Special Festival Event
CoHo’s New by Northwest New Play Contest

Event Dates: Jan 30 and Feb 2 at 2:00 pm
Venue: CoHo Theater (2257 NW Raleigh St.)

Tickets: Pay what you will. Call 800-494-TIXS or online at http://www.fertilegroundpdx.org/Calendar.html

Flash Your Fertile Ground Button and Save: Pay What You Will

The goal of CoHo Productions' New by Northwest Play Competition is to encourage the development of new plays about the Pacific Northwest and/or the development of Northwest Playwrights. The judges look for stories with a strong local connection. The play could address any subject, in any time period, and will explore some unique aspect of the region, whether cultural, historical, political, social, or environmental.

Announced January 4, we found all this and more with George Taylor's remarkable play Good Citizen. CoHo Productions presents a stage reading of Good Citizen by George Taylor with the hope that the recognition the play receives through New by Northwest will encourage him to continue following his passion, and spur him to create new works for the theater. Playwright talkback after the performance.

Special Festival Event

Alembic #6 Emily Stone presents

DOMESTIC/WILD

Event Dates: Jan 22, 23 at 8:00 pm, Jan 24 at 4:00 pm

Venue: Performance Works NorthWest, 4625 SE 67th Ave

Cost: Single Tickets, $10 to $15 sliding scale. Call 503-205.0715 or online at http://www.fertilegroundpdx.org/Calendar.html

Flash Your Grow Button and Save: $2

Alembic is an ongoing series of performative events at Performance Works NorthWest curated by guest artists from the worlds of dance, theater, visual and media arts.  Using sound, dance, digital video and performative lecture, Emily Stone directs and invites this group of visiting and local performers to trace the porous border between the home and the feral. 

Special Festival Kickoff Event
Fertile Ground 2010 Festival Kick Off  Party brought to you by ScratchPDX: Special Edition

Event Date: Jan 22 at 10:30 pm
Venue: Curious Comedy Theater (5225 NE Martin Luther King Blvd)
Cost: Sliding scale $2-$5 suggested donation or FREE with GrOw Button or show playbill
Call 800-494-TIXS or online at http://www.fertilegroundpdx.org/Calendar.html

The festival kicks off with a wild and weird talent show of some of the best alt-performers in the NW. Sort of a talent show for Portland, definitely a festival kickoff party for everyone, this after hours event will give Festival-goers a chance to grab a drink, share notes about their first night experiences and plot the next few days of their festival journey. ScratchPDX will be providing regular distractions with fun, diverse performances and Curious Comedy will provide full cash bar and offer food and drink specials all night long.

Special Festival Event

Nightly After Parties

Event Dates: Jan 23, 29 & 30, 10:30 pm - 2:00 am

Venue: Curious Comedy Theater, 5225 NE MLK Blvd

Cost: FREE with full no-host bar, stage and dance floor

A chance to gather with other Fertile Ground participants. Socialize, network, kickback, unwind and share your Fertile Ground experiences. Food and drink specials all night long.

Friday 1/22 - Kick Off night with ScratchPDX, a wild and weird talent show of alt-Portland performers

Saturday 1/23 - Cabaret open mic, come sing your heart out

Friday 1/29 - Croon the night away with Toni Lincoln, daughter of the incredible blue icon "Sweet Baby" James Benton.

Saturday 1/30 - Late night karaoke with Baby Ketten, come show us what you've got.

Working Artists Network Presents

rdEVOLUTION 2010: Story and Interpretation

Created by Artistic Director & Principal Curator Adrienne Fritze

Event Date: Jan 22 through Feb 2

Venues:

Urban Grind Coffeehouse, 2214 NE Oregon, Portland OR 97232

Ned Space Old Town, 117 NW 5th Ave, Portland, OR 97209

Ned Space Downtown, 920 SW 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97204

Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 North Interstate Avenue, Portland, OR 97217

Cost: FREE– and all the exhibits are set as fund and awareness raisers for the p:ear mentor program, an organization dedicated to the health and well being of homeless youth through the tools of education, art and recreation.

rdEVOLUTION 2010 is an ongoing collective story - told in pictures, words, movement and sound  - about the future of our species and our responsibility to the world. The works  – combining a variety of visual arts and technology-driven artforms – are explorations addressing the idea of evolution – intentional or otherwise. Do we need to devolve – take cues from our past – to set the stage for a cultural breakthrough? Or does it require revolution? Or are we on a path of evolution down which we have no influence? rdEVOLUTION encompasses exhibits, readings, and interactive events.

SPECIAL RAFFLE FOR p:ear! Working Artists Network offers a local collector’s dream package of new work by local artists. The package includes original art from Adrienne Fritze, Chris Haberman, Karen Dixon, Kathryn Reese, Becca Deysach and others; CDs from local musical groups; the new book “Mermaid Song” by local author Gary R. Moor, and gift certificates for workshops, services and more from Ibex Studios, the Ohm Home and Morphis Studios (to name a few).

THE EXHIBITS

One: Personal Perspectives

Artists: Angela S. Gay and Adrienne Fritze, with artworks from p:ear youth (http://pearmentor.org).

Where: Ned Space Old Town.

Exhibit Run: Jan 4th through Feb 26th.

Public Reception: TBD.

One: Personal Perspectives: exploring the inner and outer workings of individuals facing private and public challenges. Pro artists Angela S. Gay and Adrienne Fritze are both active in tackling demons and opportunities through the process of creating these works, with the intention of helping others gain insights and perhaps even freedom when exposed to them. Although their styles seem to be polar opposite (Angela works in oils, Adrienne in assemblage and extreme collage), the work resonates with the powerful intention both women bring to their canvasses making the exhibit united and powerful in its expression.

