Brand-New Theatre, Locally-Grown
The Fertile Ground Festival of New Works is a citywide, multi-week performing arts festival taking place in venues throughout Portland, Oregon and the surrounding areas.
The 2026 Fertile Ground Festival is
April 10-26, 2026
JOIN US FOR THESE ADDITIONAL FESTIVAL EVENTS
Oakshire Inspires Fertile Ground... and Piano Bar!
Oakshire Brewing works hard to give back to the community, and Fertile Ground is honored to be a nonprofit partner for “Oakshire Inspires” – dedicated days when $1 per Core pint and 10% of food sales are donated. To make things even Fertile-Groundier, the magical musical beings David Saffert and Kimo Camat are bringing a special edition of Piano Bar to Oakshire's Portland Beer Hall just for the occasion! Join us for good food, great beers, and some A++ entertainment, all benefitting this year's Festival.
When: Tuesday, March 24th
Promotion runs all day (noon-10:00 PM)
Piano Bar is 6:00-8:00 PM
Where: Oakshire Beer Hall
5013 NE 42nd Ave, Portland
The Producer Showcase
We know that looking at the Festival Guide or visting our ticketing site can be *completely* overwhelming – there's so much fantastic new theatre, how can you ever decide what shows to go see?! To help you out, we're hosting The 2026 Fertile Ground Producer Showcase. This is a drop-in evening where you can meet the 2026 Producers, learn about their projects, have some snacks on us, and plan your Festival viewing schedule in a fun and festive (and, most importantly, NOT overwhelming and stressful) environment!
When: Monday, March 30th, 6:00-9:00 PM
Where: The Armory
(home of Portland Center Stage)
128 NW 11th Ave, Portland
The GROW Producers Panel
We're continuing to expand the GROW Program, and one of the most exciting new additions this year is a public panel featuring this year's GROW Producers! Moderated by brilliant dramaturg and new-work whisperer Kamilah Bush, you can spend the afternoon hearing from our GROW artists, learning more about them, their projects, their processes, and their unique goals for Fertile Ground. Join us for the Panel and stay for a reception, where you can sip, snack, and connect personally with our GROW artists.
When: Saturday, April 4, 2026, 2:00-3:00 PM
Reception to follow
Where: New Expressive Works
810 SE Belmont St, Portland
WHAT WE'RE ALL ABOUT
New Works
Fertile Ground features myriad art forms and offers dozens of Portland-generated “acts of creation” for audiences to experience each year.
Our Community
Fertile Ground features the new work of our LOCAL artists, performers, and resident theatre companies, ensuring that the artistic and financial benefits of the festival stay in Portland
Accessibility
Fertile Ground is committed to improving access to our spaces, both physical and virtual. We are aware of many deeply inadequate accessibility issues within our artform.
All Art Forms
Projects can range from fully staged world premieres, to theatrical workshops and play readings, to ensemble and collaboration-driven work, to a variety of dance, comedy, film events and more.
Accessing Website and Venues
Please email Tamara Carroll at fertileground@portlandtheatre.com to get help navigating our website or ticketing system, if you have questions about the accessibility of performances and venues, or any other questions, concerns, or feedback.
Quick Links
Festival Lineup
Contact
fertileground@portlandtheatre.com
