Maz & Bricks
by Eva O’Connor
Directed by Melody Erfani
Feb 18 – Mar 13, 2022
Thu – Sat @ 7:30pm, Sun @ 2pm
1620 SW Park Ave, Portland OR 97201 (see driving and transit details)
A chance encounter changes two strangers forever
Two strangers meet on a train in Dublin. Maz is on her way to a demonstration protesting the Eighth Amendment, Catholic Ireland’s blanket ban on abortion. Bricks is hoping he will get to see his young daughter after a wild night on the town. The two are an unlikely pair, and yet the course of a day will change them both forever. A tender and timely tale about listening, learning, and coming to terms with our past.
Show sponsors: Bob and Janet Conklin
Season sponsor: Ronni Lacroute
Jan Baross
COVID: All attendees must show proof of up-to-date vaccination (fully vaccinated PLUS boosted) and be masked at all times. Our cast and crew have been fully vaccinated and boosted.
- Running time: 100 minutes with no intermission
Events:
- Feb 19: After-show talkback with Richard A. Clucas, in conversation with director Melody Erfani, moderated by Gemma Whelan.
- Mar 6: After-show talkback with Judith Arcana, moderated by Gemma Whelan.
- Mar 10: After-show talkback with Christel Allen, Exec Dir of Pro-Choice OR; and An Do, Exec Dir, Planned Parenthood Advocates of OR.
- (more details...)
Program:
Download program.
Regular and large‑print printed programs are at the performance.
Audience Comments:
Reviews:
PHOTOS
On Maz & Bricks:
On Ireland’s 8th Amendment:
CAST
MAZ
BRICKS
CREATIVE TEAM AND CREW
DIRECTOR
PLAYWRIGHT
SCENIC DESIGN
COSTUME DESIGNER
LIGHTING DESIGN
SOUND DESIGN
STAGE MANAGER
* Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States, appearing under a Special Appearance Contract.
Eliza Frakes
Eliza Frakes is an actor, writer, and filmmaker based out of Portland and Los Angeles. She graduated from Lewis and Clark College in 2019 with a degree in English, and additionally received the Departmental Distinction Award in acting. Eliza is grateful to have studied with Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble’s founding members, who taught her everything from devising to Shakespeare. Since graduating, Eliza has been living and working across the country in writers’ rooms, on sets, in theatres, and as an educator. Some of her favorite roles include Mash in Stupid F*$king Bird, Tabby in Cuddles, Lily in Waterlily, and Sarah in Murky (short film). Her screenwriting has been awarded by the Wildsound film festival, and her poetry has been published in The Portland Review, where she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. In 2020, she completed a year-long residency with Echo Theatre as one of their selected young playwrights, where she debuted her first full-length play, Moleman. Eliza is the founding director of 920 Collective, an interdisciplinary artists’ community which meets to collaborate with and support early career makers in the generation of new media. She is absolutely thrilled to make her debut with Corrib Theatre, alongside such a talented and kind cast and crew.
