PRESS CONTACT
PORTLAND STORY THEATER
Lynne Duddy
tellers@portlandstorytheater.com
Portland, Oregon USA
voice (503) 284-2226
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 1-April-11  
 
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Hello there. 
 
I hope you enjoy the attached press release describing the fabulous lineup for Portland Story Theater's Solo Performance Festival, Singlehandedly! (3rd Annual)

Today's story highlights the opportunity for the Portland community to experience an extraordinary collection of personal narratives. Singlehandedly! Solo Festival features many of the Pacific Northwest's premiere performers, including Portland's own SexyNurd, auGi, going 'Commando.' The festival opens April 22nd at Hipbone Studio and runs Fridays and Saturdays for 7 nights: April 22nd, 23rd, 29th, 30th, May 6, 7, and 13th. It's all personal narrative and every night is a different mix of tellers! The festival wraps up on Friday, May 13th with special guest, Slash Coleman, best known for his PBS special and Off-Broadway one-man show, "The Neon Man and Me."
 
Please find attached: 
  • Logo for Singlehandedly! (Singlehandedly-LOGO.jpg)
  • Press Release "Singlehandedly.doc" for immediate release (Also included below as text)
  • Photograph of Slash Coleman, photo credit: Adam Ewing (Slash Coleman Master 300dpi for Singlehandedly.jpg) 
  • Photograph of auGi, aka Sexy Nurd gone Commando (Augi Headshot Master 300dpi for Singlehandedly.jpg)
I hope you will support the work of Portland Story Theater by spreading the word. 
 
Please contact me if you require any further information.
 
Many thanks!
 
And may the narrative be with you, 
 
Lynne Duddy
Portland Story Theater
503-284-2226
www.portlandstorytheater.com
 
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Singlehandedly! Third Time’s The Charm
If it's true that the third time's the charm then this is going to be a really great year for Singlehandedly, Portland Story Theater's annual festival of solo performance. The first year, everyone agreed that Portland Story Theater "hit emotional pay dirt." Last year saw a huge increase in popularity, with all seven shows selling out. And now they're back, with a solid lineup of first-time and returning performers and a new format mixing one feature-length and two shorter pieces each night.
 
Why solo performance? "There's something magical that happens when a lone performer holds the stage," says Portland Story Theater co-founder Lynne Duddy. "It's not about the set or the lighting or any of that --- it's all about the story. It's just one human being up there, singlehandedly creating an entire universe with the power of words."
 
These are stories by and for adults. Think The Moth, only Portland-style. These are stories that delve deep; stories that resonate, stories that touch something universal in all of us.
 
There are four full-length stories and seven shorter pieces, presented in various combinations so that no two nights of the festival are the same. All seven shows can be seen in the intimacy of Hipbone Studio on Friday and Saturday evenings, starting Friday, April 22nd with Portland's own SexyNurd, auGi, going 'Commando.' and finishing on Friday, May 13th with special out-of-town guest star Slash Coleman, best known for his PBS special, The Neon Man and Me.
 
You can see details about all the performers and their stories by going to Portland Story Theater's website at www.portlandstorytheater.com. Seats can be reserved by calling 503-793-5484. Admission is $15 each night; you can also purchase a special four-night pass for $48 or a full seven-night festival pass for only $75. The full schedule is included below:
 
2011 Singlehandedly Performance Schedule
Friday, April 22: Ryan Wolf Stroud, auGi, Lynne Duddy
Saturday, April 23: Kristin Olson-Huddle, Brad Clark, Joseph Boyd
Friday, April 29: Kristin Olson-huddle, Lawrence Howard, Enrique Andrade
Saturday, April 30: Sharon Knorr, Enrique Andrade, Joseph Boyd
Friday, May 6: Ryan Wolf Stroud, Brad Clark, Enrique Andrade
Saturday, May 7: Sharon Knorr, auGi, Niko Moe
Friday, May 13: Slash Coleman, Lawrence Howard, Lynne Duddy
 
All shows 8 PM at Hipbone Studio, 1847 East Burnside.
Pricing: $15 for Single Night – $48 for 4 Nights –  $75 for All 7 Nights
Reservations: 503-793-5484
 
It all starts in the comfort of an ordinary living room in NE Portland. Inside, a circle of people gather together to share a snack, drink some wine and build their stories from the experiences of their lives. Although there is no preconceived theme, many of the stories organically develop around the concept of identity. These are stories about the search for self and the human need to belong. What is it about the families we come from, the places we've lived, the losses we've suffered, the people we've loved and the stories we've heard?  How have those experiences made us who we are? And who are we, anyway?
 
