Artslandia Magazine 2017-18

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PORTLAND PERFORMING ARTS ANNUAL | 2017–2018

MUSIC | DANCE | THEATER | CULTURE

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THE DAY-DATE 40 The international symbol of performance and success, reinterpreted with a modernized design and a new-generation mechanical movement.

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CONTENTS

features

36

ARTSL ANDIA ANNUAL 2017–2018 | VOLUME 7

K AREN WIPPICH After leaving four decades of graphic design to become a painter, Wippich welcomes the deconstruction of societal standards through her mixed media creations.

102 HEATED REL ATIONSHIPS Find out what couples confess are the advantages and struggles of ba lancing professiona l and romantic relationships.

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DESIGN CAPITAL From architecture to apparel, Portland has become an emerging heartbeat for the international design industry.

CHANGE ARTISTS Portland artists analyze the variables that change our culture and ecology and share ways in which they address these societal shifts.

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Scott Showalter. Photo by Meg Nanna

WHO IS HOWIE BIERBAUM? Follow the impressive string of ubiquitous work Bierbaum has devoted to the Portland arts.

departments 15

FROM THE PUBLISHER

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CONTRIBUTORS

21 SEASON AT A GL ANCE 120 ARTS DESTINATION 125 VENUES 130 INSTAGR AM

cover ON DISPL AY

BY K AREN WIPPICH Mixed media/acrylic paint on board. This work reflects the pioneering love and support for the arts in Portland— a free-thinking town, rich in imagination and creativity.

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T H E B E AU T Y O F T R A N S FO R M AT I O N emerick-architects.com

CONTENTS ARTSL ANDIA ANNUAL 2017–2018 | VOLUME 7

performing arts guide

BodyVox. Photo by Steve Cherry.

Artists Repertory Theatre. . . . . . . . . . . 42 Bag&Baggage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 BodyVox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Boom Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Broadway Rose Theatre Company. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Classical Ballet Academy . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Imago Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Jefferson Dancers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Lakewood Theatre Company . . . . . . 56 Lincoln City Cultural Center . . . . . . . 57 Literary Arts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Metropolitan Youth Symphony . . . . 59 Milagro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 NW Children’s Theater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 NW Dance Project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 NW Dance Theatre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 NW Film Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 Oregon Bach Festival. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Oregon Ballet Theatre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Oregon Children’s Theatre . . . . . . . . . 73 Oregon Shakespeare Festival . . . . . 74 Oregon Symphony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Portland Art Museum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Portland Center Stage at The Armory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Portland Chamber Orchestra . . . . . . 82 Portland Open Studios . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Portland Opera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Portland Playhouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Portland Revels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 Portland State Chamber Choir . . . . 90 Portland State University Opera . . 91 Portland Symphonic Girlchoir . . . . . 93 Profile Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 The Old Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 The Portland Ballet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Third Rail Repertory Theatre. . . . . . . 97 Unit Souzou . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 White Bird Dance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Vancouver Symphony Orchestra . . .101

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S SE ER RV V II N NG G P PO OR RT TL LA AN ND D F FO OR R O OV VE ER R 3 30 0 Y YE EA AR RS S

SERVING PORTLAND FOR OVER 30 YEARS

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FROM T H E PU BLISH E R ARTSL ANDIA ANNUAL 2017–2018 | VOLUME 7

“Seven Year Itch?”

W

elcome to our seventh annual issue of Artslandia Magazine. When we set out to create a magazine to promote the performing arts in Portland, one thing we agreed straight away was that the purpose wasn’t just to aggregate schedules and publish ticketing information. It was about creating relationships, joining Portland’s community of artists and organizations whose mission was ours to promote to our readers. We dreamed of mutualistic symbiosis—an interdependence in which the actions of one benefit the other. We set out to make connections that would foster collaboration.

As we began this seventh issue, after what we can all agree was a tumultuous year, I returned to the guiding purpose of Artslandia, which left me keen on examining relationships.

That led me to explore the lore of the seven-year itch. Seven Year Itch—A Broadway play and psychologists’ shorthand for the concept that happiness in a relationship declines around the seventh year. The phrase originates from the medical shorthand for a highly contagious and itchy skin rash caused by a burrowing mite. Scabies, in particular. What a lovely comparison. Shall I compare thee to an infestation?

Are we here? Beyond the apex and now desperately itchy? Where does that leave us? How do we move into the next phase of our relationship, together?

As it turns out, we need look no further than our own community for examples of enduring relationships. Our city is full of partners, in love, in art, and even in both at the same time. We sought out those who blend their personal and professional lives and asked them: What does it take? Or is it the give and take that’s the secret ingredient to a lasting relationship? Is it a constant compromise? We learned that long-term, mutually symbiotic relationships take work, and the most successful ones are rooted in equal parts gratitude, respect, humor. And, the greatest of all, love.

On behalf of Artslandia, let me take the opportunity of this seventh issue to re-affi rm our commitment and express our love. We are grateful to be a member of this immensely talented community. Our appreciation for organizations who continue to partner with Artslandia, who embrace the concept that rising tides float all boats, is beyond measure.

We respect our friendships with trusted advisors and collaborators. Our laughter-fi lled meetings are often the highlight of my day. To you, reader and arts patron, your role in this relationship is the most important. Thank you.

And to you, my amazing Artslandia team (Chris, Lisa, Bella, Lindsey, Kristen, Katrina, Dan, Susannah, Meg, and Cory), thank you for your hilarious memes, giant hearts, immense talents, and unfl appable work ethic. I could not do it without you.

Finally, I want to thank my brother, Steven. As much a founder of Artslandia as I, he has moved on from this crazy world of publishing after seven years. He sold ads in his spare time back when this was all just a dream. Though he grew with that role along with the magazine, I’m most grateful for his roles as therapist, coach, protector, and source of comic relief for his little sister. No one can make me laugh harder. Thank you, Steven, for keeping me sane and in stitches.

Our love affair with the arts continues. No prescription required, even after seven years.

Be kind and grateful.

Sibling Rivalry: Steven Sturgeon & Misty Tompoles.

Dress by Adam Arnold. Photos by Meg Nanna.

Misty Tompoles Publisher + Founder

A R T S L A N D I A 2 017– 2 018

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FEARLESS IS NEVER LOSING YOUR INNER CHILD With the card that opens doors to the top doctors and medical With the card that opens doors to the top doctors and medical centers, you have the power to push yourself further. centers, you have the power to push yourself further.

VOLUME SE VEN | 2017–2018

PUBLISHER + FOUNDER Misty Tompoles COPY EDITORS Joy Meyers Kristen Seidman MEDIA DIREC TOR Chris Porras SALES DIREC TOR Lindsey Ferguson DESIGNERS Megan C. Cutler Dan Le Lisa Johnston-Smith P U B L I S H E R ’ S C O O R D I N AT O R Bella Showerman CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Brett Campbell Kate Garcia Barry Johnson Hannah Krafcik Brian Libby CONTRIBUTING AR TIS T Karen Wippich PHOTOGR APHERS Meg Nanna Will Nielsen CONTENT PL ANNER Cory Crouser S TA F F W R I T E R S Ruby King Blanche Minoza Kimberly Nakayama Hannah Sievert SUBSCRIBE ONLINE

Published by Rampant Creative, Inc. ©2017 Rampant Creative, Inc. All rights reserved. This magazine or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher.

Rampant Creative, Inc./Artslandia Magazine 6637 SE Milwaukie Ave., Suite 206 | Portland, OR 97202

A R T S L A N D I A 2 017– 2 018

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CON T R I BU TOR S ARTSL ANDIA ANNUAL 2017–2018 | VOLUME 7

BRE T T C A M PBEL L

K AT E GA RCI A

Brett writes for Oregon ArtsWatch, The Oregonian, San Francisco Classical Voice, and others, co-authored the new biography Lou Harrison: American Music Maverick, and teaches journalism at Portland State University.

Kate is a recent graduate of the University of Portland with a degree in English and political science. She’s enjoyed using Portland as an inspiration for her writing these last four years.

BA RRY J O HNSO N

H A NN A H K R A F CIK

Barry is the founder and editor of Oregon ArtsWatch as well as Artslandia’s Editor-at-Large.

He has been engaged with arts journalism since 1978, including writing and editing for the Seattle Sun, Willamette Week, and The Oregonian.

Hannah is a wr iter and practiceoriented dancer with a background in performance studies and arts administration, dating back to her past life in Brooklyn, New York.

BRI A N L IBBY

M EG N A NN A

Brian is a Portland-based design journalist, critic, and photographer who has contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Architectural Digest, in addition to his Portland Architecture blog.

Meg is an interdisciplinary artist with a focus on photography. She has worked with multiple publications in Portland and partners with different theater companies in PDX. People are her favorite subject.

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CHANTAL DEGROAT 24

A R T S L A N D I A 2 017– 2 018

CHANGE

ARTISTS

CHANGING THE CULTURE STARTS WITH CREATIVE PEOPLE IN THE ARTS

BY HANNAH KRAFCIK & BARRY JOHNSON | PHOTOS BY MEG NANNA

THE AVENUE THAT I HAVE BEEN TAKING WITH THE COLOR OF NOW HAS BEEN FROM A STANDPOINT OF LEARNING. WHATEVER GUESTS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR DISCUSSION SERIES, THOSE GUEST SPEAKERS ARE PEOPLE THAT I WANT TO LEARN FROM. –CHANTAL DEGROAT

CHANTAL DEGROAT ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, THE COLOR OF NOW

Portland’s theater community is fortunate to have Chantal DeGroat spanning the roles of actor, educator, and administrator.

Though she currently lives in Seattle, DeGroat performs with Portland’s Third Rail Repertory, and her past experience includes many of Portland’s prominent theater institutions. She also serves as Artistic Director of The Color of NOW, using her theatrical savvy to hold space for community engagement and much needed conversations about social justice. “The avenue that I have been taking with The Color of NOW has been from a standpoint of learning. Whatever guests that we have in our discussion series, those guest speakers are people that I want to learn from.”

T

he Western idea that change is a central theme of human experience goes back at least as far as Heraclitus and his famous observation that we never step into the same river twice. “Everything flows,” he said, a notion that parallels similar ideas in Buddhism and Taoism, which date back to about the same time.

Modern science agrees with Heraclitus: The universe is a very busy place—when it isn’t an absolute vacuum, a paradox that Heraclitus would have enjoyed.

But just because we understand that change happens whether we like it or not, we don’t necessarily feel or think about it, let alone respond to it, in the same way.

We describe it differently across communities. We acknowledge it differently, and sometimes, we don’t acknowledge it at all. So, as we researched and talked to this group of “change artists,” we never offered or arrived at a set defi nition for “change,” choosing to accept shifts and subjectivity as constant within the rhetoric of our conversations.

In discussing the subject with George Thorn, an astute observer of our changing arts community, he replied with a potent question: “How does the leadership, whether it’s one artist or an institution, stay connected to what’s going on and how fast it’s changing?” The list compiled here is full of people who are addressing the never-ending shifts in our society. They are artists, organizers, curators, educators, administrators, thought leaders, and they are all learning from, adapting to, and changing the culture here.

THE LIST WE’VE COMPILED IS FULL OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ADDRESSING THE NEVER-ENDING SHIFTS IN OUR SOCIETY. Before we go on, there’s an important caveat. A “list” usually implies a hierarchy of influence. That’s not the case here. If compiled tomorrow, the list would have different names: We never step into the same river twice. Consider this a snapshot of important work to make our local culture at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers better right now—more open, more resilient, more creative, fairer.

Some common themes emerged across our conversations, including analogies to ecology and evolution: “I think that the real change that happens is with the little seeds that are within all of us, and those seeds begin to grow when we put ourselves in situations where we can learn,” says Chantal DeGroat, theater artist and Artistic Director of The Color of NOW. “That’s one of the reasons why I love the theater as much as I do. It is a place where people who are different from each other come together in a room to share an experience specifically of something that is different from themselves, so they can watch how these relationships and problems work themselves out onstage.”

From an organizational standpoint, arts administrators spoke about the notion of evolution. “Change, in general, is an evolving set of wants and needs for a particular community,” remarks Ashley Stull Meyers, who is a curator and writer, as well as the Communications and Outreach Coordinator for c3:initiative.

Charlie Stanton, Executive Director of the Portland Chamber Orchestra, notes that every aspect of an organization—its programs, board leadership, staff—“everything should systematically evolve to not only be reflective of the community, but also to be of best service to the community.”

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For Roya Amirsoleymani, Director of Community Engagement at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, to engage in systems change is to “really look at the root of issues and not just imagine the art world and the larger world that we want to see, but actually be part of creating it or manifesting it.” She continues, “It has to do with where the power and influence lie and how wealth is distributed. It has to do with who is given opportunities; who is being featured; who are we celebrating; whose stories are being shared; whose voices and visions are centered; which communities are empowered—all of those things.”

A vital part of this work involves building reciprocity. Steve Bloom, CEO of the Portland Japanese Garden, talks about this on an international scale. “Every single day, we do that work where we’re bridging culturally between our countries,” he says, referencing the garden’s work to rebuild and return two torii gates to Japan that had washed ashore on the Oregon coast after the 2011 tsunami.

Change connects the past and future to the present. Shifts in governmental powers and environmental landscape, even death and life, are a reminder that change requires adaptation, and that people must account for their history and take responsibility for a future that extends beyond the limits of one lifetime.

For contemporary Klamath/Modoc visual artist Ka’ila Farrell-Smith, upholding an intergenerational model of learning is key, whether it is through working with youth and elders or learning traditional practices. “[ W ]e’ve had a lot of things taken from us, so there’s this cultural preservation that says ‘No, I don’t want to share,’” she says. But then she quotes from her father, Al Smith, a champion of religious freedom in Oregon, who told her that we need to all come together, raise our kids together, love life, love the earth, and love each other.

Part of the problem with change, as Thorn notes, is that there isn’t a specific model for artists and administrators to follow. Everyone needs to have basic discipline, structure, deadlines, and planning, he says. After that, the particulars are an ongoing challenge, both inside the culture of the organization and outside in the culture of the community. Adaptability doesn’t involve following a model. It’s a series of adjustments, tiny and massive, that we have to make if we want the arts to continue its many roles in the culture— carrying our heritage, history, and values forward; responding to immediate problems and opportunities; offering consolation to the grieving; roaring at injustice, and modeling creative expression for everyone in the community. That’s why we need change artists: It’s not as simple as a square peg in a square hole.

THE CULTURE WE MAKE TOGETHER...IS OUR BEST DEFENSE, OUR BEST HOPE OF MAKING IT THROUGH. Portland is going through a time of intense change. We are growing quickly, and we have the sense that we are losing things that are important. Upheaval in the national culture and national politics threaten to pull us apart. The economy is directing resources away from the people who need them most. Demonstrations of planet-altering environmental change occur with greater frequency.

These are just some of the larger forces colliding with us every minute. The culture we make together, within and without the systems at play, is our best defense, our best hope of making it through. And if that’s going to happen, then we all have to pitch in—artists, administrative staff, board members, volunteers, journalists, and audiences. We’ve reserved a spot on our list for everyone. Or, more importantly, for you.

Y

ULIA ARAKELYAN and ERIK FERGUSON are partners in life and Wobbly, a dance theater company

which presents disabled bodies in contemporary performance contexts in a deliberate effort to create higher standards of accessibility. Arakelyan and Ferguson’s work has become a radical operative in Portland’s performing arts community, demonstrating “a broader defi nition of art, beauty, and the lived human experience of people with and without disabilities.” Their artistic output ranges from fi lm, to live performance, to educational work, to the occasional all-abilities dance jam.

LINDA AUSTIN embodies the continuum between the adventurous creator and creative administrator.

Austin transitioned her practice from New York City, where she had been creating and presenting work as part of the experimental dance community, to Mexico, fi nally landing in Portland. In 1999, she founded Performance Works NorthWest along with Technical Director Jeff Forbes. She creates her own work as part of Linda Austin Dance and serves as the most generous of hosts for other performance makers and educators, both visiting and local.

DEMIAN DINÉYAZHI´ is an indigenous queer artist born to the clans Naasht’ézhí Tábąąhá (Zuni Clan Water’s Edge) and Tódích’ii’nii (Bitter Water). Rather than thinking about the notion of “change,” DinéYazhi´ prefers to think about his work “in terms of adapting and evolving”—which, he notes, are both traits characteristic of tribes that have survived colonization in the United States. Important to DinéYazhi´’s practice is his desire to create more visibility and positive representation for indigenous art and culture. His projects include R.I.S.E.: Radical Indigenous Survivance & Empowerment (of which he is Founder and Director), poetry and publications, curatorial work, and much more.

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JANE VOGEL FOUNDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AGE AND GENDER EQUIT Y IN THE ARTS

With a focus on theater as a site for change, Jane Vogel founded Age and Gender Equity in the Arts. This social justice nonprofit focuses on advancing equity for all women in theater with an explicitly intergenerational approach. Vogel—who has occupied roles as an activist, actor, clinical psychologist, and mother—believes the only way positive change can happen is collectively. While she describes herself as “ just one small person,” she hopes that, through collective action, girls and women will be “given opportunities to be leaders, to be represented.”

SCOT T SHOWALTER PRESIDENT & CEO, OREGON SYMPHONY

As the President and CEO of the Oregon Symphony, Scott Showalter landed in choppy organizational waters three years ago, and he has generated good will and new enthusiasm inside the organization since then. At the same time, he’s led the Symphony in a series of moves that have helped it to connect with larger audiences in the city, including the SoundSights series this season, which paired musical performance with powerful visuals from Dale Chihuly, Rose Bond, and Michael Curry puppetry and staging. Next season’s Sounds of Home series will focus on i m m ig rat ion, env iron ment, a nd homelessness.

NICOLE L ANE DIRECTOR, FERTILE GROUND FESTIVAL OF NEW WORKS

“My overarching philosophy is about connecting people and ideas and perspectives in my life,” Nicole Lane says.

And from her position as one of the linchpins of the Fertile Ground Festival and as the former nexus of community engagement for Artists Repertory Theatre, that’s exactly what she’s done. She’s helped expand Fertile Ground from its base in theater to include the rest of the performing arts in one big festival of new work every January, and she’s helped make Artists Rep a model for innovative outreach efforts in the city.

“We’re past differences of opinion and into a sticky, tangible anxiety that seeps in everywhere. How do you assuage that anxiety? Bring people together.”

JANE VOGEL

SCOT T SHOWALTER PHOTO BY MIST Y TOMPOLES.

WE’RE PAST DIFFERENCES OF OPINION AND INTO THIS STICKY, TANGIBLE ANXIETY THAT SEEPS IN EVERYWHERE. HOW DO YOU ASSUAGE THAT ANXIETY? BRING PEOPLE TOGETHER. –NICOLE LANE

NICOLE L ANE

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CHARLIE STANTON 28

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EVERYTHING SHOULD SYSTEMATICALLY EVOLVE NOT ONLY TO BE REFLECTIVE OF THE COMMUNITY BUT ALSO TO BE OF BEST SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY. –CHARLIE STANTON

KA’ILA FARRELL-SMITH is a contemporary Klamath/Modoc visual artist. Central to her practice is an effort to decolonize the settler colonial lens (particularly on contemporary native art), to perpetuate indigenous aesthetics, to uphold an intergenerational model of learning, and to acknowledge the fact that, as she says, “we’re on Indian land.” Reflecting on her work, she shares, “I’m very interested in wanting to promote a different way of engaging...with people, land, and place, and I think art practices can do that.” In addition to her organizing work with One Flaming Arrow: Inter-Tribal Art, Music, and Film Festival and her work as an educator, Farrell-Smith is also one of the Co-directors for Signal Fire, a nonprofit that provides artists and creative agitators points of engagement with public lands.

A South Asian immigrant to the United States, SUBASHINI GANESAN blends her skills as an expert administrator and contemporary Bharatanatyam dancer to meet intersecting needs within Portland’s dance community. As an administrator, she runs New Expressive Works, a space that fosters cross-cultural dialogue, offering everything from rehearsal space, to much needed residencies, to classes and performances from a range of cultural and artistic canons. As Artistic Director of Natya Leela Academy, she teaches, choreographs, and presents work from her deep, embodied knowledge of Bharatanatyam. As a performer, she is a force to be reckoned with.

SHIRLY CAMIN GRISANTI and ASHLEY STULL MEYERS both occupy critical roles at c3:initiative, a nonprofit that provides administrative and fi nancial support, space, and other much needed arts services from their two campuses in Portland and Colton, Oregon. According to Founder and Director Grisanti, c3:initiative sees their place in Portland as “responding to the change in the economics of the city.” c3:initiative hopes to provide much needed support as it becomes more challenging for artists to fi nd space and resources within the local landscape. Meyers—who is c3:initiative’s Communications and Outreach Coordinator (as well as an established writer and curator)—noted that while Portland is ironically a cityspace “valued for its creative energy,” the cost of living in the city has increased to the point that “creative practitioners are not paid a fair wage or paid for all parts of their process.” In response to this reality, c:3initiative strives to tip the scale by compensating artists with a living wage for their creative work.

Native Portlander TAHNI HOLT has presented her work across the country, but her home base is in her hometown, where she continues to make innovative investments in the ecology of her field. FLOCK, a dance center that is part of the Disjecta Contemporary Art Center hub, is her brainchild. In addition to offering an ongoing roster of movement-based educational programming, FLOCK provides a fee-based dance rehearsal space program to counter the popular project-by-project model. Currently, seven other local choreographers are incubating their work and conducting artistic research at FLOCK year-round.

CHARLIE STANTON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORTL AND CHAMBER ORCHESTR A

A classically trained singer turned nonprofit consultant and advocate for social and restorative justice, Charlie Stanton made significant progress in his recently relinquished role as Executive Director of the Portland Chamber Orchestra in promoting equity at the deepest roots of its board and leadership. Working with Artistic Director Yaacov Bergman, Stanton helped to clarify the Orchestra’s evolutionary path, for as he put it, “everything should systematically evolve not only to be reflective of the community but also to be of best service to the community.” Stanton, Co-founder of Transient Consulting in Charlotte, North Carolina, now serves as Director of Development for Our House of Portland, a provider of compassionate care for people living with HIV and AIDS. He also maintains a connection to the creative sector with his continued role with PCO as Senior Advisor.

Jaded by her experience of working in the Los Angeles fi lm industry, TARA JOHNSON-MEDINGER relocated to Portland in 2002 for a change of pace. She became Executive Director of Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival in 2009 after recognizing that she wanted to direct her life’s work toward elevating women’s voices in the fi lm industry, where the gender disparity is rampant. Johnson-Medinger’s production company, Sour Apple Productions, in partnership with the Hollywood Theatre, currently produces POWFest each March, showcasing fi lm work by women across the globe. “I think it is important for any underrepresented community to have a space to have their voices heard. Until we truly have achieved equal representation in the director’s chair, the need for POWFest (along with the many other women-centric fi lm festivals) is there.”

I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT FOR ANY UNDERREPRESENTED COMMUNITY TO HAVE A SPACE TO HAVE THEIR VOICES HEARD. RONNI LACROUTE models patronage and philanthropy at a Herculean level. She has held down a vital role as benefactor for local performing arts, supporting the likes of Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland Center Stage, Teatro Milagro, Third Rail Repertory, Chamber Music Northwest, and many more. She has played a pivotal role in funding experimental projects, especially those that bring new voices to theater.

Lacroute inhabits arts patronage with a diligence that extends well beyond donating money, creating a pivotal role for herself within Portland’s arts community.

A former columnist for The Oregonian, RENEE MITCHELL has recently developed Portland Public School’s fi rst Career Technical Education track in journalism, exploring how youth have agency to shape “the narrative of their own lives, their school, and their community.” But since leaving the newspaper, she has also embarked on a new career as an artist, both in the visual and performing arts. Her artistic and educational work hold social justice in sight, through support for and empowerment of youth, survivors of sexual and domestic abuse, Black families, Black community health, and more.

MERCEDES OROZCO and BLAIR CRISSMAN created UNA Gallery, a relatively new space in the Everett Street Lofts building, “to prioritize the work of marginalized artist communities while offering a consistent and constructive platform for the solo and collaborative efforts of nonestablished and experimental artists.”

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Under the leadership of owner and Director Orozco, an artist from Mexico City, and Co-director Crissman, UNA is a thriving nexus of cultural activity that features work by emerging and experimental artists, with a specific focus on people of color, queer, gender-nonconforming, and femme voices.

SCOTT PALMER is the Founding Artistic Director for Bag&Baggage, the Hillsboro-based theater company

known for its sharp, creative takes on the classics. Hillsboro, Palmer says, is “a suburban community that has been experiencing seismic changes,” and he believes that “we have an obligation to use the work of Bag&Baggage to explore and examine those changes.” While Bag&Baggage focuses on classics of Western drama, Palmer notes, “we approach those classic works with a very contemporary and provocative lens; it is our hope that performing titles that people know by playwrights they have heard of will bring our community to the theater and that, once there, we can begin a discussion about social justice.”

Portland Center Stage has created a cluster of artistic, outreach, and organizational innovations, and several of its staff, including Artistic Director Chris Coleman and Chief Operating Officer Cynthia Fuhrman, have been critical in the changes. Here, we acknowledge the ongoing efforts of Associate Artistic Director ROSE RIORDAN , who founded the theater’s JAW: A Playwrights Festival in 1999 and has overseen the development of 80 new scripts, employed more than 1,000 artists, and reached an audience of more than 20,000 with a window into the creative process at staged readings while the scripts are still in progress.

DMAE ROBERTS has become a crucial fi gure in the culture by shining a light on the Asian-American experience and highlighting the problems that Asian artists, especially in the performing arts, can face. A two-time George Foster Peabody Award winner, Roberts has developed and shared stories surrounding her mother’s childhood in Taiwan, her own experience growing up in small-town Oregon, and Asian-American history as a whole. Her storytelling and personal work spans the realms of audio art, theater and performance, and writing. Pioneering the intersection of arts and radio in Portland, Roberts offers platforms to individuals of different cultures, experiences, and artistic practices. Catch her show Stage and Studio on KBOO radio for the latest.

Artists Repertory Theatre’s DÁMASO RODRÍGUEZ sees himself as a theater director fi rst and foremost, even in the way he approaches his role as Artistic Director. “When I am directing a play, this means assembling a team of artists and empowering each individual to boldly pursue their instincts toward a shared vision,” he says. “I believe my job is to unify and focus the choices of the group in service of the play. I suppose, I instinctively apply this approach to my leadership role as Artistic Director at Artists Rep.” Under Rodríguez, Artists Rep has become a hub for theater artists through its resident artists program, which provides an artistic home for local theater professionals—actors, directors, and technical artists. It has also opened the doors of its facility to several important Portland performance groups, making it possible for them to share expertise and creative energy. Artists Rep itself has become a center for neglected voices in theater, often through plays that Rodríguez himself directs.

The new Executive Director of Disjecta Contemporary Art Center had demonstrated her administrative skills in Georgia and Arizona before landing in the Northwest in 2009, fi rst at the Archer Gallery at Clark College and then at Marylhurst University’s Art Gym. BLAKE SHELL combines that organizational skill with a keen curatorial eye and an ability to work with artists, donors, boards, and staff. And she’s committed to fair pay for artists: “The Art Gym was the fi rst organization in Oregon to self-certify and commit to paying fair wages standardized by Working Artists and the Greater Economy (W.A.G.E.). I will be working on getting Disjecta certified now, as well. Disjecta is already paying artists fees, which is great. I think certifying through W.A.G.E. shows a commitment to ongoing and fair pay to artists, and also, it helps create awareness for other organizations that there is a resource of standards for paying artists.”

Like many change artists on this list, STEPHEN SLAPPE wears many hats—media artist, curator, organizer, Associate Professor at Pacific Northwest College of Art, to name a few. However, when asked about his notion of change, Slappe says, “It’s just becoming blurrier, essentially...blurring between my political self, my teaching-employment self, and my role as an artist.” Slappe draws from his history as a young punk rocker, specifically, the idea that “we are responsible for making our own culture.” To that end, he is in the process of launching Future Forum, a new artist training project that is oriented toward social impact—and for Slappe, a “concrete way to engage with activism.”

WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING OUR OWN CULTURE. While she self-identifies as a “multidisciplinary artist, educator, and scholar with Western training,” SARA SIESTREEM , who is Hanis Coos and American, has steeped herself in the traditional weaving culture of The Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua, and Siuslaw Indians. In 2014, she started the Hanis Coos Traditional Weaving Research and Education Project to investigate, archive, and educate on the basketmaking practices of her people, which had been in hibernation for more than a century. Her work spans institutional and indigenous culture through teaching traditional weaving practices as well as studio arts at Portland State University.

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THOMAS L AUDERDALE FOUNDER & PIANIST, PINK MARTINI

Thomas Lauderdale is the socially conscious, politically minded pianist and leader of the band Pink Martini, which he founded in the 1990s to fi ll a dearth of inclusive entertainment at political fundraisers. In fact, his penchant for politics took another form in earlier years when he spent time working in Portland City Hall and with the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee for the state.

Since its formation, Pink Martini has raised visibility of efforts including civil rights, affordable housing, environmentalism, and other social causes while touring nationally and internationally, mixing musical languages and genres as it goes.

RUTH WIKLER-LUKER CUR ATOR & PRODUCER, BOOM ARTS

In her leadership role as Curator and Producer of Boom Arts, Ruth Wikler-Luker imagines new social and political possibilities through live performance, as per her organization’s mission statement. “Maybe we, as the city of Portland, aren’t there yet,” she says “but we can get there, and we’re showing what that is on the stage.” This has everything to do with her commitment to doing the legwork. Not only is Wikler-Luker carefully curating relevant performance to present in Portland through Boom Arts, but she is also helping connect these visiting artist from across the globe to the local community through programming, partnerships, and post-show talks with an astonishing 80% retention rate.

STEVE BLOOM CEO, PORTL AND JAPANESE GARDEN

Steve Bloom, CEO of the Portland Japanese Garden, sees change in terms of growth.

This makes sense in the context of his leadership role in the recent expansion of what is considered the most authentic Japanese garden outside of Japan, which is currently overseen by Curator Sadafumi Uchiyama, a third generation gardener from Japan. Bloom speaks about it as a “living classroom,” a space for teaching about Japanese art, culture, and design. “In a broader context, it’s a relevant conversation for today,” says Bloom, noting that the garden is an example of attempts to foster better understanding of Japanese culture post-World War II. Especially in light of the national immigration controversy, Bloom notes, “We don’t need things that keep us apart; we need things that draw us closer together and help us understand each other better. And that’s really what the garden is all about.”

PHOTO BY AMY GR AVES

THOMAS L AUDERDALE

RUTH WIKLER-LUKER

WE DON’T NEED THINGS THAT KEEP US APART; WE NEED THINGS THAT DRAW US CLOSER TOGETHER AND HELP US UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER BETTER. AND THAT’S REALLY WHAT THE GARDEN IS ALL ABOUT. STEVE BLOOM

–STEVE BLOOM

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ROYA AMIRSOLEYMANI 32

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I SEE ALL OF THE WAYS IN WHICH THE ART WORLD IS PROBLEMATIC AND REPLICATES SOME OF THE VERY SAME PROBLEMS THAT EXIST IN THE REAL WORLD, SO TO SPEAK. STILL, AT THE END OF THE DAY, I WOULDN’T BE DOING WHAT I DO IF I DIDN’T BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF ART. –ROYA AMIRSOLEYMANI

ROYA AMIRSOLEYMANI DIRECTOR OF COMMUNIT Y ENGAGEMENT, PORTL AND INSTITUTE FOR CONTEMPOR ARY ART

Roya Amirsoleymani seems to do the work of three humans. As Director of Community Engagement at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, she helps to manage the international Time-Based Arts Festival, among many other initiatives that shape the arts landscape. She also teaches at Portland State University’s School of Art and Social Practice and does grassroots organizing with Arts Workers for Equity (AWE). Her various roles are all undergirded with aspirations relating to justice. “For me, it really has a lot to do with systemic or systems change,” says Amirsoleymani. “I see all of the ways in which the art world is problematic and replicates some of the very same problems that exist in the real world, so to speak. Still, at the end of the day, I wouldn’t be doing what I do if I didn’t believe in the power of art.”

While a spotless balance sheet might seem mythical and out of reach to many arts nonprofits, GEORGE THORN will probably argue otherwise. In 1991, together with his NYC-based collaborator, Nello McDaniel, Thorn started ARTS Action Research, which provides tailored services to arts organizations. Today, after being steeped in the inner workings of more than 200 arts organizations, Thorn stands as a beacon of hope for strategic planning and organizational sustainability for arts organizations on the West Coast. And here in Portland, he has been incredibly generous with his time and insights.

Shaking Tree Theatre, founded by Artistic Director SAMANTHA VAN DER MERWE , believes in the power of stories: “Stories are essential to life...telling and listening to stories gives us a deeper understanding of the world.” Located in Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District, Shaking Tree Theatre’s nontraditional theater space is a site for aesthetic and theatrical innovation, where Van Der Merwe melds practices of theater and visual arts elements to create new and evocative worlds for audiences.

STORIES ARE ESSENTIAL TO LIFE...TELLING AND LISTENING TO STORIES GIVES US A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD. Both BOBBI WOODS and CHRISTINE TOTH are artists who devote parts of their own spaces to showing the work of other artists. Woods has created an exhibition space called Private Places inside her shared art studio and is curating shows of important local artists. Between April and November each year, Toth clears out the fi rst floor of her Southeast Portland home to create an exhibition space called Indivisible, which often features solo shows by local artists of color. These two women are breaking the mold for how substantive art can be shown—it doesn’t have to be in a blue-chip Pearl District gallery. Artists sharing with other artists has become one of the primary ways the arts community has adapted to the city’s space crunch, and Woods and Toth show how powerful this activity can be. “I am deeply inspired by the notion of artists creating opportunities for other artists,” says arts writer and artist Jennifer Rabin. .

THAT’S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I LOVE THE THEATER AS MUCH AS I DO. IT IS A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WHO ARE DIFFERENT FROM EACH OTHER COME TOGETHER IN A ROOM TO SHARE AN EXPERIENCE SPECIFICALLY OF SOMETHING THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM THEMSELVES, SO THEY CAN WATCH HOW THESE RELATIONSHIPS AND PROBLEMS WORK THEMSELVES OUT ONSTAGE. –CHANTAL DEGROAT A R T S L A N D I A 2 017– 2 018

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L ET T I NG GO & A L AY ER ED L I FE:

K A R EN WIPPICH

BY K ATE GARCIA

“M

aybe next time I’ll go with little, tiny heads,” Karen Wippich confesses as we sit in her Southwest Portland home that doubles as a studio.

Open and well-lit, the space more like a sunroom than an art studio, with every inch of the walls plastered with thick, woodenframed images of big, haunting heads. They exist among shocks of colored paint and collaged words, and they’re all staring back at me. Wippich says she’s drawn to the big heads, using them as a focal point for her mixed media pieces, but her affection for them transcends this description. Deftly curated and enlarged cutouts from old photos, Wippich adds each one to its respective piece with a level of thoughtfulness not usually reserved for scraps of paper and old pictures.

In addition to the heads on the wall, Wippich keeps a bag of them tucked under an easel in the corner, casually poised to rummage through for inspiration. At some point during our time together, she walks over to the bag of heads (a reusable grocery bag, much less gruesome than it sounds) and begins to sift through, pulling out a distinctly

against backgrounds indicative of labor, whether industrial or domestic. The cheeky titles she employs—like Pussy Power and Fatbo—represent how acutely self-aware her paintings are, often making explicit statements about politics or society.

On the topic of politics, Wippich is used to having an unpopular opinion. “I’m a black sheep in my family,” she says with a conspicuous hint of satisfaction. These days, her politics have become synonymous with her vision as an artist, and much of Wippich’s most recent work focuses on deconstructing labels that she fi nds problematic. Androgyny reigns among the figures in her pieces—the head of a mustachioed man atop a feminine figure in a dress, the bodies of two young lovers with the heads of mid-century Wall Street-esque men exchanging flowers. The heads are all big, of course.

“I like [when the audience is] not sure if it’s a male or a female. Or sometimes it is a female, but it looks male or has a male body but a female head or vice versa.”

Wippich’s focus on political and social issues in her art is no accident; in fact, it was

Manifest Justice, a community-based initiative to advocate for racial and economic equality across the country, in 2015. Another was her 2015 self-published book, Driving Strangers, created in partnership with writer Tom Vandel. The book is a collection of stories gathered from Vandel’s work as an Uber driver, paired with paintings of faces done

by Wippich, and masterfully produced with her professional graphic design experience.

Something shifts in Wippich when I ask her about her transition to full-time painter; a childlike giddiness threatens to boil over onto the concrete floor. She’d dreamed her whole life of being a fi ne artist before making the terrifying jump, a move that was “super scary. I had to believe in myself, which is hard to do.”

When our conversation (inevitably) turns to the uncertain reality of being an artist in Trump’s America, Wippich expresses a measured anxiety about cuts to the NEA and, more broadly, a lack of education about the importance of art. “Creativity is everywhere.” As someone who has spent the better part of her life confi ned by the limits of client-driven graphic design, Wippich is acutely aware of how liberating unfi ltered creativity can be. Now that she fi nally has a personal creative platform to speak from, Wippich has a lot to say. “The political stuff [in my work] is just my frustration or anger or whatever showing,” even if just subconsciously. She says that, in those insular moments of creativity, she runs on pure feeling, often forgetting exactly what she was thinking while creating a piece. For this reason, Wippich strongly encourages her audience to be a part of the process, offering an integral part of her transition from permission to interpret her work in a way graphic design to painting. As someone who that’s meaningful to their own lives and “fell into” a 40-year career as a graphic experiences. designer, Wippich took a veritable leap of Self-described as an outsider all her life, faith about a year ago, after nearly two-and- Wippich is still amazed at the warm welcome a-half years of experimenting with painting offered by this city’s art community. After on her days off. Her evolution was a gradual living in nearly 30 different homes throughone, characterized by projects that allowed out her life, she’s somewhat of a modern-day her to deploy her skills as a graphic designer nomad, entering the art conversation of this in conjunction with her more unorthodox city as a newcomer with an indispensable artistry. One project was her work with take on mixed media artwork. This role

“I‛M A BL ACK SH EEP I N M Y FA M I LY,” masculine face that she’d used in a piece from her most recent show in Telluride, Colorado. A guest thought the head belonged to Elvis. “It’s a woman, actually,” Wippich says, offering me a snippet of her exclusively feminist counternarrative to more traditional interpretations of gender and the body.

It’s not only the big heads that defi ne Wippich’s signature style. The images in her work are intentionally absurd, with enlarged prints of heads attached to rigid bodies set

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PHOTOS BY W IL L NIEL SEN.

SH E SAYS W I T H A CONSPICUOUS H I N T OF SAT ISFACT ION.

Wippich inhabits, as a fresh take on an old scene, colors everything about her, from her domestic aesthetic (retro mod meets Scandi style) to the 19th century handbills she deconstructs, picking out distinctly “weird words that nobody uses anymore” to incorporate into her collages.

“I don’t really know the normal stuff.”

Wippich cites Edward Hopper as an inspiration and muses that her style as an artist may come from her adult reverence for Rick Bartow. Bartow, another Pacific Northwest artist, is known for his refusal to be contained by a medium, producing intense and colorful paintings and sculptures of ordinary animals made mystic, something Wippich applies to her work. But ultimately, as she settles into her rhythms and rituals, Wippich seeks to be unapologetically herself, abnormal stuff included. Much of this process relies on the value of instinct, of gut feeling.

This in-the-moment creative mentality, planning be damned, inexorably results in mistakes, something that Wippich has had to learn to accept.

“I’ve let go of that. I’ll paint over a painting. That painting right there has five paintings underneath it,” Wippich says, gesturing to a fi nished piece leaning up against the wall. This process of layering, of every fi nal piece existing as the result of a stratum of not-quite-right, serves as a perfect (if cheesy) metaphor for the life of an artist, a life that Wippich is still trying to navigate. “I still have my moments of, like, is this gonna end tomorrow?” The fear persists, Wippich says, even as she gains more praise and recognition for her work, even as she builds on each layer of herself with something better.

So what’s next for Wippich?

“Out of Portland.” Maybe California.

Maybe somewhere else. She’s still a young artist, constantly on the precipice of a new idea or project, and she has the itch to explore and expand her work. Wippich identifies as an “adventurous person,” someone who isn’t afraid of embracing unexpected paths and is ever ready for the next thing to come along and inspire her. Case in point, the cover art she created for Artslandia. »»

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T H IS M E RGI NG OF ST Y L E S—

GR A PH IC DESIGN, COL L AGE , PA I N T I NG— H A S BECOM E C H A R AC T E R IST IC OF W I PPIC H ’S WOR K A N D A BROA DE R OU T LOOK SH E H A S ON L I F E .

“I got to stretch a little,” Wippich says.

Blending graphic design and painting to create a piece both timely and altogether out of time, a celebration of womanhood, and a special tribute to the city of Portland, Wippich says she challenged herself with the project. This merging of styles—graphic design, collage, painting—has become characteristic of Wippich’s work and a broader outlook she has on life. My conversation with Wippich ended with her reflecting on how she got to this point. According to her, she’s living her “own reality,” the result of identifying her passion and nurturing it with focus, even as an outsider, even as a black sheep, even as a collector of heads. On my

way out, while I tentatively approached Wippich’s 18-year-old, understandablycrotchety-for-her-age cat, I noticed a small bust of Elvis sitting on a coffee table in the corner among other knickknacks and books, staring in my general direction. Wippich was right, the photo in her bag of heads looked nothing like that guy. .

Karen Wippich grew up moving across the U.S. Most of her adult life has been spent working as a graphic designer. A few years ago, her focus changed to something she had dreamed about as a child — becoming a working artist.

Imogen Gallery

Christos Koutsouras 2017 THE ARTIST’S STUDIO oil on canvas 68 x 61

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2 4 0 1 1 t h s t re e t a s t o r i a o r i m o g e n g a l l e r y. c o m 503.468.0620 Mon-Sat 11 to 5 Sun 11 to 4 c l o s e d We d n e s d a y s

KEEPING SCORE BY KAREN WHIPPICH

2017–18 SEASON

ARTS GUIDE PAGES 42–101

T H E AT E R

A RT IS TS REPERTORY T HE AT RE

KNOWN FOR Ambitious premieres and a long history of bringing new, thoughtprovoking plays to Portland that are fresh and hip from playwrights who spark meaningful conversations.

.

INSIGHTS

They are an ArtsHub! In addition to sharing their building with 12 other arts organizations, they often rent out the space. Over the last year, more than 500 events from 25 different organizations took place at Artists Rep.

ARTISTSREP.ORG 503.241.1278 TICKETS: $5–$50 Top: Feathers and Teeth. Photo by Russell J. Young.

Bottom: The Importance of Being Earnest. Photo

by David Kinder. Right: A Civil War Christmas. Photo

by Owen Carey.

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rtists Repertory Theatre owns many superlatives, not the least of which is Portland’s eldest and foremost midsize regional theater company. They regularly break premieres in Portland and worldwide with resonant social and political motifs. Artists Rep is an Associate Member of the National New Play Network, and in 2016, the group became the 72nd to join the League of Resident Theatres.

Led by Artistic Director Dámaso Rodríguez and Managing Director Sarah Horton, Artists Rep creates intimate and provocative theatrical productions in their signature red building, which accommodates a cadre of audiences and an esteemed company of more than 24 resident artists, the catalysts of Artists Rep’s creative output. Shared by other arts groups, this iconic building is known collectively as the “ArtsHub” and is the board from which these artists dive freely into the creative explorations they then share with the community.

With its palpable dedication to supporting local artists, Artists Rep recently initiated a new play development program: Table|Room|Stage. Billed as “an effective, welcoming environment where playwrights can write their most urgent, tender, and shimmering worlds into existence,” the innovative structure not only facilitates opportunities for Oregon-based playwrights, but also offers a home in Portland for national writers. T|R|S guarantees that female writers and writers of color have equal opportunities for the advancement of their work. The program inspires the next generation of theater-lovers with works specially catered to younger age groups.

This season will be Artists Rep’s 35th year of presenting highquality productions—their storytelling continues to expand even further beyond their intimate space. .

AN OCTOROON September 3– October 1, 2017 Alder Stage C AUGHT October 1–29, 2017 Morrison Stage THE HUMANS November 19– December 17, 2017 Morrison Stage MAGELL ANIC A January 20– February 18, 2018 Morrison Stage

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BET WEEN RIVERSIDE AND CR A Z Y March 4–April 1, 2018 Alder Stage THE THANKSGIVING PL AY April 1–29, 2018 Morrison Stage I AND YOU May 20–June 17, 2018 Morrison Stage

2017/2018 FRONTIER SERIES THEY, THEMSELF AND SCHMERM September 8–11, 2017 THE HOLLER SESSIONS March 8–11, 2018 WHITE R ABBIT RED R ABBIT April 12–15, 2018

You have taken me around the world and into so many people’s homes and lives this season. Thank you for a meaningful and extremely enjoyable season!

–Artists Repertory Theatre Patron

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T H E AT E R

B AG&B AGG AGE

KNOWN FOR Innovative interpretations of classical works you know, by playwrights you’ve heard of, done in ways you would never imagine possible.

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INSIGHTS

Downtown Hillsboro is experiencing a renaissance—great food, amazing brew houses, live music in multiple venues, and a growing sense of urban living with a rural, “out of town” vibe.

BAGNBAGGAGE.ORG 503.345.9590 TICKETS: $25–$35 Top: The Drowning Girls.

Right: Romeo&Juliet (Layla&Majnun).

Photos by Casey Campbell Photography.

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nce a traveling theater company, Bag&Baggage Productions performed all around Oregon before settling down in Hillsboro in 2008. Known for breathing new life into classic English and American plays with their quirky interpretations, Artistic Director Scott Palmer sums it up best: “You may think you know these plays and these playwrights, but you’ve never seen them done the way Bag&Baggage does them.”

This season is the company’s fi rst in their newly built headquarters, The Vault Theater, which presents a wealth of new artistic and technical opportunities for the organization’s staff and artists. Each show in their lineup was selected to take advantage of the flexibility and intimacy of their new space and will be staged in a different confi guration, from traditional to experimental. Their season opener, Spinning Into Butter— a play reflective of today’s political climate, particularly surrounding racism—both christens The Vault and doubles down on Bag&Baggage’s commitment to relevant, political, and inclusive storytelling.

Palmer extends an enthusiastic invitation to one and all to come warm Bag&Baggage’s new house. “Head to Hillsboro!

Portland isn’t the only place that has great theater, you know.

Come out west, friends, and see how we do it in the ‘burbs; you won’t be disappointed.” .

ROMEO&JULIET/ L AYL A&MA JNUN July 20–August 5, 2017 Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza Th–Sat 7:30pm

A MURDER AT CHECKMATE MANOR October 12–31, 2017 The Vault Theater Th–Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm

DEATH AND THE MAIDEN March 8–25, 2018 The Vault Theater Th–Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm

SPINNING INTO BUT TER September 7–24, 2017 The Vault Theater Th–Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm

CHARLES DICKENS WRITES A CHRISTMAS C AROL November 30– December 23, 2017 The Vault Theater Th–Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm

BLITHE SPIRIT May 10–27, 2018 The Vault Theater Th–Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm AS YOU LIKE IT Summer 2018 Tom Hughes Civic Center Plaza

Every single actor that takes part in this wonderful company is simply amazing; they bring something special to the stage, every time.

–Stephanie Bruso, Bag&Baggage Patron

B&B is my favorite theater in Portland…even if they aren’t actually in Portland!

I always want to see every show this company does. TWICE! –Bag&Baggage Patron

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BODY VOX

20TH

LEXICON November 30– December 2 & 7–9, 2017 BodyVox Dance Center Th–Sat 2:00 & 7:30pm BODY VOX RESIDENT ARTIST: SKINNER | KIRK DANCE ENSEMBLE February 1–3 & 8–10, 2018 BodyVox Dance Center Th–Sat 2:00 & 7:30pm BODY VOX RESIDENT ARTIST: K ATIE SCHERMAN— TO HAVE IT ALL March 22–24, 2018 BodyVox Dance Center Th–Sat 2:00 & 7:30pm

CONTAC T DANCE FILM FESTIVAL April 12–14, 2018 BodyVox Dance Center and Whitsell Auditorium Showtimes TBA THE WIND AND THE WILD: BODY VOX PERFORMS WITH THE IMANI WINDS (CHAMBER MUSIC NORTHWEST) April 24 & 25, 2018 Revolution Hall T & W 7:30pm R AIN AND ROSES May 10–12 & 17–19, 2018 Venue TBA Th–Sat 2:00 & 7:30pm

Brilliant, creative, and delightful—truly world-class. Artistic as Pilobolus, modern as STOMP. Visionary, fun, and mind-expanding.

–E. Zita, BodyVox Patron

KNOWN FOR Dancing that makes an emotional connection with audience members.

Weeks, months, even years after attending a show, people will vividly remember a moment from the performance.

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INSIGHTS

A sk about their res t aurant partners. These are neighborhood restaurants that provide a special discount when you show your BodyVox ticket. Also, BodyVox has created award-winning short films that can be streamed online at bodyvox.com/film.

artistic directors jamey hampton + ashley roland

BODYVOX.COM 503.229.0627 TICKETS: $25 & UP artistic directors jamey hampton + ashley roland

Top: Garden of Synaesthesia. Photo by Blaine Truitt Covert. Right: Photo by Steve Cherry, Polara Studio.

