Dmae takes a tour of the new Shaking The Tree Theatre space with artistic director Samantha Van de Merwe.  We’ll go on location to find about about her new production of Suddenly Last Summer, a 90-minute one act by Tennessee Williams.

(Aired 11am  Tues 4/7/15 on KBOO 90.7FM and podcast on StagenStudio.com))

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For several years, Shaking The Tree Theatre was at an intimate space on SE Stark St. The move has been a challenge for Samantha Van de Merwe but by all indications it’s been a positive one. The new location is three times the size of her previous rental with more than enough room for a 48 seat house and a large space for her youth theatre classes.21025_10155416831400790_6495903125943914545_n

For her inaugural show, Van de Merwe has chosen an American classic full of poetic tragedy with a touch of gothic fantasy. We’ll hear her talk about her new location, the community that rallied to help her move and fund a new floor and extensive lighting equipment.

We also find out Suddenly Last Summer’s themes of repressive views on homosexuality are still timely given recent events in Indiana.

9131baf0-70ec-4878-a6ed-dd1c60a5b5e5Suddenly Last Summer by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Samantha Van Der Merwe,

The Show runs through May 2nd 2015 (Thursday – Saturday evenings at 7:30, and Sundays at 5pm). The show is recommended for ages 14 & up. Tickets are $25/ $20 Seniors & Students /$5 ages 19 and under.

For more info or reserve tickets online shaking-the-tree.com or by calling the box office at 503 235-0635. All shows are at the Shaking The Tree Theatre space at 823 SE Grant St. Portland, OR 97214.

The play takes place in a tropical New Orleans garden. This steamy hothouse was the property of a dead poet, Sebastian, whose life was a work of art. That at least is the view of his mother, who is so anxious to preserve his idealized memory that she is prepared to go to any lengths to have his cousin, Catherine, stop babbling. But Catherine has her own story to tell about accompanying Sebastian on a Spanish island vacation that ended in violent tragedy. In this 90 minute play, Williams, at his most poetic, cracks open a can of worms that explores unspeakable taboos (as seen through the lens of America ‘s repressive political atmosphere of the 1940s and 1950s), the consuming nature of desire (both human and cosmic), and the destruction and 1103501reconstruction of identity.

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