(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.
This program has been cancelled. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Family Flicks – An American Tail
Come to the MJCC for an afternoon of family fun! We will be playing a family classic, An American Tail (Rated G), on the big screen. Popcorn and snacks will be provided.
Cost: $10 per family
Tickets: oregonjcc.org/familyflicks
From award-winning novelist and memoirist Mary Morris comes the story of a sleepy New Mexican community that must come to grips with a religious and political inheritance they never expected. Morris is the author of numerous works of fiction, including the novels The Jazz Palace, A Mother’s Love, and House Arrest, and of nonfiction, including the travel memoir classic “Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone.” She is a recipient of the Rome Prize in literature and the 2016 Anisfield-Wolf Award for Fiction.
Her novel alternates between late medieval Spain and Portugal during the traumatic time of the Inquisition, and a very small town in New Mexico in 1992. The modern New Mexican characters are Catholics with peculiar habits. Nobody in town eats pork but they don’t know why. It is likely they are the descendants of conversos, Jews who converted during the Spanish Inquisition. The story weaves a connecting thread from the Iberian Peninsula to Mexico City and then on to the original settlers who moved into what is now the American Southwest. Five hundred years later, a young amateur astronomer wonders about the secret of the town he grew up in: Entrada de la Luna, or Gateway to the Moon.
Morris’ previous work, The Jazz Palace, won the Anisfeld-Wolf Book Award for important contributions to the understanding of racism in 2016. She also writes short stories and travel memoirs. Her many novels and story collections have been translated into six languages. She lives in Brooklyn, New York and teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College.
Doors open at 4:00 PM to meet and greet the author. A one-hour author reading and discussion will follow beginning at 4:30 PM. Light refreshments will be served. Admission is free.
Co-sponsored by the Beit Am Jewish Community and the MJCC. Grassroots Bookstore will be there with copies of the paperback edition of Gateway to the Moon for sale and author signing.
From award-winning novelist and memoirist Mary Morris comes the story of a sleepy New Mexican community that must come to grips with a religious and political inheritance they never expected. Morris is the author of numerous works of fiction, including the novels The Jazz Palace, A Mother’s Love, and House Arrest, and of nonfiction, including the travel memoir classic “Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone.” She is a recipient of the Rome Prize in literature and the 2016 Anisfield-Wolf Award for Fiction.
From award-winning novelist and memoirist Mary Morris comes the story of a sleepy New Mexican community that must come to grips with a religious and political inheritance they never expected. Morris is the author of numerous works of fiction, including the novels The Jazz Palace, A Mother’s Love, and House Arrest, and of nonfiction, including the travel memoir classic “Nothing to Declare: Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone.” She is a recipient of the Rome Prize in literature and the 2016 Anisfield-Wolf Award for Fiction.
MJCC Author Series Events 2019-2020
Film Screening and Conversation with Author Aimee Ginsburg Bikel
Join us for an engaging evening featuring a screening of legendary Theodore Bikel’s z”l critically acclaimed documentary film, In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem, followed by a lively audience discussion with Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, widow of Theo, and Director of The Theodore Bikel Legacy Project.
Monday, October 28
7:00 pm
Cost: $10. MJCC Member Cost: $8.
Register: oregonjcc.org/bikelfilm
Co-sponsored by the Kostiner Cultural Education Fund and Portland State University’s Judaic Studies Department
Talk with Jamie Bernstein
Join us for a talk with Jamie Bernstein on her memoir, Famous Father Girl, in conjunction with the exhibition Bernstein at 100! and Jewish Book Month. Jamie Bernstein is a writer, narrator, broadcaster, and filmmaker who has transformed a lifetime of loving music into a career of sharing her knowledge and excitement with others.
Monday, November 11
7:00 pm
OJMCHE Members Cost: $12.
General Public Cost: $15.
Register: ojmche.org/tickets/a-talk-with-jamie-bernstein
Held at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education
Organized by the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education with support from the Mittleman Jewish Community Center and Institute for Judaic Studies
SAVE THESE AUTHOR SERIES DATES FOR 2020!
January 15 – Josh Frank
May 5 – Yousef Bashir
Check back for more details, soon to come!
MJCC Author Series Events 2019-2020
Film Screening and Conversation with Author Aimee Ginsburg Bikel
Join us for an engaging evening featuring a screening of legendary Theodore Bikel’s z”l critically acclaimed documentary film, In the Shoes of Sholom Aleichem, followed by a lively audience discussion with Aimee Ginsburg Bikel, widow of Theo, and Director of The Theodore Bikel Legacy Project.
Monday, October 28
7:00 pm
Cost: $10. MJCC Member Cost: $8.
Register: oregonjcc.org/bikelfilm
Co-sponsored by the Kostiner Cultural Education Fund and Portland State University’s Judaic Studies Department
Talk with Jamie Bernstein
Join us for a talk with Jamie Bernstein on her memoir, Famous Father Girl, in conjunction with the exhibition Bernstein at 100! and Jewish Book Month. Jamie Bernstein is a writer, narrator, broadcaster, and filmmaker who has transformed a lifetime of loving music into a career of sharing her knowledge and excitement with others.
Monday, November 11
7:00 pm
OJMCHE Members Cost: $12.
General Public Cost: $15.
Register: ojmche.org/tickets/a-talk-with-jamie-bernstein
Held at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education
Organized by the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education with support from the Mittleman Jewish Community Center and Institute for Judaic Studies
SAVE THESE AUTHOR SERIES DATES FOR 2020!
January 15 – Josh Frank
May 5 – Yousef Bashir
Check back for more details, soon to come!
Join us for a conversation with author Josh Frank. Frank has worked with some of the most innovative musicians, filmmakers, producers, and artists in the industry including Black Francis, David Lynch, and Harold Ramis.
Wednesday, January 15
7:00 pm
Cost: $10. Member Cost: $8.
Sponsored by the Jewish Book Council, the Schwartz Charitable Foundation, and Portland Jewish Book Celebration
Register at oregonjcc.org/frank