CULTUREPHILE: PORTLAND ARTS

Best Mother’s Day Dates

Entertaining Mom this weekend?
Check this handy guide to find the best fit.

Posted by: Anne Adams on May 05, 2011 at 06:00AM 0 Comments

Mom’s mind will be blown by your entertainment planning prowess.

What do you get the mother who has everything? “Perishables and trinkets,” say experts. “Soap. Candles. Candy. Perfume. Or brunch.” But let’s assume your mother already smells fine, and isn’t hungry? What then?

That’s when you resort to another can’t-miss classic: Tickets, plus your time. Culturephile has culled the weekend calendar for your best bets for mom-friendly memory-making. We’re also going to clue you in as to which ones are bolder, which are safer, and which have limited seating—because if you’ve ever tried to show Mother a good time, you already know how much these details matter.

Gallery Gazing
Standing/walking required.
(ALL WEEKEND) Portland Art Museum’s Riches of a City . Let mom marvel at a piece of 15th-century Ming dynasty pottery, and puzzle out the lines of a Picasso. It’s a harmless way to while away the day and keep out of this punishing Oregon sun. (Mild)
(FRI) YU Contemporary Gallery Opening . Open-minded beat-generation mamas might be keen on Portland’s newest force in contemporary art, which opens its doors Friday with a nod to the city’s avant-garde arts past. Turns out this town has hosted some of the weirdest, wildest—and most world-renowned—visual artists. (Medium-spicy)

Gritty Gal Theater
Seated. *
(SAT-SUN) BUST at Portland Center Stage If your mom has a bleeding-heart humanitarian side, a self-deprecating wit, or both (and can cope with a few curses), then she’ll appreciate this amazingly agile and touching one-woman comedy, written and performed by former Daily Show contributor Lauren Weedman, which relives experiences volunteering in a tough women’s prison. (Hot)
(ALL WEEKEND) Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at Portland Playhouse. Mom might get inspired by this bold, brilliant Black diva from the Detroit Jazz Renaissance, back-sassing the studio that’s trying to record her. (Hot)
*Note: Portland Playhouse’s lobby is a little tight to maneuver in. If that’s a dealbreaker, consider the deal broke.

Modern Dance
Seated.
(ALL WEEKEND) BodyVox’s A Thousand Little Cities A whirlwind of costume changes and different emotional tones means there’s something for everybody, and probably plenty for Mom. Take it all in and then ask, “What was your favorite part?” (Mild)
(ALL WEEKEND)Jefferson Dancers Spring Program at the Newmark These young (14-18) yet professional dancers have a reputation for disciplined perfection, and for presenting edgy, challenging material that’s arguably beyond their years. Uber-modern moms will say “hooray”; but milder ones might go, “Gosh.” (Medium spicy)

All-Ages Plays
Seated.
(ALL WEEKEND) Young moms, or multi-generation gatherings, might consider catching Northwest Children’s Theater’s Snow White, or Oregon Children’s Theatre’s How I Became A Pirate . I wouldn’t be surprised if the ultimate pull toward princess or pirate falls along the boy-girl divide—but be flexible. After all, this is PDX. (Mild)

Paul McCartney Fan Jam
Standing/walking required.
(SAT) Get your mom a bag to breathe into—Paul McCartney is NOT in town. However, local musician and McCartney enthusiast Dave Depper will do his best to channel “the cute one,” playing the entire Ram album at Doug Fir, backed by many of Portland’s chamber-folk elite. (Medium-spicy)

Sensitive Ponytailed Piano Man
Seated.
(SUN) Markus Groh at the Newmark If your mom’s anything like mine, his pigtail will not pass muster—but she’ll be instantly won over by the silvery tones and agile arpeggios of Markus Groh’s marvelous piano playing. (Mild)

World Music, Asian Culture
Seated.
(SAT/SUN) Portland Taiko’s Ponta & The Big Drum “Tiger Moms,” as well as those with a yen for travel and world music, should love the thrumming rhythms and sense of adventure that come standard with a Portland Taiko performance. And rest assured, these percussion pro’s will keep their levels low enough to please Mama’s sensitive ears. (Mild)

Classy French Cinema
Seated.
(ALL WEEKEND) A Deneuve Dozen at NWFilm Center French film icon Catherine Deneuve is an exceedingly rare breed of actress: a beautiful woman, that other women unbegrudgingly love. Moms will likely swoon for selections that feature the now-68-year-old actress in her prolonged prime, and “glamor moms” will find an excuse to preen over their own timeless loveliness. (Medium spicy)

Girlish Folk Singers
Limited seating.
(SUN) Mirah + Thao at Wonder Ballroom Mirah, who hails from a Pennsylvania maple syrup farm, has a knack for soft, wounded musings and coy innuendo, while Thao’s style is a little tougher. Together, they should strike a nice emotional balance that au courant moms can appreciate. Go really early to snag upstairs seating; otherwise, Mom may get stuck swaying amid a throng of slightly smelly bicycle-borne hipsters. (Medium spicy)

Elvis-Era Rock-n-Roll
Limited seating.
(SAT) Wanda Jackson at Roseland Wowza—Wanda was a dish back in her day. She dated Elvis, belted out powerful soul and blues hits, and was informally crowned “Queen of Rockabilly” by the pompadour crowd. Well, long live the Queen, who has recently proven her lasting relevance by working with the White Stripes’ Jack White. Moms with a severe case of 50s nostalgia—or just a lot of moxie—will be wildly inspired. (Medium spicy)

Nature’s Majesty
Standing/walking, or seated.
(ALL WEEKEND) Unable (for whatever reason) to squire your outdoorsy mother around the Japanese Gardens, Chinese Gardens, or one of the three famous local Rose Gardens ? Don’t fret, the big giant screen at The OMSI Film Festival projects crystalline visions of nature at a scale that could swallow Mom whole. Expect her to grab your arm and gasp during eye-popping flicks like Sea Rex and Journey into Amazing Caves. (Mild)

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Tags: Theater, Dance, music,

Ron Funches

Posted by: Aaron Scott and Anne Adams on May 05, 2011 at 01:00AM 1 Comments

“I saw this guy with a tattoo that said, ‘F- Linda.’ And I thought, ‘That guy does NOT like Linda very much!
Either that, or he has to remind himself to have intimacy.
Either way, Linda could do much better.’”

