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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 2007)
Oregon Ballet Theatre presents the only West Coast performances of George Balanchine's quintessential The Nutcracker Dec. 8-24. the year. The 16-piece big band will have you dancing to your favorite tunes of the swing era. j Come early for lessons by Daniel Hutchison of Out Dancing. (7 pm lessons, 8 pm dance. 300 NE Multnomah St $18 at the door, $15 in advance from wwwrcgfb.org.) Confluence: The Willamette Valley Mixed GALA Chorus presents its holiday concert through Dec. 9 at Salem's First Congregational Church and Corvallis' Unitarian Fellowship Behold the Star! will feature festive songs such as "Glona Deo,” "Scarlet Ribbons" and "Calypso Noel" as well as an audience sing-along of familiar Christmas carols. (7:30pm Saturday, 700 Marion St. NE 4 pm Sunday, 2940 NW Circle Blvd. $12-$15 from www.confluencechorus.org.) Mississippi Pizza Pub presents The Shondes, Tara Jane O'Neil and SGs featuring Sarah Gottesdiener and Sarah Dougher. (8 pm. 3552 N Mississippi Ave $5.) UnderUAMen presents a special holiday stocking- stuffer extravaganza, Underwear Party 2007, at C.C. Slaughters. Win a modeling contract or underwear for a year! Proceeds benefit Basic Rights Oregon. (9 pm. 219 NW Davis St $7 at the door, $5 in advance from UnderU4Men.) Girl4Girl Portland throws a Winter White Holiday Bash - with DJ Shortee at Wonder Ballroom. (9 pm-2 am. 128 NE Russell St. $10 from www.girl4girlportland.com.) SUN • DEC. 9 The Imperial Sovereign Rose Court presents a new twist on the Emperor's Tree Hunt, start ing with breakfast and ornament making at Joq's, followed by tree decorating at Q Center. Donations benefit Our House of Portland. (10 am 2512 NE Broadway.) Q Center presents NoHo Trans/Genderqueer Gay-owned Muse Art and Design exhibits Hickory Mertsching's intriguing representational---------- ------ still lifes through Jan. 5, 2008. The HollyTo Group, for folks who are not on hormones, every second Sunday. (2-4 pm. 69 SE Taylor St.) Keshet presents a potluck dinner and Hanukkah party with a white elephant gift exchange, latkes and applesauce! (5 pm. RSVP to mike@seeingresults. com.) Gay-owned Vino Paradiso presents a six-course German wine dinner with pairings personally selected by Ewald Moseler, a premier distribu tor of German wines in the Northwest. (6 pm. 417 NW 10th Ave. $75 from 503-295-9536.) i Darcelle XV Showplace presents the sixth annu al Community Holiday Show featuring cabaret acts from the bear, leather and drag communi ties; an auction hosted by Poison Waters; a raf fle; and Polaroids with Santa Bear for $5. Proceeds benefit Esther's Pantry and Central City Concern. (6 pm 208 NW Third Ave. $5 or an equivalent amount of nonperishable items.) The Turn of the Scrooge This holiday season the Portland theater company Public Playhouse takes the dick out of Dickens hy rounding up an all female cast for its production of Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol. In this revisionist version of the yuletide staple, actor and playwright Tom Mula steals the spotlight from Ehenezer Scrooge and shines it on the chained ghost of Jacob Marley. Mula per formed the show solo when it premiered in Chicago in 1998, and later he rewrote it as an ensemble piece for four actors. In Public Playhouse's girl power rendition, the company’s executive director, Jolin Milberg, stars as Jacob Marley, and pansexual actress Kate Mura plays the role of Scrooge. In Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol, Mura says: “The focus turns to how Marley has to bring about Scrooge’s redemption. Now we know his backstory and why he needs Scrooge to be redeemed." Mura, 28, grew up in New Jersey and studied acting at DePaul University in Chicago. Rather than unleash yet another portray al of Scrooge as a one-dimensional crotchety old man, she’s employing an acting technique called RasaBoxes. The tech nique—which is inspired by Hindu philosophy—allows actors to explore a wide range of emotional states when preparing for a role. “It gives me a broader palette to work with,” says Mura. Mura is energetic and articulate, and she offered some engag ing tales about her childhixxl and her sexuality. According to her mother, she had her heart set on show business before she was even bom. “When my mother was nine months pregnant,” she says, “my parents went to an opera. 