The Risk/Reward Festival celebrates its seventh year in 2014.
This annual West Coast micro-fest presents independent dance, theater, music, and hybrid artists who are pushing the boundaries of live performance in new and innovative directions.
The 2014 festival lineup features:
LAURA HEIT (Portland, OR) – Theater/Puppetry/Animation/Video
ILVS STRAUSS (Seattle, WA) – Dance/Theater/Performance Art
THE NEUTRAL FEMBOT PROJECT (Portland, OR) – Theater/Movement/Performance Art
ERIN PIKE (Seattle, WA) – Theater
LUCY LEE YIM (Portland, OR) – Dance
PORTLAND EXPERIMENTAL THEATRE ENSEMBLE (Portland, OR) – Theater/Movement/Music
New to the Risk/Reward Festival? Here’s the deal:
We choose six artists to create a brand new piece than can be performed in less than 20-minutes. These artists propose an idea and we let them run wild – encouraging creative risks, experimentation and bold ideas. No one really knows what to expect until opening night. We stage all six performances nightly in a festive environment (meaning drinks and lively conversation). Performances run back-to-back with little downtime and one intermission. Audiences come to sample a variety of artists and art forms in what the Willamette Week calls, “speed dating for contemporary performance.”
Thanks to our festival sponsors!
The 2014 festival was curated in collaboration with a panel of regional artists and administrators including:
David Banyan | Filmmaker
Erin Boberg Doughton | Performing Arts Program Director [PICA ]
Jen Mitas | Managing Director [Hand2Mouth Theatre ]
Jerry Tischleder | Producing Artistic Director [Risk/Reward ]
Katherine Longstreth | Dance Artist, Choreographer
Max Voltage | Writer, Musician, Choreographer, Producer [Pants-Off Productions ]
Nancy Ellis | Dance Artist, Arts Administrator, Certified Fundraising Executive
Sean Ryan | Theatre Director; Movement Artist; Regional Programs Director [On The Boards ]
Teresa Koberstein | Arts & Cultural Management Consultant
The Risk/Reward Festival is dedicated to the presentation of new performance and preference is given to works that are currently in development or that have not been produced fully in the past. Risk/Reward addresses some of the most pressing needs of local artists and audiences by providing a platform for artists to present new work and introducing Portland audiences to artists from across the west coast.
The festival’s major goals are: