Artslandia at the Performance March / April 2016

MARCH | APRIL 2016 · VOL. 2 ISSUE 4 · THE WOMEN’S ISSUE

AT THE PERFORMANCE

FEATURE

NW DANCE PROJECT levels up in New York THE LEAD

SUSAN BANYAS & GREGG BIELEMEIER PLUS!

Shen Yun + Broadway Rose show us their dream coats FROM THE DESK OF

ROSE RIORDAN

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The Women’s Issue

MARCH APRIL 2016

Welcome to Artslandia at the Performance—a city playbill and performing arts magazine.

ENJOY THE SHOW.

I N THIS ISSUE 12

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Ben Franklin had plenty of theories about education, but you may be surprised by his highest-priority subject: drawing! Take the Founding Father’s advice and invest in the arts.

Artslandia visits PCS Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan in her office at the Armory, where she shows off mementos from previous plays and talks shop.

FROM THE EDITOR-AT-LARGE

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CELESTIAL CHINESE COSTUMES

Shen Yun Performing Arts demystifies their attire, a fanciful blend of the clothing from many distinct Chinese traditions.

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THE LEAD: BANYAS + BIELEMEIER

In a departure from form, OBT’s Beautiful Decay invites two veteran contemporary dancers to share the spotlight.

Dance critic Martha Ullman West introduces us.

FROM THE DESK OF: ROSE RIORDAN

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ELEVATING THE PLATFORM

Out & About From the Editor-at-Large The Lead From The Desk Of

ARTSL ANDIA .COM

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Northwest Dance Project’s Sarah Slipper calls in from the road to gush about the opportunity of a lifetime: American Dance Platform at The Joyce!

LAST LAUGH: CRAIG ROBINSON

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When “Darryl from The Office” goes out on the road, he brings his synthesizer and a confident alter ego.

We prefunk for his Helium show.

OUT THERE: TRIPLE DIP

When three small contemporary dance companies face off with three independent musicians in a bar, anything could happen. Curator choreographer Kate Rafter calls “dibs” on the pool table.

R EGU L A R F E AT U R E S 8 12 18 24

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28 Crossword Puzzle 38 Fun Facts 42 The Last Laugh

30 PAST PERFORMANCES: BROADWAY ROSE Twenty-five years ago, a Technicolor Dreamcoat brought a couple of actors together to found Broadway Rose Theatre Company.

Think you have arts smarts? Test your knowledge in our

CROSSWORD PUZZLE!

ON THE COVER: NW Dance Project dancers and Princess Grace Award winners Ching Ching Wong and Viktor Usov in Ihsan Rustem’s Yidam. Photo by Blaine Truitt Covert.

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

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AT TH E P E R FO R M A N C E

PUBLISHER + FOUNDER Misty Tompoles EDITOR-AT-L ARGE Barry Johnson ASSOCIATE EDITOR A.L. Adams OPERATIONS Nina Chomak COPY EDITOR Kristen Seidman

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CORRECTIONS + CLARIFICATIONS

Whatever you cherish most about Jewish life…learning, community, worship, caring for those in need or social justice, by leaving a legacy you ensure that the things you value are sustained for future generations.

In Portland Playhouse’s You For Me For You, the main characters are North Korean. (Calendar, January/February)

Artslandia at the Performance is published by Rampant Creative, Inc. ©2015 Rampant Creative, Inc.

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A R T S L A N D I A .C O M

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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

contributors MADDIE ETTINGER is a senior at Northwest Academy. She has created black and white, digital, and mixed media photography for five years. She enjoys visiting Portland landmarks like the Pittock Mansion.

BARRY JOHNSON, editor of Oregon ArtsWatch, has been an arts writer and editor since 1978, when he started writing about dance for The Seattle Sun. He edited the arts section of Willamette Week in the early 1980s and started at The Oregonian as arts editor in 1983, moving between editing and writing until leaving in 2009.

He’s the founder and editor of culture critique website Oregon ArtsWatch, and he serves as Artslandia’s Editor-at-Large.

CAROLYN MAIN is an illustrator and Portland native with a penchant for the absurd. She utilizes wild lines and color to depict the humor in everyday life. She’s currently writing a graphic novel and designing too many video games, along with one great card game. She’s also way into singing Billy Joel songs and wearing jumpsuits.

Dance writer MARTHA ULLMAN WEST began her checkered career as an arts writer in New York in 1960. She has been covering dance in Portland and elsewhere since 1979 for many publications, including The Oregonian, Ballet Review, The New York Times, and Dance Magazine, where she is a senior advisory editor. She’s a past co-chair of the Dance Critics Association, from which she received the Senior Critics Award in 2011, and is under contract to the University Press of Florida for a book titled Making Ballet American: Todd Bolender and Janet Reed.

CAITLIN WEBB moved to Portland from Georgia to immerse herself in music and art. She photographs bands for Eleven, NextNW.com, and Jambase.com. One of her images graces the cover of Phosphorescent’s most recent live album, Live at the Music Hall. Between gigs, she enhances her fashion editorial portfolio and shoots mysterious-looking models in uncanny locations like Hippo Hardware.

SW 6th between Oak & Pine hours MON–FRI 11:30am–Midnight SAT & SUN 5:00pm–Midnight reservation 503.688.5952 littlebirdbistro.com 215 SW 6TH AVE. PORTLAND, OR 97204

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

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SILENT SKY

DANCE

THEATER

U.S. BANK BROADWAY IN PORTLAND

After making vital discoveries about luminosity and stars, late 1800s scientist Henrietta Swan Leavitt battled her way into the male-dominated field of astronomy. This play honors her work.

When young Dorothy dreams of leaving Kansas and going “over the rainbow,” she has no idea how far—and into what splendor and danger—that dream will take her.

But we do.

THROUGH MARCH 19; OREGON CONTEMPORARY THEATRE

MARCH 8–13; KELLER AUDITORIUM

FOREVER

WE ARE PROUD TO PRESENT...

Monologist Dael Orlandersmith visits the graves of legendary artists who inspired her as a kid in Harlem. As she investigates a fraught maternal relationship, her anger is tangible; so is the message that art helps us overcome adversity.

THROUGH MARCH 20; ELLYN BYE STUDIO, GERDING THEATER AT THE ARMORY

EACH AND EVERY THING

PORTLAND CENTER STAGE

Solo actor Dan Hoyle grapples with our unmet needs for community in this digital age, bringing us along in his world travels by impersonating real-life characters he met in a small Nebraska town, a California Digital Detox retreat, and even Calcutta.

