<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0q3rhl_0wCuLW2000" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0q3rhl_0wCuLW2000" width="1440" height="959" ><figcaption>Experience Theatre Project Voni Kengla (left) and Justin Heath (right), two actors in Experience Theatre Project's 2022 immersive production "Great Gatsby's Daisy." (Alisa Stewart/Alisa Stewart)</figcaption></figure>After almost a decade staging shows in vacant storefronts, wedding barns and wineries around Beaverton, Experience Theatre Project is finally settling into its first permanent performance space.The immersive theater company got its start in 2016 with outdoor Shakespeare productions but has since put on more than 20 innovative performances — all pushing the limits of what theater can look like. Its new space, a converted warehouse located at 18850 S.W. Alexander St., plans to open to the public on Jan. 4 with an open house, followed by a “murder duet” of onstage mysteries to finish off the 2024-2025 season.Experience Theatre Project shows are intimate — usually no more than 40 audience members — and strive to make theatergoers feel like they’re part of the story, instead of just watching it from several rows back. The goal is for viewers to feel like a fly on the wall, said Alisa Stewart, the company’s founder and managing artistic director.“It’s like watching a roller coaster and then being on one,” she said. “Everything going on around you is exciting and electric.”The group’s first indoor show was an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap,” which took place in an empty building off Tualatin Valley Highway. Once entering, audiences were transported to a 1950s hotel lobby while actors, already in-character, bustled around greeting guests.Its most recent production, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” was done promenade style, meaning theatergoers followed actors into different areas as the setting changed. Audience members could sit on any of the set’s furniture, so if actors needed the spot, they’d tap the person on the shoulder and prompt them to stand up.In its original adaptations of classic novels, Experience Theatre Project seeks to add depth to centuries-old scripts. “Great Gatsby’s Daisy” explored a theory that F. Scott Fitzgerald intended the character of Jay Gatsby to be a passing Black man.“The basis of having a good experience can start with a bit of familiarity,” Stewart said. “It’s not so scary. But now you’re seeing it in a way you’ve never seen it before, and that in itself gives huge intrigue.”The new west side location gives the company complete control over its space, Stewart said. There’s an ADA-accessible bathroom, and the group doesn’t have to worry about taking down the lights after every performance.Stewart also hopes to make the building a resource for community artists, filling a gap that’s opened up in Beaverton post-pandemic.Before 2020, she said, the city allowed nonprofits to reserve unused, city-owned conference rooms — but this system was later cut down to only three rooms available during library hours. This made it difficult for Experience Theatre Project to find places to rehearse, though Beaverton’s Hilton Garden Inn soon offered up its conference rooms.“That’s how we could survive, really,” Stewart said. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t have anywhere to go. It’s not like you can go into somebody’s living room and rehearse a show.”She plans to allow local art groups to use the Alexander Street building when it’s available, creating an affordable space for artists to erect a gallery, organize a workshop or host dance lessons.As for ExperienceTheatre Project itself, the company already has plans for the first few shows in its new home.The year will kick off with a comedy-drama duet of murder mysteries: a revival of its first indoor show, “The Mousetrap,” opening Feb. 28 and a to-be announced comedy scheduled to open April 25. The goal, Stewart said, is to see if it’s possible to repurpose the set from “The Mousetrap” into a fully new production.Then, the company has plans for an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” in fall — a production that gets to the core of the classic story and determines who the true monster is.— Veronica Nocera covers life and culture. You can reach her at vnocera@oregonian.com, 503-221-8111 or @vernocera</div></body>

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Beaverton-based immersive theater company finds first permanent home

After almost a decade staging shows in vacant storefronts, wedding barns and wineries around Beaverton, Experience Theatre Project is finally settling into its first permanent performance space. The immersive theater company got its start in 2016 with outdoor Shakespeare productions but has since put on more than 20 innovative performances...