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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 2002)
42 J“ »* «H* •march 1.2002 Enviable women at Four Wall this playfulness, which infuses the textual and n a regular basis, the folks at Four Wall visual compo nents of the Cinema Collective give adventurous Port film, along with land audiences the chance to experience film as contemplation, as personal expression Rainer’s ironic hut joyfully and as a starkly visual experience. The term “experimental” is taken at face cinephilic use of old Hollywtxxl value here, which means the programming has film clips, that been as consistently intriguing as it has been, makes The Man at times, willing to challenge to the point of exasperation. Who Envied Their presentation March 4 and 5 of The Women such Man Who Envied Women, however, is perhaps vital, enjoyable their least rarefied program yet. Yvonne viewing for any Rainer’s 1985 work is a 16-millimeter sound one of any sexu al orientation film about issues that could he simply described ! interested in the as “feminist,” hung on a skeletal narrative involving a menopausal artist leaving her hus ! paradoxes of sex band of four years. Tackled from myriad angles, and gender. the work includes frequent and provocative Four Wall mention of the place of gay men and lesbians Cinema is locat in gender politics. ed at 425 S.E. i Third Ave. All Rainer depicts poststructuralism— the pre screenings are at ferred philosophical mode of many feminist 7:30 p.m. The suggested donation is $6. and queer theorists— as concocted by men as a —Christopher McQuain sort of intellectual masturbation inadequate to real-world problems of homelessness, imperial ism, class, sexuality and, Rainer’s own unanswerable grievance, infidelity. It’s a work of exploration, of contradictions: h, woe is Portland! Oregon Ballet T he She reads on the soundtrack from a treatise atre founder and artistic director (not to proposing that heterosexual sex is by definition mention the hottest queer tattixied hoy a diminishment of the woman, only to sarcasti ever to don tights) Jam es Canfield has cally add, “Gcxxl grief, and here I’ve been announced he will depart O B T when his thinking all these years that sex was fun.” It is contract expires at the end of June 2003. According to a press release, he wants to Filmmaker Yvonne pursue other creative Rainer questions the interests. “I am proud paradoxes of sex and that O BT now ranks as gender in The M an one of the premier Who Envied Women repertory dance compa nies in the United States,” the quirky artist says. “I feel it is time for a change, both for myself and for this company.” Canfield has not said whether he plans to leave Oregon. The former Joffrey Ballet dancer moved to Portland in 1985 to Canfield exits OBT Everything’s coming out Rosie “O ’Donnell and one of the families we represent in the case talk about their lives, their families and how they are affected by Florida’s law,” said Matt Coles, A C L U Lesbian and G ay Rights Proj ect director. "We are eager for Am erica to see and hear why Florida’s law prohibiting adoption by all gay people is discriminatory— and how that bigotry hurts families and children.” —Jim Radosta A nd you thought “The Puppy Episode” on Ellen was must- see TV: Rosie O ’Donnell will reportedly come out of the closet during an interview with Diane Sawyer airing March 14 on ABC. The program will center on the gay adoption ban in Florida, where the mother of four lives when she isn’t filming her New York-based talk show. She has been working with Rosie O ’Donnell the Am erican C ivil Liberties Union since 2001 on its fight against the law. T he suit was taken Feb. 14 to a federal appeals court in A tlanta, which is expected BO and N B C compete for the best to hear arguments later this year. Matthew Shepard movie this month. Both A lso profiled by Sawyer is Oregonian were originally slated to air March 16, but Steven Lofton, who is raising five children- HBO trumped the network by changing theirs to March 9. including three Florida foster kids— with HBO’s version, The Laramie Project, is an his partner, Roger Croteau. Although they adaptation of the off-Broadway production by gay never have known another family, they cannot be adopted by the couple because of playwright Moisés Kaufman. The channel had the foresight to hire him to adapt and direct the fea- the ban. Dueling Shepard Stories H Theatre and entered Ballet Theatre, which consolidated with front and center in Oregon Ballet in 1989, creating OBT. the same role for He has been O B T ’s only artistic director Portland’s Third and has choreographed a majority of the Angle New Music company’s critically acclaimed work. Ensemble. Setting himself apart from other ballet A fixture at Echo culture, Canfield has embraced and com for the past 1 5 years, bined an eclectic and experimental mix of Baggadonutz simply styles, including hip-hop, jazz and mcxlern decided he “wanted dance, to create more accessible (and, let’s to do something else” face it, really cool) ballet theater. and split the gig as O BT presents the annual Jam es well as his general Jam es Canfield will say Canfield Signatures, a trio of contempo manager position goodbye to O B T next year rary rtx:k ballets showcasing his choreog with the Portland raphy, March 2 to 9. The highlight is the world Symphonic Choir, all effective as of now. Founded in 1985, Third Angle is a contem premiere of Alta Cienega, featuring the music of the Doors. Also offered is Jungle, an abstract porary chamber ensemble that performs mod dance experience with colorful, unconvention em classical music. Baggadonutz is irs first al sets and costumes, and Coco, an intimate executive director. “ I hope to bring my non hx>k at the life and times of fashion icon Coco profit arts experience and general PR savvy and Chanel. For times and tickets, call chutzpah to the job in an effort to build audi ences, financial support and international 503-222-5538. exposure,” he says. “All this from a 160-square- foot office!” The exec also promises not to disappear hat queer theater mover and shaker completely from the performance art scene, Howie Baggadonutz has exited stage left noting he’ll still “have some time to do my as executive director of Do Jump! at Echo own productions now and then.” Howie exits Echo ture, which focuses on the Wyoming town in the after- math of the murder. Filmed in Laramie and Denver, it show cases a stellar ensemble cast, including Steve Buscemi, Clea Duvall, Peter Fonda, Janeane Garofalo (as a lesbian profes sor), Laura Linney and Christi na Ricci. Mark Webber, recently seen in Storytelling as a gay teen-ager, plays one of Shepard’s killers. The N B C version, so originally titled The M atthew Shepard Story, counters with its own impressive cast— Stockard Partial cast of H B O ’s The Laram ie Project Channing and Sam Water- ston at Matthew’s parents and Shane Meier as attention as compared to the other reported 20 Matthew, who is blessed with shockingly simi to 30 queer homicides committed in the Unit lar features. Directed by Roger Spottiswoode ed States each year, which might help set it (And the Band Played On), this one plays up apart from the creepy bandwagon feel of these the emotionally effective biography angle, "sensitive issue” television projects. Still, it’s including Shepard in his own story. hard to imagine many Americans won’t take Laranue is an exploration, in part, of why such focused attention as a kind of permission this event in this town sparked international to consider Shepard an isolated incident.