1 kicked on different sides of the womb depending on whether the altos or sopranos were singing. My mom knew I’d be a performer." Growing up near Manhattan gave Mura an opportunity to see queer-themed plays like Falsettos and Angels in America at an ear ly age. But of all things it was the animated film The Last Unicom that inspired her to explore her sexuality to its fullest. “The prince says, ‘I love whom I love,’ ’’ Mura recalls, “and it helped me realize I could love people regardless of their sex or gender.” Holocene presents Pop Tart for bois, dykes, ladies and the like every second Sunday. (7pm- 1 am. 1001 SE Morrison St. $5.) MON • DEC. 10 The Human Rights Campaign, which advo cates for queer issues, holds a volunteer meet- ; ing every second Monday at Q Center. Get involved! (7-9 pm. 69 SE Taylor St.) TUE • DEC. 11 * Old Wives' Tales hosts the Bisexual Women's Discussion Group. (6:30 pm. 1300 E Bumside St. RSVP by Dec. 10 to pdxbiwomen@gmail.com.) ^Go\ In Other Words presents a night of collaborative storytelling, performance and readings by the Brontosaurus Word Processing Exchange Rendezvous with this queer writing collective's special combina tion of exposed, hilarious and courageous words. (6:30pm. 8 NE Killings worth St. $3-$10 donation.) Kregg Arntson. Shake up the holidays with a cabaret full of frosty, frothy tunes that capture the spirit of the season. Repeats Dec. 18 and 19. (7:30 pm. 800 NW Sixth Ave. $ 15 from 503-223-0070.) PBS' Independent Leps series presents The Paper, which goes behind the scenes of Penn State's The Daily Collegian as it faces a major cri sis after deciding to cover a gay rights kiss-in and publish a homophobic response letter. The contro versy that erupts both inside and outside the newsroom has far-reaching social consequences, and the event forces the young editors to reflect on news choices they've made. (10pm.) WED • DEC. 12 The Adventure Group takes a moderate snow shoe hike above Government Camp. Meet out side Starbucks at Hollywood Fred Meyer. (9 am. 3030 NE Weidler St. Ron 503-284-3345.) THU • DEC. 13 Aura Restaurant 8 Lounge hosts Salon Q, a monthly mixer for men and women to social ize in a smoke-free environment. (7 pm. 1035 SW Stark St ) Elder Resource Alliance invites older members of the sexual minorities community to meet each other, share common interests and enjoy fun conversation every second Thursday at Niki's Restaurant. (1-3 pm. 736 SE Grand Ave.) Wilf's Restaurant and Bar presents The HollyTones...on Ice! featuring gay performer Have you gotten your flu shot? The Men's Wellness Center presents Vaccination Night offen l.iiltlO for th In 0 Releí •exts one \ ITpn Woiu Holid Proce St $1 ( G< Löü the fc transi back; i ante might Christ Taylor Lynn Villaqt Splen Wt.-tikl danct; Dark Sees the Light Kate Mura (right) faces off with Jolin Milberg in Jacob Marley's Christmas Carol. Apart from her Portland acting credits—which include a recent role in 8 Views Toward Center by Integrity Productions— Mura has worked on sets and costumes for Third Rail Repertory and Northwest Children’s Theater. In addition, she recently acted in the local film The Messiah Complex. Public Playhouse presents Jacob Marley’s Christmas Carol through Dec. 22 at CoHo Theatre, 2257 N.W. Raleigh St. Tickets are $14-$ 16 from 503-922-0532. —Stephen Blair Following on the heels of his critically lauded work-in- progress performance of Into the Dark Unknown: The Hope Chest at September’s Time-Based Art Festival, queer neo-folkie musician Holcombe Waller will celebrate the release of a limited, local-only live DVD of that entire performance, as well as a compilation CD of live recordings from that and other performances. The gig is scheduled for 9 p.m. Dec. 18 at Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E. Burnside St. Brooklyn artist Chris Garneau opens. Tickets are $10 from TicketsWest. Waller will be joined by his backing ensemble, The Healers, featuring Ben Landsverk, Kelly Meyer, Tim DuRoche, Galan Cohen and Steve Kennon. Proceeds from merchandise sales will finance a self-produced theatrical version of Into the Dark Unknown to be presented next year in Portland and San Francisco. The show has already been selected for presentation at the “On the Boards” mainstage during Seattle’s New Works Northwest Festival next May. This represents a new foray into the performance art world for Waller, who has been writing and recording music for about 15 years. In addition, he is preparing his next studio album, taking modem dance classes and developing a sequel to his solo clown performance piece, Mihael Sagalovesky and the Tragic Torments of Patty Heart Townes, based on the songs of Buffie-Sainte Marie. Holcombe and the Healers will also be featured at this month’s taping of the OPB variety show Live Wire[8 p.m. Dec. 14 at Aladdin Theater, 3017 S.E. Milwaukie Ave. Tickets are $15 at the door or $ 12 in advance from the box office or Ticketmaster. Holcombe Waller is releas DVD of his acclaimed TBA Unknown: The Hope Ches