Add a Comment »

Tags: quotes

TBA 2011: First Acts Announced

Slo-mo car crashes, 3-D animation, an interactive jumproom and a Jimmy Swaggart impersonator, are just the first few things on tap for TBA.

Posted by: The Culturegang on May 03, 2011 at 09:00AM 2 Comments

Zoe Juniper: Just one of the exciting acts PICA has lined up for this summer’s TBA.

Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (aka PICA) is kicking into gear once again for its 10-day late-summer festival, the Time-Based Art Festival (aka TBA. Know your Portland art abbreviations, folks). The following release from their pressroom includes such concise, informative summaries of the talent we can expect to see this year, that we wish we’d written it ourselves. Instead, we’ve highlighted names and categories, and tagged a few returning acts from TBA:2010 in red, so you can read Portland Monthly’s reviews of the work they brought last year. PICA was quick to express that there are more acts yet “to be announced”—also aka, TBA.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Since 
1995, 
PICA 
has
 built 
a 
citywide 
platform
 for 
the 
creation 
and 
discovery 
of
 contemporary
 art,
 through
 artist 
residencies 
and
 commissions,
 talks 
and
 workshops,
 and
 the
 annual
 Time‐Based
 Art Festival.



This
 September,
 PICA’s
 ninth
 annual
 Time‐Based 
Art 
Festival 
takes 
over 
Portland,
 Oregon,
 for 
an 
all‐hours,
 city‐wide 
happening 
of
 contemporary 
performance
 and
 visual
 art. 
TBA 
spans
 disciplines,
 ideas, 
histories,
 and 
locales 
to 
present 
work 
that
 distinctly
 reflects
 the 
here
 and 
now.
 The 
Festival
 gathers 
artists 
for 
morning
 workshops, 
expands
 the
 conversation 
with 
afternoon
 talks
 and 
salons, 
fills
 pop‐up 
galleries 
with
 visual
 installations,
 and
 takes 
the
 stage 
until
 late 
in
 the 
night 
with 
experimental, 
genre‐defying
 live 
performances.



TBA
 ON
 STAGE 
presents 
performances 
by 
artists 
colliding 
the
 genres 
of 
dance, 
music,
 theatre, 
new
media, 
and
 film
 to
 propel 
new
 ideas 
and
 new
 forms.
ON
STAGE 
is 
curated
 by 
TBA 
Festival
 Artistic
 Director 
Cathy 
Edwards,
 in
 collaboration
 with 
Erin 
Boberg
 Doughton,
 Performing
 Arts
 Program
 Director
 for
 PICA. 
In
 curating 
this 
year’s
 program,
 Edwards 
has
 said
 that
 she
 was 
interested 
in 
exploring
 the,
 “continuums
 of
 community 
to
 cult, 
of
 mentor 
to 
demagogue,
 and
 of 
art 
to
 propaganda.”



Kyle 
Abraham,
 The
 Radio 
Show 
[NEW
 YORK,
 DANCE]
 Hailed 
as 
"the
 best
 and
 brightest 
creative 
talent 
to 
emerge 
in 
New 
York
City 
in
 the
 age
 of
 Obama"
by 
Out
 Magazine, 
Abraham’s
 choreography
 investigates
 the
 effects
 of 
the
 abrupt
 discontinuation 
of
 a 
community 
radio 
station
 and
 the 
impact 
of 
Alzheimer’s 
on
 a
 family.
 Abraham’s
 score 
mixes 
recordings 
of
 classic
 soul
 and 
hip‐hop
 with
 contemporary
 classical 
compositions
 by 
Ryoji 
Ikeda 
and
 Alva 
Noto.
 


Kyle 
Abraham, 
Live!
 The
 Realest 
MC
 (in‐development) 
[NEW
 YORK,
 DANCE]
 Abraham’s
 newest
 solo
 performance
 spins
 off 
from
 the
 duality 
of 
Pinocchio’s 
plight 
to
 be
 a 
"real 
boy," 
investigating
 gender 
roles 
in
 the
 black 
community 
and 
societal
 perspectives
 of
 the
 black 
man
 through
 hip
hop
 and
 celebrity
 culture.




Andrew
 Dinwiddie, 
Get 
Mad
 at 
Sin
! 
[NEW
 YORK,
 THEATRE]
 A 
one‐man
 performance 
reanimating
 an
 out‐of‐print 
vinyl
 record 
of
 a 
sermon
 by 
the
 evangelist
 Jimmy 
Swaggart ,
recorded
 live
 in
 1971.
 Dinwiddie
 achieves
 perfect
 audio
 fidelity 
to
 the
 original 
record 
while 
reincarnating
 Swaggart’s 
carpet‐pacing, 
pulpit‐pounding 
performance.



Mike 
Daisey,
 All 
the
 Hours
 in
 the
 Day
 [NEW
 YORK,
 THEATRE,
 ONE‐DAY
 ONLY]
 For 
three
 years 
Daisey
 has
 been 
working
 on 
an 
insane 
project: 
a
 live 
twenty–four 
hour
 monologue,
 on
 the
 scale 
of 
War
 and
 Peace.
 Dreamed
 of 
as
 an
 epic
 story 
that 
shatters
 the
 framework 
of 
the 
theater, 
All
 the
 Hours 
in
 the 
Day
 will 
weave 
together 
massive
 narrative 
threads 
into 
an
 electric
 story 
about 
our
 humanity 
in 
this 
age…if 
all 
goes
 well.

