Stage&Studio

Stories bring people together in shared humanity. Personal stories can uplift, move and connect. In 2025, Dmae Lo Roberts embarked on a statewide storytelling experience focusing on personal stories from both artists and community members. These stories are a form of living oral histories.

Dmae Lo Roberts decided to focus on four female playwrights in the festival: Sandra de Helen, Josie Seid, Alisha Christiansen and Erin Rachel.

Dmae Lo Roberts talks with Wilson is a Cherokee citizen and Portland author of about several novels including the New York Times bestseller Robopocalypse, as well as many nonfiction books, and countless short stories and graphic novels.

Portland Playhouse has been bringing this classic play back a non-traditional thoroughly multiracial and often cross gender adaptation for the last three years which feels timely and relevant to today. Dmae Lo Roberts met with director Charles Grant and actor La'Tevin Alexander who portrays Scrooge.

It is the second production in its 4th season, 21Ten Theatre presents the world premiere of “Madonna of the Cat” by veteran playwright Sue Mach. The storylines of  Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s Tale” are a jumping off point that explores the missing … Read the rest

Dmae Roberts opens up the audio vault with Talking With The Wind: The Mystery of Opal Whiteley. This half-hour documentary was first produced in 1986 with playwright Dorothy Velasco and tells the story of a young woman from Cottage Grove, Oregon who became the center of an international controversy when critics declared her diary a hoax.

Olga Kravtsova is a Russian-born movement director, performer, and interdisciplinary artist artist who lives in Portland. She is opening a new solo show called “Harvest of Woman” which she describes as a “raw excavation of women’s unseen labor, endurance, and survival.”

Donald Horn, the founder and managing artistic director of Triangle Productions brings back an encore production of "That's No Lady." The show is a loving tribute to the life and accomplishments of Walter Cole, otherwise known as his alter ego, the legendary Darcelle. The show also honors Cole's life partner for decades Roc Neuhart (Roxy).

When Scarlett Johansson took on an anime character role in a live action version of The Ghost In The Shell in 2016, Actor, writer and comedian got the spark to perform as Scarlett Johansson. Asian American groups instantly protested a white actress taking on the beloved character from  a Japanese cyberpunk story based on a manga series saying it was a "whitewashed" role. Johansson defended it saying that an actor had a right to play any role. And that’s the premise of actor Chris Grace’s new show Chris Grace As Scarlett Johansson

Laura Lo Forti and Damaris Webb have run the Vanport Mosaic Festival as co-directors for ten years which in itself is an admirable achievement built on trust, hard work and mutual friendship, each respecting the others desire for art, activism and community engagement.

Playwright Sara Jean Accuardi is about to set sail on her World Premiere production of The Storyteller. Accuardi has had her plays produced in Portland at Shaking the Tree Theatre, Theatre Vertigo, and more recently Artist Repertory Theatre.  She’s had productions in other parts of the country such as the Playmakers Repertory Company, The Seven Devils Playwrights Conference, and Victory Gardens to name a few.

Dmae talks with Jane Vogel Mantiri (Indo writer/actor and founder of Advance Gender Equity) and Samson Syharath (theater artist and co-founder of Theatre Diaspora) about their journeys with cultural diaspora. Both are performing personal solo plays dramatizing their explorations into family secrets and the effects of war and myth on their own identities. They premiere their separate shows at the 2025 Fertile Ground Festival, a city-wide festival starting April 4-19th featuring all local theater works.

In 2015 famed playwright of verbatim” or “documentary” theater, Anna Deavere Smith created a solo show called “Notes From the Field.” Drawn from more than 200 interviews with students, parents, teachers administrators, Smith played multiple characters who talk about the school to prison pipeline. “Notes From the Field” is even more pertinent today

Simon Tam is one of the few, if any, rock musicians to have received a major award from the American Bar Association. Co-founded in 2006 as an all-Asian American dance band paying homage to 80's music, the Portland-originated The Slants were denied the right to trademark their name. Tam had to fight a case all the way to the US Supreme Court in order to get the band name trademarked.

