In-person performance is coming back to Ovations in the Fall of 2021. On June 15, we present Screen to Stage, a virtual sneak peek of the artists we will be bringing LIVE to Portland stages in our upcoming season, as we gratefully move off of our screens and back to in-person gatherings together. In 2019, with … Read more
In January, we were in conversation with Starr Kelly to begin to share the partnership that Portland Ovations and the Abbe Museum are building in order to create a performance for young people that centers Wabanaki storytelling and the artists that tell these stories. We see this partnership and the performance as an opportunity for Wabanaki storytellers … Read more
Everyone has a story. The urge to share our story, to connect with others, is at the root of human nature. Taking one’s own story and making the personal universal is the sacred role of artists. Weaving tales of family, personal journey, cultures, folklore and immigration – SoulRoar is the creative endeavor of poet/lyricist Kerem … Read more
“What we’re doing,” playwright and SurvivorSpeakUSA founder dee Clarke said in regard to THE LAST GIRL, her play-in-development, and her advocacy work, “is putting the last girl first. And we’re survivors leading the way.” The Last Girl: the one whose life is unseen by others. The girl who, due to her gender, race and class is … Read more
After nearly a decade on the road touring internationally with the Forsythe Company, dance artist Riley Wattsdecided it was time to come home to Maine. For Riley, moving back to Maine was the right thing to do. It’s meant time and space: to heal, to pursue a different lifestyle for his body and mind and, … Read more
We’ve been lucky to get to know musician, storyteller and writer Samuel James this year as one of our Commissioned Maine Artists. This has included winding conversations about music, culture, home and justice, along with impromptu performances over Zoom. And now, through this series, we hope some of you are getting to know this marvelous … Read more
The more than year-long pandemic has taught us much to take into the future together. One of the things many Ovations’ Members have mentioned to us is how our human need to gather and to belong — to groups, to communities, to a place and to each other — have been made more visible by our social … Read more
Community suppers. Church potlucks. Festive receptions. Learning how to cook traditional dishes then sitting down together to enjoy. Gathering to exchange art, food, culture and community is on the menu at Portland Ovations. Throughout the years, our welcoming Portland communities have opened their hearts and cookbooks to Ovations artists visiting us from away. Fondly we … Read more
What an unforgettable night! Being back on stage at Merrill, reveling in the beauty of that space with artists working together LIVE … and you were there, too, only not in your usual red velvet seats. And still: your dedicated support as well as the enthusiasm of so many local businesses and others made POP 90 … Read more
We’re hoping you’re joining us next Thursday, March 25 for Ovations’ big, live-and-virtual kickoff celebration of our 90th anniversary year. When you do, you’ll be experiencing Ovations through the looking glass of our digital realms: we will be live at Merrill Auditorium, but you, our audiences, are not quite able to be with us there … Read more