decem ber 1. 2000 • Juxt 0111 . 3 g
Doing the
time warp
------ -
......
Portland
performer pushes
boundaries
with engaging
new work
by
J e s s ic a C
it t ì
am attracted to intensi
ty in general,” says les
bian experimental the
ater artist Heidi
Carlsen, whose new perfor
mance piece, A Gradual
Instant, will open early this
month at Conduit. A small
woman with articulate limbs
and dark, flashing eyes, she
has been performing in Portland for the past
five years.
A Gradual Instant, which Carlsen also wrote
and directed, was created in collaboration with
conceptual artist Nan B. Curtis. This new work
reflects Carlsen’s ability to translate intellectual
ruminations into vividly three-dimensional form.
“I love to work with emotion, space and my
body," Carlsen says. Her most recent perform
ance art allows her to do just that, mixing ele
ments— movement, voice, props and text—
that challenge the audience and explore the
emotional capacity of art.
Carlsen first encountered modem dance her
senior year at Lewis &. Clark College in Port
land, and it turned her life around. She began
dancing with Conduit, an organization offering
Heidi Carlsen makes
a gradual leap
space for dance artists to perform and teach,
appearing in Intersections and other pieces.
Over time, her performances evolved from
modem dance to experimental theater. This
change resulted in works such as her 1998 solo
piece, The Line Between, a performance about
society and mental illness.
Carlsen also has performed with Mary
Oslund, Dawn Joella Jackson, Tahni M. Holt
and Imago Theater, appearing in Blood Wed -
ding, Blood Wedding. In addition to her studies
in Portland, she received training at out-of-
state workshops and at the prestigious Saratoga
International Theater Institute in New York.
A Gradual Instant is based loosely on her
investigations into history, war and memory. It
is about something traumatic occurring in a
m
—
■
|
„Jf
woman’s life, an intense experience that can
happen in an instant and change everything.
Carlsen likens a gradual instant to a slow
death: The dying itself is gradual, but the death—
the actual moment of ceasing to be— is instanta
neous. Her piece explores the place where a per
son travels in her mind to find the will to go on
after an intense event, whether it be war, the
death of one’s mother or sexual discrimination.
“It’s about riding on history,” Carlsen says,
“and finding out who you really are.”
Serious stuff, but Carlsen hopes her piece is
universal and concentrated enough to interest
a general audience. As she promises, “There’s a
lot going on to watch.”
The performance will be animated by an
equal measure of lighting and music. There are
4F^érÊ\ÊmÆ. WSz
ii
6N IG H TS A W EEK - - -
M on -T hurs 9
pm -2 a m *
F r i - S a t 9
A G radu al I n st a n t starts 8:30 p.m. Fri
days and Saturdays and 7:30 p.m. Sundays
through Dec. 10 at Conduit, 918 S.W. Yamhill St.
Tickets cost $10412. Call 503-221-5857 for
more information.
JESSICA C ittì is a Portland free-lance writer.
LE]
^TT
- - -
also Curtis’ sculptural ele
ments to consider: Carlsen’s
character will move through
an unsteady landscape of
objects designed by this well-
known installation artist.
These objects constantly
transform and assist Carlsen
as she works her way through
memory and history.
Although Carlsen identi
fies herself as a lesbian and
says “sexuality is always about
how I am in the world,” the
piece is not specifically about
sexual identity. She says that
she hasn’t had any difficulty
as a lesbian in the dance
community and, in fact, that
many powerful and artistic
lesbians have acted as her
mentors in Portland.
Audience members should have no problem
identifying with the human struggle Carlsen
undergoes on the stage. Like her character, we all
sometimes find ourselves lost on thin ice, forced
to confront history and all that lies beneath.
Ultimately, Carlsen’s piece is about survival
in the face of adversity. “It’s about will and
freedom,” she says, “and not letting people take
these things away from you.’ * j n
pm -2 :3 0 a m
Don ’ t M i s s
L i g h t s on B r o a d w a y
Dec em ber F i r s t , Sec
. t ond, and T h i r d
Plan to p a rty in the N e w Y ea r w ith us
Visit us at
www.starkys.com
503 . 230.7980
2 9 1 3 SW S ta rk
EASTSIDE PORTLAND
M Glitt« P
] The/Star gate/ Lovcntye/
[Ypföft n
ay
A visit our website at
(SP www.citysearch.com
Parties welcome • Pool table & pinball • Full bar • All lottery games.
New dancefloor
^
2 6 5 1 E. B u r n s id e • (5 0 3 ) 2 3 4 -6 1 7 1
2
Isro
Boxxes/Brig— 1035 SW Stark St....................................1
Brandy's— 3728 NE Sandy Blvd.................................. 16
CC Slaughters— 219 NW Davis St................................. 5
Chopsticks Express— 2651 E. Burnside St.................13
Club Portland— 303 SW 12th Ave............................... 11
Darcelle XV— 208 NW Third Ave................................... 5
Dirty Duck Tavern— 439 NW Third Ave......................... 6
Eagle PDX— 1300 W Burnside St...................................7
The Edge— 333 SW Park Ave.......................................10
Egyptian Club— 3701 SE Division St............................. 8
Embers Avenue— 110 NW Broadway ..........................9
Estrellas— 2845 SE Stark St............................................4
Fox and Hounds— 217 NW Second Ave......................14
Frontline— 1125 SW Washington St.............................. 3
Hobo's— 120 NW Third Ave............................................. 5
JOQ's— 2512 NE Broadway ........................................ 12
Kokopeli's Choice— 2845 SE Stark St......................
1
Neighbors— 1417 Villard St..................................Eugene
North Bank Tavern— 106 W Sixth St............ Vancouver
Panorama— 341 SW 10th Ave........................................ 1
Scandals Lounge— 1038 SW Stark St...........................1
Shanghai Steakery— 16 NW Broadway .................... 9
Silverado— 1217 SW Stark St.......................................11
Starky's— 2913 SE Stark St. .*........................................ 4
300 Club— 300 Liberty St S E ............................Salem
3 Friends Cofteehouse— 201 SE 12th Ave................... 2
Three Sisters Tavern— 1125 SW Stark St.................. 11
T»..rh«mne Coflee House— 7631 NE Glisan St
15
Guide courtesy of
WESTSIDE PORTLAND
JTHJ
r PD X 25 12 “ N E” Broadway
I F u ll l o t t e r y / A T M
(5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 - 4 2 I O |
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