Collaboration is the key to Portland Story Theater 's development process. Meeting every Sunday afternoon, the artists ask these questions of each other and themselves, and the answers take shape. One by one the stories emerge, coming to life.  What was it like growing up in the isolated wilderness of an Alaskan island, with animals for friends instead of other kids?  What drove ordinary middle- class kids to become teenage commandos, executing daring raids at the local high school? If you are adopted into an Irish family, does that make you Irish? What drove your great-great grandfather to swap identities with a dead soldier on a Civil War battlefield, and how does that story play out again, five generations later? What do all these stories tell us about what it is to be human?
 
The tellings of the stories are individual. Portland Story Theater doesn't have a "house style" or believe that there is only one way to tell a story, "it's more about helping each artist find their unique narrative voice. The story is theirs to own and all final decisions about the content and delivery rest with the artist. The rest of us are here to support and give feedback during our collaborative workshops," says Portland Story Theater co-founder Lawrence Howard. So the performers play in all different styles, some leaning more towards comedy, some towards a physical performance, other working purely with the words. If there's one thing they all have in common it's this: the stories are told with no fourth wall. The teller engages the audience directly and delivers the story face to face, eye to eye, and heart to heart.

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Additional Information - Supporting Links
auGi
http://www.sexynurd.com/sexynurd-returns-to-the-stage-as-teenage-commando/
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/artists/auGi_SexyNurd.htm
 
Brad Clark
http://www.bradclarkspeaking.com/about.htm
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/artists/BradClark.htm
 
Enrique Andrade
http://lavozde.com/
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/artists/Enrique_Eduardo_Andrade.htm
 
Joseph Boyd
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/artists/Joseph_Boyd.htm
 
Kristin Olson-Huddle
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/artists/Kristin_Olson-Huddle.htm
 
Lawrence Howard
http://www.lawrencehoward.name/storyteller.htm
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/artists/Lawrence_Howard.htm
 
Lynne Duddy
http://www.lynneduddy.com/about.htm
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/artists/Lynne_Duddy.htm
 
Talen ‘Niko’ Moe
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/artists/Talen_Niko_Moe.htm
 
Portland Story Theater
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/about.htm
 
Ryan Wolf Stroud.
http://www.ryanwolfstroud.com/
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/artists/Ryan_Wolf_Stroud.htm
 
Sharon Knorr
http://dressupproductions.com/about
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/artists/Sharon_Knorr.htm
 
Singlehandedly! 2011
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/index.htm
 
Slash Coleman
http://www.slashcoleman.com/slash-coleman-bio.html
http://www.slashcoleman.com/production-the-neon-man-and-me
http://www.portlandstorytheater.com/2011solo/artists/Slashtipher_Coleman.htm

About Portland Story Theater. Portlanders are passionate about stories. And live theater, and shared experiences. Portland Story Theater shares this passion. We use a unique collaborative approach to produce shows where people perform stories drawn from real-life experiences.  We offer workshops and one-on-one coaching for people who want to learn how to tell personal narratives. Portland Story Theater is driven by our core values: We are stewards of the oral tradition and authentic performances, we are catalysts for community relationships and alliances, and we are advocates for diverse narrative artists and the loyal audience that supports our work.

Portland Story Theater conducts ­­­­six programs:
NW Narrative, features celebrated Northwest artists and actors and other unique storytellers whose narratives are developed using Portland Story Theater’s unique collaborative process. Some of our favorite story shows have been Love Jones, Seven Minutes in Heaven, and Devilishly Good.

Armchair Adventurer, every January audiences are mesmerized by stories of man against nature; fighting freezing temperatures,  80 mile-per-hour winds, loneliness, grief, madness and starvation. Shackleton's Antarctic Nightmare, Mawson's Mettle, and Polar Opposites have been featured stories since the series began in 2008.

Singlehandedly!  is a solo performance festival that takes place each Spring and spotlights Portland Story Theater's commitment to the narrative arts.  Gaining momentum every year, this festival began in 2009 and was an immediate hit with the fans, friends, and followers of Portland Story Theater.  2010 was terrific and this year’s festival features some Portland Story Theater favorites like Ryan Wolf Stroud, premiering his first feature-length show, Lawrence Howard of Shackleton fame, and auGi, Portland’s own SexyNurd, along with Slash Coleman, best known for his PBS special and Off-Broadway one-man show, “The Neon Man and Me,” and many others! Every night is different and all the stories are true, told live on stage without scripts, notes, props, or accompaniment. 

Halloween at The John Palmer House, an evening of scary stories in honor of All Hallows Eve that celebrates our community, the art of storytelling, and brings crucial funds to Portland Story Theater and the community. Last year we shared the loot and donated over $1,500 to Our United Villages for The Rebuilding Center on North Mississippi.

The Art of Personal Narrative. This workshop series gives people an opportunity to discover and craft their stories so that they flow through them, seamlessly in their true form, without any barriers: open, fresh, revealing.

Urban Tellers. People from all walks of life deliver the personal stories developed in The Art of Personal Narrative workshop. It's not acting. It's not writing. There's no script. This is narrative, spoken straight from the heart. Real. True. Stories.