a seagull
a seagull
(2024)
there’s a seamlessness
in the way characters are brought on stage
and into life that makes me want to give my life over
to the process of making plays.
-Chris Gonzalez, a seagull
a seagull is a love letter and an elegy, the building of a play, the striking of a set, the putting on and taking off of roles and hats and moments. The play asks us to reckon with our role as artists in the world. It is also begging you to continue to put on your shoes and walk out the door and come to the Theatre to be with us in the darkened room with lights.
This project builds on 10 years of PETE working on new translations of Chekhov plays. Drawing on Štĕpán Šimek’s translation of Chekhov’s The Seagull and the writing of company member Chris Gonzalez, PETE will render a new play that asks: what are we all really doing here?
photo by Owen Carey
“The trippy illusion gets more mind-bending when the wall separating stage and backstage is opened and the audience simultaneously sees physical performers behind the scenes as well as their projected images. Konstantin says it best when he tells Nina he wants to create plays that make people wonder, “What the fuck just happened?” PETE does that and then some. Like an expertly performed magic trick involving a box and a bird, the show’s intricate vision creates an enticing bafflement…and the pleasure of unpacking it in the theater and beyond.”
-Linda Ferguson, Willamette Week
“PETE's adaptation of Chekhov's classic is a must-see… Lingafelter’s strong artistic vision is complemented by fierce and unflinching performances, most notably by Maureen Porter as Arkadina, Ken Yoshikawa as Konstantin, and Cristi Miles, who brings depth and complexity to melancholy Masha. In addition, the design team (Jenny Ampersand, Miranda K. Hardy, Peter Ksander, Trevor Sargent, Mark Valadez, and Katie Shook) has outdone themselves.
-Krista Garver, Broadway World
Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble’s a seagull, an exuberant riff on Chekhov’s first major play […] has no time for the author’s doom and gloom. The production attempts both to faithfully explore The Seagull’s questions about finding meaning in art and life and to blow them up. The company has heard Treplev’s call for new forms of theatrical expression and answered, “Hold my beer!” The technical abundance is balanced by the energetic and likable ensemble… The performers are clearly having a blast, and the fun is contagious.
-Ben Waterhouse, Oregon ArtsWatch
Production History:
June 29-July 13, 2024
At Portland Center Stage’s Ellyn Bye Studio at The Armory
Credits:
a seagull
Created by PETE
Text by Chris Gonzalez
Adapted from Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, translated by Štĕpán Šimek
Directed by Rebecca Lingafelter
Performers:
Jacob Coleman
Cristi Miles
Maureen Porter
Damaris Webb
Roo Welsh
Amber Whitehall
Ken Yoshikawa
Design:
Jenny Ampersand
Miranda k Hardy
Peter Ksander
Trevor Sargent
Mark Valadez
Katie Shook
Stage Management: Kristina Mast
Production Management: Molly Gardner
Assistant Stage Management: Mack Mae
Production Assistance: Jamie Kushnick
Spot Operation: Abram Daly
Costume Assistance: Jasper Prodromou
Mask Maker: Grayson Smith
Lead electrician: Joel Ferraro
Mixer: Abbie Northrop
About PCS presents: "PCS Presents” at Portland Center Stage is a new community-based model of presenting performances in partnership with local artists and arts companies in the region. Offering residencies in our spaces, community arts organizations bring in their own creative teams to create the productions of their dreams. Portland Center Stage offers ticketing support through the PCS box office, creative earned income sharing, as well as support from the marketing department who will help spread the word to PCS audiences and beyond.
Made possible with support from Ronni LaCroute, Pancho Savery, Ellen Walkley & Brian Myers, The Oregon Cultural Trust, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, The Kinsman Foundation and The Mental Insight Foundation.
Portland Center Stage, the Lewis & Clark Theatre Department, Matthew Robbins, the Reed College Theatre Department, Tula Ksander, Kora Link, Ralph Huntley, Coutney Von Drehle, Don Solo, Andrei Tmpkin, Joellen Sweeney, Prentice Onayemi, Chris Murray, Kathleen Worely, Isaac Lamb, John San Nicolas, Olivia Mathews, Sofia Marks, Murri Lazaroff-Babin, Becca Wirta, Rose Proctor, Naomi Bowers, Elsa Dougerty, Emma Greene, and Jamil Johnson.
