Shaking The Tree's Mission
To create, teach, produce and develop Theatre
"For me, teaching and art-making go hand-in-hand. My passion for teaching is inspired and recharged by making art that interests me. With each production that I produce and direct, I learn so much and feel better equipped to manifest my inner vision."
- Samantha Van Der Merwe
Founder & Director of Shaking The Tree
- Samantha Van Der Merwe
Founder & Director of Shaking The Tree
Classes & Theatre for Children
I have been running a thriving drama studio since 2003 with a strong
reputation in the community. Children love my program, and I love
teaching. Shaking The Tree studio is located in South East Portland where drama classes for children aged 5 and up are held, as well as theatrical productions. Classes are small so that students receive individual attention. Everyone works at their own level and moves on to a more challenging class when ready. Emphasis is placed on individual creative expression and creating a safe place in which students can take risks. High quality literature and material is always used. The results are confidence and self assuredness when speaking or performing in public, healthy risk taking and an appreciation of drama and literature. Acting also helps develop compassion for others when we get a chance to walk in someone else’s shoes and see both sides of the story. These are a few of the benefits of taking classes at Shaking The Tree.
Theatrical performances are presented periodically and are often a great way for children to be introduced to live theatre. Past performances for families include The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, East of the Sun and West of the Moon by Nancy Willard and the Portrait, the Wind, the Chair by Y. York.
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Theatre for Adults
As a director, I have long been interested in the synergy between drama and the visual arts, and “using the architecture” around me to create a world unto itself. I strive to use the theater space as a visual artist would use a canvas, maximizing the audience’s suspension of disbelief and encouraging full immersion in the material. Entering a visually evocative space allows the audience to inhabit the world of the play even before the action begins. I find that working in a non-traditional theatre space, in collaboration with visual artists, offers rich opportunities both for heightening the emotional experience of the audience, and for supporting key ideas contained within the play.
My ultimate goal is to create a meaningful, intimate point of connection between the work and the audience: to inspire people to think, feel, wonder, marvel, use their courage, and perhaps even change. Although this kind of thoughtful, inclusive theater is indeed profoundly “entertaining,” the end-goal is not entertainment for its own sake. I believe that literature and storytelling are central to our humanity, that is, fundamental to the elemental need for understanding and meaning-making. Such theatre is all the more essential in this era of dystopian, hyper-violent media that offers little more than empty, escapist fantasy. By contrast, in my work, I endeavor to create a safe, yet challenging environment for experiencing both the pain and the beauty of the human condition. Great News! Shaking The Tree has received a 2012 project grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council for our September production of Far Away by Caryl Churchill
The Regional Arts & Culture Council (RACC) announced today that a record sum, $692,268,
will be awarded for artistic projects taking place in 2012 – including
grants to 76 organizations and schools, and 77 individual artists in
Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington Counties...Read more here
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About Us
More information: Please call 971 207 9081 or email:
info@shaking-the-tree.com
Address:
1407 SE Stark ST Portland, OR 97214
info@shaking-the-tree.com
Address:
1407 SE Stark ST Portland, OR 97214
