Sowelu Theater
Portland, OR
503.730.9066

About Sowelu

Aesthetic context and philosophy

During a performance of Picnic on the Battlefield

Picnic on the Battlefield
John Breen, Amy Gray,
Eric Read and Lorraine Bahr

Sowelu takes its name from the ancient Norse and Celtic Runes, the symbol signifying wholeness, remaining present in the moment, trusting and honoring process, and a commitment to truth likened to the action of a “spiritual warrior.”

Sowelu Theater Ensemble fits within the genre of ensemble theaters, which has diverse manifestations, both institutionally and aesthetically. Ensemble theaters include among others, groups who choose to work together over time, artists who work predominantly on community projects and those who make physical theater. The Sowelu Theater aesthetic is a blend of physical theater methods born of modern dance, the Sanford Meisner method of truthful, moment-to-moment connection and the Robert Ravan method of character development and psychophysical gesture. This combination of tools is a marriage of expressionism and naturalism that sets Sowelu apart.

Sowelu is non-dogmatic in its approach, preferring to allow our audiences to discover the transformative sensation associated with our work on a visceral level. We use the physical layer of our work in a variety of ways. We are able to manifest psychological layers, subliminal images and explore metaphor through movement. We are told often that our work makes people dream.

Our work is collaborative by nature; we break down hierarchal divisions among the artists. Though we have traditional titles — director, actor, choreographer, designer — all are encouraged to participate in artistic decisions no matter what the role.

Sowelu is experimental and exploratory in expanding theatrical forms. We work in a laboratory setting developing work over time and training regularly in a workshop atmosphere. Therefore, we are structured more like a dance company than a regional theater.

Economic context and philosophy

Sowelu is a provincial theater in Portland, Oregon less encumbered by the oppressive forces of commercially based art in major cities. We do however, sit in the dynamic tension of two longstanding structures for theater artists; the freelance model of artists for hire by producers and the ensemble model of resident artists growing together over time.

Each model presents its own challenges for sustainability. The ensemble model generally requires lots of sweat equity and has no successful examples of sustaining mature artists numbering more than five in this country. Ensembles generally thrive when the artists are “twenty somethings” and struggle as artists mature with traditional financial and familial responsibilities. Freelance work however creates equal stress on family life and in many communities does not provide a living wage either.

A recent national study by The Urban Institute and figures from TCG indicate the national average wage for arts workers is $6,000.00 per year. A recent local study indicates the Portland theater community average is much lower. Outside the local artistic directors and the few similar full-time employees at our local theaters, only the most prolific theater artists would see W-2’s reaching between $6,000.00 and $10,000.00. More commonly it is $2,000.00 to $6,000.00 per year. With Actors Equity Association (union) contracts providing only minimum wage, smaller theaters paying only a stipend and local theaters offering few multi-show contracts to local artists, this is easily comprehendible.

At Sowelu, we recognize that our industry is subsidized by the underpaid work of our artists. We value the role artists’ play in our community and set a good faith goal of providing minimum wage for our arts workers. We are still several years away from achieving this.

Even with this modest wage goal however, arts workers will still have need to teach in our schools and hold other creative positions in our community. By providing minimam wage for our artistic workers however, we will set a precedent that the artists’ creative product is also of value. By providing even part-time annual employment we hope to ensure that these mature, creative individuals will continue to live and raise families in our communities, adding their voice and expertise to our vibrant culture.