Program
The show runs 90 minutes with no intermission.
Forbidden Fruit celebrates feminine curiosity and challenges the notion of original sin by inviting audiences to step inside a mystery container and choose how they will engage. Designed for small groups of participants, Forbidden Fruit mingles the myth of Pandora with the tale of Alice in Wonderland, and allows audiences into 8 installation rooms, each dedicated to a fruit/fungus/grain. Upon leaving, the price of learning the secrets of each room is paid as the chaos of the world is unleashed.
The Hall
Devised
Performers: Alice Rebby Yuer Foster
Rabbit Kai Hynes
Performers: Alice Rebby Yuer Foster
Rabbit Kai Hynes
Rebby Yuer Foster (they/them) is the Associate Artistic Director of Shaking the Tree Theatre. Recent pieces with Shaking the Tree include Chick Fight (Her), Family (Alice), 家人: A Self Portrait (director/editor), Refuge: Our Lady of Lunar Reflection (director/editor), The Edge (director/editor), 抜け首 (director/editor). Recent acting credits include Once (Seacoast Repertory Theatre), We’ve Come to Believe (Humana Festival ‘19), Dracula (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville), & Xiaoyen (Actor’s Theatre of Louisville). Rebby is a former Acting Apprentice at the Actor’s Theatre of Louisville ‘18-19. They grew up in Seattle, Washington and received their B.A. in Theatre & English at the University of Portland. They will be directing Shaking the Tree’s next play, titled In A Different Reality She’s Clawing at the Walls by Max Yu, in Spring 2023. @rebbyyuer
Kai Hynes is a theatre and performance artist and educator. Credits with Shaking the Tree include MODELMINORITY, Family, Short Flix, and The Caucasian Chalk Circle. He has also worked in various capacities with Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble, Hand2Mouth Theatre, Artists Repertory Theatre, Third Rail Repertory Theatre, Orphic Theatre, Milagro Theatre, Imago Theatre, Fuse Theatre Ensemble, and the Livermore Shakespeare Festival. He holds a B.A. in Theatre and English from the University of Portland and is a recent graduate of Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble’s Institute for Contemporary Performance, where he was able to explore his interest in making movement-based and site-specific work.
Annabel Cantor (Alice understudy)
Annabel is an interdisciplinary theatre artist with interests in directing, writing, performing, designing, and devising processes. Previous works include shows with Corrib Theatre, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Shaking the Tree and others. They hold a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, as well as certificates from The Accademia Dell’arte and Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble’s Institute for Contemporary Performance. Annabel is bursting with gratitude for the opportunity to take part in this incredibly unique process. www.annabelcantor.com
Annabel is an interdisciplinary theatre artist with interests in directing, writing, performing, designing, and devising processes. Previous works include shows with Corrib Theatre, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Shaking the Tree and others. They hold a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, as well as certificates from The Accademia Dell’arte and Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble’s Institute for Contemporary Performance. Annabel is bursting with gratitude for the opportunity to take part in this incredibly unique process. www.annabelcantor.com
The Rooms
The Quince
Playwright: Josie Seid
Music Director/Composer: Joellen Sweeney
Performers: Madeline Ross, Joellen Sweeney & Max Tapogna
Josie Seid was most recently seen in Shaking the Tree's production of Fucking A but did you know she was also an accomplished writer? She is a member of the LineStorm Playwrights collective as well as the ART Playwrights group, Squabble and Throb. Most recently, Anonymous Theater produced her collaborative work with fellow Linestorm playwright, Sara Jean Accuardi; Fezziwig's Fortune in December of 2022. She has produced several works in partnership with Linestorm: For their Portland in Play 2016 and 2017 productions, she wrote the short plays Jordan’s Wisdom and The Portland Colored School: A Lesson in Reading Between the Lines she also wrote the short play, Overdue for the Short and Sweet short play festival in 2017. Her plays This is Message 13 and Stand By Me have been featured in Profile Theater’s 24 hour short play festivals in 2017 and 2018. Her play, The Great God of the Dark Storm Cloud was featured in the 2018 Fertile Ground Festival and her play Petite Dames was highlighted by both the Reading Parlor and 2017 Fertile Ground and was a Kilroy List nominee. She recently participated in a songwriting master class with Tony award winner William Finn. Her short film, Being Me in the Current America is a multiple award winner in festivals around the world.