Both women also see themselves in the art created by the youth served by the p:ear mentor program, and are honored to have those works accompany their own.

Two: Community Stories

Artists: Kindra Crick, Victoria Frankland, Judith Devine, Chris Haberman, Sam Roloff

Where: Urban Grind Coffeehouse and Roaster, 2214 NE Oregon, Portland OR 97232

Exhibit Run: Jan 22nd through Feb 2nd

Public Reception: TBD.

Two: Community Stories: exploring different communities of people (neighborhoods, families, political and other human groupings of folk, etc.) and their viewpoints (whether about taboos, gender issues, sexual orientation, individuals, et al) and the effect on our evolution.

Three: Women’s influence on Social Evolution

Artists: Adrienne Fritze, Karen Dixon, Talus FM

Where: IFCC Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center (5340 North Interstate Avenue)

Exhibit Run: Jan 22 and 23

Three: Women’s influence on social evolution. This is a breakout of Broadarts Theatre’s Fertile Ground offering, “A/Broad for All Seasons” at IFCC for which WAN members designed and built the set. It represents a cross-pollination of arts disciplines –with social change @ the heart of both organizations participating.

The set was designed around the timeless, eclectic and international nature of the lead character - memoir writing, gal about globe, goddess Lilith – who shares the stories of seven extraordinary women leaders throughout the world with her overworked and underpaid assistant Lily. Adrienne Fritze is the lead designer of this set, and was commissioned by Broadarts Theatre because of her assemblage work and commitment to social change through the arts. Adrienne’s team include animator and collage artist Karen Dixon, and A’s multitalented daughter Talus FM.

The play features intimate encounters with such amazing women as Wangari Maathai, the creator of the Green Belt Movement in Kenya and Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ang Sang Suu Kyi, “Our Lady” the inspiring Democratic reform representative under house arrest for the past 20 years in Myanmar (Burma), Jane Goodall, the environmentalist and savior of chimpanzees and other endangered species worldwide, Arundathi Roy, the radical grassroots organizer, writer and political commentator from India, Mairead Corrigan and Betty Richardson, the two mothers who brokered the peace in Northern Ireland, and Portland’s own late Bonnie Tinker, lesbian and gay rights advocate, pacifist, founder of Love Makes a Family and feisty member of Pissed Off Grannies.

Performances are Tuesday-Saturday, Jan 19-23. Tickets HERE (https://robot.boxofficetickets.com/800-494-TIXS/WebObjects/BOTx2005.woa/wa/inspectProgram?id=87235&passKey=6ae8e3d22e)

Special Festival Event
Polaris presents xCHANGE3
created by Polaris Dance Theatre, No Go Know, Vorcan

Event Date:  Jan 29 at 8:00 pm
Venue: Polaris Contemporary Dance Center (1501 SW Taylor)
Cost: $12 Call 503-929-0738 or online at www.polarisdance.org

Polaris Dance Theatre collaborates with local band No Go Know and live painting duo Vorcan for an of-the-moment performance combining three artistic mediums. xCHANGE3 traverses genres to create a new form of innovative expression.  Led by Artistic Director Robert Guitron, Polaris creates emotionally resonant contemporary danceworks designed for maximum impact. A hallmark of Guitron’s work is delving into, and dissecting, the human psyche. The choreography for xCHANGE3 examines the transformative effects, both nurturing and destructive, of human relationships. Working closely with Guitron to create the musical accompaniment for xCHANGE3, No Go Know brings their brand of fuzzed-out indie psychedelia to the dance studio floor. Hailed has having “an intuitive understanding of dynamics” by Performer Magazine, No Go Know merges their instinctual musical acumen with the professional dance world. Capturing it all on canvas before the audience will be Vorcan. Though calling Portland home, Vorcan is constantly traveling the U.S. and Europe in search of artistic inspiration. Using the fine art of collaborative imagery, the duo often paint live performances, but xCHANGE3 marks their first time working with a professional dance company.

Become a part of xCHANGE3 and experience the possibilities.

Special Festival Closing Event
Portland Center Stage presents

Sprout

Event Date: Feb 1 at 7:30 pm
Venue: Main Stage, Gerding Theater at the Armory (128 NW 11th)
Cost: $15 Call 503.445.3700 or online at www.pcs.org
Show your GrOw button and save: $5

All of Portland is invited to commission world premiere 10 minute pieces that will be written, designed and produced in the midst of a giant party at the Armory with the help of Fertile Ground's pool of creators, choreographers, actors and directors. The audience pitches in too, with 5 playwrights and choreographers being raffled off to five lucky audience members who will get to select the theme of the work being commissioned. Then, while the playwrights and actors work feverishly, the entire audience has the chance to party on the Armory Mezzanine, enjoying special performance surprises and throwing out ideas and images through the PCS Twitter feed… some of which may end up in the finished performances.

ScratchPDX Fertile Ground "Sneak Peek" Weekend

Event Dates: Jan 15 & 16, Doors at 8:30 pm, show at 9pm

Venue: Hipbone Studio (1847 E Burnside)

Cost: $10 (at the door) for more information visit www.scratchpdx.com

ScratchPDX is excited to be a part of the Fertile Ground Festival this year! This monthly, open-stage cabaret is adding a show in January and featuring previews by several Fertile Ground artists. Not sure which shows you want to see? Here's a great way to get a sampling of what the fest has to offer. Of course there will also be the trademark blend of diverse performances, made-from-scratch goodies, and silliness that make ScratchPDX one of the original "Keep Portland Weird" events.