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  "path": "/spring-arts-2026/2026/03/12/48368929/do-this-do-that-spring-arts-2026",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-12T10:22:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.portlandmercury.com",
  "tags": [
    "Spring Arts 2026",
    "Do This, Do That",
    "Find a copy",
    "Subscribe to print",
    "Support us",
    "cstpdx.com",
    "fusetheatreensemble.com",
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    "_aladdin-theater.com_",
    "View this post on Instagram",
    "A post shared by Jacqueline Novak (@jacnov)",
    "powells.com",
    "instagram.com/transtown.pdx",
    "artistsrep.org",
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    "portlandpanorama.org",
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  "textContent": "Take heed! Your spring arts and culture plans have arrived.\n\nby Bri Brey\n\n**_Find a copy of the print issue! Subscribe to print issues! Support us!_**\n\nSeven Films by Kelly Reichardt\n\n**THROUGH MARCH 22**\n\n(FILM) Clinton Street’s monthlong series for March centers the Pacific Northwest’s director supreme Kelly Reichardt, working near through her entire filmography. Novelist and Reichardt’s frequent artistic collaborator Jon Raymond will attend three screenings (_Wendy and Lucy, Meek’s Cutoff, Showing Up_) and offer post-viewing Q&As. If you missed Reichardt’s _The Mastermind_ (2025), you’ll have another shot on March 22. (_Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton, $10,cstpdx.com_)******LINDSAY COSTELLO**\n\n_Riot Queens_\n\n**THROUGH MARCH 29**\n\n(THEATER & PERFORMANCE) You don’t know about the Compton Cafeteria Riots—we don’t live in San Francisco, and they don’t teach enough queer history in school—but maybe you should. In 1966, a group of trans women stood up to police who were targeting and harassing them, in an all-night restaurant in the Tenderloin neighborhood called Gene Compton’s Cafeteria. Someone allegedly threw a cup of coffee in an officer’s face. What happened next? Prolific playwright Mikki Gillette penned _Riot Queens_ to bring us up to speed, based on her own extensive research. As _Mercury_ critic Jenna Fletcher wrote in a review last summer: “Gillette’s plays offer the rare opportunity to support art made by and within queer community at a time where it’s more urgent than ever.” (_Back Door Theater, 4319 SE Hawthorne, $25 or pay as you’re able,fusetheatreensemble.com, mature audiences_) **SUZETTE SMITH**\n\nEmily Wise: _Meet Me at the Mothership_\n\n**THROUGH APRIL 4**\n\n(VISUAL ART) The motto of Emily Wise's artistic output might be \"the longer you look, the more you find.” Wise's last two exhibitions at Chefas Projects, _Hair of the Banshee_ and _Hands that Hold the Melting Rope_ , populated neon-hued acrylic compositions with cool girls, Irish banshees, and shadowy flora. _Meet Me at the Mothership_ brings together more of Wise’s lucid dreams in painting form. Inspired by a recent experience in Utah’s desert terrain and envisioning the multivalent mothership as a “cosmological, terrestrial, and corporeal” figure, the show asks an interesting question: What is the maternal quality, exactly? Wise’s women scroll TikTok and witness mythical, light-spilling eggs in pursuit of the truth._(Chefas Projects, 134 SE Taylor Ste 203,stephaniechefas.com, all ages) _**LC**\n\n_Minidoka on Our Minds_\n\n**THROUGH JUNE 14**\n\n(COMMUNITY) Between August 1942 and October 1945, the US government forcibly moved over 13,000 Japanese Americans to a concentration camp in Minidoka County, Idaho, as part of a nationwide order to incarcerate those the government deemed “alien enemies” during World War 2. Minidoka War Relocation Center became the main destination for interned persons from Alaska, Oregon, and Washington. A new