Music Director/Composer: Joellen Sweeney
Performers: Madeline Ross, Joellen Sweeney & Max Tapogna
Josie Seid was most recently seen in Shaking the Tree's production of Fucking A but did you know she was also an accomplished writer? She is a member of the LineStorm Playwrights collective as well as the ART Playwrights group, Squabble and Throb. Most recently, Anonymous Theater produced her collaborative work with fellow Linestorm playwright, Sara Jean Accuardi; Fezziwig's Fortune in December of 2022. She has produced several works in partnership with Linestorm: For their Portland in Play 2016 and 2017 productions, she wrote the short plays Jordan’s Wisdom and The Portland Colored School: A Lesson in Reading Between the Lines she also wrote the short play, Overdue for the Short and Sweet short play festival in 2017. Her plays This is Message 13 and Stand By Me have been featured in Profile Theater’s 24 hour short play festivals in 2017 and 2018. Her play, The Great God of the Dark Storm Cloud was featured in the 2018 Fertile Ground Festival and her play Petite Dames was highlighted by both the Reading Parlor and 2017 Fertile Ground and was a Kilroy List nominee. She recently participated in a songwriting master class with Tony award winner William Finn. Her short film, Being Me in the Current America is a multiple award winner in festivals around the world.
Joellen Sweeney is an actor, teaching artist and director with a zeal for immersive and site-specific works. Recent credits with Shaking the Tree Theatre includes Fucking A (Music Director), The Bakkhai (Music Director) and Caucasian Chalk Circle (Music Director/Ensemble). She has also acted regionally with Seattle Shakespeare, Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble and Northwest Children’s Theatre. Joellen is a co-founder of Bedrock Theatre, a devising ensemble that combines storytelling, live music and hiking in parks and wilderness areas. Joellen earned her MFA in Acting at the University of Washington in 2022, and she is thrilled to be home and making work with this beautiful community of artists once again! www.joellensweeney.com
Madeline Ross is a singer, actor, and opera producer based in Portland, OR. Praised for her exquisite tone, enthralling stage presence, and thrilling versatility, Madeline Ross made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2019 as a jazz soloist where she “scatt[ed] to beat the band” (NY Concert Review). She has performed with Portland Opera, Resonance Ensemble, The Oregon Symphony, 45th Parallel, Portland Opera To Go, and Opera Theater Oregon, and was recently hailed for “effortlessly nailing” her performance as Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (Oregon ArtsWatch). She won first prize at the National Association of Teachers of Singing classical voice competition in 2020 and has recently returned from a performance at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. premiering An African American Requiem with Resonance Ensemble and NEWorks Philharmonic Orchestra. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Renegade Opera, Portland’s unconventional opera company. Upcoming engagements include The Bird Songs of Opera with Renegade Opera (Spring 2023), a role debut as First Wood Sprite in Dvorak’s Rusalka with Portland Opera (Spring 2023), and two role debuts as Tamiri in Mozart’s Il Re Pastore and Lucinda in Muhly’s Dark Sisters with Orpheus PDX (Summer 2023)www.madelinelross.com | www.renegadeopera.org
Maximilian Tapogna is an actor, singer, writer, and educator from Portland. He recently performed in Holy Name with Salt and Sage at the Backdoor Theatre, and his writing appears regularly in Oregon Artswatch. Maximilian studied at the University of Puget Sound.
The Apple
Playwright: Michelle Ruiz Keil
Actor: Sofía Marks
Actor: Sofía Marks
Michelle Ruiz Keil is a writer and tarot reader with an eye for the enchanted and a way with animals. She is the author of the critically acclaimed novels All of Us With Wings and Summer In The City of Roses, a finalist for the inaugural Ursula K. Le Guin Fiction Prize.
Her short stories can be found most recently in The Buckmxn Journal, Cosmonauts Avenue, and the anthology Dispatches From Anarres: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin.
Before falling in love with fiction, Michelle had a warehouse theater space in SE Portland and wrote/directed the play Pure Gold Baby in collaboration with Sherry Okamura. In 2021, she wrote “Our Lady of The Water Beneath The Water” as a part of Refuge at Shaking The Tree.
Michelle’s work has been supported by Tin House, Hedgebrook, The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, the Bloedel Reserve, and the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
Michelle dedicates her contribution to Forbidden Fruit to her mother, Anita Johansen, who passed away December 4th, 2022.
Her short stories can be found most recently in The Buckmxn Journal, Cosmonauts Avenue, and the anthology Dispatches From Anarres: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin.
