2003-2004
The company’s first production Hedwig & the Angry
Inch, by John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask was
performed at The Oregon Cabaret Theatre, in Ashland
following triangle productions! smash-hit run in
Portland.
One of Insight Out’s early hopes was to produce
Wade’s original rock opera, ONE - A Revelation Has
Begun. Insight Out introduced ONE to Portland in
August, 2003. It was a phenomenal success and played
to standing room only audiences – a feat
we repeated in the September 2005 ONE - The
Musical production.
In March 2004, Insight Out produced We the People
an
ensemble piece exploring American life and
perspectives. We The People was Lindsay’s directing
debut.
2004-2005 "Women in Time"
Wade, Julianna and Lindsay formed a Board of
Directors in the Spring of 2004. In June, the group
decided which plays we wanted to bring to Portland
for our 2004-2005 Season, and how we were going to
make that happen.
The plays of 2004-2005's " Women in Time"
examined representatives of All Women within -- and
as a product of -- Time. The Fall production,
CORNERED in the Dark by Lenelle N. Moise was a
fierce ensemble work about four women who meet in a
dream and define their resistance to betrayal.
We were proud to accept a "Best Acting in an Ensemble" Drammy
Award for CORNERED in the Dark. In January, the three Founders Julianna,
Wade, Lindsay and Company Member Andy Lindberg took
the stage in On the Verge by Eric Overmyer.
On the
Verge tracks three 19th century explorers who
journey through Time and Self to mysterious lands of
Terra Incognita. The season's final show Live at the
Rose Garden was an ensemble created work following
the life arc of two sisters in Rock 'n Roll,
directed by company co-founder and Board President Lindsay J. Lucas
and featuring co-founder and Company President
Julianna Jaffe.
2005-2006 "The Door Within"
"The Door Within" season featured three
new works that explored the nature of the
individual, compassion and community contrasted with
the chaos of modern culture. Close to 3000 people
joined us for our plays, we attracted statewide and
national media attention for our work, we partnered
with two other companies and we were able to expand
our youth outreach programming to an entirely new
demographic of students. We are proud of our
accomplishments and could not have achieved them
alone.
The season launched with ONE - The Musical
by
Wade McCollum, composed by McCollum and Company
Member Eric Nordin. ONE is modern
American Rock Musical that illuminates the search
for personal truth in the modern day. The show
featured an incredible group of 18 actors and 5
musicians from
around the United States and 25+ production staff.
The show ran at the Wonder Ballroom with a 200+
house. This was GIANT undertaking by an emerging
theatre company. It was the commitment of those
involved in Insight Out, the production crew and the
overwhelming support (financial and energetic) of
our community that created the HUGE success of ONE
for Portland!
In February, we presented Kindred by
Daniel Keleher which featured Company Member Jack
Greenman and Lamont Stephens. This searing
play is about two men in prison who are seek
redemption and connection as one man faces prison
and the other a life sentence. In April, Insight Out
produced A Thought About Raya, created and
performed by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, directed
by Oliver Bulter of The Debate Society. This
non-linear play journeys through a series of
colliding scenes plucked from the idiosyncratic mind
of Russian absurdist author Daniil Kharms.
So now, after ten outstanding
productions, a growing devoted audience, enormous
community support, and an amazing family of supporters
and volunteers, we are manifesting our dreams of
creating fresh, innovative and articulate theatre works
that honor all voices. We have accomplished so much of
our dream in a few short
years. We are excited and overjoyed by the support of
our Portland community!
2006-2007
October 2006, Insight Out presented LENI, by Sarah
Greenman. This was the play's West Coast Premiere
that followed a May 2006 reading at the Mae West Fest in
Seattle, where it played to completely sold out houses.
In August 2007, LENI was showcased at the New York
International Fringe Festival and earned rave reviews.
LENI is about the German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl,
whose two most known films, Triumph of the Will and
Olympia, were funded by the Nazi Party. Riefenstahl's
legacy is extremely contentious. She was both cinematic
pioneer and propagandist. Triumph of the Will, is
considered the most effective piece of propaganda ever
made and is currently under lock and key in Germany.
Riefenstahl claimed until her death in 2003 that her
obsession with creating perfect art left her blind to
the fascist propaganda machine that used her film to
hypnotize a nation. LENI investigates Riefenstahl’s
claim and the complex ramifications of her choices.
LENI, set in the context of Riefenstahl directing her
own autobiographical film, explores themes of artistic
responsibility, modern media, and personal and social
myth-making.
In January and February 2007 it was with great honor
that Insight Out, in collaboration with CITE Educational
Theatre, presented The Yellow Boat, written by
David Saar and directed by Andrés Alcalá. This stunning
play tells the true story of the young and gifted visual
artist Benjamin Saar, a hemophiliac, who contracts HIV,
and then AIDS through a blood-transfusion. Benjamin
creates inspired drawings and paintings that transform
his pain and express his understanding of life. The play
examines how fear and ignorance grip the perspectives of
the adults who surround him only to be released by the
heart and imagination of this young boy. Under the
direction Andrés Alcalá and with the choreography of
Robin Lane of Do Jump!, Benjamin’s imagination dances to
life in vivid color sharing his powerful,
transformational messages full of hope, art and life for
ages 8 through 98. The Yellow Boat was the first
production Insight Out and CITE presented together.
Director Andrés Alcalá won a Drammy Award for Best
Director of this play.
On December 3, 2007, Insight Out Theatre Collective
was pleased to announce the organizational merger of
Insight Out with CITE Educational Theatre. A group of
sponsors and close supporters enjoyed Insight Out’s Fall
2007 fundraiser, “Starlight Escapade.” The event was a
benefit for Insight Out’s May production of For:Give
– an ensemble work inspired by The Tempest.
Entertainment featured performances from Wade McCollum,
Julianna Jaffe, Storm Large and other talented Insight
Out company contributors and was held at Tony
Starlight’s Supper Club & Lounge.
This evening was an opportunity for Insight Out Artistic
Director Julianna Jaffe and former CITE Executive and
Artistic Director Andrés Alcalá to publicly announce and
explain the merge: Insight Out and CITE are now united
and named as Insight Out Theatre Collective.
CITE Educational Theatre, founded in 1992, is a
non-profit professional K-12 children’s theatre company
that develops original material combining musical
theatre with social and environmental educational
messages. CITE has been funded locally for environmental
education by local cities and by organizations such as
Portland General Electric, Pacific County PUD and Metro
and Regional Water Providers Consortium. There is no
cost to the schools who host the performances. In 2006,
CITE performed over 230 shows and connected with 50,000
school children.
With many thanks to all our
supporters for our continued growth…
