The Headwaters theater is a small black box theater with a modest reception area and cafe by…read morerailroad tracks. If you want to rent a less than 100 seat theater as a presenter, or see some experimental performances as an audience participant, this is a good spot to explore. They are also home to workshops at the space and in the St Johns area. As others have mentioned, the theater fronts a broad gravel yard entering behind the building address. You can drive, bike or walk easily around the front of the building on NE Farragutt to the right facing it, traveling behind to the East to the area below by train tracks. You might bring a flashlight to avoid puddles when it is raining between car-bike and theater. I have seen quite a few very unique performances here. The comradery, community and discussions are unbeatable. If you are a cultural explorer in the area, suggest to bookmark the site for upcoming events and then sample them as you desire. They are Portland central for performances and workshops in the modern dance butoh dance form. Headwaters Theater has a rare schedule of performances and workshops, but if you learn about them through Yelp, and it sounds interesting to you, go, see do!

The Headwaters Theatre seems to be located the No-Fo-O-Fo bridge neighborhood... Over the bridge,…read moreNorth of Lombard, so far north that you're almost in the Columbia slough. I guess that's why it's called the Headwaters! But it really only took 10 minutes to get there from the Rose Quarter. We were warned that the theater was a little tricky to find, especially in the dark. This was good advice, as the theater is located in the bottom of a building, which you can only approach from around the corner near some sketchy looking railroad tracks. Once inside, the place is actually quite nice, with comfortable seats and good sound and lighting. They seem to present a lot of experimental theater and dance; check their website for current listings!

This review is for the building/theater space. Very intimate theater setting. Seats are moderately…read morecomfortable. Lots of vibrations is felt in seats from audience. Friendly staff. Building architecture is nice. Clean bathrooms.

I usually see productions upstairs at the Newmark. This theater is much cozier but there really is…read morenot a bad seat. I was able to catch a showing of Cabaret which I heard about thanks to Goldstar. I have seen Cabaret live numerous times including a fabulous production at the Keller a few years back. With that said, I actually prefer smaller productions like this because it seems more powerful. I like musicals ...not musical fans (just being honest) as the crowds are generally pretty douchey. I have had to relearn to walk five times in 6 years so I have a cane. I go out to a lot of shows and the staff throughout this building (which also houses the Newmark) have been amazing every time I go. Just knowing I do not have to deal with staff drama and can easily get in the door and to my seat with minimal issues having people trying to run me down, my having to fight to just get in and around a door, well marked stairs and such...just decent crowd control like sufficient elevators available or not having things that create lines trailing into one spot encouraging large crowds focused blocking walking so folks like me have to "excuse me ....excuse me.... excuse me" and people then slam into me trying to push through. The seats themselves are roomy and you are not stupid close to the person in front of you. More about the wonderful staff... one of the lovely ushers had let me know before the show started that I could move seats if I wanted to because my row was completely full and I was on the very end. When I was going into the theater, I had made a wince look as my knee was mad. I have a ruptured Achille's and it has been super cold so my knee that day decided to be less than content and was angry bending. She looked at me like the are you ok and I said yes, I am ok - it just somedays tries to make me regret getting out and about. I have had all the staff throughout the building see a struggle and offer to help which is so nice and genuinely rare.

What is more Portland than a theater in the back of a coffee shop?! Great venue for intimate plays…read more Really enjoyed myself. Definitely recommend folks support this great theater. Actors were super talented. Stage manager was funny and informative.

The Backdoor Theatre is located, as it sounds, in the backdoor to a coffee shop on Hawthorne. And…read moreof course, it's tiny, with bench seating and fold out chairs. But somehow it manages to have some of the best theatre in Portland. Shows have minimal props and focus largely on the acting and the script. It's refreshing to see a bare bones play that hits you just right, and it puts some of the larger theatre companies in town, with light tricks and major props and scenes, to shame.

