It’s you I like, Mr. Rogers
I added It’s You I Like to my iPad this past couple of weeks because David Saffert and I — and if you haven’t purchased his new CD yet, there’s still time — are working on a series of songs by Fred Rogers. YES, that Fred Rogers, also known as Mister Rogers. There is such beauty in his music. It is simple and fine. We are building a show featuring the music and heart of the divine Fred Rogers. If this show interests you and you’d like to be a part, drop me a line! We’re looking for folks to interview, as Mr. R did, about their jobs or an interesting hobby you might pursue.
Won’t you be Jen’s neighbor?
One of my collaborators on our short doc film Symphony of Grief, Jen Tate, is spreading the news that there is an opportunity to share office space in town. Folks in the film, media, and arts world here in Portland might be interested in this space at The Hollywood Q. The Q is turning into a media arts hub with these tenants’ finalizing leases: The Hollywood Theater, Oregon Film, Oregon Media Production Association, Balance Media, and Filmscience. If you are interested in getting a look at the place, drop a line to Jen; jen@oregonmedialab.com
Offices range from $600–$900 per month and can be shared by multiple parties. The Q is a cool opportunity to be together, build community and open new paths to collaborative creation. As our national scaffolding of arts funding is being dismantled, how can it continue to grow and build? In community!
Let’s be together today
Sunday, August 24, from 1pm until 9pm is a day of new works festivities at Many Hats Collaboration, the Hatchery. All events are ASL-interpreted, and Audio Described. That’s where I and Pearl Outlaw, our description quality control provider, come in. It’s the first time a theater company has invited me to audio-describe and has also provided me with funds for a QC provider. (Thank you, Jessica Wallenfels, and Beth Thompson.) Pearl and I have been welcomed into rehearsals to innovate description with playmakers and choreographers. This is unique and thrilling. Monday, Pearl and I were able to watch rehearsal, read scripts and dive into the best audio description possible for these new works that will be unveiled on Sunday. Enjoy live audio description, if you’d like, or any of the delicious offerings on Sunday, including a touch tour on set of Everybody’s Eyes Are on the First, at 1pm. All events are pay-what-you can.
• 2:00pm Everybody’s Eyes Are on the First by Teague Shattuck and Naama Friedman
• 3:30pm All bodies community dance class taught by Andrea Parson and Leiana Petlewski — Fundamentals of contact improv for regular people
• 4:30pm Double Dutch jump rope demonstration by the Tsunami Skippers from Seaside, OR with an appearance by members of the 40+ Double Dutch Club, Portland subclub
• 5:30pm Complimentary happy hour with bites from Po’Shines Cafe De La Soul and sips from Augustina Cellars
• 7:00pm Rules of the Rope by Josie Seid
What is audio description, you might ask? Here’s an audio-described trailer I voiced — and played Miss Trunchbull in — for Matilda at Portland Playhouse. Audio Description (AD) is a service that can provide a succinct account of visual information to people who are blind or have low vision. AD may be written and provided for almost any vision-related experience. For performances, the descriptive narrative is inserted during the natural pauses between dialogue, song lyrics and sound effects. AD informs the listener about facial expressions, body language, physical comedy, dance movements, costumes, changes of scene and other visual information crucial to fully experiencing the performance. In our case, it will be performed live.
This evolving art is proving to be a valuable tool in expanding literacy and cultural consciousness around the world. Pearl and I will be leaning into a more poetic version of AD then a “succinct account” of the movements on stage. Pearl is interested in emotional content onstage, and her questions to the makers and choreographers continue to help us find the juiciest language possible for our description. Check out alt-text-as-poetry to learn more about what description can embrace. Alt text is a written description of images posted online. You can also read Roy Samuelson’s book, The Voice Actor’s Guide to Audio Description, which is great, especially if you want to join the audio describer community. We’ll upload the 2025–2026 audio-described shows in Portland, here. Don’t forget, you can always ask, “Do you provide audio description?” My first show is this one, and next up, Some Like It Hot, at The Keller Auditorium on September 5.
Come say hello this Sunday; Everybody’s Eyes Are On The First! By Teague Shattuck and Naama Friedman; choreography by Adam Fleming and Rules of the Rope by Josie Seid.