2015 Risk/Reward Festival of New Performance

2 weekends. 8 artists. The Risk/Reward Festival showcases new works by visionary performing artists from across the region. In 2015 we celebrate our 8th year blurring the boundaries of independent theater, music, dance, and performance art in new and surprising ways.

The 2015 festival lineup features:

Week 1 – July 10-12

MARKEITH WILEY – 31 & Counting – Dance (Seattle, WA)

FAITH HELMA – I HATE POSITIVE THINKING – Theatre (Portland, OR)

NANCY ELLIS – Nancy’s NANCY – Dance/Theatre (Portland, OR)

EOWYN EMERALD & DANCERS – Will You Take This Balloon – Dance (Portland, OR)

Week 2 – July 17-19

TIM SMITH-STEWART – Awaiting Oblivion or How to be ok when everything is not ok – temporary solutions for surviving the dystopian future we find ourselves in at present. – Theatre (Seattle, WA)

KATIE PIATT – Springfield Today (LIVE) – Improv Comedy / Performance Art (Portland, OR)

DANI TIRRELL – The Beautiful – Dance/Vogue (Seattle, WA)

JESSICA JOBARIS & GENERAL MAGIC – A Great Hunger – Performance Art/Dance Theatre (Seattle, WA)

What is the Risk/Reward Festival?

We solicit proposals from regional artists for new works that can be performed in less than 20-minutes. A panel of local artists and tastemakers select a lineup and we challenge the artists to run wild – encouraging creative risks, experimentation and bold investigation. No one really knows what to expect until opening night. Several performances are staged back-to-back nightly in a festive environment. Audiences come to sample a variety of artistic voices and art forms in what the Willamette Week calls, “speed dating for contemporary performance.”

Thanks to our 2015 festival sponsors!

The 2015 festival was curated in collaboration with a panel of regional artists and administrators including:

Charles Smith | Director of Program Management & Audience Services [On the Boards ]

Erin Boberg Doughton | Performing Arts Program Director [PICA ]

Jerry Tischleder | Producing Artistic Director [Risk/Reward ]

Ilvs Straus | Performance Artist, Writer, Mover

Katie Watkins | Theatre Artist, Associate Producer [Risk/Reward ]

Pepper Pepper | Dancer, Performance Artist, Drag Provocateur

Subashini Ganesan | Choreographer, Artistic Director [Natya Leela ], Director [Studio 2 ]

Walter Jaffe | Co-founder [White Bird ]

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 while introducing Portland audiences to artists from across the west coast.

The festival’s major goals are:

To provide a supportive environment for artists to present new work with full technical, administrative and marketing assistance.
To introduce audiences to new artists and forms.
To provide a place for artists and audiences to mingle and connect over a shared artistic experience.
To promote creative excellence in the performing arts

Want to participate in the Risk/Reward Festival? We typically accept applications between December-February annually. To stay up-to-date on our next call for submissions, sign up for our mailing list!