Hand2Mouth Theatre
Encyclopedia
Hand2Mouth Theatre is an ensemble cast
group based in Portland
, Oregon
. The group collaborative experimentally to generate their performances, and evolve all language, movement, and design elements themselves—instead of working from a pre-written script.
Since 2006, Hand2Mouth has also run a youth education program in the Portland
area called Hand-to-Hand Youth Theatre.
, and Jerzy Grotowski
.
, Pendelton, OR (Jerusalem)
2003 - River Theatre, Astoria, OR (Posture Queen)
2004 - Open Theatre International Festival, Katowice
, Poland (Blue with Stacja Szamocin)
2004 - Pablo Neruda
Centenary Festival, Portland State University
, Portland, OR (Slender with Carpetbag Brigade)
2004 - PuppetLove! Festival, San Francisco, CA (The Wild Child
)
2004 - River Theatre, Astoria, OR (Thirst)
2005 - Festival Malta, Poznan, Poland (Blue with Stacja Szamocin)
2005 - Kalisz Theatre Festival, Kalisz, Poland (Blue with Stacja Szamocin)
2005 - Edmonds Community College
, Seattle, WA (The Wild Child
)
2005 - Willamette University
, Salem, OR (The Wild Child
)
2006 - Just Add Water Festival, Portland Center Stage
, Portland, OR (After Hours)
2007 - On the Boards
, Seattle, WA (Repeat After Me)
2007 - Time-Based Art Festival
, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art
, Portland, OR (Repeat After Me)
2007 - Northwest New Works Festival, On the Boards
, Seattle, WA (Repeat After Me - excerpt)
2008 - Myrna Loy
Center, Helena, MT (Repeat After Me)
2008 - Bumbershoot Arts Festival, Seattle, WA (Project X: You Are Here)
2008 - NW New Works Festival, Seattle, WA (Undine)
2008 - 10 Tiny Dances, Portland, OR (Project X: You Are Here)
2009 - Fury Festival, Fury Factory, San Francisco, CA (Repeat After Me)
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
group based in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. The group collaborative experimentally to generate their performances, and evolve all language, movement, and design elements themselves—instead of working from a pre-written script.
Since 2006, Hand2Mouth has also run a youth education program in the Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
area called Hand-to-Hand Youth Theatre.
Influences
Hand2Mouth Theatre are influenced by the work of Forced Entertainment, Elevator Repair ServiceElevator Repair Service
Elevator Repair Service are a New York-based theater ensemble founded by director John Collins and a group of actors in 1991.ERS have performed in various New York including Performance Space 122, The Performing Garage, HERE, The Ontological at St. Mark's Church, The Flea, The Kitchen, and Soho...
, and Jerzy Grotowski
Jerzy Grotowski
Jerzy Grotowski was a Polish theatre director and innovator of experimental theatre, the "theatre laboratory" and "poor theatre" concepts....
.
History
Jonathan Walters founded Hand2Mouth in 2000 after training with street theatre troupe Teatr Biuro Podrozy in Poland. As of 2009, Hand2Mouth has created 15 original performances, and the ensemble has grown to include a core of company members and associate artists. Company members have traveled and studied in London, New York, Poland, Denmark and Mexico City.Performance Development Process
Hand2Mouth actors, dramaturgs, and designers collaboratively develop the performances utilizing a combination of long form improvisations, movement, dance, singing, and discussion. Each contributor contributes researched material through these means. Design elements can result from experimentation and improvisation of materials, set, lighting, sound, music and various objects brought to the stage.Performance History
2002 - Blue Mountain Community CollegeBlue Mountain Community College
Blue Mountain Community College is a community college located in Pendleton, Oregon, United States, and serves Umatilla, Morrow, and Baker counties...