ARTISTS REPERTORY THEATRE

MARCH 8–APRIL 3; MORRISON STAGE, ARTISTS REPERTORY THEATRE

KYLE ABRAHAM/ ABRAHAM.IN.MOTION

WHITE BIRD

THROUGH MARCH 27; ELLYN BYE STUDIO, GERDING THEATER AT THE ARMORY

STUPID F#*@KING BIRD

MARCH 10–12; NEWMARK THEATRE

PORTLAND CENTER STAGE

THROUGH MARCH 27; U.S. BANK MAIN STAGE, GERDING THEATER AT THE ARMORY

BAD KITTY: ON STAGE

OREGON CHILDREN’S THEATRE

You might have more in common with this cat than you think!

When a new baby and a new dog encroach on Kitty’s territory, Kitty feels unjustly edged out and needs a plan. A new dog might not upset us, but we’ve surely all felt jealous or unsure of our place at some point or other.

THROUGH MARCH 27; WINNINGSTAD THEATRE

FAMILY SHOW

We’ll let the work’s full-length title speak for itself: “We Are Proud To Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as South West Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884–1915.”

Offsetting traditional costume (full skirts, dress trousers) and classic movement (lifts and spins) with the incumbent fits and starts and near-misses of modern choreography, MacArthur Fellow Kyle Abraham interprets the African-American struggle throughout history.

Riffing off Chekhov’s The Seagull, an aspiring director rebels against art from previous generations and a younger woman vies with an older woman for attention. The original play is from 1895, but we still confront its main dilemmas, namely the small group power struggle and the threat of infidelity.

ONE NIGHT ONLY!

THE WIZARD OF OZ

OREGON CONTEMPORARY THEATRE

PORTLAND CENTER STAGE

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MUSIC

Photo by Mayer/Reed. Courtesy of Third Angle New Music.

OUT & ABOUT

HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL

TRIANGLE PRODUCTIONS! & STAGED!

Oh my god! The Valley girl murder comedy starring Winona Ryder may be “so 1989,” but the musical version is a Northwest premiere! Revisit Westerberg High and watch its uniformlynamed cool kids fight for their lives.

RADIO HAPPENINGS: CAGE AND FELDMAN IN CONVERSATION, IN WORDS AND MUSIC THIRD ANGLE NEW MUSIC

Influential composers Morton Feldman and John Cage had plenty to say about music. Third Angle accompanies audio of their talk with music from their catalogs.

MARCH 10–11; STUDIO2@ZOOMTOPIA

COPLAND’S QUIET CITY

OREGON SYMPHONY

Aaron Copland, better known for big sky western sounds, reveals a more contemplative mood in his 1939 composition for an Irwin Shaw film. Paired here with Debussy, Bloch, and Bartók.

MARCH 12–14; ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

FIRE & BLOOD

MARCH 10–APRIL 2; THE SANCTUARY AT SANDY PLAZA

PORTLAND COLUMBIA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

CHICAGO

From clashing swords to flattening masa, the figures in Diego Rivera’s murals embody labor and sacrifice. Michael Daugherty’s Fire & Blood translates that spirit into music, and violinist Ida Kavafian brings that music to life.

METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY THEATRE PROJECT

Hot on the heels of the PDX Jazz Festival comes the musical with “all that jazz”...plus some razzledazzle murder and sultry sexual manipulation. Isn’t it grand?

Isn’t it swell?

MARCH 11–27; BRUNISH THEATRE

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

MARCH 18 & 20; FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH AND MT. HOOD COMMUNITY COLLEGE

THE NORTHWEST BOYCHOIR

CAPPELLA ROMANA

The clear, unwavering tones and heady highs you hear from a choir of very young voices are ideally suited to early music. This program features Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater and Fauré’s Requiem.

MARCH 18; TRINITY EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL

THE FEW

COHO PRODUCTIONS

This long-haul trucker drama returns from a journey. Penned

by Idaho-born MacArthur Fellow Samuel D. Hunter and workshopped at PCS’s JAW 2012, the show was produced in San Diego and New York before heading back this way.

MARCH 25–APRIL 16; COHO THEATER

VIETGONE, ROE

GALLERY GUIDE SPONSORED BY THE PORTL AND ART MUSEUM

2016 Contemporary Northwest Art Awards Through May 8 | Portland Art Museum

By the time you read this, we’ll know which of the eight featured artists of this biennial has been honored with the $10,000 Arlene Schnitzer Prize—but don’t let that color your appreciation for all of these trailblazing talents: millennial minimalist Victoria Haven, Inversion +/- masterminds Lead Pencil Studio, organically-inspired installationist Dana Lynn Louis, Irish landscape abstractionist Helen O’Toole, sociopolitical ceramicist Akio Takamori, pop culturecapturing photographer Willem Volkersz, and blackand-white figurative identity-explorer Samantha Wall. (portlandartmuseum.org; 1219 SW Park Ave.)

Holly Andres: The Fallen Fawn March 30–May 28 | Charles A. Hartman Fine Art

This Portland-based photographer’s lush, cinematic imagery focuses on women and girls, transforming the artist’s family memories and childhood capers into richly symbolic lore. In her latest series, The Fallen Fawn, Andres continues to re-mystify adolescence with the story of a lost-and-found suitcase and an imperiled deer. (hartmanfineart.net; 134 NW 8th Ave.)

Variable States: Prints Now

STUMPTOWN STAGES

In their continued reach beyond the Bard, OSF open two plays this spring: Vietgone is a comedy about Vietnamese refugees in 1970s America, and Roe revisits the controversial Roe v. Wade Supreme Court case.

In this Washington Heights-based musical, Dominican American bodega owner Usnavi narrates a story about a winning lottery ticket, a timid love interest, an ailing abuela, and other neighborhood flavor.

VIETGONE OPENS MARCH 30; ROE APRIL 20. BOTH THROUGH OCT. 29; THOMAS THEATRE AND ANGUS BOWMER THEATRE

THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE

OREGON CHILDREN’S THEATRE

Edward Tulane is a haughty stuffed rabbit, ripe for a few life lessons. After a fantastic 20-year journey that shows him the world’s highs and lows, he comes out the other side a kinder, humbler bunny.

APRIL 2–17; WINNINGSTAD THEATRE

THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE

PORTLAND CENTER STAGE

Lisa Jura was a young Jewish musician whose dreams of playing on stage were interrupted by the Nazi regime. Now, her daughter Mona Golabek relives her struggle while playing pieces by Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, and Rachmaninoff.

