About Us

What's in a Name

Why "Bag & Baggage"...?

In 2005, when we first started as a company, we travelled around the state performing shows in small venues in communities without a resident professional theatre. We were, literally, a travelling troupe of actors that carried all of our set pieces, props, and costumes in our bags...we would arrive in Astoria, Corvallis, Hillsboro, Beaverton, Hood River, or McMinnville with everything we needed right there, in our bags and baggage....and the name just stuck! The phrase "Bag and Baggage" also comes from Shakespeare's As You Like It (a line from Touchstone, and the first recorded use of the term "baggage" in the English language), so there is another great connection for the company...right back to the Bard himself!

Our original logo was designed by Meghan Atiyeh, of the Oregon Arts Commission, and we have a history of using vintage luggage, steamer trunks and hat boxes in all of our shows as set pieces or props. In fact, over the years, a number of supporters have donated vintage luggage to the company and we have quite a collection started! Antiques Roadshow, here we come!

"Come, shepherd, let us make an honorable retreat! Though not with bag and baggage, yet with scrip and scrippage!" - Touchstone, As You Like It, Act III, Scene 2

Another factoid about the company: Our mascot is Camilla the Rubber Chicken (a prop from our first tour of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare abridged) and she has appeared in every Bag&Baggage show since 2005 (usually hidden on stage in a piece of luggage or under a table...)

< back to top

Affiliations:

Hillsboro Arts and Culture Council

Our Mission

As a group of ambitious, professional theatre practitioners and educators, we inspire Oregonians to engage in creative, accessible and moving live-theatre experiences. Through our commitment to professional, text-based live theatre, we will make Hillsboro a renowned theatre destination for diverse audiences from Washington County and beyond.

Our Values

Fairness:

We will commit to paying performing and production artists for their talents and will maintain that commitment for as long as, and in whatever way, possible.

Accessibility:

We will connect with diverse populations in Washington County, (young people, seniors, and the disadvantaged) as a means of providing access to affordable and educational live theatre experiences.

Collaboration:

We will strengthen our partnerships with civic organizations and other performing arts venues in Washington County to make our work an engine for economic growth & tourism.

Excellence:

We will provide a creative theatre-going experience of the highest quality and to the best of our profession and artistic abilities.

Service:

We will provide exceptional customer service in all aspects of our work - from concept to curtain.

Our Team

Staff

Artistic Director: Scott Palmer view bio

Production Manager: Audra Petrie Veber view bio

Publicist: Sherry Lamoreaux

Fundraising Consultant: Brenda Ray Scott

Board of Directors

Mark Bates: Member at large

Lorelle Browning: Education, Development

Maggie Chapin: (non-voting), Education

Greg Danielson: Fundraising/Development Chair

Kevin Hoover: BOARD CHAIR, Operational Excellence Chair

Sherry Humphrey: Education

Tiffany Meyer: Member at Large

Gayle Nachtigal: Fundraising/Development, Finance

Scott Palmer: BOARD PRESIDENT, Artistic Director

Leah Perkins-Hagele: TREASURER, Finance

Audra Petrie Veber: (non-voting), Operational Excellence, Finance

Patrick Spike: BOARD VICE CHAIR, Audience Development Chair

Donna Swanson: SECRETARY, Operational Excellence, Volunteer Coordinator

David Woodford: Education Committee Co-Chair

Shirley Woodford: Education Committee Co-Chair

Non-Voting Members:

Maggie Chapin: Education

Sherry Lamoreaux: Publicist

Brenda Ray Scott: Fundraising Consultant

Audra Petrie Veber: Production Manager, Operational Excellence

Advisory Board

Angela Weeks, Theatre Administrator, Oregon State University Theatre (Corvallis, Oregon) www.oregonstate.edu/dept/theatre

Jennifer Dick, Co-Artistic Director, sparkleDark Theatre (Glasgow, Scotland),
Associate Director, Bard in the Botanics (Glasgow, Scotland) www.sparkledark.co.uk
www.bardinthebotanics.org

