From a Hole in the Ground
by Ken Yoshikawa
Produced in partnership with Corrib Theatre
Directed by Holly Griffith
Run time: 90 minutes with no intermission
Themes & Content Notice:
The play contains a character named “Death” and the concept of death is discussed. A character dies and comes back to life.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Northwest Children’s Theater Sponsors:
Kafoury McDougal: Lawyers for the People
Oregon Arts Commission
Oregon Cultural Trust
NWCT’s Donor Families
Media Sponsors:
PDX Parent
NW Kids
Corrib Theatre Sponsors:
The Ronni S. Lacroute Fund of Oregon Community Foundation
The Government of Ireland’s Emigrant Support Programme
The City of Portland Office of Arts & Culture
The Oregon Arts Commission
Support for the remount of From a Hole in the Ground comes from:
Marvin & Abby Dawson
Ed & Anne Griffith
Cast
HOLLY LEE/ENSEMBLE: Claire Aldridge
DANI OAK/ENSEMBLE: Olivia Mathews
AOIFE BURKE/ENSEMBLE: Joellen Sweeney
Creative Team & Crew
PLAYWRIGHT: Ken Yoshikawa
DIRECTOR: Holly Griffith
SCENIC/PROPERTIES/SOUND DESIGN: Kyra Sanford
COSTUME DESIGN: Jo Pierce
LIGHTING DESIGN: Annabel Cantor
COMPOSER & FOLEY ARTIST: Joellen Sweeney
STAGE MANAGER: Victoria Alvarez-Chacon
ASST. STAGE MANAGER & SOUND BOARD OPP:
Roger Monroe
Production & Support
ARTISTIC DIRECTORS:
Holly Griffith, Corrib Theatre
Sarah Jane Hardy, NWCT
ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: John Ellingson, NWCT
ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR: Daye Thomas, Corrib Theatre
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Steve Hambrick, NWCT
PHOTOGRAPHY:
Owen Carey (2024 production)
David Kinder (2025 production)
VIDEOGRAPHY: Nick Fenster
GRAPHIC DESIGN: SUCHa Production
Original Production Designers
ORIGINAL PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER & SOUND ENGINEER:
Abbie Northrop
ORIGINAL PRODUCTION LIGHTING DESIGNER:
Kelly Terry
ORIGINAL PRODUCTION DIALECT COACH:
Karl Hanover
ORIGINAL PRODUCTION CULTURAL CONSULTANT: Brian Ó hAirt
ORIGINAL PRODUCTION APPRENTICE & COSTUME ASSISTANT: Faye Parks
Meet the Cast
Claire Elizabeth Aldridge (Holly Lee/Ensemble) is a movement driven performance artist, and on any given midnight, you can find her at the crossroads of dance and theater. She has graduated from various training schools such as, the Institute for Contemporary Performance, American Repertory Theater, and DellArte International after beginning her performance career as a wee little fairy here in Portland where she completed the Young Professionals program and graduated from the Arts and Communication Magnet Academy in 2014. You may have seen her on stage around town with companies such as NWCT, OCT, Shaking The Tree, Corrib Theatre, 21ten, or with her company, the co-founded Basement Stair Collective.
Claire grew up at NWCT, and she’s honored to be back for such a full circle moment. Hidden talents: Aerial Silks performer, Certified Clown—”I have the paper and nose to prove it!”
“A huge thank you to Holly, Victoria, Joellen, and Liv. It’s a joy to return to this piece with you all. And to Sarah Jane, Roger, and John, without whom, I would simply not be on stage.”
Olivia Mathew (Dani Oak/Ensemble) is a performer, director, deviser, teacher based in Portland, OR. Olivia’s work is process focused, rigorous, expressive and devoted to collaboration as a means of practicing community and self-advocacy.
Most recent performance credits include The Merchant of Venice (Portland Shakespeare Project), Hindsight 2020 (Risk/Reward), ENDURANCE the boat, the show (CoHo Theatre), Blood Wedding and Forbidden Fruit (Shaking the Tree Theatre). Directing credits include Precipice (Third Rail), A Case for the Existence of God (asst, Third Rail) and The Americans (PETE). Olivia also holds a certification from Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble’s Institute for Contemporary Performance.
Olivia is excited to bring the play and magic of Irish storytelling to the Judy! This will be her Mainstage debut at The Judy!