Before falling in love with fiction, Michelle had a warehouse theater space in SE Portland and wrote/directed the play Pure Gold Baby in collaboration with Sherry Okamura. In 2021, she wrote “Our Lady of The Water Beneath The Water” as a part of Refuge at Shaking The Tree.
Michelle’s work has been supported by Tin House, Hedgebrook, The Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, the Bloedel Reserve, and the Regional Arts and Culture Council.
Michelle dedicates her contribution to Forbidden Fruit to her mother, Anita Johansen, who passed away December 4th, 2022.
Sofía Marks is a performer and multidisciplinary theater artist based in Portland. She trained with PETE’s Institute of Contemporary Performance (ICP), class of 2022, and graduated from Lewis & Clark College with degrees in Theatre and Biology. Sofía recently performed as Anya in the Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble’s rendition of The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekov. She also devised and performed in her original works: “There is Darkness and There is Darkness” and “Con serpientes vengo yo” or “I come with snakes.” In both performances, she explored her relationship with her body, femininity, monstrosity, and shame. The Aztec snake goddess Quetzalcoatl, “the one who is at one with the beasts,” was the inspiration for the performance and served as a guide for Sofía’s search for balance and self-acceptance. For Sofía, her body is a site of reflection, and a ritual tool for remembering herself and engaging in the borderlands of her identity as a mixed Latina in America. Through the transformative process of performance, she can push the limits of her body and voice in hopes of unraveling herself before an audience.
The Wild Banana
Playwright: Heath Hyun Houghton
Actor: Madeleine Tran
Actor: Madeleine Tran
Heath Hyun Houghton is a Korean American adoptee who grew up in rural Michigan and is currently based in Portland, OR. He is an actor, writer and director. He holds a MFA in Creative Writing with a focus in playwriting from Goddard College and a BA in Theatre with a focus in performance from Humboldt State University. He also studied Korean dance and performance styles in Jinju, South Korea with USD Modern Dance. He studies intimacy direction with Theatrical Intimacy Education and Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, Inc. Poems and essays have been published in Spring Time Magazine and The Pitkin Review. His work has appeared online in Pif Magazine, MiGoZine and Korea4Expats. He is a contributing writer with The Universal Asian. He has also contributed lyrics to albums released by Ultraviolet Hippopotamus (“One Eye Shut,” Stop Watch Time Drop) and The Turnips (“Move Your Ass,” Background Music). His plays have been seen as staged readings in Jinju, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, and in the U.S. in California, Michigan and Oregon. He is currently an Ensemble Member with Theatre Vertigo and a member playwright with Linestorm Playwrights. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and USA Gymnastics.
Madeline Tran is a PNW born and raised actor, vocalist, fight choreographer, and occasional ren faire street performer who is loving the opportunity to finally work with Shaking the Tree after years of admiring from afar! She has appeared locally with Third Rail Repertory Theater, Profile Theater, Artists Repertory Theater, Portland Opera, and Renegade Opera, as well as many performances with the University of Portland, her alma mater. You can see her next as Minli in Oregon Children’s Theater’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon. @ferndulie she/her/hers
The Pomegranate
Devised
Actor: Olivia Mathews
Actor: Olivia Mathews
Olivia Mathews is a local performer, director, and deviser. Her work is process focused, rigorous, and expressive. Most recently Olivia co-directed PETE’s The Americans and is also a recent grad of their 2021-2022 ICP cohort. They were also featured in opening weekend of The Cherry Orchard as Anya. Olivia is delighted to be making her debut with Shaking the Tree and is so grateful to Samantha, Annabel, and Emily for their collaboration and insight.
The Fig
Playwright: E.M. Lewis
Actor: Val Landrum
Actor: Val Landrum
E. M. Lewis is an award-winning playwright and opera librettist. Her work has been produced around the world, and published by Samuel French. Lewis received the Steinberg Award for How the Light Gets In and Song of Extinction and the Primus Prize for Heads from the American Theater Critics Association, the Ted Schmitt Award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, a Hodder Fellowship from Princeton University, a playwriting fellowship from New Jersey State Arts Commission, the 2016 Oregon Literary Fellowship in Drama, and an Edgerton Award for Magellanica. Other plays include Apple Season (National New Play Network rolling world premiere), The Gun Show, Dorothy’s Dictionary (finalist for the Angus Bowmer Award for Drama from the Oregon Book Awards), and You Can See All the Stars (Kennedy Center commission). Operas include Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant with composer Evan Meier, and Town Hall with composer Theo Popov. Lewis is currently the Mellon Foundation National Playwright in Residence at Artists Repertory Theater (ART), and her play True Story will open there in May. Lewis is a member of LineStorm Playwrights and the Dramatists Guild. She lives on her family’s farm in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. www.emlewisplaywright.com
Val Landrum is a Theatre Artist who is committed to the theory of Ensemble and inspired by the diverse community that Live Theatre brings. She has over 25 yrs of experience as a performer, which includes regional and local credits. Her most recent local credit was No Candy at Portland Playhouse. Occasionally she does TV and Film. Sometimes she writes plays, directs, and dialect coaches, too.