Trisha Pancio, PR and Publications Manager, Portland Center Stage (Portland, Oregon)
www.pcs.org

Gordon Barr, Artistic Director, Bard in the Botanics (Glasgow, Scotland) www.bardinthebotanics.org

Barbara Mason, Costume Designer, Oregon State University Theatre (Corvallis, Oregon)
www.oregonstate.edu/dept/theatre

Dr. Marion Rossi, Business Manager, Oregon State University Theatre (Corvallis, Oregon) www.oregonstate.edu/dept/theatre

Sean Boyd, Professor of Movement & Acting, University of Southern Mississippi
www.usm.edu/theatre

Amy Richard, Media Relations, Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Ashland, Oregon)
www.osfashland.org

Sarah Chalcroft, Co-Artistic Director, sparkleDark Theatre (Glasgow, Scotland)
www.myspace.com/sparkledarktheatre

Andy Foster, Owner/Director, Camelot Entertainment (Corvallis, Oregon)
www.thecamelotsite.com

Robert Hirsh, Artistic Director, Willamette Stage Company (Corvallis, Oregon) www.willamettestage.org

< back to top

Our History

Bag&Baggage was created in 2005 to work in communities throughout Oregon without a resident professional theatre company. Since 2005 we have produced 17 shows, toured across the state, and developed a reputation for high quality and accessibility. We focus on the classics of English and American drama (including Shakespeare, Wilde, Miller, Coward, and others) and always partner our work with educational programs for local students. Last year we produced 4 successful shows at our new home, The Venetian Theatre (Hillsboro), along with Hillsboro’s first ever outdoor professional Shakespeare performance, and attracted large audiences from Hillsboro and from traditionally excluded rural areas of Washington County such as Forest Grove, Banks, Cornelius, and Yamhill. Our 2009-2010 Season will see us produce 4 shows at The Venetian Theatre, an outdoor summer Shakespeare at the Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza in Hillsboro, increase our audience and donor base, use our new 501c3 status for fundraising, and continue to develop our reputation for excellence. The company is overseen by board of fourteen Washington County residents and a supported by more than fifteen dedicated volunteers.

Our bags are packed and we are going where the drama is…wanna come along?
If you are interested in getting involved with Bag&Baggage, please send us an email at info@bagnbaggage.org. Also, be sure to sign up for our email list, to be notified of all our upcoming events.

We are looking for:

New Members of our Board of Directors
Professional Actors, stage managers and designers
Marketing and Distribution volunteers
Front of House and Ushering volunteers
Corporate sponsors and individual donors
Grant writers
Passionate theatre audience members

< back to top

Where We Play

Venetian Theatre

253 E. Main Street Hillsboro, Oregon 97123 (503) 693-3953

Download a Brochure (PDF file)

Downtown Hillboro, Oregon - Directions

Bag and Baggage Productions is the resident theatre company of the Venetian Theatre in downtown Hillsboro, OR. The Venetian Theatre seats approximately 400 guests in luxurious comfort. A bistro style restaurant and bar great patrons in the lobby with tasty meals, appetizers, sumptuous desserts and clever cocktail options... and you can take your beverage with you into the theatre! In addition to housing Bag & Baggage's season of shows, they also host concerts, movie screenings, specialty acts and other fun events.

Other Venues

The Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza. Downtown Hillsboro, Oregon (located between 1st and 2nd on Main Street). The Plaza is the location for Hillsboro's annual outdoor summer Shakespeare production, proudly presented by Bag & Baggage Productions. (2010 - Twelfth Night, 2009 - Romeo & Juliet details). Street View.

The Washington County Fairgrounds. Through a new collaboration, Bag&Baggage has presented children's shows and a frightful Halloween event at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Visit their website for details.

Previously, B&B has performed at McMenamins Cornelius Pass Roadhouse, and The Glenn & Viola Walters Cultural Center.

< back to top