I am a bit surprised that this was my first time here. I have been seeing performances throughout…read morePortland for decades. You see a performance and you get ads for several others. A friend I go with to other events stumbled upon this production, and we're both down for anything involving vampires... couple of old school Goth pals. This show was our jam and we had a great time! They offer discount for us folks who are on benefits qualifying us for Arts for All. We definitely appreciate being included. Also, they are ADA friendly for their seats but please note that the entrance might be a challenge. I try to lead with the positives... I have not ventured to this area for some time , and I forgot the logistics of parking. There is parking within blocks but if you are ADA, you will likely need to have your person.Drop you because they are gonna need to walk a bit. Since i'm the driver, it's a journey. I got there closer to show time, then I would have liked due to traffic and parking. There's a fairly large number of businesses right there - venues.... I had to try numerous times to get into the entrance , which is really hard when you're balancing on a cane, but the door was locked. As I was walking up and holding my phone, a guy walked up in front of me to buy a ticket with cash while going on and on and on about how he wanted to support the arts. The one person working the counter was doing a really awkward long form explanation about how to see a play... Finally he walks back to me, asking if he can help... I show him the ticket TWICE and then he asks what the name is on the ticket. Then goes back to asking to see the ticket, back and forth. I can hear them starting and I still have to walk all the way around to the curtain to go in. He then looks at the cane and suggests that he come hold the curtain so that I can walk in. Like I don't know what you gotta do... I have just spent a ridiculous time in the lobby for 0 reasons. They have concessions... it seemed like a selection of wine and snacks... My friend who purchased the tickets for us told me an insane tale. Normally I am the one who buys the tickets for us - we're both Arts for All. She said that oddly, she had a bit of back and forth with somebody who worked at the theater 2 days before the show saying that they didn't know if they were going to have a show because not enough people had bought tickets. She said the person told her that they might do a live stream instead. I was like wait what? It was weird. Watching a live stream and a live performance are two completely different things... so she had to call the day of to make sure that the production was still happening. My point is seeing a show here was really lovely... but also there's a bit of chaos so prepare for that. When we were leaving, we walked past one of the actresses who was in full blown relationship/dating drama with some dude (seriously gurl, you seem super awesome... dump him).

Great theater with wonderful shows. Staff is very friendly.Only challenges that don't have their…read moreown parking lot and the neighborhood could sometimes be hard to find street parking in

Intimate, friendly, full of vibes. The Milagro is a beautiful venue on the inner Eastside. They…read morefocus on bilingual theatre and cultural arts events with the Latino and Hispanic community. I went for their annual Dia de Los Muertos event and it was amazing. Tears laughter drama heart. I don't speak Spanish but I was able to understand the story as it was presented mostly in English with songs in Spanish. They performers had so much emotion it was beautiful. The venue has nice hangout areas and cute bathrooms (signs are in Spanish FYI). Easily accessible by bus too!

Remember the days 'BC' (before covid)... I barely do, and this happened to be one of my stops just…read morea month before the world changed! I had the pleasure of experiencing Milagro with a friend to attend a several day work training. This place was FANtastic! I love being on the Eastside of the river when I visit Portland, walkable to local eats, free street parking if you are willing to move your car every few hours, and a 'homey' spacious feel for break out groups without the hotel feel. There is even a kitchen area for those food and drinks, again all "BC". Definitely would come back for a work or pleasure event when hosted here!

First time watching a Sweeney Todd life action play and it was amazing! The folks running the show…read moreand the concession stand were super nice..and everyone was dressed up in character which was really cool. Vibes were on point as well and spookily perfect. You get lead into a dark hall filled with fog until you get to your seat. The cast was also amazing as well! There were times when I felt like I was being transported to watching the actual movie. And the cherry on top was that the entire show which lasted almost 3 hours was so affordable!

I love this spot. I've seen a couple plays here and it's a smaller intimate experience but a good…read moreone. They have stairs up to the theater on the second floor and I'm not sure if it's accessible for folks in wheelchairs or not. That would be the only downside I can find. The lights, sound, concessions were all great. I love this company. Thank you to the wonderful cast for the Fezziwigs Fortune by Josie Seid and Sarah Jean Accuardi. Such a great arts performance in the holidays.

If you've ever wanted to try your hand at the sexy, sultry Argentine tango...this is the place to…read morelearn. Don't confuse this with ballroom tango.....and this dance is not for people with space issues. Argentine tango is danced in a "close embrace". So bring breath mints and wear deodorant. I've taken tango classes at several locations and found that Alex does an excellent job of teaching this dance, and explaining the nuances of the tango. There are quite a few beginning classes here to choose from. (If you love Argentine tango there is opportunity to dance every night of the week in Portland!)

