An extended intermission
Newport’s performing artists deal with life away from the spotlight
By Barbara B. Covell
For the TODAY
It’s January 2021 and here we are, still in the throes of the pandemic. Some creative types, like members of Newport’s performing arts community, are working hard to keep the muse alive.
Since staged productions are no longer considered safe, creativity has taken on different forms of expression. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Newport Performing Arts Center. The three theater groups who call the PAC home are presently quiet, yet each has developed safe methods of communicating with their audiences. And, yes, they each have plans for 2021 and beyond.
The Red Octopus Theater Company has brought the finest in drama, comedy, musicals, classic and original theater to the Oregon Coast since forming more than 40 years ago. When stage productions were halted in 2020, the board began working to organize pandemic-friendly artistic endeavors, like the “Community Christmas Greeting,” a collaboration of more than 20 actors from all three PAC-based theater companies. The lighthearted, heartfelt, performance streamed on Christmas Eve and all of Christmas Day via Facebook and YouTube.
Darcy Hogan, Red Octopus board member, spoke about the struggles to emerge creatively in the darkness of the pandemic.
“One would think with so much extra time on our hands, we would emerge with an abundance of brilliant new works and performance ideas,” she said. “The muse is there, but the will to indulge her has suffered tremendously.”
Yet the troupe continues to post messages of hope on its Facebook page: hope for a speedy vaccine rollout, for a COVID-free community and for a return to onstage performances in front of live audiences.
Also already in the works for 2022 are the Tony award-winning “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime,” and Hogan’s original musical “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
Porthole Players theater group has been creating musicals, dramas and comedies in Newport since 1972. Outgoing board president Linda Capshaw echoes Hogan’s sentiment.
“We came to a screeching halt in 2020,” she said. “And everything is up in the air for 2021.”
Currently in the works is an online staged production of “Bad Auditions…on Camera,” a lighthearted poke at the audition process, featuring director Jennifer Hamilton and billed as a high energy, Stay-At-Home-Play for theater audiences.
Capshaw says planning for both PAC theaters is stretching into 2022.
“It will be really fun when we’re all working together again,” she said. “I expect a lot of merrymaking and creative expression.”
For the performance schedule of the Porthole Players, go to portholeplayers.com, where you will also find a one-minute spotlight on photographer Chris Graamans, whose dynamic photos capture peak moments for all three theater companies.
Marc Maislen and Mary Eastman of New Visions Arts have taken these past nine months to focus on the literary arts.
“We started to highlight different aspects of our mission statement, specifically to bring arts to the community,” said Maislen, adding that the company is currently hoping to start working on “The Tale of Jinny Coreen,” a play geared toward children.
“It is about a girl who saves the world with light, love and cooperation. It is illustrated by the brilliant Sarah Gayle.”
Maislen said the story will become a stage piece in the future, but until COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, they’ve adapted their goals to offer new creative ventures, like offering the memoir/self-help book, “Shattered: Recovering From a Traumatic Injury” to be released in February on Amazon and at newvisionsarts.com. The book tells the story of Maislen’s devastating car crash and her journey through rehabilitation and ultimately, life changing discoveries.
“It illuminates the process of growing from fear into hope,” Maislen said. “It was a deep emotional dive.”
Also in 2021, NVA will release a book on creativity and a collection of poetry.
The group will soon release a three-part podcast of “Robin Hood,” directed by Erik Furuheim with Maislen as the Sheriff of Nottingham.
Plans for 2022 include the plays “August: Osage County,” “Heisenberg” and “Sex, Drugs and Rock ’n Roll.”
Joining Hogan and Capshaw, Maislen is looking forward to a reawakening of creativity within the performing arts community.
“Getting audiences safely back to the PAC will be a challenge,” she said. “In fact, it will be safety first, entertainment second.”
This sentiment is echoed by Akia Woods, president of the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts Board.
“I have no magic ball nor do I know what’s coming up in 2021,” he said. “But we are very committed to the healthy continuation of the OCCA by developing, promoting and celebrating the arts in Lincoln County and the full Oregon Coast.”
You can support local theater by joining the Oregon Coast Council for the Arts. For details, go to coastarts.org.