APRIL 2–MAY 1; U.S. BANK MAIN STAGE, GERDING THEATER AT THE ARMORY

PEARL DIVE PROJECT

BODYVOX

The boundlessly creative and performance-focused dance company kicks down one more door—the division of disciplines in the arts—selecting eight great artists who are not dancers to choreograph new works.

APRIL 7–23; BODYVOX DANCE CENTER

BLUE DOOR

March 3–April 9 | Upfor Gallery

PROFILE THEATRE

Don’t write off printmaking as a “retro” technology; it’s evolving with the times. In this group show, a variety of artists ply the dynamic relationship between traditional printmaking and emerging technologies to see where each platform offers the other a way to expand. Artists include Janet Ballweg, Blake Carrington, Edwige Charlot, Brenna Murphy, Alyson Provax, Paul Soulellis, Krista Svalbonas, and Sang-Mi Yoo. (upforgallery.com; 929 NW Flanders St.)

Portland native playwright Tanya Barfield, Profile’s 2016 playwright, shows us an African-American mathematician’s haunting visions as he struggles with history and identity during a sleepless night. Victor Mack stars.

George Johanson

OREGON BALLET THEATRE

March 3–April 2 | Augen Gallery

Crowds, beaches, and faraway horizons are recurring themes in the figurative impressionist paintings of Augen artist George Johnanson. A slightly psychedelic palette seems to radiate a heat map off of some of the figures, giving viewers the sense that perhaps we can see things that others can’t. (augengallery.com; 716 NW Davis St.) ABOVE: Victoria Haven, Jump Cuts, 2014, Ink on Bristol vellum,

vinyl text on wall, 67×222 inches.

IN THE HEIGHTS

OREGON SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

APRIL 7–24; ALDER STAGE, ARTISTS REP

BEAUTIFUL DECAY

Contemp-dance legends Susan Banyas and Gregg Bielemeier will, as guest artists, delicately broach the bittersweet themes of living and aging. Electronic musician Max Richter provides the score, an epic remix of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

(Read more about Banyas and Bielemeier in The Lead, pg. 18) APRIL 14–23; NEWMARK THEATRE

APRIL 14–MAY 1; BRUNISH THEATRE

CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES

BROADWAY ROSE THEATRE COMPANY

While these Lutheran ladies cook, they also dish! Inspired by the book Growing Up Lutheran, this musical lovingly ribs religious characters.

APRIL 14–MAY 15; BROADWAY ROSE NEW STAGE

BLACKBERRY WINTER

OREGON CONTEMPORARY THEATRE

When Vivienne’s tidily arranged life is upended by her mother’s descent into Alzheimer’s disease, she turns to late-night baking and her mother’s childlike “creation myth” for levity and perspective.

APRIL 15–MAY 7; OREGON CONTEMPORARY THEATRE

SNOW WHITE

NW CHILDREN’S THEATER

NWCT’s production has an animeinspired twist, but beyond that, you know the story: a beautiful princess, an evil witch, seven dwarves, and a poison apple have plenty to teach about jealousy, beauty, friendship, and the quest for true love.

APRIL 23–MAY 22; NW CHILDREN’S THEATER

LOUDER THAN WORDS

NORTHWEST DANCE PROJECT

Fresh from a glowing reception at New York’s Joyce Theater, NWDP premieres a new work from resident choreographer, Ihsan Rustem.

(Read more about NWDP’s show at The Joyce, pg. 20) MARCH 17–19; NEWMARK THEATRE

PETER AND THE STARCATCHER

PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE

In this Peter Pan prequel, a dozen actors portray over a hundred characters—mermaids and pirates among them—to bring context to the beginnings of “the boy who never grew up.” Isaac Lamb stars.

APRIL 27–MAY 29; PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE

INTO THE BEAUTIFUL NORTH

MILAGRO

Karen Zacarías’ take on of the film The Magnificent Seven takes place on the Mexico-U.S. border, thematic terrain that Portland’s most prominent bilingual theater company treads deftly.

APRIL 28–MAY 28; MILAGRO THEATRE

PAY YOUR ARTS TAX!

Drawing Lessons from Ben Franklin Pay your Arts Tax! BY BARRY JOHNSON.

OF THE FOUNDING FATHERS, MY FAVORITE HAS ALWAYS BEEN BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,

CONTEMPORARY NATIVE PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THE EDWARD CURTIS LEGACY Zig Jackson Wendy Red Star Will Wilson

FEB 6 – MAY 8

portlandartmuseum.org Edward Sheriff Curtis (American, 1868–1952), Crater Lake, 1923, plate 463, from the portfolio The North American Indian, volume 13, photogravure, gift of Henrietta E. Failing

maybe because he’s so much more than a “Founding Father.” He was also a bestselling author, a diplomat, an inventor (bifocals!), a postmaster, a scientist, and a political activist...among other things.

Biographer Walter Isaacson called him “the most accomplished American of his age and the most influential in inventing the type of society America would become.” His influence wasn’t just political; he helped create the culture we live in, even today.

So on his birthday, January 17, I clicked the link on a celebratory Twitter post. It led me to a Franklin document in the University of Pennsylvania’s archives—in fact, the university’s founding document: Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pensilvania.

Franklin begins by sharing some thoughts about the importance of education, specifically an “American” education, and moves on to practical considerations—where an American academy should be located and the importance of a library, a good teacher, a healthy diet, and lots of exercise for the students. Then he sets out a course of study.

The first entry? Before mathematics, English, writing, and even history? This is how Franklin begins the section: “All should be taught to write a fair Hand, and swift, as that is useful to All. And with it may be learnt something of Drawing, by Imitation of Prints, and some of the first

Principles of Perspective.”

In his footnotes, he explains a bit more, emphatically capitalizing his words to drive home the point: “Drawing is a kind of Universal Language, understood by all Nations. A Man may often express his Ideas, even to his own Countrymen, more clearly with a Lead Pencil, or Bit of Chalk, than with his Tongue. And many can understand a Figure, that do not comprehend a Description in Words... All Boys have an early Inclination to this Improvement, and begin to make Figures of Animals, Ships, Machines, &c. as soon as they can use a Pen: But for want of a little Instruction at that Time, generally are discouraged, and quit the Pursuit.”