, Pendelton, OR (Jerusalem)
2003 - River Theatre, Astoria, OR (Posture Queen)
2004 - Open Theatre International Festival, Katowice
Katowice
Katowice is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, on the Kłodnica and Rawa rivers . Katowice is located in the Silesian Highlands, about north of the Silesian Beskids and about southeast of the Sudetes Mountains.It is the central district of the Upper Silesian Metropolis, with a population of 2...
, Poland (Blue with Stacja Szamocin)
2004 - Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....
Centenary Festival, Portland State University
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
, Portland, OR (Slender with Carpetbag Brigade)
2004 - PuppetLove! Festival, San Francisco, CA (The Wild Child
Victor of Aveyron
Victor of Aveyron was a feral child who apparently lived his entire childhood naked and alone in the woods before being found wandering the woods near Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance, France, in 1797. He was captured, but soon escaped after being displayed in the town...
)
2004 - River Theatre, Astoria, OR (Thirst)
2005 - Festival Malta, Poznan, Poland (Blue with Stacja Szamocin)
2005 - Kalisz Theatre Festival, Kalisz, Poland (Blue with Stacja Szamocin)
2005 - Edmonds Community College
Edmonds Community College
Edmonds Community College is a college in the metropolitan area of Seattle. More than 20,000 students annually take courses for credit toward a certificate or degree at the college in Snohomish County, Washington.-History and governance:...
, Seattle, WA (The Wild Child
Victor of Aveyron
Victor of Aveyron was a feral child who apparently lived his entire childhood naked and alone in the woods before being found wandering the woods near Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance, France, in 1797. He was captured, but soon escaped after being displayed in the town...
)
2005 - Willamette University
Willamette University
Willamette University is an American private institution of higher learning located in Salem, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest university in the Western United States. Willamette is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges, and is made up of an undergraduate College of Liberal Arts and...
, Salem, OR (The Wild Child
Victor of Aveyron
Victor of Aveyron was a feral child who apparently lived his entire childhood naked and alone in the woods before being found wandering the woods near Saint-Sernin-sur-Rance, France, in 1797. He was captured, but soon escaped after being displayed in the town...
)
2006 - Just Add Water Festival, Portland Center Stage
Portland Center Stage
Portland Center Stage is a theater company based in Portland, Oregon, United States. Theater productions are presented at the Gerding Theater at the Armory in Portland's Pearl District. PCS was founded in 1988 as the northern sibling of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon...
, Portland, OR (After Hours)
2007 - On the Boards
On the Boards
On the Boards is a non-profit contemporary performing arts organization in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1978. Originally located at Washington Hall in the Central District, the organization moved in 1998 to their current location in Lower Queen Anne...
, Seattle, WA (Repeat After Me)
2007 - Time-Based Art Festival
Time-Based Art Festival
The Time-Based Art Festival is an annual interdisciplinary art and performance festival presented by the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art . It occurs over a ten-day period in September in Portland, Oregon in the United States...
, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art
The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art in Portland, Oregon, United States was founded in 1996 by Kristy Edmunds, formerly the Director of the Portland Art Museum's "Art on the Edge" program...
, Portland, OR (Repeat After Me)
2007 - Northwest New Works Festival, On the Boards
On the Boards
On the Boards is a non-profit contemporary performing arts organization in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1978. Originally located at Washington Hall in the Central District, the organization moved in 1998 to their current location in Lower Queen Anne...
, Seattle, WA (Repeat After Me - excerpt)
2008 - Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy
Myrna Loy was an American actress. Trained as a dancer, she devoted herself fully to an acting career following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast in exotic roles, often as a vamp or a woman of Asian descent, her career prospects improved following her portrayal of Nora Charles...
Center, Helena, MT (Repeat After Me)
2008 - Bumbershoot Arts Festival, Seattle, WA (Project X: You Are Here)
2008 - NW New Works Festival, Seattle, WA (Undine)
2008 - 10 Tiny Dances, Portland, OR (Project X: You Are Here)
2009 - Fury Festival, Fury Factory, San Francisco, CA (Repeat After Me)