*Member of Actors' Equity Association
*Member of Actors' Equity Association
The Mushroom
Playwright: Andrea Stolowitz
Actor: Vana O'Brien
Actor: Vana O'Brien
Andrea Stolowitz is a playwright and librettist working in traditional and experimental theater and opera. Andrea’s work embraces bold theatricality and emotional vulnerability ranging from intimate portrayals of the human condition to the intersection of national history on private lives. Andrea is a member of New Dramatists class of 2026, The Lacroute Playwright at Artists Repertory Theatre, and an international teaching artist with Hand2Mouth. Andrea splits her time between Cork, Ireland and Berlin, Germany and Portland, OR. https://andreastolowitz.com
Vana O'Brien is an original founder of Artists Repertory Theatre where she has worked from 1981 until the present. Around Portland, over the last forty years, Vana has appeared on several stages, including Portland Playhouse, Cygnet Theatre, Shaking the Tree, Northwest Classical Theatre, Coho Theatre, New Rose Theatre, Portland Repertory Theatre, Storefront Theatre, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Corrib Theatre and Profile Theatre. In 1991 and 1994, she was fortunate to join Artist Rep’s Southeast Asia Arts America Tours, performing in Driving Miss Daisy, Three Tall Women and The World of Carl Sandburg. Vana is a Resident Artist at Artists Repertory Theatre. She is delighted to return to Shaking the Tree once more, where everything is inspired and anything is possible.
Marilyn Stacey (Understudy) is so very grateful for the opportunity to share in this amazing production. She has a long history with Portland Theatre, including ART’s Three Days of Rain, Becky’s New Car, The Crucible, Tooth of Crime, Clean House, Pirate’s Lullaby, and Quilters. She also appeared in God of Carnage at Lakewood Center, The Lion in Winter and Antony and Cleopatra at NW Classical Theater, and Hellfire Productions’ The Detective’s Wife. Earlier work includes Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Heidi Chronicles, and Born Yesterday at Oregon Stage Company, and The Wild Party at Cygnet. Marilyn graduated from Occidental College, Los Angeles, and Circle in the Square Theatre, New York. She has received two Drammy awards.
The Grape
Choreographer: Amy Leona Havin
Performer: Claire Aldridge
Performer: Claire Aldridge
Amy Leona Havin is a director, choreographer, writer, and performance artist based in Portland, Oregon. She began her dance training with Ohad Naharin’s Gaga Movement Language and is the Founder and Artistic Director of experimental dance performance company The Holding Project. Havin holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Cornish College of the Arts and her choreographic works, films, and installations have been presented both on the west coast and internationally; receiving awards and residencies from Disjecta Contemporary Art Center, Portland Dance Film Fest, Thessaloniki Cinedance International, CineDance Austria, Mexico City Videodance Festival, and others. Havin has also been published in a variety of journals and was shortlisted for the Bridport International Creative Writing Prize in Poetry in 2021. Additional work can be found at www.amyleonahavin.com / www.theholdingproject.com
Claire Aldridge (they/she) is an interdisciplinary artist based in Portland Or. You will find her on any given midnight at the crossroads of dance, theater, poetry, and sculpture. Committed to collaboratively driven works that push the boundaries of form she has been spending the year alongside the Portland Experimental Theater Ensemble in this years ICP cohort, and holds certificates from Dell Arte International School of Physical Theater and The American Conservatory Theater. Credits around town include Shaking The Tree (Short Flix, Caucasian Chalk Circle, Head Hands Feet, Orpheus and Eurydice), Oregon Children’s Theater (Charlotte’s Web), Enso Theater Ensemble (Romeo and Juliet), and is the creator of Anatomy of A Rabbit, an experimental dance film and art instillation in partnership with the Sexual Assault Resource Center. Claire can also be found traveling the world as a founding member of the Siren International Ensemble, a collective focused on storytelling beyond the barriers of language. Massive thank you to Samantha, and the whole crew who makes this production possible, to Oscar Wilde, and to her little sister, Erin, who will kill her if she is not thanked in the bio.