Franklin explains that drawing isn’t a pursuit simply for the wealthy, either: “Drawing is no less useful to a Mechanic than to a Gentleman. Several Handicrafts seem to require it; as the Carpenter’s, Shipwright’s, Engraver’s, Painter’s, Carver’s, Cabinet-maker’s, Gardiner’s, and other Businesses. By a little Skill of this kind, the Workman may perfect his own Idea of the Thing to be done, before he begins to work; and show a Draft for the Encouragement and Satisfaction of his Employer.”

Drawing was at the center of the Italian Renaissance, especially in Florence. Here’s art historian Ingrid D. Rowland on how widespread the practice was there: “Goldsmiths drew, embroiderers drew, architects drew, and thanks to a solid background in drawing, a master in one medium could become a master in another.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE 39

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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

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Flowerpot shoes from the Manchurian tradition.

FEATURE

Traditional Miao clothing

ELEGANCE in the MIDDLE-KINGDOM Shen Yun Performing Arts Demystifies Classical Chinese Costumes.

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The cheongsam or Mandarin gown—high collar, narrow waist, and slit skirt.

Since ancient times, China’s been known as the “Celestial Empire.” This grand title refers not only to China’s strength and position as East Asia’s Middle Kingdom, it also describes a land where the divine and mortal once coexisted. Many believe that divine beings, through various dynasties, transmitted a rich and abundant culture to the Chinese people. Because of this, they consider Chinese culture to be “divinely inspired.” It’s also the only culture in the world to have a continuous recorded history of 5,000 years, containing countless literary classics, documents, cultural relics, and national records reflecting an immense scope. Just as the word “celestial” conjures a sky full of sparkling stars, the Celestial Empire holds a vast array of splendor.

must be loyal, honest, and kind. In the fashion scene in ancient China, the saying goes, “to show outward beauty, one must first cultivate inner beauty.”

Shen Yun Performing Arts works to revive classical Chinese dance and culture. There were over 51 distinct ethnicities in ancient China, each with their own customs and dress. Each dynasty in China’s long history also developed a unique style of dress and expression. Throughout China’s history, a common thread could be found: Everyone, from scholars, to farmers, to blacksmiths, to kings, values the idea of cultivation or perfecting one’s character. They agree that one

MANCHURIAN: MANDARIN GOWNS + FLOWERPOT SHOES

Each Shen Yun performance has over 1,000 costumes, and painstaking research goes into every single dress. Often, if the Shen Yun design team doesn’t have the right color for a fabric, they even dye it themselves! Here’s a guide to just some of the historical Chinese styles you’ll see dancers wearing on stage in Shen Yun shows.

The TANG DYNASTY was considered the golden age in China’s fashion and the arts.

Long, flowing sleeves are the distinguishing feature of cheerful and elegant Tang dresses.

Around the world, one of the garments most often associated with Chinese dress is the qipao. Also called the cheongsam or Mandarin gown, it has a high collar, a narrow waist, and a slit skirt. The ubiquitous qipao is not a Han Chinese invention—it’s the traditional apparel of the Manchurian people, who ruled China during its last dynasty, the Qing.

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

Manchu ladies were known for wearing “flowerpot shoes,” also called “horse hoof shoes,” with four-inch-high raised soles in the center. The base of the shoe was made of wood wrapped in white cloth. Flowerpot shoes made the ladies appear taller and more slender, but also meant that they had to take small, gingerly steps to maintain good posture and balance. These small steps gave the Manchu ladies of the Qing dynasty palace a noble, graceful gait that matched their elegant fashion.

MIAO/HMONG: CLOSE-FITTING BLOUSES + FULL SKIRTS With hundreds of styles in a range of brilliant colors, Miao ethnic clothing is a gem of traditional Chinese fashion.

The Miao ethnicity, including the related sub-group of Hmong, dates back to the Qin dynasty that ruled around the third century B.C. Miao ladies dress in gorgeous, lavish colors with strong contrasts and intense hues.

Red, black, white, yellow, and blue are favorites. Various types of embroidered designs are matched with numerous dazzling head ornaments, necklaces, and neckbands. Bracelets and other silver accessories complete the Miao

Cheerful and elegant Tang dresses.

outfit. Details of the outfit vary according to the wearer’s age and region of origin.

A typical Hmong outfit is a blouse with a wide collar and narrow sleeves worn over a pleated skirt with—believe it or not—30 to 40 layers, so a Miao woman’s full dress often weighs many pounds! Each skirt is decorated with bright brocades, detailed embroidery, and fine cross-stitch work. All skirts undergo batik dyeing, where textile artists melt wax into cloth to produce designs, often drawing pictures of plants and animals.

MONGOLIAN: LAYERS FOR HORSE-RIDING AND WARMTH

See Shen Yun perform music and dance, in all their Chinese-costumed splendor, at the Keller Auditorium April 12–14.

B A L L E T

T H E A T R E

Apr. 14 - 23, 2016 Newmark Theatre

P R E S E N T S

Avery Reiners. Photo by Tatiana Wills.

Pragmatic and frequent travelers, Mongolians have adapted their attire to the harsh weather of the high plateau. As nomadic horse riders, Mongolians wear clothing that reflects their love of the grasslands, while also protecting them from the elements. Snug hats and sleeveless padded jackets, called khaantaz, are essential. Pants are tucked into sturdy leather boots with upturned toes to retain warmth. Both genders wear wide, calf-length gowns with buttons down their right sides, called del. These robes feature long, wide sleeves and high collars, providing perfect protection in cold weather. A matching belt around the waist serves both form and function—the wearer looks stylish while gaining valuable back support during long horse rides. Inlaid decorations are commonly found in the hems, sleeve openings, and collars.

When it comes to color choices, Mongolian men prefer blue and brown, while women typically choose a wider palette of red, pink, green, and sky blue. Perhaps reflective of an outgoing temperament, Mongolian women often choose colors that are bright and bold. .

O R E G O N

Nicolo Fonte | Antonio Vivaldi, Max Richter, Olafur Arnalds With Special Guest Artists Susan Banyas and Gregg Bielemeier

Don’t miss the company premiere of Nicolo Fonte’s Beautiful Decay juxtaposing the fragility of age with the daring athleticism of youth.

SUPPORTED IN PART BY

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

15

THE

MaGIC FLUTE May 6, 8m, 12 & 14

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Orchestrations by

Based on the original Broadway production directed by

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Susan Banyas

THE LE AD

This time, longtime Portland dance theater artist, teacher, and director SUSAN BANYAS isn’t in charge. Nicolo Fonte, the creator of Beautiful Decay, keeps a firm and steady hand on his choreography and how the dancers perform it, always. Banyas and fellow featured dancer Gregg Bielemeier will do some, but not much, improvising in the ballet, inspired

by Mark Golebiowski’s 3-D photographs of flowers not in their first bloom.