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ince their founding in 1997, BodyVox has blossomed under the direction of Ashley Roland and Jamey Hampton. Hailed as Oregon’s most engaging, well-loved performance art ensemble and America’s most innovative dance company, BodyVox shows are perfectly human, theatrical dance experiences that elicit beauty and optimism. With their distinctive voice, athleticism, and sense of humor, this beloved company excites longtime dance aficionados and makes converts of newcomers.

This season, BodyVox will push boundaries and explore the range of dance by delving into questions such as: What is innovation? What is possible? How does dance intersect with other disciplines and artists? Bookended by BodyVox world premieres created by their resident artists, skinner|kirk DANCE ENSEMBLE and Katie Scherman, the season also includes Lexicon, which showcases the intersection between dance and technology, and Rain and Roses, a largescale installation featuring live music and dance. Through the innovation, artistry, and humor they’ve come to be known for, BodyVox’s season seeks to engage and uplift audiences, leaving them with a sense of optimism and hope for what might be.

The 2017–18 season is the 20th for the company, and they are planning a yearlong celebration with performances and events centered around an important community asset—their dance center in Northwest Portland. In addition to classes, rehearsals, and performances, a gallery of BodyVox photographs will be available for public viewing throughout the year. In March, audiences can tap their inner power and don their superhero costumes for Super Ball–a night of dinner, dancing, and fun that’s sure to be Portland’s party of the year. .

T H E AT E R

BOOM A RTS

Multifaceted, immersive, and intellectually captivating theater.

–Portland Monthly REVEREND BILLY & THE STOP SHOPPING CHOIR October 6 & 7, 2017 The Old Church F & Sat 7:30pm SPIN evalyn parry (Canada) November 10–12, 2017 Triangle Productions F & Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm* *Matinee abridged for family audiences

CHANG(E) Soomi Kim & Suzi Takahashi December 7–10, 2017 The Headwaters Theatre Th–Sun 7:30pm LONGING LASTS LONGER Penny Arcade February 1–9, 2018 PICA Th & F 7:30pm

GLOBAL VOICES L AB Teatro Línea de Sombra (Mexico) March 16–18, 2018 The Headwaters Theatre F–Sun Showtimes TBA BACKSTAGE IN BISCUIT LAND Touretteshero (UK) May 5–13, 2018 Echo Theater F–Sat 7:30pm; Sun 4:00pm; Sat, May 12* 2:00–5:00pm *Experiential open house for children & families

By far one of the best pieces of art I’ve ever seen.

–Boom Arts Patron, 2016–2017 Season

An amazing performance… emotionally powerful and artistically superb.

–Boom Arts Patron, 2016–2017 Season

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he intrepid theater and performance presenter Boom Arts brings to town “some of the most provocative works Portlanders have the chance to see,” according to Oregon ArtsWatch. Led by multilingual, world-traveling curator Ruth Wikler-Luker, whose passion for the arts and social justice dates back to her college-era stint with the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Boom Arts’ mission is to “imagine new social and political possibilities through performance.”

But what does that mean onstage? From stand-up comedy critiquing rape culture to wordless Chilean puppetry about coal miners to hip-hop theatre about racial profi ling and criminal justice, over the past five seasons Boom Arts has discovered an astounding array of artistic responses to contemporary issues and shared them with Portland’s diverse communities.

So what does a Boom Arts season look like post-November 2016? With the theme “Culture as Resistance,” season six launches with Obie Award-winning Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir offering humor, truth, music, and spiritual renewal in two performances to be held—appropriately—at The Old Church. Next up is SPIN, a song cycle on the liberating power of the bicycle by Toronto-based evalyn parry, followed

by Chang(e), a beautiful homage to the life of a late activist.

Performance art icon Penny Arcade follows with her Portland debut, and the Global Voices Lab returns for its second year, featuring artists from Mexico. Finally, the season closes with Backstage in Biscuit Land, an exuberant, hilarious, and radical theater piece from the U.K. about living with Tourette’s syndrome. Buckle your seat belts, Portland—it’s going to be a wild ride! .

KNOWN FOR Bold, smart, experimental, and politically engaged programming from national and international artists.

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INSIGHTS

Boom Arts is itinerant, so if you follow their season, you’ll explore the city too! They work in a lot of out-of-the-way and quirky places.

Always check your ticket or their brochure to make sure you know the right venue.

BOOMARTS.ORG 866.811.4111 (BOX OFFICE) TICKETS: $30 PREMIUM; $20 STANDARD; $12 STUDENT Left: Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Right: Soomi Kim in Chang(e). Photo by Benjamin Heller.

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T H E AT E R

BROADWAY ROSE THE ATRE COMPANY

I still have a smile on my face and a song in my heart!

–Broadway Rose Theatre Patron

KNOWN FOR Being the premier musical theater company, committed to preserving the classics as well as developing new work. Broadway Rose is also known for their artistic excellence and welcoming atmosphere.

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INSIGHTS

Both theater venues have free parking! Also, you can bring wine and beer into the New Stage shows using a Broadway Rose souvenir cup.

BROADWAYROSE.ORG 503.620.5262 TICKETS: $20–$60 Left: West Side Story. Photo by Liz Wade.

Right: Fly By Night. Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer.

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roadway Rose Theatre Company is Oregon’s premier musical theater company, pairing Broadway-worthy performances with irresistible fun. Named by BroadwayWorld.com as “the Portland area’s headquarters of jazz hands,” their upcoming season promises professional productions featuring piano-playing suspects, a country crooner, dancing queens, singing gamblers, and more.

Artistic Director Sharon Maroney and Managing Director Dan Murphy founded the company in Tigard in 1992. Their large, lavish productions each summer at the Deb Fennell Auditorium and more intimate productions at the smaller New Stage theater draw 45,000 visits each year, enriching the region’s cultural life beyond measure. With over 250 full-time, part-time, and seasonal staff and an additional force of up to 250 volunteers to create their top-notch productions, the company offers at least one classic musical, one new or lesser-known musical, and a holiday show every season and often rounds out their lineup with a music revue.

As part of their commitment to the next generation of theater audiences and artists, the company offers children’s musicals during the summer, educational camps for children and teens, and a technical internship program for aspiring theater professionals.

In a major boon for the company and Portland audiences, Broadway Rose will be the fi rst company in the region to produce the beloved musical hit Mamma Mia! They’re looking forward to showering the stage with all the sequins, spandex, and ABBA songs you would expect from the Broadway juggernaut. Start warming up those jazz hands! .

TR AIL S September 21– October 22, 2017 New Stage Th–Sat 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm

ALWAYS… PATSY CLINE April 11–May 6, 2018 New Stage W–Sat 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm

ORDINARY DAYS September 20– October 21, 2018 New Stage Th–Sat 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm

YOUR HOLIDAY HIT PARADE November 22– December 23, 2017 New Stage Th–Sat 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm

MAMMA MIA! June 27–July 22, 2018 Deb Fennell Auditorium W–Sat 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm

A 1940s R ADIO CHRISTMAS C AROL November 21– December 23, 2018 New Stage W–Sat 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm

MURDER FOR T WO January 25– February 25, 2018 New Stage Th–Sat 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm

GUYS AND DOLL S August 2–19, 2018 Deb Fennell Auditorium Th–Sat 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm

There is a lot of talent onstage at Broadway Rose, but even more, there is a feeling of family and warmth whenever we attend.

–Broadway Rose Theatre Patron

In partnership with

• DISCOVER WHAT’S PLAYING NOW AND NEAR YOU! • BUY TICKETS • SAVE YOUR MEMORIES IN YOUR PERSONAL SCRAPBOOK

DOWNLOAD THE ARTSBILL APP ON ITUNES TODAY!

“This is the app arts patrons have been waiting for!”

—Symphony Subscriber

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CL A SSIC A L B A L L E T AC A DEM Y

KNOWN FOR Attracting dancers from all over the Portland area with excellent offerings such as outstanding faculty, diverse dance training and styles, professional performance and competition opportunities, and a commitment to nurturing dancers of all backgrounds and experience levels.

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INSIGHTS

Purchase your tickets in advance— almost all shows sell out!

CLASSICALBALLET.NET 503.890.6101 TICKETS: $10–$24 Top: A Christmas Carol. Right: The Nutcracker.

Photos by Stephen Jennings.

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lassical Ballet Academy educates and inspires dancers of all backgrounds, ages, and abilities. Located in the heart of the Sellwood neighborhood in Southeast Portland, the Academy teaches classical ballet and complementary dance forms to students from toddler to adult with beginner to pre-professional abilities. The prestigious school has launched dancers into renowned institutions and companies such as The Ailey School and Marymount Manhattan in New York, Ballet West in Utah, Houston Ballet in Texas, and The Bolshoi Ballet in Russia.

In December, the youngest students in the Children’s Program will perform in The Nutcracker Sweet Suite Showcase, a sweet and condensed version of the popular ballet. Older students in the Children’s Program will perform in The Children’s Nutcracker, a shorter version of the full-length ballet.

Pre-Professional Ballet students will perform a full-length version of The Nutcracker and the Pre-Professional Contemporary, Modern, and Jazz students will perform in an adapted version of A Christmas Carol. In May, Pre-Professional Ballet students will perform the beloved Sleeping Beauty ballet.

The skills for success in the rigorous training of ballet dancers and those needed to succeed in life are the same—discipline, strength, and leadership—and the Academy has its heart in instilling these in their students. The school also focuses on giving back to nonprofit organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen, the Lupus Foundation of America, and Youth, Rights & Justice with their annual charity fundraiser, Dance Collaborations, in early spring. .

THE NUTCR ACKER & A CHRISTMAS C AROL December 15–17, 2017 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU DANCE COLL ABOR ATIONS March 17, 2018 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU

CBA ADJUDIC ATED SHOWC ASE March 18, 2018 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU CBA SPRING FULL-LENGTH STORY BALLET: SLEEPING BEAUT Y May 25–27, 2018 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU

The environment is friendly and healthy, where much is expected, but many avenues for success are available for those who work hard.

–Classical Ballet Academy Patron

CBA is a community that promotes compassion, responsibility, grace, humility and hard work, in an environment of acceptance, art and music. –Classical Ballet Academy Patron

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T H E AT E R

IM AGO T HE AT RE

HUMAN NOISE September 21–30, 2017 Th–Sat 7:30pm FROGZ December 8, 2017–January 1, 2018 Various showtimes THE REUNION January–February 2018 Specific dates TBA Showtimes TBA

LA BELLE, LOST IN THE WORLD OF THE AUTOMATON April 2018 Specific dates TBA Showtimes TBA Additional works TBA. See website for details.

Imago Theatre’s lively varied program of genuinely inventive theatrics provides aesthetic pleasure and truly goofy fun.

–Imago Theatre Patron

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or nearly four decades, Imago has been thrusting audiences around the world into alternate realities. Their shows expertly balance sophisticated family fun with adventurous theater for adults in works that vary from wordless plays, creature-theater, superrealism, absurd original comedies, and opera. This wide-ranging scope makes for explosive and groundbreaking performances. However, at the center of all of these productions is Imago’s focus on understanding and exploring form, which they sometimes conceive of fi rst, before the traditional driver of dramatic work: content. This innovative approach can be traced to the company’s mentor Jacques Lecoq, who taught the performers to look at the world through movement. Ultimately, this unconventional approach allows their productions to continue to defy classification and to transform the human body in performances that tantalize the senses, intellect, and passions.

This season, Artistic Co-directors Carol Triffle and Jerry Mouawad have decided to present a mixture of old and new works. Jerry will again open with Human Noise, featuring the short stories of Raymond Carver, and fan favorites Frogz and The Reunion will return to the Imago stage. Also, returning from two national tours, will be the Portland revival their hit show La Belle, Lost in the World of the Automaton. Carol is also writing a new show which will most likely feature characters that lie somewhere between absurdism, clown theater, and realism. Both directors are continuously brainstorming new works, so keep an eye out for an inventive and unexpected new lineup! .

KNOWN FOR Being a highly popular, highly experimental, and highly out-ofthe-box theater.

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INSIGHTS

Frogz has toured the world since the mid-1980s. Some of the early masks for the show were made of paper mâché using then-current issues of The Oregonian, leaving behind time-stamped costumes!

IMAGOTHEATRE.COM 503-231-9581 (BOX OFFICE) 503-231-3959 (ADMIN OFFICE) TICKETS: $15–38 Left: Frogz. Right: La Belle, Lost in the World of the Automaton. Photos by Jerry Mouawad.

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JEFFERSON DA NCERS

KNOWN FOR Being an elite dance company and the most pre-eminent public school training for dancers in Portland.

Acceptance and subsequent training in the program is coveted by dancers from around the metro area.

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INSIGHTS

As a result of their collaborative spirit, there are many opportunities to see the Jefferson Dancers throughout the year in unexpected places. Pay attention to last minute additions to their performance calendar.

JEFFERSONDANCERS.ORG 503.916.5180 EXT. 71318 TICKETS: $3–$20 Top and Right: Spring Concert.

Photos by Blaine Truitt Covert.

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he Jef ferson Dancers are elite dancers of the renowned dance department at Jefferson High School.

Founded in 1976 by Mary Vinton Folberg, this pre-professional company of 14- to 18-year-olds prides itself on its diversity of dancers and styles of dance. The company, led

by JD alum Steve Gonzales, is composed of advanced dance students who complete their schoolwork in the morning, study dance technique until the end of the school day, and then rehearse for several hours after school. The company performs 40–50 times per year and has toured the world, including Russia, China, Great Britain, and France.

With over 200 works of modern, tap, ballet, jazz, African, ethnic, hip-hop, aerial, and musical theater dance in their repertoire, these talented teenagers exude professionalism, artistry, and versatility. Up to 90 percent of dancers in the program go on to college dance programs, professional dance companies, and commercial work. Most of the current teaching staff is program alum like Gonzales, with their contemporaries teaching and running dance departments throughout Portland, the nation, and beyond.

Audiences should look out for their annual Fall Fundraiser, where new and seasoned members come together to perform together for the fi rst time, and the fl agship Spring Concert, which follows the national tour and highlights all of the new choreography performed during the year. The JDs will also perform in Winter and Spring Recitals, as well as in a number of outreach events that bring the magic of dance to schools, fundraisers, and festivals. .

JD ANNUAL FALL FUNDR AISER November 4, 2017 BodyVox Sat 7:00pm THE SINGING CHRISTMAS TREE November 24– December 3, 2017 Keller Auditorium Various showtimes

BEAUT Y & THE BEAST December 9–24, 2017 Newmark Theatre Various showtimes WINTER DANCE RECITAL January 18, 2018 Jefferson High School Th 7:00pm

ANNUAL SPRING CONCERT April 26–28, 2018 Newmark Theatre Th & F 7:30pm; Sat 2:00 & 7:30pm SPRING DANCE RECITAL May 31, 2018 Jefferson High School Th 7:00pm

The Jefferson Dancers are so well-trained, so energetic and enthusiastic that their student status is forgotten the instant the curtain goes up.

–Martha Ullman West, Willamette Week

Powerful, playful, mesmerizing and at times gravity-defying, Jefferson Performing and Visual Arts Magnet High School’s elite troupe of dancers drew a long standing ovation.

–Darren L. Dunlap, The Oregonian

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T H E AT E R

L A KE WOOD T HE AT RE COMPA N Y

Fabulous theater and facilities!

Productions never disappoint!

Art and theater classes for children and adults are wonderful opportunities.

–Lakewood Theatre Company Patron

KNOWN FOR Being a nonprofit, professional company that provides theatrical and musical entertainment, as well as classes and workshops to help aspiring and developing actors hone their talent.

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INSIGHTS

One to t wo Wednesday performances per show feature free wine tastings by World Class Wines and free whiskey tastings by Indio Spirits. The wine is typically offered on the first Wednesday performance, while whiskey is offered on the second.

LAKEWOOD-CENTER.ORG 503.635.3901 (BOX OFFICE) TICKETS: $20 & UP Left: Godspell. Right: God of Carnage.

Photos by Triumph Photography.

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ince its inception in 1952, the Lakewood Theatre Company has strived to maintain a permanent arts facility in its hometown of Lake Oswego. Founding members of what was then known as “Oswego Players” felt so strongly that their town needed a theater that they performed on junior and senior high school stages for the fi rst nine years to gain the prominence needed to earn a home of their own. A stint in the ‘60s at a vacant Methodist church gave the company a chance to achieve name recognition, but as their talent led to night after night of sold-out shows at the 100-seat theater, they realized it was time to make the leap. In 1979, the darlings of suburban Portland fi nally settled into a more permanent space that evolved into what is now the gorgeous Lakewood Center for the Arts.

This season, Lakewood will be reviving classics such as Cabaret, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Sister Act. Fans can also expect to see adventure and entertainment in Parnassus on Wheels, the tale of a fortyish-year-old woman who abandons her life of convention for one on the road as a traveling bookseller. Their lineup also features El Grande de Coca Cola, a deliriously funny show about a man who tries to bring an international cabaret to his city. And for those who enjoy the more obscure, don’t miss Lakewood’s Side Door season, a series of rarely performed musicals presented without sets or props.

Be sure your plans for the 2017–18 performing arts season include a visit to Lake Oswego’s crown jewel of culture, where more drama is always a good thing! .

HEADLEE MAINSTAGE Th–Sat 7:30 PM; Sun 7:00 PM (some Sun matinees 2:00pm) C ABARET September 8– October 15, 2017 Directed by Ron Daum TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD November 3– December 10, 2017 Directed by Brenda Hubbard

PARNASSUS ON WHEEL S January 5– February 11, 2018 World premiere of C.S. Whitcomb’s work; Directed by Stephanie Mulligan

EL GR ANDE DE COC A COL A March 2–April 8, 2018 Portland premiere; Directed by Alan Shearman SISTER AC T April 27–June 10, 2018 Directed by Michael Snider

SIDE DOOR STAGE F & Sat 7:00 PM (one Sat matinee 2:00pm) T WO BY T WO October 20 & 21, 2017

PIPE DREAM February 16 & 17, 2018

NO STRINGS April 13 & 14, 2018

Season details are subject to change. Please see website for the latest info.

C U LT U R E

L INCOL N CI T Y CULT UR A L CEN T ER It’s just a great place for people to go and have a good time, entertain themselves, learn new things, and socialize.

–Jose Solano, Event Producer

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VISUAL ARTS IN THE CHESSMAN GALLERY Hours of operation: W–M 10:00am–4:00pm Opening receptions every second Friday 5:00–7:00pm CHILDREN’S BOOK ILLUSTR ATION September 8– October 9, 2017

A COLORFUL CONFLUENCE November 10– December 4, 2017

PORTAL S INTO FIBER October 13– November 6, 2017

CHIAROSCURO: C ASTING SHADOWS IN MOSAIC December 8, 2017– January 9, 2018 ART ON THE EDGE STUDIO TOUR May 18–20, 2018

PERFORMING ARTS IN THE AUDITORIUM Showtime 7:00pm A NIGHT WITH THE UKULELE ALL-STARS September 14, 2017

HALIE FOR THE HOLIDAYS December 6, 2017

SOUND OF NATURE, SOUND OF ART IV October 2017

CECELIA ZABATA February 3, 2018

X X DIGITUS DUO November 18, 2017

DAIMH February 23, 2018 FESTIVAL OF ILLUSIONS March 26–April 4, 2018

DAVID NEVUE April 14, 2018 SILET Z BAY MUSIC FESTIVAL Mid-June–Early July 2018 (More information at siletzbaymusic.org)

he Lincoln City Cultural Center is 17,000 square feet of creativity and community, located just a block from the beach on the captivating Oregon Coast. The Center, housed in the historical 1929 Delake School building, has been extensively renovated inside to create a concert hall (a favorite stop for touring jazz and Americana bands), the Chessman Gallery, the Lincoln City Visitor Center and an artisan gift shop, as well as art and yoga studios. Along with producing their own concerts, festivals, and art exhibits, the Center is also an affordable venue for other nonprofit organizations. Last year, the Center welcomed 33,000 people to 380 events, both large and small.

The Night with the Ukulele All-Stars concert in September embodies the LCCC mission. Internationally known instructors attending a three-day retreat at nearby Camp Westwind will perform a benefit concert at the LCCC. Concert proceeds go to the Westwind Stewardship Group, which preserves and protects the 529-acre Westwind camp and farm within the surrounding land in the Cascade Head Scenic Research Area.

Outdoor education, conservation, and ukuleles—the nexus of culture that LCCC makes possible.

This year, Executive Director Niki Price is especially excited for the fourth presentation of Sound of Nature, Sound of Art. Led by Jonathan Dubay of the Three Centuries Ensemble, the Center merges chamber music compositions inspired by nature with visual artists who respond to the music in real time during the performance. They also offer “audience art” projects, which allow listeners the distinctive experience of hearing music and translating it into art simultaneously. .

KNOWN FOR Enriching their community through art and cultural events in their historical Delake School building.

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INSIGHTS

Sync up a performance at the Cultural Center with hunting glass floats on the beach. Every year, from mid-October through Memorial Day, the city drops nearly 3,000 handcrafted glass floats made by local artisans to inspire the treasure hunter in all visitors.

LINCOLNCITY-CULTURALCENTER.ORG 541.994.9994 TICKETS: $15–$25 Left: Randy Martin at Chessman Gallery.

Right: Dmitri Matheny Group.

Photos by Dean Ingram.

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L I T ER A RY A RTS

Literary Arts is a model of community responsiveness that generates true intellectual excitement.

Conducted with panache and jubilance, the programming sets the bar for excellence.

–Louise Erdich, National Book Award-winning author

KNOWN FOR Building communit y around literature by hosting a lineup of exciting events and classes that celebrate and support the artistic legacy of our state, including Wordstock: Portland’s Book Festival and the Oregon Book Awards.

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INSIGHTS

Their events bring some of the world’s greatest thinkers to town to engage with our local community.

This includes award-winning authors, filmmakers, art critics, journalists, and many others. Each event ends with a Q&A discussion open to the entire audience.

LITERARY-ARTS.ORG 503.227.2583 TICKETS: $10–$65 Left: Verselandia 2017 Grand Slam. Photo by Naim Hasan.

Right: Sherman Alexie at Wordstock 2016.

Photo by Literary Arts.

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iterary Arts is your gateway to the vibrant literary community of the Pacific Northwest. They offer transformative literary experiences at the concert hall, on the radio, and throughout the community that inspire readers, writers, students, and adults.

Their robust season of programming provides many opportunities for patrons to enjoy literature together. Portland Arts & Lectures series, America’s largest literary lecture series, welcomes names such as The New York Times bestselling authors George Saunders and Viet Thanh Nguyen. Their Delve Readers Seminars invite dynamic discussion, emulating both a compelling college English course and a casual book club. Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships supports local writers and publishers, and their Youth Programs serve 4,000 public high school students with a variety of literary opportunities, including semester-long creative writing courses taught by professional writers.

Of all Literary Arts’ offerings, the highly anticipated event that anchors each year is Wordstock: Portland’s Book Festival. This daylong event strengthens our community by promoting thoughtprovoking literature by local and national authors, engaging local writers to teach workshops, and providing literary programming for readers of all ages and interests.

The thousands of patrons who partake in Literary Arts events are a testament to the civic value of literature, reminding us that stories can deepen our understanding of the world and people around us. Author Louise Erdrich has praised the organization as “a model of community responsiveness that generates true intellectual excitement. Conducted with panache and jubilance, the programming sets the bar for excellence.”

We couldn’t agree more! .

PORTL AND ARTS & LEC TURES SUBSCRIPTION SERIES Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall; 7:30pm GEORGE SAUNDERS October 12, 2017

JESMYN WARD January 18, 2018

REZA ASL AN November 16, 2017

CL AUDIA R ANKINE February 8, 2018

VIET THANH NGUYEN May 8, 2018

SPECIAL EVENTS FR ANCIS FORD COPPOL A: LIVE CINEMA AND ITS TECHNIQUES October 2, 2017 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall M 7:30pm WORDSTOCK: PORTL AND’S BOOK FESTIVAL November 11, 2017 Portland Art Museum and neighboring venues Sat 9:00am–6:00pm

JOE BIDEN November 30, 2017 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Th 7:30pm THE MOTH MAINSTAGE December 11, 2017 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall M 7:30pm EVERYBODY READS: AUTHOR EVENT March 2018

VERSEL ANDIA! CIT Y WIDE YOUTH POETRY SL AM April 26, 2018 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Th 7:00pm 2018 OREGON BOOK AWARDS CEREMONY April 30, 2018 Gerding Theater at the Armory M 7:30pm

OTHER PROGRAMMING DELVE READERS SEMINARS Ongoing

WRITING CL ASSES Ongoing

THE ARCHIVE PROJEC T PODC AST Available for free on iTunes

MUSIC

ME T ROPOL I TA N YOU T H S Y MPHON Y

MUSIC FROM THE AMERICAS November 12, 2017 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Sun 7:30pm Symphony Orchestra Gabriela Lena Frank: Three Latin American Dances Gershwin: American in Paris Selections with Mariachi Una Voz and Mariachi Tradición

JAMMING WITH PROJECT TRIO January 7, 2018 Newmark Theatre Sun 7:30pm PROJECT Trio with Symphony Orchestra; In partnership with Friends of Chamber Music

Original PROJECT Trio selections

ARABIAN NIGHTS March 4, 2018 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Sun 7:30pm Symphony Orchestra Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade Commissioned piece by MYS student Katie Palka

SEASON FINALE: TITAN June 3, 2018 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Sun 7:30pm Symphony Orchestra Mahler: Symphony No. 1, Titan Concerto Competition winners

Adam Schoenberg: Scatter

We were truly impressed by the MYS program last night. Thank you for an amazing concert and for your leadership at MYS. Your passion for music really shows!

