Productive Discomfort: Disability Equity in Theater & Beyond
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View Upcoming Events“Ableism runs deep in theatre and other performing arts communities. It shows up not only in the stories we tell but also in the ways in which we tell those stories — and it shows up in the spaces where we learn, rehearse, and perform.” –American Theatre
Join us for a panel discussion with local artists and disability justice activists as they discuss what disability justice looks like and how it can be applied to every aspect of the art of theater.
Featured panelists include Dr. Etawi O’Byrne DAOM, LAc, Project Manager of the Portland Disability Justice Collective, actor and writer Lauren Modica, and actor, singer, and teaching artist Tess Raunig. The panel will be moderated by former music journalist and longtime friend of PCS, Mark Woodlief.
Mark Woodlief has been living with the progressive illness multiple sclerosis (MS) since 1994. As his disability has progressed, and his mobility decreased, Mark has sustained a practice of compensating for his lack of physiological balance by strengthening his spiritual/emotional/communal balance.
Lauren Modica is a PDX-born, raised, and rooted actor and writer. Credits include four seasons at OSF, multiple shows at PCS, ART, American Rep, and others.
Dr. Etawi (ehh DA way) O’Byrne DAOM, LAc is an Indigenous mixed-raced disabled womxn. She holds a doctorate in acupuncture and East Asian medicine and is the Project Manager for the Portland Disability Justice Collective. She is also an urban forager, forest dweller, Pisces, and plant nerd.
Tess Raunig is an actor, singer, writer, and teaching artist, originally from Missoula, Montana. Their theater credits include Teenage Dick (Artists Repertory Theatre), The Poet's Shadow (PHAME in partnership with Portland Opera), Sequestered Soliloquies (Bag&Baggage), and more. They are an associate artist with Original Practice Shakespeare Festival. They were also a member of Artist Rep's Mercury II and III companies. Outside of acting, they are a teaching artist at PHAME Academy, and they sing and play keyboards/synth in the band, Sasha and The Children.
Current & Upcoming
Art Exhibit: ¡Soy Yo! by Mika Martinez
¡Soy Yo!, is a multi-media project, created by Mika Martinez, that examines and celebrates Latinx identity featuring more than 50 portraits of the Hispanic/Latino community in Portland.
Piano Bar with Courtney Freed and David Saffert
Join us for this monthly event with local songstress Courtney Freed and Portland-based pianist David Saffert as they host a good old-fashioned PIANO BAR.
Improvisation Classes for Beginners
Whether you're looking to get more confident in social situations, think quicker on your feet, or get in touch with your imaginative side, these "one-off" improv classes will set you on the path to success!
Nassim
From Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanpour (creator of the Off-Broadway smash hit White Rabbit, Red Rabbit) comes an audacious new theatrical experiment, presented in collaboration with Boom Arts. Each night, a new, unrehearsed local performer joins the playwright on stage, while the script waits, unseen, in a sealed box... Touchingly autobiographical yet powerfully universal, NASSIM is a striking theatrical demonstration of how language can both divide and unite us.
Art Exhibit: Garam Garam Chai by Yusra Siddiqui
Portland Center Stage will host Garam Garam Chai, an art exhibit by Portland-based multidisciplinary artist Yusra Siddiqui, featuring a series of hand-sewn teabag printmaking pieces that serve as a contemplation of the communal tea times shared between Desi and British culture.
Coriolanus
Shakespeare’s tragedy about the war hero Coriolanus and the fight between the elite and the deprived masses will be fueled by a dynamic female and non-binary ensemble with a muscular, movement-focused staging.
Portland Center Stage is committed to identifying & interrupting instances of racism & all forms of oppression, through the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, & accessibility (IDEA).
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