A new Portland theater company structured as an artist-owned LLC instead of a nonprofit opens Sunday, Oct. 18, with a free concert reading in downtown Portland.
Puddletown Theatre Collective performs Adam Guettel's award-winning musical Floyd Collins at 8 p.m. at First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1126 SW Park Ave. Admission is by donation, with no minimum.
Founder Chase Davidson, who spent two decades working in theater in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta, moved to Portland during the pandemic and began rethinking how theater companies pay their artists, as first reported by Oregon ArtsWatch. He said most companies he encountered were not operating as they should, and that he had spent years toggling between food-service jobs and stage work.
His solution is an LLC that gives working artists ownership and a direct voice in the company's direction. According to the company's business plan, the structure lets Puddletown explore profit-sharing, project-based leadership and artist-driven decision-making. Through a fiscal sponsorship with Fractured Atlas, a national arts nonprofit, supporters can still make tax-deductible donations.
Davidson drew the model from older traditions, pointing to cooperative arrangements stretching back to traveling commedia dell'arte troupes and Shakespeare's players, according to Oregon ArtsWatch. Artists split proceeds without the overhead of permanent buildings, which he said has driven ticket prices up without raising artist pay.
He described the donation-based pricing as a trust system. "It's almost like kind of a trust system," Davidson told Oregon ArtsWatch. "If you come to the show and really like it, give us what you think we're worth and what you can afford."
Floyd Collins, composed by Guettel and first staged in 1994, tells the story of a Kentucky man trapped in a cave in 1925 while trying to build a tourist attraction to escape poverty. The musical made its Broadway premiere at Lincoln Center in 2025.
Davidson chose First Congregational's chapel because the bluegrass- and country-tinged score has what he called "quasi liturgical but not blatantly religious" qualities that suit the space. The concert reading features 10 performers, including a seven-piece chamber orchestra conducted by music director Stephanie Smith. Lighting director Stephen Eggers will use projections to simulate the cave setting.
Davidson rented the church for one night for $1,500.
Puddletown's broader vision centers on immersive, site-specific productions staged in warehouses, parks, churches and outdoor spaces rather than traditional theaters, according to the company's website. Davidson honed that approach at Serenbe Playhouse in Atlanta, where one production of Miss Saigon chartered a Huey helicopter for the climax.
Davidson said he has imagined "probably five seasons of shows" for Puddletown, mentioning Urinetown as a future possibility. He called Sunday's reading a test run for the company's principles. Tickets and information are available at puddletowntc.org.