Linda K. Johnson is a visionary dancer who has created more conceptual and site-relevant performances and projects for the last 40 years. She has been both an educator and curator bringing together artists of varied disciplines to create together. O

Sarah Jane Hardy has been the artistic director of Northwest Children’s Theater (NWCT) for a couple of decades. Since she left her native Liverpool, England, Sarah Jane has weathered many storms at the theatre and produced and directed many successful shows. She’s been a visionary theater leader and when many theaters had to scale back during the pandemic, NWCT actually obtained a long lease to open a new space in downtown Portland. Converting a former movie multiplex into a couple of much-needed new spaces for themselves, NWCT has several options for creating their stage productions but also are now providing affordable spaces for other community and artistic groups.

Chisao Hata, veteran artist, activist and community weaver and Roberta Wong longtime visual artist and curator both have personal and family histories connected to Portland’s historic Old Town. They are about to embark on Vanport Mosaic’s Coming Home project events September 25th through October 5th, 2024. Their project was one of 14 selected nationwide by Race Forward and Americans for the Arts.

Jessica Wallenfels, artistic director of Many Hats Collaboration and a longtime director and choreographer, is embarking on a new project. She calls it The Hatchery –a project dedicated to developing nontraditional new works using music and movement as an integral part of the storytelling and audience experience.

Oregon Children's Theatre is set to open two shows at Portland 5 after delays from recent snow and ice storms that have shut down most productions. Dmae Lo Roberts got a chance to speak with Jenn Hartman Luck, OCT's artistic director about (h)opening "Goodnight Moon" (based on the classic book by Margaret Wise Brown) in the Winningstad and "The Lightning Thief" (of the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan) in the Newmark Theater on the weekend of January 20th.

Black Nativity is back at PassinArt, A Theatre Company, the oldest Black theatre company in Portland. The show is a retelling of the Nativity as a celebration of gospel music, first created by famed poet Langston Hughes in 1961. It’s … Read the rest

Since 2020, Renegade Opera has been striving to produce operas in equitable ways that support and feature emerging artists while creating an immersive experience for their growing audience. Renegade Opera’s artistic director and founding member, Danielle Jagelski, talks with Jenna … Read the rest

Dmae Lo Roberts  first saw actress Regina Taylor on the television show “I’ll Fly Away” in 1991.  She admired her presence and the way she could command a scene with just a look and a feeling. That show went on … Read the rest

Hanako Wakatsuki-Chong was recently appointed the new executive director of the Japanese American Museum of Oregon (JAMO). She speaks with Jenna Yokoyama on Stage and Studio about her personal and professional background in preserving Japanese American history as well as … Read the rest

The 8th Annual Festival Vanport Mosaic Festival is underway in Portland through May 29, 2023. Curated and produced by Laura Lo Forti, who calls  herself a Story Midwife, two artists who’ve worked with the festival through the years are taking … Read the rest

Grace Lin, a Taiwanese-American author and illustrator of more than 30 children’s books. She is a Newberry, Geisel and Caldecott honoree living in Northhampton, Massachusetts. Dmae Lo Roberts talked with Lin for the Stage and Studio podcast about her … Read the rest

Priti Gandhi came to take the helm as artistic director of Portland Opera during the fall of 2021. She inherited a dynamic season that began with one of her favorite operas Carmen and followed by newer operas Thumbprint and ABSENCE: … Read the rest

On February 19TH 1942, FDR signed Executive Order 9066 sending more than 100,000 Japanese Americans to concentration camps during World War II. To commemorate the Day of Remembrance on that day, Portland’s Japanese American Citizen’s League (JACL) will host a … Read the rest

  You always think you have more time. That’s what I thought when I hit a snag in scheduling an interview with David Ornette Cherry. I was shocked to learn he died on November 20th 2022 in London from … Read the rest

Actor, writer, activist, and a Pulitzer Prize nominated tour de force artist, Kristina Wong  created a solo show born out of the pandemic. When her tour was cancelled, Wong found herself at home with her sewing machine and decided … Read the rest

Dmae Lo Roberts has a timely pro-choice conversation with writer Judith Arcana. On June 24, 2022, the majority conservative U.S. Supreme Court, overturned Roe v. Wade. After 50 years as precedent, it was dismantled as a constitutional right for a … Read the rest

Since he moved to Portland in 2016, Joe Kye has made a name for himself in the music scene as a respected musician and composer but also has created strong bonds with the AAPI artist and creatives community. A classically … Read the rest

As a veteran scenic designer, Carey Wong made magic happen in 300 productions throughout the Northwest and beyond for more than 45 years. He got his start professionally in the 1980s as the resident set designer at Portland Opera for … Read the rest