 


Dean 
&
 Britta,
 13
 Most 
Beautiful…
Songs 
for 
Andy
 Warhol’s 
Screen 
Tests

 [NEW
 YORK, 
MUSIC, 
FILM]

 Between 
1964 
and
 1966,
 Andy
 Warhol 
shot 
nearly 
500 
Screen
 Tests—beautiful
 and
 revealing
16mm 
film
 portraits 
of 
hundreds
 of 
different
 individuals, 
from 
the
 famous
 to
 the
 anonymous. 
Songwriters 
Dean 
Wareham
 and 
Britta 
Phillips, 
formerly
 of 
the
 band
 Luna,
 will 
perform
 a 
live 
score 
of
 original 
compositions 
and 
covers 
for
 13
 of 
the
 films.


Taylor 
Mac, 
Comparison 
is
 Violence:
 The
 Ziggy
 Stardust
 Meets
 Tiny
 Tim
 Songbook
 [NEW
 YORK,
 CABARET 
THEATRE]
 Combining 
dramatic 
flair,
 searing 
satire,
 poignant
 honesty, 
and—of
course—plenty
of
 glitter,
Mac
 arrives 
in 
a 
flourish
 of 
sequins 
with 
his
 newest
 show, 
in 
which 
he
 dissects
 the
 darker 
side 
of 
comparison 
while 
singing
 Tiny
 Tim
 songs 
and 
selections 
from
 David
 Bowie’s 
glam‐rock 
classic, 
The
 Rise
 and
 Fall
 of 
Ziggy
 Stardust.


Offsite 
Dance 
Project 
[JAPAN,
 DANCE,
 NEW
 COMMISSION]
 For 
this 
site‐specific 
project,
 Offsite 
Dance 
returns 
to
 Portland
 and
 embeds
 three
 dynamic 
Japanese choreographers 
in 
the
 Central
 Eastside 
Industrial 
District,
 under
 bridges,
 off
 of
 loading
 docks,
 and
 in
 the
 neighborhood’s 
rapidly 
developing
 buildings. 
 Featuring
 Yoko 
Higashino,
 Yukio
 Suzuki, 
and
 Ho
Ho‐Do.
 


Rachid 
Ouramdane,
 World 
Fair 
[FRANCE,
 EXPERIMENTAL
 DANCE]
 A 
French 
choreographer 
of 
Algerian
 descent, 
Ouramdane’s
 latest
 solo 
asks, 
“What 
can
 authorities 
expect 
from 
a 
work
 of 
art? 
What 
are
 the
 marks 
left
 by
 political 
history
 on 
the
 body? ”
World 
Fair 
blends
 movement 
and 
video 
to 
present 
the body 
as
 a 
bank 
able 
to
 record, 
erase,
 or 
register
 different
 ingredients
 of
 modern 
reality
 and
 national 
identity.


Rude
 Mechs,
 The 
Method
 Gun
 [AUSTIN,
 TX,
 THEATRE]
 The
 Method
 Gun
 explores
 the
 life 
and
 techniques 
of 
Stella 
Burden,
 the
 actor‐training
 guru
 of 
the
 60s
 and
 70s,
 and
 creator
 of
 “The
 Approach”
 (often 
referred
 to
 as 
"the
 most
 dangerous 
acting 
technique 
in 
the
 world"). 
A 
play 
about 
the 
ecstasy 
and 
excesses 
of
 performing,
 the
 dangers
 of
 public 
intimacy, 
and 
the 
incompatibility 
of 
truth 
on
 stage
 and
 sanity 
in 
real
 life.



tEEth,
 Home 
Made 
[PORTLAND,
 EXPERIMENTAL
 DANCE] Home 
Made 
mounts 
a 
daring 
exploration 
of
 the 
awkwardness 
of
 human
 beauty
 and
 the
 struggles 
of 
intimate 
negotiation. 
Choreographed
 by
 Angelle 
Hebert
 and
 scored 
by
 Phillip 
Kraft, 
Home
 Made
 explores 
the 
fine
 balance
 between 
tenderness 
and 
hostility,
 where 
playfulness
 becomes
 manipulation 
and
 exploration
 shades
 into 
aggression.
 


zoe 
|
 juniper,
 A 
Crack 
in 
Everything
 [SEATTLE,
 DANCE,
 COMMISSION]
 Through
 3‐D
 animation 
projections,
 atmospheric 
installations 
and 
lighting, 
and
 Scofield’s
 compelling
 choreography,
 the 
piece 
meditates 
on
 the
 moments 
that 
divide 
people’s
 lives 
into 
linear 
experiences 
of
 time.
 Scofield 
creates 
a 
unique 
and
 intense
 contemporary 
dance 
language
 from
 a
 range 
of 
movement 
styles, 
performed
 by 
an
 ensemble
 of 
top‐notch
 dancers.

 


TBA 
ON
 SIGHT 
is 
a
 collection 
of 
installations,
 exhibitions, 
projections, 
and
 gatherings 
by
 visual 
artists, 
curated 
and 
organized 
by
 Kristan 
Kennedy,
 Visual 
Art 
Curator 
for 
PICA.
 Evidence
 of
 Bricks:
 The
 building 
up,
 but 
mostly 
tearing 
down,
 of 
institutions, 
societies,
 structures
 and
 ideas.
 


