DIGITAL PLAYBILL

CAST AND CREATIVE TEAM

Members of the Ensemble:

Narayan S. Bal, Bennett Buchholz, Jackson Bulger,

Hannah Harrison, Hannah Kelly, Kai Kimball

Director: Dr. Lezlie Cross

Production Stage Manager: Mikelle Kelly

Stage Manager / Script Supervisor/ Research Fellow: Haley Hamilton

Dramaturg / Research Fellow: Madelyn Southard

Visual Design: Kat Yo*

Costume Design: Amanda Ryan*

Costume Design Assistant: Leah Rowse

Costume Shop Manager: Sue Bonde

Sound Design: Hal Logan

Sound Operator: Peyton McDonnell

*In partial fulfillment of the Senior Capstone for the BA in Theater

BIOGRAPHIES

Narayan S. Bal (Arjun Sethi and Roy, the realtor) is a sophomore Mechanical Engineering major from San Mateo, California. Coming to University of Portland, Narayan planned to study exclusively Mechanical Engineering but then spent part of his fall break acting on the set of 13 Reasons Why. His passion for acting was rekindled and he was inspired to add a Theater minor. Since then he was involved in the spring production of The Dragon as Assistant Stage Manager and Puppeteer. He is now receiving his first acting role at University of Portland in Where is Home. Coming into the project and writing a script from scratch was something Narayan had never done. The process has been a lot of work but also a lot of fun. Narayan would like to thank everyone involved in the production, especially Dr. Lezlie Cross for her incredible direction and patience. Narayan would also like to thank his family and friends for their love and support, especially during these unique times. Enjoy the show!

Bennett Buchholz (Alden Woodrum and Joseph) is a sophomore theater and English major from Seattle, WA. Bennett is very excited and super pumped to be a part of this cast. Last year, he was in Cock as John and Cabaret as Cliff Bradshaw. This was his first ever devised piece and his first time acting over zoom, so, wish him luck! He really hopes you enjoy the show :)

Jackson Bulger (Ben Stephens and Joseph’s Dad) is a senior theater major from Spokane, WA. Jackson is so excited to be involved in such a unique production. You may have seen him recently as Manus in The Dragon and Dr. Miller in Inventing van Gogh. This is a brand-new experience for him and he is so happy to be able to share this wonderful show with you. He hopes you enjoy the show and come away with some knowledge that you didn’t have before.

Lezlie Cross (Director) is an assistant professor at UP, teaching theatre history, dramaturgy, and playwriting. Lezlie’s directing credits at UP include As You Like It. Her professional work as a dramaturg has been seen at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Nevada Conservatory Theatre, Cincinnati Shakespeare, and Classic Stage Company. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington; her M.A. from the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham; and her B.A. from Whitman College. She would like to thank the entire ensemble for their fearless jump into the zoom-void with her and for their daring, insight, and generosity. This is their show.

Haley Hamilton (Stage Manager/Script Supervisor/Research Fellow) is a senior theater and communication major from Sherwood, OR. You may have seen her on the UP stage before in shows such as The Government Inspector, Boeing, Boeing, Pippin, and The Penelopiad. Earlier this year, she directed the radio play, Interlude, as her senior capstone. It is still available to stream on the UP Theater webpage. Working as both script manager and research assistant on Where is Home, she has learned so much, and is honored to have been a part of the production. Haley would like to express her gratitude for everyone who had a hand in bringing this extremely important story to life. She would like to specially thank Dr. Lezlie Cross for taking a risk, attempting to devise an entire production over zoom in a few short weeks, and trusting all of us to go on this journey with her. And lastly, she would like to thank you for spending your evening with us.

Hannah Harrison (Sam Crews, Ofelia, and the Nurse) is a junior communication and theater major from Torrance, California. Hannah Harrison is very honored to be a member of Where is Home?. Her previous shows include The Penelopiad, Pippin, and Silent Sky. She is also the Vice President of The Theater Club on Campus. She thanks everyone for their support and hopes the audience can walk away with new knowledge about Portland.

