Crave Theatre Company
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ON STAGE NOW!
Our Dear Dead Drug Lord
By Alexis Scheer
August 11th – August 27th, 2023
Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays at 2pm
Imago Theatre (17 SE 8th Ave, Portland, OR)
The Dead Leaders’s Club, run by teenagers Pipe, Zoom, Squeeze and Kit, is determined to summon the ghost of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar. What’s the worst that could happen?
What seems silly at first, grows more serious as traumas from the outside world claw their way into this seeming utopia, resulting in a surreal, gut-wrenching climax.
Since its premiere in 2019, Our Dear Dead Drug Lord has garnered critical acclaim, including being named a New York Times Critics’ Pick and winning the 2019 Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding New Script. The play has been hailed as “wildly imaginative” (Boston Globe) and “incendiary, entertaining, and very funny” (WBUR).
**Sign language interpretation for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at every showing.**
Content Warning: Our Dear Dead Drug Lord contains depictions of drug use, strong language, sexual and physical violence as well as themes of death and suicidal ideation. Please contact cravetheatrecompany@gmail.com if you need further information to make an educated decision about attending.
On DECK
Bad World: A New Musical (VIDEO)
Inspired by a true story, Bad World follows the coming-of-age journey of Rose, an ambitious young woman who is sexually assaulted while studying abroad on a research scholarship. Upon her return to the United States, she must face how her trauma affects how she lives her life, and her recovery experience becomes interwoven with those of three other survivors of sexual assault.
The filmed recording of the world premiere of Bad World features performances by Kylie Jenifer Rose, Zeloszelos Marchandt, Kayla Leacock, and Gayle Hammersley.
Check out the concept album and keep an eye out for the long-anticipated virtual release, Coming Soon!
Statement of
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION
Crave Theatre is committed to cultivating and sustaining a diverse, inclusive, and equitable space where everyone involved in our art — patrons, artists, employees, volunteers, and vendors — feels valued and respected regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, education, or ability. We understand that the foundation of a vibrant, thriving theatre is the cross-pollination of creative/diverse programming, the cultivation of inclusive practices and strategies, and the development of a diverse team of employees and volunteers who share in these values.
To build this foundation: we are working with Esper House to evaluate and dismantle any inequitable policies, systems, programs, and services; we are including more diverse leadership on our board, staff and advisory bodies; we have scheduled regular Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training for our board and staff; and we are working to increase our outreach to underrepresented communities, by supporting diverse artists and theatre works in both our programming and casting decisions.
As we work to improve diversity and inclusion in our company, we encourage you to reach out to us directly with concerns and to reach out to “Report Racism in Portland Theatre.“
CULTURAL EQUITY
Here at Crave, we value diverse stories, voices, and opinions, and our hearts break for the continued discrimination demonstrated against people of color, including the murder of innocent Black citizens, hate crimes against the AAPI community, and the continue erasure of Indigenous people. To support a full creative space for all, Crave Theatre commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, equitable theatre experience.
Cultural equity embodies the values, policies, and practices that ensure that all people—including but not limited to those who have been historically underrepresented based on race/ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion—are represented in the development of theatre practices and experiences. This practice includes providing support to diverse artists and theatre works; providing nurturing, safe spaces that are accessible and encourage expression; and fairly distributing available opportunities at Crave Theatre.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & AFFIRMATIONS
In the United States, there are systems of power that grant privilege and access unequally such that inequity and injustice result, and that must be continuously addressed and changed.
•Cultural equity is critical to the long-term viability of the arts sector.
•We must all hold ourselves accountable, because acknowledging and challenging our inequities and working in partnership is how we will make change happen.
•Everyone deserves equal access to a full, vibrant creative life, which is essential to a healthy and democratic society.
•The prominent presence of artists challenges inequities and encourages alternatives.
•Crave Theatre Company gratefully acknowledges that we create theatre on the traditional lands of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River.
MODELING THROUGH ACTION
To provide informed, authentic leadership for cultural equity, we strive to…
- Pursue cultural consciousness throughout our organization through substantive learning and formal, transparent policies.
- Acknowledge and dismantle any inequities within our policies, systems, programs, and services, and report organization progress.
- Commit time and resources to expand more diverse leadership within our board, staff, and advisory bodies.
FUELING FIELD PROGRESS
To pursue needed systemic change related to equity, we strive to…
•Encourage substantive learning to build cultural consciousness and to proliferate pro-equity policies and practices by all of our constituencies and audiences.
•Improve the cultural leadership pipeline by creating and supporting programs and policies that foster leadership that reflects the full breadth of American society.
•Generate and aggregate quantitative and qualitative research related to equity to make incremental, measurable progress toward cultural equity more visible.
•Advocate for public and private-sector policy that promotes cultural equity.
This is a living, breathing document, and is subject to change and improve as we learn and grow.
For our part, we are currently educating ourselves so that we can be better allies and take intentional steps to be more inclusive.
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