Claire
 Fontaine
[FRANCE]
 Claire
 Fontaine 
is 
a 
Paris‐based
 collective, 
founded
 in 
2004.
 After 
lifting
 her
 name
 from
 a
 popular 
brand
 of 
school 
notebooks, 
Claire 
Fontaine
 declared
 herself 
a
 “ready made
 artist”
 and
 began 
to 
elaborate 
a 
version 
of
 neo‐conceptual 
art 
that 
often 
looks 
like 
other
 people’s 
work. Working 
in
 neon,
 video,
 sculpture, 
painting
 and
 text, 
her
 practice 
can
 be
 described
 as 
an
 ongoing 
interrogation 
of
 the
 political
 impotence
 and
 the
 crisis 
of 
 singularity
 that
 seem
 to
 define
 contemporary 
art 
today.



Kate 
Gilmore 
[NEW 
YORK]
 In 
Kate 
Gilmore’s 
art, 
she
 devises 
strenuous, 
physical 
propositions
 without 
clear,
 purposeful 
outcomes. 
Whether 
kicking 
and 
climbing
 out 
of 
a
 drywall 
column,
 stacking
 shelves
 with 
paint‐filled
 pots, 
or 
maintaining 
her
 balance 
atop
 a 
pile 
of 
marble 
being
 sledge‐hammered
 from 
beneath 
her, 
Gilmore’s
 actions
 assert 
a
 dogged 
persistence,
 dark 
humor, 
and 
a
 stark 
sense 
of 
risk.



*Anna 
Gray 
& 
Ryan
 Wilson
 Paulsen, 
Don’t 
Worry 
We’ll 
Fix 
It 
[PORTLAND]*
 The
 Fix
 It 
office
 will 
both
 produce 
the 
publication 
September, 
a
 daily
 art
 historical
 broadside
 specially 
produced
 for
 TBA:11, 
and 
be
 an 
active 
space
 where 
the 
artists 
will
 work 
on site 
to 
correct, 
revise
 and
 compile
 errata 
from
 previous 
editions 
of
 the
 paper.
 


Cristina
 Lucas,
 Europleasure 
International
 LTD.
 TOUCH 
AND
 GO
 [SPAIN]
 Incorporating 
irony
 and
 humor 
into
 her 
work,
 Cristina 
Lucas
 focuses
 on 
the
 irrationality
 of 
human 
actions
 and
 ethics 
within 
contemporary 
aesthetics. 
Lucas’ 
video 
makes sly
 commentary 
on 
the 
diaspora 
of 
Western 
factories 
to 
the 
Third 
World, 
through
 an
 encounter 
with 
one
 such
 British 
company, 
Europleasure 
International 
LTD.



*Ohad 
Meromi,
 Rehearsal
 Sculpture,
 Act 
II:
 Consumption
 [NEW
 YORK]
* Inspired 
by 
the 
pragmatic 
idealism
 of 
the 
Kibbutz 
and 
Russian 
avant‐garde
 theatre,
 Meromi 
creates 
an 
architecture 
for 
action,
 in
 which 
visitors 
are
 invited 
to 
form
 their
 own 
troupe 
to
 interpret 
and 
perform 
scenes 
from 
his 
Stage 
Exercises 
for 
Smokers 
and
 Non‐Smokers.



Patrick
 Rock, 
Oscar’s 
Delirium
 Tremens 
[PORTLAND]
 A 
hot 
pink, 
elephant‐shaped, 
forced‐air‐inflated, 
viewer‐interactive
 jump‐room 
of 
the
 monumental 
scale 
usually 
reserved
 for
 historical 
statues
 and
 public 
art. 
Oscar’s 
Delirium
 Tremens 
disrupts 
our 
balance, 
implicating 
everyone
 in 
its 
experiential 
abandon 
and
 the
 woozy
 sense
 that
 the
 world
 continues
 spinning
 out
 of
 control,
 even
 after 
stepping
 off
 the
 ride.
 


Halsey 
Rodman 
[NEW
 YORK]
 A
 sculptor 
and
 painter,
 Rodman’s 
installations
 use
 different
 forms
 of 
near‐identical
 objects, 
creating 
a 
sense 
that 
despite 
their 
concrete 
physicality, 
something 
about
 them
 remains 
unresolved
 and
 unfixed. 
While 
the 
elements 
exist 
simultaneously 
in
 space, 
their
 differences
 expose 
the 
passage 
of 
time 
in 
their 
creation 
and 
in 
the 
audience’s 
regard.



Jesse 
Sugarmann, 
Lido 
(The
 Pride 
is 
Back)
 [SPRINGFIELD, 
OR]
 Sugarmann’s 
automotive 
performances 
are 
elegant 
pile‐ups. 
His 
vehicular 
actions 
 engage 
the 
car 
accident 
as 
an 
inadvertent 
monument, 
a
 spectacle 
of 
trauma,
 and 
a
 point 
of 
social 
exchange. 
Positioning
 three 
Chrysler 
minivans 
atop 
42
 inflatable 
airbeds,
 Sugarmann
 creates
 a 
slow‐motion 
wreck.



*Mona 
Vatamanu
 & 
Florin 
Tudor, 
Rite 
of 
Spring 
[ROMANIA/SWITZERLAND]*
 Living 
in 
Bucharest, 
Romania, 
Vatamanu
 &
 Tudor 
examine 
the
 sea
 change 
in
 social 
and
 economic 
systems
 following 
the 
decline 
of 
Communism 
in 
Eastern 
Europe. 
In 
Rite 
of

Spring, 
as 
children
 set
 drifts 
of 
poplar 
fluff 
aflame 
in 
the 
street 
gutters,
 the 
artists 
create
 a 
symbol 
of 
“Lost
 Boys”
 innocence 
in 
the 
face 
of
 Capitalism’s
 failed 
promise.