BY MARTHA ULLMAN WEST

REPRESENTING TIME

I think the beautiful thing Fonte does is make you feel where you are before you move on, acknowledging the viability of going forward and what that looks like. It’s pretty bold to stage one section with two improvisers, each with an ensemble behind them echoing the movement in a big time and space sequence that gets invented in the moment.

FAVORITE CHOREOGRAPHERS

Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, physical actors who are imaginative with their bodies. Trisha Brown and Meredith Monk.

OWN WORK

I’m a physical poet; I do movement layered with text. The dance I do is about body intelligence, memory, and current events—be they personal or political or both.

BONA FIDES

Masters degree from San Francisco State Center for Experimental and Interdisciplinary Arts. Directed and wrote many dance theater pieces including The Hillsboro Story and No Strangers Here Today. Frequently collaborates with Bielemeier, Leanne Grabel, and jazz musician David Ornette Cherry.

OFFSTAGE

Offstage is most of my life since I am a dreamer.

Designing my house in Astoria was last year’s big project. Great fun. Writing the book version of Hillsboro Story, which premiered at Artists Repertory Theatre in 2010. It combines movement, monologues, and images, informed by historical research and interviews with key players in a 1954 school integration event I witnessed as a child in my hometown.

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Photo by Caitlin Webb.

Gregg Bielemeier You won’t see him in tights and a doublet, but Oregon-born dancer/ choreographer/teacher GREGG BIELEMEIER is celebrating his 46 years as a contemporary dancer by making his ballet debut with longtime colleague Susan Banyas in choreographer Nicolo Fonte’s life cycle story ballet, Beautiful Decay. It’s a departure from form. He fell asleep when he saw his first and only Nutcracker years ago and satirized ballet in his own works for White Bird and Conduit.

NOT YOUR TRADITIONAL BALLET

Fonte makes the movement for Susan and me really textural, which I love. He combines technical, gestural, and every day movements for our parts. The movement evolves. In the beginning we walk slowly and simply across the stage. In the second half, I actually do classical partnering. It’s a short bit, but I’m dancing with an Oregon Ballet Theatre woman in a classical form.

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

FAVORITE CHOREOGRAPHERS

Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Lily Tomlin, and Danny Kaye

OWN WORK

My earlier work was about architecture and sculpture. I was an art major at PSU. My dad was a carpenter. It was very abstract in the first 10 years. Then I definitely shifted into personal character, humor. You need both drama and comedy, each makes the other stronger.

BONA FIDES

Movement direction at Cygnet Theatre, Rumpus Room Dance, No Strangers Here Today and The Hillsboro Story, both by Banyas. Many choreography commissions, including: Tere Mathern Dance, BodyVox, skinner/kirk DANCE ENSEMBLE, Paufve | dance. Work presented at Seattle’s On the Boards, the Netherlands International Dance Festival, PSU’s contemporary dance season, White Bird, twice.

OFFSTAGE

Teaching, watching comedies and documentaries.

WORKING ON

Recovering range of motion and flexibility post hip replacement surgery. .

FEATURE Back, from left: Andrea Parson, Elijah Labay, Samantha Campbell, Viktor Usov, Lindsey McGill, Franco Nieto, Julia Radick, Ching Ching Wong. Front, from left: Walter Jaffe, Sarah Slipper, Paul King

RE: Joyce!

NWDP’s Sarah Slipper celebrates leveling up. BY A.L. ADAMS.

What happens just after your dreams come true? Sometimes, you come down with a cold. When Artslandia caught up with

Northwest Dance Project’s Sarah Slipper in January, days after the company’s debut at New York’s famed theater, The Joyce, she admitted she was “exhausted, with kind of a cold mixed in.” Thankfully, the group had a doctor in their traveling cohort, who was busily helping Slipper mend. Dancing at The Joyce was a new career high for Slipper and NWDP; it’s a serious venue for serious dance, and the company was, according to Slipper, glowingly received. Looking forward to presenting spring program Louder Than Words here in Portland March 17–19, she recounted her New York victory.

What was the nature of this collaboration between NWDP, The Joyce, and White Bird?

Walter Jaffe and Paul King of White Bird Dance approached us in June, or maybe even April, of last year—it’s been in the works for some time. They’d been asked by The Joyce and Martin Wechsler, who they know very well, to put together this program: American Dance Platform. They were curating companies from a range of geographic locations, choosing two companies from the Northwest, two from the West Coast, two from the central U.S., and two from the East Coast—eight companies in all. They approached NWDP to represent the Northwest, sharing a program 20

with Seattle’s Spectrum Dance Theater on Thursday and Saturday. We each performed one work.

Around the same time, the biggest presenter conference in the world, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, was being held, plus another international presenter conference...plus the American Realness and Coil festivals. Every year at this time, New York is descended upon by presenters; the hub is the Hilton hotel, which is full of exhibit booths; every nook and cranny has got stuff going on. It’s been going on for years, and it’s a place where everyone is saying, “Here’s the best in American dance now.” White Bird’s curation of American Dance Platform was their contribution to that conversation. The Joyce is considered the premier dance theater in the country—in the world, even, because it’s in New York. It’s huge for us.

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

What piece did you choose to dance, and why?

We did Ihsan Rustem’s Yidam—which is a really stunning work set to composer Michael Gordon’s Weather—for both shows, Thursday and Saturday. It’s a very theatrical piece, and there’s one point that’s a surprise where the floor starts to raise and becomes like a sculpture. Really beautiful. It’s a full company piece. European presenters want it to go to Europe next year, but Portland saw it first! Ihsan is our resident choreographer, and we premiered Yidam here in Portland last year. He’ll have a new world premiere this spring in Portland. Portland is the first to see everything.

Did everything go as expected?

Amazing. Thursday’s show was so successful; we got a standing ovation. Dance/USA did a

pre-show, and members of the Princess Grace Foundation—who’ve given awards to four of our dancers—were there. They were able to see all four awardees in our company dance in this show. Dancer Ching Ching Wong finally got her award presentation after the show, which was awesome.

These dancers are so experienced. They know their job; they know the work, and they’re so fierce!

They make things that are so physical loook so easy! I kept hearing that.

