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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 20, 2000)
September 20, 2000 (Tty e ÿ o rtla n h (ßbseruer É Metro / The Focus The Native American Film Festival Classic Greek Theatre Presents: Oedipus at Colonus W hilem any S hakespeare festivals thrive throughout the country, Portland, O regon will be the site o f the first annual festival ot ancient G reek dram a in the U nited States. Throughout S eptem ber until O ctober 1, C lassic G reek Theatre will be presenting Oedipus at C olonus at Reed C ollege located at SE. W oodstock. O edipus a t C olonus will be given ten fully professional p erform ances in the 600 seat ou td o o r C e rf am phitheatre on Reed C ollege cam pus. The style approxim ates the original as closely as feasible, em ploying a C horus, m asks, and costum e design based on the early vase paintings. M ysterious and beautiful, O edipus at C olonus show s the last hours o f O edipus, the m an whom “the gods raised highest and brought low est.” A fter tearing out his eyes in response to the discovery that he had unknow ingly com m itted the crim es o f incest and patricide, O edipus w andered in exile for m any years as a beggar, accom panied only by his daughter Antigone. R eaching the sanctuary o f C olonus, he realizes he has com e to the place where, according to prophecy, he is to end his days. The sam e prophecy declared that a war w ould take place for his hom e city o f Thebes and that w hoever tended his grave w ould prevail. The w ar for the throne o f Thebes is about to begin betw een O edipus’ The The 12'h A venue Project consists o f 52 signs along the left hand side o f SE 12 that develop a w ritten narrative about a young girl on a journey, m uch like the view er’s ow n experience. The story relates to the surrounding community, subtly affecting the m otorist and pedestrian. It references topography, landm arks and landscape as well as historical facts that have influenced and created the tw o sons, Eteoeles and Polyneices. Each attem pts to persuade their father to join his side. O edipus refuses both and curses them to die in the he never m eant to com m it. Sophocles lived to be 92 and is said to have w ritten 120 plays, o f w hich only 7 survived. O edipus at play in Athens, the Spartans w ere cam ped only a few m iles aw ay, gathering strength for the attack that w ould bring to an end the h a lf G reek dram a annually. This year, they are spreading their wings. To celebrate their fi tteenth year o f operation. Classic Greek Theatre will become an annual On and o ff the Res with Charlie Hill, a compelling new documentary by Sandra Osawa, will kick-off a 5- week Native American Film Festival on September 26 at the historic Kiggins Theater in downtown Vancouver. This exciting series if FREE and will be held on Tuesday evenings from September 26 to O c t 24 at 7:30 - 9 p.m. and include the screening o f the film and post-film discussion with the producers or commentators. Dr. Candice Goucher, Coordinator o f the College o f Liberal Arts at Washington StateUniversity Vancouver, will serve as moderator for the series. MMB w n I IM I N « ‘TWO THUMBS UP!’ Theresa Koon as Antigone, Eric Hull (middle) as Oedipus and David Heath as Creon. sam e instant, each killed by the other. A sudden strange thunderstorm occurs, the sign that it is tim e for O edipus to leave this earth. Sightless, he leads T heseus to a secret place, w here he is taken from m ortal life to live am ong the gods, exonerated from crim es Colonus, arguably his greatest m asterpiece, was his last play, first produced two years after his death. The death o f Sophocles coincedes with the end o f the Periclean age and the political supremacy o f Athens. While Sophocles was writing this century o f enl ightened dem ocracy and freedom o f thought that gave the west so m any o f the standards - aesthetic and political - w e live by today. Since 1996, C lassic G reek T heatre has provided Portland audiences w ith one Avenue P ro je c t local neighborhoods. This project uses speed to explore scalar relationships between automobiles and pedestnans and the resultant perception o f community, neighborfKxxi, distance and time. There are two sizes o f text on each sign, one for motorists and one for pedestrians, thathighlightthe difference o f perception in relation to speed. The story may go so far as to invite motorists to park their cars and w alk in order to ‘get the full sto ry ’. A rtists Nan B. C urtis and Martin Houston have created The 12th Avenue Project, a temporary site-specific street sign project that will run along SE 12th Avenue between Division and Sandy Boulevard, about 1.3 miles. The project will be installed from Septem ber 18 - D ecem ber 18 and is part o f in situ PO R TLA N D , a program o f the Regional Arts & C ulture C ouncil (RA C C), in collaboration with the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PIC A). The purpose o f in situ PORTLAND is to bring chai lenging temporary artworks into the public realm to serve as < catalyst for dialogue about art and/or com m unity issues. festival o f Greek drama, supplementingtheclassical-style performances with film programs, symposia workshops, guest artists and speakers and other satellite events. For m ore inform ation regarding Festival 2000, call 503/258-9313. 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