Young‐hae 
Chang 
Heavy 
Industries 
[SOUTH
 KOREA]
 YOUNG‐HAE
 CHANG 
HEAVY
 INDUSTRIES 
was
 founded 
in
 Seoul 
by 
Young‐hae 
Chang,
 C.E.O.,
 and 
Marc 
Voge,
 C.I.O.
 Their
 quick‐cut, 
text‐based
 flash 
animations 
pair
 catchy,
 percussive 
scores
 with 
original
 narratives 
that
 tell
 sharp, 
captivating, 
and
 politically‐charged
 stories
 of 
modern 
urban 
life 
and
 society
 on
 the
 web.



Whoop 
Dee
 Doo
 [KANSAS
 CITY,
 MISSOURI] Whoop
 Dee 
Doo
 is 
a
 kid‐friendly 
faux 
public 
access 
television
 show 
featuring
 performances
 and 
live 
audience 
participation. 
With 
skits, 
contests, 
musicians, 
and
 local
 talent,
 the
 program
 is
 inspired
 by
 television
 shows
 such 
as 
The 
Carol 
Burnett 
Show,
 Pee
 Wee’s 
Playhouse, 
Mr.
 Wizard, 
The
 Gong
 Show,
 American 
Bandstand, 
Soul 
Train, 
Double
 Dare, 
and
 You 
Can’t 
Do 
that 
on
 Television.


For more about Portland arts events, visit PoMo’s Arts & Entertainment Calendar, stream content with an RSS feed, or sign up for our weekly On The Town Newsletter!

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Tags: Theater

Music Videos: Thao + Mirah | Reggie Watts | Kasey Anderson

Posted by: Anne Adams on May 02, 2011 at 06:00AM 0 Comments

Over the weekend, Northwest-based Reggie Watts made Vimeo Picks with this display of his virtuosic one-man-band stylings. As we face the week, Bretheren, let us all take inspiration from Watts’ coordination and wherewithal.

But maybe the coffee has yet to kick in, and the current cloud-cover (or your week’s to-do list) is putting you in the mood for drearier fare. Enter local long-timer Kasey Anderson. The following video combines Anderson’s single, The Wrong Light, with drawings by Portland illustrator Keith Carter. It’s probably no accident that a song that growls, “…Go down…. Let the wrong light in,” is paired with an endlessly left-panning panorama, likely referencing the classic western lore which equates the “left path” with rebellion and depravity. Rarrrr.

Indie-folk rocker Thao Nguyen (of “Get Down Stay Down” fame) and PDX-pat Mirah (who, like Cher, only needs one name) will be at the Wonder Ballroom on Mothers’ Day, celebrating their latest Kill Rock Stars collaboration. Preview their efforts here via video.

For more about Portland arts events, visit PoMo’s Arts & Entertainment Calendar, stream content with an RSS feed, or sign up for our weekly On The Town Newsletter!

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Tags: monday fun, video

Review: Passion Play

A busy script meets a competent cast in Portland Actors Conservatory’s Easter offering.

Posted by: Ryan Donaldson on Apr 29, 2011 at 12:00PM 2 Comments

Photo by Owen Carey.

I’m unsure whether watching Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play on Easter Sunday was a fitting holiday celebration—or a heretical act worthy of a witch hunt. At any rate, amid dizzying plot twists and confusing comic relief, this piece of theater a few saving graces: skilled lighting, well-executed blocking, and most notably, a cast devoted to their acting craft.

Sarah Ruhl’s Passion Play reframes a play-within-play of Christ’s death in three settings: Elizabethan England, Germany during Hitler’s rise to power, and Spearfish, South Dakota, in 1969. In Rose Riorden’s adaptation, only the first two settings are addressed—which proves plenty complicated enough. The first stop on the whirlwind journey is England circa 1535, where the audience is put in the position of eavesdropping on backstage preparations for a Passion Play festival. Sexual innuendos run as rampant as apocalyptic omens, and the rushed dialogue is heavy with medieval pun. Cue a seductive “Virgin” Mary with an intoxicating accent (Anna Xenokrati) confessing sordid sexual desires with “ten Hail Mary’s in the ecstasy of love,” at which point the sky inexplicably turns blood red. These sudden transitions become a pattern, as repeatedly, a quick scene-change will task an actor with a brand-new character, with no wardrobe or dialogue clues to set it up. Keeping up with the back-and-forth is enough to give you whiplash.

Both acts are heavy with social commentary, topped off with an ironic immaculate conception and a secret love affair between Jesus and Pontius Pilate. Yet the best comedic moments fall just shy of farce, and quickly fizzle as a hodgepodge of deceptions, fairy tale references, and sins spill out haphazardly on stage. But like Simon of Cyrene shouldering a crude cross, the actors bear up under the material and carry it to Calvary.

Jessica Anselmo appears as the narrating village idiot, capturing our attention with a childlike naiveté masking a darker side that would make Sissy Spacek proud. Her presence on stage is truly mesmerizing, with spotlit monologues that highlight her fragility, contrasted by ominous tirades to the sky, we are reminded that “the passion” is no laughing matter. Is it?

The most convincing love affair amongst the sinful bunch was that between Jesus (Lionel McCann) and Pontius Pilate (Sam DeRoest). Their on-stage tension is ripped from the Twilight series, cloying with arm massages and campy references to “mushroom hunting” together in the forest. The interaction between these actors is just awkward enough to make their forbidden romance believable.

Several nice turns of stagecraft accompanied the acting, thanks to director Rose Riorden’s keen eye for detail. Scenes are tightly and gracefully blocked, and dynamically lit, thanks to veteran designer Daniel Meeker. A favorite lighting moment comes at the end of the first act, when most of the cast dons swimming fish hand puppets that glow and come to life as the light fades to black.

