Choose Your Own Emoji-Venture Comedy Show
Portland-based comedian Katie Nguyen hosts this Choose Your Own Emoji-Venture, a hybrid livestream comedy show, featuring an all-BIPOC lineup, including Maggie Maye, Shain Brenden, Curtis Cook and Mohanad Elshieky. The audience will choose the jokes they'll hear next, by voting from a selection of mystery emojis throughout the show. If you loved the audience participation in our recent presentation of Summerfield Estates, you won't want to miss this chance to guide the direction of the outcome and enjoy plenty of laughs along the way.
Katie Nguyen is a writer and comedian living in Portland, Oregon. Her writing has been featured in The New Yorker, you can hear her stand-up on SiriusXM radio, and she is a regular at Helium Comedy Club. Katie has opened for Todd Barry, Matt Braunger, Ron Funches, and performed at festivals including Limestone, Out of Bounds, 10,000 Laughs, Asheville, SF Sketchfest, Stumptown, All Jane, and Bridgetown.
Katie teaches comedy classes at Helium and Portland Center Stage, and offers free/sliding-scale workshops specifically for BIPOC. She has twice been chosen as one of the Portland Mercury's Geniuses of Comedy, and was recently named the winner of Willamette Week's Funniest Five.
Mohanad Elshieky is a New York based comedian who made his national TV debut on Conan, has been featured on Comedy Central, and has toured with Pop Up Magazine. In 2018, he appeared in an episode of Epix’s “Unprotected Sets” and was listed as one of Thrillist’s 50 Best Undiscovered Comics.
Mohanad, who is currently a digital producer on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, has a special skill for making you laugh at the seemingly unlaughable. The Libyan-born comedian combines a deceptively laid-back demeanor with his whip-smart perspective on politics and culture. The Portland Mercury called him “an undisputed genius of comedy,” and he's been featured on podcasts such as Lovett or Leave It, Pod Save The People and Harmontown. Elshieky zeroes in on topics that seem off limits — then surprises you with how hard you’re laughing.
Maggie Maye is a standup comic/writer/actress in Los Angeles, California, who's appeared on Conan and written for The New Yorker. Her sweet and sassy personality makes you think while you laugh.
IG/Twitter: @maggiemayehaha
Curtis is a Los Angeles-based comedian whose work has appeared on IFC, TBS, Viceland, and Comedy Central.
Twitter: @Curtis_Cook
Instagram: @CurtisCookComedy
Shain Brenden is a comedian, writer, actor, and podcaster based in Portland, Oregon. He was named one of Willamette Weekly's "Funniest Five" comedians, dubbed an “Undisputable Genius of Comedy” by the Portland Mercury, and finished Top 3 in the Portland’s Funniest Person Contest.
Current & Upcoming
Improvisation Classes for Beginners
Whether you're looking to get more confident in social situations, think quicker on your feet, or get in touch with your imaginative side, these "one-off" improv classes will set you on the path to success!
Adult Class : TWELFTH NIGHT, Before & After
Join veteran actor Joe Costa for a unique opportunity to take a “deep dive” into both Shakespeare’s text of Twelfth Night, and the PCS Production. Participants will read the play out loud as a group, with “intermissions” provided for lively discussion of themes and content. Interested participants will have a chance to act in selected scenes, guided by the instructor.
Improv Comedy: Love, Shakespeare
Witness the Magic of unscripted Elizabethan comedy! Step into the offbeat world of Love, Shakespeare, where seasoned Portland comedians attempt something audacious: performing a fully improvised Elizabethan play based on your suggestions!
Albina Music Trust presents A Brown Branch Christmas
Celebrate this holiday season with A Brown Branch Christmas at Portland Center Stage. Now in its fourth season, this two-night big band celebration features directors Domo Branch and Charlie Brown III guiding a heavy 15-piece lineup of regional and national musicians.
BIPOC Affinity Night DJ Party with ALoSo
Join us for a double feature BIPOC Affinity Night, featuring a live DJ set by ALoSo, plus holiday craft market vendor tables, art exhibits by Albina Music Trust Wall to Wall Sound and Jason Hill's Favorite Things, with complimentary select drinks provided by Multnomah Whiskey Library and Deschutes Brewery while supplies last.
Winter Teen Academy: Scene Work
Calling all teens! Are you looking to expand your acting skills and be the best scene partner you can be for your fellow actors? In this class, we will dig deep into scene study, character motivation, and active listening, while learning the necessary questions to ask in every rehearsal situation. You'll develop fuller characters and deeper relationships on stage by partnering in scene work — and have lots of fun too!
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).
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