The Wheat Berry
Playwright: Sara Jean Accuardi
Actor: Kailey Rhodes
Actor: Kailey Rhodes
Sara Jean Accuardi is an award-winning playwright whose work has been seen at PlayMakers Repertory Company, the Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, Spooky Action Theater, The Blank Theatre, Vivid Stage, Victory Gardens, and Theatre Vertigo, among others. She received the Drammy Award for Outstanding Original Script for The Delays, the 2021 Oregon Literary Arts Leslie Bradshaw Fellowship for Drama, and won the inaugural International Thomas Wolfe Playwriting Competition with her play The Storyteller. Sara Jean has been a finalist for the Oregon Book Awards and the O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. She is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild and LineStorm Playwrights. She holds an MFA in Writing for the Screen and Stage from Northwestern University and is thrilled to be back at Shaking the Tree, where she had the joy of writing the Our Lady of Primordial Fire monologue for Refuge and the script for Chick Fight.
Kailey Rhodes is a Portland-based dancer, singer, and actor who enjoys hypothetical vacation planning and trustworthy oysters. She has worked with Third Rail, Portland Center Stage, Artists Rep, Portland Playhouse, Broadway Rose, and Anonymous Theatre. She’ll appear opposite Patrick Fabian in Ian Ebright’s film The Way We Speak later this year. She is ecstatic to be a(n) aril/bite/grain/segment/seed/slice in Samantha Van Der Merwe’s cornucopia. IG: @kaileydidit; kaileyrhodes.com; she/her/hers
Creative Team
Director & Set Designer: Samantha Van Der Merwe
Assistant Director: Annabel Cantor
Stage Manager: Emily Hogan
Assistant Stage Manager: Hayley Lamsma
Backstage Crew: Bela Mast
Music Director/Composer (Quince): Joellen Sweeney
Lighting Designers: Griffin Kiyoshi DeWitt
Sound Designer: Matt Wiens
Costume Designer: Paige A. Hanna
Technical Director and Design Collaborator: Ree Seminole
Scenic Charge Artist & Design Collaborator: Alex Meyer
Scenic Painter: Beiyi Teo
Master Electrician: Spencer Fork
Box Office Manager: Kai Hynes
Box Office Associates: Orlando Reyes Cabrera & Leiana Petlewski
Assistant Director: Annabel Cantor
Stage Manager: Emily Hogan
Assistant Stage Manager: Hayley Lamsma
Backstage Crew: Bela Mast
Music Director/Composer (Quince): Joellen Sweeney
Lighting Designers: Griffin Kiyoshi DeWitt
Sound Designer: Matt Wiens
Costume Designer: Paige A. Hanna
Technical Director and Design Collaborator: Ree Seminole
Scenic Charge Artist & Design Collaborator: Alex Meyer
Scenic Painter: Beiyi Teo
Master Electrician: Spencer Fork
Box Office Manager: Kai Hynes
Box Office Associates: Orlando Reyes Cabrera & Leiana Petlewski
Creative Team Bios (in alphabetical order)
Annabel Cantor
Annabel is an interdisciplinary theatre artist with interests in directing, writing, performing, designing, and devising processes. Previous works include shows with Corrib Theatre, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Shaking the Tree and others. They hold a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, as well as certificates from The Accademia Dell’arte and Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble’s Institute for Contemporary Performance. Annabel is bursting with gratitude for the opportunity to take part in this incredibly unique process. www.annabelcantor.com
Annabel is an interdisciplinary theatre artist with interests in directing, writing, performing, designing, and devising processes. Previous works include shows with Corrib Theatre, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Shaking the Tree and others. They hold a BA from Sarah Lawrence College, as well as certificates from The Accademia Dell’arte and Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble’s Institute for Contemporary Performance. Annabel is bursting with gratitude for the opportunity to take part in this incredibly unique process. www.annabelcantor.com
Spencer Fork
Spencer Fork is an aspiring lighting designer. His work at Shaking the Tree includes Fucking A (Lighting Designer), MODELMINORITY (Lighting Designer), Chick Fight (Master Electrician), Family (Carpenter/Lighting Assistant), Refuge (Assisstant Scenic Carpenter). Additionally, he was the lighting designer for Precious Cargo: Days of Old (The Holding Project). Spencer received his Bachelor of Science in Theatre Arts from the University of Oregon in 2021.
