Throughout history, performance theater has continued to be one of the most celebrated forms of artistic expression. But seeing a high-quality performance doesn’t have to mean getting dressed up in couture and tuxedos. Eugene is home to the Lord Leebrick Theatre, where first-class theater can be seen in an inviting and unpretentious environment.
The Lord Leebrick was established in 1992 by Randy Lord and Chris Leebrick. In the 13 seasons the theater has been in business, it has put on a number of challenging and stimulating plays to open people’s minds and to execute Lord Leebrick’s mission statement.
“We typically do more cutting-edge and contemporary work,” Managing Artistic Director Craig Willis said. “The mission of the company is to provide theater that is provocative, engaging and reaches out and starts a dialog between the artists and the patrons in our community.”
The Lord Leebrick Theatre, located at 540 Charnelton St., recently received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts that provided it with enough money to begin a bicultural outreach program for theater arts.
“We’re using the grant money to help launch a bicultural Latino education and performance project,” Willis said. “We’re working with a collective of artists called Teatro Milagro, which is a Portland-based theater company that fosters creativity and interest in the Latino culture.”
According to the NEA’s Web site, the purpose of the Lord Leebrick’s grant is to support the launching of the performance project and to provide workshops that will “lead to a community-based bilingual production. El Centro Latino Americano will provide assistance recruiting workshop leaders and participants, translating materials, and coordinating relationships with the Hispanic community.”
The Lord Leebrick Theatre will continue to work with the Hispanic community as well as the Teatro Milagro as it performs “Cuéntame Coyote,” a bicultural play that tells the story of two orphan girls lost in the borderlands between Mexico and the United States, on May 6 and 7.
“This is an attempt to reach out,” Willis said. “I think the Lord Leebrick Theatre is more accessible to members of the community who may not feel at ease in a more pretentious atmosphere. We’re inviting, and I think that we’re better situated to try to make a bridge to the Latino community. And that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Along with establishing a bicultural relationship with Eugene’s Hispanic community, the Lord Leebrick Theatre is also working on an upcoming festival, to take place in July.
“This summer we’re producing a festival of original works,” Willis said. “We seek to find playwrights from the greater Northwest. We received about 40 submissions this year, and we’re narrowing that down to two or three plays that we’ll do workshop productions of.”
The Lord Leebrick Theatre is producing “Copenhagen” through April 30. Following “Copenhagen,” “Loot” will run from May 20 through June 11, bringing the 13th season to a close.
Tickets range from $8 for students to $12 for the general public on Thursdays and Sundays and $16 for Fridays and Saturdays. Season passes are also available.

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