- Profile Theatre
- True West, directed by Adriana Baer last year.
Profile Theatre just sent out a press release announcing the departure of Artistic Director Adriana Baer, who took over in July of 2012. During her time as artistic director, Baer was tasked with relocating the theater after the 2013 closure of Theater! Theatre! sent many a small theater company packing (a venue loss that’s still felt throughout the scene today).
In the release, Profile touted the changes the organization underwent with Baer in charge, including its move to the Arts Hub at Artists Repertory Theatre, a 33 percent increase in audience size, and a budget that “nearly doubled during Adriana’s tenure,” as well as development of outreach programming.
Baer, who relocated from New York for her role at Profile, will stay on in a reduced capacity as a consultant with the theater company, and has plans to stay in Portland as an independent director and theater teacher. This is good news for Portland theater-goers—as a director, Baer brings precision and focus to the stories she tells. Her excellent work on Profile’s In the Next Room, or, The Vibrator Play comes immediately to mind as a play whose innovation and unapologetic emphasis on (realistic) female characters stood out in a field too often crowded with plays that felt way too safe.
Profile will launch a national search for her replacement.