–Metropolitan Youth Symphony Parent

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roviding music education in orchestra, band, jazz, and percussion to over 500 youth in Portland, the Metropolitan Youth Symphony operates on the principle that the study of music is an integral part of evolving into a well-rounded adult.

MYS offers a challenging program and supportive community, where every child learns and grows through their instrument, in addition to a dynamic season of concerts that inspire confidence in their students and ignites excitement in the public. Under the leadership of Director Raúl Gómez, MYS shows dedication to children and excellent music-making through its strong artistic team, engaging repertoire, and access for all with a robust financial aid program, an instrument loaner program, and a tuition-free beginning strings program for low-income students.

This season’s dynamic lineup of concerts will be mirroring the Oregon Symphony’s Sounds of Home series. Opening night celebrates immigration and “Music from the Americas” through the music of composers Gabriela Lena Frank and George Gershwin, with Mariachi Una Voz and Mariachi Tradición. The January partnership concert with PROJECT Trio touches on environment, and in the spring, the advanced chamber ensemble, MYSfits, plan to perform for the homeless. The March concert premieres a commissioned piece by MYS violinist Katie Palka, featuring art created by students from local schools for each movement of RimskyKorsakov’s Scheherazade. The June season finale will showcase the largest work of the year, Mahler’s spell-binding Symphony No. 1.

MYS values its patrons deeply, as their presence at concerts instills confidence in MYS musicians and reinforces the importance of quality and leadership.

Accessibility, excellence, and community are continually demonstrated at MYS. Together with Gómez, the staff, volunteers, and conductors, who are tremendous artists passionate about kids and music, work to create a strong sense of comradery, achievement, and fun. .

KNOWN FOR Access to high-quality music education for beginning through advanced orchestra, band, and jazz students from all backgrounds, and performances that inspire!

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INSIGHTS

Last season, MYS ensembles performed 17 concerts at lowincome schools, reaching over 7,000 youth.

In its second year, MYSticks Percussion, directed by Oregon Symphony’s Michael Roberts, offers percussionists the unique chance to perform percussion repertoire beyond that of orchestra and band.

PLAYMYS.ORG 503.239.4566 TICKETS: $11–$40 Top: Photo by Michael Nipper.

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T H E AT E R

MIL AGRO

Just a wonderful theater with incredible work.

Every show I see continues to raise the bar. It’s always a joy to see what they produce.

–Jessi W., Milagro Patron ÉXODO: UN DÍA DE MUERTOS PRODUCCIÓN October 19– November 12, 2017 Created with Tracy Cameron Francis and Roy Antonio Arauz; Bilingual BI— January 11–20, 2018 Written and directed by Georgina Escobar; Choreographed by Gabriela Portuguez; Bilingual

ASTUCIAS POR HEREDAR: UN SOBRINO A UN TIÓ February 8–March 3, 2018

By Fermín de Reygadas; Directed by Roberto Arce; Spanish with English surtitles

WATSONVILLE: SOME PL ACE NOT HERE May 3–26, 2018

By Cherríe Moraga; Directed by Cambria Herrera; Bilingual

THE MERMAID HOUR March 22–April 14, 2018

By David Valdes Greenwood; Directed by Sacha Reich; English

Milagro is a model of the best Latino/a theater. It is sustainable, well-supported by the business community, an inspiration for Latino/a artists everywhere, and beloved by its audiences, while maintaining the highest artistic standards.

–Jose C., Milagro Patron

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iracle Theatre Group, also known as Milagro, is the Northwest’s premier Latino arts and culture organization, providing extraordinary entertainment and arts education for the enrichment of communities across the Northwest and the country since 1985. The nonprofit serves as a bridge to understanding latinidad and a mirror for those seeking cultural reflection. They value creativity and diversity, embracing the risk of experimentation while respecting tradition and empowering artists to think collaboratively.

The company’s arts education program, Teatro Milagro, tours nationally, offers workshops and residencies, and presents original, bilingual plays to diverse and underserved communities across the country. On their main stage, Milagro creates a complete season of regional and world premieres, including one Spanishlanguage play each year.

Milagro’s 34th season, Rise UP, will be a passionate, narrative journey, rich in expression and consequences, exploring the power of the human spirit to overcome threats to life, identity, status, hope, and justice. The season opener, Éxodo, is their 22nd annual Día de Muertos production. Created with Tracy Cameron Francis, an Egyptian-American theater director and interdisciplinary artist, and Milagro’s own Roy Antonio Arauz, the show explores themes of diaspora, persecution, and economic hardship. Additionally, Milagro is excitedly reintroducing the lost classic Spanish comedy Astucias por Heredar: Un Sobrino a un Tío by Fermín de Reygadas, a social satire that hasn’t been performed since 1787. These are just two works among many of Milagro’s anticipated new plays.

Through the cultural lens of latinidad, Milagro reflects the full spectrum of humanity and welcomes everyone con todo corazón. .

KNOWN FOR Often being irreverent, but never irrelevant, as they enter tain audiences and give belonging that reveals a broader spectrum of humanit y. A s a visionar y leader, Milagro speaks boldly and proudly. As imaginative artists, the organization embraces the provocative and playful.

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INSIGHTS

All shows in Spanish are presented with English surtitles. Milagro’s website can also be viewed in either language.

MILAGRO.ORG 503.236.7253 TICKETS: $18–$40 Left: El Muerto Vagabundo.

Right: Lydia. Photos by Russell J. Young.

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T H E AT E R

NW CHIL DREN ’ S T HE AT ER

KNOWN FOR Award-winning productions, an immersive theater school (Portland’s largest!), and its gorgeous home in a 100-year-old cathedral. Making its mark with bold choices and a big imagination.

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INSIGHTS

Families who subscribe to the full season over the summer can get their tickets delivered to their home by a character from the season!

NWCTS.ORG 503.222.4480 TICKETS: $13–$25 Top: Snow White. Bottom: Sleeping Beauty.

Right: The Wizard of Oz. Photos by David Kinder.

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orthwest Children’s Theater mixes work and play with their creative productions, thoughtful themes, and educational programs. They f ill their space—a renovated, century-old Christian Science church—with imaginative, award-winning reinventions of well-known stories and classic musicals. The company also operates one of the largest year-round theater schools on the West Coast, offering classes, camps, and advanced training for over 3,500 students aged 3–18, plus an extensive outreach program that brings theater education to an additional 2,500 students in Portland area schools annually.

In celebration of NWCT’s 25th anniversary this year, Artistic Director Sarah Jane Hardy has put together a season that honors the company’s past, continues to build on their strengths, and lays the groundwork for future play development. This season shows off the range and depth of creative talent in Portland—from the masterful compositions of Ezra Weiss to John Ellingson’s award-winning puppet creations. All of the talent is homegrown; all of the work is original to NWCT. This season includes two world premieres. The Starlings Present: Amelia Earhart’s First Flight features the return of the beloved all-puppet acting troupe. Chitra: The Girl Prince will be presented in collaboration with Anita Menon of the Anjali School of Dance. In the holiday slot, Cinderella will anchor the season with large-scale musical numbers and a tap dance chorus.

Keep an eye out for all things 25—including 25 appearances by NWCT alumni, special events on the 25 th of each month, and an all-new 25 th season celebration in March. .

25TH

THE STARLINGS PRESENT: AMELIA EARHART’S FIRST FLIGHT September 23–October 15, 2017 NW Children’s Theater Sat & Sun 11:00am & 2:00pm CINDERELL A December 2, 2017– January 1, 2018 NW Children’s Theater 12:00 & 4:00pm See website for complete schedule

CHITRA: THE GIRL PRINCE February 3–25, 2018 NW Children’s Theater Sat & Sun 12:00 & 4:00pm PETER PAN April 21–May 20, 2018 NW Children’s Theater Sat & Sun 12:00 & 4:00pm

NWCT has tremendous respect for the intelligence of children, and that respect is evident in the experiences with the arts they provide.

–NW Children’s Theater Patron

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DA NCE

NW DA NCE PROJEC T

KNOWN FOR Producing exclusively original works, employing “the company of slick, skilled dancers” (The New Yorker), and touring all over the globe—including Mongolia at the U.S. State Department’s invitation.

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INSIGHTS

Contemporary dance works often have narratives and storylines, but not always. Sometimes the content is concerned with the movement, patterns, physical possibilities, and beauty at the intersection of art and athletics. Whatever each viewer gets out of a piece is valid. There is never a test at the end.

NWDANCEPROJECT.ORG 503.828.8285 TICKETS: $34–$58 Top: Dance company.

Bottom: Franco Nieto and Ching Ching Wong.

Photos by Blaine Truitt Covert.

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production by NW Dance Project is always like nothing you’ve seen before. Sarah Slipper, the award-winning choreographer who founded the company in 2004, asserts that NW Dance Project is “charting the future of contemporary dance” by creating more original work than any other American dance company. While they scout choreographers from across the country and around the world to produce unique works, all productions premiere in Portland and feature talented, full-time, and fully benefited dancers—four of whom have won prestigious Princess Grace Awards during their time with the company.

NW Dance Project’s 14th year includes old friends and new as they highlight the talents of choreographers from around the globe, creating new bonds and reigniting old ones. An old friend includes one of Canada’s most renowned choreographers, Wen Wei Wang, who returns after a five-year absence to create for the season opener. Creating for NW Dance Project for the fi rst time, is Italian choreographer Luca Signoretti, the winner of NW Dance Project’s 2016 Pretty Creatives International Choreographic Competition.

The company’s spring show is not to be missed, featuring a world premiere by Slipper based on Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler and a world premiere by internationally acclaimed Spanish choreographer Cayetano Soto.

In describing the creative process that fuels NW Dance Project, Slipper shares that “the interaction and interplay between choreographers and dancers during creation is nearly sacred to me. The discovery of innovative ways of moving bodies, learning what works and what doesn’t, and the interactive exploration of artistic information and experiences fi lls and nourishes my heart and mind.” .

FALL 2017 October 19–21, 2017 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU Th–Sat 7:30pm WINTER 2017 December 7–9, 2017 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU Th–Sat 7:30pm

SPRING 2018 March 15–17, 2018 Newmark Theatre Th–Sat 7:30pm SUMMER 2018 June 14–16, 2018 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU Th–Sat 7:30pm

Some of the best dancers you will ever see.

–Calgary Herald

DA NCE

NW DA NCE T HE AT RE

A NUTCR ACKER TEA December 9–17, 2017 PCC Sylvania Performing Arts Center Sat 2:00 & 7:00pm; Sun 2:00pm; F 7:00pm

SPRING MIXED-BILL PROGR AM April 14 & 15, 2018 PCC Sylvania Performing Arts Center Sat 7:00pm; Sun 2:00pm

NWDT has helped me build the strength and sense of commitment I need to dance in college and pursue a dance career.

–NWDT Dancer

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he NW Dance Theatre was born from the fiery desire to make participation in dance performances available to the entire community. The result is a space dedicated to helping young dancers hone their technical skills, expand their creative talents, and gain performance experience. Artistic Director and Founder June Taylor-Dixon understands that dance is a form of empowerment for many young artists. She has worked tirelessly to nurture aspiring dancers to better express themselves through performance, educational outreach, and collaborations with prestigious choreographers. She continues to remain active in the choreography of each performance, in addition to sustaining her involvement in the international dance community. Her selfless dedication helped this organization to grow into a flourishing, community-driven dance company that has, in turn, boosted many young artists into professional dance careers.

Since 1988, the company’s repertoire has grown to include classical ballets and innovative contemporary works from local and internationally recognized choreographers, giving budding dancers the chance to expand their creative boundaries. And in spite of its tremendous growth, NW Dance Theatre has managed to preserve its founding belief that dance should, at its core, be a teacher of valuable life lessons such as teamwork and organization. They continue to stage quality productions that maintain their commitment to offer affordable tickets and create opportunities for aspiring dancers. So, come and watch these promising young stars as they shine onstage! .

KNOWN FOR Making the joy of dance accessible for all ages by bringing professionalquality productions and free educational outreach programs to the community.

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INSIGHTS

Their annual production of A Nutcracker Tea, a family-friendly adaptation of the timeless holiday classic, is a perfect first-time ballet experience for little ones.

NWDT.ORG 503.925.3898 TICKETS: $10–$35 Top and Bottom: A Nutcracker Tea. Photos by Lindsay Hile Photography.

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ACTIVE IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. OREGONIANS ARE ERUPTING WITH IMAGINATION. THIS LAND SEEMS TO SPAWN FOLKS WITH A CREATIVE ITCH THAT NEEDS TO BE SCRATCHED. A NOVEL TO WRITE. A BEAT TO LAY DOWN. A SHAKESPEARE TO STAGE. A SADDLE TO STITCH. A SPIRIT TO DANCE TO. A WAGNER TO MOUNT. A POSOLE TO SIMMER. A GENRE TO SUBVERT. A CRAZY QUILT TO SEW OF YOU AND YOU AND ALL OF US TOGETHER. THE GHOST OF KESEY HOVERS, TWEAKING US TO BE DIFFERENT, WILDER, CONTRARY, BETTER. TO THAT MYSTERIOUS MUSE, BE TRUE. OUR JOB? WHEREVER YOU ARE, WHATEVER YOU’RE HATCHING, GO FOR IT. AFTER ALL, YOU’VE MADE US WHAT WE ARE.

98,000 SQUARE MILES OF YES.

Third Angle New Music, recipient of Oregon Cultural Trust grants. Photo by Alicia Rose.

C U LT U R E

NW FIL M CEN T ER We have been Silver Screen Club members for years. We can’t think of a more important organization to support than the NW Film Center.

–Joan and Paul Sher, NW Film Center Patrons

KNOWN FOR Being Portland’s unsurpassed resource for both audiences and creators of moving image arts, celebrating current and past works in exciting screenings and festivals throughout each year.

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INSIGHTS

You can purchase a book of 10 scrip tickets for $60 to take a deep dive into the NW Film Center’s yearround programming. That’s a $30 savings on regular admission!

NWFILM.ORG 503.221.1156 TICKETS: $5–$9 Left: NWFF. Right: Top Down Rooftop Cinema.

Photos by Nicole Weinstock.

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hether you simply love cinema or are an aspiring or working fi lmmaker seeking resources, the NW Film Center is Portland’s hub for the moving image arts.

Audiences and fi lmmakers come together here to explore our region and the world through exhibition and educational programs surveying cinema’s past, present, and future.

Founded in 1971, the Center’s mission is to help build a flourishing media arts community in the Portland area. The NWFC’s diverse, year-round programming dives into cinema history, fi lm classics, thematic retrospectives, director showcases, and the latest in local and international fi lm, and provides the opportunity to meet the fi lmmakers shaping the next generation of image makers. With over 500 screenings annually, the Center offers something for fi lm lovers of all persuasions.

For makers and students of all ages, the Center’s classes, equipment rentals, Oregon Media Arts Fellowship, festivals, touring programs, and knowledgeable staff help advance artistic and professional opportunities at all levels.

February’s Portland International Film Festival, Oregon’s premiere fi lm event, showcases 150 fi lms from three dozen countries to 40,000 people and will again headline this year’s lineup. NWFC Director Bill Foster enthuses that “it’s hard to beat the buzz PIFF-goers who reveal the diversity of backgrounds and interests in the arts community in Portland and delight in the cinema globe-trotting the festival offers.”

Locals shine too at November’s Northwest Filmmakers’ Festival, the annual showcase that exemplifies the NWFC mission of community building by bringing artists and audiences together to celebrate the extraordinary work being done in the Pacific Northwest. .

ANIMATED WORLDS: CLASSICS IN STOP MOTION ANIMATION October 2017–May 2018 Whitsell Auditorium 44TH NORTHWEST FILMMAKERS’ FESTIVAL November 1–5, 2017 Whitsell Auditorium 41S T FRESH FILM NORTHWEST November 4, 2017 Whitsell Auditorium 35 TH REEL MUSIC January 12–26, 2018 Whitsell Auditorium

VOICES OF LIGHT January 26, 2018 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Live score collaboration with Portland Youth Philharmonic 41ST PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL February 15– March 1, 2018 Various venues CONTAC T DANCE (IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BODY VOX) April 27–29, 2018 Whitsell Auditorium & BodyVox 26 TH PORTL AND JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL June 10–24, 2018 Whitsell Auditorium

TOP DOWN ROOF TOP CINEMA August 2–30, 2018 Thursdays NORTHWEST TR ACKING Ongoing Whitsell Auditorium New works from Northwest filmmakers VOICES IN AC TION: HUMAN RIGHTS ON FILM Ongoing Whitsell Auditorium More year-round screenings, classes, showtimes, and venue details available at nwfilm.org.

Portland’s Historic Nonprofit Theatre

New & contemporary films in a restored 1926 movie house.

WWW.HOLLYWOODTHEATRE.ORG 4122 NE SANDY BOULEVARD • (503) 493-1128

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MUSIC

OREGON BACH FES T I VA L OBF is one of the most wonderful musical gatherings I have ever participated in.

–Maria G., Oregon Bach Festival Patron

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Best two weeks of the year. OBF is out of the ordinary in every way.

Outstanding musicians, incomparable music, and an esprit de corps that just simply can’t be beat.

–Connie W., Oregon Bach Festival Patron

SEASON SCHEDULE 2018 June 29–July 14, 2018 (Tentative) Hult Center for the Performing Arts & Beall Concert Hall, University of Oregon Concert titles to be announced.

See website for complete event details.

O

regon Bach Festival is an annual, Grammy-winning event that originated from a collaboration between German conductor and organist Helmuth Rilling and former Associate Dean of the University of Oregon School of Music Royce Saltzman. The organization has presented the masterworks of Johann Sebastian Bach and celebrated composers inspired by Bach to audiences in Eugene and throughout the state of Oregon for nearly five decades.

Today, Oregon Bach Festival is an international event of worldwide repute, led by Maestro Matthew Halls and Executive Director Janelle McCoy. In addition to their traditional programming featuring choral-orchestral masterworks, the festival also presents internationally renowned guest artists such as Yo-Yo Ma, Midori, Pink Martini, and Joshua Bell, along with a plethora of educational opportunities, children and family programming, and community events.

In 2018, patrons of the OBF can anticipate an immersive three weeks of the world’s best musicians performing Bach and Bach-inspired compositions. The festival will also feature a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the world premiere of The Passion of Yeshua by Richard Danielpour, and the regional premiere of Philip Glass’ Piano Concerto No. 3, performed by celebrated pianist Simone Dinnerstein.

Oregon Bach Festival’s 2018 season is set to run from June 29–July 14, 2018, with prospective artists and dates all subject to change. Be sure to check their website for details. .

KNOWN FOR Presenting the masterworks of J.S. Bach and composers inspired by his work to audiences in Eugene and throughout the State of Oregon for nearly five decades. Oregon Bach Festival has even won a Grammy!

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INSIGHTS

For concerts with a piano, always try to pick seats near the front, on the left—that way, you can watch the pianist’s hands!

OREGONBACHFESTIVAL.COM 541.682.5000 TICKETS: $20–$70; STUDENTS $10 FOR SELECT CONCERTS Left: OBF Orchestra and Chorus. Photo by Josh Gren.

Right: A European Requiem. Photo by Athena Delene.

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DA NCE

OREGON B A L L E T T HE AT RE

KNOWN FOR Their commitment to sharing their passion for the expressive power of ballet, inspiring an enduring appreciation of dance, and connecting to the community through excellence in performance, training, and educational programs.

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INSIGHTS

OBT will provide over 3,000 tickets to families and individuals in need through its Share the Wonder program.

OBT.ORG 503.222.5538 TICKETS: SINGLE $29–$146; GROUP $10–$100 Left: Swan Lake. Photo by Jingzi Zhao.

Right: In the Middle, Somewhat Elevated.

Photo by Yi Yin.

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regon Ballet Theatre is one of Portland’s cultural gems presenting world-class performances with a rich repertory of both full-length, classical ballets and cutting edge, contemporary work by internationally acclaimed choreographers such as Nacho Duato, William Forsythe, and OBT’s resident choreographer Nicolo Fonte. Beyond their major stage productions, OBT enriches the community by providing ballet training to over 700 students through the OBT School, which attracts dancers from as far away as Spain and Japan, and by offering integrated arts learning and tailored per for mance oppor tun it ies t hrough t heir OBT Outreach programming.

Oregon Ballet Theatre’s productions and events are exemplary not only because they feature world-caliber dancers, but also because they incorporate unparalleled production values, a live orchestra, and in-depth collaborations. The accomplished artists of the OBT2 junior company and the students of their OBT School enhance many of the company’s productions.

OBT’s exciting 28th season offers audiences the chance to journey into the unknown with the infectious thrill of a musical collaboration in Rhapsody, a magical land of Nutcracker sweets, a jaunt down the rabbit hole with Alice, and fi nally, an adventure into the heart of the action with Closer. Along the way, audiences can delight in OBT-produced events and an expansive spring program featuring the return of James Canfield’s Drifted in a Deeper Land and the company premiere of its fi rst-ever Jiří Kylián work, Falling Angels. From the fi rst steps to the last of their 2017–18 season, the journey promises to be full of discovery and phenomenal dancing! .

RHAPSODY IN BLUE October 7–14, 2017 Keller Auditorium Nicolo Fonte | George Gershwin; Nicolo Fonte | Pink Martini GEORGE BAL ANCHINE’S THE NUTCR ACKER® December 9–24, 2017 Keller Auditorium George Balanchine | Pyotr Illyich Tchaikovsky ALICE (IN WONDER) BALL AND THE RED (QUEEN’S) PART Y February 3, 2018 Portland Art Museum

ALICE (IN WONDERL AND) February 24–March 4, 2018 Keller Auditorium Septime Webre | Mathew Pierce MAN/WOMAN April 12–21, 2018 Newmark Theatre ANNUAL SCHOOL PERFORMANCE April 21 & 22, 2018 Newmark Theatre CLOSER May 24–June 3, 2018 BodyVox Dance Center

I love the mix of classical and new works, all danced with artistry and verve.

–Mary Rose, Oregon Ballet Theatre Patron

T H E AT E R

30TH

OREGON CHIL DREN ’ S T HE AT RE

They are lovely productions. My 5-year-old has become a lifelong theater lover because of OCT! –Oregon Children’s Theatre Patron

PETE THE C AT: THE MUSIC AL January 20–February 18, 2018 Newmark Theatre Sat 2:00 & 5:00pm; Sun 11:00am & 2:00pm AND IN THIS CORNER: C ASSIUS CL AY March 3–25, 2018 Winningstad Theatre Sat 2:00 & 5:00pm; Sun 11:00am & 2:00pm

THE VERY HUNGRY C ATERPILL AR SHOW March 31–May 13, 2018 Winningstad Theatre Sat 2:00 & 5:00pm; Sun 11:00am & 2:00pm A YEAR WITH FROG & TOAD May 5–27, 2018 Newmark Theatre Sat 2:00 & 5:00pm; Sun 11:00am & 2:00pm

–Oregon Children’s Theatre Patron

KNOWN FOR Creating exceptional theater experiences that transform lives.

They believe theater and storytelling can educate, empower, inspire, and entertain in remarkable ways.

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INSIGHTS

If you plan on seeing three or more shows in a season, you can become a subscriber and get discounted tickets. Other subscriber benefits include free ticket exchanges, a free bring-a-friend ticket, 20% off of Acting Academy classes, a backstage tour, and more!

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OCT is an amazing place for children! The skills they learn in classes here extend far beyond the stage.

Every child should take a class or two!

O

regon Children’s Theatre creates extraordinary theater for young audiences. Over the company’s illustrious 30-year history, many of these audience members have their first experiences with professional performing arts at an OCT production. Grounded in the belief that theater and storytelling can educate, inspire, empower, and entertain in remarkable ways, OCT brings great stories to life onstage, with productions distinguished by their professional polish and aweinspiring staging.

This season, OCT will open with Judy Moody & Stink: The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Treasure Hunt, a nautical adventure and worldpremiere collaboration between OCT and six other children’s theaters around the country, with the OCT production to be the first among them. Also new this season is The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show, featuring 75 gorgeously detailed puppets backed by very talented human puppeteers.

Beyond their stage productions, OCT’s renowned acting classes connect children with professional teachers/actors eager to share their experience, skills, and passion. The Young Professionals Company, OCT’s yearlong mentoring program for teens, combines college-level theater training and professional production experience for 60 aspirant theater artists who select, produce, and perform three plays in the on-site black box theater.

In pursuit of their vision of reaching children with limited access to the arts, OCT hosts thousands of regional schools on field trips and offers funding assistance and free companion texts for each student through their Ticket to Read program. They’ll also take a production of last season’s hit Tomás & the Library Lady on the road to six communities across the state. .

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JUDY MOODY & STINK: THE MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD TREASURE HUNT October 21–November 19, 2017 Newmark Theatre Sat 2:00 & 5:00pm; Sun 11:00am & 2:00pm

Y E A R S!

OCTC.ORG 503.228.9571 TICKETS: $14–$32 Left: Flora & Ulysses.

Right: Pinkalicious: The Musical.

Photos by Owen Carey.

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T H E AT E R

OREGON SH A KESPE A RE FES T I VA L

Under the stars or indoors, the plays—both Shakespeare and contemporary— rival any theater production in any venue in the U.S. –Oregon Shakespeare Festival Patron

KNOWN FOR Compelling, power ful plays presented in a gorgeous natural setting in the Rogue Valley of southern Oregon. Stunning Shakespeare, bold world premieres, entertaining musicals, and a stellar resident acting company.

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INSIGHTS

If you are traveling on a budget, ask about their day-of-show halfprice rush tickets. Stay after the matinee for a post-show discussion with the actors.

OSFASHLAND.ORG 541.482.2111 (MAIN) 800. 219.8161 (BOX OFFICE) TICKETS: $30–$125 Left: Beauty and the Beast. Right: The Merry Wives of Windsor. Photos by Jenny Graham.

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regon Shakespeare Festival is the country’s largest regional rotating repertory theater. This arts group wholeheartedly pays homage to one of the most famous playwrights in history through its excellent actors, high production quality, and welcoming spirit. In addition to Shakespeare’s works, they also present musicals, world premieres, and other classics, with some of Oregon’s most beautiful scenery as a backdrop.

At the peak of its season, the festival maintains 10 plays concurrently throughout three beautiful theaters, one of which is an outdoor replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. The festival curates an irresistible mix of comedy and tragedy, classical and modern, silly and serious to ensure that everyone can fi nd something appealing in their season lineup of 11 shows.

Part of the magic of the festival is seeing multiple plays over a few days—seeing the actor who played Romeo at the matinee play a comic buffoon in a modern comedy in the evening, for example. The richness of their offerings coupled with the splendor of Ashland makes the road trip a no-brainer for Portland metro audiences, and the OSF website offers extensive trip-planning resources.

In pursuit of fulfi lling their mission, which declares, “Inspired

by Shakespeare’s work and the cultural richness of the United States, we reveal our collective humanity through illuminating interpretations of new and classic plays,” the OSF is deeply committed to the inclusion of diverse people, ideas, cultures, and traditions. This commitment to diversity in all areas of their work and their audience enriches their insights into the work they present, as well as the relationships with and among those they entertain. .

JULIUS C AESAR February 17– October 29, 2017 Angus Bowmer Theatre SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE February 18– October 29, 2017 Angus Bowmer Theatre MOJADA: A MEDEA IN LOS ANGELES February 19–July 6, 2017 Angus Bowmer Theatre

UNISON April 19–October 28, 2017 Angus Bowmer Theatre

HENRY IV, PART T WO July 4–October 29, 2017 Thomas Theatre

OFF THE R AIL S July 27–October 28, 2017 Angus Bowmer Theatre

THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR June 6–October 13, 2017 Allen Elizabethan Theatre

HENRY IV, PART ONE February 22– October 28, 2017 Thomas Theatre HANNAH AND THE DREAD GA ZEBO March 29– October 28, 2017 Thomas Theatre

THE ODYSSEY June 7–October 14, 2017 Allen Elizabethan Theatre DISNEY’S BEAUT Y AND THE BEAST June 8–October 15, 2017 Allen Elizabethan Theatre

We have been to the theater in London, New York, Los Angeles, Sydney, Dublin, Cape Town, etc. and can confidently say that Ashland is on par with those more famous venues.

–Oregon Shakespeare Festival Patron

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MUSIC

OREGON S Y MPHON Y L A L A L AND IN CONCERT September 9 & 10, 2017 Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm

THE TENORS CHRISTMAS November 21, 2017 T 7:30pm

A JOHNNY MATHIS VALENTINE February 13, 2018 T 7:30pm

DONALD FAGEN & THE NIGHTFLYERS September 12, 2017 T 7:30pm

MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER November 24, 2017 F 7:30pm

MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS February 17 & 18, 2018 Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm

GEORGE TAKEI September 16, 2017 Sat 7:30pm

A POPS HOLIDAY November 25 & 26, 2017 Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm

BEETHOVEN’S VIOLIN CONCERTO September 23–25, 2017 Sat & M 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm

BILL MURR AY, JAN VOGLER & FRIENDS: NEW WORLDS November 28, 2017 T 7:30pm

SIBELIUS’ FIF TH SYMPHONY February 24–26, 2018 Sat & M 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm

THE MUSIC OF LED ZEPPELIN September 30, 2017 Sat 7:30pm AMOS LEE October 3, 2017 T 7:30pm PAUL ANK A – CELEBR ATING 60 YEARS OF HITS – HIS WAY October 4, 2017 W 7:30pm

KNOWN FOR Presenting exhilarating concerts in a wide range of styles that give audiences warm, enriching experiences and make our community a more vibrant place.

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INSIGHTS

Arrive 30 minutes early to select concer ts to hear a Prelude Performance by local youth and community ensembles in the lobby.

You can beat intermission drink lines by pre-ordering your drink at concessions before the concert starts.

ORSYMPHONY.ORG 503.228.1353 TICKETS: GENERAL $24 & UP; KIDS CONCERTS $10 & UP Top: Photo by Leah Nash.

Right: Photo by Brud Giles.

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he Grammy-nominated Oregon Symphony consists of 76 musicians who come together under the direction of Carlos Kalmar for more than 90 performances per season that span the musical spectrum.

Whether they’re performing inside the concert hall or out in the community, the Symphony connects with people from all walks of life by playing the music they love. The breadth of repertoire offers listeners everything from the traditional classical to the music of Michael Jackson. Superstar guests range from violinist Joshua Bell to singer-songwriter Amos Lee to Broadway legend Audra McDonald. Adding to the excitement are three Kids Concerts designed just for young listeners and the wildly popular Popcorn Package of four blockbusters screened to a live soundtrack.

This year’s Sounds of Home series considers what home means to us and our neighbors through a series of programs both onstage and off, anchored in multimedia performances that address three critical and timely social issues: immigration, the environment, and homelessness. The first focuses on immigration and includes the world premiere of a theatrical presentation by up-and-coming playwright Dipika Guha. Actors will perform onstage while the orchestra plays a world premiere work by Chris Rogerson.

The Symphony has a host of programs beyond the concert hall: pairing musicians with engineers at Intel to develop wearable technology, bringing the power of music to residents of memory care facilities, performing at schools for at-risk youth, and playing at a nearby correctional facility for the holidays.

Your Oregon Symphony—thrilling audiences, sparking conversations, and building innovative connections through music. .

HARRY POT TER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS ™ IN CONCERT October 7 & 8, 2017 Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm SHOSTAKOVICH’S FIF TH SYMPHONY October 14–16, 2017 Sat, Sun & M 7:30pm TAKE ME TO THE RIVER – A MEMPHIS SOUL, RHY THM & BLUES REVUE October 18, 2017 W 7:30pm PHANTOMS OF THE ORCHESTR A October 21 & 22, 2017 Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm MOZART’S JUPITER SYMPHONY October 28–30, 2017 Sat & M 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm GERSHWIN’S RHAPSODY IN BLUE November 4–6, 2017 Sat, Sun & M 7:30pm BEETHOVEN’S SECOND SYMPHONY November 18–20, 2017 Sat & M 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm

VERDI’S REQUIEM March 10–12, 2018 Sat & M 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm

ANDRÉ WAT TS PL AYS GRIEG December 2–4, 2017 Sat, Sun & M 7:30pm

BR AHMS’ VIOLIN CONCERTO March 17–19, 2018 Sat, Sun & M 7:30pm

GOSPEL CHRISTMAS December 8–10, 2017 F & Sat 7:30pm; Sun 4:00pm

THE FAB FOUR March 22, 2018 Th 7:30pm

BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY December 16, 2017 Sat 7:30pm COMFORT AND JOY: A CL ASSIC AL CHRISTMAS December 17, 2017 Sun 7:30pm PINK MARTINI NEW YEAR’S EX TR AVAGANZA December 30 & 31, 2017 Sat 7:30pm; Sun 7:00 & 10:30pm STR AVINSK Y’S RITE OF SPRING January 13–15, 2018 Sat & M 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm PIR ATES OF THE C ARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BL ACK PEARL IN CONCERT January 20 & 21, 2018 Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm BR AHMS’ FIRST SYMPHONY January 27–29, 2018 Sat, Sun & M 7:30pm DISTANT WORLDS: MUSIC FROM FINAL FANTASY February 3, 2018 Sat 7:30pm TCHAIKOVSK Y’S PATHETIQUE February 10–12, 2018 Sat, Sun & M 7:30pm

JUR ASSIC PARK IN CONCERT March 24 & 25, 2018 Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm R AVEL’S DAPHNIS & CHLOE April 7–9, 2018 Sat, Sun & M 7:30pm GARRISON KEILLOR: JUST PASSING THROUGH April 13, 2018 F 7:30pm SAINT-SAËNS’ ORGAN SYMPHONY April 21–23, 2018 Sat & M 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm THE HOT SARDINES April 28 & 29, 2018 Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm YUJA WANG May 3, 2018 Th 7:30pm CHRIS BOT TI May 5, 2018 Sat 7:30pm JOSHUA BELL May 12–14, 2018 Sat & M 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm MAHLER’S SEVENTH SYMPHONY May 19–21, 2018 Sat, Sun & M 7:30pm AUDR A MCDONALD May 22, 2018 T 7:30pm All concerts at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.

I am proud of having such a world-class symphony in town as the Oregon Symphony, and I loved every performance I have attended. Oregon Symphony, thank you for bringing this wonderful music into my life. –Oregon Symphony Patron A R T S L A N D I A 2 017– 2 018

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PORT L A ND A RT MUSEUM

KNOWN FOR Its permanent collection, ambitious special exhibitions, and fun and informative public programs.

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t the Portland Art Museum, you can travel through time, place, and cultures while exploring their collection of more than 42,000 objects displayed in 112,000 square feet of galleries. From ancient Greek, Roman, and Chinese antiquities to French impressionism to some of the fi nest examples of Northwest Native American art in the world, the museum has something for everyone. The Portland Art Museum embraces the ideas and images between internationalism and regionalism, creating a deep sense of the unique place we inhabit in the world. To learn about and appreciate Portland, the state of Oregon, and the greater Northwest, you’ll need to understand the diverse human creativity of our region, and there is no better place than the Portland Art Museum to take that journey.

Led by Director and Chief Curator Brian Ferriso, the museum is especially looking forward to this year’s exhibition of Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAIKA. The exhibition is a groundbreaking behind-the-curtain view into the visionary artistry and technology of the Portland-based, globally renowned animation studio.

This year, the Museum is celebrating 125 years of bringing the world to Oregon and Oregon to the world. They will be commemorating their anniversary with exhibitions and programs that celebrate their past and look to their future, including a fundraising gala, Art & Beer: Pitchering Oregon, a Miller Family Free Day Birthday extravaganza, Curator Conversations, videos, social media campaigns, and more. .

CCNA: CONNEC TING LINES March 11–October 29, 2017 THE ETCHINGS OF WHISTLER AND HIS CIRCLE June 10–November 26, 2017 JENNIFER STEINK AMP July 8–September 17, 2017

REPRESENTING July 29–December 3, 2017 Vernacular photographs of, by, and for AfricanAmericans THE W YETHS: THREE GENER ATIONS October 7, 2017– January 28, 2018 Works from the Bank of America Collection ANIMATING LIFE: THE ART, SCIENCE, AND WONDER OF L AIK A October 14, 2017– May 20, 2018

APEX: DAWN CERNY October 28, 2017– February 11, 2018 CCNA: LILY HOPE: INTERWOVEN R ADIANCE November 11, 2017– June 24, 2018 IN THE BEGINNING: MINOR WHITE’S OREGON PHOTOGR APHS December 9, 2017– April 29, 2018

… the process of making art took me to places that I had never been or experienced before. It was magical, igniting a deep commitment to art that has forever been embedded in my being.

–Brian Ferriso, Director and Chief Curator at PAM

INSIGHTS

Consider starting at the top and working your way down in the main building. Museum members, mark the first weekend in December on their calendar for the gift store Members’ Marketplace. Great gifts from 30–50% off. The best times to have the museum to yourself are Thursdays (except Free First Thursdays) after 5:00pm and Sundays before noon.

PORTLANDARTMUSEUM.ORG 503.226.2811 TICKETS: $0–$19.99 Left: Fallen Fruit.

Right: Constructing Identity Community opening.

Photos by Nina Johnson.

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T H E AT E R

PORT L A ND CEN T ER S TAGE AT T HE A RMORY 30TH

KNOWN FOR Its exhilarating, high-qualit y produc t ions t hat t r anspor t audiences to new worlds, from elaborate set designs and lavish costumes to inventive direction and first-rate performers.

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INSIGHTS

This season, PCS is releasing a loyalty program called PlayMaker.

Sign up to earn points for attending events, buying tickets, and even taking selfies at a show. Then, use those points to get special perks and VIP access.

PCS.ORG 503.445.3700 TICKETS: $25–$85 Top: Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles.

Photo by Jenny Graham.

Right: Astoria: Part One. Photo by Jennie Baker.

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ortland Center Stage at The Armory celebrates its 30 th anniversary of bringing stories to life as the largest professional theater company in Portland and one of the top 20 regional companies in the country, pairing Broadway-level performers and Tony Award-winning designers with Portland’s best creators.

The opening of Astoria: Part Two in January marks the culmination of a massive undertaking. Last season, Astoria: Part One broke multiple company box office records to become the bestselling world premiere in its history and one of its top-selling plays of all time. The company will stage reprise performances of the fi rst installment before the sequel opens and subsequently present the full story as a one-day marathon— an epic offering unlike anything the company has ever produced!

The production also serves as a beautiful springboard for the studio show that follows, And So We Walked, in which Astoria star DeLanna Studi tells of her 900-mile journey with her father along the Trail of Tears in search of her heroic self.

The Armory is also a major incubator for play development thanks to their annual JAW Festival. Now in its 20 th year, the JAW Festival has offered free staged readings for more than 20,000 audience members and developed 80 plays, including Kodachrome that will make its world premiere this season.

The company marks its anniversary this year by returning to its roots as a branch of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and partnering with OSF on the production of Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles. .

FUN HOME September 16– October 22, 2017 The Armory U.S. Bank Main Stage T–Sun 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm; Th 12:00pm EVERY BRILLIANT THING September 23– November 5, 2017 The Armory Ellyn Bye Studio T–Sun 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm; Th 12:00pm MOJADA: A MEDEA IN LOS ANGELES November 4–26, 2017 The Armory U.S. Bank Main Stage T–Sun 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm; Th 12:00pm A CHRISTMAS MEMORY & WINTER SONG November 18– December 31, 2017 The Armory Ellyn Bye Studio T–Sun 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm; Th 12:00pm

THE SECOND CIT Y’S A CHRISTMAS C AROL: T WIST YOUR DICKENS December 5–31, 2017 The Armory U.S. Bank Main Stage` T–Sun 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm; Th 12:00pm NORTHWEST STORIES WORLD PREMIERE: ASTORIA: PART T WO January 20– February 18, 2018 The Armory U.S. Bank Main Stage T–Sun 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm; Th 12:00pm With special reprise performances of Astoria: Part One WORLD PREMIERE: KODACHROME February 3– March 18, 2018 The Armory Ellyn Bye Studio T–Sun 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm; Th 12:00pm

THE MAGIC PLAY March 3–April 1, 2018 The Armory U.S. Bank Main Stage T–Sun 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm; Th 12:00pm AND SO WE WALKED March 31–May 13, 2018 The Armory Ellyn Bye Studio T–Sun 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm; Th 12:00pm MA JOR BARBAR A April 14–May 13, 2018 The Armory U.S. Bank Main Stage T–Sun 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm; Th 12:00pm L ADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR AND GRILL May 26–July 1, 2018 The Armory U.S. Bank Main Stage T–Sun 7:30pm; Sat & Sun 2:00pm; Th 12:00pm JAW: A PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL July 27–29, 2018 The Armory Schedule TBA

You have got to see their work.

From actors to stage sets, first class!

–Portland Center Stage at The Armory Patron

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PORTL AND CHAMBER ORCHESTR A

KNOWN FOR Making beautiful music you would expect from the nation’s oldest chamber orchestra. They also program quirky pop-up events throughout the city. Music is evolving. So are they.

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INSIGHTS

Per formances regularly include dance, art, and theater.

Programming now focuses on diversifying who and what is onstage and who is in the audience, becoming more reflective of our diverse city.

PORTLANDCHAMBERORCHESTRA.ORG 503.771.3250 TICKETS: $25–$45 Left: In Peace and Harmony: A Concert Honoring America’s Indigenous People. Photos by Jason Quigley. Top Right and Bottom Right: Namaste: Meditative Music + Yoga. Photos by Meg Nanna.

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s one of the country’s oldest chamber orchestras, Portland Chamber Orchestra continues to resonate in the Rose City and beyond with exceptional longevity and vibrancy. Founded in 1947 by Finnish composer Boris Sirpo, the orchestra initially comprised his students at Lewis and Clark College. Now in their unprecedented 70 th year and home to professional musicians from all over the Portland metro area, PCO’s commitment to quality performances of innovative repertoire continues. In 2011, Willamette Week named PCO “Most Ambitious” arts organization in Portland, praising their ability to combine “music with visual arts, poetry, theater, even science and sex.”

Look for their 70 th season to be fun and inspiring, as well as reflective and inclusive of the diverse population of Portland.

PCO will be honored at this year’s Jim Neill Memorial Golf Tournament for reaching every corner of the community with beautiful music in powerful arts-fusion performances. They’ll kick off their platinum jubilee with a 70 th Anniversary Gala in honor of founding member June Nagel, co-chaired by treasured local philanthropists Arlene and Jordan Schnitzer.

In December, PCO will be hosting an International Holiday Festival at Marylhurst University, reveling in music of many cultures and languages.

The talented musicians of PCO, under the direction of their internationally renowned conductor, Yaacov Bergman, create music of unrivaled excellence, putting this group on the map as an intimate symphony with an infi nite imagination. .

THE PORTLAND CHAMBER ORCHESTRA WITH RUUSAMARI TEPPO Liberty Theatre September 23, 2017 Sat 4:00pm Music director Yaacov Bergman AN AF TERNOON WITH RUUSAMARI TEPPO, PIANIST September 24, 2017 Home of Sonja L. Haugen (see website for address) Sun 2:00pm The great, great grandaughter of Jean Sibelius

AN INTERNATIONAL HOLIDAY FESTIVAL December 9, 2017 Marylhurst University Sat 7:30pm December 10, 2017 New Song Community Church Sun 4:00pm Music of many cultures and languages in partnership with Marylhurst University

70TH

NAMASTE Warm weather months throughout the year Venues and times TBA Meditative music + yoga sessions NATURE’S SONG Early fall and late spring Venues and times TBA Musical hiking excursion

Visit portlandchamberorchestra.org for more details.

Thank you for the statement from the stage that music should be a haven, despite the nation being divided. The music was wonderful and the message made it even more powerful.

–Portland Chamber Orchestra Patron

C U LT U R E

PORT L A ND OPEN S T UDIOS

T A wonderfully fun and educational way to experience Portland artists.

–Angela G., Portland Open Studios Patron

SELF-GUIDED TOUR DATES October 14, 15, 21 & 22, 2017 10:00am–5:00pm

he 2017–18 season marks Portland Open Studio’s 19th year of connecting people with artists and their processes. Their work cements our community’s passion for art and supports artists as entrepreneurs vital to our vibrant arts community.

Their signature event, the Portland Open Studios Tour, is Portland’s premier, largest, and only juried self-guided studio tour and gives art enthusiasts access to a wide variety of artists’ works and the studios in which they bring their visions to life.

A blind jury of three arts professionals selects participants from a wide pool of applicants based on three submissions per artist, ensuring that the event is new every year and includes both seasoned local artists and hobbyists with little experience showing their work.

Holding fast to the belief that education is the basis of appreciation, the group has developed the fi rst-ever Guide to Local Artists. This collection of work by the 100-plus artists who participate in the Open Studio Tour will also provide a directory of artists teaching workshops and classes in their chosen medium, making the guide a useful publication throughout the year.

The educational programs Portland Open Studios offers include arranging for mentorships of high school juniors, seniors, and college students by local artists and the award of the Kimberly Gales Scholarship to an artist under aged 30 who is already developing a distinctive artistic voice.

Keep an eye on Portland Open Studios’ website, blog, and Facebook page year-round to stay abreast of lesser-known art happenings in the area and insider details of local artists’ works-in-progress. .

KNOWN FOR Being the premier studio tour of the Portland metropolitan area. For 19 years, artists have given the public access to their studios to witness the creative process.

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INSIGHTS

Plan your trip! There are over 100 artists participating across 33 square miles of Portland. All studios are open for two weekends, giving visitors the opportunity to see as many artists as they want. Their 2017 Guide to Local Artists is divided into 8 different geographic communities and full of images created by featured artists.

PORTLANDOPENSTUDIOS.COM APP: FREE OR $4.99 UPGRADED TOUR GUIDEBOOK: $15 Top Left, Bottom Left, and Right: Photos by Kamala Kingsley for Portland Open Studios.

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PORT L A ND OPER A

KNOWN FOR Making great operatic variety and unparalleled talent accessible to the region all year long. They strive to engage patrons to deepen their appreciation of opera.

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INSIGHTS

Portland Opera brings opera to your community all year long, with free performance previews at local libraries, Resident Artist recitals at the Portland Art Museum, and Opera a la Cart performances at festivals, farmers markets, and parks in the summer and fall.

PORTLANDOPERA.ORG 503.241.1802 (BOX OFFICE) TICKETS: $28 & UP Left: Orfeo ed Euridice. Photo by Duane Tinker/ Des Moines Metro Opera.

Right: “Argus Questions.” Photo courtesy of John Frame.

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hat began in 1964 as a small company staging performances at a local high school has transformed into the Portland hub for all things opera-related.

Portland Opera’s offerings include more than 25 performances in six productions this season, as well as interactive outreach programs, such as Portland Opera To Go (POGO), which provides children with the opportunity to engage with opera in their own schools during the fall. The Opera also regularly hosts community events throughout the year like Resident Artist recitals, and Opera a la Cart performances at local festivals and farmers markets. While mainstage opera occurs during the spring and summer, Portland Opera never rests!

This company goes to great lengths to make their performances accessible for the enjoyment of all. Informal yet enlightening pre-show lectures take place before every performance, and General Director Christopher Mattaliano personally hosts a talk-back with cast members and the audience after each show. The operas, while performed in their original language, feature surtitles—English translations projected above the stage.

Notably in 2018, Portland Opera will co-produce with Lyric Opera of Chicago a new original staging of Gounod’s classic, Faust. This production of Faust is inspired by the work of sculptor and visual artist John Frame, who exhibited his work in 2012 at the Portland Art Museum. Frame will design sets and costumes for this production—bringing new life to a classic tale of a deal with the devil. .

WINTERREISE February 9–17, 2018 The Hampton Opera Center T, Th, F & Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm Composed by Schubert BIG NIGHT CONCERT April 14, 2018 Keller Auditorium RIGOLET TO May 4–12, 2018 Keller Auditorium Th, F & Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm Composed by Verdi

L A CENERENTOL A July 13–28, 2018* Newmark Theatre W–Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm Composed by Rossini *July 25, 2018 will feature a free live outdoor simulcast ORFEO ED EURIDICE July 27–August 4, 2018 Newmark Theatre T, Th, F & Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm Composed by Gluck

FAUST June 8–16, 2018 Keller Auditorium Th, F & Sat 7:30pm; Sun 2:00pm Composed by Gounod

What a joy it was to listen to the familiar composition and to feel as if you were hearing it all for the first time!

–Portland Opera Patron

T H E AT E R

PORT L A ND PL AY HOUSE

KNOWN FOR Being the biggest little theater in Portland. Producing stunningly intimate productions of Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright August Wilson’s 10-play American Century Cycle.