Ken Yoshikawa
Ken is right thrilled to be joining this tidy team of artists for his first foray with Corrib Theatre. There is a strong relief in returning to the stage at this juncture of the Great Pandy, since his 2019 role as Ben in The Journal of Ben Uchida with Oregon Children’s Theatre was lapsed but halfway through its run. So now, having transited the deep introversion of our collective lockdown, he’s very ready to publicly storytell in good company! Some other of his notable credits include Martin in 1984 (Artists Rep), Arjun in Chitra: The Girl Prince (NW Children’s Theater), and Keoni/Franklin in Today is My Birthday (Artists Rep). In 2019 he performed his solo show The Art of Flyswatting in tandem with Claire Aldridge’s Anatomy of a Rabbit (Red Balloon Theatre Collective), as well as off-Broadway with the Pan Asian Rep’s NuWorks 2019 in NYC. Ken has also published a book of poetry, Monster Colored Glasses. yoshikawaken.com
Melody Erfani
Melody is excited to work with Corrib Theatre. She is an East/West Coast director specializing in new works and classical adaptations. She received an MFA in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School, and was a participant of the 2013 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. She graduated with a BFA in Theatre Arts from the University of Texas, during which she procured an internship with Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. She received an HB Residency in 2017 and a First Stage Drama Arts League Residency in 2019. Favorite credits: You Got Older (Zoom reading Third Rail Rep); Bee زﻧﺑور (creator/director), Antigone, Romeo + Juliet (Lower East Side Shakespeare Co); 97 Orchard St. (creator/director), All an Act (Edinburgh Fringe Festival); Dying City, Raised in Captivity (ASDS Repertory); Our Town, The Importance of Being Earnest (Stagedoor Manor, NY). www.melodyerfani.com
Eva O'Connor
Eva O’Connor is an Irish writer and performer from Ogonnelloe, Co. Clare. She studied English and German at Edinburgh University before completing an MA in theatre ensemble from Rose Bruford drama school in London. Her plays include My Best Friend Drowned in a Swimming Pool, Kiss Me and You Will See How Important I Am, My Name is Saoirse, Overshadowed, The Friday Night Effect (co-written with Hildegard Ryan), Maz and Bricks, and Mustard. Eva runs her own theatre company, Sunday’s Child, with Hildegard Ryan. She has won various awards for her work, including Best Emerging Artist Award 2012 (Edinburgh Fringe), First Fortnight Award 2014 (Dublin Fringe), Argus Angel Award 2015 (Brighton Fringe), Fishamble Award for Best New Writing 2015, Best Theatre Award 2019 (Adelaide Fringe), Scotsman Fringe First Award 2019 (Edinburgh Fringe), and Lustrum Award 2019 (Edinburgh Fringe). Her play Overshadowed was recently adapted for television by BBC3 and Rollem productions and won Best Drama at the Mind Media Award 2019. Eva has also written for radio. Her play My Name is Saoirse was adapted by RTÉ Radio 1 and her short story The Midnight Sandwich was recently aired on BBC Radio 4.
Kyra Sanford
Kyra Sanford is thrilled to be doing live theatre again! She is a freelance scenic designer, props master, carpenter, and painter in the Portland area, working for theatres such as Milagro, PassinArt, Theatre Vertigo, Defunkt Theatre, Profile Theatre, Portland State University, Clark College, Lincoln High School, Third Rail Rep, and various others. She received her BFA in scenic design from The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University.
sanfordscenic.com
Gregory Pulver
Gregory is currently theatre program director and associate professor of costume design, makeup, and choreography for the University of Portland theatre department and one of the 28 resident artists at Artists Repertory Theatre. He moved to Portland after a successful run as an associate professor of costume design at Western Washington University for twelve years and chair of the WWU theatre department for three-and-a-half of those years. Mr Pulver holds an MFA in costume design and choreography from Humboldt State University, California. He is the 1993 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival National Costume Design winner for his work on The Three Penny Opera. He is a member of the international board of advisors for The Last Frontier Theatre Conference and participates yearly as a featured artist, mentoring new American playwrights. Designs include sets and costumes for Bag&Baggage Productions, costumes for Broadway Rose Theatre Company, and costumes for Artists Repertory Theatre (Skin of Our Teeth, Broomstick, Cuba Libre, Foxfinder, God of Carnage, Red Herring, and Design for Living). Gregory has also designed for several short films and TV spots in Washington, including a dance for the film Egg Skin. Gregory is also an accomplished director, singer, actor, and dog owner.
Anthony Arnista
Anthony is currently the technical director at Curious Comedy Theater. He graduated with an MFA in ensemble based physical theater from Dell’arte International in 2013. He cofounded the company White Collar Crimes Theatre, which has created two original vaudeville inspired works that have toured the Canadian Fringe Festivals. He also works as a touring technician for both fringe festivals and touring companies, taking him to diverse places including Alaska, Australia, Canada, Scotland, and South Africa.
