturday, Nov. 26
Learn how to improvise music according to the genre and style of the story and the world it's being created for.
“Portal to Native Heritage” • Sunday, Nov. 13
Learn about the History of the Siletz Tribe and the imagination and importance of storytelling, experience art that embodies the historical treatment of Native tribes and enjoy dances that display their spirit.
The free event begins at 2 pm.
“Portal to Novel Writing” • Tuesday, Nov. 15
Bring that first or 20th draft you've been working on and learn the process of taking your story, novella or novel from idea to publication.
Instructor Morgan Locklear. All skill levels. 6 pm. $20
“Portal to Sketching” • Wednesday, Nov. 16
Bring pads and pencils and learn how to use perspective to give depth to your drawings, paintings or theatrical settings.
Instructor Gary Herd. All skill levels. 6 pm. $20
For more information and registration, go to portholeplayers.com.
The Newport Performing Arts Center is located at 777 W Olive Street. For more information, go to coastarts.org or call 541-265-2787.