Hannah Kelly (Vanport Announcer and Lilly) is a sophomore theater major from Salt Lake City, UT. Hannah was really excited, yet nervous, to start this show, but it has been absolutely amazing! She is appreciative of the chat section so she can read the jokes people have as well as the many improv writing sessions at the beginning of the rehearsal process. Writing a devised piece has been a great experience for Hannah, since she loves working collaboratively and learning more about Portland (the good and the bad parts). Her college roles include: Orlando in As You Like It (which she wasn't able to perform as due to the pandemic), and Dale in 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche. Hannah has been unbelievably lucky to work with such great students and directors in all three of her college shows so far.

Mikelle Kelly (Production Stage Manager) is a senior theater major from Arlington, WA. Mikelle is currently in the middle of her last year as a Theatre major here at UP. Before stage managing Where is Home?, she was last scene stage managing Cabaret, The Penelopiad, Dog Sees God, and Boeing Boeing. She also dabbles in lighting design and before COVID-19 designed lights for a one woman show called She's Here at COHO Productions.

Kai Kimball (Harv Harvey, and Frank Watanabe) is a sophomore theater and English major from Bellevue, WA. Kai is very excited to be part of Where Is Home?. Their most recent role at UP was the Elk Page in Wolves Eat Elk. Some of their previous roles have been Marius in Les Misérables and Motel in Fiddler on the Roof. Kai would like to thank his family and friends for their support, and Dr. Cross for making his first show since the pandemic so enjoyable and manageable.

Peyton McDonnell (Sound Operator) is a sophomore biology major from San Francisco CA. Peyton was recently the Sound Board Op. for The Penelopiad in Fall 2019 and she is involved with developmental biology research on campus. She loves both science and theater, and is excited to be a part of this production.

Hal Logan (Sound Designer) is a composer, musician, music director, and sound designer, who owns and operates Hal Logan Music, a music production studio. His work has been heard at Milagro, Portland Center Stage, Artists’ Repertory Theatre, Vertigo, CoHo, Stumptown, Oregon Children’s Theater, Northwest Classical, Northwest Theatre Workshop, Theatre 33, and Broadway Rose, as well as local Universities and High Schools. Hal is the Music Technology and Sound Design instructor at the University of Portland, and the drummer for Nobody’s Sweetheart. He lives in southeast Portland with his wife, actor and UP Professor Mindi Logan, and their two huge cats. Thanks to Dr. Cross and all the talented students for a rewarding experience.

Amanda Ryan (Costume Designer) is a senior theater design and management major from Chicago, IL. After costume designing several shows since high school (Flowers for Algernon, RX, Mr. Marmalade, and The Christians, to name a few), Amanda is excited to be working on her first devised show. Amanda is excited to put her knowledge of Portland's history and Portland's housing crisis together to help build this show.

Madelyn Southard (Dramaturg/Research Fellow) is a junior theater and history major from West Sacramento, CA. She is grateful for the opportunity to work on this show! Her recent projects at UP include Scenic Design for Wolves Eat Elk and Dramaturgy for The Penelopiad. Madelyn has also done technical theater work with Mock’s Crest Theater and Broadway Sacramento. She is currently working as a technical intern with Shaking the Tree in Portland, OR.

Kat Yo (Visual Designer) is a senior theater major with a design emphasis from Orangeville, CA. When Kat first came to the University, she fell in love with Portland; however, it wasn’t until Sophomore year that she started to become more aware of the deeper-rooted issues in her city. Lack of affordable housing, the erasure of colored history, gentrification, etc. Kat hopes that this show will help shed light on a few of these important social justice issues, because step one to solving the problem is knowing that it exists.

DIRECTOR'S NOTE by Dr. Lezlie Cross

This summer, as the nation once again confronted our shared history of racial injustice, I faced some hard truths about myself and about Portland, as my home and a city I love. The thing about love is that it can blind you to the ugly parts of a person or a place. I knew about the state’s historically despicable treatment of Black Americans – I had seen the pictures of the Ku Klux Klan proudly marching down the streets of Ashland, Oregon – but it was easy to pretend it was a thing of the past. Until this summer.