Joellen Sweeney (Aoife Burke/Ensemble & Music and Foley Design) is an actor, director and teaching artist who grew up taking classes at NWCT! Favorite past roles include Piggie in Elephant & Piggie: We Are in A Play (NWCT), The Quince in Forbidden Fruit (Shaking the Tree Theatre) and Sonya in Uncle Vanya (Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble).
As a director/deviser, Joellen is interested in site-specific works that engage the environment; she frequently produces outdoor works for Bedrock Theatre and Renegade Opera.
Joellen shares, “Outside of the theatre, I love working in my garden (just like Aoife!) and taking nature walks. I have a particular passion for ocean science and coastal ecosystems, and can identify over 150 species of Hawaiian reef fish on sight!”
Meet the Creative Team
Ken Yoshikawa (Playwright) feels such joy to return to Northwest Children’s Theater with a play of his own!
Ken is a playwright, actor, astrologer, and published poet who loves the magic of story. He brings original tales into the world to inspire, go deep, and cultivate the energy of authenticity. His work has been produced by Corrib Theatre, Shaking the Tree Theatre, The Historic Alberta House, Vanport Mosaic, and The Tiniest Party in Portland, OR. Ken is proud to say he enjoys hugging trees, and thinks you might enjoy hugging trees as well.
Ken shares, “This play was written for the adult inner child, the parts of us that we have lost contact with through the rumble-bumble of life. What does it take to reconnect across our intergenerational trauma?
I really believe in the capacity of young people to understand the spiritual, the magical, and the nature of mortality. It is my hope that we are able to respect and reckon with the entire cycle of life, because I find that avoiding such conversations leads to so many of our world’s most fundamental problems.”
Holly Griffith (Director) has worked as an actor, director, writer, and theatre educator for over a decade. Her career began in Tucson Arizona where she was a resident actor at The Rogue Theatre and an Artistic Associate at Scoundrel & Scamp Theatre. Holly recently earned an MFA in Theatre Directing from The Lir Academy in Dublin Ireland, where she collaborated with artists from all over Ireland and Europe.
In her role as Artistic Director of Corrib Theatre, Holly hopes to enrich Corrib’s connections to communities both locally and globally whose stories are represented on our stages, and to use our resources to examine the intersectionality of Irish identity.
This is Holly’s first Mainstage show with NWCT! A fun fact about Holly? “I have an alter-ego named Joey Pepperoni, who I invite out in public to e̶m̶b̶a̶r̶r̶a̶s̶s̶ entertain my fiancé.”
Kyra Sanford (Scenic/Properties/Sound Designer) is a freelance scenic designer, painter, technical director, and props designer, working for Corrib, Bag&Baggage, Salt & Sage, Broadway Rose, Northwest Classical, Coho, Milagro, and various others. She is currently the technical director and resident scenic designer at Clark College. She received her BFA in Scenic Design from The Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University. Instagram: @sanfordscenic
This is Kyra’s first Mainstage show with NWCT. “I’m excited for the opportunity to remount this production!”
Jo Pierce (Costume Designer) is returning to costuming for her first show in many years.
Prior to moving to Portland, she spent 12 years taking care of her parents. She earned an MFA in acting/directing along with a minor in costuming from the University of Arizona.
In the 1970s, she worked as costumer/wardrobe mistress for the Country Dinner Playhouse in Denver, designing and working 8 shows a week, 52 weeks a year for 3 years. Over the years, alternating between costuming, acting, directing, and teaching, she worked in Colorado, Arizona, and Los Angeles including stage and TV.
Jo loves science fiction and fantasy, so this show has been a special joy working on magical characters.
Annabel Cantor (Lighting Designer) is a designer, director, performer, and educator, concerned with making performance that is highly collaborative, sensory-rich and immediate.
Last summer they appeared on this stage as The Men on Planets in The Little Prince. Other recent credits include Precipice: re-membering, forgetting, and claiming home (Lighting Design) at Third Rail Repertory, as well as Horseplay (Performer/Deviser) and Ubu America: Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Emily), both at Shaking The Tree.
Big thanks to the cast and creative team for their collaboration and trust.
Victoria Alvarez-Chacon (Stage Manager) is thrilled to be back with Corrib. After appearing in the booth for Pass Over last season, she jumped at the chance to come.
Big thanks to Ken for this awesome script and the whole team for all their hard work.
Roger Monroe (Asst. Stage Manager & Sound Board Opp.) has been with NWCT for more than 25 years! His favorite part of working with the company is seeing youth performers come back as adults.
At The Judy, Roger has stage managed for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Blue Marigold, and Frog and Toad.
