By Euripides

Comically ripped from the pages of the Odyssey, Cyclops is PCC-Theatre at Sylvania’s first touring children’s production.  The story: Odysseus, the classical hero, has washed ashore on an unfamiliar island, which is inhabited by one-eyed giant (played as a gentle 10-foot puppet) Cyclops, and some very silly companions: Rhyming Pirates, the uptight playwright Euripides, confused shepherds, volunteer sheep, and one very forgetful stage manager.

This 2500-year-old classic has been updated and adapted for children of all ages, and will play for FREE in selected areas around Portland (see below). With a nod to Commedia del Arte, Buffoonery, and classic children’s theatre, this production uses audience suggestions and volunteers to round out the goofball antics!

Performances

All performances are free and open to the public (except Friday school performances):

• Thursday, May 9, 11am PCC Sylvania – CC Courtyard (12pm rain date in PAC)
• Friday, May 10, School performance (not open to public)
• Saturday, May 11, 11am at Portland Saturday Market (SW Waterfront Park)
• Friday, May 17, School performance (not open to public)
• Saturday, May 18, Capitol Hill Library 11am
• Sunday, May 19, 11am at Portland Saturday Market (SW Waterfront Park)

“A Spirited Comedy” by Noel Coward

Charles, a novelist, wishes to learn about the occult for a novel he is writing, and he arranges for an eccentric medium, Madame Arcati, to hold a séance at his house. At the séance, she inadvertently summons Charles’s first wife, Elvira, who has been dead for seven years! Madame Arcati leaves after the séance, unaware that she has summoned Elvira. Only Charles can see or hear Elvira, but his second wife, Ruth, does not believe that Elvira exists until a floating vase is handed to her out of thin air. The ghostly Elvira makes hilarious and desperate, efforts to undo Charles’s current marriage. She finally sabotages his car so that he will join her in the spirit world, but it is Ruth rather than Charles who drives off and is killed. Ruth’s ghost immediately comes back for revenge on Elvira, and though Charles cannot at first see Ruth, he can see that Elvira is being chased and tormented, and his house is in uproar. He calls Madame Arcati back to exorcise both of the spirits, but instead of banishing them, she materializes Ruth. With both his dead wives now fully visible, and neither of them in the best of tempers, Charles, together with Madame Arcati, goes through séance after séance and spell after spell to try to exorcise them, and at last Madame Arcati succeeds. Charles is left seemingly in peace, but Madame Arcati, hinting that the ghosts may still be around unseen, warns him that he should go far away as soon as possible. Charles leaves at once, but not before his wives have one last spectacular surprise for him!

Performances

• Fridays, March 8 and 15, at 7:30pm
• Saturdays, March 9 and 16, at 7:30pm
• Thursday, March 14, special pay-what-you-will matinee at 11am

An original PCC Theatre and Dance program collaboration.

Have you ever wondered who those people are who drive by you so fast and are seen in glimpses on the highway? Ever been stuck in traffic and wondered who you’re parked next to? This performance will use both the PCC Sylvania Performing Arts Center lobby and theatre spaces to explore what happens when a group of unrelated characters at various cross-roads of their lives start to merge while stuck in a traffic jam. This fun, engaging and unique PCC original production explores themes of community, identity and the nature of the threads that hold society together, and the obstacles that keep us apart. Mixing movement, acting, a labyrinth, sound, audience interaction, text, improvisation, and a very interesting staging of a traffic jam that includes the audience, this production will have limited audience of 45 participants per show, so reservations are strongly encouraged.

Choreography and movement by PCC Dance chair Heidi Dyer. Design by Dan Hays

Performances

• Fridays, November 9 and 16, at 7:30pm
• Saturdays, November 10 and 17, at 7:30pm
• Thursday, November 15, special pay-what-you-will matinee 11am
• Sunday, November 18, matinee at 2pm