Andrew Bray
Andrew Bray is a Portland-based sound designer, music director, actor, and theatre instructor. Recent sound designs include Four Last Things (Corrib Theatre), Nesting, and its sequel, Nesting: Vacancy (JPD Productions), To Kill a Mockingbird (Lakewood Theatre), The Alien Chicken Remembers Galatea and Saying Goodbye to the Sun (Mofsec Productions), and A Maze and Assistance (Theatre Vertigo). Music directing credits include A Civil War Christmas (Artists Rep), 13: The Musical and Les Miserables (Staged!), and countless other theatrical productions. He also enjoys performing as a theatrical keyboardist and is a passionate backyard beekeeper.
Emily Trimble
Emily Trimble earned her BA in art and performance from the University of Texas at Dallas and spent several years working in Dallas theatre after graduation. In Dallas, she worked at Dallas Children’s Theater, WaterTower Theatre, Nouveau 47 Theatre, and Undermain Theatre as both a stage manager and an assistant stage manager. She moved to Portland in 2012 and has since worked at Bag&Baggage Productions; Broadway Rose; Oregon Children’s Theatre; Original Practice Shakespeare Festival; and most recently with the Ten, Tiny, Talks Festival in collaboration with Crave Theatre and T&A Grand Theater. She also occasionally dabbles in props design and was the season props designer for several years at Bag&Baggage. She is thrilled to be working for Corrib again, having previously worked as the stage manager and production manager for Lifeboat. In her free time, Emily enjoys rock climbing, crocheting, hanging with her cat, and watching dumb movies with her partner.
Events
Sat, Feb 19:
Richard A. Clucas, in conversation with director Melody Erfani. Moderated by Gemma Whelan.
Richard A. Clucas is professor of Political Science at Portland State University and the Executive Director of the Western Political Science Association, the nation’s second largest political science association. His expertise includes legislative politics, state government, and democratic reform. Among other works, he is co-editor of Governing Oregon, co-author of The Character of Democracy, editor of Readings and Cases in State and Local Politics, and author of Encyclopedia of American Political Reform. He was also the set editor for the encyclopedia series, About State Government.
Sun, March 6:
Judith Arcana, moderated by Gemma Whelan.
Judith Arcana lives in Portland, where she writes stories, poems, essays, and books. She's a Jane, a member of Chicago's pre-Roe underground abortion service, and appears in the new HBO documentary The Janes. Her poetry collection What if your mother includes poems about abortion, adoption, and IVF; her story collection Hello. This is Jane. includes fiction about abortion and tattooing. juditharcana.com
Thur, Mar 10:
Christel Allen, Executive Director, Pro-Choice Oregon; and An Do, Executive Director, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon. Moderated by Gemma Whelan.
Christel Allen (she/her) is the first woman of color to lead Pro-Choice Oregon, formerly NARAL Pro-Choice Oregon, and is thankful for the opportunity to lead a diverse and brilliant team of humans who are deeply committed to abortion justice, who see, center, and care for people who are most impacted by abortion bans every day. Prior to her current role, she had worked in progressive politics and policy in Oregon for over a decade. Raised in Salem, Oregon, Christel credits her lived experiences and the wisdom from her loving family and community of first-generation immigrants from Mexico, survivors, and working parents for teaching her how to lead with empathy, solidarity, resilience, and grit.
An Do (she/her) is the Executive Director for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon. An previously served as PPAO’s Political Director. Before that, she directed communications for No Cuts to Care, the campaign that decisively defeated the anti-abortion ballot measure 106 through deep coalition work that centered the voices of the most impacted communities. Prior to her political and advocacy work, An worked as a social worker in alternative high schools in Brooklyn and Portland. An is committed to helping to build a movement that goes beyond reproductive freedom toward our collective liberation and a future where every person has the rights, recognition, and resources to be the authors of their own destiny — to chart and live their fullest lives in safe and thriving communities.
