Nobody Here But Us Chickens

Third Rail
April 25 - May 24, 2008

Review by peanutduck

Kupper’s legendary combative cockerel could rule any roost. Don’t attack palsied Cuomo and Steinkamp, a.k.a. judo-masters-in-training and sexy finger champs. And the third piece happily left me in the dark. The plays are irreverent but not cruel; with laughter comes acceptance - and vice versa - of our personal disabilities/challenges/foibles/eff-ups/humanity.

Shining City

Third Rail
January 4 - February 2, 2008

Review by frenchglen

A ghost story of isolated, struggling urban dwellers. Extremely broken, disjointed Dublin conversational style asks a lot of any cast, and here they mostly succeed. Bruce Burkhartsmeier carries the central role well, including an astonishing third scene monologue. One crucial visual moment may need more weight, pause. Probing modern tale.

Oregonian Interview with Craig Wright

Article here.

Grace

Photo: Owen Carey

Third Rail Repertory Theatre
September 28, 2007; closes October 27, 2007

Fearless. Complex, challenging material and a craftsman’s eye for detail continue to distinguish Third Rail’s work. Probably their most ambitious production to date. Not an easy story to tell or accept, Grace’s echoes keep ringing beyond the curtain. Sound design of static and buzzing energy perfectly frames otherworldly suffering, searching.

Interview - Slayden Scott Yarbrough

September 25, 2007

Technical difficulties with PDF. Word doc of the full interview here.

Full text also pasted into first post of thread.

In two short years, Third Rail Repertory has established itself as one of the leading theatre companies in Portland.

followspot caught up with Artistic Director Slayden Scott Yarbrough to find out more about this dynamic new force.

When Recent Tragic Events opened in the spring of 2005, Third Rail was an unknown quantity with no fixed address. Six productions later, they have a subscriber base, a three show season model, an established home stage at IFCC, an attic full of Drammy awards, and a growing company of top local actors.

They also have their own bowling shirts.

Grace, Third Rail’s first show of the 2007-2008 season, opens September 28 at the IFCC.

A Lesson From Aloes

Third Rail Repertory Theatre
Posted by Frenchglen May 4, 2007; closes June 2, 2007

Fugard’s challenging tale of personal betrayal, fear and political exhaustion struggles hard to put down roots in Third Rail’s production. Chemistry between couple Piet and Gladys feels incomplete, somehow off key, partially owing to significant age difference. Arrival of Steve in Act Two brings welcome relief to this parched landscape.

Number Three

Third Rail Repertory Theatre
Posted by Frenchglen January 12, 2007; closes February 10, 2007

Full volume madcap portrait of 1950’s military childhood. Third Rail drags a finger across the sadness and sickness that smudge American family’s gleaming countertops. Immaculate details, breakneck pace. Material one notch below cast’s potential. Notable: Scott Coopwood goes beyond the bad guy with his broken, touching cries of “royal blood”.

The Pavilion

Third Rail Repertory Theatre
October 22, 2006; closes November 18, 2006

Fine, perceptive presentation, less transformation than comiseration; no surprises, but rather midlife re-assurance. Workmanlike first-act pleasantries break ice for more intimate, sincere second. Maybe room for ounce more chemistry, delicacy, but overall consistant with Third Rail Rep-utation. Excellent sound, lighting, set designs by Jen Raynak, Kate Morrison, Jeffrey Seats, respectively.

The Lonesome West

Third Rail Repertory Theatre
May 19, 2006; closes June 17, 2006

Excellent — a play that makes the season worthwhile. Modern Irish absurdity presented with Third Rail’s consistently high level of craftsmanship, a level of professionalism that should be Portland theatre’s baseline, not its bar. Opening-night audience seemed one feckin’ laugh track, though play’s humor and humanity lay beyond lilting punch lines.

Dirty Story

Third Rail Repertory Theatre
September 9, 2005; closes October 8, 2005

First act writes check the second act cashes, so if opening scene drags or overall pace is less-than-swerving, just let it ride—this self-aware modernist melodrama of domestic strife fronting global politics holds lots of surprises and the payoff is worth it. Third Rail knows how to play with intelligence.

Recent Tragic Events

CoHo Productions and Third Rail Repertory Theatre
February 11, 2005

Four individuals grapple with chance, fate of distant tragedy in sharp comedy of both intellect, emotion. Stephanie Gaslin, Tim True, Michael O’Connell, Valerie Stevens never try to be anything but alive in the moment, succeeding with natural clarity, purity, ease rare on Portland stages. Also noteworthy: sound designer Drew Flint.