The primary mood-killer, meanwhile, unsurprisingly arrives during the “Nazi Germany” portion of the program. Village idiot Jessica is identified as a Jew, and her costars ominously circle in on her as the scene fades to blood-red and then black. In another surprise turn, the “Jesus” character is (ahem) resurrected…as a Nazi officer. Another script surprise, unforeshadowed by the other characters’ wrestling and sexual cavorting that precede it.

Cameos from Queen Elizabeth and Hitler, evoke contemporary playwright (and recent PAC favorite) Christopher Durang, who has been known to usher in historical figures for absurd monologues to hilarious and poignant effect. But here, the figures (despite Patrick Roth’s admirable efforts) fail to bring more than a few stilted chuckles, due to the unsettling intensity of their subject matter. Their novelty notwithstanding, in the context of this particular plot, one wishes Bill and Ted’s phone booth would show up and spirit them away.

Though it proves a great vehicle for actors to hone multiple characters and hold a moment, a general feeling of confusion looms over this, dare I say, overly ambitious play, and it’s hard to take away any greater political or religious message. This culturephile would have preferred more farce, and fewer Nazi non-sequiturs.

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Anne Mueller’s Ballet Memories

Oregon Ballet Theatre’s Principal Dancer reminisces about some of her favorite experiences as she prepares to retire this weekend.

Posted by: Aaron Scott and Anne Adams on Apr 28, 2011 at 06:00AM 2 Comments

Anne Mueller and OBT’s Artistic Director Christopher Stowell share a hug. This weekend she retires as a dancer and takes a new role with the company.

This weekend, Anne Mueller will dance three pieces in Song And Dance: a noir-ish ensemble number with chairs (Left Unsaid ), an agressive hiphop throwdown pas de deux (Speak ) and a lighthearted full-ensemble romp to classic showtunes and jazz standards (Eyes On You ). Then she’ll hang up her toe shoes and retire from a 15-year dance career, ducking behind the scenes to serve as a teacher and repetiteur. Before she goes, Mueller takes the time to reminisce in this interview with Culturephile:

Tell us about some of your favorite memories from your time dancing with OBT.

Gosh, I have so many of these types of memories….I think I could talk for hours about all of them! To try and capture a few:

Moments
Many years ago we did a tour to Colorado. It was a pretty tough tour as we performed in 2 or 3 cities in just 3 or 4 days. We had to deal with dancing a really physical repertoire at high altitude with no time to adjust to the thin air. The morning we left, we had just spent a very short night at a less-than-glamorous Rodeway Inn (which came to be known in company stories as the Roachway Inn). I’m sure there are many lovely Rodeway Inns in the country, but this was not one of them. Our bus call was at 4:00 am on a Sunday morning, which happened to be my Birthday. We were on the plane flying home and I was deep into a really good book. A flight attendant came up to me and started bugging me. I had a short fuse and really just wanted to enjoy my book. Just as I was about to let this guy know how I was feeling about him, he handed me a glass of white wine (an actual glass,not a plastic cup) and a card. I opened the card and was so very touched to see that my fellow company members had not only remembered my birthday, but had taken up a collection to get me a very generous gift certificate at a fantastic Portland boutique. I felt truly loved by a lot of wonderful people.

Years later, I got engaged to my incredibly awesome husband. We had decided that we were going to line up all the marriage paper work and such but not plan a wedding of any kind. First we thought we’d get married on vacation in Puerto Rico, but the extensive bureaucratic mess that would have been discouraged it. We decided to just wait until the mood hit us, then tie the knot spur of the moment. With this plan, I think my co-workers were a bit confused about how to celebrate the event. That was the same year that OBT launched the “Who’s Your Dancer” campaign. Designer Adam Arnold outfitted all of us for those first posters. He then asked Brennan Boyer and I to be in his Spring fashion show. He made a polka dotted dress for me for the show. It’s wonderful, cream and strapless with a poofy skirt and the polka dots are like spumoni ice cream. Lars and I discussed buying the dress from him after the show since I was feeling like “if there was ever a wedding dress that suited me, this would be it”. The price was too high, so we let it go. About a month later I walked into the dance studio for morning class and had that feeling when I walked in the room like everyone had just been talking about me (that awkward silence). I looked over at my barre spot and hanging there, tied with a matching bow, was the dress, a wedding gift to me from my co-workers. I love that dress!!!!!!!

I’m not sure why both of these stories are about fashion. They aren’t really about dancing, but they are about the bond that develops among a group of people that work so closely together under very high pressure; it’s very special and I suspect one of the things I’ll miss the most.

Pieces
In no particular order…
Serenade (Everyone who’s danced it says that; it’s like participating in an ancient ritual or rite of passage)
Duo Concertant (with my dear friend Karl Vakili, also later with Lucas Threefoot)
Earthbound (We only did it once, but it was very special to everyone who danced it)
Just (There is a short, lyrical duet that I danced with Alison Roper. It’s a small section, but so quiet, lyrical, powerful, and feminine. We are very close friends and this was made on us by another friend, Trey McIntyre)
Concerto 622 (a really joyful, group experience)
Rite of Spring (my favorite role ever, so challenging, so primal)
Eyes on You (which we’re doing right now; I love to see all the cast members dancing beautifully while also being wonderfully funny)
Bolero (truly life-affirming)
I’m sure I’m missing a ton.

Music
Would probably be the same list. There is some music that I love that I never danced to, some selections by Satie, Ravel, and Arvo Part.

Audience
Definitely the first time I danced “Go Ask Alice”. I had just joined the company and I had come here from a more conservative community (in terms of audience reactions). The curtain went up and many of the ladies (including myself) in the company were pre-set onstage for the “Breathe” number. The audience went absolutely nuts at the start of that piece, like a rock concert. They were screaming and waving lighters in the air.

