7 artists + 5 years = 2012

Risk/Reward turns 5 this year! Amazing. The festival has grown from a few wild nights in the Someday Lounge (on what I remember as the hottest weekend of the summer) to a beautiful few days in the beautiful Artists Repertory Theater.

In case you haven't seen it, the 2012 line-up is on our site here. This year we have SEVEN artist from THREE states and ONE Canadian province. That pretty much covers the west coast. Who knows, maybe next year we'll head inland and host someone from Idaho....

Also you can now browse line-ups from festivals past. Check them out: 2008 2009 2010 and 2011.

On the Road + At Home

It's been a few weeks, but My Mind Is Like An Open Meadow is gearing up to once again hit the open road. If you happen to be in the Salem area on Monday May 14, join Erin for an evening performance at Western Oregon University.

Monday, May 14
7:30pm: Rice Auditorium Studio Theatre (at the corner of Knox St & Powell St)
Tickets: $5 at the door
Western Oregon Univsersity
Monmouth, OR

And on Tuesday, after you wow yourself at the Big Art Group lecture at PICA, sneak over to Valentines for a fancy cocktail and a little entertainment from us (and others). The event is called International Waters and it's all coming together to kick off the Portland Passport Project. Many thanks to the hosts, Portland's own Research Club.

Tuesday, May 15
7pm - late: Valentines (232 SW Ankeny St, Portland, OR)
$5 at the door

Songs + Stories + More from Hand2Mouth on the late side of the evening.

Holy Raffle Town

Hand2Mouth has been on the mini-raffle bandwagon for many a year now (a favorite memory of mine involves some dear friends winning the raffle gift of New Deal Vodka during a performance of Repeat After Me, way back in 2007! Let's just say, the bottle was near empty at the end of the show and yes, they liked both the performance and the drink).

As we get ready for our upcoming showings of Something's Got Ahold of My Heart we are also gathering goodies for more-than-mini April raffle of excellent items. There will of course be H2M swag (Sea Unicorn t-shirts!), sips from Widmer Bros Brewing, yoga class cards from The Peoples Yoga and Heart Fire Yoga, mugs and tees from our favorite coffee people Ristretto Roasters, and gift certificates from fabulous Kenton businesses including the Home Brew Exhange and Po'Shines (double double yum). All this plus more to come.

Get your art and your raffle on: April 20 & 21, 8pm at Disjecta. Wheeee!

Gratitude

In making some recent website updates I was overwhelmed by how many people, foundations, and organizations we already have to be thankful for on this long journey of creating Something's Got Ahold of My Heart. It feels apropos, given the subject matter of this piece, to feel a heart-swell of gratitude towards all these people and all of their investment -- be it time, money, energy, or some great mix --in this process of art making.

So, from the very bottom of my heart, thanks. And I hope to see you, and thank you in person, at our next showing.

Our thoughts on process...now on video!

We made a little video statement for our installation at Portland2012.... click ahead about 30 seconds to skip the logo, or scoot over to Disjecta and watch it projected on the big wall.

H2M Artist Statement - Disjecta - Portland Biennial 2012 from Hand2Mouth Theatre on Vimeo.

Sleeve Face

We've started playing with records more and more in rehearsals and it's really fun to see how older forms --boxing and lip synching without lips -- can join forces with this completely ridiculous one. Of course, we are not the first to do this, but we may be the first theater company to push this to the limit.

Hopefully we'll have some of our own pics to add soon...

Wild Combination

I can't recall what year it was that my love affair with Operative began, but I remember seeing them play in The Artistery, the now defunct house/venue that once graced Portland with it's many wonderful house-party like shows, and that it was raining.

Yes, I love drums. Yes, I love lots of electronics. Yes, Operative offers both in good measure with some seriously dance-able energy.


So, I am super stoked that Hand2Mouth will be sharing a bill with Operative and the amazing Goodnight Billygoat (animation!!!) at Holocene hosted by Research Club. I have been wanting to brunch it up with these folks for years, but our Sunday rehearsal schedule is less than forgiving. Instead we will dance it up late into the night.

It's been a few years since Hand2Mouth has done a performance at Holocene (Undine in 2009, Repeat After Me in 2007) and it is always so good to leave the confines of the theatre and take it to the club. So much of the work for Something's Got Ahold Of My Heart, or at least the Concert section of the show, is about creating a place that is extra-theater, or outside of the typical theater space while remaining highly performative. There is a difference between the audience expectations, and consequent responses, when entering a venue for a theater show vs a music show. I think we often want the energy of the latter, and this will be a little moment to play in this environment. I can't wait to see what we make!

Oh yeah, the night is named for the Arthur Russell song.

We Made a Video

The h2m crack team of Marc & Alex did some beautiful work with rehearsal footage and an iPhone camera to make this little gem. It makes me want to see the show, and then I remember: oh yeah, I'm in the show!