Sinn Savvy Productions
The Night of Noise

By Nikki Jauron

You can’t throw a stone in town without hitting a Sinn Savvy Productions event somewhere. You’ve seen the posters, you’ve heard of the events and you support their causes and benefits. What does it take to put on stellar show after stellar show?

Sinn Savvy Productions continues to gain momentum after one year after being established within the Portland community. Their many affiliated projects include Night of Noise, The L Word party w/ Human Rights Campaign and the Lethal Lesbian Film Festival.

Id Magazine got the chance to sit down with Rayleen Courtney, Owner of Sinn Savvy Productions and asked her about how she managed to pull together the all-star group of talented local performers, and what it takes to continue bringing quality shows to their audiences.

“Portland’s queer promotions community has welcomed Sinn Savvy. Portland needed a group who was focused on fun,” says Courtney.

Sinn Savvy is definitely fun. Oodles of debauchery with only a smidge of guilt. At that, it’s the good kind of guilt. The shows are hot, the performances are raucous. The performers are top bill and their venues are always packed. It’s no wonder their presence has caught on like wild fire.

“Portland is full of queer promoters/parties, there was a huge need for a team. Sinn Savvy is made up of 25 different people; a team and family oriented bunch,” Courtney remarks. “Our reach has gotten so wide, included in the group is Kaki Marshall, of Pop Tart, Lube Job and Double Down notoriety.”

Sinn Savvy’s goal is to cater to everyone in the community. Their main focus is to have an amazing show and welcomes anyone who loves to have a good time, being truly inclusive. They strive to provide attendants with the kind of action you can’t peel yourself away from. The numbers are choreographed for months, perfecting the moves down to the pauses for breath; the hosts make you feel like you’re part of the show and the fans reciprocate by unleashing cheers fit for a king!

“The longer I promote in this city, the more aware I become within our community. I’d like to see promoters look out for each other’s nights more often. Portland needs to see a lot of cross promotion. A lot of promoters don’t bat an eye at booking an event on a regularly scheduled event night.”

One of their most recent successes, The Night of Noise was a group effort made possible by The Jupiter Hotel, Sinn Savvy Productions, PSU’s Queer Resource Center and SMYRC. Night of Noise was an all ages event held on April 17th, in conjunction with the National Day of Silence. A day created among students, nationwide to recognize the LGBTQ community members who remain silent in their orientation for a multitude of reasons.

“I feel really great about it. I had been wanting to get some promoters together and do a huge benefit for SMYRC,” Courtney says. “PSU’s generosity was really key in that. It paid for everything. All the money brought in was for the kids. [Also] QRC was deliberating about who the funds were going to go to and when SMYRC’s roof collapsed, they instantly decided where the funds were going.”

Running a production company is a huge job, requiring hours of planning, and preparation. Rayleen’s assistant, Leila Hofstein, plays a major role with the administration and overall flow of the organization as well.

“I wouldn’t exist without that girl [Hofstein]. When I’m freaking out and in over my head, I consider her my business partner if I had one. Leila is my right hand,” says a relieved Courtney.

Sinn Savvy Productions’ and Courtney’s current goals are nonstop and exciting, while they look forward to the upcoming 2009 Pride season here in Portland.

“I want to reach out and be a go-to; make our promotions as inclusive as possible, and make it less competitive.”

Sinn Savvy Promotions can easily found online at their website, and multiple networking sites like: Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter.