When Beaumont-Wilshire neighbor Rose Bonomo moved to Portland from New York, she says she naturally landed on the east side. “People that move here from New York gravitate to the east side, ‘cause it’s a grid. It’s familiar.” After years in Irvington, she moved up the hill when her kids were at Alameda, Beaumont, and Grant, drawn to “all different kinds of people up here.”
Longtime residents may remember Rose from her cozy Fremont shop, Rosabode. “I was in love with faux fur, and I used to make these throws with faux fur on one side and fabric on the other,” she recalls. “Everything was handmade by us and designed, and it was pretty fun … it was fun to meet a lot of your neighbors. I met so many neighbors.” To this day people tell her, “I still have that throw.”
“It’s dumb and silly, and you don’t have to know anything about Shakespeare. It’s guaranteed laughs.”
After retiring, Rose circled back to her first love: theater. As a young woman in New York, she was an “actor, singer, dancer” who studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and trained in Shakespeare. When her kids left home, she says, “I just wanted to kind of find myself again,” taking Spanish, aerial, and improv classes. That path led her to Love, Shakespeare, an improvised Shakespeare troupe where she now performs and serves as producer.
Love, Shakespeare takes the intimidation out of the Bard. Rose laughs, “If someone told me it was improvised Shakespeare, I would run in the opposite direction.” But she reassures newcomers, “It’s dumb and silly, and you don’t have to know anything about Shakespeare. It’s guaranteed laughs.” At the same time, the ensemble works hard to honor “the spirit of Shakespeare’s plays,” balancing “the silliness with some amount of authenticity.”
The most creative part of the work, she says, is the ensemble itself. “Listening is everything so that you don’t miss anything and you don’t drop anything. Creating a Shakespearean play out of nothing is pretty amazing.”
Neighbors can support the troupe by coming to shows, telling others about the troupe, or by volunteering. “Being audience members, spreading the word, supporting us, all are fantastic ways to get involved,” Rose says. For more information, tickets, and a contact form, visit LoveShakespearePDX.com.
David Friedman, @friedart, is a visual artist specializing in papercutting, printmaking, and painting. He and his dog, Poppi @poppipdx, can be seen daily at Wilshire Park. His work is on display at the Alberta Street Gallery, daily 11-7.