exhibition, _Minidoka on Our Minds,_ explains the history of the site and presents it with artworks made by survivors and their descendants. For example, sculptures by Mira Nakashima were made with wood gathered by Ed Abe, a man who died collecting it during a snowstorm at Minidoka in 1942. (_Japanese American Museum of Oregon, 411 NW Flanders, $8,jamo.org, all ages_) **SS**\n\n****Carving by Shigeta Ouchida on view in _Minidoka on Our Minds_. COURTESY JAPANESE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF OREGON Mundo de las Mujeres\n\n**MARCH 11-21**\n\n(THEATER & PERFORMANCE) For the third year, Milagro Theatre celebrates playwriting and performance by Latina/e women with its Mundo de las Mujeres festival. For fans of staged readings, Mia Torres directs two—Erlina Ortiz’s _Las Mujeres_ on March 11 and Alexis Scheer’s _Laughs in Spanish_ on March 18. Andrea Menchaca Hall’s stand-up special _Speaking American_ is the main event on March 21. (_Milagro Theatre, 525 SE Stark, $5 + pay what you will,milagro.org_) **SS**\n\n_Dies Irae, Desirée_\n\n**MARCH 13-15**\n\n(MUSIC) If the words “classical music” don’t tend to grab your attention, consider that Third Angle New Music’s curatorial flavor trends toward experimental takes on the form. So far, their 40th anniversary concert series has explored the works of minimalist pioneer Steve Reich from inside Hopscotch’s interactive art exhibits, and brought a string quartet and clarinet ensemble to the World Forestry Center. Maria Finkelmeier and Brady Evan Walker’s UFO-laden chamber opera _Dies Irae, Desirée_ is next on the docket, in which a YouTube streamer-turned-cult leader claims to communicate with aliens. Cast members Sarah Tiedemann and William Pyle also play flute and saxophone among other live instrumentalists. (_Vault Theater, 350 E Main, Hillsboro, $30-$40,thirdangle.org, all ages_) **LC**\n\n_Born in Flames_\n\n**MARCH 13-15**\n\n(FILM) Fans of Octavia Butler and Ursula K. Le Guin will dig Lizzie Borden’s dystopian docu-fiction _Born in Flames_ (1983), which imagines the fractured aftermath of a revolution that didn’t keep its promises. The director’s guerrilla approach blends real news footage with direct-action feminism; don’t blink and you’ll catch Kathryn Bigelow in a small role. (_5th Avenue Cinema, 510 SW Hall, $7 or free for Portland State University students/faculty/alumni,5thavecinema.com, not rated_) **LC**\n\n****\n\nThe Siren Theater Improv Giants\n\n**MARCH 14**\n\n(COMEDY) Whether performing or watching, improv is not for the faint of heart. When it doesn’t click, it _really_ doesn’t click. But when it does? Goddamn it’s magical, and can hit heights seldom seen when attending the theater. Some of the best improv I’ve seen in Portland comes from the minds of the Siren Theater Improv Giants, featuring Shelley McLendon, Nicholas Kessler, Tony Marcellino (formerly of the legendary PDX group the Liberators) and Jed Arkley (Whiskey Tango). Alone, each member of this fantastic foursome are hilarious—together they combine to become a veritable Transformer of hilarity—so if you want to increase your chances of witnessing magic? These Giants are an extremely good bet. (_Siren Theater, 3913 N Mississippi, 7:30 pm, $10-$20,sirentheater.com, 14+_) **WM. STEVEN HUMPHREY**\n\nRed Carpet Awards Watch Party with Ry Bred\n\n**MARCH 15**\n\n(FILM) Finally, a chance to whip out the actor-pun cocktail names you’ve been saving up all year. That is, should you wish to host your ungrateful friends at a home Oscars watch party. Another option: Get out there and judge the actor-pun cocktail names of any of the fine movie houses throwing their own Academy Awards soirees. Tomorrow Theater will have a pink carpet (!) and hilarious local queen Ry Bred providing commentary for…FOUR HOURS of speeches, play-off music, and celebrity