Dearest Loyal Patrons,

We want to express our sincere thanks to all of our loyal patrons for your continuous support through your attendance and gifts throughout the years of the Guild.

However, because of the extraordinary circumstances of the last three years, at this point we cannot see a clear way forward and the Portland Civic Theatre Guild is dissolving as an organization and we are closing our doors.

The Guild made a significant difference in supporting and producing live theatre in Portland, but it has proved that nothing is forever.  The Portland Civic Theatre, founded in 1926, and the PCTG Guild, founded in 1958, despite the best efforts and intentions of their members, are no more.

That said, we are extremely proud of all that the Guild accomplished over the years:

• We produced over 400 programs at the Portland Civic Theatre, The Old Church and The Sanctuary.
• We gave out over $250,000 in Awards to local theatres, students, and artists since 1996.
• We supported 12 local playwrights since 2014 with our annual New Play Award.
• We produced 11 readings of local playwrights’ work.
• In earlier days, the Guild replaced a boiler, recovered seats, and helped retire the mortgage of the PCT building on SW Yamhill Street.

This is bittersweet.  Bitter for us, but sweet for the two carefully chosen organizations which will be the beneficiaries of our endowment funds at Oregon Community Foundation.

With so much upheaval in the theatre community, we felt it best to support two of our most important missions:  playwrights and students.  Even with Covid looming over us, one thing is for certain: playwrights will always need to write, and students will always need to learn.

We are very pleased to announce that Oregon Children’s Theatre will be the beneficiary of our $125,400 Leslie O. Fulton Fund.  The annual proceeds will continue to fund the Margaret Chapman Costume Apprenticeship.  We established this program last May as a memorial to Margaret, to honor her 50 years of excellence in costuming on Portland stages. With this additional support, we are confident this program will live on in perpetuity.  The first student is already at work on costume design in the Young Professionals program.

The $33,000 Portland Civic Theatre Fund will benefit LineStorm Playwrights, a local writer’s group.  The funds will be used to support their play reading series, taking new plays from “the page to the stage” in front of a live audience.  This mission is near and dear to us as we pass the torch.

Some history behind our decisions: 

Sondra Pearlman took over the Portland Civic Theatre School in the 1980s and reorganized the curriculum to form Theatre for Young People.  When PCT closed its doors, she moved the school downtown and formed Oregon Children’s Theatre.  Margaret Chapman was hired in 1973 as the full-time costumer at PCT and worked there until it closed.  For these reasons, we are proud to see these relationships come full circle.

The Guild’s annual New Play Award competition demonstrated the depth of our writing community. When Covid hit, the Guild was in transition to focus exclusively on new work by local writers for our readings.  With our support, LineStorm will produce Bread and Roses by Timothy Krause, winner of the Guild’s 2024 New Play Award.  His play will come to the stage sometime next year, followed by more new works in years to come. 

You have been tremendous at supporting us over all these years and for that we are truly grateful.  We hope that you can help ensure the longevity of these two organizations and their missions by continuing to support these two funds.

If you wish to donate to either or both of these funds, OCF can begin receiving contributions beginning February 2024.  Please send them to:

Portland Civic Theatre Guild Endowment Fund (LineStorm Playwrights)
c/o Oregon Community Foundation, 1221 SW Yamhill Street, #100, Portland, OR. 97205

Portland Civic Theatre Guild Fulton Subfund (Oregon Children’s Theatre)
c/o Oregon Community Foundation, 1221 SW Yamhill Street, #100, Portland, OR. 97205

Our curtain may be coming down, but it will never close.  We are confident that, through these two organizations, our legacy is in good hands.

Warmly,

Adair Chappell, President
Darr Durham, Vice President, Treasurer
Chrisse Roccaro, Secretary, Social Media
Julie Accuardi, New Play Award Chair