Then, Saturday’s show was the best I’ve ever seen the company dance! The applause blew the roof off the house! We’d heard after Thursday that there was buzz about the company among presenters, and more presenters came on Saturday and gave amazing feedback. Katie, our company manager, helped us represent, and we now have presenters from Europe bolstering us worldwide. Dancers our company members know from other companies came out to see us, too. I feel so amazingly positive about the response we got! That’s what we want; that’s what we’re doing; we’re sharing our work with the world.

There’s a lot of competition out there, and we’re very grateful to be included on this program and be seen in New York, and have these dancers acknowleged for how good they are. These dancers are so experienced.

They know their job; they know the work, and they’re so fierce! They make things that are so physical look so easy! I kept hearing that. So, on Saturday, I’d say they took it up a notch from Thursday, even.

Any last-minute panics or emergency problem-solving?

No. We’ve been so prepared. The Joyce even told Katie that. We brought Jeff Forbes, our amazing lighting designer; he’s so calm and prepared. I said to [Executive Director] Scott Lewis before we left, “We’re so ready.” Preparation makes everything go so easy.

The takeaway?

I couldn’t have been more proud. This is such a great company. They rocked it. .

NWDP will dance Rustem’s newest world premiere work, Louder Than Words, March 17–19.

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Fine European Styling

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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

up on artslandia.com.

503.636.402 VANDENBURGHJEWELERS.COM 27 A AVENUE, LAKE OSWEGO TUESDAY–FRIDAY 10:00–5:30 SATURDAY 10:00–4:00

10 years in the Gerding Theater at the Armory!

Join us for a year-long celebration during the 2016/17 Season www.pcs.org/tenyears

Chair from Our Town.

(The Our Town set had 46 chairs.)

3,165

1

Number of actors in the smallest cast, The People’s Republic of Portland

Total hours spent on a play, from script to stage

42

TV for hosting Skype auditions

6

Number of commissioned plays that PCS has in the works

FROM THE DESK OF:

Opening night gift from an actor: an owl. “They joked that owls are inscrutable and so am I.”

ROSE RIORDAN

PORTLAND CENTER STAGE ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

“I guess I’ve got a ‘chair’ theme going on,” remarks Riordan of her office, where, indeed, she’s got several miniature chairs displayed as décor.

Other collections include handwritten notes from actors (some quite irreverent) and books she’s received as gifts. Though she reads hundreds of scripts a year, she prefers to keep her lighting low, much like her favorite workplace: the stage.

88

12 Age at which Riordan started directing

BY A.L. ADAMS. PHOTO BY CHRIS PORRAS. 24

22

Number of actors in the largest cast, Our Town

Hours in rehearsal per week

18

Years at PCS

“I don’t like a lot of folderol on play posters.

I like minimal.”

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

“I think most of the work happens outside of rehearsal, and rehearsal is just when you bring it in and try it out. My best ideas come to me when I’m doing other mindless activities—walking my dog or doing my dishes...”

Plays directed to date.

1

Play directed in PCS’s current season

200

Approximate number of plays read per year

JOIN US FOR THE 2016-2017 SEASON!

ASTORIA

By Chris Coleman; Based on the book ASTORIA: John Jacob Astor and Thomas Jefferson’s Lost Pacific Empire, A Story of Wealth, Ambition, and Survival by Peter Stark | On the U.S. Bank Main Stage World Premiere! Chris Coleman adapts the story of a harrowing dual journey — one over land, one by sea — from the best-selling true story

by Peter Stark for the premiere of our new Northwest Stories series.

HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

A musical biography of Ethel Waters

By Alan Menken and Howard Ashman On the U.S. Bank Main Stage

By Larry Parr | In the Ellyn Bye Studio

With a musical score that is part rock n’ roll, part doo-wop and part Motown, Little Shop is the story of the shy and love-struck florist’s assistant Seymour, who finds fame, fortune and a whole lot more when he nurtures a strange little plant with a strong — and scary — thirst.

From a rough and spirit-breaking childhood to being an unwilling teen bride, Ethel Waters became a Vaudeville success, a recording sensation and crossed racial barriers to emerge as a Broadway and Hollywood star.

HOLD THESE TRUTHS

LAUREN WEEDMAN DOESN’T LIVE HERE ANYMORE

By Jeanne Sakata | In the Ellyn Bye Studio As the U.S. joins World War II, Gordon Hirabayashi fights to reconcile his country’s betrayal to forcibly remove and mass incarcerate all people of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast.

THE OREGON TRAIL

By Bekah Brunstetter | On the U.S. Bank Main Stage Jane is an awkward middle-schooler with a crush on a jerk who likes her sister, and has an epic aptitude for the “The Oregon Trail” computer game. But the game has an agenda of its own, maneuvering two Janes - 1848 Jane on the trail and present-day Jane - on a painful path towards self-discovery and independence.

THE SANTALAND DIARIES

By David Sedaris; Adapted for the stage by Joe Mantello In the Ellyn Bye Studio Based on the true chronicles of David Sedaris’ experience as Crumpet the Elf in Macy’s Santaland display, this cult classic riffs on a few of Sedaris’ truly odd encounters with his fellow man during the height of the holiday crunch.

HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN

By Hershey Felder | On the U.S. Bank Main Stage In this tour de force performance by award-winning pianist and performer Hershey Felder, the remarkable story of “America’s Composer” Irving Berlin takes us from the depths of anti-Semitism in Czarist Russia to New York’s Lower East Side — and ultimately throughout America and the world.

By Lauren Weedman | On the U.S. Bank Main Stage World Premiere! The hilarious and versatile Lauren Weedman knows a thing or two about love gone wrong, and she’s ready to sing her heart out about it. (Yes! Lauren sings!)

WILD AND RECKLESS:

A new musical event from Blitzen Trapper On the U.S. Bank Main Stage World Premiere! Fusing the energy of a rock concert with the imaginative possibility of the theater, Portland folk rockers Blitzen Trapper mine their Oregonian roots to create a show that asks: what’s the sound of a life falling through the cracks?

MARY’S WEDDING

By Stephen Massicotte | In the Ellyn Bye Studio The year is 1914 in this award-winning Canadian play, and Mary and Charlie must surrender their fates to the uncertainties of their tumultuous time during the First World War.

CONSTELLATIONS

By Nick Payne | On the U.S. Bank Main Stage This spellbinding, romantic journey delves into the infinite possibilities of a relationship, raising questions about the difference between choice and destiny.

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All titles and artists subject to change.