This has to be one of the coolest spots in Portland. I cannot believe I'm only the second person to…read morewrite a review, but tangueros seem to spend every spare moment either practicing or talking about shoes, so maybe they just haven't gotten around to it yet. For Tango, this is the place. Many (if not all) of Portland's best dancers can be seen here and the floor energy on a good night feels like it's coming up from the floorboards. If you dance tango, you need to go here. Alex Krebs (the owner) creates a really great ambiance and has weekly classes for those who want to learn Argentine Tango. But, as the other reviewer stated, this is a dance in close embrace, so you'll be spending time in close contact with other people's body. Be prepared!

I see a lot of performances but last month was my first visit here. The Juliet Letters was…read moreperformed by PDX Opera and Papermoon Opera. I very much enjoyed the space and the staff were incredible especially since I went through it to get there. I left WAY early knowing rain + cars bad. The disclaimer here is that Google is now corrected because I reached out to Artists Repertory Theatre when I discovered the issue and they got Google to correct it. I had never been to the venue before but knew about where it was and I am downtown several times a week in different areas. I've lived here forever and also traffic gets weird off 405 so it is not uncommon to be tossed onto offramps when an accident or something happens. I was using Waze.. address saying 1515 SW Morrison. Coming from Beaverton, I am almost to the tunnel when the freeway STOPS and GPS adds a LOT of minutes. While stopped in the far left lane waiting for traffic to move, I had my window down for a spot of fresh air. A car HITS a pocket of water rolling down the other side of the freeway and my car gets a tidal wave of gray water. So I was VERY awake and DRENCHED... The second I am through the tunnel, FINALLY, there is no traffic. I was pretty annoyed since the horrific traffic ate a half hour and I was now going to be barely in time. I was so hyper focused on getting there that I was not really registering that I was in NW, not SW. I pull up to the Armory. I was so pissed at myself. I was JUST at the Armory for a Portland Center Stage show and thought I must have absent minded typed The Armory into Waze. But Waze was genuinely saying I was at 1515 SW Morrison. FYI - Someone had 'tagged' Artists Repertory Theatre in a photo they too of a fundraiser for Artists Repertory Theatre, held at The Armory resulting in Google having Artists Repertory Theatre IN The Armory. I had to manually enter the address and am doing that AT start time for the opera. I was having an anxiety attack and thinking about just going home but NO, DAMN IT I WILL MAKE IT. I will be late but I did not just go through this for nothing. And I genuinely was excited to see this venue I had never seen. I am so grateful I stuck it out though my adventure was not over yet! Driving the blocks from NW to SW, I was green lights all the way. BUT people randomly would just walk in front of me for zero reasons. Then a Max train genuinely just drifted slowly straight in front of my car when I was green light and they were not... my 5 minutes turned to 10 minutes... But I see an empty parking spot out front which is so great since I am ADA and walk with a cane but see no ADA spots. Everything is covered in wet fall leaves which can be a bit scary for my walking. As I pulled up, the space in front is just being taken. I parked around the corner, in front of a bar next to a truck that pared like they pregamed before hitting the bar. While getting out of the car, in sideways rain with zero light on that street (hysterically there was a light that was on when I came out after the performance but when I arrived it was pitch black) I see a perfect banana peel right where I would step to stand up getting out of my car?? And who says the universe does not have a sense of humor?!? I arrived and security came at me like I was dying because I probably looked like I was! Everyone was AMAZING. The lovely person with the will call list found me so easily and they tucked me right in like a mysterious diplomat with a folding cane who clearly walked into a lake and fought ninjas to get there. I, again, am ADA and try to just tuck in away from people at an end seat. There were five seats marked reserved for us ADA folks (the kind people from the venue had told me the whats what when I got my ticket) and they were all empty. As it was, right before I popped in to rush to my seat, they were apologizing to me that it had already started. I was shocked as I was mortified I was so late! I did make note of the great bar area with some tables and chairs to the right of the performance area for people to be social before and after with vendors selling wares. As I am taking a seat, I see an end one in the very front which I sit behind as the person seated directly to its right left a napkin with something...on it... that looked like chewed food. I was a bit distracted the whole show by that napkin because ewww. When the show ended, I took my program and political sign I was handed during the show as part of the show to get a photo. I chatted with an usher about the opera while I was taking my pictures and I was VERY surprised when I noticed the genuine blood stains on the wood floor next to me. Innocent probably but also MAYBE MURDER (had to).

Seats on the first floor theater are incredibly uncomfortable - they're basically foldup chairs…read morewith a cushion. The show was good minus the loud sneeze I had just as the actor was about to start their monologue :p My apologies to the audience!