Spencer Fork is an aspiring lighting designer. His work at Shaking the Tree includes Fucking A (Lighting Designer), MODELMINORITY (Lighting Designer), Chick Fight (Master Electrician), Family (Carpenter/Lighting Assistant), Refuge (Assisstant Scenic Carpenter). Additionally, he was the lighting designer for Precious Cargo: Days of Old (The Holding Project). Spencer received his Bachelor of Science in Theatre Arts from the University of Oregon in 2021.
Griffin Kiyoshi DeWitt
Griffin is a Nisei (2nd generation Japanese American) designer living in Portland, Oregon, and is grateful for another opportunity to work at Shaking the Tree. Between theatrical productions, Griffin works in a variety of live events across the country. His favorite fruit is mangos. As always, Griffin would like to thank Josie, Colly, and Miles for allowing him to do what he loves to do. Griffin earned his Bachelor's degree in Theatre from Pacific University. To learn more, visit www.griffindewitt.design
Griffin is a Nisei (2nd generation Japanese American) designer living in Portland, Oregon, and is grateful for another opportunity to work at Shaking the Tree. Between theatrical productions, Griffin works in a variety of live events across the country. His favorite fruit is mangos. As always, Griffin would like to thank Josie, Colly, and Miles for allowing him to do what he loves to do. Griffin earned his Bachelor's degree in Theatre from Pacific University. To learn more, visit www.griffindewitt.design
Paige A. Hanna
Paige A Hanna is a Syrian-American costume designer and educator based in Portland
Oregon. She is the Costume Supervisor at Lakewood Theater Company and Portland State University where she also teaches. She has previously designed costumes for F****** A (Shaking the Tree), Murder on the Orient Express (Lakewood Theater), Leading Ladies (Lakewood Theater), No Exit (Portland State University), and The God Cluster (Fuse Theater Ensemble). She would like to thank her partner, Oliver and brother, Parker for their constant support. @scarysyrian
Paige A Hanna is a Syrian-American costume designer and educator based in Portland
Oregon. She is the Costume Supervisor at Lakewood Theater Company and Portland State University where she also teaches. She has previously designed costumes for F****** A (Shaking the Tree), Murder on the Orient Express (Lakewood Theater), Leading Ladies (Lakewood Theater), No Exit (Portland State University), and The God Cluster (Fuse Theater Ensemble). She would like to thank her partner, Oliver and brother, Parker for their constant support. @scarysyrian
Emily Hogan
Emily Hogan is a middle child and a double-Sagittarius. A transplant from Lompoc, CA, Emily studied theater at the University of Portland and is pleased to once again be working with Shaking the Tree, previously stage managing Fucking A, MODELMINORITY, Chick Fight, and serving as ASM for Family. You may have even seen Emily on the Shaking the Tree stage in Made to Dance in Burning Buildings. Emily has also been a dramaturg on numerous productions, such as i defy you, stars (Do It For Mead), The Killing Fields (Orphic), and Jaffa Gate (Northwest Theatre Workshop). Emily will be the dramaturg for the upcoming Shaking the Tree production, In A Different Reality She’s Clawing at the Walls, by Max Yu.
Emily Hogan is a middle child and a double-Sagittarius. A transplant from Lompoc, CA, Emily studied theater at the University of Portland and is pleased to once again be working with Shaking the Tree, previously stage managing Fucking A, MODELMINORITY, Chick Fight, and serving as ASM for Family. You may have even seen Emily on the Shaking the Tree stage in Made to Dance in Burning Buildings. Emily has also been a dramaturg on numerous productions, such as i defy you, stars (Do It For Mead), The Killing Fields (Orphic), and Jaffa Gate (Northwest Theatre Workshop). Emily will be the dramaturg for the upcoming Shaking the Tree production, In A Different Reality She’s Clawing at the Walls, by Max Yu.
Hayley Lamsma
Hayley Lamsma (she/her) graduated from George Fox University with a BA in Theatre and writing in May of 2022. She loves knitting, cross stitch, cats, and board games. In the last year, she has held many management positions, including being invited back to George Fox to Stage Manage their fall production of Oliver! The musical, and assistant Stage Management for Gather Rep’s production of Our Town. She feels very blessed to have the opportunity to work with Shaking the Tree on this production, and would like to thank all the people involved for being so welcoming.
