Reflection on Spark in Portland

Profile Theatre, Portland, OR

November 14, 2012

Directed by RaChelle Schmidt

                                  by Andrea Stolowitz

I attended a reading of SPARK at Profile Theater in Portland, OR on Nov. 14th. I am a playwright have long been a fan of Caridad's work and Profile Theater so I was very excited to be able to attend. The play was moving on so many levels: The relationship between the sisters, the sense of place, the sense of longing for the past and a better future, and the pain of the war and being a soldier  transposed through the generations. The specificity of the characters and time and place led to such a wonderful universality of theme. The rhythm and language became part of the theatrical landscape and I found myself following the cadences of language as a layer of the story. The use of songs, music, and  army chants added another fabric to the play. The play leads the viewer into a conversation about war and economic disparity with a gentle light touch so that we can not shy away from the truths that it presents.

Andrea Stolowitz is a playwright living in Portland Oregon. Her plays have been produced nationally and internationally.  The LA Times calls her work “heartbreaking” and the Orange County Register characterizes her approach as a “brave refusal to sugarcoat ... issues and tough decisions.” A recipient of Artists Repertory Theater’s $25,000 New Play Commission, Andrea will premiere her newest work ITHAKA at the theatre in June 2013. Her play ANTARKTIKOS was workshopped nationwide in 2011 at the New Harmony Project (IN), Portland Center Stage’s JAW Festival, and at Seattle Repertory Theater. Pittsburgh Playhouse mounts the world premiere in 2013.