outfits, projected on the theater’s big screen. (_Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division, 4 pm, FREE with RSVP,tomorrowtheater.org, all ages_) **SS**\n\n_La Llorona_\n\n**MARCH 18**\n\n(FILM) Few films manage to fuse folkloric terror with social ethics—in fact, though it’s billed as horror, Jayro Bustamante’s _La Llorona_ (2019) might be in a category all its own. A retired general implicated in the Guatemalan genocide of native Maya communities cowers like a baby in his mansion as protests rattle the walls. But don’t worry. A supernatural force—the vengeful kind—penetrates his barricade. Note: _La Llorona_ is _not_ the schlocky _The Curse of La Llorona_ , also released in 2019. Bustamante’s film is an atmospheric and far superior demand for justice. (_Hollywood Theatre, 4122 NE Sandy, 7:30 pm, $12,hollywoodtheatre.org, not rated_) **LC**\n\n****\n\nJacqueline Novak\n\n**MARCH 21**\n\n(THEATER & PERFORMANCE) Novak is a comedian interested in pursuits of the spirit—past life regression, Jungian dream analysis, _Women Who Run with the Wolves._ She blends amla powder into her smoothies, prioritizes beauty in the home (vintage Christmas blow molds), and channels self-optimization at all costs (through her Hobonichi planner). Yes, she’s particular and product-craving and also a podcaster (she co-hosts _Berlant and Novak_ with fellow genius Kate Berlant), but Novak’s mind spins so quickly that you, too, will get caught in its centrifugal force. Her Emmy-nommed 2024 special _Get On Your Knees_ was, on the surface, “about blow jobs,” but actually offered a dense philosophical exploration of sexual firsts. What will be the target of Novak’s obsession this time? _(Aladdin Theater, 3017 SE Milwaukie, 8 pm, $50.14-$73.75,__aladdin-theater.com_ _, all ages)_******LC**\n\n>  View this post on Instagram \n>\n> A post shared by Jacqueline Novak (@jacnov)\n\n****\n\nIbram X. Kendi\n\n**MARCH 21**\n\n(READINGS AND TALKS) Historian and author Ibram X. Kendi won the 2016 National Book Award for his stark, massive _Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America_ , which changed contemporary culture’s thinking on racism from a view that rooted it in personal prejudice to something continually reinforced by policy and power structures. His bestselling memoir _How to Be an Antiracist_ showed readers the impact of prejudice across vast facets of our lives. Now Kendi’s newest work digs into great replacement theory and its many ghastly visages, which have existed through history but rarely been revealed revealed with the incisive gaze that Kendi wields. (_Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Stark, 7:30 pm, $55 tickets include a copy of the book,powells.com, all ages_) **SS**\n\nTrans Town PDX 2026\n\n**MARCH 29**\n\n(COMMUNITY) Portland’s biggest Trans Day of Visibility celebration showcases the community’s talent, economic power, and joy. The day kicks off with an afternoon resource and mutual aid fair offering free haircuts, a market, food demos with vegan street-food champions Mis Tacones, jewelry making with Ally Lea, and Narcan training with No More Dead Friends. After the fair, a ticketed fundraiser hosted by two of Portland’s funniest comedians, Mx. Dahlia Belle and Ally J Ward, brings laughs and live music before the party moves to White Owl where _Drag Race_ alumna Lexi Love headlines a lineup of “local legends.” All proceeds go to Werq Together, a nonprofit that offers peer support services, relocation assistance for folks fleeing hostile states, and trans-owned affordable housing. Show up and support this indomitable and inextricable part of the Portland community. (_The Redd on Salmon, 831 SE Salmon, 2-9 pm, tickets $25+ or free for trans community members,instagram.com/transtown.pdx, all ages_) **BRI BREY**\n\nAmal El-Mohtar in Conversation