Hayley Lamsma (she/her) graduated from George Fox University with a BA in Theatre and writing in May of 2022. She loves knitting, cross stitch, cats, and board games. In the last year, she has held many management positions, including being invited back to George Fox to Stage Manage their fall production of Oliver! The musical, and assistant Stage Management for Gather Rep’s production of Our Town. She feels very blessed to have the opportunity to work with Shaking the Tree on this production, and would like to thank all the people involved for being so welcoming.
Alex Meyer
Alex Meyer is a painter, installation artist, and scenic designer. Recent scenic design credits include with Third Rail Repertory Theatre, The Theatre Company, Oregon Children's Theatre, Portland Shakespeare Project, Broadway Rose, Imago Theatre, Salt and Sage Productions, CoHo Productions, Enlightened Theatrics, and Experience Theatre Project. She has also designed for companies such as the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus and Lemonlight Media. Her artwork has most recently been shown with The Remains Gallery and Blackfish Gallery. She holds a bachelor’s degree in art and theatre from Augustana University (SD).
More at www.designbyalexmeyer.com.
Alex Meyer is a painter, installation artist, and scenic designer. Recent scenic design credits include with Third Rail Repertory Theatre, The Theatre Company, Oregon Children's Theatre, Portland Shakespeare Project, Broadway Rose, Imago Theatre, Salt and Sage Productions, CoHo Productions, Enlightened Theatrics, and Experience Theatre Project. She has also designed for companies such as the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus and Lemonlight Media. Her artwork has most recently been shown with The Remains Gallery and Blackfish Gallery. She holds a bachelor’s degree in art and theatre from Augustana University (SD).
More at www.designbyalexmeyer.com.
Beiyi Teo
Bei is is a scenic artist and propmaker who is excited to be apart of The Forbidden Fruit. Some of her projects include, Don’t Hug Me and at Broadway Rose Theater Company, The Found Dog Ribbon Dance at CoHo Theater and The Ghost of David Belasco at Lakewood Center for the Arts. She thanks her husband for being the greatest support in her pursuit of art.
Bei is is a scenic artist and propmaker who is excited to be apart of The Forbidden Fruit. Some of her projects include, Don’t Hug Me and at Broadway Rose Theater Company, The Found Dog Ribbon Dance at CoHo Theater and The Ghost of David Belasco at Lakewood Center for the Arts. She thanks her husband for being the greatest support in her pursuit of art.
Ree Seminole
Ree was born in so-called North Dakota to a German-from-Russia mother and a Northern Cheyenne and Arikara father. He's excited to serve Shaking the Tree Theatre as technical director. He studied Classical Languages and Theatre at NDSU and Technical Production at Florida State. He has worked on national touring productions at both Hudson Scenic and Global Scenic while living in NYC as well as numerous off broadway productions. While his hobbies rotate often, as his overflowing garage would reveal, his current interests include stained glass, kaleidoscopes, and puppets. He'd like to thank his friend's Bear and Millie for luring him west and his lovely and talented wife for her support.
Ree was born in so-called North Dakota to a German-from-Russia mother and a Northern Cheyenne and Arikara father. He's excited to serve Shaking the Tree Theatre as technical director. He studied Classical Languages and Theatre at NDSU and Technical Production at Florida State. He has worked on national touring productions at both Hudson Scenic and Global Scenic while living in NYC as well as numerous off broadway productions. While his hobbies rotate often, as his overflowing garage would reveal, his current interests include stained glass, kaleidoscopes, and puppets. He'd like to thank his friend's Bear and Millie for luring him west and his lovely and talented wife for her support.
Samantha Van Der Merwe
"She creates lush, often dark and fantastical, environments that bring home the hard issues we need to face but are often unwilling to do on a daily basis. It’s a vision that needs to be supported because in her hands, some plays can be transformative."
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Samantha Van Der Merwe has now lived in the United States for 27 years, and is the founding Artistic Director of Shaking the Tree Theatre in Portland, OR. Founded in 2003, Shaking the Tree Theatre has become known for melding the boundaries of theatre and visual art by presenting thrilling and unconventional theatrical experiences. Samantha is a proud member of SDC (Stage Directors and Choreographers Society), and TCG (Theatre Communications Group).
