FULTON FELLOWSHIP -$5,000 
PORTLAND CIVIC THEATRE AWARD IN SUPPORT OF THEATRE-$2,500-3,000
MARY BRAND AWARD – $2,000

The Sweatermakers, a new play by Portland playwright Andrew Wardenaar, has been selected as the 2013 Fertile Ground New Play Reading the Portland Civic Theatre Guild. The reading will be at 10:30 AM on Tuesday January 29 at The Old Church in downtown Portland. The Old Church is located at 1422 SW 11^th.  Tickets are $8.00 and available at the door. Tickets include light refreshments served at 10:00 AM.

In The Sweatermakers, Brin and Henry, brother and sister, spend their days crafting sweaters for the bereaved. When Brin receives an order for a fancy cashmere, she knows that somebody has lost a dear loved one. Yearning to understand, both siblings drift from one another as they seek to connect to mysterious strangers.

Matt Zrebski directs a cast of outstanding Portland actors including Annie Ganousis and Eric Lyness as Brin and Henry, Sarah Lucht as Dr. Morn, and Ben Buckley as Shaun, a man haunted by the love he has lost.

Andrew Wardenaar is a member of Playwright’s West and the literary manager of Portland Theatre Works. His play, Live, from Douglas, was featured in that company’s 2009 LabWorks workshop. Another of his plays, Spokes, premiered in 2008 as part of a compilation of short works entitled Me, Me, Me and Ewe. His other works include The Next Smith, Anachrounous, The Attendant and Good One,God. Andrew is also a director and currently studying in the graduate program at University of Portland.

Last May the Portland theatre community gathered at the Crystal Ballroom to celebrate a great year of productions.  It was a wonderful event, and the Guild was well represented.

Kay Olsen was honored with the Spotlight Award. This award is given by the theatre community at large and voted for on line. It honors those people who are not traditionally recognized with a Drammy, but are invaluable in their consistent support of theatre. Kay received a beautiful crown of flowers which actually lights up! As you may know, Kay ushers at just about every theatre in the area, and sees well over 352 shows a year. Her enthusiasm for theatre, and her constant encouragement of every artist she meets, has made her loved by the community, and they cheered like crazy for her. Congratulations, Kay, for your great award.

The Mary Brand Theatre for Youth Award went to Portland Playhouse in support of their Fall Festival of Shakespeare. Portland Playhouse collaborates with high schools to produce a Shakespeare play. The culmination of these workshops is a day of performances at the Newmark Theatre. All the schools gather to watch each other’s performances.

The Portland Civic Theatre Award in Support of Theatre was given to two theatre companies. Defunct Theatre Company will use theirs, for a new computer to run shows. Action/AdventureTheatre will add to the lighting inventory for their new performance space in SE Portland.

The Leslie O. Fulton Award went to Larissa Cranmer. Larissa is a costumer, and will study the art of draping at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

All of the recipients expressed enthusiastic thanks to the Guild for their awards.

The Drammy’s are the only time the entire theatre community comes together. It was a joy to hear them cheer and congratulate each other. We’re are happy to report that theatre is alive and well in Portland!

Merge onto I-405 S/U.S. 30 W and continue to follow I-405 S.  Take exit 2A for Couch St toward Burnside St.  Quickly, merge onto NW 15th Ave.  Immediately turn right onto W Burnside St.  Turn right onto NW 18th Ave.  Take the 2nd left onto NW Couch St.  Then, turn left onto NW 19th Ave.Continue onto SW 18th Ave.  At the traffic circle, take the 2nd exit onto SW Columbia St heading to U.S. 26 W/Zoo but turn right onto SW 11th Ave.  Destination will be on the right, 1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97201.

If you are coming from South of Downtown:

Merge onto I-5 N.  Take exit 299B on the left for I-405 W toward US-26 W/City Center/Beaverton.  Take exit 1A on the left toward Naito Pkwy/Japanese-American Plaza/Falza.  Merge onto SW Harbor Dr.  SW Harbor Dr turns slightly left and becomes SW Clay St.  Turn left onto SW 11th Ave.  Destination will be on the right, 1422 SW 11th Ave, Portland, OR 97201.