MISSION
CoHo Productions broadens perspectives and cultivates empathy through vibrant and intimate productions. CoHo nurtures and supports Portland area theatre artists through a model of theatrical co-production, championing exceptional local artists who share their passionate work with an engaged audience, deepening the theatrical landscape of the community.
PROGRAMMING
COHO SUBSCRIPTION SEASON
For 23 years, CoHo Productions has pioneered artist-led co-production as a model of creating theatre. Each season, CoHo solicits scripts and project proposals from Portland’s theatre professionals and our artistic council selects 3 or 4 to produce in partnership. These projects become CoHo’s subscription season. The artistic vision is democratic, reflecting the tastes of the Portland theatre community. Seasons are diverse and unpredictable; the sole quality nurtured and insisted on is excellence.
COHO SUMMERFEST
Each June and July since 2012, CoHo has co-produced Summerfest, a 4-5 week series featuring one boundary pushing show each weekend. This festival has featured work by Sayda Trujillo, Pratik Motwani, Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble, Shaking the Tree, The Wonderheads, Hand2Mouth Theatre, Dance Naked Productions, The Late Now, and solo performances by Butt Kapinski, Gordon Boudreau, Chris Harder, Ben Newman, Camille Cettina, Tara Travis, Tonya Jone Miller, Phil Busse, Steve Patterson, and more.
COHO PRESENTS…
Occasionally, CoHo co-produces fully realized productions that have already been produced at smaller or alternative venues, moving them into CoHo’s professional yet intimate theatre. CoHo manages all publicity and box office and compensates the co-producer with an agreed upon percentage of box office receipts.
IN PARTNERSHIP WITH…
CoHo supports emerging theatre companies with demonstrated artistic quality but lacking financial resources. CoHo co-produces these companies’ shows as “In Partnership With CoHo” productions. CoHo manages the box office and disburses pre-production expenses, including marketing collateral and rental fees, and is reimbursed from box office receipts.
COHO LAB
CoHo Lab launched in August 2016 to provide dedicated space, time and resources to theatre artists developing new works of performance. As studio spaces become less accessible, and methods of collaborative theatre-making become more project-specific, CoHo Lab provides a crucial service and extends CoHo’s mission to nurture and support exceptional Portland-based theatre artists.
Selected artists receive a 20-30 hour workshop residency to develop their work and artist stipends are provided. Each Lab includes a private/invited showing for the artists to receive professional feedback, then culminates in a ticketed showing for a public audience. For audiences who enjoy new work mini-festivals like Risk-Reward and JAW, these casual showings are a rare chance to see a sampler of solo performances, original plays, ensemble devising, one-on-one performance encounters and other exciting performance.
GUEST RENTALS
When CoHo’s theatre space is not occupied by our own subscription season productions or additional programming, it is available for Guest Rentals. This provides much-needed professional performance space to esteemed local artists in theatre, dance and comedy like Bad Reputation Productions, Third Rail Repertory Theatre, Boom Arts, Staged!, and 11: Dance Co.
