Encounters

Encounters (the winning entry in Third Eye Theatre’s First Annual Portland Pride Play Festival) is a collection of short plays by Portland playwright Jeremy Cole depicting public and private meetings that range from the hilarious to the heart-breaking. From a 1940’s fire escape to a contemporary singles bar, from bustling New York City to tiny Ramah, New Mexico, these plays examine the ups and downs of mainly LGBTQ relationships, including sensitive topics that may be challenging for some viewers.

"#Dating Life” is set in a bar, where Megan and her friend Jan struggle to meet someone who isn't a complete disappointment. One man after another fails to clear the extremely low bar they set. It isn't until a gay male friend of theirs shows up that they get a different take on the dating scene — and possibly find a new, if unusual, tactic for a successful date.

In “A Cry in Ramah,” a young woman raised in the LDS church in rural New Mexico struggles with the weight of family history. Amid grief, guilt, abandonment, and fear, she looks to her own uncertain future with trepidation.

Gay couple Sal and Eli are in a well-established pattern in “Heavy Lifting”; as they swap insults and barbs with one another, their undeniable (and enduring) love for one another shines through.

The comedic “Hot? or Not.” follows a chatty woman and her sassy gay friend out for drinks, rating the various men who catch their eye as “hot” or “not.” The scene becomes surreal as the men (all played by a single actor) begin to respond to their assessments of them, becoming exactly what they are looking for.

In “Minor Violations,” a man comes to terms with childhood abuse and his feelings of guilt surrounding it. Even as he struggles to heal from the damage, he finds strength in knowing he no longer needs to be silent.

Two childhood friends meet as adults in “The Old Playground” just before one moves overseas for a new job. Reminiscing about their shared past, and catching up with more recent events, the two reconnect even as they prepare to part ways in this warm, funny, and bittersweet story.

“The Scoring System” gives us two men in a bar, one of whom is scoring patrons on their attractiveness. The second man, taken aback at being scored just a 5, protests — but will find out that not only is the score reasonable, it just might be the lucky break he's been looking for.

The second act, “Members Only,” is three scenes which take place in Brooklyn, New York in the summer of 1949. In the first scene, a pair of women and a pair of men each meet on a fire escape; and, after taking steps to keep one young man's father in the dark about his true relationship, the four form The Fire Escape Guild to look out for one another. As the short play progresses, friendships and relationships deepen, until the four realize they are more than friends — they are chosen family.

This production is part of the 2026 Fertile Ground Festival of New Works -- a program of the Portland Area Theater Alliance. The festival runs April 10th-26th. More info, including discount festival passes, at fertilegroundpdx.org