You must have imagined being a principal dancer in a professional company, your whole life. Once you got there, what aspects of the real thing were most different from your dream?

Actually, during my training I was exposed to several professional companies, but none were ranked so I didn’t really develop with the ranking system as part of my consciousness. I did, certainly, dream of dancing lead roles. I’d say the experience of dancing lead roles certainly matched my expectation in many ways, but when you’re dreaming you don’t think about the stress related to such things. It can be quite high pressure sometimes. Of course, that’s part of what makes it thrilling.

What was your takeaway from your recent collaborative choreographic effort, Stravinsky Project?

I was inspired most by working with the dancers and watching them work with the other choreographers. Dancers are the fuel that feeds choreographers most, I think.

There’s an emerging audience awareness (and appreciation) of ballet as a physically demanding sport. What was your worst “sports injury,” and your recovery process?

While I’m delighted by this new appreciation of the physical demands of ballet, I don’t like talking about the injury thing too much because, unlike sports, the point of going to the ballet is escaping to a visceral, transcendent place. It’s hard to do that if you’re imagining the dancers hurting or struggling with injuries. I have, though, had a ankle surgery and did spend about a year sleeping in a cast every night.

What’s next for you after OBT—in the immediate future as well as further along? Vacation? Teaching? More dance performances?

I’m delighted to continue my work for OBT as Artistic Coordinator. I’ve been doing this part time for the past few years and will transition to full time as I phase out the dancing part of my work. I love the work this entails (setting and rehearsing ballets, assisting Christopher, working with the administrative staff on tours and various projects). I am going to go on a Southern/Eastern Oregon hot springs trip that I’m very excited about.

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Tags: Dance, Interview, ballet

Willy Vlautin
Wins Oregon Book Award!

The Ken Kesey Award for Fiction goes to the Richmond Fontaine singer and gritty ruralist for his latest, Lean On Pete.

Posted by: Anne Adams on Apr 26, 2011 at 08:00AM 0 Comments

What does Willy Vlautin have in common with Ken Kesey? Critically acclaimed fiction-writing, sure. But also Oregon roots, and an exciting life beyond the oeuvre, full of music, travel, and hints of hippie idealism.

In the ’60s, Ken Kesey and his band of “merry pranksters” gallivanted around the country in a Volkswagon van, dropping acid and throwing parties with a little band called the Warlocks that would later be known as the Grateful Dead, and in the process, inventing a lot of the “hippie” stereotypes that live and thrive to this day.

In the ’90s, Willy Vlautin also put in a lot of van time, touring with his alt-country band Richmond Fontaine, incidentally named after a “hippie burnout” character the bassist had met on the road.

Do you have to hop in a van or join a band to write great fiction? No—but it couldn’t hurt.

Read a review of Lean On Pete, Vlautin’s prizewinning tale of a boy’s valiant attempt to save his horse—and himself—from rednecks and racetracks.

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Review: Opus

Portland Center Stage’s latest play says a bit about chamber music—but a lot more about people.

Posted by: Anne Adams on Apr 21, 2011 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

Photo by Owen Carey.

Only when it was over, did we confess our preconceptions. “To be honest, I didn’t think this play would be this great,” I admitted. And with a flood of relief, my date agreed. Funny story: we thought that because PCS’s Opus was about highbrow chamber musicians, the dialogue would be stuffy and self-congratulatory. We expected—at best—Frasier-style snob-wit, dry as a biscotti, and at worst, musical jargon jokes as oblique as a minor 6th. Or, I secretly worried we might get the opposite: some sort of winkingly irreverent buffo pantomime slapstick, in which a carelessly swung bow poked someone’s eye out, and the cellist farted.

But as it turns out, Opus resonates very nicely between extremes, emerging as a realistic, humane, character-driven story. Here a little humor, there a little pathos. Everywhere, empathy.

Second violinist Alan (Greg Jackson) has a soft spot for the ladies, and loafs around his house in a bathrobe. He’s easy to know and easy to read, and fully confesses his own imperfections.

Guest violist—and sole gal—Grace (Sarah Stevens), is young and idealistic, and aims to please. “I made muffins!” she exclaims during one of her many vain attempts to diffuse the group’s bickering.

Estranged violist Dorian (Matthew Boston) has the most musical talent—but is a little mentally unhinged. He disappears and reappears at inconvenient moments, casting an uneasy pall over the group’s efforts.

Cellist Carl (Chris Hietikko) is just trying to pull his weight, and not bicker or bitch too much. He’s preoccupied by bigger problems with his health.

And first violinist Elliot (Chris Coleman)—played by the Artistic Director of PCS—struggles to suppress his nagging neuroses, and reign in his impulse to lead a group that’s designed to be democratic.

These aren’t chamber-music personalities—they’re people, with all the accompanying human frailties. And like a “Beethoven cycle,” the play modulates seamlessly between their major and minor emotions. Chamber music trappings are mostly elegant window-dressing, but they also provide a novel delivery system for a universal set of cooperative ideals:

“We don’t have time to waste.”
“…something greater than the sum of its parts.”
“Not perfect. Never perfect. Just closer. That’s all we can hope for.”

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Tags: Theater, Review, PCS

Bridgetown’s Coming!
5 Can’t-Miss Comics

Bridgetown Comedy Fest Picks

Posted by: John Chandler on Apr 21, 2011 at 12:00PM 0 Comments

There will soon be over 150 comedians stalking the stages of SE Hawthorne at this year’s edition of the Bridgetown Comedy Festival. In order for you, the consumer, to make better-informed choices about how to spend your comic dollar, festival director Andy Wood recommends cueing up to witness the following quintet of wiseacres.

Warning: The following videos may contain raunchy subject matter and a few swears. Do you have any idea how hard it is to locate comedy clips that don’t include profanity?