with Kelly Sue DeConnick\n\n**MARCH 29**\n\n(READINGS AND TALKS) Amal El-Mohtar is that rare kind of writer who can build robust speculative worlds, then permeate them with gentleness and poetry. Having won Hugo and Nebula awards for her 2019 novella _This Is How You Lose the Time War_ , El-Mohtar shifted to short stories with _Seasons of Glass and Iron._ The forthcoming collection (out March 24) compiles fairy and folk tales told through letters, journals, and reference materials. She’ll chat about it with comic book royalty Kelly Sue DeConnick. _(Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, 7 pm, $37.73, tickets include a copy of the book,powells.com, all ages)_ **LC**\n\n_Apple Hunters!_\n\n**MARCH 31-APRIL 26**\n\n(THEATER & PERFORMANCE) Closing out a season of producing works by women playwrights with ties to the Pacific Northwest, this staging of _Apple Hunters!_ also concludes a six-year residency of Mellon Foundation playwright-in-residence E.M. Lewis at Artists Repertory Theatre. If you liked other works by Lewis— _Magellanica_ (2018), _True Story_ (2023), among others—make it your beeswax to see this one. Set in rural Washington, _Apple Hunters!_ follows four lifelong friends on a quest for a potentially extinct apple cultivar. You know that these apple metaphors are really about being a man and friendship. (_Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison, $5-$60,__artistsrep.org, all ages_) **SS**\n\nFKA twigs / Brutalismus 3000\n\n**APRIL 4**\n\n(MUSIC) Lady in the streets, freak in the beats chameleonic artist FKA twigs bares it all with every release, her late 2025 album  _Eusexua_ being no exception. Though I’m partial to her more experimental early work, twigs’ output the last few years has largely been remix-ready festival anthems, the deeper cuts of which fit in nicely with any mixtape you’re pulling together for a crush. The only time I’ve seen twigs was at Seattle’s Moore Theatre on her _Magdalene_ tour, back in her swordplay and pole dancing days—one of the best live shows I’ve ever witnessed. Let’s see what she’s got in store for us this time. _(Moda Center Theater of the Clouds, 1 N Center, 8 pm, $50+,__rosequarter.com_ _, all ages)_ **NOLAN PARKER**\n\n****\n\nAmy Bay:_oh deeear mee_\n\n**APRIL 4-MAY 10**\n\n(VISUAL ART) Amy Bay’s latest solo exhibition continues to pull at the artist’s recurring conceptual thread: floral painting as a radical act. In the past, Bay’s compositions have zoomed in on ripe flora exploding from all angles, occupying each painting’s entire frame; her works have also functioned as feminist critiques of art history’s anti-flower stance and homages to all things decorative, patterned, and lush. In Bay’s 2024 exhibition _The Book of Love,_ her petaled meditations focused on the comfort of these motifs—her latest, _oh deeear mee_ , unfolds as a more mysterious “lamentation and celebration,” filling both of Nationale’s exhibition spaces with monotypes, works on paper, and paintings inspired by decorative floral wallpapers. _(Nationale, 15 SE 22nd,__nationale.us_ _, all ages)_**__****LC**\n\n_Twin Peaks_ , in entirety\n\n**STARTING APRIL 5**\n\n(FILM) That gum you like is going to come back in style, and by “that gum,” we mean “David Lynch’s entire _Twin Peaks_ series.” The Pacific Northwest’s damn finest (sorry) cultural export will screen in entirety at Clinton Street Theater, “for the first time in history,” they claim. How has nobody done this before?? The year-long(!) program will open with _Twin Peaks_ ’ extended pilot “Northwest Passage,” obviously, followed by the second and third episodes all screened in one sitting. Laura Palmer is blue-lipped and wrapped in plastic, but you knew that. Time for a revisit. _(Clinton Street Theater, 2522 SE Clinton, $20,__cstpdx.com_ _)_******LC**\n\nDavid Byrne\n\n**APRIL 7-8**\n\n(MUSIC) Indicative of his entire 50+ year career, David Byrne isn’t afraid of asking the tough questions on his new album _Who Is The Sky?