Calendar

Oct
11
Thu
HUMANS @ Newmark Theater
Oct 11 @ 7:30 pm – Oct 13 @ 8:30 pm

(Photo by Pedro Greig)

White Bird welcomes Australian contemporary circus company, Circa, with their program HUMANS.

After an absence of five years, White Bird is delighted to present the return of the world-famous Australian contemporary circus company, Circa, with the West Coast premiere of their astonishing new work HUMANS. Since 2004, from its base in Brisbane, Australia, Circa has toured the world—performing in 39 countries to over a million people. As was the case in Portland in 2013, with their White Bird debut, Circa’s movement-based circus works have been greeted with standing ovations, rave reviews and sold-out houses across six continents. Under the direction of circus visionary Yaron Lifschitz, Circa’s HUMANS features an ensemble of 10 exceptional, multi-skilled circus artists whose physicality and artistry are put to the test in Lifschitz’ newest work.

Yaron Lifschitz

An article in the Australian Jewish News says: Lifschitz looks back on his career with lots of pride, as do his Jewish parents who may initially have preferred him to be a doctor.

Circa is at the forefront of the new wave of contemporary Australian circus—pioneering how extreme physicality can create powerful and moving performances. Circa pushes the boundaries of the art form, blurs the lines between movement, dance, theatre and circus, and leads the way with a diverse range of thrilling creations that ‘redraw the limits to which circus can aspire“ (The Age).

Over the course of 70 nail-biting minutes, HUMANS explores the limits of human physicality and perseverance. The stage remains stripped bare as the vulnerability of the artists is left exposed throughout this thrilling work. Seamlessly moving from one breathtaking acrobatic act to the next, HUMANS challenges both the artists and the audience members to answer the questions “what does it mean to be human? How can you express the very essence of this experience with your body, with the group and with the audience? Where are your limits, what extraordinary things can you achieve and how can you find grace in your inevitable defeat?” Lifschitz uses this work to report on what it means to be human. “In our limitations are our possibilities,” he says. It is “precisely because we are human that our physical achievements acquire dignity, meaning and poetry. It is in connection to our vulnerability that our strength finds its true articulation.”

In its glowing review, The Guardian (UK) sums up the power and beauty of HUMANS: “Circa’s brand new production Humans is the five-star favorite: a clear demonstration of the artistry of circus and its potential to draw together multiple theatrical forms. What I adored was its fluid take on humanity and gender roles: women caught men falling backwards; men leapt towards and were caught by men. As the ensemble moved themselves into sculptural, abstract shapes, reaching higher to the ceiling for the denouement, I felt moved by their vulnerable, collective humanity.”

Circa’s Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz is a graduate of the University of New South Wales, University of Queensland, and National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), where he was the youngest director ever accepted into its prestigious graduate director’s course. Since graduating, Yaron has directed over 60 productions including large-scale events, opera, theatre, physical theatre, and circus. His work has been seen in 39 countries and across six continents by over one million people and has won numerous awards including six Helpmann awards and the Australia Council Theatre Award. He is currently Artistic Director and CEO of Circa, and was the Creative Director of Festival 2018: the arts and cultural program of the 21st Commonwealth Games. In 2018, Yaron directed four new Circa creations, and a new production of Idomeneo which opened in Lisbon at The Teatro Nacional de São Carlos.

White Bird’s 21st season (2018-19) is supported by the Regional Arts & Culture Council, including support from the City of Portland, Multnomah County and the Arts Education & Access Fund; Work for Art; The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, and Oregon Arts Commission.

Mar
3
Sun
2019 Friends of the Center Brunch featuring Michael Twitty @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Mar 3 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
2019 Friends of the Center Brunch featuring Michael Twitty
Michael W. Twitty: Kosher Soul and The Cooking Gene
Join us for our 2019 Friends of the Center Brunch, the MJCC’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Come hear Michael W. Twitty, a James Beard Winning food writer, independent scholar, culinary historian, and historical interpreter personally charged with preparing, preserving, and promoting African American foodways and its parent traditions in Africa and her Diaspora and its legacy in the food culture of the American South. Michael is a Judaic studies teacher from the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area. The Cooking Gene is Michael’s personal mission to document the connection between food history and family history from Africa to America, from slavery to freedom. Initiated in 2011, the project successfully garnered funding and significant media attention in 2012 to initiate a journey known as The Southern Discomfort Tour. Follow him on twitter @koshersoul, and meet him at the MJCC on Sunday, March 3, 2019.
Individual Tickets: $54. Age 36 and under: $36. Table of Eight: $432.
Sponsorships available.
oregonjcc.org/brunch
May
2
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
May 2 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Mark Twain said it best when he said, “no one has an uninteresting life!” This workshop is an opportunity to explore your life and write your stories. Dorothy Dworkin, an experienced author, columnist and writing coach, will offer prompts and suggestions to get you started on writing your stories. She will help you organize your memoir with noncritical feedback from your fellow writers and from her years of experience facilitating the writing process. No experience necessary, only a desire to share your experiences with family, friends and fellow “memoirists.” Class size is limited to 12.
Thursdays
May 2 – 30
11:00 am – 12:30 pm, CG306
Cost: $50.

