LOoP brings you absurdity in complete sincerity. The Light Opera of Portland is a volunteer-based theatre company. There is no pay or stipend. We are a group of friends and like-minded theatre people who want to produce interesting, intelligent and exciting musical theatre, because it's our passion and because it's going to be a lot of fun! We now produce the shows of Gilbert and Sullivan on an annual basis primarily but have fresh ideas about other possible productions and we invite you to join us! About the Artistic Director, Laurence Cox:
Laurence first kindled a love of Gilbert and Sullivan during his time studying theatre at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, when he was cast in a local production of The Pirates of Penzance. Moving the the US in 2009, Laurence became involved in several local theatre companies, including Hillsboro Artists Regional Theatre, and Beaverton Civic Theater, where he first met Dennis Britten. While working together on multiple productions, they discovered their shared love of the Savoy Operas, and realised that there was no dedicated company performing them on Portland’s West side. Later, when Dennis founded The Dairyville Players in 2012, Laurence was the first person to audition, joining the company as Dick Deadeye in an abridged production of H.M.S. Pinafore. Since then, Laurence has appeared in almost every show produced by the company as it developed to become the Light Opera Of Portland in 2015. He joined the board in 2018, and was chosen as the new Artistic Director in 2021, following Dennis Britten’s retirement. Laurence has also appeared in Gilbert and Sullivan productions with Mock’s Crest at the University of Portland, Marylhurst University, Queen’s University in Charlotte NC, the University of Michigan, and Portland Phoenix Choir. About the Founding Artistic Director, Dennis Britten:
After one year at Portland State as a musical composition major, Dennis left Portland for San Francisco where he performed with The San Francisco Lamplighters, the oldest American Gilbert and Sullivan company. While in the Bay Area, some 55 years ago, he signed his first professional theater contract and began singing and acting in Equity theatres there. He then left for New York to spend more than 20 years between New York and Europe singing and acting before he began to write for the theater. In that period he sang opera in Germany, the role of Prince Karl Franz in The Student Prince in New York, Ralph in H.M.S. Pinafore to an audience of more than 5000 in Central Park, performed off Broadway in Al Carmines’ Promenade and toured as Freddy Einsford Hill in the NY company of My Fair Lady among other shows and concerts. While writing the script and lyrics for his own Off Broadway show, If Wishes Were Horses, he was asked by the playwright Leonard Melfi to direct Niagara Falls at the New York City Dramathon. Dennis completed his undergraduate degree in directing and his Master’s in writing.at Stony Brook and in 1986 took a professorship at Arizona State heading the voice program in the Theater Arts Department teaching voice for the stage, acting and directing and also directing several productions yearly. In 1993, after leaving university life, he began his own professional repertory company in Scottdale, AZ, Phoenix Show Space Theatre (PSST!)
Upon returning to the Portland area to care for his parents, he began by directing Camelot at Beaverton Civic Theatre, the first time directing a community theater and soon after in 2012, co-founded The Dairyville Players with Paul Roder, now Artistic Director of HART Theatre in Hillsboro. Dennis has spent over 55 happy years in the theatre.
