Scott Rogers

For those folks/friends wanting to know what I’m seeing at Fertile Ground this year, my short list is below. Get with me soon to coordinate tickets and schedules and stuff.

Road House: The Play
developed for stage by Shelley McLendon and Courtenay Hameister
January 28 at 10:30PM
Venue: Hothouse on the Mezzanine, Gerding Theater at the Armory (128 NW 11th)
First released as a film in 1989 and starring the late Patrick Swayze, “Road  House” tells the timeless tale of a bar bouncer with a mysterious past who lives by his own rules, a small town terrorized by a wealthy senior citizen, a sexy doctor, and karate. Debuting as a staged reading during the Fertile Ground’s Hot House series, “Road House: The Play!” is the magic that results from taking the original film script, putting it on stage, and adding original songs.

Mawson’s Mettle: Alone on the Wide Shores of the World
by Lawrence Howard
January 22, 23, 28, 29 and 30 at 7:00PM
Venue: Hipbone Studio (1847 E. Burnside, #104)
Lawrence Howard unveils the much-anticipated sequel to last-year’s sold-out solo show, Shackleton’s Antarctic Nightmare. This next chapter in the Armchair Adventurer Series is called Mawson’s Mettle: Alone On The Wide Shores Of The World. A veteran of one of Shackleton’s earlier voyages, Mawson led his own expedition to the frozen continent in 1911. Out sledging with two other men, Mawson was thrown into peril when one of the sledges — along with the six best dogs, most of the food and equipment, and one of his companions — was lost in a deep crevasse. After his second companion and the rest of the dogs died, Mawson struggled against freezing temperatures, 80 mile-per-hour winds, loneliness, grief, illness and starvation, man-hauling the remaining sledge for hundreds of miles. This is an epic story of survival against all odds and, ultimately, a joyous celebration of the human spirit.

Pinocchio
adapted by Milo Mowery; composed by Rodolfo Ortega
January 29 at 7:00PM, January 30 at 2:00 and 7:00PM, January 31 at 2:00PM
Full Extended Run: January 29 – February 21, 2009
Venue: Northwest Neighborhood Cultural Center (1819 NW Everett)
“Look at that! What do you know? It is gears and wheels that make me go!”
From a pile of shiny scrap metal comes the buzz, clink and whir of the original toy story! This industrial musical is the tale of Gepetto’s brand-new mechanical boy who learns, through much trial and many errors, what it means to be human. NWCT World Premiere!

O’Flannery’s Pub
by Rebecca Frost Mayer 
January 26 at 7:30PM
Venue: Arena Stage at Theatre! Theater! (3430 SE Belmont)
O’Flannery’s Pub has been a neighborhood fixture for over thirty years.  In Dorchester, Massachusetts, it is the hangout spot for family, friends, and Red Sox fans.  Seamus O’Flannery, Maggie and Pat’s only child, is set to inherit a share of the family business on his thirtieth birthday.  But when we first meet Seamus, his drinking is out of control, and his girlfriend Caitlin is struggling to keep a big secret from her future in-laws.  Meanwhile, Seamus’ childhood friend Mark is working part-time as a bartender and peacemaker.  Regular customer Bob never misses a beat (or a Budweiser) and provides comic relief as well as serious insight.  It’s time for Maggie O’Flannery to get tough, whether her husband agrees or not.  She’ll do whatever it takes to save her business and her family.

SexyNurd: Rockstar Trapped in a “Nurd’s” Body
by AuGi Garred and Pema Teeter
January 22, 23, 29 and 30 at 7:30PM
Venue: Curious Comedy Theater (5225 NE Martin Luther King Blvd)
RockStar fantasy supernova—auGi—belts, pleads, power chords, and PowerPoints his way out of the basement of his country-boy youth in his one-man, autobiographical comedy, SexyNurd. But can he ever escape his nurd-boy image?  SexyNurd is an irreverent, heartfelt autobiography of a teenage boy’s attempt to escape from the middle of nowhere by becoming a rock star. The only problem…he’s a nerd. Thirty years later, auGi is still Robert Plant trapped in Woody Allen’s body—simultaneously railing against and milking stereotype to fuse comedy, storytelling, motivational satire, personal photos, and rock ‘n’ roll to see if he can shed the nerd image once and for all. If you didn’t have a motley view of rock stardom before the show, you just might when it’s over. Veteran of L.A.’s Improv, The Second City, NBC’s Last Comic Standing, Portland’s Mortified and Live Wire, auGi workshops SexyNurd in progress.

Tandem
created by JEAN LOUIS - Stacey Hallal & Bob Ladewig
January 22, 23, 29 and 30 at 9:00PM
Venue: Curious Comedy Theater (5225 NE Martin Luther King Blvd)
In their debut show, Tandem, Jean Louis’ Stacey Hallal and Bob Ladewig explore the challenges of relationships and communication through character-based sketch, stand up, and video - ultimately proving that two wrongs can make a right… though they often take three lefts to get there. Stacey is well-known for her one person show, The Humperdink Family Reunion, which she performed in Portland to rave reviews before touring across the U.S. and Canada. Bob Hicks of the Oregonian said of Stacey: “Comic actress Stacey Hallal has a face that can rise like a puff pastry or fall like a mob informer with an anvil tied round his feet. Her eyes can pop like a Looney Toons critters, and she can stretch a grin as crazy-wide as Jack Nicholson’s in The Shining. Her voice has the same cockeyed flexibility, and she uses both to highly amusing effect. In other words, she’s a genuine talent.”