Risk/Reward Festival Returns This Month

In 2020, Risk/Reward was the first to hold a live performance in Portland in the first four months of the pandemic with the drive-in event called "Pavement," held at the Portland Opera parking lot in mid-July. This year, Risk/Reward is coming back with a twist on its normal festival line-up: Risk/Reward Festival of New Performance is going for a full drive-in experience with Pacific Northwest artists who make work for film! These films will be shown on the 50 ft screen at Oaks Park Hangar, where the roller derby plays. Drive-up, settle in, and see the brilliant contemporary performance work created during our long time apart.

The festival's evening-length works will include five artists from Portland with up to 20 minute performances created for film. Find more information on the artists included in this year's festival below, and prepare for a full night of fun.

Sunset isn't until 9pm PST, so Risk/Reward is planning a pre-show of much-missed live music, including all-femme David Bowie cover band, the Major Tomboys, followed by 80 minutes of performance films. Food carts and a wine-and-beer bar will be available to make a night of it. Car spaces and sitting/standing spaces will be available, and all tickets will be pay-what-you-can online or at the door.

The Risk/Reward Festival showcases new works by indie performing artists from across the region. Come celebrate our 13th year blurring the boundaries of independent theater, music, dance, and performance art in new and surprising ways.

The 2021 lineup features:

PRINCESS BOUTON | First Laugh | dance/movement (Portland, OR)

WOBBLY DANCE | TIDAL | performance/multimedia (Portland, OR)

MORIVIVI THEATRE in collaboration with HAND2MOUTH | Distancias | documentary film (Portland, OR)
KELLY NESBITT | PENNY - THE CONDUIT | performance art film (Portland, OR)

OLIVIA LOUISE | the myth of Narcissus | poetry/movement film (Portland, OR)

The festival will solicit proposals from regional artists for new works that can be performed in less than 20-minutes. A panel of local artists and tastemakers assist in curating a lineup, challenging the artists to run wild - encouraging creative risks, experimentation and bold investigation. No one really knows what to expect until opening night. Five performances are staged back-to-back nightly in a festive environment. Audiences come to sample a variety of artistic voices and art forms in what the Willamette Week calls "speed dating for contemporary performance."

Tickets and more information: www.risk-reward.org - Pay-What-You-Will (suggested for cars: $30, standing/sitting: $20)

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