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BLUE DOOR

By Tanya Barfield Directed by Bobby Bermea APRIL 7, 2016 – APRIL 24, 2016 Tickets at profiletheatre.org | 503.242.0080 26

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

“Once, oh marvelous once, there was a rabbit who found his way home…”

APR 2–APR 24

WINNINGSTAD THEATRE

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Tickets start at just $14 oregon arts commission

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April 27 – May 29 (503) 488 - 5822 | www.portlandplayhouse.org

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

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Think you got ‘em all right?

Find the answers to this crossword puzzle on our website!

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ARTSLANDIA.COM

ACROSS

2. In which opera does a love interest perish in an avalanche?

6. Musical in which you'll hear Pinball Wizard.

7. Number of children that Bach had.

11. The modern name of the country in which The King and I is set.

13. The Planets composer.

15. Cats is based on a book of this.

16. Rodgers and Hammserstein’s last musical together.

18. An audition where an actor reads a script they've never seen before.

19. U.S. state in which Howard Hanson was born.

21. A form of Japanese theater that combines singing, dancing, and acting with lively, elaborate makeup.

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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

DOWN

1. If music be the food of love, .

3. Character punished for burying her brother.

4. Term describing the act of dismantling a set after the closing of a show.

5. The "Prince of Cats" in Romeo and Juliet.

8. Berlioz went to Paris to study this.

9. The number of seats necessary in order to be considered a Broadway theater.

10. Vivaldi's Four Seasons are concertos for this instrument.

12. You'll find Frenchy in this musical.

14. A virtuous character with a tragic flaw.

17. The only American playwright to have won two Tonys, an Oscar, and the Pulitzer Prize.

20.

Boots.

PA S T P E R F O R M A N C E S

BRO A DWAY RO SE T H E AT R E C OM PA N Y BROADWAY ROSE’S DAN MURPHY, FOUNDING GENERAL MANAGER Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat, 1992

[Producing Artistic Director] Sharon and I met in 1984 during a summer stock production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Shamokin Dam, Pennsylvania. She was playing the Narrator, and I was in the chorus. We locked eyes across a crowded room. The rest—as they say—is history. We moved to New York and worked in restaurants and other classic actor side jobs while pursuing acting careers. We were married in 1987, and our daughter Megan was born the following year.

While living in Queens, we found work doing summer stock theater, but in different states. The challenge of raising Megan while living hundreds of miles apart made it painfully clear that something had to change. We shared our dilemma with Matthew Ryan—a Tigard native who was also in Dreamcoat with us—and his partner, set and costume designer Joseph Morkys. The four of us decided to start a summer stock theater in Tigard. We got our nonprofit status in 1991 and later secured the Deb Fennell Auditorium as a space. Because we were so familiar with the show, we decided to open Broadway

Rose in the summer of 1992 with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. That summer, we produced five shows in eight weeks…plus a children’s show!

We were actors first and artistic entrepreneurs second. I think we were able to happily plod along because we didn’t know any better. Ignorance is bliss. We had a beautiful facility and a creative group of people all heading toward the same goal. I think this first show exceeded our expectations simply because we really didn’t know what to expect; we just proceeded with what felt right and hoped for the best.

Financially, I think we expected that we would be more successful than we were. A $3,000 grant from the Metropolitan Arts Commission (a forerunner of the Regional Arts and Culture Council) helped our fledgling company get off the ground.

The biggest thing Sharon and I have probably learned over the years is to give up some control. There were so many years that we did everything ourselves, and we were small enough that we could manage.

Twenty-five seasons later, we’re a much larger company, and we’ve had to learn to let go of things. Even if something isn’t done the way we would have done it, it’s done, and we can move on. The smartest thing we can do is surround ourselves with really talented and passionate people.

The other night, Sharon and I had dinner plans, but we wanted to stop by the theater quickly to say hello to the band who was rehearsing together for the first time. The theater was booming with activity. The band was rehearsing while the set was being painted; people were working in the administrative office, and the sound designer was hanging speakers over the stage. As we pulled out of the parking lot, we realized how far we’ve come, being able to have a date night without feeling guilty.

We’re still the same two people who started the company, and Broadway Rose still retains its approachability, enthusiasm, and passion. That has never wavered over all these years. .

ABOVE: Top, from left: Norb Murray, Robert Belfry. Second row, from left: Elise Gaines, Dani Davis. Long row, from left: Sheryl R. McCallum, Michael Dufault, Anne Marie Fiorella, Michael Griffo, Chris Tomaino, unknown, Jesse Merz, John Heinis, Matthew Ryan, Dan Murphy, Katrina Edwards, D.J. Netz, Michelle Foor, Randy Gifford. Sitting, front center: Eric Christian Smith. Kneeling, far right: John Bussee.

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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

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OUT THERE

All the world's a stage! OUT THERE spotlights offbeat performance styles and surprising or unusual arts happenings.

Obviously, the idea of a dance battle is nothing new. Recently revived by hip-hop’s B-boys, the practice is deep-rooted in most cultures’ folklore, from the competitive Ukrainian squatting dance kazachok to the African Masai warrior jumping contest adumu. In the modern West, “Battles of the Bands” have also become a well-established (if artistically dubious) attraction. But in Portland’s contemporary dance and local band scenes, this six-group slam is likely the first of its kind.

Rafter, whose credits include a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and PICA’s TBA and Fertile Ground Festivals, tends to create intimate works that thrive in an atmosphere of imme-

RAFTER, THE SHOW’S MASTERMIND, RELIED ON THE CLUB’S USUAL BOOKERS TO PULL TOGETHER THE MUSICAL BILL, THEN RECRUITED TWO DANCE GROUPS TO JOIN HERS FOR A THROWDOWN. ORGANIZED CHAOS—PART IMPROV, PART REHEARSED—SHOULD ENSUE.

Kailee McMurran and Lena Traenkenschuh (SubRosa Dance Collective) with Dean Leininger (Grand Arbiter)

Photo by Pat Moran.

3 DANCE GROUPS 3 BANDS WALK INTO A BAR...

BY A.L. ADAMS “I have my eye on the pool table,” says Kate Rafter, as if she’s planning a bar brawl. Close.

A “battle royale” is about to go down at the High Water Mark, and she’s scheming some angles of attack.

On April 23, Rafter’s contemporary dance company, Automal, will face off with two others, SubRosa Dance Collective and WolfBird Dance, for Triple Dip, which also features a three-band bill: “sass-hop” rapper Tig Bitty, ambient electronic act Grand Arbiter, and noise looper Consumer. Rafter, the show’s mastermind, relied on the club’s usual book34

ers to pull together the musical bill, then recruited two dance groups to join hers for a throwdown. Organized chaos—part improv, part rehearsed—should ensue.

