PCS Presents: Risk/Reward's Election Anti-Party
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View Upcoming EventsPortland Center Stage presents Risk/Reward's Election Anti-Party, three days of theater, film, and mayhem anti-celebrating the upcoming presidential election. Featuring a different presentation every night, the Election Anti-Party will delve into how we got here, what we can do about it if things get weirder, and what hope might look like.
Full details below!
Thursday, Sept 26 - An Iliad | by Lisa Peterson and Denis O'Hare | A Fig Tree Committee Production
Music by Anna Fritz
Performed by Paul Susi and Anna Fritz
The Fig Tree Committee has been touring An Iliad to correctional facilities around the Pacific Northwest for over five years, alongside rare public performances; so far, over 3,000 people have seen their production, most of whom were incarcerated at the time. Their work knits together audiences on both sides of the prison walls by using one of the world's oldest stories to examine the cycles of violence, trauma, displacement, and hope for healing that unite us all. The Fig Tree Committee is bringing the Election Anti-Party this heavy dose of perspective just before kicking off a tour to correctional facilities in Wisconsin (swing state!), Vermont, and New Hampshire in October.
A discussion with the artists to follow the performance.
Friday, Sept 27 - Tipping Point: What the Portland Protests Tell Us About the State of America | with special guest Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater
In May 2020, following the death of George Floyd, Portland, Oregon, became the focus of media attention for its protests and demonstrations against systemic racism and police brutality. Tipping Point is a documentary film about the largest recent civil rights protest in U.S. history, and how Portland emerged as its epicenter. Told through the individual stories of Portlanders on the ground, Tipping Point humanizes the struggle while allowing Portland’s story to serve as a mirror for all of America – the past that brought us here and the future we must choose.
Prior to the screening, we'll be joined by special guests Rejoice! Diaspora Dance Theater, presenting the piece "Uprising", a continuation of their exploration on black joy, protest, and movement.
A discussion featuring the artists, filmmakers, artist/activist Emily Squires, and civil rights lawyer Ashlee Albies to follow.
Saturday, Sept 28 - The Election Anti–Party Showcase
Local performance artists, assemble!
Risk/Reward presents 20 different artists' thoughts on the 2024 Election. Each piece is made to order, bespoke for this moment, and must be between 2 and 4 minutes in length. In response to Risk/Reward's call for submissions, Portland has turned out: expect theater, music, film, pies, dance, rat-based strip-tease, righteous fury, performative sculpture, a gentle and loving examination of what it is to vote by mail, and (most surprising) maybe even a fleeting wisp of hope in the air.
The Election Anti-Party Showcase will feature:
- Pepper Pepper
- Svetlana Trantastic
- Jessica Wallenfels
- Rachel Lindsey Routh & Sorrel Ophelia LaLune
- Sweta Ravisankar
- Thorn Hartspring
- Emily June Newton
- Dustin Curry
- Anthony Hudson / Carla Rossi
- Tracy Cameron Francis
- Michael O'Neill
- Hollynitski and the Extended Voice Ensemble
- Éowyn Emerald
- Divine
- Hand2Mouth Youth Devising Intensive
- Meg Denton
- Mychelle M.
- Zero Feeney / Kid Lich
- Andrea Parson
- A Sentient Karaoke Machine from the Year 3024
About Risk/Reward:
Risk/Reward champions artists and audiences who push the boundaries of the performing arts. Led by Producing Artistic Director Katie Watkins and Interim Festival Director James Mapes, Risk/Reward is on the constant look-out for new ways to support, present, and collaborate with performing artists across the Pacific Northwest.
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