For this edition of Stage & Studio, we highlight Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander heritage month and we feature innovative taiko artists Michelle Fujii and Toru Watanabe, the founders and directors of Unit Souzou and Constant State of … Read the rest

  To say that Lauren Steele is a gifted actress is an understatement. In 2019 she delighted audiences with a tour de force performance playing 19 characters in Queens Girl in the World,  by Caleen Sinnette Jennings. Steele showed the … Read the rest

  Dmae Lo Roberts talks with Marc David Pinate, a playwright and artistic director of Borderlands Theater  remotely from Tucson, Arizona. In 2017, Pinate had difficulty paying the salary of  an ensemble member who was also on staff at Borderlands. … Read the rest

Intisar Abioto calls herself “an explorer-artist working across photography, dance and writing.” Since she moved to Portland as a young adult with her family, she’s been creatively highlighting and documenting the contributions and talents of Black Oregonians. A prolific cross-disciplinary … Read the rest

Dmae Lo Roberts presents an audio podcast produced by The Immigrant Story that features a frank and personal exploration of mixed race Asian American identity. Roberts and writer and educator Patti Duncan as friends and colleagues have explore what this … Read the rest

It’s safe to say 2021 was a better year than 2020. With the vaccine, life this year became a little less fearful. People started to gather, first in small groups, and then with larger audiences for theaters and public events. … Read the rest

“Madness, pain, ear-cutting despair, desolate poverty, Van Gogh’s myth tells the tale of a melancholic martyr who took his own life in an ultimate act of revulsion. By contrast, to follow the evolution of Van Gogh’s works is to go … Read the rest

Dmae Lo Roberts talks with perhaps the most influential benefactor of Oregon arts. Most artists and arts organizations in Oregon know the name of Ronni S. Lacroute. Anyone who attends performing arts events, art exhibits, films and music festivals knows … Read the rest

Join Dmae Lo Roberts for a conversation with Sankar Raman, founder of The Immigrant Story, a website, traveling art exhibit and podcast documenting the journeys and stories of immigrants in the Portland and across the country. A volunteer-run nonprofit, … Read the rest

Dmae looks at the Black contributions to fashion design throughout American history with writer, publisher and fashion expert Rhonda P. Hill. She recently published a series of eight articles called A Study of Eight, The Untold American Story, … Read the rest

Dmae Lo Roberts features the first annual Pasifika Unity Festival a free outdoor event that celebrates Pacific Islander culture and health. With live music, crafts vendors and local food trucks, the celebration is also a health fair and COVID-19 vaccination … Read the rest

Dmae talks with award-winning author Heidi Durrow who is a keynote speaker at this year’s virtual Willamette Writers Conference (July 29-Aug.1). The daughter of a Danish immigrant mother and an a Black serviceman, Durrow grew up overseas before settling in … Read the rest

For the last 23 years, Dmae Roberts has featured both Northwest Children’s Theater and Oregon Children’s Theatre and their various productions. This time, the artistic directors of both companies are sharing the podcast stage. It’s rare to have two successful … Read the rest

In this week’s Stage & Studio podcast, Dmae Roberts talks with James R. Dixon and Tyler Andrew Jones about producing the first-ever BlaQ Out.For Pride Month,  Fuse Theatre Ensemble and The OUTwright Theatre Festival is celebrating its decade of producing … Read the rest

Dmae talks with Laura Lo Forti and Damaris Webb, co-directors of Vanport Mosaic, a multidisciplinary organization that devotes itself to memory activism through visual and performing arts, history and community dialogue. First formed to honor the history of the devastating … Read the rest

For her second episode during Asian American/Pacific Islander month, Dmae Roberts delves into the layers of filmmaking and identity with filmmaker Devin Fei-Fan Tau. He’s reached a milestone in his career with his first feature documentary Who’s On Top?  The … Read the rest

For Asian Pacific American Heritage month in May, Dmae Roberts features theater director Desdemona Chiang. Like many theater artists, this noted director has been perfecting the virtual reading which has evolved as its own art form during the pandemic. Hear … Read the rest

What is the current state of Portland’s creative community? One person who has had their finger on the pulse of the needs and challenges for Portland’s artists is Subashini Ganesan and she’s checking in with Dmae Roberts. (Photos: Intisar Abioto)… Read the rest