Directing projects include: Fucking A (Suzan-Lori Parks) Chick Fight (Devised/words by Sara Jean Accuardi), Family (Celine Song), REFUGE (Art Installation/Devised), BAKKHAI (Euripides/Anne Carson), Escaped Alone (Caryl Churchill), _____ the wolf (devised), SALT (devised), Macbeth (William Shakespeare), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Bertolt Brecht), Come to the Table, Mike Pence (Devised), Miss Julie (August Strindberg, adapted by Craig Lucas), We're All Mad Here (Devised), Venus and Adonis (William Shakespeare), Head. Hands. Feet. (Devised & Edna O’Brien), Orpheus and Eurydice (Devised), A Doll's House (Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Frank McGuinness), Passion Play (Sarah Ruhl), Suddenly Last Summer (Tennessee Williams), Masque of the Red Death (Featuring Playwrights West), One Flea Spare (Naomi Wallace), Wilde Tales (Oscar wilde, adapted by Karin Magaldi), Far Away (Caryl Churchill), The Tripping Point (Featuring Playwrights West).
"She creates lush, often dark and fantastical, environments that bring home the hard issues we need to face but are often unwilling to do on a daily basis. It’s a vision that needs to be supported because in her hands, some plays can be transformative."
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Samantha Van Der Merwe has now lived in the United States for 27 years, and is the founding Artistic Director of Shaking the Tree Theatre in Portland, OR. Founded in 2003, Shaking the Tree Theatre has become known for melding the boundaries of theatre and visual art by presenting thrilling and unconventional theatrical experiences. Samantha is a proud member of SDC (Stage Directors and Choreographers Society), and TCG (Theatre Communications Group).
Directing projects include: Fucking A (Suzan-Lori Parks) Chick Fight (Devised/words by Sara Jean Accuardi), Family (Celine Song), REFUGE (Art Installation/Devised), BAKKHAI (Euripides/Anne Carson), Escaped Alone (Caryl Churchill), _____ the wolf (devised), SALT (devised), Macbeth (William Shakespeare), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Bertolt Brecht), Come to the Table, Mike Pence (Devised), Miss Julie (August Strindberg, adapted by Craig Lucas), We're All Mad Here (Devised), Venus and Adonis (William Shakespeare), Head. Hands. Feet. (Devised & Edna O’Brien), Orpheus and Eurydice (Devised), A Doll's House (Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Frank McGuinness), Passion Play (Sarah Ruhl), Suddenly Last Summer (Tennessee Williams), Masque of the Red Death (Featuring Playwrights West), One Flea Spare (Naomi Wallace), Wilde Tales (Oscar wilde, adapted by Karin Magaldi), Far Away (Caryl Churchill), The Tripping Point (Featuring Playwrights West).
Matt Wiens
Matt is a Portland-based composer and sound designer and is happy to be collaborating again with Shaking The Tree Theatre. Recent work includes Fucking A, Chick Fight, Family, Refuge, The Bakkhai, and Escaped Alone with Shaking the Tree Theatre; Welcome to Arroyo's, King of the Yees, Appropriate, Gloria, The Baltimore Waltz, Well, and Let Me Down Easy with Profile Theater; Indecent with Artists Rep; MALA with CoHo Productions; Titus Andronicus and Barbecue with The Portland Playhouse. Matt holds a BA in Theater from Goshen College and a Masters in Music Technology from NYU. You can hear his music at soundcloud.com/mattwiens.
Matt is a Portland-based composer and sound designer and is happy to be collaborating again with Shaking The Tree Theatre. Recent work includes Fucking A, Chick Fight, Family, Refuge, The Bakkhai, and Escaped Alone with Shaking the Tree Theatre; Welcome to Arroyo's, King of the Yees, Appropriate, Gloria, The Baltimore Waltz, Well, and Let Me Down Easy with Profile Theater; Indecent with Artists Rep; MALA with CoHo Productions; Titus Andronicus and Barbecue with The Portland Playhouse. Matt holds a BA in Theater from Goshen College and a Masters in Music Technology from NYU. You can hear his music at soundcloud.com/mattwiens.
Forbidden Fruit is generously supported by our major donors; Ronni Lacroute, Jessie Jonas, Anonymous, Ellyn Bye, and the Rose and David Dortort Foundation.
We'd also like to thank the foundations listed below, members of Shaking the Tree's Board, as well as many other individual supporters. To support this show, or any others in our season, please visit our SUPPORT page.
We'd also like to thank the foundations listed below, members of Shaking the Tree's Board, as well as many other individual supporters. To support this show, or any others in our season, please visit our SUPPORT page.
