Surprise Party Theatre

Shakespeare Party: Romeo and Juliet

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 22:19:56 -0700

Everyone join us Thursday May 9th at the Jack London Bar (29 SW 4th Avenue, PDX, under the Rialto Poolroom) for Shakespeare Party: Romeo and Juliet!

THE SHAKESPEARE PARTY is Surprise Party Theatre’s flagship project. Think of it a little like Shakespeare karaoke—audience members are assigned parts at the door, provided scripts, and then we just get on our feet and straight up perform a Shakespeare play. No stage, no auditions, no experience required. And no audience but ourselves. All in a comfortable and inviting bar where you can relax and have a drink with your friends (at least while you’re not busy busting out iambic pentameter). Show up early to claim your part. Color commentary, dancing, and drinking games abound!

This time round, it’s an all-fighting, all-feuding, all-underage-sexing romp through Shakespeare’s most teen drama of tragedies ROMEO AND JULIET. Join up with the Montagues or the Capulets and see just how much trouble a couple of kids’ hormones can get us into.

We start handing out parts at 7:00. Performance starts at 7:30.

FREE, with $5 suggested donation.

Shakespeare Party: The Tempest!

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 22:30:33 -0800

On Thursday, February 21st Surprise Party Theatre is doing our latest Shakespeare Party (The Tempest!) at the Jack London Bar (529 SW 4th Avenue, PDX, under the Rialto Poolroom).

THE SHAKESPEARE PARTY is Surprise Party Theatre’s flagship project. Think of it a little like Shakespeare karaoke—audience members are assigned parts at the door, provided scripts, and then we just get on our feet and straight up perform a Shakespeare play. No stage, no auditions, no experience required. And no audience but ourselves. All in a comfortable and inviting bar where you can relax and have a drink with your friends (at least while you’re not busy busting out iambic pentameter). Show up early to claim your part. Color commentary, dancing, and drinking games abound!

A week after Valentine’s Day we break out our first of Shakespeare’s romances* with THE TEMPEST. A shipwreck. A mysterious island. An old man with his books. Pasts will be confronted. Lives will be changed. People will be mistaken for fish.

This Shakespeare Party is CRUISE themed, so feel free to show up in your best Hawaiian shirts with noses dripping in sunscreen.

We start handing out parts at 7:00. Performance starts at 7:30.

FREE, with $5 suggested donation.

* Note: not super romantic.

RSVP at the Facebook event page!

Shakespeare Party: Richard III

Thu, 01 Nov 2012 20:00:46 -0700

The latest installment of our Shakespeare Parties is coming to the Jack London on November 15th! Get ready to delve deep into the murderous world of English history with RICHARD III.

THE SHAKESPEARE PARTY is Surprise Party Theatre’s flagship project. Think of it a little like Shakespeare karaoke—audience members are assigned parts at the door, provided scripts, and then we just get on our feet and straight up perform a Shakespeare play. No stage, no auditions, no experience required. And no audience but ourselves. All in a comfortable and inviting bar where you can relax and have a drink with your friends (at least while you’re not busy busting out iambic pentameter). Show up early to claim your part. Color commentary, dancing, and drinking games abound!

This time around we are getting all historical with Shakespeare’s slimiest, nastiest villain: KING RICHARD III. Watch the original Tricky Dick lie, cheat and murder his way to the throne of England in the thrilling climax to Shakespeare’s series of plays on the Wars of the Roses. Think of it like Game of Thrones, except it really happened!* Not familiar with medieval English history? That’s okay! We’ll bring you up to speed with all the fast-paced, power-hungry backstabbing intrigue.

Thursday, November 15th, at The Jack London Bar (529 SW 4th Ave, PDX. Underneath the Rialto Poolroom)!

We start handing out parts at 7:00. Performance starts at 7:30.

FREE, with $5 suggested donation.

* Sort of.

SPT Recommends: 7/16-7/22

Sun, 15 Jul 2012 23:51:15 -0700

So, as part of Surprise Party Theatre’s mission (“Here to make friends!”) we’re going to try rolling out a feature highlighting a few events this week put on by other people that we think SPT fans would dig on. It’s kind of a vague set of criteria, but we’re looking at stuff that defies easy categorization, that takes nerdy shit and makes it fun, and just generally the kind of events that smart, attractive people like yourselves might enjoy.