As a historian, I began in research: I read about redlining and the toxic legacy of housing choices made at the turn of the 20th century and in the 1930s. I read about eviction and the seemingly inescapable cycle of poverty it can create. I read about the native peoples of the Willamette Valley and how the government took their lands in the 1950s to open them up to logging and industry. I read about gentrification and displacement in Portland, learning that 32,000 Portlanders spend more than 50% of their paychecks on rent and as of January 2019 15,876 Oregonians experienced some form of homelessness, with 5,000 of those experiencing chronic homelessness. And I felt helpless. “What,” I asked, “is a theatre professor supposed to do in the face of all of this?”

And then I realized: a theatre professor makes art that addresses it.

Theatre can humanize inhuman statistics. Theatre can bring emotions to data. Theatre can show the impact of policy on real people. Theatre can spur action.

I recalled the living newspapers of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) and how those plays took current events and dramatized them to create needed social change. The FTP play One Third of the Nation, which addressed the dire living conditions endured by one third of Americans in the 1930s, spurred the passage of legislation in 1939 that lead to the Seattle Housing Authority. That inspiration was the beginning of Where is Home?.

I am incredibly grateful for this incredible group of student collaborators, who bravely jumped into the breach of the unknown to create the show you will experience tonight. Not only did they confront the truths of themselves and their cities and country to literally embody the lived experience of people facing discrimination and eviction, but they did it all over Zoom. We never once got to actually see each other during this process. Their bravery, sensitivity, and intelligence is inspiring. I am grateful for the support of my faculty, who said “yes” to all of my ambitious schemes and to the Public Research Fellows program who provided support for the project. I am grateful for Maddie and Haley, my research fellows, who will continue digging into this project with me all year. Finally, I am grateful for you, our audience, who will experience the stories we created and – we hope – move into your community with knowledge and with the impetus to action. Housing reform is a local issue; one in which we can all make a difference. I hope this show inspires you to create positive change.

DRAMATURGY NOTE by Maddie Southard

The story of housing in Portland is not a transparent one. The illusion of social progressivism layers on top of decades of racism and leaves a distorted portrait of the city’s history. How could a city so well known for acceptance of alternative lifestyles be the site of some of the most egregious instances of institutionalized racism? And more importantly, why haven’t we all heard about it?

This show is the culmination of hours of research and conversations about our own positions in the city of Portland. Where is Home? is just a small piece of the puzzle. Many stories of housing in Portland are missing from this show for a variety of reasons. It is because those stories should be told by those who are affected most, yet these communities are not well represented in our theater department. For example, there are no undergraduate theater students from the Native communities surrounding the Portland area, yet they are one of the most affected by the intersection of racism, climate change, and gentrification. The average poverty rate among Native Peoples in Multnomah County is 34% and the childhood poverty rate is 45.2%. White people in the same county only experience poverty at 12.3% and childhood poverty is at 14%. Stories from Native Communities in Multnomah county were an important part of this discussion process, yet it would be inappropriate of a white-majority cast to speak for this community, especially when white people contribute directly to the loss of land and resources of these communities. Please explore the sources listed in bibliography section of the website if you would like to know more about their stories as well as the stories of other communities in Portland.

We fail to center the voices most affected by racism, gentrification, climate change, and COVID-19. This show is a small attempt to bring these issues to the forefront. Yet, there are still so many voices missing from our show because we have no students at this university who are able to tell them. This play is a work in progress. If nothing else, I hope you can connect with at least one story presented here and apply it to your own Portland neighborhood or city.

SPECIAL THANKS

Hayley Dixon for the show cover image (follow her on Insta @hbdixon and buy her work here), Riley Olson for improv-ing with us, Andrew May and Archie for everything every day, the neighbors for having roses to steal, Sue Bonde for the Japanese quilt, Mindi Logan for her vocal stylings, DJ Biersack for assisting in the filming process of the rose poem videos, and Jesi's phone for always being there for us.