Fred Armisen is the co-star of Portlandia. (He also pretends to be Barack Obama and Muammar Qaddafi on some show called Saturday Night Live.) This man needs no introduction—but we’re giving him one anyway.

Eric Andre Andre is a connoisseur of fast food. He also plays the bass.

Brett Gelmanis a regular on Adult Swim’s Eagleheart and a former member of Upright Citizen’s Brigade, the same troupe that spawned Parks and Recreation star Amy Poehler.

Kyle Kinane was called “bleak and misanthropic” by the London Evening Standard, which he still feels may be a compliment.

Kristen Schaal is the Senior Women’s Issues correspondent on The Daily Show.

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Switchyard Studios

A peek into a thriving Southeast art-and-lecture cabal.

Posted by: Anne Adams on Apr 20, 2011 at 06:00AM 0 Comments

View Slideshow » Illustration: View Slideshow » Illustration:

SCENE & HERD

WHAT: Harp & Altar Party at Switchyard Studios |
WHEN: Saturday, April 9th |
WHERE: an industrial space in Southeast |

NAMES AND CLAIMS TO FAME
Jesse Lichtenstein, co-director of Loggernaut Reading Series.
Zachary Schomburg, author of The Man Suit (Black Ocean 2007), Scary, No Scary (Black Ocean 2009), Little Blind Thing (Poor Claudia 2010), a dvd of poem-films, and the forthcoming Viking (McSweeney’s, 2012). Co-editor of Octopus Books and Octopus Magazine.
Michael Zeiss, contributor to Harp & Altar and consultant for non-profit organizations, spent five years at the American Red Cross working with people affected by the attacks of September 11. His fiction and criticism appear regularly in Harp & Altar.
Keith Newton, founder of Harp & Altar
Alina Estelle Hardin, musician, frequent collaborator with Alela Diane.
Liz Devine, photographer

Founded in 2006, Harp & Altar is a Brooklyn-based online literary magazine focused on innovative and risk-taking literature, publishing poetry and fiction alongside criticism and reviews of writing and art. The Harp & Altar Anthology, featuring a selection of poems and stories from the magazine’s first three years, was published in 2010 by Ellipsis Press, and new issues continue to appear twice a year at harpandaltar.com .

SPACE
Switchyard Studios is just industrial enough that its main entrance is a garage door. A sprawling, high-ceilinged space is subdivided into small studios that provide work space for 30-odd artists.

MOMENTS
~ Improvised seating included a couple salvaged van benches that still had their seatbelts.
~ Whenever a train traversed the nearby railroad, the noise filled the Studio and drowned out presenters, including the soft-singing Alina Hardin, who continued to play through and then remarked, “That was part of the song.”
~ An actual dogfight broke out between two fairly scary pit bulls in the snack area. The visiting dog was rescued and the resident dog finally contained by its owner, a silent man who materialized from some “upstairs” area sporting a Grateful Dead poncho.

QUOTES
~ “I don’t want to date us too much, but the song on the car radio as we first pulled into Portland was Alanis Morissette’s Ironic.”—Keith Newton, of his pre-New York stint in Portland.
~ “I’ve since folded this poem into an airplane.” —from Zachary Schoenberg’s The Man Suit
~ “The journals of Thoreau are variable in quality and interest.” —Jesse Lichtenstein
~ “At least I’m a distinguished schlub.” —overheard in conversation
~ “Goodbye tension, hello pension!” —printed on a trucker cap of an attendee
~ “A world in constant flux, that repeats and repeats its patterns…” —Keith Newton
~ “Let’s keep quiet now. If we say one word, the trees will die.” —Jesse Lichtenstein

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Tags: writer, galleries, scene & herd

John Henry Egan at Red E

John Henry Egan’s abstract textures expertly mimic a lucky accident.

Posted by: Aaron Scott and Anne Adams on Apr 19, 2011 at 06:00AM 2 Comments

by John Henry Egan

View Slideshow » Illustration:

by John Henry Egan

View Slideshow » Illustration:

by John Henry Egan

View Slideshow » Illustration:

by John Henry Egan

Ever meditatively stare at a water-spot? In the bulging plaster and chipping paint, you might start to make out an image. Perhaps the shape itself just embosses onto your mind. (Amorphous as it may be, you’d know that water-spot anywhere.) Or maybe you muse about the cause. Who left the water on, for how long? What alloys in the paint or pipes, bled into this ring of rust? What happy accidents converged to make the shape turn out just so?

John Henry Egan’s latest works are no accident. Using a trial-and-error tested combination of materials (coffee grounds, plaster, rust) developed in part by Eric Adrian Lee, Egan creates a false—yet strangely satisfying—sense of spontaneity. Click through the slideshow, or view the real thing at the Red E Café, 1006 N Killingsworth.

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Tags: Art, Galleries, modern

Missed Filmed By Bike? Watch Consolation Vids!

Posted by: Anne Adams on Apr 18, 2011 at 01:00PM 0 Comments

Amid the many joys of Portland culture coverage, we have but one lament: we can’t be everywhere. Though we listed it in our events calendar, we didn’t make it out to this weekend’s Filmed By Bike. Sorry sorry sorry. However, we were relieved (and you might be, too) to learn that the festival website features a movie gallery where you can watch some of the previous fests’ tightest shorts (HA! Sorry) on your own time. In the spirit of Monday fun, we’ve nabbed two music videos that celebrate the steel steed.

This one features possibly the first rap solo ever to invite honies to hop on a tandem.

And this LCD Soundsystem video brilliantly documents Portland’s bike punk scene and its distinctive Mad Max/Tank Girl style. Culturephile can personally certify these people as Portlanders, having seen at least 8 of their faces around town.

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Tags: bicycle, portland bike, video