So here we go for the week of Monday, July 16th-Sunday, July 22nd!

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MONDAY/TUESDAY/THURSDAY
Antarctic Perspectives
The Mission Theater and the Bagdad Theater
Free!

Now this is just intriguing. McMenamins is hosting a series of “rendezvous” that combine art, science and history to explore humanity’s interaction with the Antarctic. Monday evening at the Mission a collection of Antarctic scientists wow us with their storytelling, as well as their poetic and musical ability. Tuesday, again at the Mission, a bunch of short documentaries and discussions with scientists working on climate change. And on Thursday at the Bagdad, a history of music in the Antarctic (including live performance) and more short documentaries.

We’re huge art/history/science nerds, kids, and we love nothing more than programs that combine them—especially when they also have free admission and easy access to booze. We don’t know anything about the people putting this series together, and the Facebook page has a meager 10 likes, but this is a neat enough concept that it’s worth taking the chance on.

More details here.

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MONDAY
ShanRock “Beer Night” Trivia
15th Ave Hophouse, 8:00
Hawthorne Hophouse, 9:00
Free!

If you don’t love bar trivia, we seriously don’t even want to hear about it. ShanRock is one of Portland’s triviology masters—creative, engaging, and not afraid to experiment with the form. You can catch them around town most nights, but we’re pretty excited to bust out some beer trivia (did you know that a collector of beer bottles is called a “labeorphile”?), and of course tasting beer as a “physical challenge” is living the dream.

More details here.

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TUESDAY
Kick Ass Oregon History: Famous Oregon Jail Breaks
Jack London Bar, 7:30
Free!

Surprise Party Theatre’s good friends (and *SPOILER ALERT* future collaborators) do local history right—all mayhem, sex, violence, and liberal usage of, as their ribald resident historian puts it, “the fuck word”. This show should be no different, with a survey of Beaver state prisoners who just couldn’t be kept locked up. There’s even going to be free cake! Just don’t choke on the file that’s been baked into it.

More details here.

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WEDNESDAY
Portland Symphonic Choir: “Summer Sing” Verdi’s Requiem
PCC Cascade Campus, 7:00
$10

It’s a lot like our Shakespeare Parties, really, only instead of busting out some sweet iambs about love or whatever, you’re these people:

More details here.

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THURSDAY
Filmusik: Modern Times
Hollywood Theatre, 8:00
$12.00

Filmusik combines live music with classic movies in exciting, fun and unexpected ways. So “Organ Grinders”, their series of silent film screenings, could seem pretty uninspired—after all, silent films were already made for live accompaniment. But the musicians that perform always bring something new to the table. That’s what it looks like with Retake’s original score to this Charlie Chaplin classic about the problems of industrialization and unemployment (hilarious!). Check out the trailer on Filmusik’s website.

More details here.

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FRIDAY/SATURDAY
Portland Cello Project: Extreme Cello Dance Party
Doug Fir Lounge, 9:00
$13.00-$15.00

It’s that time of year again, kids. Portland’s biggest crossover act is pairing up with all their indie rock friends for two nights of boogying and hardcore pizzicato. Always a blast.

More details here.

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SATURDAY
Original Practice Shakespeare Festival: As You Like It
Milepost 5, 12:00
Free!

We like to think of OPSFest as simpatico to our Shakespeare Parties. We both believe that including the audience in the process brings Shakespeare’s plays to life in a special way. OPSFest’s productions are low-rehearsal, high-improv, high-energy takes on the Shakespeare in the Park model, and they’re always really fun. Since Surprise Party Theatre is doing As You Like It on August 23rd (*shameless plug alert*), you should check ‘em both out!

More details here.

We're coming out of hiatus!

Wed, 11 Jul 2012 12:01:13 -0700

SHAKESPEARE PARTIES HAVE A NEW LOCATION! Don’t get us wrong, we loved The Waypost, but we were just getting too big to perform there!

We’ll be doing Shakespeare’s wonderful genderfuck in the woods AS YOU LIKE IT on Thursday, August 23rd at The Jack London Bar! Mark your calendars and keep an eye out for more information!

Macbeth Auditions!

