Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (May 1, 1990)
just entertainment M o th e rlo d e Their relationship has a depth that shows otherlode is a band of four women joined by the heartstrings, even though they are a bi-urban group. Nan Collie and Kathleen Fallon live and work in Portland, Oregon. Marie Eaton and Janet Peterson live and work in Bellingham, Washington. In the nearly ten years they’ve been making music M A PORTLAND TRADITION A ridiculous farce Charles Ludlam < • "Gimp), corny und contngious. A delightful send-up. ' Un Ih mu ton ne i designed for active- wear and generously cut for com fort, these garments are prewashed and preshrunk for long lasting fit. (they're as comfortable as they look). 796-0725 404 NW 10th Mon-Sat 10-4 ' A cornucopie! of delight. It 1 11, vin t to ttccA Motherlode. Back row from left-Nan Collie. Marie Eaton. Janet Peterson. In front-Kath leen Fallon. together, they have never lived in the same city. Instead, they meet on weekends to rehearse and to perform. Motherlode will perform their all original music in concert on May 19th at the Northwest Service Center. Jan Reece will interpret for the hearing impaired. (See Out About Town for further details.) Portland audiences have learned to expect an evening of heartfelt music presente^ in mostly folk style. The women sing harmonies, play primarily acoustic instruments, and speak directly from the heart of their own personal experiences. In fact, their third recording (to be released later this year) will be entitled “Heartline.” The four members of Motherlode met nearly ten years ago at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop when Nan and Kathleen discovered Marie and Janet singing harmony in the woods. It was love at first sight for all four. They almost immediately began singing together, working all week on a four part acappella harmony for the weekend perform ance at the workshop. They have been work ing together ever since. Throughout the ensuing ten years, they have continued to grow and expand as musicians as well as women. Their musical pieces now have added layers of complexity, added depth in the lyrics, and their relationship has depth that shows. Nan speaks lovingly of the experiences they have shared. At some point in their ten years, the women discovered that none of them have biological sisters. They believe that this may have contributed to the closeness they feel with each other. This closeness is visible on stage and is shared in turn with the audience. Nan calls performing “one more layer to the gift.” She speaks eloquently of recovering from dysfunction through the gift of music and of the beauty of sharing that gift with others. The four play a multitude of musical in struments, including their voices. All play the guitar and bass. One or more play cello, mandolin, harmonica, percussion, french horn, flute, Dobro (the predecessor to the Hawaiian steel guitar), keyboard, trumpet and (coming soon) the oboe. Nan says, “It feels like an incredible gift.” She says music is powerful for recovery and healing, and that audience members frequently come up and express their gratitude for Motherlode’s interpretation of their pain and healing. When asked what’s next for the group, Nan Collie says, “We’re not killing ourselves trying to ‘make it,’ but we are open to the pos sibilities.” They hope for more opportunities to play music festivals. Theirs will be one of only two Portland groups indentified so far who will play this summer at the Pacific Northwest Women’s Music and Cultural Jamboree in Bellingham. The other Portland group is Música Femina. They will be joined by Cris Williamson, Tret Fure and many others. Motherlode is excited and would like to play other music festivals such as the Michigan Women’s music festival, the Women’s Festival held each year in Yosemite, and others in the East and Midwest. They are taking it all “one day at a time.” For an evening of musical richness guaran teed to plumb the depths of your heart, bring your inner child and join several hundred other people and THEIR inner children hearing and enjoying the gift of the Motherlode. ▼ Pho to Paradykes Lost FREE TICKETS F R I.M A Y 4 , ONLY TO: WEREWOLVES VAMPIRES EGYPTIAN MUMMIES & CROSSDRESSERS COME ATTIRED AS ANY OF THE ABOVE y FIRST 50 ONLY Box Office Opens at 7:00 pm LR007 Eom on/ ----- V ----- It's Our 1 st Vear Anniversary !! T MON-SflT 11 -7 SUN 12-5 T PORTLAND, OR 97214 (503) 2 3 6 4 6 2 8 ▼ 22 T May 1990 I B O O K / T O R E 1864 S€ HAWTHORNE 6LVD. p u tem t t’s a murder mystery! It’s a satire! It’s insanity! The Portland Women’s Theatre Company spring production of Paradykes Lost is all of the above, and laughter is the order of the evening. The play, at the PWTC Theatre, 1728 NE 40th Avenue, will run through Saturday, June 2. \ Paradykes Lost was written by Lisa Kron, with improvisational additions by the original cast, all members of the WOW (Women of the World) Cafe, a women’s theatre collective in the East Village in New York City. The show premiered at the WOW Cafe in the spring of 1988. Paradykes Lost is the second show created by Kron and “the girls.” In 1987, they premiered Paradykes Alley. Kron is a solo performer who fancies herself as “the lesbian Lola Falana.” Her show. All My Hopes and Dreams, premiered at Performance Space 122 in the spring of 1989. Her work as a director includes productions of some of Holly Hughes’ plays, including The Lady Dick and World Without End. Paradykes Lost is a broad spoof of parlor murder mysteries...it’s silly and full of puns, gags, and great characters. The cast includes a fiendish mistress of the mansion and her slightly demented butler, a starry-eyed young lady looking for romance, an odd couple of thieves, and other equally questionable charac ters (all women) who converge at the stately mansion of Lucretia Owner and find them selves baffled by murder, intrigue, and each other. Not since the 1982 production of A Stake in the Heart o f the Heart has the PWTC stage seen such high caliber murder and mayhem.