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INSIGHTS

Even when shows are sold out, rush tickets for unclaimed seats can become available for $20! With free beer on offer as well, you can’t lose.

If you miss out on one of the rush tickets... free beer!

PORTLANDPLAYHOUSE.ORG 503.488.5822 TICKETS: $20–$40 Top: Victor Mack, Nikki Weaver, Sharonlee McLean, and Foss Curtis in The Language Archive.

Photo by Laura Domela.

Right: Adrian Roberts and Delance Minefee in pen/man/ship. Photo by Brud Giles.

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ortland Playhouse is a jewel box of a theater in the King neighborhood of Northeast Portland. Known for their stunningly intimate productions of August Wilson’s American Century Cycle and recently honored by Tony Award producers The American Theatre Wing, Portland Playhouse is beloved at home and recognized across the country for their diverse and innovative creativity.

This year, Portland Playhouse is focusing on growth and transformation. A restoration project slated for completion in November 2017 will modernize much of the 111-year-old church building and restore the original stained glass, wood beams, and moldings, creating a truly distinctive and comfortable theater experience in an accessible and welcoming community space.

Their season lineup follows suit with themes of personal evolution. Highlights include Weaving Women Together, an entirely female-driven piece about the loss of founding member Nikki Weaver’s mother, and Scarlet, a world premiere based on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlet Letter, focusing on heroine Hester Prynn’s determination to defi ne her own identity.

They’ll also stage Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson’s piece Fences, a multilevel coming-of-age story examining Black life and race relations in 1950s Pittsburgh.

In spring 2018, Portland Playhouse will celebrate their 10 th anniversary with Rise & Shine—a brunch extravaganza that brings together the best of Portland’s craft food and drink scenes in support of the Playhouse. Get your tickets early, as this fête is sure to sell out. .

10TH

A CHRISTMAS C AROL November 30–December 30, 2017 T–Sun Various showtimes

SC ARLET February 28–March 25, 2018 W–Sun Various showtimes

WEAVING WOMEN TOGETHER January 17–28, 2018 W–Sun Various showtimes

FENCES May 2–June 10, 2018 T–Sun Various showtimes

The production was wonderful and stirred up all my emotions. I laughed; I cried; I was angry; I held my wife’s hand tightly, but most importantly, I took away a stronger appreciation of stage theater.

–Portland Playhouse Patron

Your play was the most meaningful piece of art I have ever experienced.

–Portland Playhouse Patron

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PORT L A ND RE V EL S

KNOWN FOR High-quality yet down-to-earth celebration of the winter solstice and the December holidays that the audience is invited to be a part of by singing and dancing along.

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INSIGHTS

If you want to dance with the performers at the end of the first half of the show (an annual tradition), it’s best to book an aisle seat! Also, save some of your holiday shopping for their beautiful gift shop, which is based on the theme of this year’s show—the Nordic Lands.

PORTLANDREVELS.ORG 503.274.4654 TICKETS: $10–$65 Left, Top Right, and Bottom Right: Christmas Revels.

Photos by David Kinder.

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or those who love singing songs around the piano or who prefer their history with a side of farce, Portland Revels is the hottest ticket in town. What began in 1994 as a sampler show of song and dance in the original Christmas Revels has morphed into a year-round celebration of community and the arts—an opportunity for anyone to steal the show.

Their flagship production, the annual Christmas Revels show, focuses on holiday traditions from a different culture each season. Prepare for Nordic-style revelry this December, where the notoriously long, dark winters of Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Iceland demand extra helpings of holiday cheer. The northern lights shine brightly over this tale of a teenage girl who is the only one with the smarts and cunning to save the children of her village from a wicked troll.

The actors, designers, and directors of the production are seasoned professionals, but the chorus of 50 is selected from auditions of previous audience members and enthusiastic amateurs who come together for nothing but the love of shared song.

The Revels’ offerings have expanded to include a full roster of events throughout the year, such as an annual Masquerade Ball, Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox Pub Sings, and music from around the world by ViVoce, their women’s chorus. All of their productions are family friendly and encourage audience participation. .

TR ADITION DAYS August 27, 2017 Lake Oswego 3:00–9:00pm

TR ADITION DAYS October 28, 2017 Nordia House 4:00–9:00pm

CHRISTMAS REVEL S December 15–23, 2017 St. Mary’s Academy Various showtimes

PUB SINGS September 24, 2017 The Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub 6:00–8:30pm

TAKE JOY PART Y November 11, 2017 Artists Repertory Theatre 7:00–10:00pm

A CHILDREN’S REVEL S December 29 & 30, 2017 Artists Repertory Theatre Various showtimes

Revels is something unique. It’s a stellar show with stunning music and something for everyone in the family.

There are hilarious moments and there are heart-opening, touching moments.

There’s a wonderful mix of tradition and newness that makes every show something to look forward to.

–Portland Revels Patron, 2016

Two legendary names in the art of piano making: Owned and inspired by the world leading Yamaha Corp.

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503.239.9969 classicportland.com 3003 SE Milwaukie Avenue Portland, OR 97202 (East end of the Ross Island Bridge at SE Powell & 12th)

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Exhibition of Contemporary Cremonese Violin Making

(and works of the old masters)

OCTOBER 7-28, 2017

CO-SPONSORED WITH THE CREMONA CONSORTIUM

VIOLINS Matteo Goffriller, Venice 1700 Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi, Milano 1755 Stefano Scarampella, Mantua 1890 Giuseppe Scarampella, Florence 1897 Cesare Candi, Genoa 1923 Gaetano Gadda, Mantua 1928 Carlo Ravizza, Milano 1906 Giulio Degani, Venice 1912 + 40 contemporary violins VIOLAS Marinus Capicchioni, Rimini 1963 Marinus Capicchioni, Rimini 1973 Celeste Farotti, Milan 1915 Natale Carletti, Pieve de Cento 1950 + 10 contemporary violas CELLOS Giuseppe Ornati, Milan 1923 + 10 contemporary cellos

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MUSIC

PORT L A ND S TAT E CH A MB ER CHOIR Here, at last, is a choral ensemble capable of doing justice to the Oregon Symphony.

–Brett Campbell, Oregon ArtsWatch

KNOWN FOR Lively concerts that mix modern masterworks with pop and world music.

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INSIGHTS

At the performances, conductor Ethan Sperry does a great job explaining what the pieces are about, what to listen for, and when to clap. This makes the concerts more comfortable and meaningful for newbies and aficionados alike.

PSUCHAMBERCHOIR.COM 503.725.3307 (BOX OFFICE) TICKETS: $7 & UP Left: Chamber Choir. Photo by Paige Baker.

Right: Ethan Sperry. Photo by Chad Lanning.

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he Portland State Chamber Choir is beloved far and wide, with accolades as impressive as their voices. They’ve won international competitions on two continents: They brought home the Grand Prix trophy from the 2017 Bali International Choral Festival, which is the largest choral competition in Asia, and were the first American choir to win the Seghizzi International Competition for Choral Singing in Italy in 2013.

The choir performs an eclectic range of music, from avantgarde pieces and classical masterworks to virtuosic arrangements of pop tunes and world music. Two perennial crowd-pleasers are their arrangements of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah and Ballelaikka, a song from a popular Indian movie. (Look for their YouTube video of the choir rehearsing Ballelaikka in the Singapore airport that went viral!)

In August, the Chamber Choir released The Doors of Heaven, the fi rst American recording of works by Latvian composer Ērik Ešenvalds. The recording was released by Naxos, the world’s largest classical label—an uncommon achievement for a university choir! The choir will perform The Doors of Heaven for Portland audiences in November, and Ešenvalds himself will be at the concert.

Later in the season, the Chamber Choir collaborates with the Oregon Symphony, Portland Youth Philharmonic, and NW Film Center for multidisciplinary performances featuring a silent fi lm about Joan of Arc and the video game Final Fantasy. The group will spend summer 2018 touring Argentina following a farewell concert at Weiden+Kennedy, another first of its kind.

Let there be no doubt: The future is bright for this acclaimed choral ensemble! .

THE FIRST TEARS November 10 & 12, 2017 First United Methodist Church F 7:30pm; Sun 4:00pm Celebrate the Choir’s new recording of works

by Latvian superstar composer Ēriks Ešenvalds; The First Tears tells the Native American legend of The Raven and the Whale; Ešenvalds himself will attend VOICES OF LIGHT January 26, 2018 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall F 7:30pm Richard Einhorn’s oratorio accompanies Carl Dreyer’s famous silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc

DISTANT WORLDS: MUSIC FROM FINAL FANTASY February 3, 2018 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Sat 7:30pm A multimedia experience with the Oregon Symphony

L AST TANGO IN PORTL AND May 18, 2018 Wieden+Kennedy Before the Chamber Choir departs for a competition in Argentina, special guest pianist Thomas Lauderdale joins them for a truly festive send-off

A BERNSTEIN CENTENNIAL March 2 & 4, 2018 First United Methodist Church F 7:30pm; Sun 4:00pm Celebrating 100 years of Leonard Bernstein, featuring Chichester Psalms and excerpts of his mass, Candide, and more

GLOBAL RHY THMS VII: VALERIE NAR ANJO June 1–2, 2018 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU F & Sat 7:30pm The Native American composer and percussionist for the Saturday Night Live Band returns to Portland for a concert featuring African and Native American music

R AVEL’S DAPHNIS AND CHLOE April 7–9, 2018 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Sat–M 7:30pm Ravel’s finest score, with the Oregon Symphony

MUSIC

PORT L A ND S TAT E UNI V ERSI T Y OPER A

CINDERELL A December 1–10, 2017 Lincoln Hall Studio Theater, PSU F–Sat 7:30pm; Sun 3:00pm A lighthearted operetta by Pauline Viardot, in English with piano quartet

ALBERT HERRING April 20–29, 2018 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU F, T & Sat 7:30pm; Sun 3:00pm The village grocer finally gets to cut loose in this brilliant 20 th century comedy by Benjamin Britten

The lovely production at PSU was a game-changer for me.

I loved the juxtaposition of the stories, the production itself, and the cast.

I finally loved opera! Thanks for a wonderful experience.

–PSU Opera Patron

W

ith a 45-year tradition of award-winning performances, beautiful sets, and spectacular costumes, Portland State University Opera offers an ideal introduction to the art form for newbies and treats seasoned opera lovers to the joy of watching talented young artists hone their craft. The group’s programming, which includes the only full-scale opera productions with an orchestra by a university group in Oregon, brings maturity and excellence to the field of pre-professional opera.

Last year’s premiere of Weiser and Amy Punt’s The Place Where You Started by Mark Lanz highlighted the program’s commitment to exposing their singers to a diverse repertoire.Widely lauded locally for its daring departure from standard opera fare, the group cemented their world-class status by performing in Shanghai and Suzhou, China.

The coming season will open with Pauline Viardot’s Cinderella in the intimate 90-seat Studio Theater of Lincoln Hall. The operette’s charming music evokes a time of German lieder and French mélodies. It will be presented in English with a piano quartet, arranged by Music Director Chuck Dillard.

In spring, the PSU Opera will bring Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring to the stage. Britten’s brilliant, moving, and inventive score explores such themes as the loss of innocence, social stratification, Victorian morality, and coming of age.

Pre-show talks by luminaries like Suzanne Nance of All Classical Radio and music historian Bob Kingston offer added context and a deeper enjoyment for all audience members with all levels of experience. .

KNOWN FOR Professional-quality performances at student prices.

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INSIGHTS

Lincoln Performance Hall is a great place to see opera. With 475 seats, the intimate size means there’s not a bad seat in the house. Also, the pre-performance talks are a great way to learn more about the opera and enrich your experience.

PDX.EDU/MUSIC/OPERA 503.725.3307 (BOX OFFICE) TICKETS: $15 & UP Top Left: The Place Where You Started. Photo by Chad Lanning. Bottom Left: Die Fledermaus. Photo

by John Rudoff. Right: Gianni Schicchi. Photo by John Rudoff.

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PORTLAND SPIRIT PROUDLY PRESENTS

The CINNAMON BEAR Cruise Take an enchanting two hour cruise with Cinnamon Bear & friends

November 25 - December 27

503-224-3900

Find your people.

Inspiring daily through academics and arts.

An independent college preparatory school, grades 6-12, located in downtown Portland. Contact Admissions Director Lainie Ettinger to schedule a tour: lettinger@nwacademy.org

nwacademy.org

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PHOTO: SOFIA MARCUS-MYERS

CinnamonBearCruises.com

MUSIC

PORT L A ND S Y MPHONIC GIRLCHOIR

KNOWN FOR Providing an unparalleled global performance experience and music education in a caring and inclusive community, empowering singers with a distinct voice today and for the future.

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INSIGHTS

Girlchoir’s outstanding national and international tour opportunities provide a wonderful environment for “raising the artistic bar” and for musical and personal relationships to mature, creating lasting bonds and memories for a lifetime!

WWW.GIRLCHOIR.COM 503.226.6162 TICKETS: ADULTS $22; SENIORS $20; GROUPS OF 4 OR MORE $19; STUDENTS $17 Top Left: Premier. Bottom Left: Debut. Top Right: Prelude. Bottom Right: Intermezzo.

Photos by Something Blue Photography.

U

nder the direction of nationally recognized artistic leaders, Roberta Q. Jackson and Debra D. Burgess, the awardwinning Portland Symphonic Girlchoir has been delighting and inspiring audiences in Portland, the U.S., and around the world for 29 years, taking its place among the finest children’s choral ensembles in North America. With new works commissioned annually, the group has presented 37 world premieres in its history.

In both 2003 and 2015, PSG received the prestigious Chorus America/ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers) Award for Adventurous Programming, as well as a National Endowment for the Arts Grant in 2010.

PSG’s unique collaborative co-conductor model embodies a spirit of cooperation over competition for the 130 young women in five progressive ensembles who unite weekly from over 90 schools in the Portland metro and southwest Washington area.

Their nearly 2,000 alumnae, empowered by their artistic excellence, collaborative experiences, and unique, caring, and inclusive Girlchoir community, go on to make a difference in the world.

In their 29th season, PSG will continue its collaborations with Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra and Portland Youth Ballet, and host five guest choirs for its annual Music in the Making Workshop and Concert. They will also bring to life two newly commissioned premieres and release their 10th CD. Jackson and Burgess, featured authors in Working With Young Singers: Educational Philosophies of Expert Children’s Choir Conductors, describe their organization: “We are the Girlchoir…We sing; we laugh; we love each other; and we make amazing music every week, every concert, every year, all our lives!” .

29 TH SEASON: RISE UP AND SING! PSG AF TER DARK! October 7, 2017 Portland Racquet Club Sat 7:00pm SYMPHONIC SAFARI: DR. SEUSS GREEN EGGS & HAM October 22, 2017 Parkrose High School Sun 4:00pm With Portland Columbia Symphony Orchestra

JINGLE BEAR CONCERT December 2, 2017 Zion Lutheran Church Sat 3:00pm

SPRING GAL A CONCERT March 17, 2018 Zion Lutheran Church Sat 2:00pm

HOLIDAY CONCERT December 16, 2017 Zion Lutheran Church Sat 3:00pm Special guests: Portland Youth Ballet

MUSIC IN THE MAKING CONCERT April 15, 2018 Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Sun 4:00pm Guest conductor: Deborah A. Mello, Montclair State University

BREAKFAST WITH THE STARS February 22, 2018 Multnomah Athletic Club Th 7:30am

SHOWC ASE CONCERT May 19, 2018 Zion Lutheran Church Sat 2:00pm

Each ensemble performed with energy, expression, and a level of artistry that demonstrates a genuine passion for the choral art.

–Dr. Rollo Dilworth, Professor of Choral Music Education at Temple University A R T S L A N D I A 2 017– 2 018

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T H E AT E R

PROFIL E T HE AT RE

20TH

A unique and rich treat to see a single playwright’s body of work over the course of a season!

–Profile Theatre Patron

KNOWN FOR Putting a single playwright at the center of the season, using their vision as a lens on our shared world.

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INSIGHTS

Over the past 20 years, the playwrights Profile Theatre has featured have won 10 Pulitzer Prizes (plus four Pulitzer finalists), 20 Tony Awards (plus seven nominations), 18 Drama Desk Awards, 24 Obie Awards, and three MacArthur Genius grants.

PROFILETHEATRE.ORG 503.242.0080 TICKETS: $20–$38 Left: Chantal DeGroat & Maureen Porter in Bright Half Life. Right: Jimmy Garcia, Anthony Lam, and Anthony Green in Elliot, A Soldier’s Fugue. Photos by David Kinder.

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rofi le Theatre is the only professional theater in the country that shows love to a sole contemporary playwright per season, showcasing the power in the coherence of a single mind. With each season spanning from January to December, subscribers have a yearlong, high-caliber experience with one writer’s voice, vision, and world view.

Profi le continues its three-consecutive-year commitment to featuring playwrights of color and/or women writers. The fi rst year, 2016, featured Tanya Barfield, 2017 featured Quiara Alegría Hudes, and now an 18 -month double season of Lisa Kron and Anna Deavere Smith begins January 2018.

The company celebrates its 20 th anniversary season with its most ambitious project yet: staging Pulitzer Prize-winner Water By the Spoonful and The Happiest Song Plays Last in rotating repertory with the same director, designers, and cast. It’s the fi rst time that these two plays will be presented this way, and Profi le will be one of the few theaters nationally to produce the complete trilogy. Hudes herself will give a special reading for Portland audiences in the fall.

Profi le’s history of fostering community engagement brought the return of award-winning writers from the Writer’s Guild Initiative Portland to mentor local veterans in the art of sharing their stories and culminates in the staging of excerpts of the work, directed and read by professionals. Artistic Director Josh Hecht predicts it’ll be “an exciting way to close out our 20 th anniversary season.” .

2017 QUIARA ALEGRÍA HUDES SEASON WATER BY THE SPOONFUL,THE HAPPIEST SONG PL AYS L AST November 1–19, 2017 Artists Repertory Theatre In rotating repertory

2018–2019 LISA KRON & ANNA DEVEARE SMITH DOUBLE SEASON 2.5 MINUTE RIDE January 25– February 11, 2018 THE SECRETARIES June 14–July 1, 2018 FIRES IN THE MIRROR October 24–28, 2018

IN THE WAKE November 28– December 16, 2018 WELL, LET ME DOWN EASY Spring 2019 Dates TBA In rotating repertory All per formances at Artists Repertory Theatre.

I have never been disappointed after seeing a play at Profile. Every experience gives me the ‘let me just sit here for a moment’ feeling before the lights come up. Beautiful, soul-feeding stuff.

–Profile Theatre Patron

MUSIC

50TH

THE OFFBEAT C ARNIVALE September 15, 2017 6:30pm A kickoff party and fundraiser for the 50 th anniversary

LIT TLE EARS CONCERTS FOR KIDS September 19, 2017– June 19, 2018 Monthly, various Tuesdays 10:00am Free

MINOR KEY CONCERT SERIES September 21– December 10, 2017 8:00pm

WE C AN LISTEN September 12, 2017– June 12, 2018 Monthly, every 2nd Tuesday 10:00am Free

SACK LUNCH CONCERTS Ongoing Wednesdays 12:00pm Classical music; Free

The Old Church is in many ways Portland’s cultural living room. Its central location and great acoustics make it an indispensable resource for so many local performing arts organizations.

–Greg Ewer, Artistic Director, 45th Parallel

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T HE OL D CH U RCH

hat could be more quintessentially Portland than the juxtaposition of boundary-pushing music and arts performances inside a Gothic-style church built in 1882? Since 1968, The Old Church Concert Hall has been one of the city’s best-loved venues for intimate performances from folk, alternative, jazz, and classical musicians from around the world. With a wide variety of genres queued up for the coming season, we offer performances to suit every taste from our prime spot in Portland’s burgeoning Downtown Cultural District.

The Minor Key Concert Series presents some of the most talented national and international singer-songwriters. Along with local promoters (Mississippi Studios, Monqui, PDX Jazz) and longtime performers (45th Parallel, fEARnoMUSIC), the quality and range of programming has something for everyone to enjoy. Special free concerts for the community include the long-running weekly Sack Lunch concerts, which presents classical performances at noon. Monthly offerings include Little Ears Concerts for Kids and We Can Listen, highlighting social justice issues in a moderator-led, conversational setting.

Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2018, The Old Church will kick off the festivities on Friday, September 15, with The Offbeat Carnivale. A spectacular mélange of entertainment, food, drink, games, prizes, and fundraising, the Carnivale will also showcase a surprise announcement. Performers will include rock violinist Aaron Meyer and the cello-percussion looping Groovy Wallpaper. And, because we like it weird in Portland, the audience is even encouraged to come in costume! .

KNOWN FOR Its rich Portland history, Downtown Cultural District location, amazing acoustics, and world-class sound system (the Alcons LR7 system, favored by Sweden’s National Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm and the only one in Portland).

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INSIGHTS

Long known as a bastion of classical and folk music, The Old Church has evolved in recent years, hosting eclectic performances by punk pioneer John Doe and Radiohead’s Philip Selway, to name a few.

THEOLDCHURCH.ORG 503.222.2031 TICKETS: FREE–$40 Top Left: Seffarine. Photo by Richard Kolbell.

Bottom Left: Count Kellam. Photo by Mirifoto.

Right: Holly Bowling. Photo by Carlton Ward.

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DA NCE

T HE PORT L A ND B A L L E T

KNOWN FOR Its commitment to excellence and its nurturing environment.

Professional teachers and a family-centered sensibility provide students with confidence and discipline. TPB sends many dancers on to professional careers with ballet companies around the world.

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INSIGHTS

A TPB performance is a chance to see the professional dancers of tomorrow onstage today! The young dancers are poised for professional careers.

Many TPB alumni have gone on to dance with leading companies in the U.S. and abroad, such as Pacific Northwest Ballet, Houston Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, St. Louis Ballet, Ballet Idaho, Sacramento Ballet, and Nevada Ballet Theatre.

THEPORTLANDBALLET.ORG 503.750.3157 (BOX OFFICE) TICKETS: $5–$35 Left: Festival Russe, Lauren Kness.

Right: Les Sylphides, Naomi Rux and Henry Winslow.

Photos by Blaine Truitt Covert.

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he Portland Ballet offers high-quality training in both classical and contemporary ballet for students ages 3–22. Its skilled instructors have extensive performing and teaching experience, and its students are known for their talent and hard work.

Married partners Nancy Davis and Jim Lane, former principal dancers with Los Angeles Ballet, founded the company in 2001.

Davis is Co-artistic Director along with Anne Mueller, former principal dancer with Oregon Ballet Theatre.

TPB offers several programs: Creative Ballet for ages 3–6, Curriculum Ballet for ages 6–19, a Youth Company for qualifying advanced dancers, and a Career Track program for pre-professionals.

Only two years old, the Career Track program already attracts students from all over the West Coast.

TPB presents professional-quality performances, has a rare men’s training program, and is one of the few schools in the United States with ties to The George Balanchine Trust.

This season, on Thanksgiving weekend, TPB will revive The Enchanted Toyshop after last year’s sold-out performances and will premiere a new work by Mueller. The Portland State University Orchestra will accompany both pieces. In May, Current/Classic will feature advanced dancers and a mix of contemporary and classical works and include a Balanchine piece. Up Close in June will showcase Career Track dancers and TPB alumni who are now dancing in professional companies and conservatory programs around the country. TPB will also continue its partnership with Academia Ballet Concierto of Dominican Republic. .

THE ENCHANTED TOYSHOP November 24–26, 2017 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU

CURRENT/CLASSIC May 4–5, 2018 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU

UP CLOSE June 8–10, 2018 TPB Studio Theatre

Ballet taught at a high level, with high standards and discipline, combined with warmth and caring, by skilled ballet professionals.

–TPB Patron

T H E AT E R

T HIRD R A IL REPERTORY T HE AT RE

Their interest, love, deep knowledge, and enthusiasm for all things theater was apparent every moment.

–Third Rail Patron

I can always count on Third Rail to choose plays that challenge me, entertain me, and grow my interest in learning more about playwrights, audience response, and how theater is made.

–Third Rail Repertory Patron MAIN STAGE SHOWS LUNGS August 4–26, 2017 CoHo Theater

By Duncan Macmillan

MEN ON BOATS March 2–24, 2018 Imago Theatre

By Jaclyn Backhaus

THE EVENTS October 27–November 18, 2017 Imago Theatre

By David Greig

REVOLT. SHE SAID. REVOLT AGAIN. May 25–June 16, 2018 CoHo Theater

By Alice Birch

S

eeking an impactful and thought-provoking theater experience? Look no further than Third Rail. Unsettled in the best way—small and feisty, they are always ferreting out the next idea and discovering ways to push the work further.

Third Rail is a true artistic home for audiences, with a fi rm commitment to the pursuit of dialogue between artist and community. As such, their identity is not tied to a building or the personality of an artistic director, but to the passionate group of theater professionals who make up the company.