_ More cohesive than his last album-turned-Broadway-musical _American Utopia_ , _WITS?_ continues Byrne’s toeing the line between pure pop bliss, Studio 54 style, and the avant garde of Max’s Kansas City. All the while, he’s still critiquing us, himself, and the powers that (shouldn’t) be—though in a brighter tone than we’ve heard from the broad-shouldered cutie in a minute. Is the hopeful cheer coming from his recent marriage or the ever-elusive contentment of elders? Hard to say, but it feels good. _(Keller Auditorium, 222 SW Clay, 8 pm, $104.22+,__portland5.com_ _, all ages)_ **NP**\n\n****\n\nPortland Panorama\n\n**APRIL 9-19**\n\n(FILM) Those who miss the now-defunct Portland International Film Festival (PIFF) will want to keep their eye on Portland Panorama. Returning for its second year, the fest is keeping after the idea of a multi-venue showcase of new international cinema and films from the Pacific Northwest. At time of press, we knew only that the kickoff film—screening April 9 at Cinema 21—would be Costa Rican drama _Abril_ , in which writer and director Hernán Jiménez also co-stars. The other star? _Heated Rivalry_ ’s François Arnaud. Oh, I see. NOW you’re interested. (_Various locations, $15 per screening, passes $150-350,portlandpanorama.org_) **SS**\n\n_The Glass Menagerie_\n\n**APRIL 18-MAY 20**\n\n(THEATER & PERFORMANCE) Well, if it’s going to be a Tennessee Williams play, it’s going to be about declining Southern gentility splattering extravagantly into full-blown decay. And if it’s going to be produced at Shaking the Tree and directed by Samantha Van Der Merwe, we’re more than likely going to see visuals we’d never expect. Williams coined the term “memory play” to describe _The Glass Menagerie_ , as he felt his central character’s recollection of his mother and sister should be understood as subjective and non-realistic. This all leaves so much fertile ground for Van Der Merwe to move in, and we can’t wait. (_Shaking the Tree Theatre, 823 SE Grant, $12-48,__shaking-the-tree.com_)******SS**\n\nMaking Earth Cool Earth Day Celebration\n\n**APRIL 25**\n\n(COMMUNITY) Sunnyside Environmental School and Making Earth Cool, among other Gaia-luvving organizations, will bring some environmental joie de vivre to the city on April 25. Their annual Earth Day celebration \"serves as a poignant reminder that we are mere specks within the grandeur of the greatest masterpiece ever created.\" Okay, true!! Although we are but flecks of stardust darting across our majestic planet, the event gives us something to live for: gigantic puppets, live music, crafts, and a secular \"Earth Ceremony.\" You're invited to dress up as your fave flora or fauna for a costumed parade through the Sunnyside neighborhood, too. _(Sunnyside Environmental School, 3421 SE Salmon, 11 am-3 pm, FREE,makingearthcool.com, all ages)_ **LC**\n\nSunn O)))\n\n**APRIL 25**\n\n(MUSIC) Not that this has anything to do with Seattle drone monoliths Sunn O))), but imagine the deep shame of finding out you’ve been mispronouncing the name of one of your favorite bands for years. Anyway, on April 4 Sunn releases their first album in seven years (the longest time between Sunn releases to date))). “Glory Black,” the album’s first single, washes through your skull with vibrations most dark, then drops off around the 3:30 mark, dissolving into heavy, sparse piano. Are Greg Anderson and Stephen O’Malley getting soft as the band approaches their Pearl Anniversary? Not likely… Check out the show without ear protection and LMK how that goes._(Roseland Theater, 8 NW 6th, 8 pm, $47.50_ _+,__roselandpdx.com_ _, 21+)_ **NP**\n\n****",
  "title": "Do This, Do That: Spring Arts 2026"
}