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 23:50:00 -0800

Most of the roles at our Shakespeare Parties are given out at the door, but we like to assign a few of the biggest parts earlier to give those actors a little bit of time to review their parts before the night of. Would you be interested in doing that for Macbeth? We’re holding an INFORMAL AUDITION/GET-TOGETHER on SUNDAY, MARCH 11TH at from 4pm-6pm. Think of it like a weekend happy hour, but with Shakespeare!

If you’re interested in auditioning, send an e-mail to surprisepartytheatre@gmail.com for details! And either way, hope to see you at Shakespeare Party: Macbeth on March 29th!

(Oh, by the way, the roles we’re pre-casting are: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Malcolm, Macduff. Ladies, please feel free to audition for any of those!)

NEXT UP: Macbeth

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 19:18:13 -0800

Join us for Shakespeare Party 2: Shakespearer as we take on that bloody, creepy, disturbing tragedy MACBETH.

The Waypost (3120 N Williams) on Thursday, March 29th at 7:30 PM.

See you there!

The Cast List!

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:06:00 -0800

Shakespeare Party: Measure for Measure is a week from tonight (Wednesday)! Can’t wait to see your beautiful faces there!

We’ve pre-cast the five biggest roles, to give them a chance to look over their parts a bit before the night. We are so happy to announce: DUKE VINCENTIO will be played by noted local puppeteer, comedian and co-artistic director of “Shakesprov”, the improvised Shakespeare show, AMY “ZING” GRAY.

You may have seen our ANGELO as the highly logical, expressively eyebrowed Mr. Spock of PDX hit “Trek in the Park”, but when he kicks off his shoes and gets real, he’s just plain old lovable JESSE GRAFF.

Our ISABELLA is fresh from her run as Lady Anne in Portland Actors Ensemble’s delicious Richard III—yes, it’s the charming and gifted ALLIE RANGEL.

The lovable fop LUCIO will be played by a puppeteer and actor who you will be able to see next month in Tears of Joy’s “The Tell-Tale Heart”, the rakishly handsome JON PLUEARD.

Finally, what story would be complete without a pimp? Our pimp of the night, POMPEY, will be presented by that master of Shakespeare, veteran actor of the Original Practice Shakespeare Festival, your friend and mine, MEGAN MURPHY RUCKMAN.

THE FULL MOTHERFUCKING PRESS RELEASE

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:25:43 -0800

Who: Surprise Party Theatre
What: Shakespeare Party: Measure for Measure
When: Wednesday, January 18th, 7:30 PM
Where: The Waypost (3120 N Williams Ave, Portland, OR 97212)
Admission: Free! ($5 suggested donation at door for a script, which is required to participate.)

Surprise Party Theatre is a brand new events company, dedicated to blurring the lines between the theatrical and the social, all in our never-ending quest for a good time. Our mission is to throw parties where creative people can enjoy themselves, and to take performance out of uncomfortable chairs in overly-air conditioned spaces. Surprise Party Theatre is the wild-eyed, precocious child of producer, clown, puppeteer, actor, writer and intriguingly handsome man-about-town Jonathan Owicki.

The Shakespeare Party is Surprise Party Theatre’s flagship project. Think of it like Shakespeare karaoke—audience members are assigned parts at the door, provided scripts, and then we just get on our feet and straight up perform a Shakepeare play. No stage, no auditions, no experience required. And no audience but ourselves. All in a comfortable and inviting bar where you can relax and have a drink with your friends (at least while you’re not busy busting out iambic pentameter). Show up early to claim your part. Shakespeare Parties are hosted by Surprise Party Theatre’s resident Shakespeare dork, Jonathan Owicki, who will provide color commentary, choose appropriate dance music, lead the drinking games, and let you in on today’s Secret Word.

Measure for Measure is sexy, disturbing, funny, depressing, and basically just Shakespeare at his awesomest. The duke of Vienna has disappeared and his deputy is so puritanical he makes Rick Santorum look like Perez Hilton. But when he condemns a man to death for knocking up his fiancée before they were legally wed, has he gone too far? Listen, this play has it all—Nuns! Monks! Corrupt officials! Prostitutes! WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT, PEOPLE?

Save the Date!

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 17:07:29 -0800

Shakespeare Party #1: Measure for Measure! January 18th! More details TO FOLLOOOOOOOW!

Surprise Party Theatre: coming to PDX soon. Ish.

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:54:20 -0700

Surprise Party Theatre: coming to PDX soon. Ish.