STAGE original and impactful works

 

FILM powerful stories with unique voices

 

CLASSES like no others in the Northwest 

 

DEVELOP Important New Works

Welcome to an ensemble of film and theater makers who believe people hunger for a deeper experience.

What if we don’t seek answers?

What if we stay in a constant state of development ruthlessly committed to question and discovery? What if we’re about process over product?

How do we create depth?

Cathartic isn’t an emotional roller coaster. It’s falling off a mountain. Where others put on masks to project truth we take them off in pursuit of it.

Why do we tell brave stories?

We believe discovery happens out on the edge. Stumble through forests. Transformation requires we enter were the forest is darkest and there is no path.

Michael Fetters

I return to work at Sowelu because I have unfinished business. Because there is a place deeper than the river of emotion on which everything exists and I can go there with Sowelu. There are things that are scary to say and Sowelu finds a way to say it.  There are things that are scary to hear and Sowelu asks you to listen and react as you see fit. I can trust my impulse and except that it will take me exactly where I need to be.

Michael Fetters
Actor, Former Company Member
Join us in the month of September
Current Productions
We are sharing our work!

Attend our shorts presentation of long-form improvisation with Daniel Hill and Patrick Hilton and recorded narrative featuring Liviya Burns and Ryan Downey.

Friday and Saturday's at 8:00 PM September 9 through September 24, 2022

Presented at 21ten theater, 2110 SE 10th Avenue, Portland 97214

Tickets are a sliding scale $5 to $25 payable at the door.

Click here to read the review.

Call 503-730-9066 to make a reservation. House opens at 7:30.

Additional training workshops and staged readings of new works!

Ronni Lacroute

I have been drawn to the courage, originality and depth of SOWELU Dramatic’s creative process and artistic output. This is a company that is deeply committed to the discovery process, to asking questions but not necessarily finding answers, to telling stories that no one else dares to tell. I feel honored to invest in the work of such brave artists who explore with compassion the depths of the human soul while challenging the audience to go along on a dangerous ride in search of the truth. Who knows what might be revealed during such artistic explorations. By investing in SOWELU Dramatic, I feel like I am helping to finance a voyage of Discovery.

Ronni Lacroute
Audience, Donor
Join our unique training ground
Acting for camera in 2022!
Thinking of an acting for camera class? Check out this student work guided by instructor Barry Hunt.

Sowelu has a unique and award recognized approach to film acting. We are offering new classes starting January 25th 2020. Find more information on our "Training" tab above.

Watch this classroom work of actor Igor Rogoza as he makes a breakthrough in the Sowelu process and navigates big emotion while taking direction.

View the lesson with the view more tab.

Aaron Katz

When I first took a writing class from Sowelu Artistic Director Barry Hunt I was 16. He taught me how to access my own point of view and to express in writing the way I saw the world. In acting classes I was challenged to dig deeper, to let go of my preconceived ideas, and to trust my instincts. In rehearsals and on set, I am constantly using the tools I was taught to work with my cast. Most importantly, I was taught to find collaborators and trust in them. In short, nearly every aspect of my creative process has been informed in some way by what I learned.

Aaron Katz
Filmmaker - ISA John Cassavetes Award winner 2015 - Land Ho, Gemini
Featured company member
Daniel Hill
As we enter a new decade we honor our history of dedicated support of our artists by featuring renaissance man Dan Hill and his new film "Beth + Jeremy & Steve."

Dan Hill is our youngest company member and board member. Since 2005 he has played leading roles in three Sowelu stage plays and our first feature film. Daniel is a producer, director, writer, improviser and technician. His first feature film is in post-production and he continues to train regularly in Sowelu workshops.

Dan's screenwriting and directing debut "Beth + Jeremy & Steve" is in post-production (Executive Producer Pierre Kiecolt-Wahl) and features actors from the Sowelu training ground including Lucas Friedman, Briana Ratterman, Matt DiBiasio (In the Boom Boom Room, Sowelu Theater.) Dan collaborated with cinematographer Michael Pritchard. They first worked together on Sowelu’s The Further Adventures of Anse and Bhule in No-man’s Land in which Dan played Bhule. Michael went on to win Best Cinematography for that film at the Santa Fe Film Festival.

Dan wrote the screenplay for “Beth + Jeremy & Steve” in Sowelu writing workshops. An integral part of the ensemble if he is not acting for the company, he is working on the Board of Directors, teaching improv, training in our classes or support roles on all Sowelu endeavors. He maintains a busy schedule acting in film and television and on his own projects as a local DJ or performing with his improvisation partners Patrick Hilton (In the Boom Boom Room, Sowelu Theater) or Matt DiBiasio. Dan produced Electric Meat Parade with Patrick and has been a member of Icarus and The Liberators. Dan has directed several short film projects including a Chicago breakdancing documentary called Dance for Me, which screened at the Santa Fe Film Festival and in the Dance Film Festival, UK. Dan is also a gifted technician who created the final sound master for Anse and Bhule and is currently editing “Beth + Jeremy & Steve.” He is a true RenaissanceDan.

Lorraine Bahr

I continue to work with Sowelu because the process dives deep, every single time.

Lorraine Bahr
Actor, Company Member
The Further Adventures of Anse and Bhule
We've been discovered!
Check out this podcast with director Barry Hunt at Library at the End of the World.

Our film has been discovered by the post-apocalyptic fan community. Check out amazing reviews below in our blog section.

Watch the film on Youtube or Vimeo on Demand.

Listen to the podcast with the view more tab.

Check out our blog posts!

Learn about theater and film news and reviews, community conversations and more.

4 Apr, 2018 0
Check out this great interview that followed a 9 out of 10 star review by the same journalist.
25 Feb, 2018 0
A 5 star review in The Flickering Myth. So pleased for Tania and the full cast and crew. Check it...
25 Feb, 2018 0
"one of the most unique post-apocalyptic movies of all time." Check out the film if you have not seen it....
25 Feb, 2018 0
Our film The Further Adventures of Anse and Bhule has been discovered! Check out the rave reviews.  You can view...