In Memory Of

BUY TICKETS

Written by Alyssa Cokinis | Directed By Pax Bennett

Dramaturg: Amanda Clark

A WRITE|IGNITE Workshop production, part of the Fertile Ground Festival of New Works

April 10, 11, 12

All performances at 7:30pm

Venue: Ki Coffee (4655 SW Griffith Dr #160, Beaverton, OR 97005)

Can’t make those dates? If you would like us to extend our run, please fill out the form here.

Nonbinary aspiring actor Vale fails to pay rent and other necessities in memories as decreed by the U.S. government after the war, and Vale must choose whether to join the resistance to abolish memory currency or give up their most precious moments to survive.

VALE: Nick Hailer

LAUREL: Tate Ivy

DOM: Matthew Grand

KANDALA: Anita Rohira

FROM THE PLAYWRIGHT, ABOUT THE STORY: In Memory Of grew from a seed of an idea to 30 pages in 2018 before being shelved until the 2020s. As the horrors continued in the U.S. and around the world, so did the ideas on what this play actually was: an exploration of a growing surveillance state under continued exploitative capitalism where our data--and lived experiences--are mined to prop up U.S. imperialism and manufacture consent for both domestic and international violence. It was important to me to show LGBTQIA+ characters trying to survive capitalism and resist, whether through memory or monetary currency, and how it reflects our current reality.

About The Creative Team

Click the + sign to learn more about the artist.

  • Nicki Darling (she/they) is stoked to be a part of her first show with Spark Plug! A Portland-based actor originally from Kailua, HI, they were last seen in Pippin (Sherwood Foundation for the Arts) and the Trans Voices Cabaret. Other than acting, Nicki enjoys dancing and playing games with friends.

  • Tate Ivy (they/he) lives in a liminal space between the stage and behind-the-scenes as a creator of all things theatre. After earning a degree at WWU in Bellingham and co-founding the Gaysian Theatre Festival, Tate has moved back to Portland with a mission to bring Asian American and trans representation to the stage as much as he can.

  • Matthew Grand (he/they) is a Beaverton-based nerd who loves games of all kinds: board, card, and video. Once he gets started on a subject he loves, it's hard to get him to stop! Other roles he's had with Spark Plug include ASM for Now & Then, Jim Fingal in The Lifespan of a Fact, and directing Post Partum (as part of last year's Fertile Ground production, Moments of Reckoning).

  • Anita Rohira (she/her) is a Portland-based actor and writer who is delighted to be a part of this talented cast and crew. Anita is currently writing her first screenplay inspired by womanhood, inter-generational healing, and the South Asian immigrant experience. When she is not writing or performing, she looks to the stars to help people find meaning and purpose as a counseling astrologer.

  • Alyssa Cokinis (she/they) is a writer and theatre artist from Iowa, currently based in Oregon. She has an MA in Intercultural Communication Studies (Shanghai Theatre Academy) and a BA in English and Theatre Arts (University of Iowa). Their plays have been produced off-off-Broadway at FRIGID New York’s Little Shakespeare Festival (The Lark and the Nightingale, co-written with Mindy Mawhirter) and at Oregon Fringe Festival, Atlanta Fringe Audio, YUZ Museum (Shanghai, China), New Plays from the Heartland Festival, MadLab Theatre, and the University of Iowa. The MadLab Theatre production of her LGBTQ+ dystopian play Happy Pills received recognition from Ohio Congresswoman Beatty due to its themes on mental health. Publications include work in mini plays magazine, WE/OURSELVES: Ten-Minute Plays Celebrating Gender Diversity (Smith & Kraus), the Nonbinary Monologues Project, fifth wheel press, Beatdom, Chaotic Merge Magazine, and elsewhere. She is also the founder/editor of the publication some scripts, which in 2023 published the curated anthology Monologues by LGBTQIA+ Writers for LGBTQIA+ Actors. Outside of writing and theatre, she loves reading, playing video games, and getting into mischief with her partner Keegan and their cat Crescent. Website: alyssacokinis.com

  • Pax Bennett (she/her) studied, produced, performed, and directed through schools and theatres in New York, Connecticut, and Georgia before moving to Oregon in 2014. After a short break became a long one, she returned to directing with Inherit the Wind at Mask & Mirror and The Lifespan of a Fact at Spark Plug Theatre Collective. She has also stage managed (For Better, M+M; A Sleeping Country, SPTC), and crafts puppets, prose, or props whenever anyone asks (apparently).  

  • A founding member and the Producing Artistic Director of Spark Plug Theatre Collective, Amanda Clark (she/her) is consistently fueled and inspired by incredible artists who give their time and their talent to share stories with the community. Originally from the Midwest, she holds degrees in both Acting and Advertising from Ball State University.  Since moving to the Pacific Northwest in 2011, she’s been active in the area’s theatre scene as an both an actor and director. In 2023, she started Spark Plug Theatre Collective with her collaborators Les Ico and Alex Woodard and the theatre has quickly become known as a place for high-quality and challenging theatre on the Westside. By day, she is the Marketing Manager for Chehalem Cultural Center in Newberg working to keep art accessible to all.

  • A founding member of Spark Plug Theatre Collective, Alex (he/him) has been the Technical Director of the theatre since the company's debut show, FUTURA, in 2023. He holds degrees in both psychology and environmental design and was inspired to put his architectural design creativity to good use designing sets for Westside theatres over the past 10 years. By day, he works for a youth day treatment center.