Register at oregonjcc.org/registration

May
9
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
May 9 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Mark Twain said it best when he said, “no one has an uninteresting life!” This workshop is an opportunity to explore your life and write your stories. Dorothy Dworkin, an experienced author, columnist and writing coach, will offer prompts and suggestions to get you started on writing your stories. She will help you organize your memoir with noncritical feedback from your fellow writers and from her years of experience facilitating the writing process. No experience necessary, only a desire to share your experiences with family, friends and fellow “memoirists.” Class size is limited to 12.
Thursdays
May 2 – 30
11:00 am – 12:30 pm, CG306
Cost: $50.

Register at oregonjcc.org/registration

May
16
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
May 16 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Mark Twain said it best when he said, “no one has an uninteresting life!” This workshop is an opportunity to explore your life and write your stories. Dorothy Dworkin, an experienced author, columnist and writing coach, will offer prompts and suggestions to get you started on writing your stories. She will help you organize your memoir with noncritical feedback from your fellow writers and from her years of experience facilitating the writing process. No experience necessary, only a desire to share your experiences with family, friends and fellow “memoirists.” Class size is limited to 12.
Thursdays
May 2 – 30
11:00 am – 12:30 pm, CG306
Cost: $50.

Register at oregonjcc.org/registration

May
23
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
May 23 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Mark Twain said it best when he said, “no one has an uninteresting life!” This workshop is an opportunity to explore your life and write your stories. Dorothy Dworkin, an experienced author, columnist and writing coach, will offer prompts and suggestions to get you started on writing your stories. She will help you organize your memoir with noncritical feedback from your fellow writers and from her years of experience facilitating the writing process. No experience necessary, only a desire to share your experiences with family, friends and fellow “memoirists.” Class size is limited to 12.
Thursdays
May 2 – 30
11:00 am – 12:30 pm, CG306
Cost: $50.

Register at oregonjcc.org/registration

May
30
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
May 30 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Mark Twain said it best when he said, “no one has an uninteresting life!” This workshop is an opportunity to explore your life and write your stories. Dorothy Dworkin, an experienced author, columnist and writing coach, will offer prompts and suggestions to get you started on writing your stories. She will help you organize your memoir with noncritical feedback from your fellow writers and from her years of experience facilitating the writing process. No experience necessary, only a desire to share your experiences with family, friends and fellow “memoirists.” Class size is limited to 12.
Thursdays
May 2 – 30
11:00 am – 12:30 pm, CG306
Cost: $50.

Register at oregonjcc.org/registration

Aug
19
Mon
Jewish Heritage Night at the Hillsboro Hops @ Ron Tonkin Field
Aug 19 @ 7:00 pm

Jewish Heritage Night at the Hillsboro Hops

Join the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland and the Mittleman Jewish Community Center for Heritage Night as the Hillsboro Hops take on the Tri-City Dust Devils!
Monday, August 19
7:05 pm

Ron Tonkin Field
4460 NE Century Blvd., Hillsboro, OR

Cost: $16 plus service fee
In partnership with JFGP
Nov
7
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Nov 7 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28

Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir

Nov
14
Thu
Memoir Writing Workshop @ Mittleman Jewish Community Center
Nov 14 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Memoir Writing Workshop – Write Your Own Story Now!
with Dorothy Dworkin
Every life is unique, interesting and special, and everyone has a story to share. No writing experience is necessary to join fellow storytellers in writing your story. In this workshop, you will be helped to remember the events of your life and write your memories in a supportive, non-threatening environment with a professional writing coach.
Thursdays, November 7 – December 19
11:00 am – 12:30 pm
No class on November 28

Cost: $60.
Register at oregonjcc.org/memoir