This season, the company is tackling the issue of gender inequality in theater by featuring 16 of 19 roles held by diverse women. They are well aware that there is a gender parity problem in the industry and are working to disrupt that system.

Ultimately, they hope to share substantive and relevant content with empowering themes and cathartic outcomes.

This season will continue to manifest a deep interest in the world of the characters and their relationships to one another— something for which Third Rail is known. With each play, the company will explore the landscape of the human heart, mind, soul, and body in relevant interplay with the issues of our time.

Their productions will reveal rich human experiences laid bare with all their joyful, harrowing, gleeful, and explosive outcomes. Powerful. Compelling. Electric. A little dangerous.

Third Rail will have you sitting at the edge of your seat and leave you with plenty to talk about long after the lights come up. .

KNOWN FOR Their selection of provocative scripts and high standards for producing them with expertise and professionalism.

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INSIGHTS

Stay for the talk-backs, which add a lot to the theater experience. Third Rail is truly interested in what you have to say, and they believe that every opinion is valid. You will not be judged for your comments. They just really like to talk about theater.

THIRDRAILREP.ORG 503.235.1101 TICKETS: $15–$45 Left: The Nether. Right: Annapurna.

Photos by Owen Carey.

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Get Drawn In...

Many Branches, One Tree.

to Ashland’s Visual Arts

OJCF empowers individuals to achieve their philanthropic goals. Our wide range of charitable approaches and programs enables donors to make the world a better place.

Donor Advised Funds l Endowment Funds Planned Giving l Supporting Organizations Youth Philanthropy l Collaborative Giving

First Friday Artwalk A Taste of Ashland Open Studio Tour

For more information: 503.248.9328 l www.ojcf.org

Visit us online ashlandgalleries.com facebook.com/ashlandgalleries instagram.com/ashlandgalleries Complimentary Gallery Guide at Participating Establishments

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

K

Find out more about who we are and our upcoming shows at, W WW.SH AK I N G-T HE-T R E E .CO M

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4.975”4.7” KK_MASSAGE_ARTSLANDIA_FINAL.pdf

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MUSIC

UNI T SOUZOU A unique theatrical fusion of taiko that intertwines a storyline amidst a dazzling array of aesthetic beauty and mind-blowing musicality…one of the best taiko performances I’ve seen—a completely novel experience.

–Unit Souzou Patron

RESIDENCIES AND ASSEMBLIES Ongoing Various venues Through Right Brain Initiative and Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington

ADULT AND YOUTH TAIKO CL ASSES Ongoing Various venues NORTHWEST TOUR Fall & Spring Various venues

TAIKOWORKS Summer Various venues Annual showcase of current artistic ruminations See website for complete details.

To be lifted with a pure sound of hope from such tragedies, and even still, just to see such grace from simple hand gestures and strength of stances shows such an elegance achieved… it was simply breathtaking.

–Unit Souzou Patron

W

ith over 20 years of professional experience, Codirectors Michelle Fujii and Toru Watanabe lead Portland’s newest professional taiko company: Unit Souzou. Their name embodies three ideas that define their work— creation, imagination, and noisy. Hence, the company aims to empower fresh, contemporary, and relevant stories through taiko, a bold and highly physical drumming performance art, and a variety of Japanese folk dances. They seek to build on a foundation of cultural history and tradition, and in doing so, they promote perseverance, refine musical rhythm, and kindle creativity.

Unit Souzou builds community through classes for youth and adults, performances, and professional theatrical productions. The company has a robust local education program for children in schools through Young Audiences and the Right Brain Initiative, in addition to offering youth classes at Ethos Music Center and year-round adult workshops. Unit Souzou’s own ensemble tours to perform their full-length, theatrical presentations. In summer 2017, they premiered TaikoWorks, a new annual showcase in which they share their most current, relevant ruminations, including both finished and unfinished work.

The interconnectivity of all their work centers on their mission to build and create while honoring the roots of the taiko art form.

The core of artistic voice is personal and authentic, their sound shaped and inspired by movement. Unit Souzou is only three years strong, but this fresh and invigorating group of performers and leaders is trailblazing a growing international artistic movement with just as much force as grace and forging new traditions for evolving communities..

KNOWN FOR Building creative and imaginative works while honoring the history of the taiko art form. Unit Souzou’s sound is shaped by form and movement, forging new traditions for evolving communities.

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INSIGHTS

While taiko has a long history in Japan, the style of taiko that Unit Souzou plays, called kumidaiko (ensemble drumming), was developed in the 1950s. They create most of their compositions, reflecting what is happening within the community here and now through their artistic voice.

UNITSOUZOU.COM 503.333.2158 Left: Oisa! Photo by Jan Landis.

Right: Zutto Futari De (Stuck Together). Photo

by Yuen Design.

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DA NCE

WHI T E B IRD DA NCE

KNOWN FOR Being the sole dance-only presenter west of the Rocky Mountains.

Celebrating 20 years of bringing the best contemporary dance to Portland from around the world.

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INSIGHTS

If you subscribe, you get at least 20% of f the full ticket price.

Subscribers are also guaranteed to have prime seats to all shows next season, even those expected to sell out, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

WHITEBIRD.ORG 503.245.1600 TICKETS: $26 & UP Left: Urban Bush Women. Photo by Hayim Heron.

Top Right: Mark Morris Dance Group. Photo by Gareth Jones. Bottom Right: Rachael McLaren and Daniel Harder from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Photo by Andrew Eccles.

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20TH

iscover a world of dance as White Bird celebrates its 20th anniversary of bringing excellence in dance to Portland audiences as the sole dance-only presenter west of the Rocky Mountains. Founded in 1997 by Paul King and Walter Jaffe, the nonprofit dance presenter makes dance exciting, educational, and accessible to Portlanders of all ages and social backgrounds. The organization takes pride in bringing educational and community outreach activities to over 5,000 Portland area students each year.

In their 20th season, they continue the tradition of celebrating diversity in dance by featuring four companies led by AfricanAmerican artists and two led by Spanish and Latina choreographers.

While they’ve long celebrated dance from around the world, this season they will honor the incredible dance created here in the U.S. with an entire lineup of American dance companies in their six-show White Bird Dance Series.

White Bird will highlight companies and artists that have resonated strongly with their audiences over the years. Featured artists such as Paul Taylor, a legendary choreographer who helped shape the art of American modern dance, will return for the sixth time, and Stephen Petronio will return for the seventh time. The company is also thrilled to bring back the beloved Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater after a seven-year absence. Renowned for its brilliant artistry and passionate energy, the Ailey Company will perform two electrifying programs that showcase their immensely powerful dancers.

White Bird dedicates their upcoming season to their loyal dance audience who have joined them on their journey of discovering a world of dance for 20 years! .

COMPLEXIONS CONTEMPOR ARY BALLET October 5–7, 2017 Newmark Theatre Th–Sat 7:30pm

RENNIE HARRIS PUREMOVEMENT January 25–27, 2018 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU Th–Sat 8:00pm

COMPAÑIA JESÚS C ARMONA March 14, 2018 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall W 7:30pm

PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANY October 12–14, 2017 Newmark Theatre Th–Sat 7:30pm

MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP February 21, 2018 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall W 7:30pm

STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY April 5–7, 2018 Newmark Theatre Th–Sat 7:30pm

DANCENORTH AUSTR ALIA October 26–28, 2017 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU Th–Sat 8:00pm L-E-V November 16–18, 2017 Lincoln Performance Hall, PSU Th–Sat 8:00pm

URBAN BUSH WOMEN March 1–3, 2018 Newmark Theatre Th–Sat 8:00pm JESSIC A L ANG DANCE March 8–10, 2018 Newmark Theatre Th–Sat 7:30pm

ALVIN AILEY AMERIC AN DANCE THEATER April 24 & 25, 2018 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall T & W 7:30pm BALLET HISPÁNICO May 16, 2018 Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall W 7:30pm

I’m in awe! Great success over 20 years!

–White Bird Dance Patron

HEATED RELATIONSHIPS PORTLAND ARTS POWER COUPLES DISH ON THE SPARKS THAT FLY IN CREATIVE COLLABORATION AND COHABITATION

BY BRE T T CAMPBELL

C FLASH POINT The temperature at which material will ignite when given an ignition source. In relationships, the thing that ignites conflict.

HEATING UP How collaboration became romance.

STRIKING SPARKS The partners’ most memorable collaboration.

FIRE PREVENTION Hard-learned lessons for preventing conflict between cohabiting collaborators.

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oupledom is a collaboration. Composing a life together requires cooperation, compromise, constructive criticism, and can bring comfort, joy, and rewards impossible to discover alone.

Art partnerships work the same way. Much of what delights audiences arises from creatively tense teamwork, a sometimes delicate dance in which partners try to bring out each other’s best without compromising away the volatile energy that fuels creativity, to make something better than either could have concocted alone.

But what happens when your creative partner is also your life partner?

“In many ways, it’s a great advantage to have the lines blurred between home and work,” says fEARnoMUSIC Artistic Director Kenji Bunch. “We can work stuff out at odd hours and in odd places that most administrative partners don’t end up together. It feels natural to collaborate professionally as well as personally.”

Such constant collaboration can double the rewards of togetherness, but its inherent tensions as well. The friction that sparks creativity can also singe romantic relationships.

“When you work, live, and create art with a partner,” notes Imago Theatre’s Jerry Mouawad, “it’s 24/7. Nonstop. It’s very challenging and rewarding, yet you need to know how to relinquish your ego and your needs for the sake of sanity.”

We asked five of Portland’s artistic power couples to dish on the ups and downs of creative collaboration and to provide tips for any couples who live and create together. As The Portland Ballet’s Jim Lane says, “Co-creating/cohabiting is something that picks you. It either happens, or it doesn’t.”

ASHLE Y ROL AND + JAME Y HAMP TON BODY VOX

Emmy Award-winning choreographers Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland founded BodyVox in 1997.

HEATING UP Though the two of were in one another’s orbits prior to their first meeting, they first connected at a Pilobolus workshop in Washington Depot, Connecticut, in July of 1983. As Ashley puts it: “Let’s just say we were on a collision course to connect for the early part of our lives. Upon my first sighting, I was inexplicably drawn to him.”

Jamey adds, “Ashley was an extraordinary dancer: athletic, powerful, funny, unique. We used to do the class and workshop stuff all day, and then a group of us would go up to a studio after dinner and dance until midnight or one in the morning.”

STRIKING SPARKS “When we first started working in Portland in 1997, we spent three months building Carmina Burana.

It was liberating to be creating something so powerful and beautiful in Oregon and not in rural Connecticut where we had been for so long. It was a regeneration of creativity,” Jamey recalls.

Ashley’s assessment is characteristically on the more ethereal side: “Our representative moment is BodyVox. It’s not a moment; it is the present, and we live within it constantly. Our collaboration is 24/7/365.” Jamey agrees that the couple is a conduit. “Art (in our case, dance) is a beautiful thing that wants to come through us and into the world.”

FLASH POINTS In the spirit of allowing flow, Jamey shares, “It is best when we are not mired in our own ego.” A sentiment with which Ashley

wholehear ted ly ag rees: “Our collaboration is a constant exercise in remaining egoless. Friction always creeps in i f one is operating from a selfi sh place.”

It’s not only about putting one’s ego aside but also about being fearlessly open both possibility and the oftenensuing madness. “The only way to succeed is to go all in, and going all in means it’s going to be a wild ride,” says Jamey. “Have a couple of kids on top of that; run a company; do several shows a year, and go on tour; be there on time for soccer games and school plays… Yes, it’s a wild ride. And I couldn’t do it without a partner who does the other hundred percent.”

FIRE PREVENTION When there is confl ict, they are both keen on responding quickly to f ind a solution, with culpability and communication key to their approach. And when all else fails, says Ashley, it doesn’t hurt to laugh.

“Our company has witnessed us having friction, and the remedy to many a stressful moment is often humor. I think we laugh more than any dance company or any group of people around.”

Jamey adds, “I think over time you get pretty efficient at settling conf lict because you tend to have seen it all, and you have developed certain tools to get you through a tough time. We are all still capable of making bonehead mistakes, but the best thing is to recognize your own contribution to the confl ict; drill down into what’s really bothering you; realize that your partner is probably not the problem. It must be the kids. Blame it on the kids!” .

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CAROL TRIFFLE + JERRY MOUAWAD IMAGO THEATRE

Writer/Directors Carol Triffle and Jerry Mouawad founded Imago Theatre in 1979.

HEATING UP Carol Triffle and Jerry Mouawad met in a ballet class taught

by Danny Diamond, who shared a studio space with Richard HayesMarshall, who co-ran a theater school called TheatrElan, where Jerry had studied the pioneering movement theater of French actor, mime, and teacher Jacques Lecoq. Jerry was working on a mask production and asked Carol, a Portland State University dance student, to help.

Their collaborative creature stole the show; they began inventing more, then touring, and the rest is Imago history.

STRIKING SPARKS The night before a crucial performance at Connecticut’s Shubert Theatre, “we had a penguin problem,” Jerry recalls. A scene involving a penguin just wasn’t working. At that night’s rehearsal, they rewrote the whole piece, turning it into series of musical chairs follies. Fearing a flop at the show the next day, they started the scene with the music playing and the penguins circling.

Then, the music stopped, setting off a penguin scramble for the chairs.

“The audience roared, and the piece stole the show,” Jerry says. We went on to New York confident that we had fi xed our penguin problem.” The

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musical chairs sketch went on to delight thousands during the long run of Frogz.

FLASHPOINTS According to Jerry, the two hatched a plan to maintain harmony at the outset. “Early on, we decided that there could not be two directors at one time.”

FIRE PREVENTION “In shows where we collaborate (Frogz, ZooZoo, La Belle), we always know who is in the room directing, and the other gives leeway (most of the time),” says Jerry.

The rules of engagement are welldefined, with a fairly bright line illuminating the work/home divide, according to Jerry. “Never discuss work at home after 6 p.m., unless it’s new, creative ideas. Current projects are often quarantined. The business of theater and its complications are minimized at home.”

For these two creators, effectively combining forces includes individual space and respectful encouragement.

The formula? “We give each other plenty of room when the other is directing their own work. We are supportive and never try to discourage or derail the other from their vision. It is a journey of a trio of visions: Carol’s work, Jerry’s work, and the work we do together.” .

DAN MURPHY + SHARON MARONE Y BROADWAY ROSE THEATRE

Producing Artistic Director Sharon Maroney and Managing Director Dan Murphy founded Tigard’s Broadway Rose Theatre in 1992.

HEATING UP While Dan reveals himself to be a hopeless romantic who didn’t waste any time with his attempt to lock Sharon down, she apparently took some convincing. As they say, a river cuts through rock, not because of its power but its persistence.

“We met in 1984 in summer stock, performing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at the Brookside Playhouse in Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania. Sharon was the Narrator, and I played one of the brothers. I think I asked her to marry me 11 days into the run; she said no and told me I’d had too much to drink.

Eventually, I wore her down.”

STRIKING SPARKS The theater staged a production of Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit’s 1991 musical, Phantom.

On July 8, 2001, the show sold out—the very fi rst sold-out performance. “We looked at each other and thought, ‘Wow, a sold-out show. We have arrived,” says Dan. Sharon adds, "I felt like it was a message from the universe that we were in the right place at the right time, and after 10 years, we were headed toward success."

FLASH POINTS Like most families, the pressures of raising children and pursuing professional dreams weighed on the couple. “[It’s] always been a difficult balancing act, and raising two daughters while running a theater company is insane. There was a time when the office for the theater was in our house. The boundaries were so muddy that we went to the board of directors and, with their help, found some office space so we could separate our home and work life,” remembers Dan. Fast forward a quarter century, the couple has come a long way from using the dining table as a base of operations with a gorgeous, permanent venue in Tigard, Oregon—their own New Stage Auditorium.

FIRE PREVENTION “Now that we are empty nesters, the rules still apply—such as, after a certain time of night, no more talking about the theater.” says Dan. “One of the bigger challenges we have is recognizing how we speak to each other at the office," continues Sharon. Dan adds, "We have learned that, rather than expose the staff to some of our marital eccentricities, some discussions are best held behind closed doors. That way, if one of us throws something, it is less likely to strike a valued member of the staff.” .

HAPPY 30 TH ANNIVERSARY! A R T S L A N D I A 2 017– 2 018

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MONICA OHUCHI + K EN JI BUNCH FEARNOMUSIC

Concert pianist Monica Ohuchi and composer Kenji Bunch became Executive and Artistic Directors, respectively, of veteran Portland new music ensemble fEARnoMUSIC in 2014.

HEATING UP Though Monica and Kenji are both from the Pacific Northwest, they met in New York City. After Kenji had graduated from Juilliard, he started teaching viola in the precollege division (a high school prep program) and needed a pianist to work with some of his students. Colleague Toby Appel recommended Monica, who at that time was fi nishing her undergraduate degree in piano.

As Monica remembers, “One of the fi rst times I played for him, I noticed his Oregon driver’s license in his viola case. I’m from Seattle, and we got talking about the Pacific Northwest and how we both missed it. From the very beginning, our love for the Pacific Northwest was one of the things that drew us to each other. We’re married 10 years as of May 14.”

STRIKING SPARKS “Our biggest collaborations to date (other than our two kids) have been the piano concerto I wrote for Monica in 2011 and the set of performance etudes (Monica’s Notebook) she recorded. That project was something she conceived and planned herself, and I was honored to write the music for her."

FLASHPOINTS “Sometimes running an arts organization is like playing defense in a basketball game. Good defense involves a lot of communication, as well as anticipating and reacting to breakdowns in coverage by rotating to assist a teammate (‘help defense’).

Any kind of confl ict involves some

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deg ree of miscommunicat ion.

Collaborating creatively can certainly lead to this at times. Sometimes one of us can be further along with such an idea before realizing we haven’t talked it through together yet, and that can lead to confusion or blindsiding the other person,” Kenji shares.

“If we aren’t communicating clearly,” he continues, “we can both assume the other has taken care of something, and then, to our horror, we realize we’ve dropped the ball. But we’re both quick to blame ourselves rather than each other, which keeps things from getting unpleasant.”

FIRE PREVENTION How do these two minimize confl ict? “Easy. Usually, I’m right!” Monica says with an ironic smile.

Kenji offers a slightly more pragmatic take on the strategies that work for them. “What makes our professional relationship work is really the same as our personal relationship—namely, there’s a real foundation of mutual respect and a secure understanding of each other’s commitment. Beyond that, I think it’s important to recognize what each of us brings to the table and how to complement that skill set, rather than compete with it.”

Even with the best intentions, Monica adds, having balance between the two spheres of their relationship sometimes requires a hard reset. “Occasionally, we force ourselves to turn off our work minds and take a weekend to focus completely on our family life. We set ‘away’ messages on our emails and clear out meetings, rehearsal, and teaching. And then, we spend the weekend going to Oaks Park and playing princesses and superheroes.” .

NANCY DAVIS + JIM L ANE THE PORTL AND BALLET

Nancy and Jim Lane founded The Portland Ballet in 2001.

and supported by four, giant, 100-yearold trusses. Three remodels, 16 years, and thousands of ballet students later, we know TPB is our magnum opus!”

HEATING UP Both Nancy and Jim grew up in the Los Angeles area, took classes from some of the same teachers, and FLASHPOINTS For Nancy and Jim, the attended School of American Ballet in yin and yang that forms of the bedrock New York. Still, they were never in the of their success is also the root of many same place at the same time until 1976, challenges in their working relationship. when their mutual acquaintance, John “In many ways, we have very different Clifford, offered Jim a job with the one- personalities and approach things from year-old Los Angeles Ballet to partner different angles,” Jim explains. He with Nancy, a founding member. blames the stars. “Nancy is a Taurus.

“She’s 5’9”. I’m 6’1”. We were a great I’m Sagittarius. I’m quick to embrace match,” Jim says. “I was immediately a new project but tend to get bored with attracted to her, but there was a slight it after a while. Nancy takes more time obstacle. Nancy was already hooked to jump on the bandwagon, but when she does, she is all in, and there is no up with the company manager—the stopping her. So, typically, the rub is guy who wrote the checks! We danced together pretty much nonstop and got at the beginning of something new. I’m to know each other very well. When halfway to the fi nish line, and Nancy you work so intimately with someone, is still checking out the course.” you really get to understand how they FIRE PREVENTION Not to miss a chance think and feel. The more we danced for a Dirty Dancing reference, these two together, the more we got to understand keep the peace by respecting one (intuitively and intellectually) each another’s dance space—a lesson that other’s strengths and weaknesses.” took some time. “We’ve been together so long that we now know to give each STRIKING SPARKS The breadth of their vision comes into sharp focus as Jim other space when we need it. Of course, shares the origin story of their this understanding took time to lu m i nou s , newly renov ated mature. When we were dancing headquarters. “One day, we were together, we’d bicker in rehearsal so driving down the hill from Salvador much that Clifford would just leave Molly’s restaurant in Hillsdale and saw the studio! a rusted-out, old auto repair garage on “When you create something from the corner of SW Capitol Highway,” nothing, it’s like having a child. You can’t and don’t want to stop thinking Jim remembers. “There was no ‘For lease or sale’ sign up, but we both about it. I’m not really a balanced thought, ‘That’s a great place to have work/home kind of person by nature, a ballet academy!’ We pulled into the so it’s good that Nancy and I parking lot, looked in the windows, and collaborate. Otherwise, I’d drive her nuts!” Jim confesses. . saw that the interior was pillar-free

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QUOTABLES

FROM MORE PORTLAND ARTS POWER COUPLES

BRIAN + NIK K I WE AV ER PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE

YULIA AR A K ELYAN + ERIK FERGUSON WOBBLY DANCE

WA LTER JAFFE + PAUL KING WHITE BIRD

M AUREEN PORTER + PHILIP CUOMO THIRD RAIL

K E VIN IRVING + NICOLO FONTE OREGON BALLET THEATRE

Nikki is relentless. It's very attractive. And scary. When there’s something she wants, nothing can stop her from getting it. Luckily, I was one of those things. She is so alive in the moment, present. The fi rst time we touched (this is actually true), we were at a party, and there was one of those ‘electricity balls’ on a table; we each had our fi nger stretched out, and then we touched the lightning together. And the night progressed from there.

Working with my life partner means we are saturated 24/7 in our shared aesthetic. Ideas come at odd times and can be hashed out right away instead of waiting until the next planning meeting. Ideas come from sharing life, similar ways of doi ng t h i ng s, si m i la r frustrations, and similar curiosity about solutions. From the very beginning, we conceived of our relationship as an extension of our art. We were both interested in creating a way of life, not just a shared career.

We generally agree on approaches, as well on the dance work we see and ultimately curate. Any tension arises simply from the day-today realities of running a nonprof it arts organization.

However, we try to mitigate tension through compromise and deferring to one another’s point of view. It helps enormously that there are two of us to deal with any challenges that will arise.

A lot of laughter. A lot.

Mostly, we trust. Our baseline mottos are things like, ‘Have faith,’ ‘Go easy,’ and we often fi nd ourselves saying, ‘We have a really good life.’ It helps keep it in perspective.

Philip is an incredible teacher, collaborator, and creator. He is a connector of people, and so many people tell me what a difference he has made in their lives. I love to watch him in the midst of people. He is electric, funny, ambitious, and warm.

I have assisted Nicolo in his work, and he has assisted me in mine. Even when there is critique, I think we both know that we each appreciate the vision of the other, and that’s really comforting. He is that essential pair of very knowledgeable extra eyes that can sometimes see before I can whether any given choreographic moment is doing what I think it should be doing. That is a really i mpor t a nt (a nd luck y) contribution to my creative process.

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ESIGN CAPITA 112

A quintet of Portland designers illustrate how the Rose City has become a mecca for design of all kinds.

BY BRIAN LIBBY PHOTOS BY MEG NANNA

L

ike many American cities, Portland was once known for manufacturing-related and agricultural industries such as timber and steel.

While there’s no shortage of hundred-car freight trains and barges dispersing our commodities far and wide, there has been a palpable shift in our city’s workforce, particularly within the last decade. Indicators abound that our fair city is emerging as a global design mecca for everything from sportswear and sneakers to architecture and bicycles, including the rebranding of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts at the University of Oregon to the newly minted College of Design and the recent, wildly successful Design Week Portland. The event convened for its fifth year to celebrate the “vital community of designers and makers” at our city’s core. There's no doubt that the creative juices are flowing.

We caught up with a quintet of Portlandbased designers following their passions and turning heads. While each of them is busy creating new materials, designs, and products, they gather inspiration from notso-surprising places: beloved classics in music, sculpture, and architecture.

A DA M A R NOL D FASHION

When we found him, Adam Arnold was sitting quietly, working on designs for bespoke fashions from his renovated 19th-century brick storefront building along Martin Luther King Boulevard in Southeast Portland. A one-man operation, he revels in both the solitary moments designing and the interplay with clients as he tailors each garment.