The rock show will run like any other: each band loads on, plays a set, and loads off. But the dance groups’ turnover will be more dizzying, as each of the three groups takes a turn during each band’s set. Triple Dip—which started with the working title 3≈3 to refer to the formula of three dance groups times three bands—will yield nine total performances, not including the informal “battle.”

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

diacy—especially when she’s brought along a few unusual props to play with symbolism.

When reached for comment, she was still brainstorming Automal’s weapons of choice for Triple Dip. A stretchy but unsticky goo for which she’s cooked up her own secret recipe?

Nope; already used that. Balls of white light delicately obscured in lacy string? So 2014 (and a bit Maxfield Parrish). Maybe this time she’ll get nastier: “Ketchup,” she considers, “or dildo nunchuks.”

SubRosa’s Jess Evans and WolfBird’s Raven Jones, meanwhile, downplay the “battle royale.”

“A performance of this nature at this kind of a venue is still something of a novelty,” Jones admits, “but we want to nurture the idea of mingling art forms with unusual spaces and heterogeneous audiences so that it becomes a regular practice among makers.”

“We’re all on the same team,” Evans agrees, predicting that the dance groups’ shared hurdles will be “using the atmosphere and constraints of the space,” while opening up to the added dynamics of live music. “The energy is more palpable, the sound more full, the presence of the musicians provides us another entity onstage to play off of and be aware of.” That...and any flying splats of ketchup. .

Triple Dip hits the High Water Mark April 23, 8:00 p.m.

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ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

DRAWING LESSONS, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

So, Rowland notes, Brunelleschi started as a goldsmith and then designed the dome of the Florence Cathedral, and Raphael became as skilled an architect as he was a painter. The Florentine Michelangelo’s advice: “Draw, Antonio; draw, Antonio; draw and don’t waste time.” That last one is one of Franklin’s 13 precepts for living a good life: “Lose no time; be always employ’d in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.”

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I would make practical arguments for the other arts as well, based on studies linking music, say, with higher performance in school, but I know I’m preaching to the choir here, right? I don’t have to make the case for the importance of the arts in education, because a few moments of thought have already led you to the same conclusion, especially in a city increasingly reliant on its creative economy sector.

But I think the argument for the arts is an important preamble to something a little more painful—well, $35 worth of painful: The Arts Tax. It’s due on April 18 and easy to pay online. Just go to portlandoregon. gov/artstax.

Back in 2012, I supported passing the Arts Tax measure—not because it was perfect, but because I thought the city’s school districts had failed their students in the worst possible way by eliminating arts instruction. I also agreed with tax proponents who worried that the culture was in danger of drifting ever more deeply into “arts haves versus arts havenots,” and that everyone deserved access to the accumulated wisdom and delight of the culture. Existing arts organizations seemed a likely vehicle to provide this access, and the tax, they said, would make it financially possible for them to embrace this important task.

Frankly, I would have doubled or tripled the tax to make sure every student could take arts classes, not just the kindergarten through fifth grade kids the tax proposed to serve. But at least the measure started the restoration process.

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I happily pay my 35 bucks, knowing that I’m buying art instruction for kids all over the city.

That’s the best $35 I’ll spend all year. And it includes money for arts organizations to support their outreach efforts. Such a deal.

Now, if I were in charge of the curriculum (That’d be a hoot!), I’d make sure there was lots of drawing involved, simply based on Franklin’s thinking. One change? It wouldn’t just be for “boys.” .

BARRY JOHNSON is the editor of Oregon ArtsWatch and the Editor-at-Large of Artslandia.

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

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Giovanni Alva, Monica Domen, Shen Telles, and Tom Lees Nicole Lane, Enid Rosalyn Spitz, and Laura Sanare

ART Jen Tate and Greg Wright

ABOUT Krista Garver and Sofia May-Cuxim

FERTILE GROUND FESTIVAL KICKOFF PARTY Photos by Madeline Ettinger.

Jane Unger and Chantal DeGroat

Chantal DeGroat, Jasper Howard, Tom Walton, Anya Pearson, Gemma Whelan, and Amanda Sodlen 40

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

Lauren Bloom Hanover and Natalie Genter-Gilmore

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LAST LAUGH THE

ILLUSTRATION BY

CAROLYN MAIN

You’ve probably seen actor CRAIG ROBINSON in TV’s The Office or in comedy films like Hot Tub Time Machine, but have you experienced the deeper cuts, like his role as a Satan figure in Rapture-Palooza or his rap collab with Snoop Dogg? As Robinson croons in some of the lines of that song, “I adore you; I appreciate you.” Back atcha, Buddy. BY A.L. ADAMS.

ARTSLANDIA: Obviously you do a lot of acting; how would you describe the types of roles you take?

CRAIG ROBINSON: When I’m reading a script, I’m looking for the character to make me feel something—make me laugh out loud, or cry, or get mad.

A: Is there a type of role you haven’t played

yet, but think you’d perform great?

CR: There are many roles I haven’t played

yet! And I think I’d be great at all of them.

A: What are your fans like, and what do they tend to come up and say to you? What’s the weirdest thing a fan has ever said?

CR: My fans come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. They couldn’t be happier to see me and

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I them. Many, many people say, “You wanna wear my vest?” Or “I seen’t it!” Or “Hot Tub!” Or “Darryl!”...They all say, “Take Yo Panties Off !” I especially love it when they quote Rapture-Palooza—I know you haven’t seen’t it—or when they quote small things that I wondered if people would catch.

A: Is your stand-up persona different from the characters people are used to seeing you play? If so, how so?

CR: My “stand-up,” or whatever the thing I do is called—I say that because there’s a [piano] keyboard and crowd participation involved—is very different from my on-screen persona, because I’m probably drunk.

A: What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about Portland? Any insights on Portland crowds?

ARTSL ANDIA AT THE PERFORMANCE • MAR | APR 2016

CR: Portland is so friendly, and clean, and 420-friendly. I played there a few years ago, and the shows sold out and were crazy fun even though I had no voice because I was on tour with my band, the Nasty Delicious. That would be my least favorite part of Portland: me not having a voice while I was there. So, I can’t wait to get there and have a ball wit’ y’all with my vocals in full! .

Catch Robinson doing whatever the thing he does is called, including singing and playing keys, at Helium Comedy Club, March 31–April 2.

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