Portfringe 2014
12:30PM
SURE MINDED UNCERTAINTIES, WHAT I REMEMBER ABOUT THE DAY I FORGOT, UNTIMELY RIPPED, YOU ARE HAPPY, SPPSSM, WOMANHATTEN, SEXUAL PERVERSITY IN CHICAGO, JUICY BITS 2
PortFringe is a annual unjuried annual theater festival in Portland. This year’s festival will feature over 100 shows over five days in five venues throughout Portland. SPACE is proud to be a host venue again this year. (More information about PortFringe below the show listings). Saturday’s shows are:
Sure-minded Uncertainties @ 12:30: Sure-minded Uncertainties explores how activism, community, and stewardship of the earth influence and shape our modern world. Using fictionalized realism, the show follows fantastical modern day, fringe-dwelling characters including a scientist, a naturalist, an ancient wise woman, a tailor and a chrysalis as they navigate through a series of short stories. Our performance presents vibrant storytelling; merging ancient traditions, shadow puppet theatre and contemporary art forms – including film, video, sound, and computer-generated animation.
What I Remember About The Day I Forgot @ 2:30: A story as monstrous as it is magical, The Kneading Collective creates a striking devised retelling of a classic tale. Join us as we use myth to confront transition and apprehension – accompanied by puppets, chicken-chasing, bread-breaking, movement, magic, music, & absurdity!
Untimely Ripped @ 3:30: Untimely Ripped, a devised work by Tandem Theatre, examines H.H. Holmes, known as America’s First Serial Killer. Using movement and Shakespeare this yarn is spun to explore the question: What happens at the exact moment we stop being? Created by the ensemble, and directed by JJ Peeler, this daring new project sheds light on the moments right after our last breaths. Smashing together the stories of Holmes’ victims and Macbeth, Untimely Ripped investigates the birth of America’s historic obsession with notorious butchers.
You Are Happy @ 4:30: You Are Happy is a sensual, surreal, and sensorial solo performance. Rooted in the physical with an imaginative eye towards the mythical, dancer Eliza Larson draws the world of Homer’s Sirens anew in this interdisciplinary solo. Imbued with memories, physical residue, and the essence of emotion, the performance moves between dance and performance art, abstract and literal film imagery, and includes movement, image, text, sound, and a very, very large dress. www.mountainempiredance.com
Society for the Preservation of Sapphic Social Mores Beatrice @6:30: Llewellyn and Phyllis Troubridge (played by Rachel Kahn and Maggie Cee) are the founders and directors of the Society for the Preservation of Sapphic Social Mores (also known as SPPSSM). They use use humor and parody to skewer contemporary queer social norms, pointing out misogyny, prejudice, and poor sartorial choices while paying tribute to their femme forebears. Phyllis and Beatrice set out to bring their message to a younger generation of Sapphists by attempting to assimilate into the world of Radical Cheerleading, covering topics such as consent, thank you notes, polyamory, and alternate spellings of the gender commonly known as “woman.” www.thefemmeshow.com and facebook.com/sppssm
Womanhatten @ 7:30: We are an all ladies team from New York theaters the UCB and the PIT, drawn together by fate. Doe let the name fool you, we do fierce, fast, and very human-like character-driven long-form improv.
Sexual Perversity in Chicago @ 8:30: Sexual Perversity in Chicago explores the relationships of two men and two women in the late 1970s. Written in the jargon of Chicago’s working class, Mamet’s play focuses almost exclusively on dialogue (often vulgar). The play presents intimate, volatile scenes from these relationships, often including bitter arguments.
Juicy Bits 2 @ 11:30: Fat·u·ous adjective 1.silly and pointless. Also stupid, inane,foolish, idiotic, vacuous, asinine etc…You literally cannot make this stuff up but you can join us and have a swell time making fun of the celebrities who utter this nonsense. The Juicy Bits returns with more celebrity musings, comedy, a game show and the electrocution of a member of the audience just for fun. The show is completely devised by its cast each night. When they feel like it.It is not suitable for children, even smart clever ones who photograph well. Come to think of it, it may not even be suitable for adults. You are just gonna have to take that risk. Be forewarned that there are moments in the show where the audience must duck quickly.
More about PortFringe in their own words:
We are PortFringe! We support new, edgy, and experimental theater in our city of Portland. We celebrate the imaginative and the weird. We seek to eliminate financial and logistical barriers so that artists can focus on their work (and maybe even make money doing so). We celebrate and contribute to Maine’s vibrant performance art community. We do this out of love and passion – for theater, for creativity, for cardboard props, and packed houses. Plus, it’s super fun.
The mission of PortFringe is to support theater and performance artists, to encourage experimentation and innovation, and to provide an accessible, affordable outlet for exciting work that enriches our creative community.