Arnold, a native of Vancouver, Washington, spent several years in San Francisco and Seattle before settling in the Rose City in the late ‘90s. He’s been designing for as long as he can remember: “I’ve always been making clothing, since I was probably 3,” he says. Recently, he began opening his studio to the public, instead of just by appointment, and has been creating ready-to-wear clothing that he displays artfully on racks near the entrance. “My clients, I feel like they come back because somehow this process connects them,” he says, describing the process of getting to know each client before taking measurements or setting out on an idea. “It’s a rare thing for customers to experience: meeting the person that makes their clothing and getting a garment that is naturally made for them.”

Arnold thinks of apparel design as “tight sculpture, the way you control the shape, control the fit. It’s the art of manipulating fabric through cut and texture and line to say something.” Perhaps it’s the combination of artistry and accessibility that has yielded his designs such a positive response. Arnold was named the “Best Male Designer” at the both 2015 and 2016 Portland Fashion and Style Awards.

Arts & Culture Inspiration: Visual arts, especially sculpture. Arnold talks glowingly about a piece at the Portland Art Museum of a shrouded woman: Madrina by Mark Calderon. “You can walk all the way around it, and she never has a face.”

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113

KEN W HEELER BICYCLES

You might expect the walls of Renovo Hardwood Bicycles to be decorated with images of the company’s products. Instead, the décor showcases another passion of company founder, Ken Wheeler: classic airplanes. You’ll see photos of the British DH.98 Mosquito (a fighter-bomber that helped win World War II) and the Wheeler Express (the world’s fi rst kit plane, designed and manufactured by Wheeler himself in the 1980s). The man is a serial entrepreneur, trained as an engineer and consumed by an enlightened curiosity that has led him to found a string of innovative companies over the years. For the past decade, Wheeler has devoted himself to hardwood bicycles, which not only possess a striking beauty but also are more durable and offer a smoother ride than metal or carbon-framed cycles. “Wood has a four times better vibration absorption rate than carbon or metal. It’s a big difference,” Wheeler explains. “The whole point is smooth.”

For years, Wheeler made wood-framed, custom bikes as one-offs or through partnerships with elite clients like Audi. “But, it became untenable,” he says.

Every custom bike was an all-new manufacturing problem.” Thus, Renovo evolved to create its signature models, which long-distance racers began using in high-profi le events like the Iron Man World Championships. The company’s most recent offering, the John Day, is geared toward the intrepid explorer.

After all, the Eastern Oregon town for which it is named boasts hundreds of miles of gravel road best explored on the back of a wood bike.

Arts & Culture Inspiration: Live jazz and classical music. “I’ve grown up with club jazz and absolutely love it, particularly if it’s classic—Miles and all,” he says. He also enjoys the Oregon Symphony thanks to the influence his children, one of whom is a classical musician.

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BE N K A I SE R ARCHITECTURE & DEVELOPMENT

For most, it would be enough to be a talented architect. Or an innovative builder. Or a savvy real-estate developer. The fact that Ben Kaiser, owner and principal of Kaiser Group and PATH Architecture, excels at all three proves that he sees the big picture and is willing to pour over the details to make it so.

He says he’s just driven to control all phases of a building project and follow his passion.

“I think the challenge for all of us is to discover why we’re here. When I cross over between design, construction, and development, I have a better chance of fi nding out,” Kaiser explains. “I think it’s the fact that I can do all three and have those interests all crossing one another; that’s what’s exciting to me.”

Kaiser’s architecture, such as the Carbon12 project in Northeast Portland completed this spring, is at the forefront of a new building era in which wood buildings can be built taller than ever before. Not only are they more eco-friendly than concrete and steel buildings, but also they’re more earthquake resistant. Plus, building with timber on a large scale can help re-boot Oregon’s once-massive timber industry. “It’s going to take a few of us to turn the tide,” Kaiser says, “but I think the momentum is building, and it’s a genuine turning point in architecture in the U.S. I didn’t set out to do that. It was just a logical progression. But, I think this represents a return to wood as our major industry.”

Arts & Culture Inspiration: The fusion of art and architecture. “Like when you see a piece of art in the Guggenheim, or you go to the Venice Biennale in an old armory, or even the Pietro Belluschi-designed Portland Art Museum right here in town. It’s the juxtaposition of the art and the architecture that’s the most inspirational for me: when I can see those two disciplines dancing.”

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115

ZELJK A C A ROL K E K E Z LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

PLACE Studio, the fi rm Zeljka Carol Kekez cofounded seven years ago, is home to the landscape architects behind some of the most significant projects in town. Their portfolio reads like a who’s who of the most enchanting urban design our city has to offer: the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building downtown, an updated master plan for Washington Park, Elephant Lands at the Oregon Zoo, and an expansion of the Nike World Headquarters campus.

The studio, which features the requisite rows of computer workstations and a model-building workshop, is also a kind of laboratory for design, arts, and ideas. You’ll fi nd an on-site art gallery displaying paintings and a communal gathering space where the fi rm hosts regular salons and talks with artists and writers. There’s even a row of Ducati motorcycles on display. “Surrounding ourselves with artwork, be it the motorcycles, or the sculpture, or the wood benches we’re sitting on, it’s all part of the inspiration,” Kekez says.

Originally from Croatia, Kekez came to the United States in 1990 as a high school exchange student but, after civil war had broken out back home, she opted to stay. Since co-founding PLACE with landscape architect Mauricio Villarreal and others in 2010, Kekez, as its managing principal, has helped guide the fi rm to quickly rank among the city’s most acclaimed. Now, with offices in Tokyo, Bogotá, and Seattle, PLACE is making an impact far beyond the Rose City.

“I’m probably getting three, four hours of sleep at most,” Kekez says. “There’s always something going on: traveling, exploring, experimenting.”

Arts & Culture Inspiration: Inviting musicians and other creative artists to perform and exhibit at PLACE Studio, most recently a group of Cuban musicians in town for a concert. “On a Friday afternoon, we’ll just rent a piano and invite one of our friends to share something with us.”

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C ORY R H E AU LT FURNITURE

After spending years earning a degree focused on woodworking at the Oregon College of Art and Craft, Cory Rheault was chagrined when the school purchased a new tool, a CNC router, just after he completed his last class. Being crafty in more ways than one, Rheault successfully applied to create a chair for the school’s annual Art On The Vine auction so he could try out the machine. “I just thought, ‘I’m going to play around with this,’” recalls Rheault.

“I was leaning on the traditional way of making furniture, and I wasn’t getting anywhere. I was just making the same things. I wanted to create something fun and unique, something the new technology enabled.”

In a marriage of technology and a Goldilocks approach to functionality, Rheault used 3-D design software to create the piece and then had a succession of people sit in the chair as he refi ned it. “I didn’t stop until three people of different heights told me, ‘I would enjoy sitting in this,’” he says. The chair is just three pieces of plywood. “It’s the armrest and the front leg as one piece, then the back seat and the back leg are another.” Both traditional and modern in style, the piece pays homage to Rheault’s hero, furniture designer Alvar Aalto.

Rheault now has a day job working on sailboats, though he plans to keep designing and building furniture, expanding his auction piece to a full line of tables and chairs. “I don’t expect to slow down,” he says. .

Arts & Culture Inspiration: Musicals. “They feed me.”

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AT THE BEACH A mere two hours away from the concrete jungle of Portland is the spectacular Oregon Coast.

Yes, a quick walk at water’s edge will leave your toes bright red and the bellowing wind will do the same to your cheeks, but the beauty will lull you into embracing the conditions. The allure of the wind in your hair and sand between your toes might bring you there, but the art and culture that surround the rocky shores will keep you entertained during your stay. Over the past few years, the central coast of Oregon has blossomed as a destination for tranquility seekers. From Lincoln City to Newport, the coastal towns offer a bit of everything for a threeday culture fix away from the bright-lights-big-city of Portland.

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Background: Photo by Tyler McKay. Top (From Left to Right): Photo courtesy of Siletz Bay Music Festival.

Photo by Ambrose Fung. Photo courtesy of Newport Symphony Orchestra.

A R T S D E S T I N AT I O N

Lincoln City

Depoe Bay

Newport Beach

So much m or e th an a c a sin o.

Bi g r ela xat ion at world ’s t inie st h arbor.

Seafood an d sea lion s.

Arts are thriving in Lincoln City. Begin at the Lincoln City Cultural Center, the town’s focal point for arts and education, to attend exhibits and festivals. Next, head to the Jennifer Sears Glass Art Studio or the Alder House (Oregon’s oldest glassblowing studio) to see demonstrations or create your own piece. Plan a lunch break at Side Door Cafe for an abundance of delicious meal options and charming atmosphere.

The Lincoln City Kite Festival, held in the summer and fall, is a beloved celebration of a favorite coastal pastime. Stop by the D-River Wayside for experts’ kite-flying demonstrations, free kite making for children, and much more high-flying fun. Grab dinner with a spectacular view of the sunset at The Bay House, which offers an assortment of wines and cocktails. Other exemplary eateries include The Blackfish Café and Kyllo’s Seafood & Grill for fresh, locally sourced dishes.

Theatre West, Lincoln City’s intimate and inclusive theater company, curates a handful of plays every year. Catch one of their productions this season from October 2017 to September 2018. Also, don't miss the Siletz Bay Music Festival every June.

To recharge, choose from the luxurious Salishan Spa & Golf Resort to treat yourself to a pampering massage or facial, or a night in a cottage rental at the picturesque and laid-back Olivia Beach.

Looking moment of reflection or a secluded, romantic getaway? You’ll feel like you’ve stumbled upon the setting for a Nicholas Sparks novel (sans tragedy) when you drive into Depoe Bay. The Oregon Coast’s official whale-watching capital, this quaint fi shing town is the perfect place to throw on that cable knit sweater, stroll along the rugged shoreline, and let the salty sea air rejuvenate your city-dwelling soul.

Check into the Whale Cove Inn, an adults-only establishment with panoramic views of the ocean and a king-sized bed, private balcony, and outdoor Jacuzzi tub in each suite. Head out into the mist on a charter boat early the next morning to whale watch before returning to shore for an ocean-to-table seafood lunch at Tidal Raves.

Make your way back to the Whale Cove Inn just before sunset for a five- or seven-course tasting menu at the Oregon Coast’s most ambitious restaurant, Restaurant Beck, with James Beard Foundation Semifi nalist chef, Justin Wills. Here you can savor locally foraged ingredients and inventive fl avor pairings while gazing out at sea.

A Newport landmark is the Sylvia Beach Hotel, a literary-themed bed and breakfast with an eclectic charm. Guests can choose between rooms that reflect the lives and writings of 21 different authors, from J.K. Rowling to Jane Austen.

Grab breakfast, lunch, or just a coffee at Cafe Stephanie or head to Chowder Bowl on Nye Beach for authentic thick and creamy clam chowder.

Later, watch the famous sea lions from Clearwater Restaurant, become immersed in sparkling conversation at Tables of Content, or dine in at Georgie’s Beachside Grill for Northwest favorites such as wild salmon, Yaquina Bay oysters and Dungeness crab.

Newport is a hub for cultural events on the Oregon Coast. Be sure to pay a visit to the Visual Arts Center to support Northwest artists from surrounding communities. Or, check out the Newport Performing Arts Center for live plays, concerts by the Newport Symphony Orchestra, fi lm festivals, and dance performances presented by the Oregon Coast Ballet Company. Keep an eye out for local events such as the Oregon Seafood & Wine Festival, held every February to showcase over 150 premier Northwest wines and fresh foods sourced directly from local farmers and restaurants.

If you think the view is good, wait until you see our art galleries.

Experience Cannon Beach Oregon @ExperienceCannonBeach | | CannonBeach.org CannonBeach.org @ExperienceCannonBeach A R T S L A N D I A 2 017– 2 018

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Exhibition and Events: Sept. 16 - Dec. 22, 2017

James Lavadour (Walla Walla, b. 1951), Land of Origin, 2015

Salem, Oregon willamette.edu/go/hfma

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ALBERTA ABBEY 126 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211 503.897.7037

VENUES To find menus near these venues, visit artslandia.com for restaurant listings and reviews by performing artists!

ALADDIN THEATRE 3017 SE Milwaukie Ave. Portland, OR 97202 503.234.9694 ALBERTA ROSE THEATRE 3000 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211 503.719.6055 ALLEN ELIZABETHAN THEATRE & THOMAS THEATRE 15 S. Pioneer St. Ashland, OR 97520 800.219.8161 ANGUS BOWMER THEATRE 68 E. Main St. Ashland, OR 97520 541.482.2111 ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL 1037 SW Broadway Portland, OR 97205 503.248.4335 ARTISTS REPERTORY THEATRE [MORRISON STAGE AND ALDER STAGE] 1515 SW Morrison St. Portland, OR 97205 503.241.1278 BODYVOX DANCE CENTER 1201 NW 17th Ave. Portland, OR 97209 503.229.0627 COHO THEATER 2257 NW Raleigh St. Portland, OR 97210 503.220.2646 DEB FENNELL AUDITORIUM 9000 SW Durham Rd. Tigard, OR 97224 503.620.5262

DISJECTA CONTEMPORARY ARTS CENTER 8371 N. Interstate Ave. Portland, OR 97217 503.286.9449 ELLYN BYE STUDIO AT THE ARMORY [SEE GERDING THEATER AT THE ARMORY] FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH 909 SW 11th Ave. Portland, OR 97205 503.228.7465 FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH 1838 SW Jefferson St. Portland, OR 97201 503.228.3195 GERDING THEATER AT THE ARMORY 128 NW 11th Ave. Portland, OR 97209 503.445.3700 GRACE MEMORIAL EPISCOPAL CHURCH 1535 NE 17th Ave. Portland, OR 97232 503.287.0418 THE HAMPTON OPERA CENTER 211 SE Caruthers St. Portland, OR 97214 503.241.1407 THE HEADWATERS THEATRE 55 NE Farragut St. #9 Portland, OR 97211 503.289.3499 HOLY TRINITY CATHEDRAL 3131 NE Glisan St. Portland, OR 97232 503.234.0468 HOTEL DELUXE 729 SW 15th Ave. Portland, OR 97205 503.219.2094

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HULT CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTS (BACH FESTIVAL) 1 Eugene Center Eugene, OR 97401 541.682.5000 IMAGO THEATRE 17 SE 8th Ave. Portland, OR 97214 503.231.9581 JEFFERSON HIGH SCHOOL 5210 N. Kirby Ave. Portland, OR 97217 503.916.5180 KAUL AUDITORIUM [AT REED COLLEGE] 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd.

Portland, OR 97202 503.777.7522 KELL’S IRISH PUB (PORTLAND REVELS) 112 SW 2nd Ave. Portland, OR 97204 503.227.4057 KELLER AUDITORIUM 222 SW Clay St. Portland, OR 97201 503.248.4335 LAKEWOOD CENTER FOR THE ARTS [HEADLEE MAIN STAGE AND SIDE DOOR STAGE] 368 S. State St. Lake Oswego, OR 97034 503.635.3901 LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGE 0615 SW Palatine Hill Rd. Portland, OR 97219 LINCOLN CITY CULTURAL CENTER 540 NE Highway 101 Lincoln City, OR 97367 503.994.9994

LINCOLN PERFORMANCE HALL [AT PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY] 1620 SW Park Ave. Portland, OR 97201 503.725.4612 MILAGRO THEATRE 425 SE 6th Ave. Portland, OR 97214 503.236.7253 MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS 3939 N. Mississippi Ave. Portland, OR 97227 503.288.3895 MT. HOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE 26000 SE Stark St. Gresham, OR 97030 503.491.6422 MULTNOMAH ATHLETIC CLUB (PSG CHOIR) 1849 SW Salmon St. Portland, OR 97205 503.223.6251 NEWMARK THEATRE [SEE PORTLAND’5] NEW STAGE AT BROADWAY ROSE 12850 SW Grant Ave. Tigard, OR 97223 503.620.5262 NORDIA HOUSE 8800 SW Oleson Rd. Portland, OR 97223 503.977.0275 NORTHWEST CHILDREN’S THEATER 1819 NW Everett St. Portland, OR 97209 503.222.2190 THE OLD CHURCH 1422 SW 11th Ave. Portland, OR 97201 503.222.2031

PARKROSE HIGH SCHOOL 12003 NE Shaver St. Portland, OR 97220 503.408.2600 PCNA 511 NW Broadway Portland, OR 97209 503.226.4391 THE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, PCC, SYLVANIA 12000 SW 49th Ave. Portland, OR 97219 971.722.6111 PERFORMANCE WORKS 4625 SE 67th Ave. Portland, OR 97206 503.777.1907 PICA (BOOM ARTS) 415 SW 10th Ave., #300 Portland, OR 97205 503.242.1419 PLANETARIUM AT OMSI 1945 SE Water Ave. Portland, OR 97214 503.797.4000 PORTLAND ART MUSEUM 1219 SW Park Ave. Portland, OR 97205 503.226.2811 PORTLAND’5 CENTER FOR THE ARTS 1111 SW Broadway Portland, OR 97205 503.248.4335 THE PORTLAND BALLET STUDIO THEATRE 6250 SW Capitol Hwy. Portland, OR 97239 503.452.8448 PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE 602 NE Prescott St. Portland, OR 97211 503.488.5822

PORTLAND RACQUET CLUB (PSG CHOIR) 1853 SW Highland Rd. Portland, OR 97221 502.223.5460

THOMAS THEATRE [SEE ALLEN ELIZABETHAN THEATRE]

REED COLLEGE PERFORMING ARTS BUILDING 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd.

Portland, OR 97202 503.771.1112 REVOLUTION HALL 1300 SE Stark St. #110 Portland, OR 97214 503.288.3895

ST. HENRY CATHOLIC CHURCH 346 NW First St. Gresham, OR 97030 503.665.9129

ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL 1716 NW Davis St. Portland, OR 97209 503.228.4397 ST. PHILIP NERI CHURCH 2408 SE 16th Ave. Portland, OR 92714 503.231.4955 ST. STEPHEN CATHOLIC CHURCH 1112 SE 41st Ave. Portland, OR 97214 503.234.5019 STUDIO 2 AT N.E.W 810 SE Belmont St. Portland, OR 97214 503.928.4223

THE TOM HUGHES CIVIC CENTER PLAZA 150 E. Main St. Hillsboro, OR 97124 THE VAULT 350 E. Main St. Hillsboro, OR 97123 503.693.3953

ST. ANDREW CATHOLIC CHURCH 806 NE Alberta St. Portland, OR 97211 503.281.4429

ST. MARY’S ACADEMY 1615 SW 5th Ave. Portland, OR 97201 503.228.8306

TRINITY EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL 147 NW 19th Ave. Portland, OR 97209 503.222.9811

UNA GALLERY 328 NW Broadway Portland, OR 97209 858.610.4269 WALTERS CULTURAL ARTS CENTER 527 E. Main St. Hillsboro, OR 97123 503.615.3485 WHITSELL AUDITORIUM [INSIDE PORTLAND ART MUSEUM] 1219 SW Park Ave. Portland, OR 97367 503.221.1156 WIEDEN+KENNEDY (PSU CHAMBER CHOIR) 224 NW 13th Ave. Portland, OR 97209 503.937.7000 WINNINGSTAD THEATRE [SEE PORTLAND’5] ZION LUTHERAN CHURCH 1015 SW 18th Ave. Portland, OR 97205 503.221.1343

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P H OTOS BY M EG N A N N A .

NO ONE’S HE ART HAS BE AT STRONGER FOR THE ARTS THAN HOWIE BIERBAUM, WHO HAS COMMIT TED MORE THAN THREE DEC ADES TO MANAGING AND PRODUCING ARTS GROUPS AND E VENTS ALL OVER PORTL AND.

HOWIE BIERBAUM? Introducing the most omnipresent and diligent f igure in the Portland arts scene of the last couple decades: Mr. Bierbaum, or as ever yone knows him, Howie.

HOWIE CAME TO PORTLAND IN 1981 at the height of the Reagan recession (his Comprehensive Employment and Training Act job in Eugene was cut, so he moved to the big city). He landed a job as a dishwasher at Victoria's Nephew Cafe on SW 2nd and Stark. It was co-owned by William Jamison, who also had Howie work in his Folk Craft Gallery on Saturdays.

He eventually got fi red from both jobs when he took a vacation to the East Coast and kept extending it (Who could leave Provincetown in September?).

Howie then started a line of postcards that he sold locally and then nationally, and he and a friend created a line of novelty earrings called Ear Thangs that also sold well. The cost of living was so cheap in Portland at that time that these funky art projects (plus some freelance graphic design and theater work) kept him afloat for four years. As AIDS started taking its toll in Portland and the “ far right and religious zealots” were gaining prominence, he co-created KBOO's notorious gay comedy show, Queersville in 1985 under the alias Howie Baggadonutz. The show had a strong following and ran for two years, until his co-host moved to San Francisco. He then got his fi rst nonprofit arts job as General Manager of Echo Theater and its resident company, Do Jump! Once immersed in theater, he started presenting out of town performers on a regular basis at Echo and even performed on occasion. Howie left Echo Theater in 1989 and went to work for the Portland Area Theatre Alliance, creating Portland's fi rst half-price day of show ticket booth. But he also did side projects, and he ran Queer Night at the old La Luna in SE Portland with Thomas Lauderdale. It was held on Monday nights and was a laid-back dance party.

In 1994, he helped Lauderdale produce a benefit show with the Del Rubio Triplets at Cinema 21. Howie opened the show with his new band, Pink Martini, and had them open for a stand-up comic he was producing a few months later. (He thinks he paid them $200.) Over the next decade, he worked for Do Jump! (again), the Portland Symphonic Choir, and Third Angle New Music, while doing a bunch of volunteer and freelance work before joining forces with Mark Woolley and Chris Monlux to develop the Wonder Ballroom.

After running Wonder for three years (for 65 hours a week), he hit a wall and needed a break. He went to Europe for a couple of weeks to chill out by himself. But soon, Thomas Lauderdale got wind of his leaving Wonder and called and cajoled him into becoming Pink Martini's tour manager and lighting designer, a job he held for over seven years. The gig allowed him to see the world and work in some of the fi nest venues (Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl, among them). But touring became too physically demanding, and he left in 2016. Howie took some time off, and earlier this year, accepted a job with Oregon Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, which donates countless hours of legal help to low-income artists and arts organizations. And, he’s still putting on shows! He’s been lucky to work in the arts all his life, and he’s got to say: Portland’s been very good to him.

QU EST IONS FOR HOW I E YEARS SPENT WORKING IN THE ARTS?

Thirty-three. My fi rst show in Portland was as an actor in a show about an inner-city clinic. We performed at a gay leather bar called JR's (which had a notorious basement), where the Life of Riley bar is now located.”

NUMBER OF NON-PROFIT ARTS ORGANIZATIONS YOU’VE WORKED WITH?

Five as an Executive Director and eight as a freelancer. Plus, as Howie Baggadonutz, I've presented and worked with over 75 performers, including Eve Ensler (in one of the fi rst incarnations of her Vagina Monologues) and Seattle's insane and surreal Dina Martina.

LARGEST NUMBER OF GIGS JUGGLED AT ONCE?

Probably right now! I'm working 25 hours a week as Executive Director of Oregon Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, and I have four artists I'm starting to work with for upcoming shows, including playwright/actress Danna Schaeffer and singers Storm Large, Holcombe Waller, and Ari Shapiro.

LONGEST ARTS GIG?

A tie: Portland Symphonic Choir and Pink Martini (seven-plus years each).

I also worked on Obo Addy's annual Homowo Festival for 11 years.

FAVORITE ARTS GIG?

Co-developing and managing Wonder Ballroom. It was a huge undertaking, and it allowed me to use all the tools in my arsenal, while learning a whole bunch of new skills. I loved that we saved a historic building and got it on the National Register of Historic Places.

MOST HUMBLING GIG?

Producing An Evening with Quentin Crisp in 1997. He was very old and frail, but still wildly opinionated (He trash talked Princess Diana months after her death!) and a legendary profi le in courage. He had quite a crush on Kevin Spacey, too!

MOST CHALLENGING GIG?

Twice having people dear to me die while I was in the middle of a Pink Martini tour and not leaving. The show must go on, right?

THE BIGGEST BARRIER TO THE ARTS IN PORTLAND?

The audience is certainly there but the costs are going up, and there's simply not enough support from foundations, corporations, and philanthropists compared to Seattle and San Francisco.

HOPE TO SEE MORE OF IN THE FUTURE OF THE ARTS?

More quality! When I came to Portland in the early ‘80s, it was easy to work part time, do your thing and (as corny as it sounds) “put on a show!” The results were always mixed but you could charge $5 so it didn't matter. That changed in the late ‘90s. When Portland started getting popular, costs escalated and spaces started disappearing. Now, the shows are still mixed but the tickets aren't cheap! .

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