Lora Grasshopper Kitty Cat
About
We make our live debut with an access-forward workshop production of this new play co-written by Lora Lafayette and Ben Moorad and devised by Alanna Fagan, Erin Leddy, Lily Linz, Maesie Speer, Mary Rose, and Ben Moorad. We’re performing at New Expressive Works on November 3, 4 and 5.
You can’t read my handwriting, so I’ll show you my story.
Portland writer Lora Lafayette has always lived in a world of curious mayhem. Based in part on her fearless memoir, Possums Run Amok, a Finalist for an Oregon Book Award, this is the askewtinated* tale of a life within one woman’s electric mind: A place where kitty cats are the ultimate life form, grasshoppers mean death, and words bloom into infinite truth and upheaval.
Join Lora and her friend Ben as they workshop their reckonings with freedom, friendship, mental illness, death, and art, where a table is a boat, a door, a bed, and an altar… and the self is likewise multiple. In this dance of embodied writing and memory, we’ll practice failure and discover heroism in ourselves and each other.
This production is an opportunity for the creative team to learn through dialogue with the audience, and each performance will be followed by opportunities to provide written feedback. We encourage all audience members to share their experiences to inform further development of the project, especially those with lived experience of disability, neurodivergence, and mental illness. We aim to incorporate what we learn from this workshop production into a full production of the show next year.
*A word coined by Lora to describe the physical and mental experience of being twisted askew.
All shows are ticketed on a pay-what-you-can basis!
Content Notice
This production contains explorations of mental illness, hearing voices, self-harm, suicide and suicidal ideation, as well as references to institutional abuse and sexual assault. Despite the lighthearted title, this show is not created for children.
Amplified sound and theatrical lighting will be used (no strobes or moving lights).
Please reach out to us at newroomlora@gmail.com if you have specific questions about content or production elements.
Tickets
All tickets are pay-what-you-can starting at $3.50. (If you can afford it, please pay more, as this will help fund our full production.) Advance tickets are available at lora.bpt.me and will also be available at the door (cash or card).
Access
ASL/English interpretation and audio description will be provided at all performances. Large-print scripts will also be available at the box office.
General admission seats are on folding chairs on a bleacher-like platform. Accessible seating is available on the floor, and we can accommodate up to 8 mobility devices in this space.
Service dogs are welcome. Carpets will be provided for them to lay on inside the theatre.
A sensory room will also be available 30 minutes before, during, and 30 minutes after the performance. This room will feature soft non-fluorescent light, chairs and tables, fidgets, and plush toys.
Amplified sound and theatrical lighting will be used (no strobes or moving lights).
A sensory room will also be available 30 minutes before, during, and 30 minutes after the performance. This room will feature soft non-fluorescent light, chairs and tables, fidgets, and plush toys.
If you have any questions about these elements or other access questions, please contact us at please contact us at accessrequestmail@gmail.com or 971-599-4010 (voicemail/text).
Dates/Venue
We’ll perform the show on these dates at New Expressive Works at 810 SE Belmont Ave (the entrance is the southeast side door of the WYSE Building):
Friday, November 3 at 7pm,
Saturday, November 4 at 7pm, followed by a musical performance by special guest, Tess Raunig. (Musician, actor, and songwriter Tess Raunig will play 30 minutes of music, featuring original and cover songs with soaring vocals, in a genre-bending theatrical folk-pop set, covering themes of mental health, disability, love and mortality. Then they invite you to dance as they DJ a music set featuring some of their favorite pop, rock, EDM, and rap tunes.)
Sunday, November 5 at 3pm.
Masks required for all performances.
About New Expressive Works (NEW)
NEW is a single-story dance theater space with ADA accessible entrances, lobby, theatre, and restrooms.
The theatre entrance is the southeast side door of the WYSE Building and can be found off of SE Yamhill Street, or by crossing through the parking lot from Belmont Ave. There is a parking lot with four accessible parking spaces as well as street parking. (Note: the sidewalk on SE 8th Avenue between Belmont and Yamhill is usually not accessible. We suggest approaching the building from another direction.)
There are no stairs to enter the building or stairs inside it. There are push-button activated doors to the building entrance, bathrooms, and theatre space.
Fragrance-Free Environment
We request that audience members refrain from wearing perfume, cologne, scented deodorant, lotion, and other fragrances and refrain from wearing clothing washed in scented detergent in order to promote a fragrance-free environment.
Masks are Required for All Performances
In alignment with our vision of creating a community of care that centers the needs of people with disabilities, we are requiring audience members to mask at all performances unless unable to do so due to a medical condition. Masks will be available at the box office and are required to be worn indoors at all times and in all areas (lobby, bathrooms, box office, sensory room, theatre). All front of house staff, crew, and volunteers will also be masked. Please note that the four performers onstage will NOT be masked during the show.
There is no requirement for proof of vaccination or a negative test result to attend our performances.
If you feel unwell, stay at home!
Please protect the health of others by staying home when feeling unwell. If you have already purchased tickets and are unable to attend, you can receive a full refund for your ticket.
If you have any questions about our policies or what to expect at the theatre, please reach out to us at newroomlora@gmail.com.
Creative Team
Writers: Ben Moorad and Lora Lafayette
Director: Erin Leddy
Performer/Creators: Alanna Fagan, Ben Moorad, Lily Linz, Mary Rose
Dramaturg/Production Manager: Maesie Speer
Access Coordinator: Becky Emmert
Access Consultants: The Curiosity Paradox (Grant Miller and Jonathan Paradox Lee)
Composer: Wilson Vediner
Lighting Designer: Rikkia Pereira
Stage Manager: Victoria Spelman
House Access Manager: Ryan-Ashley (Ray) Anderson
ASL/English Interpreters: Lavender Cygnet and Jasmine Smith
Audio Describer: Barb Green
House Manager: Alyssa Mathews
Rehearsal Support: Joaquin Lopez and Jenni GreenMiller
Videography: Jesse Locke
Supporters
This project has been made possible through the generous financial support of:
Ronni Lacroute,
New Expressive Works,
the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation,
the Regional Arts & Culture Council,
the Multnomah County Cultural Coalition,
the Oregon Arts Commission,
and the Oregon Community Foundation.
We are grateful to them all for believing in our work!